LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 University of California. 
 
 GIFT OF" 
 
 Mrs. SARAH P. WALSWORTH. 
 
 Received October, 1894. 
 Accessions No.£f~J$~3 jy- Class No. 
 
 
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MORNING AND EVENING 
 
 EXERCISES FOR THE CLOSET 
 
 roB 
 
 <£turg JUag in tlje f)eat\ 
 
 REV. WILLIAM JAY, 
 
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 Or ABQTLE CHAPEL, BATH. 
 
 *Mvr«r be witoout a book in daily reading, of a direct scriptural and devotional tendency."— Hals. 
 
 ^> > of'trarii ^ 
 [UHI7BESIT 
 
 orkT%! 
 
 NEW-Y 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS. PUBLISHERS, 
 
 329 & 331 PEARL STREET, 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 
 185 9. 
 

 
 
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 I 
 
MORNING EXERCISES 
 
 FOR 
 
 EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR. 
 
 '• Never be without a book in daily reading, of a direct Scriptural and devotional tendency.''— Hal I 
 
 " The testimonies of thy grace, 
 I set before mine eyes ; 
 Thence I derive my daily strength. 
 
 And there my comfort lies. 
 Thy word is everlasting truth ; 
 
 How pure is every page ! 
 That Holy Book shall guide our youth, 
 And well support our age." — Watt*. 
 
 " Not to know at large of things remote 
 From use, obscure, and subtle, but to know 
 That which before us lies in daily life, 
 Is the prime wisdom. What is more is fume, 
 Emptiness, or fond impertinence ; 
 And renders us, in things that most concern, 
 Unpractised, unprepared, and still to seek." — Milton. 
 
 " The prophet who hath a dream, let him tell a dream ; and he that hath my word, let him speak my 
 faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the Lord "— Jkb e m i ah 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 A publication is not rendered improper or needless because works of a sim- 
 ilar nature have preceded it. Little would ever issue from the press if such a 
 principle were admitted. For what new thing is there under the sun ? Neither 
 is an author in this case supposed to undervalue the labours of those who have 
 gone before him. He only adds to their number, with his own probabilities of 
 excitement. And he may awaken fresh attention in the minds even of those 
 who have made use of his predecessors, while he may fall into the hands of 
 some who have to begin this kind of reading. Every author, too, has not only 
 his own connexions, but his own manner ; and thus, as the tastes of readers 
 vary, more individuals can be gratified. 
 
 The following pages, it is believed, will be found to differ a little from works 
 of the same species ; especially in making the Exercises always express more 
 fully the import of the textual motto at the head of them ; in the arrangement 01 
 a greater diversity of subjects ; in the selection of more passages from the less 
 observed and less improved parts of Scripture ; and in the seizure of hints of in 
 5truction from the more indirect and incidental strokes of the Sacred Penmen. 
 
 The author confesses the work was much more arduous in the execution 
 than he had apprehended in the prospect. The cfa'e/" difficulty arose from the 
 necessity of so much compression and brevity. It was found no easy thing, in 
 two or three pages, not only to secure the spirit of the passage, but to give it 
 some illustration and effect, by glimpses of scenery, and glances at historical 
 facts, and traits of character, where diffusion and particularity were forbidden. 
 While he makes no scruple to avow that this was his wish and design, he la 
 ments sincerely that he has not more perfectly succeeded in accomplishing 
 them. Leisure, and an exclusive dedication of himself to the plan for some 
 months, or even weeks, might have yielded something more satisfactory. But 
 complaint is useless, and apology vain. He has done, in his circumstances, 
 what he could. And it yields him pleasure to think that, besides some othei 
 works of a general nature for the religious public, and especially several for the 
 use of families, he has now produced something more particularly for the closet 
 
 The writer has always been attached to publications of this kind ; and, from 
 his own experience and observation, he is convinced of their adaptation to use- 
 fulness. He cannot but wish that Christians would read the Scripture itself more, 
 and endeavour to reflect themselves on the passages which, either in a continued 
 course, or in selections at the time, come before them. The power of doing this 
 would improve by the use, and the pleasure and advantage resulting from the 
 facility would amply reward any difficulty in the acquisition. But it is to be 
 lamented, many do not reflect ; and so the customary and cursory perusal, for 
 want of thought, produces little impression ; and the paragraph or chapter — or 
 it may be even chapters — are immediately forgotten. But a verse or sentence, 
 separately placed before the eye, is more distinctly remarked ; and, being illus- 
 trated in a brief and lively comment, is more easily remembered. To supply 
 such assistance cannot be reckoned an attempt to lead people from the Word of 
 God, but to it ; and it may teach those who use it, in time, to do for themselves 
 what it may be necessary at first in another to do for them. 
 
 As to the subjects of these Exercises, the author has aimed to blend doctrine 
 
iv PREFACE 
 
 experience, and practice together. There is danger of Antinomianism when the 
 attention is too exclusively called to doctrinal points ; of enthusiasm, when it is 
 too exclusively attached to experimental ; and of legality, when it is too exclu- 
 sively confined to practical. It is the proportioned admixture of sentiment, feel- 
 ing, and duty, that qualifies each, and renders them all not only safe, but profit- 
 able. The writer, also, has not limited himself to the usual mode of making the 
 subjects of such meditations always of the consolatory kind. Christians, in the 
 Divine life, want something besides comfort. They are to have their pure 
 minds stirred up, by way of remembrance ; to suffer the word of exhortation ; 
 to hear the reproofs of wisdom ; to walk humbly with God, and wisely with men. 
 Indeed, the best way to gain comfort is not always to seek it directly, but medi- 
 ately ; and the medium may require self-denial and patience. It is the same 
 with comfort as with reputation ; it is more certainly secured as a consequence, 
 than by making it a mere design. 
 
 The writer has not often put the Exercise into the form of a soliloquy, or gen 
 erally expressed himself in the language of the first person. He found the com- 
 mon mode of address better suited, especially to the explanatory and hortative 
 parts of his design. Why should not the reader consider himself the addressed, 
 rather than the speaker ? and, by immediate application, make, as much as possi- 
 ble, the reflections his own ? 
 
 As to the style itself, what was principally designed for pious use in retire- 
 ment could not be too clear, and easy, and forcible, and pointed j too much 
 abounding with terse briskness, and naivete of expression ; too free from the 
 tameness and smoothness by which common but important truths are aided to 
 slide down from the memory into oblivion. 
 
 In seven hundred and thirty Exercises, there may be some coincidences, and 
 the same thought, image, or example, may occur more than once. It was hardly 
 possible to prevent it, as the whole series could not be kept in memory, or be 
 continually compared. As the work advanced, the subjects too frequently in- 
 creased in length, beyond the bounds he had prescribed himself. The case was, 
 the printer pressed upon him, and he had not time to be short. 
 
 But enough of this. The author commends the work to that part of the pious 
 public who love and practise retreat ; who wish not only to read the Scriptures 
 alone, but to observe their beauties and advantages ; who, while they neglect 
 not their own meditations, are thankful to derive help from others, and often ex- 
 claim, " A word fitly spoken, how good is it !" who wish to be in the fear of the 
 Lord all the day long ; who would not have their religion a visiter, but an in- 
 mate ; who would speak of Divine things, not by a kind of artificial effort, but 
 out of the abundance of the heart ; and who know how much it conduces to our 
 sanctification to keep the mind filled with good things, not only as these will ex- 
 clude base intrusions, but will be sure to leave somewhat of their own tinge and 
 likeness behind. 
 
 As to readers of this character, the author trusts the materials here furnished 
 will not be unacceptable, of whatever religious denomination they may be found 
 He considers the community in which, by the providence of God, he himself la- 
 bours, not as a party, but only as a part ; and he is not an enemy to the whole 
 army because he is attached to his own regiment. He does not oppose, but co- 
 operate. He has not attempted in these volumes to conceal the. leading senti- 
 ments which he holds ; but he has not offensively obtruded them : nor has he 
 availed himself of opportunities to bring forward those particular views, in sub- 
 ordinate matters, in which he may differ from others. He readily allows that 
 every man has a right to state and defend the opinions which he has derived 
 from conviction ; but his love should abound in knowledge and in all judgment ; 
 and he should regulate the degree of his zeal by the importance of the subject. 
 He is also persuaded that the statement and the defence should be effected in a 
 work avowedly for the purpose, and not be introduced into a publication adapted 
 
PREFACE. r 
 
 *) general edification. How much less circulation and usefulness would Dod- 
 dridge's Rise and Progress of Religion, and Alleine's Alarm, and other good 
 books, have obtained, had their authors inserted their own minor partialities, and 
 attacked those of others ! In reading a valuable volume where such things are 
 found, we should resemble the ox in the meadow, who, when he comes to a tuft 
 of grass he dislikes, does not grow angry and attempt to tear it up with his hoofs 
 and horns, but placidly leaves it, and feeds on in the large and rich pasturage. 
 But all have not this " meekness of wisdom." The prejudices of many are 
 powerful, and quickly excited ; and meeting with a passage in the beginning of 
 a work, by no means essential to its design, they throw it instantly aside, and 
 lose all the pleasure and benefit it would otherwise have afforded them. 
 
 The work 'will meet the wishes of those who have not the command of much 
 time for private engagements. And this is the case with many in our day, no* 
 only from the avocations of civil life, but even from the calls of religious benefi- 
 cence. More leisure, indeed, in many instances, may be secured by earlier ri- 
 sing, and by more skill, and order, and diligence, in the management of all our 
 affairs : yet the period in which we live is peculiar ; and the calls of God to la- 
 bour in doing good, in so many civil and sacred charities, leave it not our duty 
 to retire and read by the hour as our forefathers did. 
 
 He hopes a book of this nature will be a suitable companion to those whose 
 advanced years and infirmities will not allow of deep, and laborious, and length- 
 ened perusals. What is preferable for them is something easy, and short, and 
 very Scriptural. It is observable how much more aged believers delight in God's 
 Word than in reading any other works. It is th«ir " necessary food," and their 
 "dainty meat," when their appetite for other things fails. It is their solace 
 when the evil days are come, in which they have no pleasure. It is their sup- 
 port and their reliance in weakness and weariness ; and they use it, not for 
 amusement, but for relief only. Thus, we have seen a man walking forth gayly 
 in the morning, carrying his staff under his arm, or twirling it in his hand ; but, 
 worn with the toils and fatigues of the day, we have seen him returning home 
 in the evening, leaning and pressing it at every weary step. 
 
 The work, also, will suit the afflicted. Retirement and devotion seem conge- 
 nial with trouble ; and the sufferer naturally turns to them for succour and com- 
 fort. But many of the distresses of life prevent or abridge the resources they 
 render so desirable and needful. What changes have many experienced by 
 losses and reductions ! They are called from freedom and ease to the care of 
 thought, the shiftings of contrivance, and the exertion of labour. Where now is 
 the leisure they once enjoyed for their secluded enjoyments of piety ? Their 
 hours of composure are fled, and have only left them hurried and broken mo- 
 ments. They can only sip of the brook in the way. 
 
 May the author presume that he may be of some little service to some of his 
 brethren in the ministry ; not only by aiding their retirement as Christians — and 
 they have to save themselves as well as those that hear them — but by throwing 
 out hints that may lead them to think for the pulpit, and furnishing, occasionally, 
 outlines of discourses which they can have the merit of filling up 1 
 
 He cannot, also, but wish to be useful to another interesting class, the sources 
 of our future families, and the hopes of our churches. Here he is tempted to in- 
 sert an extract from one of the letters he received, stimulating him to this under- 
 taking. The name of the writer would add weight to his remarks ; but it is sup- 
 pressed, because he is not apprized of the liberty now taken, and his hints were 
 not intended to meet the public eye. This excellent, and learned, and judicious 
 friend thus expresses himself : " I have ventured to put upon paper the idea I 
 have conceived of a series of daily contemplations or reflections which, among 
 others, shall be adapted to be put into the hands of intelligent and educated youth. 
 I have a sincere veneration for the intentions of Bogatzky and other similar au- 
 thors, but there is such a paucity of thought, such a poverty of expression, such 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 i narrowed range of ideas, such a ringing of changes, incessantly, on a few top- 
 ics, without gracefulness or variety, as to render the books exceedingly unat- 
 tractive to the present rising generation. In these cases, I conceive we are bound 
 to provide, as far as we can, that the food presented to thair minds may not 
 disgust by the manner in which it is served up ; and that, when we put important 
 truth in their way, it should be encumbered with as few external obstacles as the 
 case will admit. Good sense, you have lately told us, is good taste ; and that, 1 
 consider, is both good sense and good taste in devotion, which would present to 
 every mind, without the sacrifice of a particle of Divine truth, such an exterior 
 as may invite rather than repulse. He who has once been effectually gained 
 over to the love of the Gospel, will retain his affection for it under a very homely 
 form ; but he who has yet to be won, will require of us some attention as to our 
 first addresses to his understanding and his heart. My view, then, my dear sir, 
 is, that the selection of texts should involve the whole range of revealed truth ; 
 and should present it in that combined form in which the Scripture exhibits it : 
 where doctrine, and duty, and privilege blend like the colours that form the pure 
 brightness of light ; where religion is never exposed to view as a bare skeleton, 
 but as endued with all the properties of life, and in actual existence. Pithy 
 sayings, wise experiences, urgent examples, faithful warnings, should revolve 
 daily beneath the eye, and show the reader all that religion has done for others ; 
 all it aims to do for him ; and all the evils that result from the absence of hei 
 beneficence. Testimonies, also, such as that of Chesterfield to the Vanity of the 
 World, which he had so fully tried ; dying experiences, such as that of Roches- 
 ter ; confessions of the value of religion, such as are found in the Letters of Burns ; 
 and passages from eminent and striking lives, might be introduced in your own 
 
 way, briefly prefaced or commented upon. Thus the whole might allure, 
 
 by its variety ; interest, by the reach of thought to which it leads ; and profitably 
 keep befo/e the mind of youth, amidst daily temptations, what religion can do for 
 them, and what the world and other things never can do." 
 
 Perhaps, however, if I am not accused of vanity in making this extract from 
 my correspondent, I shall be chargeable with imprudence in publishing a rec 
 ommendation which, though I admire, I have so much failed in following. 
 
 Percy Place, Dec. 26th, 1888. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Jamuarv 
 
 Reflections for tlie New Year .Exod. xl. 2. 
 
 The Divine Assurance Gen. xxxii. 12. 
 
 The Cessation of the Manna.. .Josh. v. 12. 
 
 Seasonable Strength Deut. xxxiii. 25. 
 
 Self-Renunciation Rev. iv. 10. 
 
 The Heart united to Religion. .Ps. Ixxxvi. 11. 
 
 Epenetus Rom. xvi. 5. 
 
 John's Friendship for Gaius • . . .3 Epis. John 2. 
 
 The perpetual G uide Ps. xlviii. 14. 
 
 The character of Cornelius. . . .Acts x. 2. 
 The Dwelling-place of Jesus.. .John i. 38. 
 Regard to Israel's Weakness. . .Exod. xiii. 17, 18. 
 Repentance flowing from MercyRom. ii. 4. 
 
 The Birthday Gen. xl. 20. 
 
 Spiritual Devotion Ps. xx v. 1. 
 
 God's Thoughts Jer. xxix. 11. 
 
 The Use of the Law Gal. iii. 24. 
 
 Hope Exceeded Gen. xlviii. 11. 
 
 Noah's Walk.. Gen. vi. 9. 
 
 The Dove Luke iii. 21, 22. 
 
 Moses apprized of his Death. . .Num. xxvii. 12, 13. 
 
 The Scriptures opened Luke xxiv. 32. 
 
 The Spiritual Beggar Luke xi. 9. 
 
 The Blessed People Ps. iii. 8. 
 
 Joseph with his sick Father. . . .Gen. xlviii. 1, 2. 
 
 Heavenly Preparation 2 Cor. v. 5. 
 
 The Healthful Inhabitant Is. xxxiii. 24. 
 
 Tenderness of God's Care Deut. i. 31. 
 
 The Unlonely Solitude John xvi. 32. 
 
 The Lovely Household. Acts x. 7, 8. 
 
 The Bitter Waters healed Exod. xv. 25. 
 
 February. 
 
 Faith questioned John xvi. 31. 
 
 Creature Dissatisfaction Ps.lv. 6. 
 
 Important Recollection Deut. xxiv. 18. 
 
 Jacob's Prayer Gen. xxxii. 9 — 12. 
 
 Union with Christ 1 Thesa. v. 10. 
 
 The unlooked-for Companion. .Luke xxiv. 13 — 15. 
 
 The Impotent Man Tried John v. 8. 
 
 Joseph in Prison Gen. xxxix. 20. 
 
 Exultation in God Ps. xxxiv. 2. 
 
 Sobriety 1 Thess. v. a 
 
 Children of the Day 1 Thess. v. 5. 
 
 Mutual Aid Num. x. 31. 
 
 The Plaintive Prayer Ps. xxv. 16, 18. 
 
 The Importance of Obedience. John xv. 14. 
 
 The Real Miracle Acts iii. 9, 10. 
 
 The Three Heroes Dan. iii. 12. 
 
 The Joyful Servant Ps. Ixxxvi. 4. 
 
 Paul wishing to see Rome Rom. i. 10, 11. 
 
 Peter weeping Mark xiv. 72. 
 
 Religious Growth Mai. iv. 2. 
 
 The Discouraged Pilgrim Numb. xxi. 4. 
 
 Earthly Comforts blessed Exod. xxiii. 25. 
 
 Conversion of a Sinner James v. 20. 
 
 God's People glorified Zech. ix. 16. 
 
 Paul's Saluting of the Romans.Rom. xvi. 15. 
 Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. Luke xix. 41. 
 
 Divine Knowledge Col. i. 10. 
 
 The love of J«sus to his own.. .John xiii. J ' 
 
 B 
 
 March. 
 
 Desirable Fellowship ftum. x. 32. 
 
 Peter following afar off. Mat. xxvi. 58 
 
 God only true Rom. iii. 4. 
 
 Saints in the Lord's Hand Deut. xxxiii. 3 
 
 Flesh and Spirit Rom. vii. 25. 
 
 The Heavenly Proposal Deut. i. 21. 
 
 The Friends of Jesus John xv. 15. 
 
 Union of Hope and Fear Ps. xxxiii. 18 
 
 Strength in the Lord Eph. vi. 10. 
 
 Robbery of God Mai. iii. 8. 
 
 Loving kindnesses Is. lxiii. 7. 
 
 Mutual Service Gal. v. 13. 
 
 Fear Forbidden Deut. xx. 1 
 
 Paul's Desire Phil. iii. 8 
 
 The Highest Prize Phil iii. 8 
 
 The Two Births Gal. i. 15. 
 
 Power and Goodness Rom. x. 12. 
 
 Peter and John Acts iii. 1. 
 
 Advantages of Inquiry Deut. xxxii. 7 
 
 Daily Mercy Ps. Ixxxvi 3. 
 
 God's Joy in his People Zeph. iii. 17. 
 
 Trials not strange 1 Pet. iv. 12. 
 
 Confidence from Knowledge.. ..2 Tim. i. 12. 
 
 Walking in God's Truth Ps. Ixxxvi. 11. 
 
 The Privileges of the Upright. .Ps. xxxvii. 18. 
 
 God's Word and Works John xiv. 29. 
 
 The Saviour's Agency Mark vii. 37. 
 
 Satan disappointed John xiv. 30. 
 
 The Gracious Purpose 1 Thess. v. 9. 
 
 Departure of Christ desired. . . .Mat. viii. 34. 
 The Saviour's Obedience John xiv. 31 
 
 April. 
 
 The Bloody Sweat *. Luke xxii. 44. 
 
 The Saviour's Apprehension.. .John xviii. 7. 
 
 The Saviour's Stipulation John xviii. 8. 
 
 The Death of Christ Rom. v. 8. 
 
 The Burial of Christ 1 Cor. xv. 4. 
 
 Christ seen of numbers 1 Cor. xv. 6 
 
 The Holy One incorruptible. .. .Ps. xvi. 10, 11. 
 
 The Grand Attainment .Phil. iii. 11. 
 
 Death and Life with Christ Rom. vi. 8. 
 
 The Glory that followed IPet 1.11. 
 
 Character of Gospel Times Zech iii. 10. 
 
 Justification free Rom. iii. 24. 
 
 The Saviour's Attraction Zech. iii. 9. 
 
 Creature-Dependence vain Lam. iv. 20. 
 
 The Sad Defection Mat. xxvi. 5t 
 
 Christians not comfortless John xiv. 18. 
 
 The Divine Engraving Zech. iii. 9. 
 
 The Leaven In the Meal Mat xiii. 33. 
 
 Love to the Brethren 1 John iii. 16. 
 
 Christ piaying in his Agony... -Luke xxii. 44. 
 
 Seeking Christ Crucified Mat. xxviii. 5 
 
 The Rising and Resting Prayer. Num. x. 35, 3C 
 
 David's Resolution Ps. lxi 2, 3. 
 
 Too late Luke *«• 42. 
 
 Early Rising Mark i. 35. 
 
 The Learner Luke viii. 35. 
 
 Members one of another Rom. xii. 5. 
 
 Christ leaving this World John xiii. 1 
 
 '» 
 
10 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 39. Angelic Succour Luke xxii. 43. 
 
 "0 Peter remembered Mark xvi. 7. 
 
 May. 
 
 1. Vineyards in the Wilderness. ..Hos. ii. 15. 
 
 2. Dedication of David's House. . .Ps. xxx. 
 
 3. The Divine Revelation Gal. i. 16. 
 
 4. Self- pleasing renounced Rom. xv. 3. 
 
 5. The One Thing Needful John iv. 10. 
 
 6. The Seat of Prayer 2 Sam. vii. 27. 
 
 7. The Sun of Righteousness Mai. iv. 2. 
 
 8. Looking for God Is. viii. 17. 
 
 9. Daniel Delivered Dan. ft 23. 
 
 10. The Departure from Egypt Exod. xiii. 18, 19. 
 
 11. The Cripple's Adherence Acts iii. 11. 
 
 12. The Angry Disciples reproved. .Luke ix. 52—50. 
 
 13. Divine Relief. Rom. vii. 25. 
 
 14. Passing under the Rod Ezek. xx. 37. 
 
 15. The Bonds of the Covenant... .Ezek. xx. 37. 
 
 16. Christ going up to Jerusalem.. .Luke ix. 51. 
 
 17 Strong Faith Dan. iii. 17, 18. 
 
 18. Good to be here Mat. xvii. 4. 
 
 19. Washing the Disciples' Feet — John xiii. 4, 5. 
 
 20. An interest in Christ ascertained.2 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
 21. The Day of Rejoicing Phil. ii. 16. 
 
 22. Justification by Faith Gal. ii. 16. 
 
 23. The Only Master Mat. xxiii. 8. 
 
 24. Wishing to go over Jordan Deut. iii. 25. 
 
 25. Grieving the Spirit Ephes. iv. 30. 
 
 26. Christ's Inheritance Ps. ii. 8. 
 
 27. The Tongue loosed Mat. ix. 32. 
 
 28. Knowledge increased 2 Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 29. God's Offspring Deut. xiv. 1. 
 
 30. Prayer indispensable Ps. ii. 8. 
 
 31. The Food blessed Luke xxiv. 30. 
 
 June. 
 
 1. The Vine John xv. 5. 
 
 2. The Branches John xv. 5. 
 
 3. Our Hope 1 Tim. i. 1. 
 
 1, The Waterpot left John iv. 28. 
 
 5. The Morning Arm Is. xxxiii. 2. 
 
 6. Humble Walking Micah vi.8. 
 
 7. The Lord our Judge Is. xxxii. 22. 
 
 8. Grace in Christ 2 Tim. ii. 1. 
 
 9. Piety and Charity Acts iii. 2. 
 
 10. Delighting in Mercy Micah vii. 18. 
 
 11. Isaac old and dim Gen. xxvii. 1—4. 
 
 12. The Fiery Cloudy Pillar Exod. xiii. 21, 22. 
 
 13. Sins punished and improved... Num. xvi. 38. 
 
 4. Ignorance of Christ John xiv. 9. 
 
 15. The Nations divided Deut. xxxii. 8. 
 
 16. God's Lovingkindness Ps. xxvi. 3. 
 
 17. The Value of the Saviour Lam. iv. 20. 
 
 18. Paul at Tent-making Acts xviii. 1—3. 
 
 19. The Strength of Grace 2 Tim. ii. 1. 
 
 20. The Blessed Heritage Ps. lxi. 5. 
 
 21. Satan resisted Ephes. iv. 27. 
 
 22. Conversion of the Samaritaness. John iv. 3, 4. 
 
 23. The God of Nature and Grace. .Ps. xxix. 11. 
 
 24. Conversion of the Corinthians. Acts xviii. 7, 8. 
 
 25. God choosing our Resting-Place.Num. x. 33. 
 26 Christ talking with the Woman. John i v. 27. 
 
 27. A Shadow from the Heat Is. xxv. 4. 
 
 28. The Divine Inquiry 1 Kings xix. 13. 
 
 29 Paul encouraged at Corinth Acts xviii. 9, 10. 
 
 30. The gladdening River Ps xlvi. 4. 
 
 Jcly. 
 
 1. The Sight of God's glory Exod. xxxiii. 18. 
 
 2. Israel's Song at Beer Num. xxi. 16—19. 
 
 3. Faint Judges viii. 4. 
 
 4. Pursuing Judges viii. 4. 
 
 5. Submission to God James iv. 7- 
 
 8. The End of Ordinances Matt. xi. 7. 
 
 7. Indwelling Sin Jeplored Rom. vii. a4 
 
 8. Justification andSanctification.lCor. vi. 11. 
 
 9. Our Lord's Praying Luke xi. 1. 
 
 10. Christian Gratitude 2 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
 11. Elijah's journey to Horeb 1 Kings xix. 8 
 
 12. Daily Dying 1 Cor. xv. 31. 
 
 13. The Divine Requisition Ezek. xxxvi. 37. 
 
 14. The Saviour's Peace John xiv. 27. 
 
 15. The Injuriousness of Unbelief.Matt. xiii. 53— 5^ 
 
 16. Former Days remembered Heb. x. 32. 
 
 17. The Holy Unction 1 John ii. 20 
 
 18. Riches of Mercy Ephes. ii. 4. 
 
 19. The Bow in the Cloud Ezek. i. 28. 
 
 20. Intimacy with Jesus Acts i v. 13. 
 
 21. Experience of Divine Grace Ps. xxxiv. 8. 
 
 22. The Victor Rev. iii. 21. 
 
 23. Encouragement to Prayer Ps. lxxxvi. 5. 
 
 24. God proved Mai. iii. 10. 
 
 25. The Prophet of the Lord Acts iii. 22, 23. 
 
 26. Treasure hid in the field Matt. xiii. 44. 
 
 27. The Gracious State Rom. v. 2. 
 
 28. The Seeker encouraged 1 Chron. xvi. lo. 
 
 29. Showing himself risen Acts i. 3. 
 
 30. The Third Appearance John xxi. 14 
 
 31. Jesus at the Lake John xxi. ) 
 
 August. 
 
 1. The Questioning of Peter John xxi. 18. 
 
 2. Peter's Destiny John xxi. 18, 19. 
 
 3. Curiosity reproved John xxi. 19— 92 
 
 4. Circumstantial Truth John xxi. 23 
 
 5. Harvest Joel iii. 13. 
 
 6. The Sickle used Joel iii. 13. 
 
 7. The Kingdom of God 1 Cor. iv. 20 
 
 8. Learning to Pray Luke xi. 1. 
 
 9. The Seasonable Admonition .Jer. xiii. 16. 
 
 10. The Growing Empire .John iii. 30 
 
 11. Commendation Phil. ii. 12. 
 
 12. God's Holiness Ps. xxx. 4. 
 
 13. The Disinterested Inquiry 2 Sam. ix. 1 
 
 14. Mephibosheth's Humility 2 Sara. ix. 7, 8 
 
 15. The Waiting Church , Ps. Ixv. 1 
 
 16. Christ's Power and Dominion. .Matt, xvii, 27- 
 
 17. Extent of Christian Knowledge. 1 Jobn ii. 20 
 
 18. Morning Devotion Ps. v. 3. 
 
 19. God's Union with his People.. Jer. iii. 14. 
 
 20. God's going forth as the Morning.Hos. vi. 3. 
 
 21. Lazarus sick John xi. 3. 
 
 22. The Word of Christ Col. iii. 16. 
 
 23. Waiting rewarded Ps. xxxvii 34 
 
 24. The Smitten Shepherd Zech. xiii. T 
 
 25. The Hearer of Prayer Ps. Ixv. 2. 
 
 26. Divine Espousals Hos. ii. 19. 
 
 27. Heirship Titus iii. 7 
 
 28. Varied Experience Ps. Ixv. 3. 
 
 29. The Blessing of Faith Gal. iii. 9. 
 
 30. Holy Vigilance 1 Pet. i. 17. 
 
 31. The never-failing Relation Hos. ii. 19. 
 
 September. 
 
 1. Word of Life Phil. ii. 16. 
 
 2. The Practical Preacher Phil. ii. 16. 
 
 3. The Pious Exclamation 1 Sam. iii. 9 
 
 4. The Saviour's Legacy John xiv. 27 
 
 5. Divine Strengthening Zech. x. 12. 
 
 6. God conducting Israel Deut. xxxii. 10 
 
 7. Hosea Hos. i. 1. 
 
 8. God's Forbearance Rom. ii. 4. 
 
 9. The Christian joyful Is. ix. 3 
 
 10. Joy before God Is. ix. 3. 
 
 11. Joy of Harvest Is. ix. 3. 
 
 12. God's Love to his People Deut. xxxiii. 3 
 
 13. The Title known Gen. xv.8. 
 
 14. The Needful Caution Prov. iii. 5. 
 
 15. The Important Inquiry Acts ix. 6 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 11 
 
 6. The Surrender Acts is. 6. 
 
 7. The Use of Means. Matt. xvii. 27. 
 
 16 The Freed Prisoner Zech. ix. 11. 
 
 19. The Successful Follower Hos. vi. 3. 
 
 20. The Sinless Saviour 1 John iii. 5. 
 
 21. The Divine Presence * Exod. xxxiii. 14. 
 
 22. God the Husband of his Church Is. liv. 5. 
 
 23 Mutual Dependence Phil. iv. 2 — 1. 
 
 24. The Christian Obligation 1 John ii. 6. 
 
 25. Impatience- Ps. Iv. 8. 
 
 2<i Peter brought to Christ John i. 42. 
 
 57 Zeal to save. - .- John i. 42. 
 
 2a Zion's Sons...-, Lam.iv.2. 
 
 29. The Call to depart Micah ii. 10. 
 
 10 Filial Duty Mai. i. 6. 
 
 October. 
 
 1. Death not always desirable Amos v. 18. 
 
 2. The Noble Resolve Ps. lxxxv. 8. 
 
 3. Christian Moderation Phil. iv. 5. 
 
 4. The Shining Light Prov. iv. 18. 
 
 5. Christ entering Heaven 1 Pet. iii. 22. 
 
 6. The Stranger and Sojourner Ps. xxxix. 12. 
 
 7. The well-attended Flock: Ezek. xxiv. 15. 
 
 8. Prayer and Thanksgiving Phil. iv. 6. 
 
 9. Adversity usefui Hos. xiii. 5. 
 
 i0. Changes in the Wilderness Num. x. 12. 
 
 11. The Ascending Saviour followed. Luke xxiv. 50, 51. 
 
 12. The Good Shepherd John x. 14. 
 
 13. Sparing Mercy Mai. iii 17. 
 
 14. Prosperity injurious Hos. xiii. 6. 
 
 15. Difference between Words and 
 
 Deeds Deut . v. 28. 
 
 16. Brevity of the Scripture John xxi. 25. 
 
 17. The Alarm Rom. xiii. 11. 
 
 18. Confidence and Caution Ps. lxxxv. 8. 
 
 19. Inattention Is. xiii. 20. 
 
 20 The Blessed Sight Is. xxxiii. 17. 
 
 21. Divine Solicitude Deut. v. 29. 
 
 22. Design of the Incarnation. . . . John x. 10. 
 
 23. Life more abundantly John x. 10. 
 
 24. The Morning Star Rev. ii. 28. 
 
 25. The Door John x. 9. 
 
 26. The Subjects Agents too Jer. iv. 14. 
 
 27. The Clean Heart Jer. iv. 14. 
 
 28. The Blessedness of Loving God.l Cor. viii. 3. 
 
 29. Prayer and Trouble Ps. lxxxvi. 7. 
 
 30. Messiah the Prince Dan. ix. 25. 
 
 31. Concern for the Bes*. Cause . . . .Ps. lxxii. 15. 
 
 November. 
 
 1. How to read the Scriptures.. . . Luke x. 26. 
 
 2. The Season of Life 1 Pet. iv. 2. 
 
 3. Joy in Sorrow 2Cor. vi. 10. 
 
 4. The Divine Healer Matt viii. 7. 
 
 5. God for ever ours Ps. xlviii. 14 
 
 6. The Revealer of Secrets Dan. ii. 28. 
 
 Unbelief of Christ'! Brethren. .John vii. & 
 Captiousness of the Pharisees.. Matt. ix. 11. 
 
 The Whole and the Sick Matt. ix. 12. 
 
 Christ the Resurrection John xi. 25. 
 
 Joy in God's Salvation 1 Sam. ii. 1. 
 
 God's Sole Agency Deut. xxxii. 12 
 
 The Needful Disturbance Deut. xxxii. 11. 
 
 Divine Example Deut. xxxif A- 
 
 All-sufficient Assistance Deut. xxxii. 11. 
 
 God's Hidden Ones Ps. lxxxiii. 3. 
 
 The seed of the Messiah Ps. lxxxix. 36. 
 
 The Enlarged Prayer Ps. lxxxi. 10. 
 
 The Importance of Faith John ix. 35. 
 
 With Jesus in the Garden John xviii. 2G. 
 
 Eiisha's Sickness 2 Kings xiii. 14. 
 
 Partial Zeal 2 Kings xiii. 19. 
 
 Eiisha's Sepulchre 2 Kings xiii. 20, il 
 
 Prosperity in the Divine Life.. .Ps. xcii. 12. 
 
 The Evidence of Faith John ix. 35. 
 
 The Resting-Place forgotten ... Jer. 1.6. 
 
 Union of Faith and Love 1 Tim. i. 14 
 
 Habitual Piety ". Prov. xxiii. 17. 
 
 The Two Commandments 1 John iii. 23. 
 
 The Personal Inquiry John ix. 35 
 
 December. 
 
 The Groundless Accusation. . . .Job i. 9. 
 
 The Persevering Suppliant Matt. xv. 27. 
 
 Job's Confession Job xi. 4. 
 
 Knowledge of our Sinfulness.. .Job xiii. 23. 
 
 Our Peace in Trouble Micah v. 5 
 
 The Divine Defence Job i. 10. 
 
 The Coming Soul discouraged. Luke ix. 42. 
 
 The Apostle's Glorying 2 Cor. xi. 30. 
 
 I am a Burden to myself Job vii. 20. 
 
 Sabbath Influences Rev. i 10. 
 
 Job's Praying for his Friends.. Job xiii. 1C. 
 The Marys at the Sepulchre.. ..Matt, xrvi' 61 
 
 The Wisdom of Zeal Phil. i. 9 
 
 The Needless Alarm Job x. 2. 
 
 The Heavenly Shepherd Rev. vii. 17- 
 
 True Friendship 1 Sam. xxiii. 16. 
 
 The Trial of the Scribe Matt. viii. 19, 26 
 
 The Poverty of Jesus Matt. viii. 20. 
 
 New-born Citizens Ps. lxxxvii. 4, 5. 
 
 Jesus at the Feast John xi. 56. 
 
 The End of Affliction Job x. 2. 
 
 The Valuation of the Sabbath. Is. lviii. 13. 
 
 Attachment to Zion Ps. lxxxvii. 7. 
 
 The Dayspring Luke i. 78, 79. 
 
 Birth of Jesus Luke ii. 1 — 6. 
 
 The Angel with the Shepherds.. Luke ii. 8, 9. 
 The Great Sight at Bethlehem.. Luke ii. 15. 
 
 The Pious Pair Luke i. 6. 
 
 Strong Confidence • .Job xiii. 15. 
 
 Brevity of Life Job x. 20. 
 
 Gratitude and Confidence Acts xxviii. 15 
 
MORNING EXERCISES 
 
 FOR 
 
 THE CLOSET. 
 
 JANUARY 1. 
 
 On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the 
 tabernacle."— Exo&. xl. 2. 
 
 And why was this period chosen for the 
 erection 1 God has always reasons for his con- 
 duct ; but he does not always " give account 
 of any of his matters." We may however 
 make two remarks here. First Things that 
 are the same to God, are not the same to us. 
 Our goodness extendeth not to him : religion 
 regards the exigences of man: and when 
 these are subserved, its provisions will be 
 needless. John saw no temple in the New 
 Jerusalem. All places are alike to God ; yet 
 we never feel in a common dwelling the so- 
 lemnity that seizes us in the sanctuary. The 
 first day of the year was no more to God 
 than any other ; but it would render the ser- 
 vice more memorable and impressive to the 
 people. Therefore says he, "On the first 
 day of the first month shalt thou set up the 
 tabernacle." Secondly. It is well to begin a 
 new year with some good work; and to 
 commence serving God after a new manner. 
 And have we no tabernacle to set up on 
 this first day of this first month 1 
 
 Let us begin the year with solemn reflec- 
 tion — and say, with Job, "When a few years 
 are come I shall go the way whence I shall 
 not return." Let me not only believe this ; 
 but think of it, and feel the importance of 
 the sentiment Yes in a little time I shall be 
 no more seen. How — where — shall I be dis- 
 posed of] The seasons will return as before : 
 but the places that now know me will know 
 me no more for ever. Will this be a curse 1 
 or a blessing 1 If I die in my sins I shall re- 
 turn no more to my possessions and enjoy- 
 ' meats ; to the calls of mercy ; to the throne 
 of grace ; to the house of prayer ! If I die in 
 the Lord I shall, O blessed impossibility ! re- 
 turn no more to these thorns and briers ; to 
 this vain and wicked world ; to this aching 
 head ; to this throbbing heart ; to these temp- 
 tations and troubles, and sorrows and sine 
 
 Let us oegin the year with self-inspection 
 — and say, with the chief butler, " I do re- 
 member my faults this day." We are prone 
 to think of the railings of our fellow-crea- 
 tures, and often imagine because we are free 
 from their faults that we are faultless. But 
 we may have other faults; we may have 
 worse ; and while a mote is in our brother's 
 eye a beam may be in our own. Let us be 
 open to conviction. Let us deal faithfully 
 with our own hearts. Let us not compare 
 ourselves with others, and especially the 
 more vUe of our fellow-creatures ; but with 
 our advantages ; with our knowledge ; with 
 our professions ; with the law of God. 
 
 Let us begin the year with a determination 
 to abandon whatever appears sinful — and say, 
 with Elihu, " If I have done iniquity, I will 
 do no more." Should the evil course or the 
 evil passion solicit, let it plead in vain while 
 the Saviour-Judge says — " If thy right eye 
 offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from 
 thee : for it is profitable for thee that one of 
 thy members should perish, and not that thy 
 whole body should be cast into helL And if 
 thy right hand offend thee, cut it off) and cast 
 it from thee : for it is profitable for thee that 
 one of thy members should perish, and not 
 that thy whole body should be cast into hell." 
 
 Begin the year with pious and personal de- 
 dication — and say, with David, " Lord, I am 
 thine ; save me." Through him who is the 
 way yield yourselves unto God. It is your 
 reasonable service. He has infinite claims to 
 you. You will never be truly your own till 
 you are his. 
 
 Begin the year with relative religion; and 
 if the worship of God has never been estab- 
 lished in your family, now commence it— and 
 say, with Joshua, "As for me and my house, 
 we will serve the Lord." A family without 
 prayer is like a house without a roof. It is 
 uncovered and exposed : and we know whe 
 has threatened to pour out his fury upon the 
 femilies that call not upon his Name. 
 
 "^ffin the year with fresh concern to be 
 1 • 13 
 
14 
 
 JANUARY 2. 
 
 useful — and ask, with Saul jf Tarsus, " Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do f Let me look 
 at my condition ; my resources ; my opportu- 
 nities. How can I glorify God and promote 
 the welfare of my fellow-creatures ) Is there 
 not a Bible to spread ) Are there not mis- 
 sionaries to support] Are there none perish- 
 ing for lack of knowledge that I can myself 
 instruct ) Have I no irreligious neighbours 
 to reclaim ) Are there no poor to relieve ) 
 No widows and fatherless to visit? 
 
 Begin the year with more conduct in the 
 arrangement of your affairs, and resemble 
 Ezra and his brethren, who " did according 
 to the custom, as the duty of every day re- 
 quired." God has said let every thing be 
 done decently and in order. Much of your 
 comfort will arise from regularity in your 
 meals, in your devotions, in your callings; 
 and your piety will be aided by it. Have a 
 place to receive every thing ; an end to sim- 
 plify it ; a rule to arrange it. Leave nothing 
 for the morrow that ought to be discharged to- 
 day. Sufficient for each period will be its own 
 claims ; and your mind ought to be always at 
 liberty to attend to fresh engagements. 
 
 Finally. Time, this short, this uncertain, 
 this all-important time, upon every instant of 
 which eternity depends, will not allow of our 
 trifling away any of its moments. Resolve 
 therefore to redeem it Gather up its frag- 
 ments that nothing be lost. Especially rescue 
 it from needless sleep ; and if you have hither- 
 to accustomed yourself to the shameful in- 
 dulgence of lying late in bed, begin the new 
 year with the habit of early rising ; by which 
 you will promote your health and improve- 
 ment of every kind, and live much longer 
 than others in the same number of days — and 
 say, with David, " My voice shalt thou hear 
 in the morning, O Lord : in the morning will I 
 direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." 
 
 And if this be your determination, the sea- 
 son will be the date of your happiness. God 
 himself says, " From this day will I bless you." 
 
 JANUARY 2. 
 
 " I will surely do thee goody — Gen. xxii. 12. 
 
 This is a blessed assurance with which to 
 enter a new year, not knowing what a day 
 may bring forth. But what have we to do 
 with this promise 1 It was indeed given im- 
 mediately to Jacob ; but it equally belongs to 
 every Israelite indeed ; for he never said to 
 the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me, in vain. Pro- 
 mises made on particular occasions are in- 
 iended for general use and advantage. Paul, 
 referring to the words with which God had 
 encouraged Joshua, applies them to the be- 
 lieving Hebrews : " Let your conversation be 
 without covetousness, and be content with 
 such things as ve have : for he hath said, I 
 
 will never leave thee nor forsake thee, bo 
 that we may boldly say, The Lord is my 
 helper, and I will not fear what man shall do 
 unto me." And Hosea, alluding to God's in- 
 tercourse with Jacob even at Bethel, says, 
 " And there he talked with us." 
 
 The very brevity of the promise is a re- 
 commendation. We complain of our memo- 
 ries; but we can retain these six golden 
 
 Words, " I WILL SURELY DO THEE GOOD." It 
 
 is also the better for being indefinite. Some 
 promises ensure an individual blessing : but 
 we are a mass of wants ; and this assurance 
 is a comforter that meets every fear, every 
 anxiety, every wish. It sets the mind com- 
 pletely at rest with regard to any possible 
 contingencies. It tells us to be " careful for 
 nothing." It enjoins us to " cast all our care 
 upon him, for he careth for us." But though 
 specifying nothing in particular, the promise 
 leaves our hope to range atslarge — yet it is to 
 keep within the compass of our real welfare, 
 " They that seek the Lord shall not want any 
 good thing." " I will surely do thee good." 
 Now the meaning of this assurance must 
 be understood, or else it will not harmonize 
 with experience. The people of the world 
 have often reproached those who profess to be 
 the blessed of the Lord, with their poverty 
 and distress; and have asked, "Where is 
 now your God V And they themselves have 
 sometimes been perplexed and dismayed. Gi- 
 deon said, " If God be with us, why then is 
 all this evil befallen us)" And Jacob said, 
 " All these things are against me." In an 
 agreeable mansion, and enjoying all the com- 
 forts of life, no difficulty may be felt from the 
 language of God : but what is Joseph in pri- 
 son — what is Job among the ashes — what is 
 he who says, <A11 the day long have I been 
 plagued, and chastened every morning— 
 what is he to make of the promise — " I will 
 surely do thee good 1" We must confide in 
 the judgment of God, and distrust our own. 
 We are short-sighted; and easily imposed 
 upon by appearances ; and know not what is 
 good for us in this vain life which we spend 
 as a shadow. But he cannot be mistaken. A 
 wise father will choose far better for his in- 
 fant than the infant can choose for himself. 
 We must always distinguish between what 
 is pleasing and what is profitable. Correc- 
 tion is not agreeable to the child ; yet it is so 
 good for him, that he who spareth the rod, 
 hateth his son. Medicine is unpalatable ; but 
 it is good for the patient, and renewed health 
 will more than reconcile him even to the ex- 
 pense of it The vine-dresspr does the tree 
 good, not by suffering the wanton shoots to 
 grow on draining the sap, but by pruning it 
 that it may bring forth more fruit What 
 said David 1 " It is good for mi " — that I have 
 prospered] that I have risen from obscurity 1 
 that I conquered Goliath] that I gained a 
 victory in the Valley of Salt ) No : but it ia 
 
JANUARY 3. 
 
 15 
 
 jood for me — that Doeg impeached me, that 
 Saul hunted me like a partridge on the moun- 
 tains, that Absalom drove me from my palace, 
 that Shimei cursed me on the hill, that sick- 
 ness brought down my life to the ground — 
 
 ; it is good for me that I have been afflicted." 
 
 We must also look to the conclusion of events. 
 Things good in themselves, with regard to us 
 oiay result in evil : and things evil in them- 
 selves may issue in good. Abraham spake 
 
 \ccording to our present estimations when he 
 Baid to the rich man, " Son, remember that 
 thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good 
 things, and Lazarus evil things." But had we 
 known them both before death, and been as- 
 sured that the one would have been comfort- 
 ed, and the other tormented so soon, we 
 should have judged the poverty and distresses 
 of Lazarus to have been the " good things," 
 and the wealth and luxury of the rich man 
 the " evil things." All is ill that ends ill : 
 and all is well that ends well. 
 
 But let us believe the truth of this declara- 
 tion. There are four steps by which we may 
 reach the conclusion. The first regards his 
 sufficiency. He is able to do us good. No- 
 thing is too hard for the Lord. In the Lord 
 Jehovah is everlasting strength. There is no 
 enemy but he can conquer ; no exigence but 
 he can relieve. He is able to do exceeding 
 abundantly above all we can ask or think. — 
 The second regards his inclination. He is 
 disposed to do us good. His love is not only 
 real, but passes know 1 edge. He feels towards 
 us as his jewels, his friends, his children, his 
 bride. He rests in his love, and joys over us 
 with singing. — The third regards his engage- 
 ment. He is bound to do us good. We have 
 not only his word, but his oath; an oath 
 sworn by himself, because he could swear by 
 no greater ; and confirmed by the blood of an 
 infinite sacrifice. — The fourth regards his 
 conduct He has done us good. We have 
 had complaints enough to make of others ; but 
 of him we are compelled to say, "Thou hast 
 dea.t well with thy servant, O Lord." His 
 goodness and mercy have followed us all the 
 days of our lives. How often has he turned 
 the shadow of death into the morning ! 
 
 But when I look at the cross I see not only 
 proof but demonstration. He has done al- 
 ready far more than remains to be done. " He 
 that spared not his own Son, but delivered 
 him up for us all ; how shall he not with him 
 also freely give us all things V ' 
 
 JANUARY 3. 
 
 •And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had 
 eaten tf the old corn of the land; neither had the chil- 
 dren of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the 
 fruit if the land of Canaan that year."— Josh. v. 12. 
 
 This cessation of the manna is one of the 
 several remarkable occurrences at the cross- 
 Jiff of the river Jordan. God is every thing 
 
 to his people. In the wilderness they had no 
 path-way; but he led them in a pdlar of 
 cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night 
 They were in danger ; but he was their de- 
 fence. They had no abode ; but he was their 
 dwelling-place. They had no water ; but he 
 gave them streams in the desert. They had 
 no provision ; but he rained down manna 
 around their tents. So that what nature re- 
 fused, Providence furnished ; and what could 
 not be derived from the ground came from the 
 clouds. 
 
 When the supplies they brought with them 
 from Egypt were spent they feared they 
 were going to perish. They forgot the hand 
 that had dried up the sea ; and said, Can God 
 furnish a table in the wilderness 1 But he 
 gave them bread from heaven, and for forty 
 years they did eat angel's food. What an 
 abundance was necessary for such a multi- 
 tude ! And what a display of divine power 
 was here witnessed ! — Nor less was it a proof 
 of divine mercy. Had he dealt with them 
 after their desert fire would have come dow. 
 from heaven, instead of food : but as the m > 
 ther silences the fretful angry child by giving 
 it not the rod, but the breast, so did his gen- 
 tleness indulge them. Hence when they 
 despised the manna as light food, it might 
 have been suspended, and they might have 
 been left to learn the worth of it by the want : 
 but day after day, year after year, it continu- 
 ed to attend them; and ceased not till the 
 day after they had taken possession of their 
 inheritance, and they had eaten of the old 
 corn of the land. 
 
 At length it did cease; and wisely too. 
 What was necessary before became needless 
 now: and what want had endeared, abund- 
 ance would have despised. This teaches us 
 not to look for extraordinary supplies when 
 relief is to be had in an ordinary way. He 
 who sustained Israel is as almighty as ever ; 
 but we must plough and sow and gather into 
 barns. He who fed Elijah by ravens com- 
 mands us to labour, working with our hand 
 the thing that is good. If a man neglects 
 the means of subsistence he is not trusting 
 Providence, but tempt' ,g it ; and is likely to 
 be reminded by something more than Scrip- 
 ture, that if any man will not work neither 
 shall he eat Even in miraculous achieve- 
 ments what human agency could do, was not 
 done supernaturally. When Peter was in 
 prison the angel of the Lord opened the door 
 and broke off his fetters — for this Peter could 
 not have done ; but he did not take him up in 
 his arms, and carry him out ; but said untc 
 him, "Follow me." Miracles were never 
 needlessly employed. Had they been com- 
 mon they would have ceased to be marvel- 
 lous; the exceptions would have become a 
 general rule ; and the whole system of Na- 
 ture and Providence have been deranged. 
 
 The manna was typical. "/ am," said 
 Jesus, " that bread of life." As the manna 
 
16 
 
 JANUARY 4. 
 
 *5am:' drw» from heaven and preserved the 
 Israelites from famine; "God so loved the 
 world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
 that whosoever believeth in him should not 
 perish, but have everlas'ing life." And the 
 Saviour surpasses, the emblem. The manna 
 was for the body; he saves the soul. The 
 manna could not preserve from death always ; 
 but they who partake of him live for ever. 
 The manna was confined to one people ; he 
 gave his flesh for the life of the world. He 
 therefore is the true bread. 
 
 And shall this cease? Far from it. You 
 shall live by him, as well as with him, for 
 ever. 
 
 Yet there will be a great difference be- 
 tween your present and your future experi- 
 ence. Many things now necessary will then 
 be done away. Conjecture, opinion, reason- 
 ing will give place to knowledge. Now we 
 walk by faith; then we shall walk by sight. 
 Now we are saved by hope; then hope will 
 cease in fruition. Love will continue for 
 ever ; but charity and mercy can have no ob- 
 ject, no exercise there. We shall be still 
 praising him ; but prayer, and preaching, and 
 baptism, and the Lord's supper, will have no 
 place. We can dispense with the channels 
 when we are at the fountain-head ; and with 
 the types when we have the reality. We 
 are now glad when they say unto us, " Let 
 us go into the house of the Lord ;" but says 
 John, "I saw no temple there; but the glory 
 of God and of the Lamb were the light there- 
 of." When that which is perfect is come, 
 that which is in part will be done away. 
 The fare of the wilderness will be super- 
 seded by the produce of Canaan. 
 
 JANUARY 4. 
 
 " As thy days so shall thy strength be." 
 Deut. xxxiii. 25. 
 
 Dr. Doddridge was one day walking much 
 depressed, his very heart desolate within him. 
 But, says he, passing a cottage door open, I 
 happened at that moment to hear a child 
 reading, " As thy days, so shall thy strength 
 ">e." The effect on my mind was indescrib- 
 ible. It was like life from the dead. Much 
 b often done by a word : and many can say 
 urith Watts, 
 
 And when my spirit takes her fill 
 
 At some good word of thine, 
 .Vot warriors, who divide tne spoil, 
 
 Have joys compared with mine." 
 
 Vnd what does this word say to us? "As 
 by days, so shall thy strength be." There 
 e strength bodily. The continuance of this 
 ss a mercy. How soon, how easily can it be 
 3rushed or reduced, so that we may be made 
 to possess months of vanity; and endure 
 wearisome nights; and feel every exertion a 
 difficulty, and every duty a burden! But 
 
 there is strength spiritual. This is very dis» 
 tinguishable fran the former, and often found 
 separate from it. The Lord does not always 
 give his people a giant's arm, or an iron 
 sinew; but his strength is made perfect in 
 weakness. This is the strength here spoken 
 of! For two purposes his people find it r eces- 
 sary: service and suffering. 
 
 Every Christian has a course of duty com- 
 mon to him as a man. It is to provide for hi* 
 outward wants, and the support of his family. 
 And this is done by labour, in which he is 
 required not to be slothful. But there i3 a 
 series of duties pertaining more immediately 
 to him in his religious character. It is to be- 
 lieve, to pray, to deny ungodliness, and world- 
 ly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and 
 godly in the present evil world. The dis- 
 charge of this high calling is sometimes ex- 
 pressed by a race, which he is to run with 
 patience. Sometimes also by the life of a 
 soldier. A soldier must not be effeminate, 
 but endure hardness and fatigue. Even his 
 preparations and exercises are often trying — 
 how much more his actual services! And 
 the Christian's enemies possess every thing 
 that can render them formidable — and so 
 fights he, not as one that beateth the air. - 
 
 Suffering is commonly connected with ser- 
 vice in the divine life. It was so invariably 
 in the beginning of the Gospel. Then it was 
 deemed impossible for any one to live godly 
 in Christ Jesus and not suffer persecution. 
 Therefore no sooner was Paul converted than 
 he was told how great things he had to suf- 
 fer. As real religion is always the same, 
 some degree of the same opposition may be 
 always, looked for; and the hatred of the 
 world will be shown as far as they have li- 
 berty to express it, and are not restrained by 
 law or the usages of civilized life. But when 
 the Christian has rest from such trials as 
 these, God can subserve their purpose by 
 personal and relative afflictions, which are 
 often severer than even the endurings of a 
 martyr. They are called chastenings and 
 rebukes, which he is neither to despise or 
 faint under. They have been the experience 
 of all God's children from age to age. They 
 are not wantonly inflicted ; but there is a 
 needs be for them, of which their Heavenly 
 Father is the unerring judge ; and who — as 
 far as their education and welfare will allow 
 — will spare them as a man spareth his own 
 son that serveth him. 
 
 Now the prospect of all this, when he looks 
 forward into life, is enough to awaken the 
 Christian's anxiety; and nothing can effec- 
 tually encourage him but the discovery of 
 strength equal to his exigencies. And this 
 he finds not in himself. The natural man 
 has no sensibility of his weakness, because 
 he is not earnestly engaged in those applica- 
 tions which require spiritual strength. The 
 , Christian is. He knows that he is as desti* 
 
JANUARY 5. 
 
 17 
 
 lute of strength as he is of righteousness. 
 He feels himself entirely insufficient for all 
 ♦he duties and trials of the divine life. And 
 the consciousness, instead of diminishing, 
 grows with the experience of every day. 
 
 And he need not be afraid of this. Rather 
 let him cherish it; for when he is weak then 
 he is strong. What he wants is provided 
 and ensured by the promise of a God who can- 
 not lie — "As thy days, so shall thy strength 
 be." And as we have heard, so have we seen 
 in the city of our God. His veracity has been 
 attested by all his people, not one failing. 
 And what says our own experience] "Year 
 after year I have been travelling in an enemy's 
 country, and carrying with me an evil heart, 
 prone to depart from the living God. I have 
 often said, I shall one day perish. But where 
 am I this morning] — Following hard after 
 God, his right hand upholding me. My pray- 
 ers have not been always lively and delight- 
 ful ; but I have looked again towards his holy 
 temple ; and through many a benighted hour 
 I have waited for the Lord, more than they 
 that watch for the morning. I have had no 
 might of my own, and have been often faint; 
 buf he giveth power to the faint, and to them 
 that have no might he increaseth strength. 
 This is my testimony to the praise of the 
 glory of his grace ; and at the beginning of 
 .mother year I thank God and take courage- 
 
 " Here I raise my Ebenezer: 
 
 Hither by thy help, I'm come ; 
 And I hope, by thy good pleasure, 
 Safely to arrive at home." 
 
 JANUARY 5. 
 
 "And they cast their crowns before the throne." 
 Rev. iv. 10. 
 
 Religion distinguishes and elevates. The 
 possessors of it begin to rise on earth ; but 
 their dignity is perfected and displayed in 
 heaven. 
 
 There they are crowned. Racers were 
 crowned. Conquerors were crowned. Be- 
 nefactors who had saved the life of a fellow- 
 citizen were crowned. Bridegrooms were 
 crowned — Solomon's mother crowned him in 
 the day of his espousals. Princes on their 
 ascension were crowned. The saints on "high 
 are every one of these characters in them- 
 selves ; and the crown each wears is called " a 
 crown of righteousness;" " a crown of life ;" 
 "a crown of glory that fadeth not away;" a 
 crown divinely superior to the prize of mor- 
 tal ambition — "Now they do it to obtain a 
 corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible." 
 
 Vet if they are thus honoured, " they cast 
 tneir crowns before the throne" they ap- 
 proach ; testifying by this action from whom 
 they have received them, and confessing that 
 they deem themselves unworthy to wear the 
 honour — all in conformity with the peculiar 
 C 2* 
 
 design of the Gospel-constitut.on, "that nc 
 flesh should glory in his presence" but « ac 
 cording as it is written, he that glorieth let 
 him glory in the Lord." 
 
 It is no easy thing to bring a man to this 
 temper of mind. It is not natural to him. 
 Naturally he is as proud as he is poor. 
 Therefore he would be wise, though born as 
 a wild ass's colt Therefore though pover- 
 ty itself, he says, I am rich and increased 
 with goods, and have need of nothing. There- 
 fore though without strength, he trusts in his 
 own heart; and though guilty before God, he 
 goes about to establish his own righteousness. 
 Therefore he is impatient under his affliction, 
 as if he had a right to complain ; and unthank- 
 ful under his mercies, as if he deserved them. 
 
 The day of conviction is a day of self-abase- 
 ment ; and in that day the lofty looks of man 
 are brought low. Then he submits himself 
 to God, and begins to walk humbly with him : 
 he admires the patience that has borne with 
 him, and adores the abundant mercy that has 
 saved and called him. The more he ad- 
 vances in the divine life, the more he sinks 
 in his own estimation. " I, who am but dust 
 and ashes." " Behold, I am vile." " Who 
 am I, and what is my father's house 1" " I 
 am not worthy of the least of all thy mer- 
 cies." " I am not worthy that thou shouldes* 
 come under my roof." The " latchet of 
 whose shoe I am not worthy to stoop down and 
 unloose." " I am not worthy to be called an 
 apostle." " I am less than the least of all 
 saints." — These have been the self-annihila- 
 tions of men who were all great in the sight 
 of the Lord: and these must be the best 
 proofs, as they will be the certain effects, of 
 our growing in grace and in the knowledge 
 of our Lord and Saviour. 
 
 Ignorance is the pedestal of pride ; throw 
 down the basis, and the figure falls. But 
 here our knowledge is not complete ; here- 
 after we shall see things in God's own light 
 Then we shall have other views than we now 
 have of the exceeding sinfulness of sin ; of 
 the number and aggravations of our offences; 
 of the greatness of our guilt and desert ; of 
 the vastness of our obligations ; of the won- 
 ders of that love that passeth knowledge in 
 every part of our salvation. Thence will re- 
 sult that fine ingenuous feeling that shrinks 
 back, and is ready to decline a distinguished 
 privilege — not from dislike or unwillingness 
 to be under obligation ; but from a sense of 
 unworthiness. Did Peter wish to be aban- 
 doned of Christ 1 Yea he placed all his hap. 
 piness in his presence : but it was under this 
 feeling on the sight of the miracle, he ex- 
 claimed, " Depart from me, for I am a sinful 
 man, O Lord !" 
 
 Some would not think of such abdications, 
 were they to enter heaven with their present 
 principles and dispositions; they would rathei 
 view their crowns as of their own deserving 
 
18 
 
 JANUARY 6, 7. 
 
 and their own procurhig : and feel the spirit 
 of a late emperor, who too proud to receive 
 his diadem from any other hand than his own, 
 placed himself the crown upon his head. But 
 that world is a world of humility and grati- 
 tude. All the dignitaries there cast their 
 crowns before the throne of the Saviour in 
 whose righteousness they are exalted — still 
 praising him, and saying — " Not unto us, O 
 Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give 
 glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake." 
 
 Now whatever heaven is, we must be dis- 
 posed and prepared for it before we can enter 
 it Has then God wrought us for the self- 
 same thing 1 Has he brought down the pride 
 of our nature, and made us willing to " submit 
 ourselves unto the righteousness of Godl" 
 Are we saying, " Blessed be the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath 
 blessed us with all spiritual blessings in 
 heavenly places in Christ V Is the leading 
 sentiment of the blessed now living in our 
 hearts and reigning in our lives — "By the 
 oba.ce of God I am what I am. Not I, but 
 
 THE GRACE OF GoD WHICH WAS WITH ME ]" 
 
 JANUARY 6. 
 
 " Unite my heart to fear thy name." 
 Psalm Ixxxvi. ] 1. 
 
 The fear of God does not here mean a par- 
 ticular grace of the Spirit, but religion at 
 large. It is common to all writers to express 
 the whole of a thing by a part ; but then it 
 ought to be an essential, and a distinguishing 
 part. And " the fear of the Lord is the be- 
 ginning of wisdom;" and "we perfect holi- 
 ness in the fear of God." 
 
 Religion is nothing without the heart. Yet 
 naturally the heart is alienated from the life 
 of God, and hangs off loosely and carelessly 
 from all the spiritualities of his service. But it 
 must be drawn and attached to divine things ; 
 and God alone can accomplish this union. 
 Without his agency indeed there may be an 
 outward and professional union ; but the liga- 
 tures of faith and love which are in Christ 
 Jesus will be wanting. To him therefore 
 must we give the glory of the work if it has 
 been effected, and to him we must repair if 
 we desire to experience it; encouraged by 
 the assurance, that he will not fail to give 
 the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. 
 
 But how may I know that he has united 
 my heart to his fear 1 When we are attach- 
 ed to a thing we love to hear of it : we think 
 much of it ; speak much of it : we delight to 
 remember it. If we are cordially united to 
 an individual, he shares our sympathy ; we 
 fed. his interests to be our own ; we weep 
 when he weeps, and rejoice when he rejoices. 
 It is the same with a man that is cordially 
 attached to religion ; he feels himself to be 
 one with it: when it is assailed, he will en- 
 
 deavour to defend it ; when it is wounded m 
 the house of its friends, he will feel the pain • 
 the reproach of it will be lis burden; he will 
 pray for its success ; he will exult in its pros- 
 perity. Are we cordially united to any one 1 
 In the same degree we dislike absence, and 
 dread separation. Thus the attached Ruth 
 said to Naomi, "Entreat me not to leave 
 thee, nor to return from following after thee : 
 for whither thou goest I will go ; and where 
 thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall 
 be my people, and thy God my God. Where 
 thou diest I will die, and there will I be 
 buried." And what is the language of a soul 
 under this divine influence ' " Why shouldest 
 thou be a stranger in the land, and as a way- 
 faring man that turneth aside to tarry for a 
 night ]" " Hide not thy face from me ; put 
 not thy servant away in anger: thou hast 
 been my help ; leave me not, neither forsake 
 me, O God of my salvation." " Cast me not 
 away from thy presence, and take not thy 
 Holy Spirit from me." 
 
 But was not David's heart united to the 
 fear of God before ! It was. But he who 
 has the dawn wishes for the day. He in 
 whom the good work is begun will always 
 pray, " Perfect that which concerneth me." 
 Who can say I have attained 1 I am already 
 perfect ? David as a backslider prayed, " Cre- 
 ate in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a 
 right spirit within me:" but there was no 
 period in his life, or advancement in his re- 
 ligion, at which he would not have used the 
 very same prayer — 
 
 " Whoever says, ' I want no more,'' 
 Confesses he has none.'" 
 
 The Christian, as long as he feels any reluct- 
 ance to duty ; any dulness in his work ; any 
 distractions in his worship; any law in his 
 members warring against the law of hia 
 mind ; any reason to sigh when I would do 
 good evil is present with me, and how to per- 
 form that which is good I find not — will not 
 cease to pray, " Unite my heart to fear thv 
 name." 
 
 "Weak is the effort of my heart, 
 And cold my warmest thought 
 But when I see thee as thou art, 
 I'll praise thee as I ought." 
 
 JANUARY 7. 
 
 " Salute my -well-beloved Epenetus, ivh » it the 
 first-fruits of Achaia unto Christ.* —Rem. 
 xvi. 5. 
 
 Paul here remembers many, and speaks 
 of them all with affection; but he salute? 
 Epenetus as his WELL-fceZoved. We are no 
 bound to love all in the same manner, or in 
 the same degree. 
 
 The Apostle calls this convert, •' fruits 
 unto Christ" — not unto himself. Yet he had 
 been the means of bringing him to the know- 
 ledge of the truth. But Paul knew that h« 
 
JANUARY 7. 
 
 19 
 
 had not redeemed him ; justified him ; called 
 him by his grace. And as to his conversion, 
 he had only been the instrument, the Lord 
 working with him, and confirming his word 
 with signs following. In another place he 
 says, " Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, 
 but ministers by whom ye believed, even as 
 the Lord gave to every man 1" If converted 
 sinners are the seal, and reward, and glory, 
 and joy of the preacher ; they are infinitely 
 more so, of the Saviour himself. He sees in 
 them his agency ; his image ; the travail of 
 his soul ; the recompence of his sufferings. 
 As the author of it ; he will enjoy their bles- 
 sedness, and receive their praises for ever. 
 
 Epenetus is here said to be the "^rsf-fruits 
 unto Christ in Achaia." Yet Paul says to 
 the Corinthians, " Ye know the house of Ste- 
 phanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia." 
 The apparent difficulty is easily solved by 
 the fact, that the house of Stephanas was the 
 first family that was converted, but that 
 Epenetus was the first convert in the family. 
 Christians at first were few in number, and 
 driven together by persecution. They were 
 therefore well known to each other, and to 
 their ministers. They were marked charac- 
 ters. The conversion of a man to Christianity 
 in a heathen place must have been peculiarly 
 observable. It was the production of " a new 
 creature," which would of course be greatly 
 wondered at. It was displaying the "hea- 
 venly" where all was " earthly, and sensual, 
 and devilish," before. And we see it was 
 worthy of attention. Earthly minds are most 
 interested by the events of this life ; by the 
 policy of statesmen, the exploits of heroes, 
 the discoveries of philosophers — but what 
 Paul noticed in Achaia, was the first man 
 that was called there out of darkness into 
 the kingdom of God's dear Son. He knew 
 that the conversion of one soul far transcend- 
 ed in importance the deliverance of a whole 
 kingdom from civil bondage. Kingdoms will 
 soon be no more ; but such a soul will shine 
 a monument of grace and glory for ever and 
 ever. " There is joy in the presence of the 
 angels of God over one sinner that repent- 
 eth." 
 
 How long Epenetus in the place and in the 
 family stood alone as a professed Christian, 
 we know not ; but it is no uncommon thing 
 for an individual to be similarly situated. We 
 have often seen single converts seeking and 
 serving Christ, as the first-fruits of the neigh- 
 bourhood or the household wherein they 
 lived. The way in which, and the means 
 by which these persons are brought forward 
 before others, would, if stated, be found to be 
 very various, and often remarkable. Hearing 
 the Gospel while from home ; visiting in a 
 family where the worship of God is main- 
 tained ; meeting with a good book ; receiving 
 a letter from a friend ; a conversation with a 
 stranger; an affliction that made the heart 
 
 bleed, and laid bare the prospects of life — 
 where shall we end 1 " Lo ! all these things 
 worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring 
 back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened 
 with the light of the living !" For though 
 the incidents upon which this mighty event 
 hinged seemed perfectly casual, they were 
 all arranged by his own purpose and grace. 
 
 And the circumstances in which these first 
 converts are placed are a post of trial. Some- 
 times the trial is very severe. They have to 
 take up their cross daily and hourly too ; and 
 a cross too heavy to be borne without divine 
 aid. Little do many who have been reli- 
 giously brought up, and whose relations and 
 friends if not decidedly pious, are not hostile 
 — little do they know what some have to en- 
 dure, especially at the commencement of 
 their religious course ; when, instead of as- 
 sistance and countenance so much needed, 
 they meet with neglect, and opposition, and 
 sneers, and reproach from all around them — 
 and from all that are dear to them. 
 
 — They are also in a post of duty. They 
 are required to be not only harmless and 
 blameless, but most exemplary in their lan- 
 guage, temper, and conduct. The reason ia 
 that they will attract peculiar notice. Every 
 thing they do will be canvassed by a shrewd ■ 
 ness sharpened by enmity, and ready to mag 
 nify every failing. They will be judged by 
 their profession; and their religion will be 
 judged by them. And they are to put gain- 
 sayers to silence, and constrain them by their 
 good works which they behold to glorify God 
 in the day of visitation. They are to adorn 
 the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things : 
 and by walking in wisdom to win those that 
 are without. They are not to repulse by rude- 
 ness, or chill by disdain. They are never to be- 
 tray a feeling that says, Stand by thyself; come 
 not near to me — I am holier than thou. They 
 are not, by stiffness and affectations in little 
 and lawful things, to lead people to suppose 
 that then* religion is made up of oddities and 
 perversenesses. Yet, in things of unquestion- 
 able obligation and real importance, they 
 must be firm and immoveable, always abound- 
 ing in the work of the Lord : for not only will 
 conscience require this, in the testimony they 
 are always to bear for God ; but such consist- 
 ency alone will enthrone them in the convic- 
 tions and esteem of others, 
 
 — For they are also in a post of honour . 
 They have a peculiar opportunity of showing 
 their principles. Later converts may be 
 equally conscientious, but these coming after, 
 when they have the sanction and co-opera- 
 tion of others, cannot so obviously appear tc 
 be on the Lord's side, nor so fully evince the 
 purity and power of their motives, as those 
 who come forward alone, and say to all 
 others, however numerous, however influen- 
 tial, however endeared — Choose you this day 
 whom you will serve- -but as ft r me — I ifiu 
 
20 
 
 JANUARY 8. 9. 
 
 serve the Lord. They have therefore the pri- 
 vilege of taking the lead, and of being exam- 
 ples instead of followers. And they may be, 
 and are likely to be, the means of prevailing 
 upon others. We have seldom seen an in- 
 stance of failure. The effect has not always 
 immediately appeared ; but where they have 
 been enabled to walk worthy of God unto all 
 pleasing, after a while, they have no longer 
 gone alone to the Cross of Christ, to the 
 Throne of Grace, to the House of God, but 
 in company — in company even with those 
 who once stood aloof, or before, even op- 
 posed. And "he that converteth a sinner 
 from the error of his way, shall save a soul 
 from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." 
 
 JANUARY 8. 
 
 " Behold, I wish above all things that thou 
 mayest prosper and be in health, even as 
 thy soul prospereth." — 3 Epis. John, 2. 
 
 It has been supposed from hence, that 
 Gaius had an infirm and sickly constitution. 
 This is probable ; but it does not necessarily 
 follow : for John might have wished him the 
 continuance and increase of health, as well as 
 the restoration of it. 
 
 However this may be, we learn from his 
 language — That it is allowable for us to pray 
 for temporal blessings — and that of all these 
 blessings, health is the most valuable and ne- 
 cessary. 
 
 But is outward prosperity — is even health 
 itself the chief good — that, " above all things," 
 John wishes his friend to enjoy it? Some 
 therefore have rendered it, " I wish above all 
 persons ;" others, " I wish in all respects ;" 
 that thou mayest prosper and be in health. 
 But there is no need of criticism here. Gaius 
 had grace already ; and a high degree of it ; 
 and this one thing needful being secured, it 
 was then supremely desirable that he should 
 have health to enjoy and improve it — " even 
 as his soul prospered." 
 
 John makes also, his soul-prosperity the 
 standard and rule of his prayer for other 
 things. This would be a dreadful rule with 
 regard to many. Such praying if answered 
 would ruin them. Yes, if they were to pros- 
 per in temporal things as they prosper in 
 spiritual, they would become the poorest, 
 meanest wretches on earth; for they are 
 strangers to every thing like the true riches. 
 And if their bodies were to be as healthful as 
 iheir souls, their dwelling would become an 
 hospital ; jieir bed of ease a bed of languish- 
 ing : they would be blind, for they have no 
 spiritual understanding ; deaf, for they never 
 hear the voice of God ; dead, for the Spirit of 
 God is not in them. 
 
 Yet this seems to be the only safe rule. 
 For unless religion keeps pace with our out- 
 ward good, our safety and welfare will be 
 
 endangered by it. We are not alraia w nen 
 we see Christians succeeding in life, if at the 
 same time they grow in grace. But the peril 
 is, when there is so much sail and so little 
 ballast. What can be more awful than to 
 see those who too much mind earthly things, 
 gaining abundantly ; to see those who have a 
 relish for the pride of life, enabled to be 
 splendid; to see those much indulged, who 
 cannot put a knife to the throat of appetite ' 
 If our plenty and dainties awaken in us no 
 moral apprehensions ; and if we can feast our- 
 selves without fear ; surely our table is likely 
 to become a snare, and that which should 
 have been for our welfare, to become a trap. 
 The prosperity of fools dostroys them ; and 
 the prosperity of those who have not much 
 wisdom, injures them. 
 
 Let us therefore examine our wishes. Let 
 us regulate them piously. Let us seek first 
 the kingdom of God and his righteousness. 
 Let us ask for no more of other things than 
 we can bear — ever praying, for our frienda 
 and ourselves, that we may prosper and be in 
 health even as our souls prosper. 
 
 JANUARY 9. 
 
 "He will be our guide even unto death" 
 Psalm xlviii. 14. 
 
 This assurance comes home to. our case and 
 feelings. We are strangers and pilgrims upon 
 earth. We resemble the Jews in the wilder- 
 ness ; we are not in Egypt, and we are not in 
 Canaan, but journeying from the one to the 
 other. We are delivered from our natura 
 state ; but before we can enter glory, 
 
 " We have this desert world to pass ; 
 A dangerous and a tiresome place." 
 
 And as the Jews were not left to themselves, 
 but had a conductor, so have we — " This God 
 is our God for ever and ever ; he will be our 
 guide even unto death." How perfectly, 
 how infinitely qualified is he for this office ! 
 In a journey, it is unnecessary for the travel- 
 ler to know the road : but the guide ought to 
 know it; and when he is well acquainted 
 with it, and we have full confidence in him, 
 we shall feel satisfaction notwithstanding our 
 own ignorance. Abraham went out, not 
 knowing whither he went; but he knew 
 with whom: and Job, after expressing his 
 perplexities, and the successlessness of his 
 efforts to explore the dispensation he was 
 under, relieves himself with this thought: 
 " But he knoweth the way that I take " 
 
 " Oh, who so fit to choose our lot, 
 And regulate our ways," 
 
 as He who sees the end from the beginning ; 
 who knows all our walking through this great 
 wilderness ; who cannot mistake as to what 
 is good or evil for us ; and who has said, " I 
 
JANUARY 10 
 
 21 
 
 will bring the blind by a way that they know 
 not, I will lead thein In paths that they have 
 not known ; I will make darkness light be- 
 fore them, and crooked things straight : these 
 things will I do unto them, and not forsake 
 them." If we had a wise and sure, but a 
 sullen and silent leader, it would deduct much 
 from the pleasure of the journey. But our 
 Guide indulges us with constant intercourse. 
 Be allows us to address him whenever we 
 please, and in every tiling by prayer and sup- 
 plication to make known our requests ; while 
 he condescendingly addresses us, talking with 
 us by the way, and opening to us the Scrip- 
 tures. He is also equal to all our exigences. 
 Do we want food 1 refreshment 1 rest 1 He 
 can supply all our need, according to his 
 riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Have we 
 storms 1 " He is our refuge and strength, a 
 very present help in trouble." Are we ex- 
 posed to enemies 1 What David said to Abia- 
 thar, who had fled to him in his jeopardy, he 
 says to us, " Abide with me ; for he that seek- 
 eth thy life seeketh my life ; but with me 
 thou shalt be in safeguard." I should not be 
 afraid of the sights and howlings of the wood, 
 if I had a lion at my right hand every step, 
 and could depend upon his fidelity — A lion is 
 She strongest among beasts, and turneth not 
 away for any. More than this is our privi- 
 lege— 
 
 " A thousand savage beasts of prey 
 Around the forest roam, 
 But Judah's Lion guards the way. 
 And guides the traveller home." 
 
 What human patience could bear with our 
 maimers and provocations ] What creature- 
 conductor is there, but would throw up his 
 charge long before the journey's end ? But 
 he does not cast away his people. He never 
 leaves nor forsakes them. This is their com- 
 fort ; this is their hope ; this is their security 
 —the long-suffering of our God is salvation. 
 
 I, the Lord, change not : therefore ye sons 
 of Jacob are not consumed." 
 
 Yes — he will be our guide, "even unto 
 death ; that is, till the journey is over, and 
 all its cares cease. But is nothing more ne- 
 cessary] to death is much — but through 
 death seems better. When we come to the 
 entrance of the gloomy passage, it is pleasing 
 to think that he is at the other side, and will 
 receive us to himself, that where he is, there 
 we may be also. Yet how am I to get 
 through 1 " My flesh and my heart faileth"— 
 
 ** Oh, if my Lord would come, and meet — 
 My soul would stretch her wings in haste ; 
 Fly fearless through Death's iron gate, 
 Nor feel the terrors as she pass'd." 
 
 rVnd this case is provided for. All is insured. 
 He will be with us through — " Yea, though 
 [ walk through the valley of the shadow of 
 death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with 
 me : thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." 
 —Amen. 
 
 JANUARY 10 
 
 "A devout man, and one that feared God, with 
 
 all hit house ; which gave much alms to the 
 people, and prayed to God aheay."-Acts x. 2 
 
 We should beware of general and indis- 
 criminate reflections upon communities and 
 professions. They are injurious they tend 
 to make and keep the parties what they are 
 generally supposed to be. They ire unjust; 
 for there are always exceptions. And they 
 are ungenerous; for the more temptations 
 men have to resist, the more evils they have 
 to subdue, the more difficulties thjey have tc 
 struggle with — the more deserving and com- 
 mendable is the individual that succeeds : or, 
 rather, the more is the grace of God glorified 
 in him. Can there be no excellency connected 
 with arms ] In the New Testament we meet 
 with no less than four centurions, snd all are 
 spoken of with approbation — the centurion 
 who came to our Lord on the behalf of his 
 servant — the centurion that watched and con- 
 fessed at the Cross — the centurion that be 
 haved so courteously to Paul in his voyage- 
 and Cornelius, here spoken of. 
 
 He is supposed to have been a proselyte, 
 but he was not. Yet he worshipped God, the 
 knowledge of whom he probably obtained by 
 residing with his men in Judea. He was a 
 "devout man;" and three fine unions are 
 mentioned in his character and conduct 
 
 — A union of personal and relative duty: 
 " He feared God, with all his house." This 
 was like Joshua, who said, " As for me and 
 my house, we will serve the Lord :"^not my 
 house without myself, nor myself without my 
 house ; but I, and my house. If we are godly 
 ourselves, we shall surely give evidence of it 
 by instructing and admonishing and impress- 
 ing those who are placed under our care. 
 And in vain shall we use the means, if we 
 counteract them by our own example. We 
 must do, as well as teach. 
 
 — A union of piety and morality : he gave 
 alms and prayed. Piety is more than prayer ; 
 and morality is more than alms : yet alms and 
 prayer are not only parts, but essential parts 
 of them ; and they can never be separated. 
 Some talk of their love to the Gospel, and 
 their communion with God, who are hard- 
 hearted, and close-handed. " But whoso hath 
 this world's good, and seeth his brother have 
 need, and shutteth up his bowels of compas- 
 sion from him, how dwelleth the love of God 
 in him !" Others stand fair with their fellow 
 creatures, and are distinguished by liberality 
 and kindness, yet they have no fellowship 
 with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ; 
 they live without God; they indulge their 
 sensual passions, and imagme that charity 
 covers a multitude of sins— " But pure reli- 
 gion and undefiled before God and the Father 
 is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in 
 their affliction, and to koep themse-ves or. 
 spotted from the world." 
 
22 
 
 JANUARY 11. 
 
 — A union of the real and eminent in reli- 
 gion : " He gave much alms to the people, 
 and prayed to God always." There cannot 
 be the eminence of grace without the reali- 
 ty ; but there may be the reality without the 
 eminence. We should be thankful for a day 
 of small things ; but we should seek after a 
 day of great ones. We should add to the es- 
 sentials of religion its excellences too. We 
 should not only have life, but have it more 
 abundantly. 
 
 As to our temporal condition, we should be 
 content with such things as we have. But 
 contentment does not become us in divine 
 things. There we should be ambitious. 
 There we should be covetous. We need 
 more. And more is attainable. Let us, 
 therefore, enlarge our desires and our hopes, 
 and seek to be filled with all the fulness of 
 God. 
 
 JANUARY 11. 
 
 Where dwellest thou ?" — John i. 38. 
 
 This question was addressed to our Lord 
 oy two of John's disciples. One of them was 
 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother; of the other 
 we are ignorant; but they were now both 
 following Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and 
 saith unto them, " What seek ye V They 
 saia unto nim, " Rabbi, Where dwellest thou 7" 
 
 Let us consider, the principle of the inqui- 
 ry. It was not curiosity, but regard. It was 
 as much as to say, we wish to be better ac- 
 quainted. John had spoken of him highly, 
 and they had just seen him : but this, instead 
 of satisfying them, drew forth their desire af- 
 ter more intimacy. Now this is common to 
 all the subjects of divine grace. It arises 
 from their love to him. For love longs to be 
 near the object of attachment : separation is 
 painful ; distance is intolerable ; while inter- 
 course yields a pleasure words can no more 
 describe, than paint can express light or heat. 
 Hence the believer longs to be with the Sa- 
 viour. "Tell me, O thou whom my soul 
 loveth, where thou feedest, where thou 
 makest thy flock to rest at noon ; for why 
 should 1 be as one that turneth aside from the 
 paths of thy companions?" The desire arises 
 also from the want of him. What can I do, 
 says the Christian, without him 1 He is my 
 deliverer, my helper, my guide, my comfort- 
 er. The earth can do better without the sun, 
 than I can do without him, the Sun of righ- 
 teousness. The body does not depend so 
 much upon the soul, as I do upon him the 
 quickening Spirit. Who can screen me from 
 the condemnation of the Law! Who can re- 
 
 lieve my burdened conscience T Whose gracf 
 is sufficient for me, to sanctify me in prospe- 
 rity, to sustain me in adversity, to enliven me 
 in death 1 " Oh, cast me not away from thy 
 presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from 
 me." I must live in the same place, the same 
 house, the same room, where thou dwellest — 
 " Where dwellest thou V 
 
 But let us find if we can an answer to this 
 question. "He saith unto them, Come and 
 see ;" and they went, and " saw where he 
 dwelt" In a general way, he had not where 
 to lay his head. It is not probable he had now 
 a house to himself, but only an apartment 
 hired or borrowed. But how was that lodg- 
 ing sanctified and honoured ! They showed 
 Alexander, when in Holland, a house where 
 Peter the Great resided, and which is pre- 
 served in memory of him. Many have seen 
 at Olney the alcove where Cowper wrote 
 his "Task" — Oh, to have seen a dwelling 
 where Jesus resided ! But where dwells he 
 now ) He is everywhere, but he is not said 
 to dwell everywhere. Dwelling, with regard 
 to him, implies preference, and abiding with 
 delight. First, then, he dwells in heaven. 
 This marks the place, yea — this makes it. 
 " Where I am, there shall my servants be." 
 " Absent from the body and present with the 
 Lord." Secondly, He dwells in his Church. 
 " This," says he, " is my rest for ever ; here 
 will I dwell, for I have desired it." Thirdly, 
 He dwells in the sanctuary. " In all places 
 where I record my name, I will come untc 
 thee, and I will bless thee." " Wliere twe 
 or three are gathered together in my name 
 there am I in the midst of them." And therr 
 his people have found him, and exclaimed 
 "Surely God is in this place." Fourthly 
 He dwells in the heart. He will reject everv 
 other residence you may offer him. " My 
 son," says he, " give roe thine heart ;" am, 
 from every believer, he obtains what he de 
 mands — Christ dwells iti his " heart by faith." 
 
 This may be called enthusiasm by some , 
 but it is the language of Inspiration. " Here- 
 by we know that he abideth in us, by thp 
 Spirit which he hath given us." 
 
 Let me forbear to injure and insult a Chris- 
 tian. Let me revere and honour him. He 
 is a palace of the Prince of Peace. He i.'i n 
 temple of the Lord of all. 
 
 Let me admire the condescension and kind 
 ness of Immanuel, God with us; and if I im 
 the subject of this residence, let me not or.ly 
 rejoice in the dignity and privilege, but be 
 concerned to discharge every duty I owe to 
 such a distinguished guest, to such a div ; ue 
 inhabitant! "Let the words of my ma^ln, 
 and the meditation of my heart, be accc- a.- 
 ble in thy sight, G Jjord, my strength ant. -us 
 redeemer." 
 
JANUARY 12. 
 
 23 
 
 JANUARY 12. 
 
 'And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let 
 the people go, that God led them not through 
 the -way of the land of the Pliilistines, al- 
 though that -was near ;for God said, lest per- 
 adventure the people repent -when they see 
 ■war, and they return to Egypt; but God led 
 the people about, through the -way of the wil- 
 derness of the Bed Sea." — Exod. xiii. 17, 18. 
 
 There were two ways which they might 
 nave taken to their destination. One was 
 from the north of Egypt to the south of Ca- 
 naan. This was short and direct, and would 
 have required but a few days, as we see in 
 the case of Jacob's sons when they fetched 
 corn, and in the rapid incursion of a late mili- 
 tary chief. The other was very much farther 
 and very indirect. Yet God took this ; and 
 instead of leading them to the Isthmus of 
 Suez, he conducted them to the border of the 
 Red Sea. He therefore declined the com- 
 mon road which the people would have 
 chosen, and which every one else might have 
 recommended, and selected the most un- 
 likely. 
 
 For his thoughts are not our thoughts; 
 neither are his ways our ways. And the pro- 
 mise is, "I will bring the blind by a way 
 that they knew not ; I will lead them in paths 
 that they have not known." It is well that 
 we are under his guidance ; for the way of 
 man is not in himself; it is not in man that 
 walketh to direct his steps. We know not 
 what is good for us ; and like children left 
 to themselves, we should soon run into mis- 
 chief. We are too ignorant, too selfish, too 
 carnally minded, to choose for ourselves safe- 
 ly. How was it with the Jews in the time 
 of Moses ? They must have flesh — and God 
 gave them their heart's desire, but sent lean- 
 ness into their souls. And was it not the same 
 in the days of Samuel ? They would have a 
 king — and God gave them a king in his an- 
 ger, and took him away in his wrath. And 
 how has it been with ourselves ? Have we 
 not often been imposed upon both by our 
 hopes and fears? Have we not anxiously 
 desired what we now see would have proved 
 injurious ? And have we not been eager to 
 escape what we now know to be a blessing? 
 If our bones have not been broken, have we 
 not been bruised by the falls occasioned by 
 our own rashness and folly ? If we have not 
 been thrown out of the vehicle, have we not 
 endangered it enough to induce us to give 
 back the rein3 into the proper hand ? Surely 
 we are not yet leaning to our own under- 
 standing ; but committing our way unto the 
 Lord. Surely we are now saying, The Lord 
 shall choose our inheritance for us. 
 
 It is acknowledged that the course declin- 
 ed " was near." But God being the judge, 
 the nearest way is not always the best. Jacob, 
 m obtaining the blessing, went the nearest 
 
 way to work in imposing upon his blind 
 father ; but God's way would have been bet* 
 ter, though it would have taken more time. 
 Joseph's dreams might have been fulfilled by 
 constraining his brethren to pay him immedi- 
 ate obeisance. But more than twenty years 
 must previously elapse, and he must be sold 
 into Egypt as a slave, and be imprisoned as o 
 criminal, and be released as an interpreter, 
 and possess all the store of the land as a de- 
 liverer. The thing was true ; but the time 
 appointed was long. Yet the Lord's time is 
 the best : and the fruit we covet will be much 
 more rich and wholesome when ripe, than if 
 seized and devoured while green. He that 
 believeth therefore maketh not haste. " This 
 world is a Mesech, and my soul is vexed 
 with the conversation of the wicked — Why is 
 not my taste 'gratified ? And why am I not al- 
 lowed to enter the region of purity and peace ?" 
 Because your principles are to be tried and 
 exemplified. Because you are to serve your 
 generation by the will of God. " How long 
 have I waited for an answer to prayer, for a 
 deliverance from affliction, for a sense of di- 
 vine favour?" And are you not told that " it 
 is good for a man not only to hope, but quietly 
 wait for the salvation of God?" and that 
 "blessed are all they that wait for him?" 
 The order of nature is not to reap as soon as 
 the seed is sown. Weeks and months of va- 
 ried weather, and some of them dreary and 
 chilling, are introductory and preparatory to 
 the harvest It is the same with the order 
 of grace — Be ye also patient 
 
 God doth all things well. If he led them 
 the longest way, it was the right Mjay. He 
 did not choose it arbitrarily, but for reasons 
 founded in his wisdom and kindness. Some 
 of these reasons are not mentioned, but they 
 were afterward developed ; and the motive 
 here assigned is well worthy of our attention 
 — It was to keep them from " seeing war" — 
 especially "with the Philistines;" into con- 
 tact with whom they would have immediate- 
 ly come, the other way. At the present they 
 were not fitted for serious conflict Then- 
 spirits had been broken by oppression, and 
 they partook of the timidity as well as mean- 
 ness of slaves. They were raw recruits, 
 shepherds, brick-makers. It was better for 
 them not to fight for a while, or to have only 
 a distant brush with Amalek, rather than be 
 plunged at once into sanguinary contest with 
 veteran foes inured to battle, and rendered 
 courageous by victory. How instructive is 
 this! What is the counterpart of it? He 
 knows our frame ; he remembers that we are 
 dust A bruised reed will he not break, and 
 the smoking flax will he not quench. He 
 gathers the lambs with his arm, and carries 
 them in his bosom. He affords to young con- 
 verts some peculiar encouragements to allure 
 them on, till they have advanced too far to 
 think of going back, whatever they may meet 
 
24 
 
 JANUARY 13. 
 
 with. From a regard to their weakness and 
 want of experience, for a time he hides or re- 
 strains many of their enemies, and thus se- 
 cures them from encounters with which more 
 aged Christians are familiar. 
 
 When will ministers and Christians learn 
 to be followers of God ] Under their guid- 
 ance, persons who have hut just left Egypt 
 are often involved in disputes even with 
 Philistines. They have scarcely entered the 
 grammar-school of repentance before they 
 are sent to the university of predestination. 
 Babes, instead of being fed with milk, have 
 strong meat given them, and even bones of 
 controversy. Their hope is shaken, and then- 
 comfort destroyed, because they have not 
 confidence and the full assurance of faith. 
 
 But if we turn to the conduct of our Lord, 
 we shall see that every thing is not to be ad- 
 vanced at once — every thing is not to be ex- 
 acted of all — and in all circumstances. Hear 
 him. " I have yet many tilings to say unto 
 you, but you cannot bear them now." " They 
 said unto him, Why do the disciples of John 
 fast often, and make prayers, and likewise 
 the disciples of the Pharisees ; but thine eat 
 and drink 1 And he said unto them, Can ye 
 make the children of the bridechamber fast 
 while the bridegroom is with them 1 But 
 the days will come when the bridegroom 
 shall be taken away from them, and then 
 shall they fast in those days." And he spake 
 also a parable unto them : " No man putteth a 
 piece of a new garment upon an old : if other- 
 wise, then both the new maketh a rent, and 
 the piece that was taken out of the new 
 agreeth not with the old. And no man put- 
 teth new wine into old bottles, else the new 
 wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, 
 and the bottles shall perish. But new wine 
 must be put into new bottles, and both are 
 preserved." 
 
 JANUARY 13. 
 
 " The goodness of God leadeth thee to 
 repentance" — Rom. ii. 4. 
 
 Repentance is indispensable to fallen crea- 
 tures. And though it be from God, as well 
 as all the blessings annexed to it, yet there 
 is an order in his operations. He must do 
 some things for us, before he can do others. 
 He must give grace before he can give glo- 
 ry : and before he makes us happy with him- 
 self, he must make us holy like himself. 
 Hence we read of " repentance unto life." 
 
 But let us observe the manner of his pro- 
 ducing this repentance. We are led to it by 
 his goodness — not driven by the terrors of 
 the Almighty. Cain, Pharaoh, Judas, were 
 all terrified into repentance : and there was 
 nothing in their experience ingenuous or 
 saving. Peter was led to repentance. He 
 bad sadly sinned, and denied his Lord with 
 
 oaths and cursings. But the Lord turned anr 
 looked upon Peter ; and the look broke bj 
 heart ; and " he went out, and wept bitterly." 
 And says God, " Thou shalt remember anii 
 be confounded, and never open thy mouth 
 any more, because of thy shame, when I am 
 pacified towards thee for all that thou haat 
 done." 
 
 In the Gospel, he draws with the bands of 
 a man and with the cords of love. And the 
 repentance here spoken of, is the tender 
 mother pulling her infant to her knee while 
 chiding him, and constraining the little of- 
 fender to hide his blushing face, and to sob 
 out his heart into her bosom — not the stern 
 father driving the transgressor from his face 
 into distance, and concealment, and dislike, 
 and falsehood. Or if it be the father, it is the 
 father of the Prodigal. Impatient of paternal 
 restraint, he asked for his portion of goods, 
 and went away into a very far country. Soon 
 all he had was spent; and there arose a 
 mighty famine in the land, and he began to 
 be in want : and he went and hired himself 
 to keep swine. And oft he looked at his gro- 
 velling charge, and said, " O that I was one 
 of you, and could eat and die and be no more." 
 He even fed upon their vile fare ; for no man 
 gave unto him. At length he came to him- 
 self; and the thought of home struck him — 
 " There is bread enough in my father's house 
 and to spare, and I here perish with hunger. 
 I will arise and go unto my father." While 
 he was yet a great way off, hovering about 
 and afraid to draw nigh, his father saw him, 
 and had compassion on him, and ran and fcU 
 on his neck and kissed him. He had prepar- 
 ed a confession, acknowledging the vilest 
 guilt ; and a petition, imploring the meanest 
 favour ; but forgiving, overflowing love pre- 
 vented the expression of either. "Bring 
 forth the best robe and put it on him ; and 
 put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet ; 
 and bring forth the fatted calf and kill it, and 
 let us eat and be merry ; for this my son was 
 dead, and is alive again ; he was lost, and is 
 found." 
 
 He felt his unworthiness before ; but he 
 was a thousand times more penitent now. 
 " What a father have I sinned against ! 
 What excellence have I contemned ! What 
 love have I abused I" How would he blush 
 and weep, as he was not only clothed, but 
 adorned ; and not only fed, but feasted ! How, 
 as the ring touched his finger, and he was 
 conducted into the room of mirth, prepared 
 for him! — how, almost sinking under the 
 weight of obligation — would he be ready to say 
 — " How can I bear all this 1" And would 
 not the father be more endeared to him by 
 forgiveness, than by relation 1 And after all 
 this — would he be able to stab his father tc 
 the heart 1 To offend him 1 To grieve him 1 
 Must he not delight to obey him 1 and even' 
 moment ask, What wilt thou have me to do' 
 
JANUARY 14. 
 
 Sd 
 
 Despair hardens ; but we are saved by 
 hope. Threatenings may make us afraid to 
 go on ; but goodness makes us unwilling. 
 Terrors may wrest the weapon's of rebellion 
 out of our hand ; but goodness induces us to 
 —hate them, and — throw them down — and 
 •Veep over them — and return and vow — " O 
 Lord, other lords beside thee have had do- 
 minion over us ; henceforth by thee only will 
 A'e make mention of thy name." 
 
 How mistaken then are many with regard 
 to Christian repentance ! It is not legal, but 
 evangelical. It is not slavish, but filial. It 
 is not degrading, but connected with the 
 noblest feelings of the heart It is not de- 
 sponding and miserable, but lives in the com- 
 forts of the Holy Ghost " And blessed are 
 they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." 
 
 JANUARY 14. 
 
 w Audit came to pass the third day, which -was 
 Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast 
 unto all his servants : and he lifted up the 
 head of the chief butler and of the chief 
 baker among 1 his servants^" — Gen. xl. 20. 
 
 If the chief butler had been falsely, and 
 the chief baker had been justly accused, the 
 providence of God was now seen in the clear- 
 ing of the one, and the punishment of the 
 other. If both were either equally innocent 
 or guilty ; here was an instance of the arbi- 
 tiariness of a prince who probably prided 
 himself in his absolute authority, and in hav- 
 ing it said, " Whom he would he slew, and 
 whom he would he kept alive." Or perhaps 
 he designed to show his subjects that he 
 would be known both in the exercise of mer- 
 cy and judgment. And hence the season 
 was his birthday. 
 
 The birthday of princes has been anciently 
 and generally solemnized as a token of the 
 respect due to their sovereignty : but it has 
 often been abused, and given rise to wicked- 
 ness and mischief. We see this in the case 
 of Jeroboam. At the commemoration of his 
 birth intemperance rioted ; and the intoxica- 
 tion of the king himself injured his health, 
 and made him forget his dignity in his join- 
 ing familiarly with low buffoons and jesters : 
 " In the day of our king, the princes have 
 made him sick with bottles of wine; he 
 stretched out his hand with scorners." And 
 how was it on a similar occasion with Herod 1 
 " Herod on his birthday made a supper to his 
 lords, high captains, and chief estates in Gali- 
 lee" — the daughter of Herodias danced — the 
 king was excited — and John was beheaded ! 
 
 But in almost every rank of life, the usage 
 prevails, of persons observing with some de- 
 gree of festivity the day of their birth. The 
 thing is lawful in itself if it be used lawfully. 
 [t miglit be used profitably. But our pious 
 forefathers made it if a day of relative inter- 
 im 3 
 
 course and congratulation, yet a «ay also of 
 pious feeling and regard. And surely if 
 should be made 
 
 — A day of thanksgiving tc the Author and 
 Giver of life — For our being — for the rank 
 we occupy in the scale of creation — for the 
 country and family in which we were brought 
 forth — for our civil and religious advantages 
 — and for our preservation through so many 
 perils — and when so many have been cut off. 
 
 — A day of humiliation — That we were 
 shapen in iniquity, and in sin did our mother 
 conceive us — that we went astray from the 
 womb — that our transgressions are innumer- 
 able, and our trespass is gone up into the very 
 heavens — and that we have not improved as 
 we ought to have done, any of our privileges 
 — " I do remember my faults this day." 
 
 — A day of reflection — That as there is a 
 time to be born, so there is a time to die — 
 that so much of life is already passed away as 
 a shadow — that when a few years are come, 
 we shall go the way whence we shall not re- 
 turn — that our continuance here is as uncer- 
 tain as it is short — that we may never see 
 this day again — and if we do not — where shall 
 we be when it returns 1 
 
 — A day of prayer — That we may so num- 
 ber our days as to apply our hearts unto wis- 
 dom — that we may obtain pardoning mercy 
 and renewing grace — that we may be pre- 
 pared for all the duties and trials that lie be- 
 fore us — that whether we live we may liv2 
 unto the Lord, or whether we die we may 
 die unto the Lord ; so that living and dying 
 we may be the Lord's. 
 
 Happy they who without complaining of 
 their lot or being impatient to be gone, yet 
 know the day of their death is better than the 
 day of their birth. Though for them to live 
 is Christ to die is gain. Every returning 
 birthday tells them, " So much nearer your 
 heavenly home." 
 
 But how dreadful the state of those who 
 know, and if they consider they must know 
 — that every year advances them so much 
 away from all they love ; and brings them so 
 much nearer a world in which as they have 
 no hope, so after which they can have no de- 
 sire. If conscience be not stupified, and all 
 thought banished by company and gaiety — a 
 birthday to them is far from enviable. Verses 
 may be written ; 'addresses may be received ; 
 smiles may be put on : but even in laughter 
 the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that 
 mirth is heaviness. 
 
 What a difference in the two following 
 references to the birth of the individuals— 
 
 " Who," says Voltaire, " can, without hor- 
 ror, consider the whole world as the empire 
 of destruction? It abounds with wonders ; it 
 also abounds with victims. It is a vast field 
 of carnage and contagion. Every species is 
 without pity pursued and torn to piece? 
 through the earth, and air, and water. In 
 
2H 
 
 JANUARY 15, 16. 
 
 man there is more wretchedness than in all 
 the other animals put together. He loves 
 life, and yet he knows that he must die. If 
 he enjoys a transient good, he suffers various 
 evils, and is at last devoured by worms. This 
 knowledge is his fatal prerogative : other ani- 
 mals have it not He spends the transient 
 moments of his existence in diffusing the 
 miseries which he suffers : in cutting the 
 throats of his fellow-creatures for pay ; in 
 cheating and being cheated ; in robbing and 
 being robbed ; in serving, that he might 
 command ; and in repenting of all he does. 
 The bulk of mankind are nothing more than 
 a crowd of wretches equally criminal and un- 
 fortunate ; and the globe contains rather car- 
 casses than men. I tremble at the review 
 of this dreadful picture to find that it contains 
 a complaint against Providence itself; and I 
 
 WISH I HAD NEVER BEEN BORN." 
 
 Now let us hear the language of the ex- 
 cellent Hallyburton, who died as he lived, 
 full of confidence in God. " I shall shortly 
 get a very different sight of God from what I 
 have ever had, and snail be made meet to 
 praise him for ever and ever. Oh ! the 
 thoughts of an incarnate Deity are sweet and 
 ravishing. O how I wonder at myself that I 
 do not love him more, and that I do not ad- 
 mire him more. What a wonder that I en- 
 joy such composure under all my bodily pains, 
 ind in the view of death itself. What a mercy 
 that having the use of my reason, I can de- 
 clare his goodness to my soul. I long for his 
 salvation ; I bless his name I have found him, 
 and die rejoicing in him. O blessed be God 
 that I was born ! O that 1 was where he is. 
 I have a father and mother, and ten brothers 
 and sistersj in heaven, and I shall be the 
 eleventh. Oh ! there is a telling in this Provi- 
 dence, and I shall be telling it for ever ! If 
 there be such a glory in his conduct towards 
 me now, what will it be to see the Lamb in 
 the midst of the throne 1 Blessed be God that 
 
 ever I was born." 
 
 JANUARY 15. 
 
 Unto thee, O Lord do I lift up my soul" 
 Psalm xxv. 1. 
 
 It is not easy la do this. We are naturally 
 sluggish and grovelling. Who has not reason 
 to acknowledge with shame and sorrow, " My 
 soul cleaveth unto the dust 1 !" It is easy 
 enough, in duty, to lift up our hands, and our 
 eyes, and our voices; but it is another thing 
 to come even to his seat, to enter into the 
 secret of his tabernacle, and to hold intercourse 
 with the God of heaven. And yet, without 
 this, what is devotion 1 And how unanswer- 
 able will all our services be to the requisition 
 of him who is a Spirit, and seeketh such to 
 worship him as worship him in spirit and in 
 truth) 
 
 And without this, a real Christian is no 
 more satisfied than God. He will not, indeed, 
 from a principal of duty, undervalue the means 
 of grace, and neglect private and public de- 
 votion ; but he is disappointed unless he can 
 lift up his soul unto God. 
 
 And this marks the spiritual worshipper. 
 He is not distinguished by always enjoymg 
 liberty and fervour in his holy exercises ; but 
 he mourns the want of them — while the form- 
 alist looks no further than the performance 
 itself, and returns from the house and throno 
 of God without ever inquiring whether he has 
 had communion with him. 
 
 It is the spirituality of religion that be- 
 friends enjoyment. Nothing yields us plea- 
 sure but in proportion as the heart is engaged 
 in the pursuit. How dull and how tiresome 
 are those tasks, in which 
 
 " In vain to heaven we lift our cries, 
 And leave our souls behind." 
 
 But it is good to draw near to God. Then 
 there is a sacred charm that keeps our thoughts 
 from wandering. Then we attend on the 
 Lord without distraction. Then we feel 
 no weariness of spirit. We call the Sab- 
 bath a delight. We find his words, and eat 
 them. And our meditation of him is sweet 
 
 And when such a worshipper comes forth, 
 he will be ready to say to all he meets, " That 
 which we have seen and heard declare we 
 unto you, that ye also may have fellowship 
 with us : and truly our fellowship is with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" And 
 his recommendations are likely to have some 
 effect For his profit will appear unto all 
 men. His face shines. His heart speaks. 
 His life speaks. His character speaks. He 
 must be impressive and influential. He wiL 
 be felt — in the family — in the Church — and 
 in the world. He cannot but do good, ever 
 without pretension — without effort — 
 
 " When such a man, familiar with the skies, 
 Has filled his urn where those pure waters rise, 
 And once more mingles with us, meaner things , 
 'Tis e'en as if an angel shook his wings- 
 Immortal fragrance fills the circuit wide, 
 Which tells us whence his treasures are supplied. 
 
 JANUARY 16. 
 
 " I know the thoughts that I think toward you, 
 saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, mid not of 
 evil, to give you an expected end" — Jer. 
 xxix. 11. 
 
 What can the people of God desire more ? 
 They are here assured by himself— that he 
 thinks of them — that he knows his thoughts 
 towards them — that they are kind in their 
 nature : thoughts of peace, and not of evil — 
 and that they regard an end allowing and re- 
 quiring expectation : to bring them to an ex- 
 pected end. 
 
 He designed and procured the Jews good 
 in Babylon : but the ransomed of the Lord 
 
JANUARY 16. 
 
 27 
 
 were to return and come to Zion. " After 
 seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I 
 will visit you, and perform my good word to- 
 ward you, in causing you to return to this 
 place." Here we see what was their expect- 
 ed end. And what did it prefigure, but " The 
 end of our faith, even the salvation of our 
 souls."— "The end, everlasting life]" The 
 Christian is now on the sea, encountering 
 many a wind, and feeling many a fear : but 
 the voyage will end ; and he will be brought 
 into the desired haven. He is now on a 
 journey; and he is often discouraged because 
 of the way ; bat it will end in a better coun- 
 try, and at his Father's house, where are 
 many mansions. He is now in a warfare ; 
 and though it be a good one, it is trying and 
 painful : but the strife will soon end ; and the 
 head exchange the helmet for " the crown of 
 glory that fadeth not away." 
 
 But what characterizes the posture of the 
 believer's mind with regard to this end 1 Ex- 
 
 t>ectation. He is looking for that blessed 
 lope. He is waiting for the Saviour from 
 heaven. For he is now saved by hope. Every 
 thing now leads him forward. Creatures; 
 ordinances ; his connexions ; his experience ; 
 every thing in his painful, every thing in his 
 pleasing feelings — all, all says, " Arise, and 
 depart hence, for this is not your rest" Hu- 
 man expectation is seldom justified by the 
 event If the votary do not miss his aim, he 
 is disappointed in his object, and his heart 
 sighs in the midst of his success. But let the 
 Christian's expectation be as great as even 
 the Scripture can make it, the blessedness 
 itself will be much greater ; and the fruition 
 will induce the acknowledgment, " The half 
 was not told me." Yet the expectation is 
 very distinguishable from the confidence of 
 the presumptuous. Natural men find it a 
 very easy thing to .hope, because they hope 
 without any proper sense of their unworthi- 
 ness and guilt ; they hope without examina- 
 tion, without evidence ; they hope uninformed 
 and unauthorized. It is one of the first works 
 of the Spirit of God to break up this state of 
 mind ; and then the man can say, with Paul, 
 " I was alive with out the law once ; but when 
 the commandment came, sin revived, and I 
 died." Yet while he for ever shuts this door 
 of hone, he opens another : he turns him from 
 the law to the Gospel; from self to the Sa- 
 viour ; from going about to establish his own 
 righteousness, to embrace the righteousness 
 which is of God. 
 
 Hence arises what the Apostle calls "a 
 good hope through grace ;" and the good- 
 ness consists not so much in the strength of 
 the confidence, as in the solidity of the foun- 
 dation, and the clearness and fulness of the 
 warrant. Our Lord speaks of two builders ; 
 the one he calls a fool, the other a wise man. 
 But the difference between them was not so 
 much in the edifices thensel /es, as in the 
 
 groundwork. Both structures looked fair 
 enough to the passenger : but the house of 
 the former was built upon the sand, and the 
 storm carried it away ; while that of the lat- 
 ter stood every assault, for it was founded on 
 a rock. What a sandy base has the hope of 
 many ! How certainly and easily will it be 
 overthrown — the expectation of the sinner, 
 the worldling, the hypocrite, and the Phari 
 see! But the Christian's hope maketh not 
 ashamed : it rests on the foundation laid in 
 Zion ; and the possessor cannot be confound- 
 ed, unless God can become a liar, and be 
 chargeable with perjury — for he has not only 
 promised, but sworn : and " because he could 
 swear by no greater, he sware by himself." 
 
 Keep much alive this expectation. Let no- 
 thing shake its confidence. Let nothing ob- 
 scure the object, or the ground of it. It can 
 do wonders ; and will produce a thousand ad- 
 vantages in proportion as it is realized. 
 
 I repair to the believer who is fully exem- 
 plifying it ; and I find him dead to the world, 
 and "all that earth calls good and great." 
 And what is the cause 1 " An expected end." 
 He has looked within the veil, and seen the 
 glory that excelleth. The sun has rendered 
 invisible the glow-worms — and the stars too. 
 
 I find him satisfied with an inferior condi- 
 tion in life, and though denied many indul- 
 gences with which the children of this gene- 
 ration abound. And what is the reason? " An 
 expected end." They are at home, says he, 
 but I am not. 
 
 " Their hope and portion lies.below ; 
 'Tis all the happiness they know." 
 
 But I am a stranger and a pilgrim. I am at 
 an inn ; it yields me but few entertainments, 
 or even accommodations — so much the better. 
 It might otherwise tempt and detain me. It 
 now urges me on. 
 
 And what makes him so cheerful in his 
 trials ] ¥ An expected end." This hope, says 
 he, I have as an anchor of the soul both sure 
 and steadfast : and " I reckon that the suffer- 
 ings of the present time are not worthy to be 
 compared with the glory which shall be re- 
 vealed." This expected end also, says he, ani- 
 mates me in all the difficulties attending a 
 course of obedience. If hope actuates to such 
 exertions, hardships, and sacrifices, the sons 
 of learning, fame, and wealth ; should I ever 
 be cold, or discouraged, with the certainty 
 before me of an eternity, an infinity of all 
 good? — This too, says he, composes me in 
 the prospect, and reconciles me to the ap- 
 proach of death. In itself it is far from being 
 pleasant ; but it is the right way to a city of 
 habitation, a departure to be with Christ 
 which is far better. He also can make the 
 exit as gentle as the issue is glorious. How 
 ever this may be, 
 
 'Tis there for ever I shall dwell. 
 
 With Jesus in the realms of day ; 
 Then I shall bid these fears farewell, 
 
 And He will wipe ray tears away 
 
SB 
 
 JANUARY 17, 18. 
 
 " Jesus, on thee our hope depends, 
 To lead us on to thine abode ; 
 Assured our home will make amends 
 For all our toil upon the road." 
 
 JANUARY 17. 
 
 * 77a; law was our schoolmaster to bring us 
 unto Christ.'" — Gal. iii. 24. 
 
 What law 1 Threo kinds of law were 
 given to the Jews. It is not necessary to ex- 
 clude either, though the last is principally 
 intended. 
 
 The judicial. This regarded their policy 
 as a nation ; regulated their conduct towards 
 each other ; and determined their civil crimes 
 and penalties. Even this led to Christ ; es- 
 pecially the right of redemption, which lay 
 with the nearest of kin. So did also the pro- 
 vision of the cities of refuge — and happy they 
 who have fled for shelter and relief to him 
 that was prefigured by them. 
 
 The ceremonial. This prescribed then- 
 worship, and enjoined a multitude of services 
 and sacrifices which were all shadows of good 
 things to come, but the body was Christ. It 
 would be endless to particularize. The taber- 
 nacle, the mercy-seat, the altar, the table of 
 shewbread, the paschal lamb — all these led 
 to him, and derived their importance from 
 the relation. And hence those who deny their 
 typical use have always spoken depreciating- 
 ly of them. The Jews were in the infancy of 
 the Church ; and these ceremonies were like 
 pictures placed over the child's lessons: or 
 the whole economy may be considered as a 
 star to the travellers in search of the Consol- 
 ation of Israel, going before them till it stood 
 over were the young child was — and then 
 disappearing. 
 
 The moral. This was of universal and per- 
 petual obligation ; being founded not on any 
 positive appointment or authority ; but in the 
 nature of man ; and the relations subsisting 
 between him and God, and between him and 
 his fellow-creatures. The substance of it is, 
 to love God supremely, and our neighbour as 
 ourselves. Is this unreasonable ? Can God 
 himself dispense with it 1 Can he require 
 less? 
 
 Now this leads us to Christ, — First, by con- 
 vincing us of sin: for by the law is the 
 knowledge of sin. It is owing to men's igno- 
 rance of this law that they think so well of 
 themselves. Did they know that it ranks all 
 omissions of duty in the number of sins; that 
 it extends to the state of the heart, as well as 
 of the life ; and to our motives and principles 
 as well as our actions; self-abased and de- 
 spairing, they would be constrained to cry 
 out, " Enter not into judgment with thy ser- 
 vant, for in thy sigh!; shall no man living be 
 justified." 
 
 Secondly, by showing us our danger. This 
 results from transgression ; for the curse en- 
 
 ters with all sin — " cursed is every ore tha 
 continueth not in all things written in the 
 book of the law to do them." If you were in 
 a room where there was a dead lion, you 
 would not be afraid. But if while you wero 
 walking by, he should come to life, and rise 
 upon his feet, and glare his eyeballs, and be- 
 gin to roar ; — as he revived, you would die 
 with fear. — So it was with Paul— r" I was 
 alive," says he, " without the law : but when 
 the commandment came, sin revived, and I 
 died." 
 
 Thirdly, by gendering despair of life by it 
 Here again the Apostle tells us, that his death 
 to the law was also by it " I through the 
 law am dead unto the law, that I might live 
 unto God." Thus the extremity of the dan- 
 ger makes us call out for a deliverer. Fa- 
 mine lectured back the Prodigal to his fa- 
 ther's house. Disease drives the patient to 
 apply to a physician, which he would other- 
 wise neglect, and to submit to a remedy 
 which he would otherwise reject. — " The 
 law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto 
 Christ." 
 
 The law, therefore, is good if it be used 
 lawfully ; and ministers ought to preach it 
 Some pass under a greater law work than 
 others ; but let none question the genuine- 
 ness of the relief they have obtained from 
 Christ, because they have not experienced 
 much terror and distress. This terror and dis- 
 tress are but in the order of means ; and the 
 design of them is answered if we are brought 
 to Christ, and acquiesce in his salvation. 
 
 — Every one therefore that hath heard and 
 learned of the Father cometh unto him, and 
 can find encouragement nowhere else. — And 
 him that cometh unto me, says the Saviour, 
 I will in no wise cast out. 
 
 JANUARY 18. 
 
 " I had not thought to see thy face ; and, lo, 
 God hath showed me also thy seed." — Gen 
 xlviii. 11. 
 
 This was the language of the dying Jacob, 
 when Joseph presented to him his two sons, 
 Manasseh and Ephraim. 
 
 We behold in it his piety. He owns God 
 in his indulgences — He has shown ire. 
 Our comforts are sanctified and renderad 
 doubly sweet when we receive them all from 
 his hand. Let others live without God 
 with them in the world ; I would acknow- 
 ledge him in all my way3. Let them ascribe 
 their successes and enjoyments to chance, or 
 to the power of their friends, or to their own 
 diligence and skill ; I would give him the 
 glory that is due only to his Name. I would 
 remember that whatever be the medium of 
 my comfort, he is the source ; that whatever 
 be the instrument, he is the author, — " The 
 
JANUARY 18. 
 
 5J9 
 
 olessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and he 
 addeth no sorrow with it" 
 
 Observe also his surprise : his expectation 
 was more than exceeded. We remember 
 the sad relation of the loss of Joseph, and the 
 garment dipped in blood, by which his grief 
 was deluded, though not relieved. "He 
 knew it, and said, It is my son's coat ; an evil 
 beast hath devoured him ; Joseph is without 
 doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his 
 clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and 
 mourned for his son many days. And all his 
 eons and all his daughters rose up to comfort 
 him ; but he refused to be comforted ; and he 
 said, For I will go down into the grave unto my 
 son mourning. Thus his father wept for him." 
 For many years he never dreamed of his sur- 
 vival : but added, " Joseph is not, and Simeon 
 is not, and will ye take Benjamin away ? all 
 these things are against me." In process of 
 time, however, all this gloomy conclusion was 
 contradicted : " They told him, saying, Joseph 
 is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land 
 of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he 
 believed them not. And they told him all 
 the words of Joseph, which he had said unto 
 them : and when he saw the wagons which 
 Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of 
 Jacob their father revived : and Israel said, It 
 is enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive : I will 
 go and see him before I die." By-and-by 
 this was fulfilled, " and Joseph made ready his 
 chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, 
 to Goshen, and presented himself unto him ; 
 and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck 
 a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, 
 Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, 
 because thou art yet alive." 
 
 Something, however, was still wanting. 
 Joseph had sons ; and these would be pecu- 
 liarly endeared to Jacob. At length he em- 
 braces them, as well as the father — " I had 
 not thought to see thy face : and, lo, God 
 hath showed me also thy seed." 
 
 Is this the only instance in which God has 
 not only frustrated the fears, but surpassed 
 the hopes of his people? When Moses was 
 in the ark of bulrushes, all his parents could 
 have hoped for would have been his preserva- 
 tion, or falling into the hands of some kind 
 individual, who affected with his infancy and 
 suffering would have taken care of him — 
 though they should never have seen him 
 more. But Pharaoh's daughter finds him ; 
 and adopts him ; and his mother becomes his 
 nurse ; and he is educated in all the learning 
 of Egypt; and he appears the deliverer and 
 leader of Israel ! David said, I shall one day 
 perish by the hand of Saul : but after a num- 
 ber of hairbreadth escapes, he was saved 
 from all his enemies, and sat down upon the 
 throne, " a wonder unto many." 
 
 What numbers are there in whose experi- 
 ence this remark has been exemplified as to 
 3* 
 
 temporal tilings ! They once had no inherit- 
 ance, no not so much as to set their foot on ' 
 all they hoped to gain by their humble efforts, 
 was only bread to eat and raiment to put on . 
 and, lo ! he has given them not only subsist- 
 ence, but competency and affluence. And as 
 to spiritual things — the penitent remembers 
 how, when awakened out of his sleep, and he 
 gazed on the horrors of his state, there seem- 
 ed nothing left but a certain fearful looking- 
 for of judgment and fiery indignation. How 
 hard did he find it to hope even for deliver- 
 ance ! But the Lord appeared, to his joy ; and 
 not only spared and pardoned him, but en- 
 riched and ennobled him : and took him not 
 only into his service, but into his house ?nd 
 into his bosom. 
 
 But in nothing has this observation been 
 more frequently verified than in the last ex- 
 perience of believers. They had all their 
 lifetime been subject to bondage through fear 
 of death ; a thousand comforts had been em- 
 bittered by the apprehension. But this did 
 not affect their safety then ; and when then- 
 departure was at hand, they were filled with 
 peace and joy ; and had an abundant entrance 
 ministered unto them into the Saviour's ever- 
 lasting kingdom. Some who had trembled 
 at the shaking of a leaf before, have then dis- 
 played a courage amounting to more than 
 heroism; and those who had shrunk bail; 
 from speaking, especially concerning them 
 selves, have shouted aloud upon their beds and 
 sung of his righteousness. " Ah !" says Dr. 
 Goodwin, " is this dying ? How have I dread 
 ed as an enemy this smiling friend !" To die 
 is gain. 
 
 When the Queen of Sheba, though accus 
 tomed to royal magnificence, witnessed the 
 glory of Solomon, she exclaimed, The half 
 was not told me. So the believer, after all 
 the reports of the Scripture ; all the earnests 
 and foretastes of heaven ; finds it to be a glory 
 yet to be revealed : and when he arrives at 
 the possession, he will acknowledge that eye 
 had not seen, nor ear heard, nor had entered 
 into the heart of man, the things which God 
 has prepared for them that love him. 
 
 Let all this scatter our doubts, and lead us 
 to say, " Why art thou cast down, O my soul T 
 and why art thou disquieted within me? 
 Hope thou in God : fbr I shall yet praise him.' 
 Especially let us view, through the force of 
 this truth, all our future duties and difficul- 
 ties. We are not to limit the Holy One of 
 Israel. What is impossible to us is easy to 
 him. His thoughts and ways are as far above 
 ours, as the heavens are higher than the 
 earth ; and he is able to do for us exceeding 
 abundantly above all we can ask or think. 
 We have read of an Emperor who said, he 
 delighted to undertake enterprises deemed 
 by his counsellors and captains impracticable : 
 and he seldom failed in them. God cannot 
 
30 
 
 JANUARY 19,20. 
 
 fail. But he loves to surprise. He turneth the 
 shadow cf death into the morning. At even- 
 tide, says he, it shall be light 
 
 JANUARY 19. 
 
 h And Noah -walked -with God." — Gen. \i. 9. 
 
 The Apostle gives us a fine representation 
 of religion, when, speaking of God, he says, 
 " With whom we have to do." We have to 
 do with our fellow-creatures in various rela- 
 tions ; but morality must be supported by piety 
 and flow from it. It is with God we have 
 principally to do. Our connexions with him, 
 our expectations from him, our obligations to 
 him, are all supreme. 
 
 Three expressions are observable as to our 
 walking, with regard to God. 
 
 First, we read of " walking after the 
 Lord." This supposes him to be our leader 
 and example : and requires us to be follow- 
 ers of him as dear children. " They shall 
 walk after the Lord," says Hosea. 
 
 Secondly, we read of walking before God. 
 This supposes him to be our observer and 
 witness — we are thus always in his sight. 
 " Walk before me," said God to Abraham. 
 " I will walk before the Lord," says David, 
 •* in the land of the living." 
 
 We also read of " walking with God." So 
 did Noah. So did Enoch. So does every par- 
 taker of divine grace. This seems to hold 
 .iim forth as our companion and friend. This 
 is surprising : but so it is. There is an inter- 
 course between us — we have fellowship one 
 with another. In order to this, recon'ciliation 
 is necessary : for " how can two walk to- 
 gether except they be agreed 1" And this 
 reconciliation must be mutual. It is not 
 enough that God is reconciled to us through 
 the blood of the Cross — we must be also re- 
 conciled to God, and love his presence, and 
 choose his way. 
 
 For walking with God implies a oneness 
 of course ; and supposes that we advance to- 
 gether towards the same end. God's aim is 
 his own glory : and we are enjoined, " whe- 
 ther we eat or drink, or whatever we do, to 
 do all to the glory of God." As far as we ob- 
 serve this rule, we walk with God ; as far as 
 we neglect it, we leave God, and go in ano- 
 ther direction. 
 
 If we are familiar and conversant with any 
 one, we unavoidably catch something of his 
 spirit and his manners — Hence it is said, 
 " He that walketh with wise men shall be 
 wise ; but a companion of fools shall be de- 
 stroyed." If I walk with God, I shall resem- 
 ble him ; and all will take knowledge of me 
 that I have been with Jesus. 
 
 How envied would the man be that was 
 allowed to walk with the king — But I walk 
 with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, 
 
 — " Such honour have all his saints." What 
 security have I in nearness to Him ! — " He 
 is at my right hand : I sha\l not be moved." 
 What can I want if I have Him 1 — " My pre- 
 sence shall go with thee ; and I will givi- 
 thee rest." — 
 
 " Were I in heaven without my God, 
 
 'Twould be no joy to me; 
 And while this earth is my abode. 
 I long for none but Thee." 
 
 JANUARY 20. 
 
 " And praying, the heaven -was opened, ana 
 the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape 
 like a dove upon him." — Luke iii. 21. 22. 
 
 We may consider this descent three ways : 
 as an answer to prayer ; as a miraculous tes- 
 timony ; and as a significant emblem. 
 
 — He had just been baptized: and was 
 now going to enter on his public office ; and 
 we are told he prayed. Whether he prayed 
 vocally or only mentally, we know not : but 
 he prayed really. And if prayer was neces- 
 sary for Him, can it be needless for us "? And 
 he prayed exemplarily ; and has taught us, 
 like himself, to pray after we have been en- 
 gaged in any ordinance, and before we enter 
 on any undertaking. Nor did he pray in vain. 
 Indeed the Father heard him always, because 
 he always prayed according to the will of 
 God. And how prompt was the answer ! It 
 reached him in the very act of devotion : 
 " And praying, the heaven was opened, and 
 the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape 
 like a dove upon him." it was the same in 
 the Transfiguration: "As he prayed, the 
 fashion of his countenance was altered, and 
 his raiment was white and glistering." The 
 prayer of faith is always immediately heard, 
 and if it be not always immediately answer- 
 ed, it is not from a want of disposition in God 
 to bless us, but because he is a God of judg- 
 ment, and waits to be gracious. But if we 
 consult the Scripture ; and appeal to our own 
 experience ; and especially observe, not only 
 the benefit we have derived from prayer, but 
 in it ; we shall know that he is a God at hand 
 and not afar off: and verify the truth of his 
 own word ; " It shall come to pass, that be- 
 fore they call, I will answer ; and while they 
 are yet speaking, I will hear." 
 
 It is to be viewed also as a miracle ; and 
 so it was an authentication of his divine mis- 
 sion. Hence the voice that accompanied it — 
 " Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am 
 well pleased." Hence John was previously 
 informed of this confirmation. For though his 
 relation, yet, to preclude all collusion and ma 
 nagement, John had not seen Jesus before 
 this event ; but was taught, when they met, 
 to recognize him by it : " John bare record, 
 saying, I saw the Spirit descending from hea 
 ven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And 
 I knew him not : but he that sent me to bap 
 
JANUARY 21 
 
 3l 
 
 tize with water, the same said unto me, 
 Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit de- 
 scending, and remaining on him, the same is 
 he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost" 
 John, therefore, could not but be instantly 
 and perfectly convinced : " And I saw," says 
 he, " and bare record that this is the Son of 
 God." Nothing, therefore, could have been 
 more unsuspicious and decisive — The sign 
 was foretold — its brilliancy, form, and descent 
 were obvious to sense — it remained on him 
 for a considerable time — and all was in the 
 presence of a multitude of spectators ! How 
 different are the miracles of the Gospel from 
 the prodigies of Heathenism and the lying 
 wonders of the Church of Rome. 
 
 In whatever visible form the Holy Ghost 
 had alighted upon the Saviour's head, the 
 miracle would have been the same. But the 
 symbol would not have been the same. His 
 descending in " a bodily shape like a dove" 
 was intended to be an emblem. First, an em- 
 blem of the dispensation he had to announce. 
 The Law is called a fiery law ; and it work- 
 eth wrath to every transgressor. The nature 
 of it was intimated even in the very manner 
 of its promulgation. The mount shook, and 
 burned with fire. There were blackness, and 
 darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a 
 trumpet, and the voice of words. The people 
 could not endure that which was commanded. 
 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses 
 said, I exceedingly fear and quake. But 
 grace and truth came by Jesus Christ And 
 how ) The moment he is inaugurated, and is 
 stepping forth to preach the kingdom of hea- 
 ven, the heaven opens — not for the thunder 
 to roll and the lightnings to flash, but for the 
 Holy Ghost to descend in a bodily shape like 
 a dove upon him ! 
 
 Did the dove return into the ark with an 
 olive branch, thereby announcing that the 
 flood had subsided 1 And has he, with a leaf 
 in his mouth, ever since been viewed as the 
 image of a messenger of peace 1 Who came 
 and attested deliverance from the wrath to 
 cornel Who came and preached peace to 
 them that were afar off", and to them that were 
 nigh 1 What says the Church 1 " Rise up, 
 my love, my fair one, and come away. For 
 Io, the winter is past, the rain is over and 
 gone ; the flowers appear on the earth ; the 
 time of the singing of birds is come, and the 
 voce of the turtle is heard in our land." But 
 who was the harbinger of another spring ; of 
 a nobler renovation 1 — Who cries, " Come, 
 for all things are now ready ?" 
 
 Secondly, an emblem of his personal cha- 
 racter. All the love, tenderness, gentleness, 
 mildness, for which the dove seems always to 
 have been considered as a kind of representa- 
 tive, were to be found in him. So the pro- 
 phecies going before had described him. And 
 if we observe his miracles, if we enter into 
 *is life, his whole life on earth, we shall see 
 
 him going about doing good. How kind to 
 friends ! How merciful to the distressed ! 
 How gracious to the guilty ! How ready to 
 forgive ! How patient under provocation ! 
 He was compassion alive and embodied. 
 
 Thirdly, an emblem of the temper of his 
 disciples. For there must be a conformity 
 between him and them. In all things he has 
 the pre-eminence ; but if any man has not 
 the Spirit of Christ he ts none of his. He 
 that is joined to the Lord is of one spirit 
 and how did the Holy Ghost descend upon 
 him 1 As a dove. 
 
 Estimate, therefore, your religion by your 
 resemblance of this image. Do not judge of 
 your having the Spirit, by opinions, but prin- 
 ciples; by impressions, but dispositions; by 
 gifts, but grace. Some fear they are stran- 
 gers to the Spirit because they have not re- 
 ceived it in a particular way : that is, after 
 great terror and anguisn of soul. This is, in- 
 deed, sometimes the case ; but it is not always 
 so. In this manner the Jailer's religion com- 
 menced : but it was not thus with Cornelius, 
 nor with Lydia. 
 
 Whatever distress or horror of conviction 
 we have felt they are nothing if they have 
 not brought us to Christ ; and if we have been 
 brought let us be thankful, and rejoice, " if 
 by any means." The best thing is, to judge, 
 not by the manner of the operation, but the 
 influence itself, and its effects : or by the fruit 
 of the Spirit — And "the fruit of the Spirit is 
 love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, 
 goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: — 
 against such there is no law." "And as 
 many as walk according to this rule, peace 
 be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel 
 of God." 
 
 JANUARY 21. 
 
 " The Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into 
 this mount Abarim, and see the land which 1 
 have given unto the children of Israel. And 
 ■when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be 
 gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy bro- 
 ther -was gathered." — Num. xxvii. 12, 13 
 
 Reflections on death can never be un 
 seasonable while we are in a dying world, 
 and a dying church ; and are conscious that 
 we ourselves are dying creatures. 
 
 It is said God sees no iniquity in his peo- 
 ple. But he has threatened to visit their trans- 
 gressions with a rod. Some tell us that sin 
 never hurts a believer. But it injured David. 
 It degraded Eli. Moses was also severely 
 chastised. He was very dear to God, and 
 could plead great provocation; but because 
 he rebelled against his commandment in the 
 desert of Zin, in the strife of the congrega. 
 tion, he was excluded the land of Canaan : 
 and though he was very importunate, he 
 could not obtain a repeal of the trying sen 
 
32 
 
 TANUARY 22. 
 
 tence. Yet in judgment God remembers* 
 mercy. He here orders him to die. But the 
 order is attended with three softenings to re- 
 concile him to it. 
 
 First. He must die — but he shall previ- 
 ously go up, and "see the land which the 
 Lord has given to the children of Israel." — 
 Some might suppose that this would tantalize 
 him, and add to his affliction at the loss. But 
 it was designed as an alleviation ; and it was 
 accepted by Moses as a favour. For this pur- 
 pose, liis natural sight continued uninjured : 
 and his extent of vision was perhaps also en- 
 larged. Thus not only was his curiosity 
 gratified, but he saw, with gladness and 
 praise, the goodness and truth of God's pro- 
 mise to his people. He also, in type, saw 
 and hailed the prospect of a better country, 
 even a heavenly ; and which he was going to 
 enter. " Oh !" say many, apprehensive now 
 of the solemn event, 
 
 " Oh ! could we make our doubts remove, 
 These gloomy doubts that rise, 
 And view the Canaan that we love, 
 With unbeclouded eyes ! 
 
 * Could we but climb were Moses stood, 
 And view the landscape o'er! 
 Not Jordan's stream, nor death's cold flood, 
 Should fright us from the shore." 
 
 And they are generally indulged. And of 
 ten those have been peculiarly favoured, who 
 all their lifetime have been subject to bond- 
 age through fear of death. 
 
 Secondly. He must die — but this will be 
 '" a gathering unto his people." To Abra- 
 nam, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and 
 the Israel of God. These he so prized on 
 earth, that he chose rather to suffer affliction 
 with the people of God, than to enjoy the 
 pleasures of sin for a season. Some had de- 
 parted that he had known : and numbers that 
 he had not known : — but he was to join them 
 — not m the same grave ; for he was buried 
 alone, and no one knows of his sepulchre 
 unto this day ; but in heaven — not as to his 
 body, but as to his soul, which was to be 
 united with the spirits of just men made per- 
 fect. The believer expects a family meet- 
 ing. There, says he, — 
 
 " There my best friends, my kindred dwell, 
 There God my Saviour reigns." 
 
 Thirdly. He must die — but "only as 
 Aaron his brother was gathered." And are 
 we better than those who have gone before 
 us 1 And is there any reason why we should 
 be exempted from their lot ! The previous 
 removal of the pious, especially those of our 
 own relations, tends to render death more 
 familiar. It comes near enough for us to 
 view it. It enters our very apartments. It 
 also tends to diminish our forebodings and 
 despondency. We have seen that God was 
 better to them than their fears. He was 
 with them in the Valley. Their end was 
 peace. They were supported; they were 
 comforted. And we thank God, and take 
 
 courage. Why should it not be so with ua 1 
 It also weakens our attachment to life. We 
 have fewer detentions below, and so many 
 more attractions above* Who has not felt 
 the sentiment, " Let us also go away, that 
 we may die with him 1" 
 
 Surely the bitterness of death is past 
 
 " I could renounce my all below, 
 If my Creator bid ; 
 And run, if I were called to go, 
 And die as Moses did." 
 
 JANUARY 22. 
 " And they said one to another, Did not ati- 
 heart burn within us, -while he talked -with 
 us by the way, and -while he opened to us 
 the Scriptures ?" — Luke xxiv. 32. 
 
 That is — we have now discovered him. 
 How is it that we did not discover him ear- 
 lier 1 and find him out upon the road 1 Why 
 did we not distinguish him by his very speak- 
 ing — the maimer of it — the effect of it — in 
 touching and animating the heart 1 
 
 Ah ! my soul, it is thus his teaching is to 
 be known — it is always felt. And while other 
 teachers reach only the ear, he penetrates the 
 heart ; and causes it to burn with ingenuous 
 shame, with abhorrence of sin, with holy re- 
 venge, with love to his name, with zeal for 
 his glory, with earnestness to save sinners. 
 
 He now converses with us by the way, and 
 he opens to us the Scriptures ; and he does it 
 in three ways. 
 
 First, by his dispensations. As the word 
 explains Providence, so Providence illustrates 
 the word. How many passages are there in 
 the Bible, the beauty of which we should 
 never have seen, the sweetness of which we 
 should never have tasted, the force of which 
 we should never have felt, had it not been for 
 certain events, and those chiefly of an afflic- 
 tive kind. These drive us to the Book, never 
 so valued as in the day of trouble, and enable 
 us to read with other eyes and feelings than 
 before. 
 
 Secondly, by the labours of his servants. 
 He replenishes his ministers, that they may 
 dispense to others ; he gives them the tongue 
 of the learned, that they should know how to 
 speak a word in season to him that is weary. 
 It was in the temple David wished to inquire. 
 It was, when he went into the sanctuary of 
 God that he seized a clew which enabled him 
 to unravel a mystery which had so confounded 
 and distressed him before. And while hear- 
 ing the word preached, have not our doubts 
 been often solved, our fears dispelled, our faith 
 and hope strengthened'! That which was 
 general before, has been particularized : that 
 which was distant, has been brought home to 
 our apprehensions : that which was read with- 
 out impression or notice, has become signifi- 
 cant and interesting. How often lias the 
 Angel of the Church, like HagarV* angel, 
 opened our eyes, and shown us the w* '1 ' 
 
JANUARY 23. 
 
 Thirdly, by the agency of his Holy Spirit 
 *fle shall lead you into all truth." Means 
 to not render his influence needless ; revela- 
 tion itself does not. David had the word of 
 God ; but he kneeled and prayed, " Open thou 
 mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things 
 out of thy law." The dial tells us the time, 
 but the sun must shine upon it The com- 
 pass enables the mariner to steer, but not if it 
 be placed in the dark. " In thy light we shall 
 see light" Here is the promise, at once to 
 direct and encourage — " If any man lack wis- 
 dom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all 
 men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it 
 shall be given him." What is the reason 
 why many, in the greatness of their folly, for 
 ever go astray? They do not trust in the 
 Lord with all their heart, but lean to then- 
 own understandings. But the wayfaring man, 
 though a fool, errs not because, made sensi- 
 ole of his ignorance and insufficiency, he in 
 all his ways acknowledges God, and God him- 
 self directs his paths ; and is his guide even 
 into death. 
 
 JANUARY 23. 
 
 "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 
 Luke xi. 9. 
 
 It is needless to prove, that by this action 
 our Saviour intends prayer. But see the sim- 
 plicity and familiarity of his comparisons; 
 and wonder not that the common people 
 heard him gladly. Volumes have been writ- 
 ten upon the subject of prayer: but he who 
 spake as never man spake, comprises every 
 thing in one word — knock. The allusion is 
 to a person who wishes to excite attention, in 
 order to obtain relief— he knocks. 
 
 Where are we to knock ? "I am," says 
 the Saviour, " the door." " I am the way, 
 the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto 
 the Father, but by me." 
 
 When are we to knock ? " Evening, and 
 morning, and at noon," says David, " will I 
 pray, and cry aloud." " Pray without ceas- 
 ing," says Paul. And says our Lord, " Men 
 ought always to pray, and not to faint" 
 
 For what are we to knock ? We may in 
 every thing, by prayer and supplication, make 
 known our requests unto God. But we are 
 supremely to implore all spiritual blessings, 
 because these are blessings for the soul and 
 eternity. Seek ye first the kingdom of God 
 and his righteousness. 
 
 How are we to knock? Importunately — 
 we cannot knock too loud. Prayer is nothing 
 unless it be sincere and earnest God will 
 not regard the address we ourselves do not 
 feel. Jacob said, " I will not let thee go, ex- 
 cept thou bless me :" and he prevailed. — 
 How 7 Perseveringly. The Lord does not 
 always immediately appear to our joy. "I 
 waited patiently for the Lord," says David : 
 E 
 
 "and" at last "he inclined his ear unto 
 me, and heard my cry." And, " blessed," it 
 is said, " are all they that wait for Him." 
 But though it be a good thing for a man not 
 only to hope, but quietly wait for the salva- 
 tion of God; it is often no easy thing. The 
 delay is trying in itself; but circumstances 
 may render it more so. While standing at 
 the door, the weather may be foul ; or those 
 passing by may laugh and insult — for they 
 are full, and have need of nothing : or the 
 applicant may be weak, and ready to faint 
 And what while thus exercised, can keep 
 him knocking and waiting ? Nothing but a 
 sense of his wants. They are so pressing 
 that he must succeed, or perish. Nothing 
 but hope. This hope may be sometimes very 
 weak. But a degree of it if it only amounts 
 to a mere possibility, is necessary to preserve 
 him from abandoning his suit, and saying, 
 " What should I wait for the Lord any 
 longer?" More, however, is desirable and 
 attainable : and here is enough to say to him, 
 " Wait on the Lord : be of good courage, 
 and he shall strengthen thine heart : wait i 
 say, on the Lord." Here is the command — 
 "Knock" Here is the promise — "It shall 
 be opened." 
 
 But how shall I plead ? I knock, and long 
 for audience — and yet I draw back, and seem 
 afraid to be seen. For what can I say? 
 What does the beggar say ? He is not at a 
 loss. He knows a fine address is not neces- 
 sary — it would be contemned. Yet he can 
 express his meaning : and his wants and feel- 
 ings make him eloquent Begin, then, and 
 say — 
 
 " Encourag'd by thy word 
 Of promise to the poor, 
 Behold, a beggar, Lord, 
 Waits at thy mercy's door ! 
 No hand, no heart, O Lord, but thine. 
 Can help or pity wants like mine-" 
 
 Yet add— 
 
 " The beggar's usual plea, 
 Relief from men to gain, 
 I know thou wouldst disdain : 
 And pleas which move thy gracious ear 
 Are such as men would scorn to hear " 
 
 There are five of these pleas urged by 
 others, which you must completely reverse. 
 
 How often does the beggar plead his for- 
 mer condition — "He has seen better days 
 and once had a sufficiency for himself and 
 others." But this must be your language— 
 
 " I have no right to say, 
 
 That though I now am poor. 
 Yet onATthere was a day 
 When I possessed more : 
 Thou knowest that from my very Lirth 
 I 've been the poorest wretch on earth " 
 
 How often does the beggar plead his inno- 
 cency or goodness — "I have been reduced, 
 not by my fault but by misfortune ; and de- 
 serve pity rather than censure." But your 
 language must be — 
 
94 
 
 JANUARY 24. 
 
 " Ncr can I dare profess, 
 t As beggars often do, 
 
 Though great is my distress, 
 My faults have been but few ; 
 If thou shouldst leave my soul to starve, 
 It would be what I well deserve." 
 
 How often does the beggar plead the un- 
 asualness of his application — " This is not 
 my practice : it is the first, and shall be the 
 last time of my importuning you." But your 
 language must be — 
 
 " 'Twere folly to pretend 
 
 I never begg'd before ; 
 Or if thou now befriend, 
 
 I '11 trouble thee no more : 
 Thou often hast reliev'dmy pain, 
 And often I must come again." 
 
 How often does the beggar plead the small- 
 ness of the boon — " A very little will suffice 
 me : I ask only a trifle." But your language 
 must be — 
 
 " Though crumbs are much too good 
 For such a dog as I, 
 No less than children's food 
 My soul can satisfy. 
 
 do not frown and bid me go, 
 
 1 must have all thou caust bestow." 
 
 Men, so limited are their resources, are 
 afraid of more applications than they can re- 
 lieve; and, therefore, enjoin the petitioner 
 secrecy ; and he promises concealment. But 
 your language must be — 
 
 " Nor can I willing be 
 
 Thy bounty to conceal 
 From others, who, like me, 
 
 Their wants and hunger feel : 
 I '11 tell them of thy mercy's store, 
 And try to send a thousand more." 
 
 And he will be delighted with this. He 
 commands you to spread his goodness, and to 
 invite all the ends of the earth ! ! 
 
 " Thy thoughts, thou Only Wise! 
 
 Our thoughts and ways transcend, 
 Far as the arched skies 
 
 Above the earth extend : 
 Such pleas as mine men would not hear, 
 But God receives a beggar's prayer." 
 
 JANUARY 24. 
 
 " Thy blessing- is upon thy people" 
 Psalm hi. 8. 
 
 " — He has a people : and we need not ascend 
 mto heaven and examine the decrees of God 
 to know who they are. The Bible is our 
 book of life ; there the heirs of glory are 
 written, if not by name, yet by character ; 
 and " we are the circumcision," says the 
 Apostle, " who worship God in the Spirit — 
 and rejoice in Christ Jesus — and have no 
 confidence in the flesh." 
 
 By the Scripture, therefore, let us judge 
 ourselves ; and be anxious to ascertain whe- 
 ther we are in the number of his people — for 
 they are the most important and enviable 
 people upon earth. They are not commonly 
 distinguished by any worldly greatness ; and 
 they have many enemies who ct nsult their 
 
 injury — But the blessing of God is apon 
 them. 
 
 — Upon their mercies. This takes the 
 curse out of them, and gives them a relish 
 never tasted in the comforts of others. " I 
 will bless thy bread and thy water." 
 
 — Upon their trials. And they as much 
 need a blessing upon their daily rod, as upon 
 their daily bread. Without this, our afflic- 
 tions will do us no good ; yea, they will prove 
 injurious ; they will leave us more careless 
 and impenitent. But by his blessing, they 
 will turn to our salvation ; and yield the 
 peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that 
 are exercised therewith. 
 
 — Upon their labours. " Thou shalt eat 
 the labour of thy hands : happy shalt thou be, 
 and it shall be well with thee." Without 
 this, in vain we rise up early, and sit up late, 
 and eat the bread of sorrows : it is he that 
 giveth his beloved sleep. It matters not 
 what we sow, if he does not give the in- 
 crease ; or what we bring home, if he blows 
 upon it ; or what we gain, if we " put it into 
 a bag with holes." " The blessing of the 
 Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sor- 
 row with it." 
 
 — Upon tHeir families. The house ot 
 Obed-Edom was blessed for the sake of the 
 ark ; and the thing was publicly known. " 1 
 have been young," says David, "and now 
 am old ; yet have I not seen the righteous 
 forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." The 
 generation of the upright shall be blessed. 
 
 — Upon their souls. Thus they are bless- 
 ed with light, and liberty, and strength, and 
 peace, and joy ; yea, they are blessed with 
 all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in 
 Christ. 
 
 O Christian ! is this thy experience anc 
 portion! Rejoice and be grateful. What 
 can equal the blessing of God f 
 
 But remember how it comes upon you. 
 The source is his free and boundless grace. 
 The medium is the Lord Jesus. He is the 
 way from God to us, as well as the way from 
 us to God ! 
 
 Remember how it is insured — by the truth 
 of his promise and his oath. You may there- 
 fore remind him of his engagement, and 
 plead, as Jacob did, " And thou saidst, I will 
 surely do thee good." 
 
 Remember also how it is to be enjoyed — 
 in the use of means, and in obedience to 
 his will. " Blessed are they that do judg- 
 ment, and keep his commandments at all 
 times." 
 
 O my soul, put in for a share. " Bless me, 
 even me, also, O my Father." " Remembei 
 me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bear- 
 est unto thy people : O visit me with thy 
 salvation ; that I may see the good of thy 
 chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness or 
 thy nation, that I may glory with thine in- 
 heritance. 
 
JANUARY 25. 
 
 3C 
 
 JANUARY 25. 
 
 -' And it came to pass after these things, that 
 one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick : 
 and he took -with him his two sons, Jlfanasseh 
 and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and 
 said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto 
 thee : and Israel strengthened himself, and 
 tat upon the bed." — Gen. xlviii. 1, 2. 
 After a very cloudy day, Jacob has a clear 
 Mid calm evening. And it is but an even- 
 ing. He is now called to go the way of all 
 the earth : but his end is peace. Some die 
 suddenly. But the more common road to the 
 house appointed for all living is down the 
 narrow, miry, dark, and dismal lane of sick- 
 ness. The former is a privilege to the in- 
 dividual himself, as it saves him from " the 
 pains, the groans, the dying strife :" but the 
 latter befriends his usefulness more, by af- 
 fording him opportunities to exercise the 
 graces of the Holy Spirit, and showing how 
 religion can sustain when every other supply 
 fails, and refresh when every other spring of 
 comfort is dried up. But we are not to 
 choose for ourselves : and if we can hope that 
 the Saviour will receive us to himself, we 
 may well leave — the when — the where — and 
 the how, to his wisdom and love. 
 
 When sickness seizes persons in early life, 
 and removes them in the midst of their days 
 and usefulness, we seem surprised. Yet 
 wherefore? Are not all our days vanity? 
 And if by reason of strength they be four- 
 score years, is not their strength labour and 
 sorrow 1 What then can we expect at one 
 hundred and forty-seven 1 
 
 Jacob had some time before kept his bed, 
 and Joseph had visited him ; but seeing no 
 immediate danger of death, he had returned. 
 Now the case assumes a more threatening 
 character, and he is re-called. Doubtless 
 they had sent to another Being, saying, 
 " Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick" 
 But they do well to inform Joseph ; and 
 Joseph immediately leaves his public affairs, 
 and hastens to visit him. To visit the sick 
 is a duty. If it affords the sufferer no effec- 
 tual relief, it is soothing to show our regard, 
 our sympathy, and our readiness to help. It 
 is always profitable to ourselves; and far 
 better than going to the house of mirth. For 
 here the heart is made better ; more serious 
 and more soft. Hence the dying bed is 
 shunned by infidel and worldly companions, 
 who love not to be reminded how soon the 
 condition of others may be their own. 
 
 How affecting is it to visit a fellow-crea- 
 ture, the progress of whose disorder is say- 
 ing to corruption, thou art my father, and to 
 the worm, thou art my mother and my sister. 
 But to see a dear friend, a beloved relation, 
 a revered parent, sinking under the decays 
 
 of nature and the violence of disease ! It u 
 a sick dying father, who had trained him up 
 under an affection too partial, that Joseph 
 visits. Though death does not follow the 
 order of nature, but the appointment of God; 
 yet, while parents are living, there seems to 
 be something between us and death ; but 
 when they are removed, his course seems 
 open to us ; and we naturally deem ourselves 
 the next objects of assault. 
 
 Joseph goes not alone, but takes his two 
 sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. I f 
 was wise and well in Joseph to take these 
 youths away from the splendour of a court to 
 see the end of all men ; to view a dying bed 
 dignified with more than a palace could be- 
 stow ; to show them, at their entering the 
 world, a servant of God departing from it ; to 
 enable them to receive his admonition and 
 blessing; and to be reminded that though 
 born in Egypt, Egypt was not to be their 
 home ; but while incorporated with strangers, 
 they were to seek the heritage of Jacob, 
 God's chosen. 
 
 How much wiser and better was this, than 
 the conduct of many parents, who, instead of 
 bringing them up in the nurture and admoni- 
 tion of the Lord, conduct their children into 
 scenes of gaiety and dissipation, exciting and 
 feeding the pride of life, and making provision 
 for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. We 
 mourn over children that are bereaved of their 
 parents : yet we are sometimes tempted to 
 wish the removal of some wretched fathers 
 and mothers — hoping, that if these examples 
 and teachers of evil were withdrawn, their chil- 
 dren would find it good to bear the yoke in their 
 youth, and that the Lord may take them up. 
 The worst orphans are those who have wick- 
 ed parents alive ! What a dreadful meeting 
 will there be hereafter between their offspring 
 and those fathers and mothers who not only 
 neglected their souls, but taught and encour- 
 aged them to go astray ! 
 
 — Not that we would have children con- 
 fined to religious prisons, or even cells. Hin- 
 der them not from seeing and enjoying what- 
 ever is pleasing and instructive in the world 
 of nature, and the wonders of art. Keep them 
 not in a frozen region, that shall chill and 
 check every harmless budding of mind and af- 
 fection. Let your piety itself be inviting, not 
 rebuking and repulsive. But, O ye parents, 
 keep them from infidel books; from vicious 
 associates ; from every path of the Destroyer. 
 Allure them to the Bible, to the Throne of 
 Grace, to the grave of friendship, to the cham- 
 ber where a dying Jacob is waiting for God'e 
 salvation — to every place where they are 
 likely to meet Him, who says, "I love them 
 that love me, and they that seek me earlf 
 shall find me." 
 
36 
 
 JANUARY 26, 27. 
 
 JANUARY 26. 
 
 He that hath wrought us for the self-same 
 thing is God, -who also hath given unto us 
 tlte earnest of the Spirit." — 2 Cor. v. 5. 
 
 This self-same thing 1 is nothing less than 
 Jie final blessedness of the righteous ; which, 
 though it doth not yet fully appear, is partial- 
 ly revealed, and expressed in the Scripture by 
 various names and images. It is called in the 
 ^receding verses, "A building of God, an 
 *use not made with hands, eternal in the 
 ieavens ;" and also " life" — " Mortality shall 
 be swallowed up of life." 
 
 With regard to this, the Apostle reminds 
 •is of God's work, in our preparation for the 
 /hole ; and of God's gift, in our possession of 
 i part. 
 
 The preparation is not natural to us. We 
 are not born Christians, but made such : and 
 the operation is no less than divine. Creatures 
 have not done it ; nor have we done it our- 
 selves. It is above the power of education, 
 example, and moral suasion — He that hath 
 wrought us for the self-same thing is God. 
 But the work is as necessary as it is divine. 
 In vain should we have a title to glory, with- 
 out a meetness for it Every office, every 
 state, requires a qualification for it : and the 
 higher the state and the office, the more im- 
 portant and difficult the qualification becomes. 
 Happiness is not derivable from any thing, 
 without a suitableness to it. It does not de- 
 pend upon the excellency of the object, but 
 the conformity of the disposition. The ac- 
 quisition must be wanted, desired, hoped for, 
 before it can gratify and content. Have I, 
 then, any thing in me that could find happi- 
 ness in the heaven of the Scriptures 1 
 
 If He has wrought us for the whole, he has 
 bestowed upon us a part — He has given us 
 also the earnest of the Spirit. The earnest 
 is not only to insure — it is a portion of the 
 payment: and so is distinguishable from a 
 pledge, which is returned at the completion of 
 the agreement : for the earnest remains, and 
 goes on as a part of the bargain. This is very 
 instructive. It tells us that what the believer 
 has here in the possession and influence of 
 the Spirit, is not only indicative of heaven, 
 but like it — and a degree of it 
 
 Is heaven perfect knowledge ! The eyes 
 of his understanding are now opened : already 
 he spiritually discerns ; and in God's light 
 sees light 
 
 Is tt perfect holiness 1 He is already de- 
 livered from the power and love of every sin ; 
 he is renewed in the spirit of his mind ; he 
 delights in the law of God after the inward 
 
 Is it perfect happiness! exceeding joy? 
 fulness of joy ? pleasures for evermore 7 — But 
 «ven now, blessed are the people that know 
 _iie joyful sound. There remaineth a rest for 
 ,,*) people of God — but " we which iiave be- 
 
 lieved do enter into rest." They shall enter 
 into peace — but now they have "a peace 
 which passeth all understanding." Thej 
 shall enter the joy of their Lord— but now, 
 " believing, they rejoice with joy unspeakable 
 and full of glory." They will then 'join the 
 spirits of just men made perfect — but the 
 saints are now their companions and their de- 
 light They will then dwell in his house and 
 be still praising him — but they are already at- 
 tempting and commencing this work : " I will 
 bless the Lord at all times ; his praise shall 
 continually be in my mouth." 
 
 Such experience it is that weans them 
 from the world, and makes them willing to 
 depart Heaven is not a distant unknown 
 good. They are come to the city of the liv- 
 ing God. They are partakers of the glory 
 that shall be revealed — They have everlast- 
 ing life. 
 
 JANUARY 27. 
 
 " And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick.' 
 Isaiah xxxiii. 24. 
 
 Who can say so here 1 How many of oui 
 fellow-creature?, the subjects of infirmity, Ian 
 guor, and nervous apprehension, are saying. 
 "I am made to possess months of vanity, and 
 wearisome nights are appointed to me. When 
 I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the 
 night be gone 1 I am full of tossings to and 
 fro unto the dawning of the day" — Another is 
 " chastened also with pain upon his bed, and 
 the multitude of his bones with strong pain : 
 his flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be 
 seen ; and his bones that were not seen stick 
 out. Yea, his soul draweth near unto the 
 grave, and his life to the destroyers." There 
 are few — perhaps none — who never feel in- 
 disposition or sickness. 
 
 Sickness is the effect of sin, which brought 
 death into the world, and all our woe. It now 
 (under the providence of God, which is not 
 only punitive, but salutary,) subserves various- 
 purposes. It is taken into covenant so tL 
 speak, with the godly, and is one of the path? 
 of the Lord, which are to them all mercy and 
 truth. It checks them in going astray. It 
 frees them from many a temptation, arising 
 from more intercourse with the world. It 
 gives them the most sensible proofs of the 
 care, and kindness, and fidelity of their Lord 
 and Saviour. He knows their frame, and has 
 promised to be with them in trouble, and to 
 comfort them on the bed of languishing; yea, 
 to comfort them as one whom his mother 
 comforteth ; and she, while none of her chil- 
 dren are neglected by her, will be sure to pay 
 the most tender attentions to the poor little 
 aching invalid. 
 
 Yet sickness is an evil in itself, and it is 
 trying to flesh and blood. It not only deducts 
 from the relish of all, and prevents entirely 
 
JANUARY 28. 
 
 3? 
 
 flie enjoyment of some, of our outward com- 
 forts ; but it injures, it hinders, the perform- 
 ance of a thousand duties, relative, civil, and 
 religious. It also often brings a gloom over 
 the mind, and genders unworthy apprehen- 
 sions of God, and misgivings of our spiritual 
 condition. It not only shuts us out from the 
 love iness of nature, but from the public 
 means of grace, and fills us with a mournful 
 pleasure at the thought of seasons when we 
 went in company to the house of God, with 
 the voice of joy and gladness, to keep holy 
 day. Hence Hezekiah, anxious to ascertain 
 his recovery, asked, " What is the sign that I 
 shall go up to the house of the Lord ?" How 
 feelingly has Watts described the Lord's pri- 
 soner, when the Sabbath comes. 
 
 " Lo ! the sweet day of sacred rest returns : 
 
 But not to me returns 
 
 Rest with the day. Ten thousand hurrying thoughts 
 
 Bear me away tumultuous, far from heaven 
 
 And heavenly work : alas! flesh drags me down 
 
 From things celestial, and confines my sense 
 
 To present melodies. Unhappy state ! 
 
 Where the poor spirit is subdued t' endure 
 
 Unholy idleness ; and painful absence 
 
 From God and heav'n, and angels' blessed work ; 
 
 And bound to bear the agonies and woes, 
 
 That sickly flesh and shatter'd nerves impose." 
 
 Well — soon the warfare with the body will 
 be accomplished ; and we shall put off the 
 flesh and be in joy and felicity. And as there 
 will be no more sin, neither will there be any 
 more pain ; for the former things are all 
 passed away. 
 
 A union with the hody, were it to rise as 
 it now is, would be dreaded, rather than de- 
 sirable. But the body will not only be raised, 
 but improved : improved beyond all our pre- 
 sent comprehension, but not beyond our pre- 
 sent belief. For we can trust Him who has 
 assured us, that though it be sown in weak- 
 ness, it shall be raised in power ; though it 
 be sown a natural body, it shall be raised a 
 spiritual body. This corruptible shall put on 
 incorruption, and this mortal shall put on im- 
 mortality. We shall bear, not the image of 
 the earthly, but of the heavenly. Our bodies 
 will not be made like the body of Adam in 
 Paradise, but like the Saviour's own glorious 
 body, according to the working whereby he 
 is able even to subdue all things unto him- 
 ec f. No burdens, no depressions, then ! No 
 clogs, no confinements ! No animal wants ! 
 No debasing appetites ! No unruly passions ! 
 No fluttering heart ! No aching head ! "The 
 inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick" — 
 
 - These lively hopes we owe 
 To Jesus' dying love : 
 We would adore his grace below, 
 And sing his power above." 
 
 JANUARY 28. 
 
 ** In the -wilderness thou hast seen how the Lord 
 thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his 
 son, in all the -way that ye went." — Deut. i. 31. 
 The image is parental. In another part of 
 
 •his book, the reference is to a parent bird: 
 4 
 
 " As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth 
 over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, 
 taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so 
 the Lord alone did lead him." Here the allu- 
 sion is to a human parent ; and it is worthy 
 of remark, how often the allusion is made in 
 the Scriptures. Thus to mention a few oi 
 them — " Like as a father pitieth his children, 
 so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." " 1 
 will spare them, as a man spareth his own 
 son that serveth him." " If ye, being evil, 
 know how to give good gifts unto your chil- 
 dren, how much more shall your Father, who 
 is in heaven, give good gifts to them that 
 ask him 1" The softer sex is also adduced, 
 and maternal tenderness supplies feeling as 
 well as thought. " As one whom his mother 
 comforteth, so will I comfort you." " Can a 
 woman forget her sucking child, that she 
 should not have compassion on the son of her 
 womb 7 Yea, she may forget ; yet will not I 
 forget thee." 
 
 Observe the image which Moses here em- 
 ploys. It regards a child, a young child. It 
 is too weak to go alone — it is borne. The 
 father is here mentioned, not the mother : for 
 the action of bearing requires strength, ra- 
 ther than tenderness. The mother may have 
 been dead. When one parent is called to sup- 
 ply the place of both, an increase of care and 
 kindness becomes necessary, and is soon felt. 
 Imagine, therefore, an Israelite — deprived, in 
 his journey through the wilderness, of the 
 companion of his life — perhaps as soon as she 
 had brought him forth a son — perhaps in con- 
 sequence of it. The child, thus bereaved, is 
 endeared by the decease of the mother, and 
 he takes it, and bears it How ] Sometimes 
 in his arms, and often in his bosom. How 1 
 Tenderly, softly, — now pressing it to his lips, 
 now soothing its cries, now lulling it to re- 
 pose — feeding it, defending it, supplying all 
 its wants ! 
 
 All this God does in reality, and infinitely 
 more — What is the goodness, the gentleness, 
 the care of the tenderest being on earth, com- 
 pared with the disposition and kindness of 
 God towards his people ! When an image is 
 applied to God, we must separate from it all 
 its imperfections. A father may be unable to 
 defend a child. He is sometimes absent from 
 it. He cannot be always awake, and inspect- 
 ing it. He may be ignorant of the cause of 
 its complaint. He may not know what is 
 good for it He may decline in affection, anc 
 become heedless and negligent. He may be- 
 come cruel, and abandon his charge. But no- 
 thing of all this can apply to Him, who bears 
 us in all the way that we go. 
 
 Yea, we must not only strip the image of 
 imperfection when we apply it to God — but 
 we must attach to it divinity. Every human 
 relation, however complete, is yet finite in 
 its exercise and excellence : but His attri 
 butes are infinite. His love passeth know- 
 
88 
 
 JANUARY 29. 
 
 " He is able to do for us exceeding 
 abundantly above all that we can ask or 
 think." 
 
 Well — hast thou seen in the wilderness, 
 now the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man 
 doth bear his son, in all the way that ye 
 went ? Let the sight affect your admiration, 
 and induce you to exclaim, " Lord, what is 
 man, that thou art mindful of him ] and the 
 son of man, that thou visitest him ?" We 
 talk of condescension : yet what is the differ- 
 ence between one creature and another ; one 
 worm and another — But what is God ! What 
 are we ! how mean, unworthy, guilty ! — Let 
 it draw forth 
 
 Your gratitude ; and call upon your soul, 
 and all that is within you, to bless his holy 
 Name. " To him that led his people in the 
 wilderness ; for his mercy endureth for ever." 
 
 — Let it encourage you. 
 
 You are not yet come to the rest and the 
 inheritance which the Lord your God giveth 
 you ; but he is with you in the way ; and 
 with you as your father ; engaged to do all 
 that such a relation requires. He has said, " I 
 will never leave thee nor forsake thee." 
 Reason from the past to the future, and, " be- 
 cause he has been your help, therefore under 
 the shadow of his wings rejoice." — Let 
 liim be 
 
 Your example. Job was a father to the 
 poor, not a tyrant, or an overseer. Be kind, 
 as well as bountiful. Be ye followers of God. 
 In him the fatherless findeth mercy : let him 
 find it in you also. " Be ye merciful, even 
 as your Father which is in heaven is merci- 
 ful." — Recommend him to others, and say to 
 them, " Come with us, and we will do you 
 good, for the Jjord hath spoken good concern- 
 ing Israel." — Oh that the young, who are en- 
 tering this wilderness world, would place 
 themselves under his care, and beseech him 
 to be the guide of their youth. — Oh that the 
 bereaved would think of Him, who can more 
 than repair the losses which make them 
 bleed. " When my father and my mother 
 forsake me, the Lord will take me up." 
 
 JANUARY 29. 
 
 " And shall leave me alone : and yet I am not 
 alone, because the Father is -with me." — John 
 xvi. 32. 
 
 Thi;re is a relation between Christ and 
 Christians, and a conformity founded upon it ; 
 so that what He says, they may subordinately 
 adopt as their own language. 
 
 There are cases in which they may be 
 alone — and there are cases in which they 
 ought to be alone — and there is one case in 
 which they must be alone : and yet they are 
 not alone, because the Father is with them. 
 
 They may be alone, by the dispensations 
 Df Providence. By death, lover and friend 
 
 may be put far from them, and their acquaint- 
 ance into darkness ; and bereavements may 
 force from solitude the sigh, " I walch, an' 
 am as a sparrow upon the housetop." They 
 have often been driven out of society by the 
 wickedness of power. Their connexions have 
 abandoned them through falseness, or desert- 
 ed them through infirmity. And this is ne 
 inconsiderable trial. Our Saviour felt the de- 
 sertion of his disciples ; and said, " 1 looked 
 for some to take pity, and there was none, 
 and for comforter and found none ; but look- 
 ing upward, he said, " I am not alone, for the 
 Father is with me." Joseph was separated 
 from his family and sold into Egypt, but the 
 Lord was with Joseph. John was banished 
 into the isle of Patmos ; but there he had the 
 visions of the Almighty, and was in the Spi- 
 rit on the Lord's day. " At my first answer," 
 says Paul, "no man stood by me, but all 
 men forsook me ; notwithstanding the Lord 
 stood by me, and strengthened me." Yes ; 
 whoever dies, the Lord liveth. Whoever fails 
 us, He is firm. " He is faithful that hath pro- 
 mised. He hath said, i" will never leave thee 
 nor forsake thee." 
 
 They ought to be alone, by voluntary soli- 
 tude. Not that they are to become recluses, 
 by abandoning their stations, and shunning 
 intercourse with their fellow-creatures. The 
 Christian life is a candle ; but a candle is not 
 to be placed under a bushel, but on a candle- 
 stick, that it may give light to all that are in 
 the house: and our light is to shine before 
 men: and they are to see our good works 
 and glorify our Father who is in heaven. 
 But occasional and frequent retirement for 
 religious purposes, is a duty ; and it will be 
 found our privilege. We shall never be less 
 alone than when alone. "Go forth," says 
 God to Ezekiel, " into the field, and there will 
 I talk with thee." Isaac, at eventide, was medi- 
 tating in the field, when the Lord brought him 
 Rebecca. Jacob was left alone, when he " ob- 
 tained power with God," and with man, and 
 prevailed. Nathanael was seen and encour- 
 aged under the fig-tree. Peter was by him- 
 self praying upon the housetop when he re- 
 ceived the Divine manifestation. If the 
 twelve Patriarchs, or the twelve Apostles, 
 lived near us, and their presence drew us 
 from our closets, their neighbourhood would be 
 a serious injury to us. No creature can be a 
 substitute for God. And it is alone we hold 
 the freest and fullest communion with Him. 
 It is there the secret of the Lord is with us, 
 and he shows us his covenant. There we 
 become acquainted with ourselves There 
 we shake off the influences of the world. It 
 is good to be there — 
 
 —Men may live in a crowd, but they must 
 die alone. Friends and ministers can only 
 accompany us to the entrance of the passage. 
 None of them can speak from experience. 
 And tell us what it is to die. And it is a wa» 
 
JANUARY 30, 31, 
 
 39 
 
 wc Have not gtme oui selves heretofore. But 
 the Christian, though alone, is not alone even 
 here. •- Yea," says David, " though I walk 
 throuwn ihe valley of the shadow of death, I 
 will fear ho evil, (or thou art with me : thy 
 rod and thy Aaff, they comfort me." 
 
 " Death ia a melancholy day 
 To those that have no God." 
 
 Br £. how must it be softened and cheered 
 to those that have ! Oh to have a God, the 
 God of all grace, at hand, a very present help 
 in tha. time of trouble ; laying underneath his 
 everiasting arms ; shedding around the light 
 of his countenance ; communicating the joy 
 of his salvation ; and insuring the glory to be 
 revealed — in ways beyond all our present 
 experience and thought ! 
 
 " O my God, what time I am afraid, I will 
 trust in thee. Thou hast holden me by my 
 right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy 
 counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 
 Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there 
 is*none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 
 My flesh and my heart faUeth : but God is the 
 strength of my heart, and my portion for 
 ever." 
 
 JANUARY 30. 
 
 •* And -when the angel which spake unto Cor- 
 nelius was departed, he called two of his 
 household servants, and a devout soldier of 
 them that -waited on him continually ; and 
 when he had declared all these things unto 
 them, he sent them to Joppa. — Acts x. 7, 8. 
 
 Such was his obedience to the heavenly 
 vision. It was immediate, and well executed. 
 
 He did not himself go for Peter. This he 
 would have readily done ; but he was ordered 
 by the angel to send. His presence was pro- 
 per and necessary at home. He was a man 
 in office : and in command. He had a weighty 
 trust reposed in him : and we are to abide 
 with God in our callings. 
 
 The messengers he employed were " two 
 of his household servants" — which shows him 
 to have been a man of some estate besides his 
 profession : and a " devout soldier of them that 
 waited on them continually." Observe here 
 • - he officer himself was a devout man, and 
 he has not only devoted, but devout soldiers. 
 The master was godly, and the servants are 
 the same : for it is said, Cornelius feared God 
 with all his house; like Joshua, who said, 
 u As for me, and my house, we will serve 
 the Lord." This correspondence between 
 the head and the members of the family, may 
 "be accounted for two ways. First; such a 
 man will choose, as far as he can, those that 
 are religious to attend him — saying, with 
 •David, " Mine eyes shall be upon the feithful 
 of the land, that they may dwell with me : 
 he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall 
 ■erve me. He that worketh deceit shall not 
 
 dwell within wine house ; he that telleth lies 
 shall not tarry in my sight" And, secondly 
 he will be likely to render them such, if they 
 are not such when he engages them. For he 
 will be sure to use all the means in his power: 
 and his own temper and example will har- 
 monize with his efforts : and the grace of 
 God, which he will never fail to implore, will 
 honour him. Thus, they who are blessed, 
 are also blessings, and for them the desert re- 
 joices as the rose. Some are favoured by 
 their opportunities and talents, to cultivate a 
 large expanse of barrenness : but let us see, 
 let us all see, whether we cannot convert a 
 small spot at least, from waste, to smiling 
 verdure : and cultivate, if not the neighbour- 
 ing moor, yet a cottage garden ; and let the 
 traveller say, " The blessing of the Lord be 
 upon thee." Many a domestic has been 
 thankful that he ever entered a pious family : 
 there he has been made wise unto salvation, 
 and has become a child of God, by faith in 
 Christ Jesus. What a disgrace is it, for a 
 Christian master and mistress to let a servant 
 leave their family unable to read the Bible, 
 or without a Bible to read ! 
 
 " So, having declared these things to them, 
 he sent them to Joppa." Here we have not 
 a harsh injunction to a trembling slave ; not 
 a bare order, couched in a few unexplained 
 terms ; not the sealed instructions, the orders 
 of a tyrant, who is to be implicitly obeyed, 
 and is afraid to trust Here is intercourse ; 
 openness. Here is confidence in the master, 
 reposing on principle in the servants. How 
 happy, where the distinctions of life are pre- 
 served — and they are to be preserved — and 
 yet there is union and harmony ; and conde- 
 scension ; and kindness ; and unreserve, on 
 the one side, and respect and obedience, with- 
 out encroachment, on the other. How happy 
 where authority is softened by gentleness, and 
 submission by love ; where indulgence breeds 
 nothing like irreverence, and goodness is re- 
 warded by diligence and fidelity. And in 
 what connexions, in what families, is all this 
 most likely to be fonnd 1 " Men do not 
 gather grapes from thorns, nor figs from this- 
 tles." Piety is the spring ; the guard ; the 
 refinement ; the glory of morality. 
 
 JANUARY 31. 
 
 " And he cried unto the Lord; and the Laru 
 showed him a tree, which when he had cast 
 into the waters, the waters were made sweet ** 
 Exod. xv. 25. 
 
 It is useless to inquire what kind of tree 
 this was, and whether the effect was pro- 
 duced by a quality, inherent in the wood, or 
 by a miraculous application. The latter is far 
 the most likely. But it has been disputed, 
 whether this transaction was designed to be 
 an evangelical type. Perhaps it is impossible 
 
40 
 
 JANUARY 81. 
 
 a) determine this — and it is unnecessary. 
 We shall only derive from it an illustration 
 of a very interesting subject, in which we 
 are fully justified by the words of the Apostle 
 to the suffering Hebrews : " Consider him 
 that endured such contradiction of sinners 
 against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint 
 in your minds." 
 
 We, like these Jews, are travelling through 
 a wilderness. In our journey we meet with 
 bitter waters. These are the troubles of life, 
 personal and relative. These are very dis- 
 tasteful and offensive to flesh and blood. But 
 they may be rendered drinkable. In other 
 words, we may be able to endure the afflic- 
 tions of life — yea, we may even acquiesce in 
 them ; and not only so, but glory in 1 .ibula- 
 tion also. 
 
 — But how can this be done? Here is 
 
 the secret — 
 I 
 
 •' The cross on which the Saviour died, 
 And conquer'd for his saints ; 
 This is the tree, by faith applied, 
 That sweetens all complaints. 
 
 Thousands have proved the bless'd effect : 
 
 Nor longer mourn their lot ; 
 While on his sorrows they reflect ; 
 
 Their own are all forgot. 
 " While they by faith behold the Cross, 
 
 Though many griefs they meet, 
 They draw a gain from every loss, 
 
 And find the bitter sweet." 
 
 Let us see how the Saviour's sufferings will 
 alleviate ours. It is some relief in distress 
 that others are exercised in the same way. 
 Individuality of woe looks ominous — it is ap- 
 palling to be singled out like a victim deer 
 from the whole herd, and suffer alone. Thus 
 the Apostle tells the Corinthians that no temp- 
 tation had taken them but such as is common 
 to man — and Peter also tells the sufferers he 
 addressed, that the same afflictions were ac- 
 complished in their brethren that were in the 
 world. So it is — whom the Lord loveth he 
 chasteneth. This has been the ease with 
 eypn his most eminent servants. And even 
 his " dear Son," in whom his soul delighted — 
 He, even he, did not escape. And shall we 
 dread the fellowship of his sufferings 1 
 
 But if there is something to affect the mind, 
 even in the reality of his passion, there is 
 much more in the greatness of it. In general, 
 our groaning is heavier than our complaint ; 
 and we are prone, from our selfishness and 
 ignorance, to imagine our trials pre-eminent 
 He could say, behold, and see if ever there 
 were sorrows like unto my sorrow. In our 
 sorrow we have alleviations. Ours are not 
 perpetual ; but his continued through life. 
 Ours are not universal; but he suffered in 
 ivery part that was capable of suffering — he 
 was a man of sorrows. 
 
 Ours are not foreknown ; but his were all 
 laid out in prospect, and he suffered in appre- 
 hension, as well as reality. No tongue can 
 express, or understanding conceive, what he 
 bore when his soul was exceeding sorrowful, 
 
 even unto death; and his sweat was, as rt 
 were, great drops of blood falling to the 
 ground ! 
 
 " Now let our pains be all forgot, 
 Our hearts no more repine ; 
 Our sufferings are not worth a thougm, 
 When, Lord, compared with thine." 
 
 We must also think of the dignity of this 
 sufferer. We commonly and properly feel 
 more for those who are reduced in life, than 
 for those who have never enjoyed a better 
 state, because the penury is embittered by 
 previous affluence. Job considers his former 
 greatness as an enhancement of his fall, and 
 contrasts with the honours shown him in his 
 prosperity, the insults now offered him by 
 those whose fathers he would have set 
 with the dogs of his flock. " They were 
 children of fools ; yea, children of base men : 
 they were viler than the earth. And now 1 
 am their song ; yea, I am their by-word. 
 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and 
 spare not to spit in my face." Jesus was the 
 Lord of all ; and all the angels of God wor- 
 shipped him. Yet was he despised and re- 
 jected of men; he was buffeted, scourged, 
 spit upon ; and not only the Scribes and El- 
 ders, but the soldiers, the common rabble, and 
 the very thieves, set him at nought, and vili- 
 fied him. But who and what are we 1 Our 
 foundation is in the dust. Man is a worm, 
 and the son of man is a worm. It is conde- 
 scension in God to have any thing to do with 
 him, yea, even to chastise him. " What is 
 man, that thou shouldest magnify him 1 and 
 that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him 1 
 And that thou shouldest visit him every morn- 
 ing, and try him every moment V 
 
 But the great may render themselves wor- 
 thy of their humiliations; and often have 
 been righteously punished. We suffer just- 
 ly, because we suffer the due reward of our 
 deeds. Good men themselves cannot com- 
 plain, or even wonder, at their afflictiona, 
 when they consider their years of irreligion, 
 and their sins, since they have known God 
 or rather have been known of him — for who 
 can understand his errors'! In the sudden 
 and awful death of his two sons, Aaron held 
 his peace — he had just before been aiding to 
 make the golden calf! David had been re- 
 cently guilty of adultery and murder ; when 
 therefore Absalom, his own son, as well as 
 subject, rose against him, what could he but 
 say, of his offended God, Here I am, let him 
 do to me what seemeth good unto him. 1 
 will bear the indignation of the Lord, be- 
 cause, says the Church, I have sinned against 
 him. But this man did nothing amiss. He 
 was harmless, holy, separate from sinners. 
 He could make the appeal to all his adversa- 
 ries, Which of you convinceth me of sin? 
 Yet he suffered — suffered, though innocent , 
 and was led as a lamb to the slaughter. 
 
 His sufferings, therefore, were for us, on!*/ 
 
FEBRUARY 1, 2. 
 
 41 
 
 and entirely for us — and what can be more 
 relieving in our sorrows, than to consider 
 the benefits we derive from his] Such is 
 the benefit of an atoning Sacrifice ; by which 
 we are delivered from all condemnation, and 
 have peace with God, and access to him. 
 What are trials, when there is no wrath in 
 them ] when they are only the effects of a fa- 
 ther's care] Then the bitterness of death is 
 past. Such is the benefit of a sympathising 
 Friend ; who, from his own experience, can 
 be touched with the feeling of our infirmities 
 — for in that he himself hath suffered, being 
 tempted, he is able also to succour them that 
 are tempted. Such is the benefit of an Ex- 
 ample ; which shows us how to act and how 
 to feel in the hour of trial — for he also suffer- 
 ed for us, leaving us an example, that we 
 should follow his steps. Such is the benefit 
 of Divine Influence ; for by dying, he obtain- 
 ed for us the dispensation of the Spirit, which 
 is therefore called his Spirit, and without the 
 supply of which, we must fail and sink — but 
 his grace is sufficient for us. 
 
 How encouraging, too, is it to remember 
 the issue of his sufferings. For the joy that 
 was set before him, he endured the Cross, 
 despising the shame, and is set down at the 
 right hand of the Throne of God. Our sor- 
 rows will also have an end — and the same 
 end. It is a faithful saying : for if we be 
 dead with him, we shall "also live with him. 
 If we suffer with him, we shall also be glori- 
 fied together. 
 
 FEBRUARY 1. 
 
 " Do ye now believe ?" — John xvi. 31. 
 
 This was in reply to the profession of his 
 disciples. They had said unto him, "Now 
 speakest thou plainly. Now we are sure that 
 thou knowest all things : by this we believe 
 that thou earnest forth from God." 
 
 It is not easy to lay the emphasis with per- 
 fect certainty; and yet, according as it is 
 laid, the language will strike us with some 
 shades of difference. 
 
 We may consider the words as an inquiry. 
 " Do ye now believe ? I have a right to ask, 
 and I do ask." He is not inattentive to our 
 condition, and our experience ; our deficiences, 
 and our improvements.— And though he need- 
 eth not that any should testify of man, because 
 he knoweth what is in man ; yet he will know 
 these things from ourselves ; that we may be 
 urged to consider, and be affected with our 
 own communications. 
 
 We may regard them as a censure. " Do 
 ye now believe 1 You ought to have believ- 
 ed long ago; yet hitherto, it would seem, 
 according to your own avowal, you have not 
 — that is, as you ought to have done, and as 
 you might have done. How strange and 
 blamable, that, with all your advantages, you 
 F 4* 
 
 have been, even down to this hour, filled with 
 hesitation and doubts." For he can reprove, 
 as well as encourage. Do ye not yet remem 
 ber] Do ye not yet understand ] After his 
 resurrection, he upbraided them with theii 
 unbelief, and hardness of heart. 
 
 We may consider them as a check to pre- 
 sumption. " Do ye now believe V You think 
 so; but have you not expressed yourselves 
 with too much confidence] You now con 
 sider yourselves confirmed believers : and you 
 suppose that you shall never err again ; fail 
 again. I know you better than you know 
 yourselves. Imagination is not reality : and 
 even„j will prove, that you have much less 
 faith than you now suppose — " Behold, the 
 hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall 
 be scattered, every man to his own, and shall 
 leave me alone." 
 
 There is a difference between hypocrisy 
 and instability. We may feel what we utter 
 at the time : but emotions are not principles ; 
 impulses are not dispositions. There may be 
 goodness : but it is like the morning cloud 
 and early dew, that soon passeth away. How 
 often do we become a wonder as well as a 
 grief to ourselves ! How little do we knew 
 of our own hearts, till we are tried. The 
 little ants disappear in the cloudy and rainy 
 day: and the observer might suppose they 
 were all dead. But let the sun shine forth ; 
 and they are again all alive, and in motion. 
 There is the same mud at the bottom of the 
 water when calm ; but the waves thereof cast 
 up the mire and dirt. 
 
 Let us not therefore make too much cl 
 frames and feelings. Let us not imagine, be- 
 cause we are now walking in the light of 
 God's countenance, that we shall never again 
 mourn his absence. Behold, the hour cometh 
 when we may consider all our present joy as 
 only a delusion. Do we now believe] A 
 change in the weather, a depression of animal 
 spirits, may renew all our doubts and fears ; 
 and we may be all apprehension again. 
 
 Therefore let us rejoice with trembling. 
 Let us remember our own weakness ; and in- 
 stead of depending on the grace that is in U3, 
 he strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
 
 " Beware of Peter's word ; 
 Nor confidently say, 
 I never will deny tliee. Lord : 
 But, grant I never may. 
 
 " Man's wisdom is to seek 
 In God his strength alone ; 
 And e'en an angel would be weak 
 That trusted in his own." 
 
 FEBRUARY 2. 
 
 " Oh that I had -wings like a dove ! for then 
 ■would Ify away, and be at rest." — Psalm 
 lv. 6. 
 
 Whose exclamation is this] It is obvious- 
 ly the language of a man not at rest. And if 
 
42 
 
 FEBRUARY 2. 
 
 we read the preceding and following verses, 
 we shall find that the complainant was, in- 
 deed, really in trouble. And so are many. It 
 seems inseparable from humanity. Man that 
 is born of woman is of few days and full of 
 trouble. 
 
 But who was this man) One of those deem- 
 ed the darlings of Providence : a man who 
 Lad experienced one of the most marvellous 
 revolutions recorded in history. For he was 
 originally nothing more than a shepherd; 
 but rose from obscurity, and became a hero, a 
 renowned conqueror, a powerful monarch. 
 God had given him the necks of his enemies 
 and the hearts of his subjects; and we might 
 have supposed him sated with victory, and 
 glory, and dominion, and riches. But from 
 the midst of all this he sighs, " Oh that I had 
 wings like a dove ! for then would I fly away, 
 and be at rest." For, with all his aggran- 
 dizements, how much did he suffer from im- 
 placable malevolence ! How much also from 
 eome of his own officers, and especially his 
 .lephew Joab, the commander-in-chief! After 
 "earing his fine palace of cedar, he could not 
 for a length of time take possession of it : for 
 he was sick nigh unto death ; and week after 
 week saw the graves ready for him. And 
 suppose they had then brought out his crown 
 and imposed it upon him — would this have 
 eased an aching head, or have relieved the 
 anguish of a disordered body ? What is an 
 ornamented room in the rage of a fever ? His 
 own house also was not with God. What a dis- 
 tracted and wretched family ! His daughter is 
 humbled. The incestuous brother is murdered. 
 The murderer becomes a traitor, and drives his 
 father, as well as king, into exile. In his flight, 
 he is told that Ahithophel, his bosom friend and 
 counsellor, is among the conspirators with 
 Absalom. Who can tell what other sorrows 
 corroded him ! The heart knoweth his own 
 bitterness. There are griefs that we cannot 
 pour even into the bosom of intimacy. There 
 are thorns in the nest that pierce through the 
 down that lines it, but are known and felt 
 only by the occupier. Did David never re- 
 gret the loss of the privacy of Bethlehem ? 
 
 The spirit that is in us lusteth to envy. 
 We are prone to think that, though general- 
 ly men are born to trouble, there are some 
 exempted individuals ; and that though, com- 
 monly considered, this earth is a vale of tears, 
 there are some privileged spots. And it is 
 worthy our observation, that these exceptions 
 always belong to others, and always to those 
 who are above us. Is the servant happy? 
 He will when he is master. Is the master 
 happy? He will when he is rich. Is the 
 rich man happy ? He will when he is enno- 
 bled, and has distinction as well as gold. Is 
 the nobleman happy ? He will when he his 
 king. Is the king — the king happy ? " Oh," 
 says he, " oh that I had wings like a dove ! 
 or then wouM I fly away, and be at rest." 
 
 Let us remember this, and not'be afraid 
 when one is made rich, and the glory of his 
 house is increased. Let us check the risings 
 of ambition, and not seek great things to our 
 selves. Let us learn in whatsoever state we 
 ".re, to be content ; and follow the moderation 
 jf the Patriarch, who asked only for bread tc 
 eat, and raiment to put on, and a safe return 
 to his father's house in peace. 
 
 Felicity depends not upon external condi 
 tion, but the state of the mind. Paul was 
 happy in prison; Nero was miserable in a 
 palace. Haman, after telling his wife and 
 his friends all his promotion and glory, adds, 
 Yet all this availeth me nothing so long as I 
 see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king'? 
 gate. On that night could not the king sleep. 
 
 " Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep- 
 He, like the world, his ready visit pays, 
 Where fortune smiles" — 
 
 But is this true? Sleep, sound, wholesome, 
 refreshing sleep, has least to do where for- 
 tune smiles. His ready visits are paid to the 
 early rising, the temperate, the diligent : the 
 sleep of a labouring man is sweet. "The 
 wretched," indeed, " he forsakes." But where 
 does he find them ? Here is one of them — 
 the ruler of one hundred and twenty-seven 
 provinces — on that night could not the king 
 sleep. Ahab, the monarch of Israel, is me- 
 lancholy and sick, and cannot eat, because he 
 cannot obtain Naboth's little parcel of ground 
 for a garden of herbs ; and neither his happi- 
 ness or health could go on till his worthy 
 helpmate taught him to gratify his wish by 
 the destruction of the nobleminded peasant. 
 How wise was the answer of the Shunamite, 
 when Elisha offered to speak for her to the 
 king — " I dwell among my own people." If 
 we are not content with such things as we 
 have, we shall never be satisfied with such 
 things as we desire. If there is a difference 
 in outward conditions, it lies against those 
 who fill the higher ones. Their want of oc- 
 cupation — the listlessness, far worse than any 
 labour, they feel — the little relish they have 
 of natural refreshment — their sufferings from 
 weak nerves and timid spirits — their squeam 
 ish anxieties about their health — the soften- 
 ing of their disposition by indulgence and 
 ease, so that they are unable to endure — their 
 sensibility under trifling vexations, which 
 others despise — their leisure to brood over a 
 progeny of dangers — the envies to which thev 
 are liable — their cares, fears, responsibilities 
 and dependence — the unreasonable things 
 expected from them, and their inability to 
 give satisfaction to expectants — Where shall 
 I end ? These, and a thousand other things, 
 should be enough to show the poor and the 
 busy that those who are placed above them 
 are taxed in the same proportion. 
 
 Neither, however, is the opposite state the 
 most desirable. As far as happiness depends 
 w any outward condition, there lies — be« 
 
FEBRUARY 3, 4. 
 
 45 
 
 aveen tne extremes of prosperity and adver- 
 sity, penury and affluence — the most eligible 
 choice. If life be a pilgrimage, man the tra- 
 veller, is best prepared for advancing, not 
 when the shoe pinches, or when it is large 
 and loose ; but when it fits — not when he is 
 destitute of a staff to lean upon, or when he 
 has a large bundle of such articles to carry ; 
 but when he has one, which affords him as- 
 tistance without incumbrance. Pray we 
 therefore, " Remove far from me vanity and 
 lies : give me neither poverty nor riches ; 
 feed me with food convenient for me : lest I 
 be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the 
 Lord 1 or lest I be poor, and steal, and take 
 the name of my God in vain." 
 
 FEBRUARY 3. 
 
 u Thou shall rememoer that thou toast a bond- 
 man in Egypt, and the Lord thy God re- 
 deemed thee thence." — DeuU xxiv. 18. 
 
 The bondage of Egypt, under Pharaoh's 
 tyranny and task-masters, was nothing to the 
 bondage of corruption, in which sinners are 
 naturally held, and the power of darkness, 
 from which we are translated into the king- 
 dom of God's dear Son. And the freedom the 
 Jews obtained, when they were delivered by 
 a strong hand and a stretched-out arm, was 
 not to be compared with the glorious liberty 
 of the sons of God. If the Son makes us free, 
 we are free indeed. 
 
 And this redemption is what we are called 
 to remember. The admonition may seem 
 needless. For can such a deliverance be ever 
 forgotten ? We should once have deemed it 
 impossible ; but we are prone to forget his 
 works, and the wonders which he lias shown 
 us. The event indeed can never be forgotten 
 completely. But we need to have our minds 
 stirred up by way of remembrance. And for 
 four purposes — We should remember that we 
 were bondmen in the land of Egypt — but the 
 Lord our God redeemed us thence. 
 
 First, for the purpose of humility. We 
 are prone to think more highly of ourselves 
 than we ought to think : but with the lowly 
 is wisdom. God resisteth the proud, but 
 giveth grace unto the humble. And surely we 
 have enough to hide pride from us, if we re- 
 flect properly. If we are now wise, we were 
 once foolish; if we are now justified, we 
 were once condemned ; if we are now the 
 sons of God, we were once the servants of 
 sin. Let us look to the rock whence we were 
 hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence we 
 were digged. 
 
 Secondly, we should remember it for the 
 purpose of gratitude. We are affected with 
 the kindnesses shown us by our fellow-crea- 
 tures : yet they were under obligation to re- 
 lieve us. We had not forfeited our lives to 
 them. They did not deliver us from the 
 lowest hell. They did not become poor to 
 
 enrich us, and die that we may live. And 
 shall we overlook our infinite Benefactor' 1 
 We have no claims upon Him, for the least 
 of all his mercies ; and therefore should be 
 thankful for all his benefits — But herein is 
 love. Thanks be unto God for his unspeak- 
 able gift. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; 
 for he hath visited and redeemed his people. 
 
 Thirdly, we should remember it for the 
 purpose of confidence. David argued from 
 the past to the future; and said, Because 
 thou hast been my help, therefore, under the 
 shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. But here 
 we have a peculiar reason for encourage- 
 ment. For what were we when He first took 
 knowledge of us 1 Was he not found of them 
 that sought him not 1 The want of worthi- 
 ness was not a bar to his goodness then — And 
 will it be so now 1 Is there with him any va- 
 riableness or shadow of turning'? Is there not 
 the same power in his arm, and the same love 
 in his heart] Did he pardon me when a 
 rebel, and will he cast me off now he has 
 made me a friend 1 " If, when we were ene- 
 mies, we were reconciled to God by the 
 death of his Son, much more, being recon- 
 ciled, we shall be saved by his life." " He 
 that spared not his own Son, but delivered 
 him up for us all, how shall he not with him 
 also freely give us all things 1" 
 
 Fourthly, we should remember it for the 
 purpose of pity and zeal. How many are 
 there all around you, in the gall of bitterness 
 and the bond of iniquity, ready to perish! 
 You know the state they are in ; and you 
 know the blessedness of a deliverance from 
 it You are witnesses for God, and can tell of 
 what he is able and willing to do. You can 
 speak from experience. Invite, therefore, the 
 prisoners of hope to turn to him. Say to the 
 destitute, That which we have seen and 
 heard, declare we unto you, that ye may also 
 have fellowship with us. O taste and see that 
 the Lord is good: blessed is the man that, 
 trusteth in him. 
 
 FEBRUARY 4. 
 
 And Jacob said, God of my father Aoru- 
 ham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord 
 ■which saidst unto me, Return unto thy coun- 
 try, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well 
 with thee : I am not -worthy of the least of 
 all the mercies, and of all the truth, which 
 thou hast showed unto thy servant ; for with 
 my staff I passed over this Jordan ; and 
 now I am become two bands. Deliver me, J 
 pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from 
 the hand of Esau : for I fear him, lest he 
 will come and smite me, and the mother with 
 the children. And thou saidst, I will surely 
 do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand 
 of the sea, which cannot be numbered fo' 
 multitude." — Gen. xxxii. 9 — 12. 
 
 We cannot too much admire the conduct 
 
44 
 
 FEBRUARY 4. 
 
 of Jacob, on this trying occasion ; when he 
 had to meet his enraged brotlier Esau. The 
 religion that, aiming at something uncommon 
 and preternatural, disregards the plain dic- 
 tates of reason and revelation, is always to be 
 suspected. On the other hand, caution and 
 exertion, unaccompanied with a devout de- 
 pendence upon God, is the wisdom of the 
 world, which is foolishness with Him : and 
 he will take the wise in their own craftiness. 
 Therefore, prudence and piety should always 
 be connected together. Accordingly, Jacob 
 sends forward a deputation, with a soft an- 
 swer that turneth away wrath ; and arranges 
 his company and cattle in the wisest order — 
 But what does he then? When we have 
 done all that we can do — to what does the 
 whole amount 1 " Except the Lord build the 
 house, they labour in vain that build it : ex- 
 cept the Lord keep the city, the watchman 
 waketh but in vain :" and unless he gives his 
 beloved sleep, " in vain we rise early and sit 
 up late, and eat the bread of sorrows." When 
 we have planned, and are setting all our 
 measures in motion, then is the time to take 
 hold of God, and say, " O Lord, I beseech 
 thee, send now prosperity." Jacob, therefore, 
 now prays ; and as this prayer was heard, and 
 He who teaches us how to pray is our best 
 friend, let us glance at the particulars which 
 God has here noticed. 
 
 Observe the relation under which he ad- 
 dresses the Supreme Being. " O God of my 
 father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac." 
 As much as to say, my family God ; and my 
 God in covenant. This was laying hold of 
 his faithfulness, as well as goodness, and ask- 
 ing in faith. We have another title under 
 which to bespeak attention — The God and 
 father of our Lord Jesus Christ This in- 
 spires more abundant hope ; and involves 
 more exceeding great and precious promises. 
 It reminds of a covenant made with him, and 
 so with us, everlasting, ordered in all things, 
 and sure. 
 
 He appeals to the will of God in his present 
 difficulty. "Thou saidst unto me, Return 
 unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I 
 will deal well with thee" — I am now in a 
 strait, but I have been brought into it by fol- 
 lowing thee. This was wise. They that 
 suffer according to the will of God, may com- 
 mit the keeping of their souls to him in well- 
 doing. It affords great relief to the mind, 
 and much aids our confidence, when we are 
 conscious that the embarrassments we feel 
 have not been brought upon ourselves, but 
 have befallen us in the path of duty. And 
 how does it add to the pressure of the burden, 
 and the bitterness of the cup, when God asks, 
 " What dost thou here, Elijah 1" and consci- 
 ence cries, " Hast thou not procured this unto 
 thyself?" Let no man, therefore, suffer as a 
 murderer, as a thief, or as a busy-body in other 
 men's matters. We complain of the world : 
 
 and there are many unavoidable ,11s in life •, 
 but there is a large multitude of evils entirely 
 of our own producing, and God is no other- 
 wise accessary to them, than as he has, in the 
 nature of things and the course of providence, 
 established a connexion between folly and 
 misery. 
 
 He shows his humility. " I am not worth} 
 of the least of all the mercies, and of all the 
 truth, which thou hast showed unto thy ser- 
 vant." This temper is not natural to us ; but 
 grace brings us down, and keeps us from 
 thinking more highly of ourselves than we 
 ought to think. We cannot have too much 
 of this self-abasing disposition : it will restrain 
 us from exercising ourselves in great matters, 
 and in things too high for us ; it will keep us 
 from murmuring under our trials ; it will teach 
 us, in whatever state we are, therewith to be 
 content ; and it will dispose us In every thing 
 to give thanks. Only in proportion as we 
 are humble, can we be thankful. 
 
 Jacob, therefore, acknowledges the kind- 
 ness of God towards him. More than twenty 
 years before, he had crossed the same river 
 where he now was. At that time he had no 
 inheritance ; no, not so much as to set his 
 foot on. He was going forth, a poor pilgrim 
 in search of subsistence ; and all that he sti- 
 pulated for was bread to eat, and raiment to 
 put on ; and a return to his father's house in 
 peace. From this condition he had been rais- 
 ed to affluence ; and his family and his flock 
 had equally multiplied. Therefore, says he, 
 " For with my staff I passed over this Jordan ; 
 and now I am become two bands" — alluding 
 to the division which he had just made of his 
 household and his substance. We should do 
 well often to review life ; and to mark the 
 changes which have taken place in our sta- 
 tions and circumstances. Have not many 
 attained conditions, which would once have 
 appeared the most improbable ? Yet the Lord 
 has made windows in heaven — and such 
 things have been. Yet he has brought the 
 blind by a way that they knew not; and made 
 darkness light before them. Those born in 
 the lap of ease, and whose course has been 
 always even, cannot enter into the feelingH 
 of those who have found themselves advanced, 
 without any designs formed by their friends, 
 or expectations indulged by themselves. But 
 how sad will it be, if they want the disposi- 
 tion of Jacob ; and, forgetting that the blessing 
 of the Lord maketh rich, sacrifice to their 
 own net 
 
 Observe his petition. " Deliver me, I pray 
 thee, from the hand of my brother, from the 
 hand of Esau : for I fear him, lest he will 
 come and smite me, and the mother with the 
 children." Here nature speaks ; and we are 
 allowed to feel, and even to desire the cup 
 may pass from us, with submission to the will 
 of God. How much was there here to awaken 
 anxiety and dread ! not oaly his own death- 
 
FEBRUARY 5. 
 
 4T> 
 
 out the destruction of each of his wives — and 
 each a mother too — and of his children also 
 — and of the mother with the children ; or, 
 as it is in the margin, the mother upon the 
 children — So it would have been. On the 
 approach of the executioner, she would have 
 thrown herself upon them, to cover and de- 
 fend them ; and in vain would he have en- 
 deavoured to pull her away — she would have 
 been slaughtered upon their bodies. 
 
 Finally, his argument. " And thou saidst, 
 I w2J surely do thee good, and make thy seed 
 as the sand of the sea, which cannot be num- 
 bered for multitude." He had mentioned 
 this before — Thou saidst, I will deal well 
 with thee : and now he repeats it It was a 
 sweet morsel, and he rolls it under his tongue. 
 It was a breast of consolation, and he sucks 
 till he is satisfied. It shows us that promises 
 do not supersede prayer. If God has engaged 
 to do a thing, it will indeed be accomplished, 
 but in his own way ; and he has ordained the 
 means, as well as the end. The promises 
 furnish us both with matter and encourage- 
 ment when we pray : and we cannot do bet- 
 ter than to repeat them, and to plead them 
 with God. This, says an old writer, is suing 
 God upon his own bond. " Remember thy 
 word unto servant, on which thou hast caused 
 me to hope." 
 
 FEBRUARY 5. 
 
 " That, whether toe -wake or sleep, we should 
 live together -with him." — 1 Thess. v. 10. 
 
 How well does the Apostle call the Re- 
 deemer " our life." There are three modes 
 of expression by which our relation to hh» 
 under this character is held forth : and they 
 all furnish matter for the most important 
 meditation. We are said to live by Him — 
 " He that loveth me, even he, shall live by 
 me." We are said to live to Him — " They 
 that live, shall not live unto themselves, but 
 unto Him that died for them, and rose again." 
 And we are said to live with Him — " That, 
 whether we wake or sleep, we should live 
 together with him." 
 
 To judge of this state, we must consider 
 where he lives; and how he lives: and what 
 he is ; and how far he is able, by his presence, 
 to bless us, and make us happy. For though 
 our happiness, with such a nature as ours, 
 must be social, it is not a privilege to live with 
 every one. With some it would be a misery 
 to dwell even here : and to have our "portion 
 with the hypocrites and unbelievers," and to 
 be with " the devil and his angel^," will be a 
 dreadful part of future torment But oh ! to 
 unite with those who will be all loveliness ! 
 To embrace, without any fear of separation, 
 those who were endeared to us on earth ! To 
 Bit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in 
 the kingdom of God \ To join the innumera- 
 
 ble company of angels! But, above all, tc 
 live with Jesus ! To be with him where he 
 is, to behold his glory ! To walk with him 
 in white ! To reign with him ! For ever 
 and ever ! — This is far better. 
 
 The season for enjoying it as — "whether 
 we wake," i. e. live ; or " whether we sleep," 
 i. e. die. It takes in, therefore, time and 
 eternity ; our living with him on earth and ic 
 heaven ; in the communion of grace, and in 
 the fellowship of glory. These are insepara- 
 bly connected, and are essentially one and 
 the same condition with regard to him ; but 
 they differ in degree, as the bud and the 
 flower, the dawn and the day, the child and 
 the man differ. His people live with him now, 
 but not as they will live with him hereafter. 
 Now he is invisible — then they will see him 
 as he is. Now their intercourse with him is 
 mediate, and often interrupted — then it will 
 be immediate, and free from any annoyance. 
 Now they are with him in the wilderness — 
 then they will be with him in the land flow- 
 ing with milk and honey. Now they groan, 
 being burdened with infirmities, and cares 
 and troubles — then they will be presented 
 faultless before the presence of his glory, with 
 exceeding joy. Yet whether they wake or 
 sleep, they live together with him. 
 
 And does not this more than inaicate his 
 divinity? How else can they live with him 
 now 1 He is no more here, as to his bodily 
 presence — for the heavens have received him. 
 Yet where two or three are gathered to- 
 gether in his name, he is in the midst of 
 them. Yet he said, Lo ! I am with you al- 
 ways even unto the end of the world. Yet 
 says the Apostle, We live with him even 
 while we wake ! At the same time, others 
 live with him when they sleep — The dead 
 are with him above, while the living are with 
 him below ! How 1 unless he pervades all 
 periods'? Unless he occupies all places'? 
 How'? unless he can say, "Do not I fill 
 heaven and earth V It is obvious the Apos 
 tie viewed him as omnipresent; and could 
 say " Whom have I in heaven but Thee 1 and 
 there is none upon earth I desire besides 
 Thee." 
 
 Here is your happiness, Christians. It is 
 your union with Christ This prepares you 
 for all seasons, and all conditions. Do you 
 think of lm** This is sometimes discourag- 
 ing; especially when you contemplate the 
 prospect in a moment of gloom. But why 
 should you be dismayed 1 If you wake, you 
 will live together with him. If your conti- 
 nuance here be prolonged, you will not be 
 alone. He will always be within your call 
 He will render every duty practicable, every 
 trial supportable, every event profitable. And 
 therefore, whatever be your circumstances, 
 you may boldly say, "Nevertheless I am 
 continually with thee ; thou hast holden m<? 
 by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me 
 
m 
 
 FEBRUARY t>, /. 
 
 with thy counsel, and afterward receive me 
 to glory." — Do you think of death 1 This is 
 often distressing, and there is much in it to 
 dismay — if viewed separate from him. But 
 if you sleep, you will live together with him. 
 Death, that severs every other bond, cannot 
 touch the ligatures that unite you to him — 
 As you leave others, you approach nearer to 
 him — you get more perfectly into his pre- 
 »ence — you are for ever with the Lord. 
 
 Voltaire more than once says, in his letters 
 o Madame Duffand, " I hate life, and yet I 
 am afraid to die." A Christian fears neither 
 of these. He is willing to abide: and he is 
 ready to go. Life is his. Death is his. 
 Whether we wake or sleep, we shall live 
 together with him. 
 
 FEBRUARY 6. 
 
 u And, behold, two of them went that tame day 
 to a village called Emmaus, -which was from 
 Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And 
 they talked together of all these things which 
 had happened. And it came to pass, that, 
 •while they communed together and reasoned, 
 Jesus himself drew near, and went with 
 them." — Luke xxiv. 13 — 15. 
 
 The name of the one, was Cleopas ; of the 
 other, we are ignorant. We are also unac- 
 quainted with the design of this journey — 
 But it betrayed the imperfection of these dis- 
 ciples. For it is not asonishing, that they 
 could leave Jerusalem before they had ascer- 
 tained an event so interesting as his resur- 
 rection ; especially as he had more than once 
 assured them, that he should rise again the 
 third day ; and certain women, early at the 
 sepulchre, had reported that the body was 
 missing, and that they were informed by a 
 vision of angels, that he was alive : and also 
 some from among themselves had gone to the 
 grave, and found it even as they had said ! — 
 Yet they walk off into the country in the 
 midst of all this perplexity ! Such is our im- 
 patience ! Such is our fear ! Such is our 
 despondency !— But he that believeth maketh 
 not haste. 
 
 Yet a drop is water, and a spark is fire : 
 and a little grace is grace, and perfectly dis- 
 tinguishable from mere nature. And we 
 have here not only infirmity, but excellency. 
 Their minds cleave unto him still. They 
 can talk about nothing else. 
 
 And he joins them in the way. Let me not 
 pass over this without remark. 
 
 It shows the Saviour's kindness and ten- 
 derness. He does not despise the day of small 
 tilings, nor cast off those who have a little 
 etrengti. I know not what kind of person he 
 had. But if he had not bodily beauty ; in his 
 mind, he was fairer than the children of men. 
 I am sure of his temper — I can look into bis 
 
 heart — I see that it is made of love, — " A 
 bruised reed will he not break; and the 
 smoking flax will he not quench; but will 
 bring forth judgment into victory." 
 
 It shows me the truth of the promise. 
 " Where" — let it be where it will ; in the 
 temple, the private dwelling, the field, the 
 road : " where two or three" — if there are no 
 more ; for as he is not confined to place, so 
 neither to number — " are gathered together 
 in my Name, there am I in the midst of 
 them." 
 
 I also learn, that the way to have him foj 
 our companion, is to make him our theme. 
 No theme ought to be so dear — no theme can 
 be so excellent — so profitable. 
 
 Let worldly minds pursue the things of the 
 world. But let Christians abundantly utter 
 the memory of his great goodness ; and men- 
 tion the lovingkindness of the Lord. And 
 then he will always be found of them. 
 
 " We'll talk of all hedid and said, 
 And suffer d for us here below ; 
 The path he mark'd for us to tread. 
 And what he is doing for us now 
 
 " Thus, as the moments pass away, 
 We'll love, and wonder, and adore ; 
 And hasten on the glorious day 
 When we shall meet to part no more * 
 
 FEBRUARY 7. 
 " Take up thy bed, and walk." — John \. 6. 
 
 We are too prone to overlook the circum- 
 stantial and incidental instruction of the sa- 
 cred writers — forgetful that every word of 
 God is pure; and that whatsoever tilings 
 were written aforetime, were written for our 
 learning. Let us not lose any of this hid trea- 
 sure, for want of observing, and applying what 
 we read. 
 
 Our Saviour met with this man at the pool 
 of Bethesda; but no sooner had he pro- 
 nounced the word of healing, than he orders 
 him to take up his bed, and walk. He has al 
 ways reasons for his conduct, though they are 
 not always perceptible. But we can see four 
 reasons for this command. 
 
 First, it was to evince the perfection of the 
 cure. His walking, indeed, would prove this ; 
 but his taking up his bed, and being able to 
 carry that in which he had been carried, 
 would display it still more, as it showed hi« 
 strength, as well as health. We often refer 
 to miracles ; and they are the witness of the 
 Spirit But the question is, were they true 1 
 Never could any thing have been more re- 
 mote from imposition, than the miracles re- 
 corded in the Gospel. Examine them. They 
 were many — they were public — they were 
 performed before witnesses interested in their 
 detection, had they been false. The circum- 
 stances, too, were always corroborative. Does 
 he raise the dead 1 The young man was car- 
 ried to his burial, attended with much oeo 
 
FhlUiiCAllX 8. 
 
 pie. lazarus was in his grave, and had been 
 dead four days. Does he recover the infirm 
 and the diseased ? The man whose eyes he 
 opened, was born blind. And this paralytic 
 had been afflicted "thirty-eight years ; and in 
 a moment he was made whole ; and was seen 
 by all going home with his bed upon his 
 shoulders. 
 
 Secondly, it was to teach him to be careful, 
 and to waste nothing. The bed probably was 
 not very valuable, but he was not to throw it 
 away. In correspondence with this, after the 
 miracle of the loaves and fishes, even then, 
 when he had shown with what ease he could 
 multiply resources, and support his creatures, 
 he said, " Gather up the fragments that re- 
 main, that nothing be lost" Christians should 
 avoid closeness and meanness, lest their good 
 be evil spoken of. But there is another ex- 
 treme they should be anxious to avoid : it is 
 profusion, negligence, carelessness. They 
 ought not to love money; but they should 
 know the use and worth of it; and remember 
 that they are responsible for all they have. 
 How needy are many : and how ready would 
 they be to call down the blessing of Heaven 
 upon you for a few mites ; for the remnants 
 of your wardrobe ; for the refuse of your gar- 
 den ; for the crumbs that fall from your ta- 
 ble ! Be examples of economy yourselves. 
 Teach your children to be prodigal of no- 
 thing. You would dismiss a servant that pur- 
 loined ; keep no one that wastes. How unfru- 
 gal often are the poor ! How few of them 
 seem to know how to make the most of any 
 of their pittances ! Iiet them be instructed 
 personally and by tracts. 
 
 Thirdly, as a memento of his deliverance 
 and duty. When at home, and looking on this 
 bed, he would say — Ah ! there I lay, a poor 
 enfeebled creature ; and said, " My strength 
 and my hope is perished from the Lord : re- 
 membering mine affliction and my misery, the 
 wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them 
 still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. 
 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I 
 hope." It is a sad charge against Israel, that 
 they soon forgot his works, and the wonders 
 he had shown them. We are prone to the 
 same evil ; and need every assistance to aid 
 recollection. Joseph and Moses made the very 
 names of their children remembrancers. 
 Samuel set up a stone, and called it Ebenezer. 
 Some have set apart particular days. Some 
 have kept diaries — 
 
 " Why should the wonders he has wrought 
 Be lost in silence, and forgot ?" 
 
 Fourthly, to try his obedience. Carrying 
 his bed was a servile work ; and it was nov 
 the Sabbath, on which day no burden was to 
 be borne. He seemed therefore to oppose the 
 law of Moses ; and accordingly the Pharisees 
 were offended, and murmured. But works of 
 necessity and mercy were always proper; and 
 
 the Sabbath was made for man ; and the Sci 1 
 of man was Lord even of the Sabbath-day. 
 
 And it is pleasing to find that the man'o 
 mind was informed, while his body was 
 cured ; and to hear him reasoning with th'j 
 objectors as he does. " He answered them, Hu 
 that made me whole, the same said unto me 
 Take up thy bed, and walk." How fine, how 
 instructive is this ! — We are not to judge the 
 Lord's commands, but to follow them. — His 
 orders may be trying, and in obeying them we 
 may give offence: but we need not regard 
 the revilings of men, while we can plead his 
 authority. — It is our deliverer, our benefactor, 
 who enjoins : and what has He said unto us * 
 He that died for us, and saved us from the 
 wrath to come — what will He have me to do 1 
 He that made me whole, the same says unto 
 me, "If ye love me, keep my command- 
 ments." 
 
 FEBRUARY 8. 
 
 " And he teas there in the prison. 
 Gen. xxxix. 20. 
 
 Yet he was not there criminally ; but 
 under an imputation, as false as it was infa 
 mous. How little can we judge of character 
 from outward condition ! At one time, the besl 
 people in the country were to be found at thj 
 stake, or in prison. But it is the cause, ar i 
 not the cross, that makes the martyr. Let ? s 
 see, that, like Daniel, we are accused only ia 
 the law of our God : and resemble Paul, wr t 
 suffered as an evil doer, even unto bonds, bit 
 was far from being one. Let us beware c 
 drawing upon ourselves deserved reproach o' 
 persecution, by imprudent or immoral con- 
 duct : " What glory is it, if when ye are buf 
 feted for your faults, ye take it patiently ?" 
 
 "And he was there in the prison" — But hf 
 was not alone there. The Lord was witJ 
 Joseph — He hath said, " I will never leav*. 
 thee nor forsake thee." No situation car 
 exclude God from access to his people ; o ! 
 keep them from intercourse wifh God. Je 
 remiah found Him in the deep dungeon; 
 John in the isle of Patmos; and Paul on the 
 sea. His people sometimes wonder at this -, 
 the experience is beyond their expectation . 
 and they say, with Jacob, " Surely the Lord 
 is in this place ; and I knew it not." Ye 1 
 they might know it— e£pecially if it be a 
 scene of distress; for has he not said, " I wi ; ! 
 be with thee in trouble f 
 
 "And he was there in the prison"— Put 
 he was not miserable there. All was peace 
 within. His rejoicing was this, the testimony 
 of his conscience. How much happier was 
 he in this respect, than his vile mistress, who 
 had knowingly belied him ; and his brethren, 
 who had cruelly sold him — how galled often 
 would they be by reflection and self-reproach ! 
 How much happier was he, the suffering 
 
48 
 
 FEBRUARY 9. 
 
 itive, than Potiphar, his prosperous master — 
 f ea, than Pharaoh upon the throne ! Strange 
 is it may seem, this prisoner, in this wretch- 
 id confinement, was by far the happiest man 
 n Egypt. But he had the presence of God. 
 This presence makes the fulness of joy 
 ibove ; and this presence here, turns a prison 
 into a palace — into a temple. The world 
 marvels to see how Christians are sustained 
 and consoled in their afflictions; but the rea- 
 son is, they cannot see all : they can see their 
 burdens, but not the everlasting arms under- 
 neath them : they can see their sorrows, but 
 not the comforts of the Holy Ghost shed 
 abroad in their hearts — But they themselves 
 know, that as the sufferings of Christ abound 
 in them, the consolation also aboundeth by 
 Christ. 
 
 " And he was there in prison" — But he 
 was not there in vain. He was a witness 
 for the God of Israel : and the very manner 
 of his suffering ; his temper ; his carriage, if 
 he had said nothing, would have impressed 
 all that beheld him. But he would also speak 
 a word m season ; and his addresses, enforced 
 by his example, would carry weight with 
 them. He taught the master of the prison ; 
 and his fellow-sufferers; and explained the 
 dreams of the chief baker and butler; and 
 thus raised wonder, and gained confidence, 
 which he failed not to turn to advantage. — 
 There, also, he was himself at school ; and 
 gained much useful knowledge, while "the 
 word of the Lord tried him." His tribulation 
 wrought patience, and patience experience, 
 and experience hope. In the prison he was 
 prepared for the palace. By his adversity, 
 he was made meet for prosperity. He could 
 well say, " It is good for me that I have been 
 afflicted." 
 
 " And he was there in the prison" — But he 
 was not there always. Nothing could detain 
 him when the word of the Lord came, and 
 commanded his deliverance. Till then, he 
 relied on God's promise ; but his confidence 
 was sorely exercised: the event was not only 
 delayed, but- seemed to grow less probable, 
 and the gloom thickened. But he found, that 
 it is good for a man not only to hope, but 
 quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 
 At length, and not a moment beyond his own 
 appointed time, and not a moment beyond 
 the best time, the Lord appeared ; and from 
 prison he steps into the second chariot in 
 Egypt. 
 
 Christians, the God you serve is continual- 
 ly able to deliver you. If you have his word, 
 lay hold of it; and let it keep your mind in 
 pei feet peace, being stayed on him. You 
 have nothing to do with difficulties. Indeed 
 there are none where the truth of God is con- 
 cerned. You believe in God the Father Al- 
 mighty, Maker of heaven and earth — He 
 turneth the shadow of death into the morn- 
 ing. At evening time it shall be light. 
 
 FEBRUAR/9. 
 
 " JWy soul shall make her boast in the Lord 
 the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad* 
 Psalm xxxiv. 2. 
 
 We are prone to boast; and there is 
 scarcely any thing that does not often call 
 forth the tendency. Some boast of their 
 beauty — Some, of the multitude of theii 
 riches — Some, of their pedigree and rank- 
 Some, of their genius, and learning, and 
 knowledge. Some boast of their wickedness ; 
 which is glorying in their shame. Some 
 boast of their goodness, when, too, they have 
 none ; for there is a generation who are pure 
 in their own eyes, and are not washed from 
 their filthiness. But they who have "the 
 root of the matter" in them — Have they any 
 right to boast ? Is their religion derived from 
 themselves'! Is it self-sustained 1 Is it per- 
 fect 1 ? Where is boasting, then] It is ex- 
 cluded. By what law? The law of faith — 
 for " it is of faith, that it might be of grace." 
 And this is its language : " God hath chosen 
 the foolish things of the world to confound 
 the wise; and God hath chosen the weak 
 things of the world to confound the things 
 which are mighty; and base things of the 
 world, and things which are despised, hath 
 God chosen, yea, and things which are not, 
 to bring to nought things that are : that no 
 flesh should glory in his presence. But ot 
 Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is 
 made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and 
 sanctification, and redemption : that, accord- 
 ing as it is written, He that glorieth, let him 
 glory in the Lord." 
 
 But here we see, that we may glory in 
 Him, though we are forbidden to glory in crea- 
 tures, or in ourselves. Accordingly, David 
 says, " My soul shall make her boast in 
 the Lord." And so ought we to resolve. 
 And there are moments and frames, when, 
 surveying Him in his works, and perfections, 
 and promises, the believer can exult with joy 
 unspeakable and full of glory — 
 
 " All my capacious powers can boast. 
 In thee most richly meet ; 
 Nor to my eyes is light so dear, 
 Nor friendship half so sweet." 
 
 " What a Friend have I ! a tried, kind, al- 
 mighty, everlasting Friend: a Friend who 
 loveth at all times, and has sworn that ho 
 will never leave me nor forsake me — ' This 
 is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, C 
 daughters of Jerusalem.' What a Shepherd 
 have I ! The Lord is my shepherd ; I shal! 
 not want He maketh me to lie down in 
 green pastures. He leadeth me beside the 
 still waters. He restoreth my soul: he 
 leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, for 
 his Name's sake. Yea, though I walk through 
 the valley of the shadow of deatn, I will fear 
 no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and 
 thy staff, they comfort me." What a God u 
 
FEBRUARY 10 
 
 aine ! The God of truth ; the God of all 
 grace ; a God in covenant ; a God in Christ 
 — This is my God for ever and ever : lie will 
 be my guide even unto death. What a por- 
 tion is mine ! " The Lord is the portion of 
 mine inheritance and of my cup: thou main- 
 tainest my lot The lines are fallen unto 
 me in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly 
 heritage." 
 
 But not only is included here, the elevation 
 uf joyous feeling, arising from the view and 
 possession of magnificent good ; but also the 
 b-eaking forth of gratitude and praise. The 
 selfish and the proud dislike the thought of de- 
 pendence, and wish every acquisition to be 
 considered as of their own procuring : — 
 " therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and 
 burn incense unto their drag." But pious 
 minds ever delight to own, that they have 
 nothing but what they have received. It is 
 very painful to be under obligations to an ene- 
 my ; but how pleasant is it to be indebted to 
 one we admire and love ! They who, there- 
 fore, supremely love their God and Saviour, 
 make their boast in the Lord. They will 
 hereafter cast their crowns before the Throne ; 
 and their language now is, " By the grace of 
 God, I am what I am." " In the Lord have 
 1 righteousness and strength." " I will great- 
 ly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful 
 in my God ; for he hath clothed me with the 
 garments of salvation, he hath covered me 
 with the robe of righteousness, as a bride- 
 groom decketh himself with ornaments, and 
 as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." 
 
 David supposes that his doing this would 
 be known — " The humble shall hear there- 
 of." They would possibly hear it from others : 
 for the godly have their observers, and are 
 " men wondered at." They were likely to 
 hear it from himself Therefore, says he, 
 " O magnify the Lord with me, and let us 
 exalt his Name together. I sought the Lord, 
 and he heard me, and delivered me from all 
 my fears." " Come and hear, all ye that 
 fear God, and I will declare what he hath 
 done for my soul. I cried unto him with my 
 mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue." 
 Spiritual sadness seeks seclusion and conceal- 
 ment. Then, as the stricken deer leaves the 
 herd, the man sitteth alone and keeps silence, 
 because he has borne it upon him. Peter 
 went out and wept bitterly. But spiritual 
 freedom and joy soon discover themselves. 
 Like the return of health, and of day, it says 
 to the prisoners, Go forth ; to them that are 
 in darkness, Show yourselves. When Han- 
 nah was in bitterness of soul, and prayed 
 unto the Lord, and wept sore, it is said, she 
 prayed in her heart : only her lips moved, 
 but her voice was not heard. But when she 
 had succeeded, she broke forth into a song, 
 and said, " My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, 
 mine horn is exalted in the Lord ; my mouth 
 G 5 
 
 is enlarged over mine enemies ; because I re- 
 joice in thy salvation." 
 
 David also inferred the effect this know- 
 ledge would produce in them — " The hum- 
 ble shall hear thereof, and be glad." He 
 could reckon upon this, from his own dis- 
 position ; and from the connexion there is be- 
 tween all the subjects of divine grace. They 
 are all one in Christ Jesus. They belong to 
 the same family : they are parts of the same 
 body ; and if one member suffers, all the 
 members suffer with it ; and if one member 
 be honoured, all the members rejoice. They 
 who have prayed for me, will not refuse to 
 praise — " Bring my soul out of prison, that I 
 may praise thy Name : the righteous shall 
 compass me about ; for thou shalt deal bounti- 
 fully with me." What sight can be so grati- 
 fying to a good man, as to see a convert leav- 
 ing the world, and entering the Church : a 
 backslider returning into the path of peace . 
 a believer walking worthy of the vocation 
 wherewith he is called : a dying saint joyful 
 in glory, and shouting aloud upon his bed ? — 
 They that fear Thee, will be glad when they 
 see me, because I have hoped in thy truth. 
 
 — The Lord's followers are supposed to be 
 mopish and melancholy: but they have a 
 thousand sources of joy which others know 
 not of. How great is the pleasure they de- 
 rive even from others ! Indeed they can 
 often rejoice on the behalf of their brethren, 
 when they fear things are not going on 
 well with themselves. But what a proof 
 is this feeling, that their heart is right with 
 God! 
 
 — Envy is the rottenness of the bones, and 
 the temper of the DeviL To rejoice in 
 another's good, is Christian — angelical — di- 
 vine. God is love. And he that dwelleth 
 in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him 
 
 FEBRUARY 10. 
 " Be sober."— I Thess. v. 8. 
 
 This stands opposed to bodily excess, and 
 especially to drunkenness. It is painful to 
 think that it should be ever necessary even 
 to mention such a subject among those who 
 ever profess to be Christians. The Spartans 
 presented to their children intoxicated slaves, 
 that, seeing their beastly demeanour, they 
 might detest the vice. Some Pagan legisla- 
 tors inflicted a double punishment upon 
 crimes committed in a state of drunkenness. 
 Christian lawgivers and judges are not equal- 
 ly wise and just ; for how scandalous is it to 
 hear men in a court of justice, allege their 
 intoxication to extenuate, if not to justify, 
 their conduct Drunkenness takes away the 
 man, and leaves the brute. It dethrones 
 reason from its seat It covers the wretch 
 with rags. It reduces his wife and children 
 
50 
 
 FEBRUARY 11. 
 
 to want and beggary. It impairs appetite : 
 produces trembling of the limbs ; and such 
 sinking of spirits, as compels to the repetition 
 of the offence : so that, physically as well as 
 morally, it is almost impossible to cure it. 
 
 Let me therefore guard against it ; and not 
 only in the grossness, but the guilt. Some 
 professors of religion seem to think they are 
 not chargeable with the sin, if they can keep 
 their eyes open, and walk from the dining- 
 room to the tea-table, not considering that 
 every indulgence beyond natural relief and 
 refreshment is vicious; and that the Scripture 
 peculiarly condemns those, who, by gradual 
 training, have made themselves strong to 
 drink wine, and to mingle strong drink. Let 
 me, therefore, beware of the encroaching de- 
 gree. Let me put a knife to my throat if 
 given to appetite. And instead of being 
 filled with wine, wherein is excess, let me be 
 filled with the Spirit. 
 
 But the pure and holy religion of Jesus, 
 when it says, " Be sober," forbids much more 
 than this vile and offensive practice. It en- 
 joins temperance in all our appetites, desires, 
 and affections. It extends even to business. 
 As a man may be entangled, so he may be 
 intoxicated with the affairs of this life : and 
 how often do the cares of the world, and the 
 deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and 
 it becometh unfruitful. A Christian may be 
 too mindful of earthly things : too alive to 
 fame ; too anxious to join house to house, and 
 add field to field, and to load himself with 
 thick clay. As a man inebriated is unfit for 
 the duties of his station, and is obliged to be 
 confined ; so it is with those who set their 
 affection on things below. They are un- 
 qualified for their high calling ; and cannot 
 walk as becometh the Gospel. 
 
 " Seekest thou great things unto thyself]" 
 says Jeremiah unto Baruch; "seek them 
 not" Let me reflect, in the light of Scrip- 
 ture and observation, on the vanity of world- 
 ly things ; their unsatisfactoriness in posses- 
 sion; their perishing in the using; the many 
 aad hurtful lusts to which they expose the 
 owner ; and let my conversation be without 
 covetousness; and let me be content with 
 such things as I have, for He hath said, I will 
 never leave thee nor forsake thee. 
 
 Sleep is a natural and necessary refresh- 
 ment But we may be excessive in this as 
 well as in any other indulgence. And alas ! 
 how often are we so, even to the injury of 
 our nealth, as well as the waste of our time. 
 
 Recreation is allowable and salutary. But 
 we may exceed the bounds which the re- 
 demption of time, and the repairing and re- 
 fitting us for duty, can only allow. 
 
 Paul exhorts Timothy to be " sober-mind- 
 ed." How intemperate are some in their 
 opinions ; and opinions, especially in religion, 
 that regard inlkrior truths ; and subjects con- 
 cerning whic ire understanding meets with 
 
 the greatest difficulties. Some are eagei 
 and rash, and positive in all their judgments ; 
 and nothing is too absurd or ridiculous for 
 their adoption. 
 
 Again, let me hear the Apostle. " I say 
 to every man that is amongst you, not to 
 think of himself more highly than he ought 
 to think, but to think soberly." Let hiin not 
 overrate his station, his connexions, his abili- 
 ties, his usefulness, his performances. " If a 
 man think himself to be something, when ho 
 is nothing, he deceiveth himself." 
 
 Finally, let me not forget how obviously, 
 as well as extensively, I am to discharge this 
 obligation ; nor lose sight for a moment of the 
 argument by which it is enforced — " Let 
 your moderation be known unto all men 
 The Lord is at hand." 
 
 FEBRUARY 11. 
 
 " The children of the day." — 1 Thess. v. 6. 
 
 Three distinctions may be here made 
 The first, regards Heathens. The second, 
 the Jews. The third, Christians. 
 
 Heathens are the children of night. With 
 regard to them, darkness covered the earth, 
 and gross darkness the people. What did 
 they know of God 1 of themselves 1 of their 
 origin 1 their fall 1 their recovery 1 their duty 1 
 What did they know of a future state 1 A 
 few of their philosophers spoke of the immor- 
 tality of the soul ; but none of them thought 
 of the resurrection of the body, unless to turn 
 it into ridicule. And what they expressed 
 concerning the soul was but conjecture ; they 
 could prove and establish nothing. And they 
 held it in unrighteousness ; it had no influence 
 over them as a motive ; for, wanting the cer 
 tainty of a principle, it wanted the efficacy. 
 And they kept it from the people at large ; 
 and employed no means to inform the multi- 
 tude, who, as quite sufficient for them, Were 
 abandoned to every kind of superstition. 
 
 The Jews were all children of the dawn ; 
 an intermediate state between night and day •, 
 better than the former, and very inferior to 
 the latter. Hence the Saviour, alluding, not 
 to the state of Pagans, but to the disadvan- 
 tages of Judaism, said to his disciples, " Many 
 prophets and righteous men have desired to 
 see the things that ye see, and have not seen 
 them." They had the Law which was given 
 by Moses: but we have grace and truth, 
 that came by Jesus Christ. They had the 
 shadows ; we have the substance. They had 
 the types and the promises ; we the realiza- 
 tion and the accomplishment. To them the 
 Sun of righteousness was below the horizon » 
 on us he has risen with healing under his 
 wings — God having provided some better 
 thing for us, that they without us should not 
 be made perfect. 
 
 Christians are the children of the day. It 
 
FEBRUARY 12. 
 
 f their privilege to have the system of revela- 
 tion complete ; and to be blessed with the full 
 lispensation of the glorious Gospel. They 
 lave the servants of the Most High God, 
 which show unto men the way of salvation. 
 
 Every thing with us is made clear in pro- 
 portion as it is important. And with regard 
 jo the acceptance of our persons with God, 
 the renovation of our nature, our title to 
 eternal life, our meetness for glory, our sup- 
 plies of grace, and all spiritual blessings in 
 heavenly places in Christ; the darkness is 
 entirely passed, and the true light now 
 shineth — and we are the children of the day. 
 
 Therefore, let us hail it with gratitude. 
 And what thanks can ever equal the benefit 1 
 A mud cottage with the Scripture in it, is 
 more ennobled, in the view of an angel, than 
 the palace of the richest emperor upon earth. 
 David would have descended from his throne, 
 and have passed his days in a poor-house, to 
 have enjoyed our advantages. Abraham, at 
 the distance of near two thousand years, re- 
 joiced to see our day, saw it, and was glad. 
 
 Therefore, let us receive it with joy. Na- 
 ture shows off her beauties : the lambs play ; 
 the birds carol their notes— every thing seems 
 to welcome the approach of day. Truly light 
 is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes 
 to behold the sun. And shall the Gospel, this 
 day of good things, inspire us with dread and 
 gloom 1 Is it not intended, is it not adapted 
 to make even our spirits rejoice in God our 
 Saviour"! And was it not thus always re- 
 garded among the first Christians 1 
 
 Therefore we should improve it with dili- 
 gence. The sun ariseth, and man goeth forth 
 to his work and to his labour until the eve- 
 ning. The night is for inaction. They that 
 sleep, sleep in the night ; and they that are 
 drunken, are drunken in the night But let 
 us, who are of the day, be sober. And know- 
 ing the time, let us cast off the works of dark- 
 ness, and let us put on the armour of light. 
 Advantages infer obligations, and produce re- 
 sponsibility. Where much is given, much 
 will be required. What do ye more than 
 others 1 asks the Saviour. And he has a right 
 to ask — 
 
 He also says, "Yet a little while is the 
 light Avith you. Walk while ye have the 
 Jight, lest darkness come upon you. Blessed 
 Jesus ! possess me with thy own Spirit; and 
 henceforth repelling every interruption, and 
 crushing every indecision and delay, may I 
 make thy purpose and zeal my own : " I must 
 work the works of Him that sent me while it 
 is day— the night cometh wherein no man 
 can work." 
 
 FEBRUARY 12. 
 
 * Jlnd he said, Leave us not, I pray thee ; for- 
 asmuch as thou knoTvest hoio we are to en- 
 
 camp in the wilderness, and thou mayett bt 
 
 to us instead of eyes." — Numb. x. 31. 
 
 Such was the language of the Jewish 
 leader to Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midi- 
 anite, Moses' father-in-law. In whatever 
 condition we are found, how numerous are 
 our wants! We need food to nourish us, 
 apparel to cover us, sleep to refresh us, 
 friendship to succour us. We need the heart 
 of one of our fellow-creatures, and the hand 
 of another. One must be feet to us ; another, 
 eyes. Who is self-sufficient 1 Who, but 
 under the delusion of pride and vanity, would 
 ever affect independence 1 The eye cannot 
 say unto the hand, I have no need of thee. 
 Nor, again, the head to the feet, I have nc 
 need of you. Nay, much more those mem- 
 bers of the body which are feeble, are neces- 
 sary. Though above others in circumstances, 
 we may be inferior to them in grace, or expe- 
 rience, or some particular attainment. David 
 was superior to Jonathan in divine things ; yet 
 " Jonathan went to David in the wood, and 
 strengthened his hands in God." I long to 
 see you, says Paul to the Romans, that I may 
 impart unto you some spiritual gift, that ye 
 may be established : but they aided and con- 
 firmed him first : for they came down to meet 
 him as far as Appii Forum and the Three 
 Taverns ; and when he saw them, he thanked 
 God, and took courage. 
 
 Here we see the advantage of society. A 
 God of knowledge and truth has said, It i3 
 not good for man to be alone ; and if it was 
 so with regard to a Paradise, how much more 
 with regard to a wilderness ! Half the plea- 
 sure of solitude, it has been remarked, arises 
 from our having a friend at hand to whom 
 we can say, How delightful this retirement 
 is ! Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart : 
 so doth a man his friend by hearty counsel. 
 Why, but to encourage social devotion, did 
 our Saviour say to his disciples, " If two of 
 you shall agree on earth as touching any thing 
 that they shall ask, it shall be done for them 
 of my Father which is in heaven. For where 
 two or three are gathered together in my 
 name, there am I in the midst of them." 
 Why did he send forth the seventy, two by 
 two, in their mission through Judea, but to 
 comfort each other in distress ! to confer with 
 each other in cases of perplexity 1 to stimulate 
 each other in cases of languor 1 to check each 
 other in cases of temptation 1 " Two are 
 better than one ; because they have good re- 
 ward for their labour. For if they fall, the 
 one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him 
 that is alone when he falleth ; for he hath not 
 another to help him up." 
 
 Let none despond. As all are required to 
 be useful, so all may be serviceable, if they 
 will : and often, far beyond the probability of 
 their condition, or their own hope; for hu- 
 mility makes a good man modest in his ex- 
 pectations, as well as in his pretensions. 
 
62 
 
 FEBRUARY 13, 14. 
 
 We also see here, that confidence in God 
 s not to lead us to disregard any advantages 
 we can derive from ordinary resources. 
 Moses had the engagement of God, and was 
 even under a miraculous guidance : yet he 
 does not overlook the assistance he could de- 
 rive from his father-in-law, as to his advice in 
 difficulties ; and those instructions, which, 
 from his knowledge of the Wilderness, he 
 could give him, with regard to particular situ- 
 ations, and their conveniences or inconveni- 
 ences. The religion of the Bible is always 
 a reasonable service. It does not keep a 
 man's eyes upon the stars, while he falls over 
 every stumbling-block in his way ; but says 
 to him, " Let thine eyes look right on, and 
 thine eyelids straight before thee : ponder the 
 path of thy feet, that thy goings may be es- 
 tablished." It places our dependence upon 
 God; but that reliance is favourable to ac- 
 tivity, and is the spring of it. In Him we 
 live, move, and have our being ; but this does 
 hot supersede eating and drinking. He 
 teaches us ; but we are to read and hear his 
 word. He promises ; but he will be inquired 
 of for the performance. And none of the 
 aids he affords us render needless the exercise 
 of prudence, the exertion of our faculties, the 
 offices of friendship, or the means of grace. 
 u Draw nigh to God ; and he will draw nigh 
 to you." 
 
 FEBRUARY 13. 
 
 " Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me ; 
 for Jam desolate and afflicted. The troubles 
 of my heart are enlarged : O bring 1 thou me 
 out of my distresses. Look upon mine afflic- 
 tion and my pain ; and forgive all my sins." 
 Psalm xxv. 16 — 18. 
 
 Surely this book is addressed to the heart ; 
 and requires sensibility rather than talent to 
 understand and explain it. How tender here 
 is the language of David. And how instruc- 
 tive too. He was a sufferer, though a king, 
 and a man eminently godly. And his sor- 
 rows were not superficial, but deep and de- 
 pressing — " the sorrows of the heart." And 
 while hoping for their diminution, they were 
 " enlarged." 
 
 — But he is a petitioner, as well as a suf- 
 ferer ; and those sorrows will never injure us 
 that bring us to God. Three things he prays 
 for. 
 
 First. Deliverance. This we are allowed 
 to desire, consistently with resignation to the 
 divine will. But we must seek it, not from 
 creatures, but from God, who has said, " Call 
 upon me in the day of trouble, and I will de- 
 liver thee." Nothing is too hard for him — 
 He can turn the shadow of death into the 
 morning — Therefore, says David, " O bring 
 thou me out of my distresses." 
 
 Secondly. Notice. A kind look from God 
 
 is desirable at any time, in any eircumsl&ji. 
 ces ; but in affliction and pain, it is like lift 
 from the dead. Nothing cuts like the neg 
 lect of a friend in distress ; nothing soothes 
 like his calls and inquiries, and sympathy, and 
 tears. — But to say, Thou God seest me ; thou 
 knowest all my walking through thii great 
 wilderness — to be assured that he is attentive 
 to my condition, and is smiling through the 
 cloud; fills the heart, even in tribulation, 
 with a peace that passeth all understanding — 
 Therefore, says David, " Look upon mine af- 
 fliction and pain." 
 
 Thirdly. Pardon. He does not think him- 
 self sinless; and trials are apt to revive a 
 sense of guilt, and to make the sufferer fear- 
 ful ; and to induce the prayer, " Do not con- 
 demn me." We will also venture to say, that 
 however a Christian may feel his sorrows, he 
 will feel his sins much more. These, these 
 are the burden and the grief— Therefore, 
 David says, " Forgive all my sins." 
 
 This was his meaning ; and I hope I can 
 make it my own. — If it be thy pleasure, re- 
 lease me from my complaint. — If not, and the 
 distress is continued, to try me, be near tc 
 afford me a sensible manifestation of thy fa- 
 vour ; let me see thy countenance ; let me 
 hear thy voice, saying, " I remember thee 
 still." — Or if this be denied, and I have no 
 claim upon thee for such an indulgence, let 
 me, for the Redeemer's sake, be absolved and 
 justified. Remove my guilt, whatever be- 
 comes of my grief — grief then cannot be 
 penal — cannot be injurious — 
 
 "If sin be pardon'd, I'm secure, 
 Death hath no sting beside : 
 The law gives sin its damning povvet , 
 But Christ, my ransom, died." 
 
 FEBRUARY 14. 
 
 " Ye are my friends, if ye do -whatsoever 1 com- 
 mand you." — John xv. 14. 
 
 He does not say, ye are the subjects of my 
 love ; but, " Ye are my friends, if ye do what- 
 soever I command you." You may love an 
 animal, a slave, an enemy; but neither of 
 these can be your friend ; for friendship im- 
 plies and requires what their condition does 
 not admit. It is a remarkable expression 
 that Moses employs, when he says, " If thy 
 brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or 
 thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy 
 friend who is as thine own soul." It seems 
 to place a friend above all the relations of 
 kindred : and Solomon does not scruple to say, 
 " There is a friend that sticketh closer than a 
 brother." Friendship has always been deem- 
 ed essential to the happiness of human beings, 
 and indeed to their very honour : for it would 
 be thought disgraceful as it is disconsolate 
 not to have a friend. No peculiarity of con- 
 dition, or elevation of rank, sets a man above 
 
FEBRUARY 15. 
 
 te attraction and utility of friendship. Kings 
 ><ave laid aside their royalties to indulge in it; 
 And Alexander would have found a conquer- 
 ed world a kind of desert without an Ephes- 
 tion. 
 
 It is needless to enlarge on the excellency 
 and value of this blessing. Who is not ready 
 to acknowledge that friendship is the delight 
 of youth ; the pillar of age ; the bloom of pros- 
 perity ; the charm of solitude ; the solace of 
 adversity ; the best benefactor and comforter 
 in this vale .of tears 1 But the question is, 
 where a friend is to be found ] It will be 
 allowed that many who wear the name are 
 unworthy of the title ; and that even those 
 who are sincere in their professions, may be 
 chargeable with infirmities. Yet even human 
 friendship is not an Utopian good. He who 
 says, all men are liars, says it in his haste, or 
 from a heart that judges of others by itself. 
 They who complain most are commonly the 
 most to be complained of. There is real 
 friendship to be found on earth. But there is 
 better in heaven. And in our text we have 
 the advantage in the highest of all examples. 
 In others, we may have the reality, and even 
 the eminency of friendship, but in the Lord 
 Jesus we have the perfection, the divinity 
 of it 
 
 But what is necessary to our claiming it 1 
 Ye are my friends, says he, " if ye do what- 
 soever I command you." By this he shows 
 us, that though he is the friend, he is also the 
 lawgiver. Under whatever character he re- 
 veals himself, we are never to lose sight of 
 the Sovereign. His goodness is to display his 
 greatness, not to weaken it. He is the 
 Prince as well as the Saviour — He " com- 
 mands" his friends. And nothing less than, 
 obedience to his will is required of us. It is 
 not enough to read it, and hear it, and know 
 it, and talk of it, and profess it — we must 
 "do" it. And our obedience must be impar- 
 tial ; we must do " whatsoever" he commands 
 us. Obedience may be sincere, without being 
 perfect in the degree; but it cannot be sin- 
 cere, without being universal in the principle 
 and disposition. For if I do some things 
 which lie enjoins me, and not others, it fol- 
 lows that what I do, I do from some other mo- 
 tive than his authority— for this would lead 
 me to observe all he enjoins. True obedi- 
 ence will not suffer me to select, any more 
 than to dictate — its only inquiry is, " Lord, 
 what wilt thou have ine to do 1" He who 
 commands me to enter his gates with thanks- 
 giving, tells me also to enter my closet. He 
 who forbids me to steal, tells me to speak evil 
 of ho man. Can I say, with David, " I esteem 
 all thy commandments concerning all things 
 to be right, and I hate every false way V 
 
 With regard to the connexion, however, 
 
 between this friendship and this obedience, 
 
 let it not be supposed that it is a meritorious 
 
 *ne — 3s if the practice deserved the pri-ileffe. 
 
 5* S 
 
 This is impossible, and the notion subvert 
 the Gospel of Christ Yet it is a certain con- 
 nexion ; and as certain both in its exclusion 
 and inclusion as the nature of things and the 
 word of truth can make it. And it is an en- 
 couraging connexion. Had the requisition 
 turned on worldly honour, or wealth, or ge- 
 nius, or science, many must have despaired. 
 But the essential is not derived from condi- 
 tion, but conduct. It i3 therefore within the 
 reach of the poor, as well as of the rich ; and of 
 the illiterate, as well as the learned. All 
 may be great in the sight of the Lord ; and 
 he is the greatest, whatever be his circum- 
 stances in life, who best obeys his Lord and 
 Saviour. Mary was blessed in being his mo- 
 ther ; but this was a privilege necessarily con- 
 fined to one individual. He, therefore, when 
 he heard the exclamation of the woman, 
 Blessed be the womb that bare thee, and the 
 paps which thou hast sucked ! instantly men- 
 tions a way to a higher privilege, and which 
 lies open to every one — " Yea, rather, blessed 
 are they that hear the word of God, and 
 keep it." . 
 
 Pray, therefore, " O that my feet were di- 
 rected to keep thy precepts !" " Many wil 
 entreat the favour of the prince, and ever} 
 one is a friend to him that giveth gifts." Bui 
 when you seek the regards of the great, whal 
 base compliances are often necessary to please 
 them — and you are never sure of succeeding 
 — and when you succeed — what have yoi 
 gained? But His work is honourable anc 
 glorious. If you seek, you are sure to find 
 And whoso findeth him, findeth life, and shall 
 obtain favour of the Lord. However unob- 
 served or neglected among men you may be 
 no one can pass your door, and say, " There 
 dwells a friendless person." 
 
 Lord Brooks was so charmed with that rare 
 and accomplished personage, Sir Philip Syd- 
 ney, that he would have no other inscription on 
 his tomb than this — " Here lies the friend of 
 Sir Philip Sydney." 
 
 Ah ! says the Christian, I envy not those 
 whose sepulchre will be adorned with the 
 trophies of war, the pride of heraldry, or the 
 renown of science. Let my humble grave 
 tell, and tell truly — "Here lies the friend of 
 Christ." 
 
 FEBRUARY 15. 
 
 "And all the people saw him walking and 
 praising God: and they knew that it was he 
 which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of 
 the Temple : and they were filled with won- 
 der and amazement at that which had hap 
 pened unto him." — Acts iii. 9, 10. 
 His walking was a proof of the reality ant" 
 
 perfection of the cure. His praising God ws 
 
 the proper improvement of it. 
 
 But what an attestation was here to the oi 
 
 vine mission of the Apostles, and sc to Ik 
 
54 
 
 FEBRUARY 16. 
 
 truth of Christianity itself! We speak, said 
 they, in his name who was crucified — and if 
 you ask for a proof of it, we will act in his 
 Name. Bring forth your dumb, and we will 
 give them speech ; your blind, and we will 
 open their eyes ; your sick, and we will heal 
 them; your lame, and we will make them 
 leap as an hart. This was evidence adapted 
 to persons of every rank and capacity. It re- 
 quired no laboured process of reasoning and 
 eloquence. It was the broad seal of heaven, 
 which all could see and understand. 
 
 And there was nothing like artifice or collu- 
 sion in these miracles. Take the case before us. 
 The patient resided, not in a remote place, 
 but in Jerusalem ; that is, in the midst of the 
 enemies of the Apostles. He had been lame 
 from his mother's womb. He was now up- 
 wards of forty years old. He was well known : 
 he was a beggar. Multitudes had seen him : 
 many had relieved him ; and many had han- 
 dled him — for he was carried daily to the place 
 of begging. And this was not an obscure 
 corner, but the entrance into the Temple. 
 And the thing was not done in the night, but 
 at nine o'clock in the morning, when there 
 was a concourse cf ;«eople. 
 
 Put all this tog j'jer ; and then ask whether 
 any thing could "_y ve been fairer. Could any 
 thing have been more open to detection, had 
 there been any imposture'? Compare such 
 an achievement with the prodigies of Hea- 
 thenism, and the miracles of the Romish 
 Church. 
 
 And see, also, what can equal the credulity 
 of unbelievers ! What is the faith of a Chris- 
 tian, to their belief? Christians believe dif- 
 ficulties, because the truth of them is abun- 
 dantly confirmed ; but they admit improbabili- 
 ties and impossibilities. Their rejection of 
 the Gospel cannot arise from an intellectual, 
 but a moral cause. They do not want evi- 
 dence, but disposition — they receive not the 
 love of the truth, that they might be saved. 
 Therefore, how can they escape, if they neg- 
 lect so great salvation ; which at the first be- 
 fan to be spoken by the Lord, and was con- 
 rmed unto them by those that heard him ; 
 God also bearing them witness, both with 
 signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, 
 and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his 
 own will? 
 
 Need I tremble for the cause of Christiani- 
 ty ? Need my reason be ashamed of my 
 faftn i 
 
 ' Hence, and for ever, from my heart, 
 I bid my doubts and fears depart ; 
 And to those hands my soul resign 
 That bear credentials so divine.' - 
 
 FEBRUARY 16. 
 
 '• Vhey serve not thy pods, nor worship the 
 golden image which thou hast set up." — Dan. 
 iii. 12. 
 
 The refusal of these three voung men was 
 
 as trying as it was noble. The resolution has 
 immortalized them. Let us observe how 
 much they had to overcome in adhering to h. 
 
 They could plead authority. Here was 
 the command of their sovereign: and good 
 men are to be good subjects. They honoui 
 principalities and powers ; they obey magis 
 trates, and are ready to every good work. 
 But there is a difference between civil and 
 spiritual claims. We are, indeed, to render 
 unto Csesar the things that are Cesar's ; but 
 we must also render unto God the things that 
 are God's. If any being requires us to do 
 what is opposed to the revealed will of God, we 
 are prevented by an authority from which there 
 can lie no appeal ; and we ought to obey God 
 rather than man. Thus the midwives did not 
 a3 the King of Egypt commanded them, but 
 saved the men-children alive : " And it came 
 to pass, because the midwives feared God, 
 that he made them houses." 
 
 This conscientiousness, however, has often 
 given the conduct of God's servants an ap- 
 pearance of insubordination and revolt ; and 
 their enemies have not failed to seize it, and 
 turn it to their discredit. Jesus was not Cae- 
 sar's friend ; and stirred up the people. The 
 Apostles turned the world upside down. And, 
 doubtless, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 
 were censured and vilified for their disloy- 
 alty. 
 
 They could plead obligation. Nebuchad- 
 nezzar was not only their sovereign, but their 
 friend and benefactor. He had educated them 
 in a princely manner, and advanced them to i 
 the most honourable charges. And nothing 
 tries like tenderness. Benefits attract and 
 attach the heart : and good men are the most 
 susceptible of gratefiil impressions. One of 
 the most painful things in the world to an in- 
 genuous mind, is to refuse the wishes of one 
 who has done much for him ; for there is no- 
 thing in which he would more delight, were 
 he not restrained by principle. Suppose a 
 dutiful child. He loves and honours his pa- 
 rents; and he ought -to honour them. These 
 parents, in other respects, are kind and good — 
 but they are worldly, and require him to go 
 into the dissipations of life ; they are irreligi- 
 ous, and forbid him to attend what according 
 to his conviction, is the truth of God — and, 
 instead of threatening, they weep over him, 
 and beseech him, by every tender motive, not 
 to break their hearts, nor bring down their 
 gray heirs with sorrow to the grave. Now 
 to loosen from such embraces and entreaties ; 
 and act a part that looks like disrespect — at 
 the hearing of a voice that cries, " He that 
 loveth father or mother more than me, is not 
 worthy of me :" here is a trial hardly support- 
 able. And much of this, these young men 
 would feel, at the thought of the favours 
 which had been heaped upon them. 
 
 They could plead universality of ccmpli- 
 ance. All besides obey ; and why should the\ 
 
FEBRUARY 17. 
 
 55 
 
 gland alone, and affect to oe better than every 
 one else ? How often is this objection thrown 
 out ! Singularity, for its own sake, argues a 
 little and a vain mind : vain, because it seeks 
 notice ; and little, because it can attain it in 
 no better way. In things harmless and indif- 
 ferent, we may lawfully conform to the 
 usages of the day and place wherein we live ; 
 but where truth, and duty, and conscience 
 are concerned, we must be steadfast and im- 
 moveable, though deserted, opposed, ridiculed 
 by all ; and by unsought, but indispensable 
 singularity, evince the purity of our motives, 
 p.nd the dignity of our principles. So did 
 Abdiel, 
 
 -Faithful found 
 
 Among the faithless, faithful he 
 
 Among innumerable false, unmov'd, 
 
 Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified ; 
 
 His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. 
 
 Nor number, nor example, with him wrought 
 
 To swerve from truth, or change his constant mind, 
 
 Though single." 
 
 So did Joshua, and Caleb, and Lot, and Noah. 
 And all Christians are required not to be con- 
 formed to the world. And Jesus died to re- 
 deem and purify unto himself a peculiar peo- 
 ple; and peculiar they must be while the 
 multitude do evil. Well, said these sufferers, 
 if all yield, we must not — we will not — 
 whatever be the consequence. 
 
 And they could plead the dreadfulness of 
 the penalty. We are often ready to justify 
 or excuse our conduct by the pressure of cir- 
 cumstances ; and to allege that the trial is too 
 great for our virtue. And what is the trial ? 
 What are our difficulties and perils in the 
 path of duty 1 If we follow such a course — 
 Well, shall we be bound to the stake ? or 
 thrown into a den of lions'? or a fiery fur- 
 nace? No. Shall we then be deprived of our 
 liberty ? and confined in a prison ? or be 
 stripped of our property 1 and reduced to beg- 
 gary ? No such thing — Blessed be the laws 
 of this happy land. Behold our jeopardies and 
 sacrifices ! We may lose a trifle of our profit 
 by not selling or working on the Sabbath. 
 We may have less to hoard by giving alms to 
 the needy. If we follow our convictions, we 
 may lose the smile of a friend ; or incur the 
 sneer of a fool. By the reedeeming our time, 
 we may even be constrained to leave the bed 
 of sloth a little earlier in the morning— 
 These are our tribulations because of °the 
 Word ! These are the martyrs of our day ! 
 Ye professors of religion, who can exercise no 
 self-denial, who can take up no cross ; " If 
 thou hast run with the footmen, and they 
 have wearied thee, then how canst thou con- 
 tend with horses 1 And if in the land of 
 pea^e, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied 
 thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling 
 >f Jordan ?" Look at these youths ! What 
 had they to lose ! What to suffer ! A fiery 
 luuiace ! Before their eyes ! Into which they 
 were to be instantly thrown ! 
 
 FEBRUARY 17. 
 
 : Rejoice the soul of thy servant? 
 Psalm lxxxvi. 4. 
 
 The queen of Sheba not only admired Sa- 
 lomon, but hailed his attendants. " Happy are 
 thy men, and happy are these thy servants 
 that stand continually before thee." What 
 then is it to be a servant of the King of kings 
 and Lord of lords ! 
 
 A servant of God, however, is not one that 
 only subserves his designs. This, by an over- 
 ruling Providence, all do, even the wicked 
 themselves. But one, who, from conviction 
 and disposition, resigns himself to his will, 
 and holds himself at his disposal. One who 
 always asks, " Lord, what wilt thou have me 
 to do V always prays, " Let the words of my 
 mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be 
 acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength 
 and my redeemer." 
 
 And can such a man as this want spiritual 
 joy 1 Yes, even David himself, that eminent 
 servant of God, prays, " Rejoice the soul of 
 thy servant." We ask, If I am his, why am I 
 thus 1 ? We think our course of experience 
 singular; but while we complain, we are 
 passing by the very landmarks which those 
 who have gone before us have set up to tell 
 us that we are right. Our state is one thing, 
 our joy is another : the former remains always 
 the same, the latter often varies. 
 
 Our safety does not depend upon our know- 
 ledge ; but our comfort is much affected by 
 it ; and sometimes a servant of God has but 
 very imperfect views of those glorious traths 
 which make us " free indeed." Sometimes he 
 may be depressed by his bodily frame and in- 
 firmities. Sometimes, too, he is under divine 
 rebuke for sin — for this it is that separates be- 
 tween God and the soul. We should therefore 
 search and try our ways. Is there not a 
 cause 1 If the consolations of God are small 
 with us, is there no secret thing with us ? Is 
 there no worm at the root of our withering 
 gourd ? No Achan in the camp, the troubler 
 of Israel ? Joab besieges Abel, and threatens 
 to destroy it. A woman cries out to him to 
 know the cause. He answers, There is one 
 Sheba, the son of Bichri, a traitor to the king. 
 Cast him over the wall, and I will withdraw. 
 And so it was. And thus, if we would have 
 peace with God, we must sacrifice everv . 
 usurper, saying, 
 
 " The dearest idol I have known, 
 
 Whate'er that idol be, 
 Help me to tear it from thy throne. 
 And worship only Thee." 
 
 — But a servant of God will value what he 
 may want. He prizes it, not only because God 
 has commanded and promised it ; but because 
 he knows, from experience, that the joy of the 
 Lord is his strength. He has seen how it em- 
 boldened his profession, and enlivened his 
 zeal, and weaned his heart from the world, 
 and revived him in the midst of trouble. He 
 
56 
 
 FEBRUARY 18, 19. 
 
 iias tasted its sweetness. He can never lose 
 the relish of it ; and this excites him to pray, 
 ' Restore unto me the Joy of thy salvation." 
 
 For he is sure that God is alone the source 
 and giver of it, and therefore to Him he goes 
 — " Rejoice the soul of thy servant." It is 
 very desirable to see the morning after a 
 dark night ; and the spring after a cold barren 
 winter. But what makes the morning, and 
 the spring 1 Not all the lamps or fires in the 
 world ; but the sun. And the Lord God is 
 the sun, as well as the shield of his people. 
 All our light, and life, and bloom, are from 
 Him : and in him is our fruit found. He is 
 the God, not only of all grace, but of all 
 comfort. 
 
 It is he that comforts us in any of our com- 
 mon mercies ; otherwise our sleep would not 
 refresh us, nor our food nourish us, nor our 
 friends cheer us. And what would the means 
 of grace be, if he was not in them 1 God, says 
 the Apostle, comforted us by the coming of 
 Titus— not Titus, but God by Titus. Who 
 then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but minis- 
 ters by whom ye believed, even as God gave 
 to every man 1 Luther says, it is as easy to 
 make a world, as to ease a troubled con- 
 science. — But 
 
 " The troubled conscience knows Thy voice : 
 Thy cheering words awake our joys; 
 Thy words allay the stormy wind, 
 And calm the surges of the mind." 
 
 FEBRUARY 18. 
 
 '• Making' request, if by any means now at 
 length I might have a prosperous journey 
 by the will of God to come unto you. For I 
 wng to see you, that I may impart unto you 
 some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be 
 established." — Rom. i. 10, 11. 
 
 At this time Paul had not seen Rome. 
 But how natural was it in a man of his taste 
 and intelligence to wish to see it ! Nothing 
 had made such a figure in history as this im- 
 perial city. From a kind of village, it ex- 
 tended in a course of years till it became the 
 mistress of the nations, and the metropolis of 
 the world. How powerfully must curiosity 
 have been awakened — by its extent, its 
 majesty, its edifices, its institutions, its laws, 
 and customs ! Paul was also a citizen ; and 
 while some, with a great ransom, purchased 
 thi3 privilege, he was free-born. Yet his 
 '">nging to see it was not to indulge the man 
 and the Roman, but the Christian and the 
 Apostle — He longed to impart to the beloved 
 and called of God there, some " spiritual 
 benefit." 
 
 But see the order of divine grace. Before 
 he was useful to them, they imparted some 
 spiritual benefit to him, and established his 
 wavering confidence. For when he had land- 
 ed at Puteoli, and advanced towards Rome, 
 flie brethren came to meet him as far as the 
 
 Appii Forum and the Three Taverns 
 "whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, 
 and took courage." Here we see, that the 
 most eminent servants of God may be depress- 
 ed and desponding ; and that it is possible 
 for them to derive assistance and comfor* 
 from those who are much inferior to them in 
 office, condition, abilities, and grace. There 
 is no such thing as independence. Let none 
 be proud. Let none despair. The Christian 
 church is a body ; and the body is not one 
 member, but many. "If the foot shall say. 
 Because I am not the hand, I am not of the 
 body ; is it therefore not of the body 1" The 
 eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need 
 of" thee ; nor the head to the feet, I have no 
 need of you. 
 
 But how was this prosperous journey ac- 
 cording to the will of God, for which he made 
 so many requests, accomplished 1 How lit- 
 tle did he imagine the way in which he was 
 to visit this famous city — He enters it, in- 
 deed — but in the character of a prisoner, 
 driven thither by persecution ; and after be- 
 ing shipwrecked upon a certain island ! So 
 high are God's thoughts above our thoughts, 
 and his ways above our ways ! So little do 
 we know what we pray for! So often by 
 strange, and sometimes by terrible things in 
 righteousness, does he answer us as the God 
 of our salvation ! So fulfils He the promise 
 — " I will bring the blind by a way that they 
 knew not ; I will lead them in paths that 
 they have not known : I will make darknesa 
 light before them, and crooked things straight 
 These things will I do unto them, and not 
 forsake them." 
 
 FEBRUARY 19. 
 
 " And when he thought thereon, he wept." 
 Mark xiv. 72. 
 
 Doddridge supposes that this is intended 
 to express, not only the immediate sensibility 
 of Peter, but his feeling through lite ; and 
 that he always wept at the thought of his vile 
 and ungrateful conduct. His sin was cer- 
 tainly very aggravated ; and, with aV his tail- 
 ings, he was a man of very tender affections, 
 and great ingenuousness. 
 
 But sorrow arising from such a source is 
 not peculiar to our Apostle. All the people 
 of God should feel a penitent disposition at 
 the review of their sin. 
 
 And who, when they look back, can be at 
 a loss for materials of self-accusation and con 
 trition ] There are the sins of our unregene- 
 rate condition. There are the sins we have 
 been capable of, since we have been called 
 to the knowledge of the truth. All these we 
 are to judge of, not by their grossness, but by 
 their guilt. In the number of our sins, wt 
 are to rank our omissions of duty ; our non 
 improvement of our time and talents ; thf 
 
FEBRUARY 20. 
 
 defectiveness of our aims and motives ; and 
 the departures of our heart in love and confi- 
 dence from the blessed God. 
 
 Some would prevent the effect of such 
 self-inspections, by the notion, that there is 
 no evil in the sins of God's people. But their 
 sins are worse than those of others, by reason 
 of the nearer relations in which, and the 
 greater obligations under which, they are 
 committed. They have also, in sinning, 
 greater difficulties to overcome. They have 
 net only to sin against greater love, but 
 greater light : and they have been convinced 
 of the evil and bitterness of sin ; and have had 
 a wounded spirit which they could not bear. 
 Their sins, also, are more injurious with re- 
 gard to others : distressing the strong ; stum- 
 bling the weak ; confirming the prejudiced ; 
 hardening the wicked ; causing the enemies 
 of the Lord to blaspheme, and the way of 
 truth to be evil spoken of. And is all this 
 nothing 1 Did Micah think so 1 Who, says 
 he, is a God like unto him, who passes by the 
 transgression of the remnant of his heritage ? 
 
 But suppose the Christian is led to see, 
 that his standing is secure ; and that God is 
 pacified towards him. Will he weep then 1 
 Yes ; he will weep the more. The goodness 
 of God will lead him to repentance ; and he 
 will sorrow after a godly sort, like a dying 
 saint, who being asked why he wept ] an- 
 swered, I weep — not that my sins may he 
 pardoned — but because I hope they are par- 
 doned. 
 
 Let us, then, never be ashamed or afraid 
 of such tears as Peter shed. Nothing is so 
 becoming and reasonable. Other grief may 
 be excused ; but this can be justified. Other 
 sorrow may render us amiable in the eyes of 
 our fellow-creatures ; but this is extolled of 
 God : " The sacrifices of God are a broken 
 spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, O God, 
 thou wilt not despise." This brings us with- 
 in the reach of the promises — " They that 
 sow in tears, shall reap in joy ;" " Blessed 
 are they that mourn, for they shall be com- 
 forted." It is not easy, or perhaps possible, 
 to make others comprehend this — but there 
 is a pleasure even in the frame itself; and 
 they who are the subjects of it well know, 
 that their happiest moments are their most 
 tender ones ; and, with Augustine, they can 
 bless God for the " grace of tears." Here is 
 a proof of our being under the renewing of 
 the Holy Ghost If the heart of stone was 
 not taken away, how could I feel and grieve 1 
 And if there was nothing in me but nature, 
 how could I feel and grieve for sin 1 There 
 is nothing more useful in the divine life than 
 this disposition. It endears the Saviour and 
 his atonement, and his righteousness, and his 
 intercession, and his grace. It makes me 
 cautious and circumspect : in this temper of 
 mind I cannot expose myself to temptation, 
 or trifle with sin ; but be always watchful 
 H 
 
 and prayerful, 
 eth always. 
 
 57 
 
 Blessed is the man that fear 
 
 ' Tis joy enough, my All in All, 
 
 At thy dear feet to lie : 
 Thou wilt not let me lower fall. 
 And none can higher fly." 
 
 FEBRUARY 20. 
 
 " Ye shall go forth, and grow up as edits of 
 the stall." — Malachi iv. 2. 
 
 They were before in darkness and dis- 
 ease ; both of which confine. But the Sun 
 of righteousness arises, and with healing un- 
 der his wings : and thus the true light now 
 shining, and health being restored, they be- 
 come free and active — They go forth, and 
 — grow up as calves of the stall. 
 
 For even now they have not attained : they 
 are not already perfect. Nor are they to re- 
 main what they are, but to increase with all 
 the increase of God. Some tell us there is 
 no growth in grace — As if Christians could 
 not be more wise, more humble, more pa- 
 tient, more zealous, than they are — As if 
 Paul's commendation of the Thessalonians 
 wa3 a falsehood, when he told them that their 
 faith grew exceedingly, and the charity of 
 every one of them towards each other abound- 
 ed — As if Peter enjoined an absurdity when 
 he admonished Christians to grow in grace, 
 and in the knowledge of their Lord and 
 Saviour — As if God himself mocked or tri- 
 fled when he said, " The righteous shall hold 
 on his way ; and he that hath clean hands 
 shall wax stronger and stronger !" 
 
 We are not to deny what God has done for 
 our souls. Yea, we ought to be thankful, if 
 we have only light enough to see our dark- 
 ness, and feeling enough to be sensible of our 
 hardness. 
 
 " Cold as I feel this heart of mine, 
 Yet, since I feel it so, 
 It yields some hope of life divine 
 Within, however low." 
 
 But though we must not despise the day oi 
 small things, we are not to be satisfied with 
 it. A day of greater things is attainable ; and 
 if we do not aspire after it, we have rea- 
 son to suspect even the reality of our reli- 
 gion. Spiritual principles may be weak, but 
 if they are divine, they will evince it by a 
 tendency to growth. 
 
 The sacred writers express this progres- 
 sion by every kind of growth. — By humati 
 growth — We read of babes, little children, 
 young men, and those of full age, who have 
 their senses exercised, by reason of use, to 
 discern both good and evil. — By vegetable 
 growth — Thus we read, first the blaws, then 
 the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear : 
 they shall spring as among the grass, as wil- 
 lows by the water-courses ; they shall grow 
 as the lily, they shall grow as the vine.— 
 Here we have animal growth — They sha'i 
 
58 
 
 FEBRUARY 21. 
 
 grow up as calves of the stall. No creatures 
 perhaps increase so rapidly and observably as 
 these, especially when, as here, they are 
 well attended and fed, and for the very pur- 
 pose of bettering. 
 
 We have sometimes been reminded of the 
 truth of this image, by the spiritual reality. 
 We have seen those, who, in a little time, 
 have surprised all around them, by their pro- 
 
 fress in the divine life. So clear and full 
 ave been their views of the things of God. 
 So established have their hearts been with 
 grace. So simply and entirely have they de- 
 pended upon the Saviour. So decided have 
 they been in their separation from the spirit 
 of the world ; and yet so concerned to be useful 
 in it So spiritual have they been in their con- 
 versation : and yet so free from all religious 
 grimace and affectation. So ready have they 
 been to do good and communicate in the cause 
 of the poor, and the cause of Christ. Such a 
 living sacrifice have they presented in their 
 bodies and spirits. So have they adorned the 
 doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 
 
 But, alas ! as to many of us, we have rea- 
 son to exclaim, " My leanness, my leanness !" 
 How little progress have we made in religious 
 knowledge, experience, practice, and useful- 
 ness, though we have possessed every advan- 
 tage, and long enjoyed the means of grace. Af- 
 ter all the discipline of his family, the instruc- 
 tions of his word, the ordinances of his house, 
 how dull are our ears of hearing ! how slow 
 of heart are we to believe ! how much do 
 our souls cleave unto the dust ! how affected 
 are we with the things of time and sense ! 
 and how little actuated are we by the powers 
 of a world to come ! At present the compari- 
 son reproves us. 
 
 But let it also excite and encourage. It 
 not only reminds us of our duty, but of our pri- 
 vilege. This growth is not only commanded 
 but promised — It is therefore attainable. And 
 we know the way to our resources. Jesus 
 came, not only that we might have life, but 
 have it more abundantly. " He giveth power 
 to the faint ; and to them that have no might 
 he increaseth strength. Even the youths 
 shall faint and be weary, and the young men 
 shall utterly fall : but they that wait upon the 
 Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall 
 mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall 
 run, and not be weary ; and they shall walk, 
 and not faint." 
 
 FEBRUARY 21. 
 
 "And the soul of the people -was much discour- 
 aged because of the ■way." — Numb. xxi. 4. 
 
 Thf ""iople of God are held forth under va- 
 rious characters in the Scriptures: and no 
 one of them all is more common, more just, 
 more pleasing, more instructive, than the 
 image of strangers and pilgrims upon earth. 
 
 And who knows not what a beautiful use 
 Bunyan has made of it — 
 
 " Ingenious dreamer, in whose well-told tale 
 Sweet fiction and sweet truth alike prevail. 
 
 . — whose pilgrim marks the road, 
 
 And guides the progress of the soul to God." 
 
 But what is there in the way to discourage 
 the soul of the travellers heaven-ward? — 
 Much. Sometimes they are affected by the 
 length of the way. For hope deferred maketh 
 the heart sick. This was the case with Israel 
 at this time : for instead of passing through 
 the land of Edom, they had to fetch a compass 
 all around the borders ; and all this in a wil- 
 derness too, and under a burning sky. If a 
 traveller, after supposing he was near his 
 journey's end, was to learn that it was yet 
 many miles off — all worn and weary, his 
 heart would be ready to faint; and utter the 
 cry of despondence, " I shall never reach 
 it !" What Isaiah says, " They shall behold 
 the land that is very far off," may be applied 
 to the experience of Christians with regard 
 to heaven. It is often remote in fact : that 
 is, it is frequently long before they arrive 
 there. For they are not removed hence, as 
 soon as they are converted; but detained 
 here, to be made meet for their destination, to 
 honour their Redeemer, and to serve their gen- 
 eration. Hence many of them are longer on 
 earth after they are called by grace, than the 
 Jews wandered in the wilderness after leav- 
 ing Egypt. But we refer to the slowness of 
 their progress, the smallness of their attain- 
 ments, and the nature of their apprehensions. 
 " Once," says the soul, " I was ready to seize 
 the blessing ; but now it seems to recede as I 
 advance : yea, the distance between me and 
 the attainment seems to increase daily." 
 "How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord 1 ! for 
 ever 1 how long wilt thou hide thy face from 
 me 1 How long shall I take counsel in my 
 soul, having sorrow in my heart daily 1" " My 
 soul waiteth for the Lord more than they 
 that watch for the morning" — " O when will 
 it dawn — When wilt thou come unto me V 
 
 Sometimes they are discouraged because 
 of the way, owing to the enemies that infest 
 it In the re-building of the second temple, 
 we are told, that every man with one hand 
 wrought in the work, and with the other held 
 a weapon — this was sore labour. And the 
 Christian's life is a warfare, as well as a pil- 
 grimage : he moves on, bearing his sword, as 
 well as his staff- — now to walk and fight too — 
 and to contend every step of the way — and 
 with adversaries possessing every tiling to 
 render them formidable — and as soon as one 
 is vanquished, to see another rising up — this ig 
 arduous and trying. And what wonder, if, 
 when without are fightings, within are fears 1 
 
 Then the way shows many that are turn 
 ing back in it ; and this is often discouraging 
 We had heard of their setting oft* Some of 
 them had passed us near enough to be observed 
 
FEBRUARY 22. 
 
 5S 
 
 They soon left us, seeming to surpass us, not 
 only in gifts, but grace — and we not only 
 hailed, but envied them. How wonderful 
 aod grievous to see them returning, vicious, 
 or infidel, or lovers of this present world. 
 We instantly remember, and apply to them 
 the awful declaration, "If any man draw 
 back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." 
 But who can help thinking of himself? And 
 what am I? And may not I also prove a 
 cast-away ? 
 
 Besides, these revolters never come back 
 silent. They solicit us to return too. They 
 assure us the way is impassable. They have 
 tried it ; and hope their experience will make 
 us wise. Once they thought certain notions to 
 be erroneous; and certain indulgences to be 
 sinful ; but they are more enlightened and 
 liberal now. Such persons, too, never sub- 
 side into neutrals. From friends they neces- 
 sarily become enemies. They persecute, if it 
 lies in their power. They always reproach 
 and vilify, even in their own defence — defam- 
 ing the party and the cause — to justify their 
 secession from them. 
 
 It is often discouraging, also, to find the 
 way so narrow — " Narrow is the way that 
 leadeth unto life." The difficulty, therefore, 
 of getting on, is great. A way is made nar- 
 row by the near approximation of the sides, 
 whether walls, ditches, or hedges; so that we 
 have to press through; and can hardly do it 
 without some injury on the right hand or on 
 the left. In the exercise of every grace, and 
 the performance of every duty, a Christian 
 has to keep between two extremes. As to 
 the use of the means of grace, he must nei- 
 ther neglect them nor idolize them. As to 
 connexions and relations in life, he may sin 
 by not loving them enough : or by loving 
 them too much. Courage lies between rash- 
 ness and fear; and frugality, between profu- 
 sion and niggardliness; and confidence, be- 
 tween presumption and despondency ; and pa- 
 tience, between despising the chastening of 
 the Lord, and fainting when we are rebuked 
 of him. And is it easy always to go, not only 
 in the way of righteousness, but in the midst 
 of the paths of judgment? 
 
 So far, generally, of the road. But there are 
 particular parts that are peculiarly trying — 
 Such as the Slough of Despond — the Valley 
 of Humiliation— the Hill Difficulty with the 
 lions — and the deep cold River to be waded 
 through, before the Shining City can be en- 
 tered. A Christian knows what all this 
 means; and sometimes finds it hard to be- 
 lieve that the way to glory lies through it 
 all. 
 
 Am I then setting out for the heavenly 
 world ? Let me not prepare myself for sur- 
 prise and disappointment, by expecting that 
 every thing wifl be smooth, and flowery, and 
 delightful. I can not, indeed, look for too 
 much from the promises of God — they are so 
 exceeding great and precious; but I must 
 look for it in God's own order. I must deny 
 wyself, and take up my cross. I must not be 
 
 slothful, but be a follower of them, who 
 through faith and patience have reached the 
 prize of their high calling. 
 
 Have I professed, and hoped that I am a 
 Christian ? Let me not conclude, that I have 
 no part nor lot in the matter, because my 
 soul is sometimes cast down and disquieted 
 within me. Have not those who have gone 
 before me wept and groaned also? Are not 
 the subjects of divine grace represented by 
 their fear, as well as their confidence? by 
 their sorrow, as well as their joy? 
 
 Yet let roe endeavor to go on rejoicing. 
 Let me remember, that there is much to en- 
 courage me because of the way. An uner- 
 ring guide — an almighty guard— companions 
 — strength to hold on — refreshments along 
 the road — and the end of it perfect rest, and 
 peace, and glory, and joy. 
 
 " Our journey is a thorny maze, 
 But we march upward still ; 
 Forget these troubles of the way, 
 And reach at Zion's hill. 
 
 " See the kind angels at the gates 
 Inviting us to come : 
 There Jesus, the forerunner, waits 
 To welcome travellers home. 
 
 " There on a green and flowery mount 
 Our weary souls shall sit. 
 And with transporting joys recount 
 The labours of our feet." 
 
 FEBRUARY 22. 
 
 " Ye shall serve the Lord your God, ana fit 
 shall bless thy bread, and thy water." — 
 Exod. xxiii. 25. 
 
 Our chief concern should be to secure those 
 blessings which will supply the soul and en- 
 dure for ever. He only is truly blessed who 
 is blessed with all spiritual blessings in hea- 
 venly places in Christ. Our Saviour, there- 
 fore, says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of 
 God and his righteousness" — yet he does not 
 scruple to say, " And all these things shall be 
 added unto you." Temporal benefits are not 
 beneath the attention of our kind Father. He 
 knoweth that we have need of these things 
 before we ask him. He knoweth our frame ; 
 and he knoweth our fears. And not only un- 
 der the Law, but under the Gospel, godliness 
 is profitable unto all things ; and has promises 
 of the life that now is, as well as of that 
 which is to come. 
 
 The promise before us extends to all the 
 temporal support of his people ; but there is 
 wisdom in the language. In another place it 
 is also said, " Thy bread shall be given thee, 
 and thy water shall be sure." Is not the spe- 
 cification designed to check not only anxiety, 
 but ambition and avarice ? Does it not say, 
 " Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek 
 them not. Let your conversation be without 
 covetousness, and be content with such thingt 
 as ye have." 
 
60 
 
 FEBRUARY 23. 
 
 Nothing can do as good without the Mess- 
 ing of God ; but his blessing commands what 
 it announces : and what he blesses, is blessed. 
 Hence a little that a righteous man hath is 
 better than the riches of many wicked. It is 
 more efficient. It goes further : as Philip 
 Henrv was wont to say to his family — " My 
 dear children, the grace of God will make a 
 little go a great way." It is surprising to see 
 with what a slender income many Christians 
 keep up a decent appearance, and owe no 
 man any thing, and even give to him that 
 needeth. The thing is, " The secret of the 
 Lord is upon their tabernacle." But while 
 he blesses the habitation of the just, his curse 
 is in the house of the wicked. And then no- 
 thing prospers. They seem a wonder to 
 themselves and others. They get much and 
 gain nothing. So it was with the selfish and 
 illiberal Jews when they came back from Ba- 
 bylon, and built their own ceiled houses, 
 while the house of God lay waste. Had they 
 minded his affairs, he would have minded 
 theirs; and have proved that we cannot 
 serve God for nought. But now, says God, 
 " Ye have sown much, and bring in little ; 
 ye eat, but ye have not enough ; ye drink, 
 but ye are not filled with drink ; ye clothe 
 you, but there is none warm ; and he that 
 earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a 
 bag with holes." 
 
 It is also more satisfying. For the state of 
 the mind conduces to the relish of every out- 
 ward comfort ; and in the Christian this state 
 of mind is grateful, and peaceful, and cheer- 
 ful, arising from a hope of reconciliation 
 with God. His frown would darken a thou- 
 sand suns. But every thing smiles when he 
 Bmilea 
 
 " How sweet our daily comforts prove, 
 When they are season'd with his love !" 
 
 And we see the dear medium through which 
 they come as covenant blessings : 
 
 " He sunk beneath our heavy woes, 
 To raise us to his throne ; 
 There 's not a gift his hand bestows, 
 But cost his heart a groan." 
 
 — The wicked feast without fear. But 
 there is reason enough why they should fear. 
 Neglecting the service of God, they are 
 strangers to his blessing. Left to themselves, 
 3 very advantage and indulgence operating 
 jpon their depravity, contributes to their 
 guilt and misery. Their table becomes a 
 snare; and that which should have proved 
 for their welfare, becomes a trap. The pros- 
 perity of fbols destroys them. Now consider 
 this, ye that forget God. And, without de- 
 lay, seek to be numbered with the seed 
 which the Lord hath blessed. 
 
 FEBRUARY 23. 
 
 " Let him know, that he -which converteth a 
 tinner from the error • ' his -nay tha'l save 
 
 a soul from death, and shall hide a mw/ft- 
 tude of siiis." — James v. 20. 
 
 And can we convert the sinner from the 
 error of his way? Yes — or the language 
 would be futile. But how can we do this? 
 Not meritoriously — this would invade the 
 office and glory of the Lord Jesus : for He 
 only delivers us from the wrath to come : He 
 only saves his people from their sins. Not 
 efficiently — this would invade the work and 
 honour of the Holy Spirit : for we are saved 
 by the washing of regeneration, and the re- 
 newing of the Holy Ghost. There is thei e- 
 fore only one way in which we can convert 
 a sinner; and that is instrumentally. But 
 this does not detract from divine agency: 
 there is no inconsistency between agency and 
 instrumentality. A pen is nothing without 
 a hand to use it. An instrument always sup- 
 poses and requires an agent. But is the con- 
 verse of this proposition true? Does an 
 agent always require an instrument ? It is 
 so with us ; but not with a Being whose will 
 is efficiency: and who said, Let there be 
 light, and there was light. Yet what God is 
 not compelled to do from weakness, he 
 chooses to do from wisdom. He therefore 
 works by means. We know of nothing that 
 he does immediately. He fans us by the 
 breeze, and warms us by the sun, and re- 
 freshes us by sleep, and sustains us by food. 
 And as it is in nature, so it is in grace. 
 Among the Corinthians God gave the in- 
 crease, but Paul planted, and Apollos water- 
 ed. Their faith came not from them ; but 
 Paul and Apollos were ministers by whom 
 they believed. We mean not, however, by 
 this reference, to confine this work to minis- 
 ters. James alludes not only or chiefly to 
 them ; but to Christians at large. All may 
 be useful here ; and in a thousand ways exert 
 themselves to accomplish this blessed and 
 glorious design. 
 
 For he who effects it is the greatest of all 
 benefactors — for " he saves a soul from death, 
 and hides a multitude of sins !" And what 
 is every other achievement compared with 
 this ? Nothing, less than nothing, and vanity. 
 So will all those judge who walk by faith ; 
 and believe the testimony of God concerning 
 — The value of a soul ! The dreadfulness 
 of eternal death ! And the absolute neces- 
 sity of forgiveness, in order to the man's 
 escape from the damnation of hell ! 
 
 The work therefore is its own reward 
 Spurious beneficence always wishes to ex- 
 cite notice: and the man, in some way or 
 other, aims, or he will do nothing, to make 
 it conducive to his own interest. But true 
 charity seeketh not its own, but the welfare 
 of the object; and if that end be answered, 
 the benefactor is satisfied. James knew 
 this . and mentions nothing else by way of 
 motive — but the thing itself He does not 
 teh his brethren, that if they convert, n sin- 
 
FEBRUARY 24. 
 
 61 
 
 net they shall be applauded here, or recom- 
 pensed at the resurrection of the just — It is 
 true that they will derive honour and advan- 
 tage from their usefulness. They that water, 
 6hall be watered also. The sinners they save 
 will pray for them ; and, if they die first, 
 when they fail, will receive them into ever- 
 lasting habitations; and in the day of the 
 Lord Jesus they will be their joy and crown. 
 But this is the effect, and not the principle 
 of their zeal. It is enough if they succeed — 
 enough if they can save a soul from death, 
 and hide a multitude of sins. 
 
 And the prospect of success in such a case, 
 however limited, should be sufficient to ani- 
 mate us. Some may be privileged to bless 
 numbers. But James speaks of "the sin- 
 ner," and "a soul." This agrees with the 
 language of our Lord, who tells us, " There 
 is joy in the presence of the angels of God, 
 over one sinner that repenteth." This brings 
 the encouragement home to all. All cannot 
 be Luthers, to reform countries; or Whit- 
 fields, to preach to thousands ; or Careys, to 
 translate the Scriptures into other tongues. 
 But can we do nothing'? Surely some one 
 soul is thrown in our way to whom we may 
 be useful — a child — a servant — a relative — a 
 neighbour. 
 
 James wou»a have us think of this; and 
 think much of it. " Let him know, that he 
 which converteth a sinner from the error of 
 his way shall save a soul from death, and 
 shall hide a multitude of sins." And who 
 does not know this ? Yea, were we to judge 
 from their practice, we should be ready to 
 ask, Who does know if? What is the know- 
 ledge that answers no end 1 It is not enough 
 to believe — we must remember and reflect : 
 we must follow out our convictions. This 
 fine sentiment must be present to the mind 
 — at all times — and in all conditions — when 
 we are alone and when we are in company 
 — when we pray and when we speak — when 
 we sit in our house — and when we walk by 
 the way — and when we lie down — and when 
 we rise up — we must bind it as a sign upon 
 our hand — and wear it as a frontlet between 
 our eyes — and write it upon the posts of our 
 door and upon our gates — " Let him know, 
 that he which converteth a sinner from the 
 error of his way shall save a soul from death, 
 and shall hide a multitude of sins." 
 
 FEBRUARY 24. 
 
 " They shall be as the stones of a crvwn, lifted 
 up as an ensign upon his land." — Zech. ix. 
 16. 
 
 Here we see the dignity of the Lord's 
 people. They are " stones," precious stones, 
 set in the "crown" of the King of kings. 
 For such is the infinite goodness of God, that 
 he not only spares, but pardons and justifies 
 6 
 
 them. In his righteousness they are exalted. 
 They are not only saved, but ennobled. 
 With kings are they upon the throne. Thuy 
 are naturally in a low estate, and are viler 
 than the earth ; but he raiseth the poor out 
 of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from 
 the dunghill. And though the world knovv- 
 eth them not, and they are little and low in 
 their own eyes, and it doth not yet appear 
 what they shall be, yet now are they the 
 sons of God ; and since they have been pre- 
 cious in his sight, they have been honour- 
 able, and he has loved them, and calls them 
 his jewels, and a peculiar treasure unto him. 
 And all those who in his light see light, view 
 them in the same way. They remember 
 the time when they began to honour them 
 that fear the Lord ; when they took hold of 
 the skirt of him that is a Jew ; when they 
 prayed to see the good of his chosen. Then 
 they seemed to regard them as more than 
 human beings; and while, above all things, 
 they desired communion with them, they felt 
 unworthy of their presence and notice. And 
 though, since then, they have found that they 
 are not already perfect, yet they know that 
 they are the excellent of the earth, and that 
 they are more excellent than their neigh- 
 bours. There is often more real virtue in 
 their failings than in the very devotions of 
 others: "the gleaning of the grapes of 
 Ephraim is better than the vintage of Abi- 
 ezer." 
 
 Here is also their exhibition — these stones 
 of a crown are " lifted up." They are not to 
 be concealed. Our Saviour compares them 
 to a city set, not in a valley, but on a hill 
 which cannot be hid ; and to a candle, placed, 
 not under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that 
 it may give light to all that are in the house. 
 And when he calls them by his grace, he 
 says to the " prisoners," " Go forth ; and to 
 them that are in darkness, Show yourselves : 
 they shall feed in the ways, and their pas- 
 ture shall be on all high places." Christians 
 need not be concealed : every thing in their 
 religion will bear examination, and challenges 
 the eyes of all, whether infidels, or philoso- 
 phers, or politicians, or moralists. They 
 ought not to be concealed : every thing in 
 their religion is adapted to do good ; but for 
 this purpose it must be known. They can- 
 not be concealed : their principles must ope- 
 rate ; the sun cannot shine without showing 
 itself. 
 
 Here is also their utility— these stones of 
 a crown are to be lifted up " as an ensign 
 upon his land." An oriflamme suspended 
 over the royal tent ; and designed to attract 
 and aggregate followers to the cause in which 
 he is engaged. Thus the Saviour himself 
 is spoken of: " In that day there shall be a 
 root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign 
 of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: 
 and his rest shall be glorious." But what 
 

 02 
 
 FEBRUARY 25, 26. 
 
 Chnw is, Christians are, subordinately in- 
 deed, yet really. Hence their calling, to 
 hold forth the word of life. They are placed 
 and displayed, to reprove, and convince, and 
 excite, and encourage others to seek and 
 serve God. They are witnesses for him. 
 They are trophies of the power and great- 
 ness, and riches of his grace. They pro- 
 claim what he is able and willing to do. And 
 •aved by him, they are all employed for him ; 
 and whether they eat or drink, or whatever 
 they do, they do all to the glory of God. 
 
 FEBRUARY 25. 
 
 • Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and 
 his sister, and Olympas, and all the sai?its 
 ■which are -with them." — Rom. xvi. 15. 
 Admitting that the Bible be the word of 
 God, we might have inferred, from his wis- 
 dom and goodness, that no part of it can be 
 useless. But we are expressly assured, that 
 "all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for 
 reproof, for correction, for instruction in right- 
 eousness." Therefore this long postscript, 
 this catalogue of particular salutations, has 
 its uses. It certainly shows us the principle 
 that actuated the first Christians — all men 
 were to know that they were the disciples of 
 Christ, by their loving one another. It shows, 
 also, how mistaken they are who think the 
 New Testament does not sanction private 
 friendship. It also proves how impossible it 
 was to forge this Epistle ; abounding as it 
 ioes with so many specific allusions ; for these 
 not only render detection possible, but easy. 
 Hence Paley much avails himself of this 
 chapter in his Horse Paulina? — a work of un- 
 common excellence ; and which deals only in 
 the argument derivable from incidental evi- 
 dence. 
 
 — Neither is it improper to observe from 
 it, the error of Popery. Papists say that 
 Peter was the bishop of Rome ; but had he 
 been there, is it credible for a moment that he 
 would have been overlooked by our Apostle 1 
 The probability indeed is, that he never was 
 there. There is no evidence of it in the 
 Scripture : and we know for what purposes 
 of delusion it has been pretended — the Roman 
 succession of bishops from him. 
 
 — But who can help observing how many 
 females are mentioned here 1 Phebe. Pris- 
 cilla. Mary. Junia. Tryphena. Tryphosa. 
 Persis. The mother of Rufus. Julia. The 
 sister of Nereus. — All these, with the excep- 
 tion of two, are not only mentioned, but com- 
 mended : and these two would not have been 
 saluted by name, unless they had been per- 
 sons of religious excellence ; for Paul valued 
 no other qualities compared with this. But 
 all the rest of these worthies have ascribed to 
 them some attainment or service "in the 
 Lord." 
 
 Let not, therefore, females suppose that 
 they are cut off from usefulness, and useful- 
 ness, even in the cause of Christ. The most 
 eminent servants of God have acknowledged 
 their obligations to them ; and ascribed no 
 little of their success to their care and kind- 
 ness. The public ministry is not indeed open 
 to them ; neither is the army or navy, or the 
 senate : and good sense will acquiesce in the 
 distinctions and determinations of Heaven, 
 especially when it is seen, that they are not 
 founded on any principle of degradation, but 
 in the obvious proprieties of life. If they have 
 not authority, they have influence, which is 
 far better, and more deeply effective. Ser- 
 vants have blessed God for pious mistresses. 
 Children have been prepared for the preaching 
 of the word, and the devotion of the sanctuary, 
 by the earlier, but important efforts of a mo- 
 ther. How much does even the religious 
 public owe to the mothers of Newton and Ce- 
 cil : and a thousand more ; from whom the 
 churches have derived such able ministers ! 
 To Hannah we owe a Samuel : and to Lois 
 and Eunice, his mother and grandmother, we 
 owe a Timothy. 
 
 They are at home in almsdeeds, like Dcr- 
 cas, who made garments for the poor ; and are 
 peculiarly adapted to visit the sick and the af- 
 flicted. The wife may win the irreligious 
 husband without the word : and fan his devo- 
 tion, and give speed to his zeal, when he is in 
 the way everlasting. Who would keep them 
 from those public meetings where feelings are 
 to be- excited, which they will be sure to carry 
 away, and improve at home? In a word, 
 women have the finest heads, and hearts, and 
 tongues, and hands, for usefulness, in the 
 world. Who does not wish to see them al- 
 ways under a religious principle? Who 
 would not have them, appropriately, more 
 encouraged and employed as workers together 
 with the servants of Christ 1 " Help," there- 
 fore, says the Apostle, "those women that 
 laboured with me in the Gospel, whose names 
 are in the book of life." 
 
 FEBRUARY 26. 
 
 " When he was come near, he beheld the cit\ 
 and -wept over it" — Luke xix. 41. 
 An ordinary mind would have been en 
 grossed and elated by the actions and accla- 
 mations of the multitude who cut down 
 branches from the trees and strewed them in 
 the way ; and spread their garments on the 
 ground for him to ride upon ; and filled the 
 air with Hosannas, crying, Blessed is He 
 that cometh in the Name of the Lord ! But 
 he wept — wept at the sight of Jerusalem, 
 whose visitation was now closing, and whose 
 judgment was hastening on — saying, "O 
 that thou hadst known, even thou, at least 
 in this thy day, the things that belong lo 
 
FEBRUARY 27 
 
 63 
 
 thy peace ! but now are they hid from thine 
 eyes." 
 
 Surely these tears teach us, that there is 
 uothing degrading in sensibility. Indeed, all 
 true greatness is tender and sympathetic. 
 Jonathan and David, the heroes of the age, 
 one of whom had slain a whole garrison, and 
 the other Goliath, both wept, till each ex- 
 ceeded. Homer, that exquisite painter of' 
 Nature, considers Ulysses as excelling all 
 men in wisdom, yet represents him as weep- 
 ing three times in six lines. He describes 
 Achilles, too, so extraordinary in courage, as 
 weeping often and plentifully. Let not, there- 
 fore, the unfeeling pride themselves, as supe- 
 rior in fortitude and philosophy. Feeling is 
 the noblest distinction and ornament of hu- 
 manity : and in proportion as we lose it, we 
 cease to be men. There is a moral ossifica- 
 tion of the heart, as well as a physical ; and 
 the one is as pitiable as the other. He who 
 was fairer than the children of men, was often 
 known to weep. 
 
 As these tears were honourable, so they are 
 exemplary. For whom did he shed theml 
 The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who, after every 
 Kind of insult, were going to put him to death. 
 At the grave of Lazarus he wept for friends ; 
 here, for adversaries. And does he not, by 
 this, tell us to be tender-hearted ? To weep 
 with them that weep ? That we should be- 
 wail the miseries of others ? And not confine 
 our compassion to our own connexions, but 
 love our enemies, bless them that curse us, 
 and do good to them that persecute us ? And 
 does he not enforce this, not only by precept, 
 but example ? And can we be his disciples, 
 unless we follow him? "He that saith he 
 ibideth in him, ought himself so to walk even 
 as he walked !" " If any man have not the 
 Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." 
 
 These tears are encouraging. Tears are 
 generally considered proofs of concern. Hu- 
 man tears, indeed, it will be allowed, are not 
 infallible tokens ; but the tears of Christ may 
 be safely trusted. They show his compassion ; 
 the sincerity, the greatness of his compassion. 
 They tell us, that his love passeth knowledge : 
 and therefore they call upon us to repair to 
 him, assured that he is not willing that any 
 should perish ; and that he has no pleasure in 
 the death of him that dieth. 
 
 Finally, they are awful and foreboding; 
 idmonishing us of the dreadfulness of their 
 loom on whose behalf they are shed. It is 
 affecting to see a man weep, and especially 
 a great man. You would naturally suppose 
 that something vast and momentous was ne- 
 cessary, to move to tears such mighty minds 
 as those of a Bacon or a Newton. And could 
 a trifle move the Son of God to weep ? And 
 if the temporal calamities coming on the Jews 
 affected, him, how much more would their 
 eternal perdition? What were the Roman 
 eagles, compared with the wrath to come? 
 
 Oh, these tears say, plain enough, " There 
 is something divinely, infinitely pitiable in the 
 loss of a soul ! It is a fearful thing to fall into 
 the hands of the living God ! ' Who knoweth 
 the power of his anger?" 
 
 May we not fairly infer from hence, wnat 
 his feeling is in the recovery of a sinner? If 
 he weeps over those who are ready to perish, 
 surely he will rejoice over those that are 
 saved. " He will rejoice over them with joy ; 
 he will rest in his love ; he will rejoice over 
 them with singing." 
 
 FEBRUARY 27. 
 
 " Increasing in the knowledge of God." 
 Col. i. 10. 
 
 Does this mean the knowledge of which 
 God is the author, or the knowledge of which 
 he is the subject ? In reality, this is the same 
 thing. The Gospel contains the knowledge 
 which God has communicated to the children 
 of men ; and this principally discovers him- 
 self; so, that it is at once a revelation from 
 God, and a revelation of him. All his works, 
 the largest and the least, praise him. If we 
 take up the telescope, or the microscope, we 
 soon find reason alike to exclaim, " This is 
 the finger of God." — But we take up the 
 Gospel and say, " No man hath seen God at 
 any time ; the only begotten Son, which is in 
 the bosom of the Father, he hath declared 
 him." Here we look into his very heart, 
 and see that it is the dwelling-place of pity. 
 Here we know the thoughts he thinks to- 
 wards us, and find that they are thoughts of 
 peace, and not of evil. 
 
 With regard to this knowledge, we may 
 make out four classes. 
 
 — Some are destitute of this knowledge of 
 God. Some ! There are at present more 
 than five hundred millions lying in darkness, 
 and the shadow of death ! These have never 
 heard of the Name of Jesus, and know not 
 that there is such a Being in the universe. 
 Yet Christians have it in their power to in- 
 form them : and a few are exerting them- 
 selves. Prosper, O God, their endeavours. 
 Let thy way be known on earth, thy saving 
 health among all nations. 
 
 — Some reject it. This is one of the things 
 we should deem incredible ; but we have un- 
 deniable, as well as mortifying evidence of 
 the fact How many refuse to hear ! How 
 many never read the word of God ! Others 
 even sneer at its inspiration, and ridicule its 
 contents ! Whatever difficulties may attend 
 the doom of the former class, justice admits 
 of none with regard to the second—" How 
 can we escape, if we neglect so great salva- 
 tion ?" 
 
 Some hold it in unrighteousness. They 
 profess to know God ; but in works deny him. 
 Not a few of these have clear views of the 
 way of salvation, and even contend for the 
 
64 
 
 FEBRUARY 28. 
 
 faith once delivered to the saints. The Gos- 
 pel seems to have taught them every thing, 
 except to deny themselves, and take up their 
 cross, and follow the Saviour in the regener- 
 ation. They would be offended to be placed 
 near the former class. " We are not unbe- 
 lievers/' No — you have denied the faith, 
 and are — " worse than an infidel." 
 
 — Some receive it in the love and the in- 
 fluence of it. Their faith is not a notion : 
 their worship is not formality : their hope is 
 not delusion. They live in the Spirit, and 
 walk in the Spirit. Though these are still 
 comparatively few, yet, blessed be God, their 
 number is daily and greatly enlarging ; and 
 the Lord add to his people, how many soever 
 they be, a hundred-fold ! 
 
 Art thou, my reader, one of them ? Re- 
 member four things. 
 
 That thou hast any of this knowledge — 
 should make thee thankful. 
 
 That thou hast so little — should make thee 
 humble. 
 
 That more is attainable — should encourage 
 thy hope. 
 
 That it is attainable only in the use of means 
 — should awaken thy diligence. 
 
 Consider what I say ; and the Lord give 
 Ihee understanding in all things. 
 
 FEBRUARY 28. 
 
 H Having loved his own -which were in the world, 
 he loved them unto the end." — John xiii. 1. 
 
 These words refer immediately to the 
 twelve disciples of our Lord. But what said 
 he in his intercessory prayer ? " Neither 
 pray I for these alone, but for them also which 
 shall believe on me through their word." And 
 what part of the statement before us will not 
 extend beyond his first followers? 
 
 Is it the relation ? These are called " His 
 own" — and they were indeed his own, by ex- 
 traordinary office ; but they were far more 
 importantly his own, by saving grace. And 
 thus he has a propriety in all Christians. If 
 ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed. 
 They that are Christ's, have crucified the 
 flesh. He has a peculiar right to them, from 
 covenant donation, and the execution of his 
 trust. They were given him as so many 
 sheep to feed ; as so many scholars to teach ; 
 as so many patients to heal ; as so many cap- 
 tives to redeem. They are therefore not their 
 own, but bought with a price : and the ran- 
 som was no less than his own blood. The 
 connexion between Him and them is so inti- 
 mate and entire, that they are called his her- 
 itage, his children, his bride ; the members of 
 his body, of his flesh, and of his bones : yea, 
 they are joined to the Lord, and of one spirit 
 with him. 
 
 Is it the condition ? They " were in the 
 world." He was leaving it, and they were 
 
 to oe ieft in it : ana from what it had been to 
 him, they could judge what it would be to 
 them : according to his own intimation, " The 
 servant is not greater than his Lord. If they 
 have persecuted me, they will also persecute 
 you." They found themselves, therefore, as 
 lilies among thorns ; as sheep among wolves. 
 And he prayed not to have them taken out of 
 the world, but only kept from the evil. And 
 thus it is with his people now. They are in 
 the world ; and this is their field of action ; 
 and this is their sphere of duty and trial for a 
 season. There they are to serve their gener- 
 ation ; there they are to glorify God, by doing 
 and suffering his will. The world has ad- 
 vanced much in science and civilization ; but 
 it retains the same disposition towards real 
 godliness as formerly : and is more perilous 
 in its smiles than in its frowns ; in its treach- 
 erous embraces than in its avowed hostilities. 
 But if you are " His own," while you are " in 
 the world," you will not be of it ; and He, 
 whose you are, will not only keep you from 
 falling, but render you useful in it, and bring 
 you honourably out of it — Be of good cheer, 
 says He, I have overcome the world. 
 
 Is it the reality of his regard 1 " He had 
 loved his own which were in the world." 
 What other principle could have actuated 
 him in selecting them ? Calling them ? In- 
 forming them 1 ! Employing them? Adopt- 
 ing them ? Honouring them ? Blessing them 
 with his constant fntimacy ? They had not 
 chosen him, but he had chosen them, and or- 
 dained them, that they should go and bring 
 forth fruit. He treated them not as servants, 
 but as friends; and all things that he had 
 heard of the Father, he made known unto 
 them. He could say, as the Father hath 
 loved me, so have I loved you. And is not 
 this true of all his people ? Who said, de- 
 liver them from going down into the pit? 
 Who bore their sins in his own body on the 
 tree ? Who shut the mouth of hell ? Who 
 opened the kingdom of heaven to all be- 
 lievers? — O Christian, who sought thee? 
 And who saved thee ? Whatever you are, 
 whatever you have, is the effect of the love 
 of Christ, that passeth knowledge. 
 
 Is it the permanency of this affection? 
 Having loved his own which were in the 
 world, he loved them unto the end. They 
 tried him, and proved themselves very un- 
 worthy of his continued attachment Yet he 
 bore with their dulness and imperfections. 
 He chided and reproved them indeed; but 
 this was not only compatible with his con- 
 stancy, but resulted from it : for as many as 
 he loves he rebukes and chastens : and faith- 
 ful are the wounds of this friend. And now 
 we see him at the last, all alive to their wel- 
 fare ; teaching and comforting them ; wash- 
 ing their feet, and praying for them. In the 
 garden, when he found them sleeping, he ex- 
 tenuated the infirmity. The spirit indeed is 
 
MARCH 1. 
 
 65 
 
 willing, but the flesh is weak. vVhen he sur- 
 rendered himself to his enemies, he stipulated 
 for their exemption. Let these go their way. 
 He died with them in his heart He rose and 
 appeared to them ; and though they had all 
 forsaken him and fled in the hour of trial, he 
 said. Be not afraid, Peace be to you. He laid 
 his hands upon them, and while he blessed 
 them, he was taken up into heaven. And did 
 he forget them then 1 He sent them another 
 Comforter that should abide with them for 
 ever. And was this peculiar to them 1 He is 
 the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He 
 rests in his love. He hath said, I will never 
 leave thee, nor forsake thee. A true friend 
 loveth at all times. There are indeed few 
 such friends to be found. But he abideth 
 faithful. Job's brethren proved like a sum- 
 mer's brook. One told David in his distress, 
 Ahithophel is among the conspirators with 
 Absalom. At my first answer, no one, says 
 Paul, stood by me, but all men forsook me : 
 but he adds, nevertheless the Lord stood by 
 me, and strengthened me. So will it be with 
 all tnose who trust in him : " They shall not 
 be ashamed or confounded, world without 
 *nd." 
 
 " This God is the God we adore. 
 
 Our faithful unchangeable friend : 
 Whose love is as great as his power ; 
 
 And neither knows measure nor end 
 'Tis Jestis, the first and the last. 
 
 Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home : 
 We'll praise him for all that is past, 
 
 And trust him for all that 's to come." 
 
 MARCH 1. 
 
 •* And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it 
 shall be, that -what goodness the Lord shall 
 do unto us, the same ivill -we do unto thee." 
 Numb. x. 32. 
 
 While this invitation is founded in bene- 
 volence, it also displays humility. Christians 
 are convinced, that they can only give ac- 
 cording as they have received. But, from 
 God's communications to them, they know 
 that they can be useful, and that they ought 
 to be useful to others. They never receive 
 grace for themselves only. If the glory of the 
 Lord has risen upon them, they are to arise 
 and shine. If they are converted, they are to 
 strengthen their brethren. If they are com- 
 forted, they are to comfort those who are in 
 any trouble. If they are rich in this world, 
 they are to do good, and be rich in good 
 ivorks, ready to distribute, willing to commu- 
 nicate — "As every man hath received the 
 gift, even so minister the same one to ano- 
 ther, as good stewards of the manifold grace 
 of God." — Hence, says Moses to Hobab, " If 
 thou go with ue, what goodness the Lord 
 shall do unto us, the same will we do unto 
 thee." 
 
 — And he repeats the assurance : " It shall 
 be — yea, it shall be." And was it not so ! 
 Did he repent of his adhering to Israel ? See 
 f 6* 
 
 what is said in Judges, and in Samuel, of hi« 
 descendants. And was Obed-edom a loser by 
 the ark 1 Did not the sabred guest more thac 
 pay for its entertainmenf ! ' "It was told king 
 David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the 
 house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth 
 unto him, because of the ark of God." Who 
 is likely to be injured by casting in his lot 
 with the followers of the Lamb 1 Will his fa- 
 mily suffer 1 Many a wretch has reduced his 
 wife and children to penury and ruin by his 
 vices ; but every principle of a good man will 
 lead him to provide for his own : and the ge- 
 neration of the upright shall be blessed. Will 
 his substance] The play-house, the ale- 
 house, the gaming-house, the house of her 
 who lives in the way to hell, going down to 
 the chambers of death, will injure a man 
 much more than the House of God. Will his 
 health 1 Is this likely to be injured, or bene- 
 fited by temperance, and calm temper, and 
 cheerful confidence, and benevolent feelings 1 
 Religion must befriend reputation, as it pro- 
 duces and guards all the elements from 
 which it is derived : but the name of the 
 wicked shall rot 
 
 Therefore, come with us, and we will do 
 you good ; for the Lord hath spoken good con- 
 cerning Israel. We cannot promise you 
 great things in the world : but the Lord will 
 bless your bread and your water : and a little 
 that a righteous man hath, is better than the 
 riches of many wicked. We cannot promise 
 you exemptions from affliction ; but nothing 
 shall befall you but what is common to man : 
 and God is faithful, who will not suffer you 
 to be tempted above that ye are able, and will 
 with the temptation, also make a way for 
 your escape. We cannot secure you from 
 privations and sacrifices; but we can pro- 
 mise, that you shall be more than indemnified 
 for every thing you do, or lose, or suffer, for 
 the cause of God. He will not be unrigh- 
 teous, to forget your work of faith and labour 
 of love. A cup of cold water, given to a dis- 
 ciple, in the name of a disciple, shall not lose 
 its reward. " There is no man," saith the 
 Saviour, " that hath left house, or parents, or 
 brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom 
 of God's sake, who shall not receive mani- 
 fold more in this present time, and in the 
 world to come life everlasting." We can as- 
 sure you, that if you travel with us, you shall 
 feed on the manna, and drink of the rock, and 
 be guided by the cloud, and behold the glory 
 of the Lord in the Wilderness : and then you 
 shall share with us, beyond Jordan, in the 
 land flowing with milk and honey. How 
 blessed are they whose transgressions are 
 forgiven ! who have peace with God ! who 
 are°delivered from the sting of a guilty con- 
 science, and the torment of fear! who walk 
 in the comforts of the Holy Ghost ! who re- 
 joice in hope ! who know that death is their 
 friend, and heaven their home ! who have 
 
66 
 
 MARCH 2. 
 
 their fruit unto li Dliness, and the end ever- 
 lasting life ! " Lo this, we have searched it, 
 so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy 
 good." 
 
 Lord ! I have often heard this invitation — 
 I now accept it. I am a companion of them 
 that fear Thee, and of them that keep thy 
 precepts. " Remember me, O Lord, with the 
 favour that thou bearest unto thy people : O 
 visit me with thy salvation ; that I may see 
 the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in 
 the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory 
 with thine inheritance." 
 
 MARCH 2. 
 
 * But Peter followed him afar off." 
 Matt. xxvi. 58. 
 
 This, too, was better than forsaking him, 
 and fleeing, as the rest did. Here was the 
 working of some degree of principle. Here 
 was some love to the Saviour, or he would 
 not have followed him at all. It was the lin- 
 gering of that affection which may be seem- 
 ingly smothered in the Christian, but can 
 never be extinguished ; and will soon be 
 blown again into a flame. 
 
 But he was overcome by fear. His Lord 
 was apprehended, and going to be tried and 
 crucified. What if I, said Peter, should be 
 found in the same doom as one of them ! 
 The fear of man bringeth a snare. Skin for 
 skin, yea, all that a man hath, will he give 
 for his life. 
 
 Yet this was very unbelieving in him. He 
 bad seen his Lord's miracles, and knew what 
 he could do. He knew that he had actually 
 stipulated for their release in the garden, as 
 the condition of his own surrender. He 
 knew that he had assured them, that after he 
 was risen from the dead, he would appear 
 to them, and employ them as his witnesses ; 
 which involved their preservation. What a 
 difference between Peter and Paul—Paul, 
 who said, " None of these things move me, 
 neither count I my life dear unto myself, so 
 that I might finish my course with joy." 
 And between Peter and Luther — Luther, 
 who, when informed of his dangers, said, If 
 there were as many devils in Worms as there 
 are tiles upon the roofs of the houses, I would 
 go — But Peter followed him afar off! 
 
 This was also very ungrateful. The Sa- 
 viour had done much for him. He had heal- 
 ed, by a miracle, his wife's mother — He had 
 called him to the Apostleship, the highest 
 honour on earth — He had singularly distin- 
 guished him with James and John on several 
 occasions — He had saved him by his grace, 
 and enlightened him from above, and — was 
 now going to suffer and die for him. And a 
 friend is born for adversity. Then, instead 
 of keeping at a distance from us, we look for 
 his attendance and sympathy. Peter could 
 
 have unequivocally testified in favour of suf 
 fering innocence; but he hangs off'! And 
 Patience itself complains, " I looked for some 
 to take pity, but there was none . and lor 
 comforters, but I found none !" 
 
 All this, too, was in violation of his own 
 profession and vows — that he was willing to 
 follow him to prison and to death — that he 
 would die with him rather than deny hin>- 
 and all this had scarcely left his lips—and 
 was uttered just after our Saviour had so so- 
 lemnly forewarned him — Yet Peter followed 
 him afar off. 
 
 This led to something worse ; and I won 
 der not at the sequel. His after-conduct in 
 denying him ; and thrice ; and swearing with 
 oaths and curses ; was only the continuance 
 and the increase of his present reluctance. 
 So it is : the way of error and sin is always 
 down-hill ; and once in motion, who can tell 
 where a man will stop ] You follow him afar 
 off this hour, the next you are ashamed of 
 him. You trifle with the Sabbath to-day 
 to-morrow you profane it. You now endure 
 evil company ; you will soon choose it. So 
 true is it — " They proceed from evil to evil." 
 And yet, who of us can cast a stone at 
 him 1 Are not we verily guilty as well as 
 Peter ? Let us see whether, though as yet 
 we have not begun to curse and to swear, 
 saying, I know not the man, we have not 
 been following him afar off. Here let us not 
 depend upon the opinion of our fellow-crea- 
 tures ; we may stand fair with them : but 
 what do they know of us 1 of our inward 
 state? of our principles and motives] What 
 says the heart 1 " If our heart condemn us 
 not, then have we confidence toward God." 
 Yet even on this testimony we must not ab- 
 solutely rely — " God is greater than the 
 heart, and knoweth all things." The Laodi- 
 ceans were satisfied With themselves at the 
 very time when He charged them with every 
 one of the evils from which they supposed 
 themselves free. H*a He not somewhat 
 against us 1 May we not continue to read 
 and hear his word, and keep our places in the 
 sanctuary, and even at his table ; and yet feel 
 very little of that sacred fervour and delight 
 that once accompanied our devotions'! At- 
 tendance upon the Saviour in the means of 
 grace is very distinguishable from spiritual 
 worship. We may draw nigh to him with 
 our mouth, and honour him with our lips, 
 while the heart is far from him. Does the 
 heart lag behind 1 ? Then are we following 
 him afar off 
 
 His people are himself He that receiveth 
 them receiveth him : and what we do not ! to 
 the least of all his brethren, we do not to him. 
 In the distance of our regard to them ; and 
 especially in our backwardness to notice and 
 relieve and visit the poor and afflicted ; are 
 we not following him afar off? 
 
 Above all, does not the evil appear in th<. 
 
MARCH 3. 
 
 ii, 
 
 remoteness of our resemblance 1 We are 
 commanded to follow him ; and our conformi- 
 ty to him is essential to all religion ; and we 
 may always judge of the degree, as well as 
 the reality of our religion, by it. How far 
 short of the model do we cornel How dis- 
 tantly do we resemble that condescension, 
 which washed the disciples' feet ; that self- 
 denial, which led him to please not himself; 
 that fervour which induced him to say, the 
 zeal of thine house hath eaten me up ; that 
 delight in obedience, which enabled him to 
 acknowledge, My meat ia to do the will of 
 Him that sent me, and to finish his work — 
 
 And thus, by our negligence and indiffer- 
 ence, we grieve his Holy Spirit. And thus 
 we rob our own souls. For he is all in all. 
 He is the fountain of life ; and it is good for 
 us to draw near to him. But when we fol- 
 low him afar off, we cannot see him ; and 
 hear him ; and converse with him. And woe 
 unto us if trouble befalls us, or the enemy 
 meets with us — and he is most likely to do s j 
 then, or death assails us, when we are absent 
 from him. 
 
 Jjet me sigh — 
 
 " Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; 
 Prone to leave the God I love." 
 
 And let me sing — 
 
 " Thou Shepherd of Israel divine, 
 The joy of the upright in iieart, 
 For closer communion I pine, 
 Still, still to reside where Thou art. 
 
 'Tis there I would alway abide, 
 
 Nor ever a moment depart ; 
 1 reserved evermore by thy side — 
 
 Eternally hid in thy heart. 
 
 MARCH 3. 
 
 * t"ea, J et God be true, but every man a liar." 
 
 Rom. iii. 4. 
 
 But cannot God be true, and man be true 
 aluo 1 Does the veracity of the one infer the 
 falsehood of the other 1 Not absolutely ; but 
 in particular instances. There may be, and 
 there often is, an opposition between their 
 testimony : and when this is the case, we are 
 uot to hesitate a moment by whose claims we 
 -shall be decided — If the whole world was on 
 one side, and He on the other— Let God 
 be true, but every man a liar. And, compara- 
 tively, the credibility of the one, must always 
 be nothing to that of the other. If we receive 
 the witness of men, the witness of God is 
 greater. And this will appear undeniable 
 from four admissions. 
 
 The first regards the ignorance of man, 
 and the wisdom of God. Man is fallible. He 
 not only may err, but he is likely to err. He 
 may be deceived by outward appearances ; by 
 the reports of others ; by his own reasonings. 
 His powers are limited; his researches, in 
 every direction, are soon checked ; there are 
 depths which he cannot fathom, heights which 
 he cannot scale, complications which he can- 
 
 not unravel. Let not the wise man glory in 
 his wisdom. How much of it is mere opi- 
 nion and conjecture ! With what follies have 
 the greatest minds been charged ! Where is 
 the wise 1 Where is the scribe ] Where is 
 the disputer of this world? Hath not God 
 made foolishness the wisdom of this world 1 
 But His understanding is infinite. He knows 
 all things. He cannot be mistaken. 
 
 The second regards the mutability of man, 
 and the unchangeableness of God. Creatures, 
 from their very being, are mutable. Many of 
 the angels kept not their first estate. Adam 
 fell from his original condition. Who needs 
 to be told, that man never continues in one 
 stay ] New views gender new feelings, and 
 these new pursuits. What pleases to-day 
 may offend to-morrow. Many are unstable 
 as water. No one is unchangeable. But God 
 changes not. What he thinks now of any 
 subject he always thought, and always will 
 think ; for with him there is no variableness, 
 neither shadow of turning. 
 
 The third regards the weakness of man, 
 and the all-sufficiency of God. Man may 
 threaten in fury, but be unable to execute. 
 He may promise sincerely ; and his promises 
 be vain words — he cannot fulfil them. In 
 this respect he is not always to be judged of* 
 by his conduct. There are cases in which 
 we censure, when, if we knew all, we should 
 only pity. The man struggles with difficul- 
 ties which have unexpectedly come upon 
 him ; and yields to dire necessity ; and pro- 
 vides things honest in the sight of the Lord — 
 who has seen all his heart and his hardships 
 — though not in the sight of men. But God 
 is almighty. He who made an' 3 upholds all 
 things by the word of hi3 power, speaks 
 every thing, in the Scriptures. 
 
 The fourth regards the depravity of man, 
 and the rectitude of God. Man goes astray, 
 from the womb, speaking lies. He often 
 knowingly deceives. It is his aim and study ; 
 and he rejoices in his success. Even men 
 who are influenced by religious principles, 
 may be overcome of evil, and occasion our 
 saying, Lord, what is man ! How far from 
 truth was the sentiment of Jonah — " f do well 
 to be angry, even unto death." How lament- 
 able was the falsehood of Abraham, when he 
 said to his wife, She is my sister! How 
 dreadful was the perjury of Peter, when he 
 sware, " I know not the man !" But God is 
 holiness itself. He is incapable of a wrong 
 bias — he cannot be tempted to deceive. 
 
 When, therefore, we look at man— igno- 
 rant and fallible— varying according to his 
 excitements — often unable to make good his 
 engagements — yea, accessible to the influ- 
 ence of evil motives : and then contemplate 
 God, in all the glories of his wisdom, immu- 
 tability, almightiness, and rectitude — each 
 being an everlasting and infinite preservative 
 of truth — who can view these competitors <hr 
 
Id 
 
 MARCH 4. 
 
 yar belief, and nut join with the Apostle — 
 •• Yea, let God be true, but every man a iiar." 
 
 The use to which this fact should be ap- 
 plied, is to reduce our confidence in man, and 
 increase our confidence in God. 
 
 And yet the reverse of this is our practice. 
 We yield where We should be cautious, and 
 we hesitate where it is impossible for us to err. 
 We turn from the Rock of ages, and lean on 
 the broken reed. What is the consequence 1 
 " Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, 
 and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart 
 departeth from the Lord. For he shall be 
 like the heath in the desert, and shall not see 
 when good cometh; but shall inhabit the 
 parched places in the wilderness, in a salt 
 land, and not inhabited. Blessed is the man 
 that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the 
 Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted 
 by the waters, and that spreadeth out her 
 roots by the river, and shall not see when 
 heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and 
 shall not be careful in the year of drought, 
 neither shall cease from yielding fruit." 
 
 Let us cease, then, from man. Not that 
 we are to become universally suspicious, and 
 suppose that there is no sincerity in the world. 
 It was David's error to say in his haste, All 
 men are liars. And when the Scripture says, 
 There is no faithfulness in them : men of low 
 degree are vanity,and men of high degree are 
 a lie ; it must be taken with qualification. Yet 
 instances of inflexible integrity are not abund- 
 ant And we should not implicitly rely upon 
 any one, especially in divine things. Let us 
 respect great and good men, but not be en- 
 slaved by them. Let us not pin our faith to 
 the sleeve of any authority merely human. 
 Let us suffer no man to have dominion over 
 our conscience ; always searching the Scrip- 
 tures to see whether these things are so in 
 the word of truth. 
 
 For God is entitled to our absolute confi- 
 dence. " God is not a man, that he should 
 lie ; neither the son of man, that he should 
 repent : hath he said, and shall he not do it 1 
 or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it 
 
 food?" Let us trust him as he deserves. 
 iet us always place a ready and unshaken 
 reliance on his Word. Let God be true, in 
 its doctrines ; and let us receive them, how- 
 ever mysterious. Let God be true, in its 
 threatenings ; and let us flee from the wrath 
 to come. Let God be true, in its promises ; 
 and let U3 be strong in faith, giving glory to 
 God. Yea, let God be true, but every 
 man a liar. Let God be true in its predic- 
 tions ; and whatever difficulties stand in the 
 way, believe that the whole earth shall be 
 filled with his glory. 
 
 MARCH 4. 
 
 " All his saints are in thy hand." 
 Deut. xxxiii. 3. 
 These holy ones are distinguished by many 
 
 things from each other. Some of them are 
 in public life and some in private. Some are 
 rich and some poor. Some are young and 
 some old — But all are equally dear to God ; 
 and partakers of the common salvation; in 
 which there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither 
 bond nor free, neither male nor female, for 
 we are all one in Christ Jesus. They pass 
 under various denominations among men : and 
 these too often keep them at a distance from 
 each other, and lead them to mistake and 
 censure each other: and often they would 
 seem to wish to draw Him along with them, 
 and confine his influences within their res- 
 pective exclusiveness. But no. He owns 
 them all. They are all children of t? e same 
 family, and going to the same temple to wor- 
 ship ; and however they may differ in dress, 
 or age, or stature, they all stand in the same 
 relation to each other, and to himself. Some 
 of them are strong, and others are weak in 
 faith. He has in his fold lambs as well as 
 sheep; and in his family babes as well as 
 young men. But a bruised reed will he not 
 break, and the smoking flax will he not 
 quench, but will bring forth judgment unto 
 victory. This honour have all his saints — 
 " All his saints are in thy hand." 
 
 — In his fashioning hand. They are the 
 clay, and he is the potter, and he makes them 
 vessels of honour, prepared unto every good 
 work. He fearfully and wonderfully made 
 them as creatures. But they are his work- 
 manship by another and a nobler creation — 
 " This people have I formed for myself; they 
 shall show forth my praise." 
 
 — In his preserving hand. For now they 
 are precious, they are the more exposed. 
 They are called a crown and a diadem ; and 
 the powers of darkness would gladly seize it : 
 but observe where it is placed for security : 
 "Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand 
 of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand 
 of thy God"— and there they are safe, perfectly 
 safe : safe, not owing to their strength, but tc 
 their situation. By another image the Saviour 
 establishes the same confidence. " My sheep 
 hear my voice, and I know them, and they fol- 
 low me : and I give unto them eternal life ; and 
 they shall never perish, neither shall any man 
 pluck them out of my hand. My Father, 
 which gave them me, is greater than all ; and 
 no man is able to pluck them out of my 
 Father's hand." 
 
 — In his guiding hand. To lead a blino 
 man, you take him in your hand — thus the 
 Lord leads his people. He knoweth the way 
 that they take ; but they do not I will bring 
 the blind by a way that they know not ; 1 
 will lead them in paths that they have nol 
 known. You take a little child in your hano 
 to lead him. Though God, says Bishop Hall, 
 has a large family, none of his children are 
 able to go alone : they are too weak, as well 
 as too ignorant But fear not, says God : 1 
 
MARCH o. 
 
 (ft» 
 
 will strengthen thee, yea, 1 will tieip thee, 
 yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand 
 of my righteousness. 
 
 — In his chastening hand. They are some- 
 times alarmed at their afflictions, and cry, 
 Do not condemn me — as if they were in the 
 hand of an enemy — but he is their father ; 
 and not like fathers of our flesh; for they 
 verily for a few days chastened us after their 
 own pleasure, but He for our profit, that we 
 may be. partakers of his holiness. Luther 
 therefore said, Strike on, Lord, strike on ; for 
 now I know i am thy child. We deserve to 
 lose tne rod, and by our improper benaviour 
 we forfeit all claim to his correction ; and we 
 may well wonder and exclaim, Lord, what 
 is man, that thou shouldest magnify him, that 
 thou shouldest set thine heart upon him, that 
 thou shouldest visit him every morning and 
 try him every moment] But he does not 
 deal with us according to our desert. And 
 therefore, rather than leave us to make flesh 
 our arm, or the world our portion, he will re- 
 move every stay of support, and dry up every 
 spring of comfort. But he does not afflict 
 willingly. If needs be only, we are in heavi- 
 ness : and when we mourn our faults, the rod 
 drops upon the ground, and he hastens to 
 wipe away our tears. " Is Ephraim my dear 
 son ? is he a pleasant child ? for since I spake 
 against him, I do earnestly remember him 
 still: therefore my bowels are troubled for 
 him; I will surely have mercy upon him, 
 saith the Lord." 
 
 Whatever, therefore, Christians have to 
 distress and perplex, here is enough to com- 
 fort and to satisfy them ; " For all this I con- 
 sidered in my heart even to declare all this, 
 that the righteous, and the wise, and their 
 works — are in the hand of God." 
 
 MARCH 5. 
 
 ' So then with the mind I myself serve the law 
 of God ; but -with the flesh the law of sin." 
 Rom. vii. 25. 
 
 So ends this chapter, concerning which 
 there has been much dispute. For some have 
 contended that the Apostle does not here 
 speak of himself; but personates another. 
 They suppose that he refers to a Jew— un- 
 der the Law, but not under Grace— awaken- 
 ed, but not renewed — convinced, but not con- 
 verted. 
 
 Yet can any unregenerate person, with 
 truth, say— not only, " I consent to the law 
 that it is good ;" but, " With my mind I serve 
 the law of God ?" »nd, " I delight in the law 
 of God after the inward man?" — an expres- 
 sion of godliness that characterized the very 
 temper of the Messiah himself He could 
 say nothing more than this — " I delight to do 
 thy will, 6 my God ; yea, thy law is within 
 my heart" 
 
 At first view, the language of complaint 
 may seem much too strong to appy to the 
 experience of a real Christian. But what 
 real Christian would find it too much to 
 utter — when placed in the same state, and 
 occupied in the same way, with the Apostle ? 
 That is — viewing himself before a (Jod, in 
 whose light the very heavens are not clean, 
 and who charges his angels with folly ; and 
 who sees more pollution in our duties, than 
 we ever see in our sins — That is, comparing 
 himself with the rule of all rectitude, the 
 Divine Law, whose spirituality is such as to 
 extend to the thoughts and the desires of the 
 mind, as well as the actions of the life, and 
 which considers anger as murder, and the 
 lust of the eye as adultery. What must the 
 highest attainments of mortals be, compared 
 with this absolutely perfect standard of holi- 
 ness? yea, or even with the elevated and 
 vast desires of a renewed soul ! 
 
 We need not wonder that many are as- 
 tonished and perplexed here. " The spiritual 
 judgeth all things ; but he himself is judged 
 of no man." They who are strangers to the 
 warfare in which he is engaged can never 
 clearly comprehend his language, or enter 
 into those feelings which produce such a 
 depth of confession and abasement. Those 
 who have never been in the field, may be 
 surprised at many things related by a veteran, 
 in describing the campaigns he has passed 
 through ; but his old scar-worn comrade can 
 attest the truth of them. In religious mat- 
 ters, more than in any other, the heart 
 knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger 
 intermeddleth not with his joy. But the 
 secret of the Lord is with them that fear 
 him. 
 
 We allow that this chapter has been much 
 perverted. There is no part of the Bible that 
 Antinomians so much delight in, or which 
 ungodly men who turn the grace of our God 
 into lasciviousness so often quote. Such per- 
 sons wrest also the other Scriptures to their 
 own destruction. And are we to argue 
 against the use of a thing from the abuse of 
 it ? What good thing is not abused ? Yet 
 we do not refuse raiment to the naked, be- 
 cause there are some who glory in what 
 ought to remind us of our shame : or food to 
 the hungry, because some make a god of their 
 belly. And shall we refuse to sincere and 
 humble souls, mourning over the evils of 
 their own heart, the instruction and consola- 
 tion here provided for them, for fear the in- 
 terpretation should be applied to an impropei 
 purpose ? No one, really ta light of God, will 
 abuse it; nor can he be more reconciled to 
 his corruptions, or more satisfied with his 
 deficiencies, in consequence of being able to 
 adopt the language as his own. 
 
 For shall they continue in sin that grace 
 may abound ? God forbid. How can they 
 who are dead to sin, live any longer therein ' 
 
70 
 
 MARCH 6, 7. 
 
 We are not to make sad the hearts cf God's 
 people, but to comfort them — for the joy of 
 the Lord is their strength. And only the 
 last day will show how much this section of 
 Scripture has strengthened the weak hands 
 and confirmed the feeble knees of those who 
 were deeming their experience peculiar, and 
 concluding that they had no part with the 
 Israel of God — till they heard Paul bewailing 
 and encouraging himself thus — For to will 
 is present with me ; but how to perform that 
 which is good I find not. I find then a law, 
 that, when I would do good, evil is present 
 with me. O wretched man that I am ! who 
 shall deliver me from the body of this death ] 
 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 So then with the mind I myself 'serve the 
 Law of God ; but with the flesh the law of 
 sin. 
 
 MARCH 6. 
 
 " Beheld, the Lord thy God hath set the land 
 
 before thee : go up and possess it, as the Lord 
 
 God of thy fathers hath said unto thee ; fear 
 
 not, neither be discouraged." — Deut. i. 21. 
 
 We may, and « e ought, to transfer what 
 
 Is here said to the Jews concerning Canaan, 
 
 to ourselves, wi*,ii regard to a better country, 
 
 that is, a heavenly : for the one was designed 
 
 to be typical of the other. 
 
 Observe the exhibition : " Behold, the Lord 
 thy God hath set the land before thee." 
 VVhere ] In the Scriptures. Not in its full 
 development, for so it is a glory to be reveal- 
 ed, for it doth not yet appear what we shall 
 be ; but in its general nature ; and in a way 
 adapted to our present apprehensions ; and 
 likely to take hold of our mind. Hence so 
 many figures are employed : all of which aid 
 our conceptions, while they fall short of the 
 subject. 
 
 But does he place it before our eyes to 
 tantalize us, by awakening our notice, and 
 drawing forth our admiration, and exciting 
 our desire, when the boon is not within our 
 reach 1 
 
 Observe the command : " Go up and pos- 
 sess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath 
 said unto thee." This supposes it to be at- 
 tainable : yea, it makes the attainment our 
 duty. Our missing it, is not only our misery, 
 but our crime. We shall be punished for 
 neglecting so great salvation. It is our guilt 
 — the guilt of the vilest disobedience to the 
 most gracious authority : for he not only al- 
 lows, but he enjoins us to seek first his king- 
 dom and righteousness — and commands us to 
 believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ 
 Are we doing this ? For He is the way : 
 and we come unto God by him. 
 
 Observe the encouragement : " Fear not, 
 neither be discouraged." To this we are 
 liable on two accounts. First. By a sense 
 of our ur worthiness. The greatness of the 
 
 blessedness, when combined with a sense of 
 our desert, astonishes the mind into a kind of 
 incredulity; and makes hope seem no better 
 than presumption. But every thing here is 
 free, and designed to show the exceeding 
 riches of his grace in his kindness towards us. 
 We are as welcome as we are unworthy. 
 Why then should we refuse to be comforted 1 
 — Secondly. By a sense of our weakness. 
 Who is sufficient for the distance, the diffi- 
 culties, the dangers'? The Jews were dis- 
 mayed by the report of the spies. The towns, 
 said they, are walled up to heaven. Thero 
 are the Anakims; in whose sight we were 
 but as grasshoppers. The people were dis- 
 heartened. 
 
 But, said Caleb, "Let us go up at onct, 
 and possess it, for we are able." Did he mean 
 without God 1 No. But with him ; with him 
 as their leader — and keeper — and this he had 
 promised. And is he not with you] Has ho 
 not said, " Fear not, for I am with thee ; be 
 not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will 
 strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, 
 I will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
 righteousness V We cannot be too sensible 
 of our weakness ; but let us remember that his 
 grace is sufficient for us. Has it not beer, 
 sufficient for all those who have gone beforf. 
 us? 
 
 " Once they were mourning here below 
 And wet their couch with tears: 
 
 They wrestled hard, as we do now, 
 With sins, and doubts, and fears." 
 I 
 
 But their fears were vain. They overcame. 
 They are now more than conquerors through 
 him who loved them. 
 
 — But Jordan rolls between. So was it 
 with the Jews ; and it was even overflowing 
 its banks at the time. But the ark divided the 
 waters. They went through dry-shod. And 
 their enemies were as still as a stone — till 
 they were clean passed over — and the land 
 was all their own. 
 
 MARCH 7. 
 
 " I have called you friends." — John xv. 15. 
 
 What condescension, and kindness, and 
 grace, are here ! For these must be the prin- 
 ciples of this friendship, whether we consider 
 his greatness, or our meanness and unworrni- 
 ness. Lord, what is man, that Thou art 
 mindful of him 1 ? and the son of man, that 
 Thou visitest him 1 Yet he is mindful of us ; 
 he does visit us — yea, he calls us his friends. 
 And names and things, professions and reali- 
 ties, are the same with him. If he calls us 
 friends, he will treat us accordingly ; and we 
 may expect from him whatever the most per- 
 fect friendship can insure. 
 
 For instance. He will honour us with his 
 confidence — the very thing he here mentions, 
 — "Henceforth, I call you not servants; for 
 the servant knoweth not what his Lord doetli 
 
MARCH 7. 
 
 71 
 
 out 1 have called you friends ; for all things 
 that 1 have heard of my Father I have made 
 known unto you." A servant is entrusted, 
 not with secrets, but orders ; and he is seldom 
 informed of the reasons, even of these. Turn- 
 ing him into a confidant, is one of the ways 
 to exemplify Solomon's observation : " He 
 that delicately bringeth up a servant, shall 
 have him for his son at length ;" and he will 
 take greater liberties than a child. There is, 
 indeed, respect due to a servant; but it is 
 respect of another kind. We do not like a 
 master or mistress who disdains speaking to 
 a domestic, unless in the language of menace 
 or authority — But good sense will find out a 
 happy medium between distance and fond- 
 ness ; between haughtiness, and a familiarity 
 that inspires no deference. But unreserved 
 confidence is for friends. Nothing is con- 
 cealed between them. Abraham is called the 
 friend of God : and, says God, " Shall I hide 
 from Abraham the thing that I shall do?" 
 How did our Lord unbosom himself to his 
 disciples ! To you, said he, is given to know 
 the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. 
 When he was alone, he expounded all things 
 unto them ; he manifested himself to them, 
 and not unto the world. And so now ; the 
 secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, 
 and he will show them his covenant 
 
 If he calls us friends, he will give us free- 
 dom of access to him. The distance and 
 ceremonies, which may be necessary to regu- 
 late the approach of others, are laid aside 
 with a friend ; the heart, the arms, the house, 
 are all open to him. And does the Lord 
 keep us at a distance 1 All his language is 
 invitation — " Come unto me." He allows us 
 to come even to his seat ; and to enter into 
 the secret of his pavilion. He permits us, at 
 all times, to spread our most minute affairs 
 before him : yea, he indulges us to live in his 
 house, to sit at his table, to walk with him, 
 to lean upon his bosom — Such honour have 
 all his saints. 
 
 — If he calls us friends, he will reprove us. 
 Whenever friendship is founded on proper 
 principle, reproof will be one of its chief 
 duties, and privileges too. Faithful are the 
 wounds of a friend: and so David valued 
 them—" Let the righteous smite me ; it shall 
 be a kindness : and let him reprove me ; it 
 shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break 
 my head : for yet my prayer also shall be in 
 their calamities." Moses makes the omission 
 the proof of hatred — " Thou shalt not hate thy 
 brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any 
 wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin 
 upon him." But the Saviour will never incur 
 this reproach : As many as I love, I rebuke 
 and chasten. 
 
 — If he calls us friends, he will counsel us. 
 There are passages in the life of every man 
 sufficient to confound a single understanding. 
 But how; pleasing is it, in doubts and per- 
 
 plexities, to fetch in aid fron the judgment 
 or experience of another, and who is con- 
 cerned for our welfare ! But He is " The 
 Counsellor." " Counsel, says he, " is mine, 
 and sound wisdom." He is a light to them 
 that sit in darkness. He is a dissolver of 
 doubts. The meek will he guide in judg- 
 ment, and the meek will he teach his way- 
 and they that follow it will find it to be plea- 
 santness and peace. 
 
 — If he calls us friends, he will sympathize 
 with us. There is no true friendship unless 
 we make the pleasures and the pains of our 
 connexions our own ; rejoicing when they 
 rejoice, and weeping when they weep. To 
 him that is afflicted, pity should be showed 
 from his friend. The natural language of the 
 sufferer is, " Pity me, pity me, O ye my 
 friends; for the hand of God hath touched 
 me !" Hence the complaint of the Saviour — 
 " I looked for some to take pity, and there 
 was none ; and for comforter, but I found 
 none" — for even all the disciples forsook him, 
 and fled. But he will never inflict, what he 
 endured. In all our affliction he is afflicted. 
 To exemplify this, he assumed our nature. 
 He became a man — to be a friend. For in 
 that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, 
 he is also able to succour those that are- 
 tempted. And, therefore, though he is passed 
 into the heavens, we have not an High Priest 
 who cannot be touched with the feeling of 
 our infirmity. Yea, " He that toucheth 
 them, toucheth the apple of his eye." 
 
 — If he calls us friends, he will afford us 
 assistance and succour. And this is the grand 
 test of friendship. A friend loveth at all 
 times ; but is born for adversity ; and he has 
 forfeited all claim to the character, who says, 
 in the hour of application, Go in peace, be ye 
 warmed, and be ye filled, while he gives not 
 the things that are needful ! Yet, how often 
 is this the case ! How often are the words 
 of Solomon verified — " Confidence in an un- 
 faithful man in the time of trouble, is like a 
 broken tooth, or a foot out of joint !" Many 
 are very friendly when you want not their 
 aid ; especially while you are imparting, in- 
 stead of receiving. You are their garden : 
 they walk in it in summer, but abandon it in 
 winter — then it has no flowers or fruits. 
 You are their scaffold : they build with you — 
 but when the work is done, they take you 
 down, and lay you aside. But though the 
 Saviour will never leave us nor forsake us, 
 he has emphatically said, I will be with you 
 in trouble. And his people have always 
 found him a present help, when every other 
 resource has failed. Some may really feel 
 for us, but be unable to help us. But nothing 
 is too hard for the Lord. Even in death he 
 will be the strength of our heart, and our 
 portion for ever. 
 
 Thus he treats his friends — How do they 
 treat him t Have we never given him cause 
 
72 
 
 MARCH 8, 9. 
 
 lo say ' Is this thy kindness to thy friend ?" 
 Have we never betrayed a want of confi- 
 dence in him f Have we never been ashamed 
 of him 1 Never denied him before men 1 Ne- 
 ver preferred our own ease and honour to his 
 cause and glory ] We can never make him 
 adequate returns for his goodness. But have 
 we made him suitable returns ? Rather, will 
 not an honest review of our temper and con- 
 duct constrain us to blush and say — 
 " O were I not most vile and base, 
 
 I sould not thus my friend requite ; 
 And were not he the God of grace, 
 
 He'd frown, and spurn me from his sight." 
 
 MARCH 8. 
 
 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that 
 fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy" 
 
 Psalm xxxiii. 18. 
 
 This is a very encouraging character. 
 They who cannot claim the higher distinc- 
 tions of religion, may surely know that they 
 " fear God, and hope in his mercy." 
 
 Some may wonder at the combination ; and 
 suppose that the qualities are incompatible 
 with each other. But the first Christians 
 " walked in the fear of the Lord, and in the 
 comforts of the Holy Ghost" They may 
 think that the fear will injure the hope, or 
 the hope the fear. But these are even mutu- 
 ally hopeful : and they are, not only never so 
 beautiful, but never so influential, as when 
 they are blended. The fear promotes hope, 
 by the evidence it affords ; and by keeping us 
 from loose and careless walking — which must 
 always affect our peace and pleasure. And 
 hope no less befriends this fear. For never 
 is God seen so glorious, so worthy of all our 
 devotedness to him, as when we hope in his 
 mercy ; and even the more assured we are of 
 his regard, the more we shall inquire, Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do 1 — The more 
 we shall tremble at the thought of offending 
 and grieving him : the more we shall con- 
 tinue upon our knees, praying, Let the words 
 of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, 
 be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my 
 Strength, and my Redeemer. It is called " a 
 lively hope :" and Christians know, by expe- 
 rience, that upon all their principles and du- 
 ties- it has the same influence as the spring 
 has upon the fields and the gardens. 
 
 Despondence of mind has the same effect 
 upon our feelings ind obedience as frost 
 upon the stream : it chills, hardens, and stag- 
 nates. But Divine love dissolves the ice, and 
 the waters flow. 
 
 God is a Spirit, and has none of our senses 
 uid members; but in speaking to us, he 
 makes use of language that we can under- 
 stand. — His eyes are upon them that fear 
 him, and hope in his mercy. 
 
 — The eyes of his knowledge are upon 
 ihem. Every thing in their affairs comes un- 
 
 der his notice. He knows all their walking 
 through this great wilderness. Nothing be- 
 falls- them without their Heavenly Father. 
 Parents cannot always have their eye upon a 
 child. They may be engaged, they may ba 
 afar off, they may be asleep. But he is al- 
 ways at hand : He is never diverted or per- 
 plexed ; He never slumbers or sleeps. 
 
 — The eyes of his affection are upon them. 
 The eye not only affecteth the heart, but fol- 
 lows it. It turns with the object of attach- 
 ment ; it sparkles with delight while dwell- 
 ing upon it ; and when deprived of the sight, 
 continues looking in the direction of depar- 
 ture — as the disciples stood gazing up to- 
 wards heaven after their beloved Saviour. 
 Oh ! to be the object of God's love ! To be 
 precious in his sight, and honourable ! But 
 He " takes pleasure in them that fear him, 
 in those that hope in his mercy." " He will 
 rest in his love : He will joy over them with 
 singing." 
 
 — The eyes of his providence are upon 
 them. Therefore it is added — "To deliver 
 their soul from death, and to keep them 
 alive in famine." That is — for a part is put 
 for the whole — to secure them from all dan- 
 ger, and to supply all their wants. In cases 
 the most perilous and extreme, He is able to 
 do for them exceeding abundantly above all 
 they can ask or think. We are not to look 
 for miracles ; but it is only because the power 
 and truth of God can do without them. 
 
 " For sooner all nature shall change, 
 Than one of God's promises fail. 
 
 " How safe and how happy are they 
 
 Who on the good Shepherd rely ! 
 He gives them out strength for their day. 
 
 Their wants He will surely suppiv 
 He ravens and lions can tame ; 
 
 All creatures obey his command : 
 Then let me rejoice in his Name, 
 
 And leave all my cares in his hand.' 
 
 MARCH 9. 
 
 " Be strong in the Lord, and in the powet o/ 
 his might. — Ephes. vi. 10. 
 To this we must be brought. Nature can 
 never do the work of grace. Reason cannot 
 be a substitute for faith. Education cannot 
 render needless the teaching of the Spirit. 
 Vain must all our exertions be, without his 
 agency. Without his influence we may have 
 the form of godliness, but not the power ; we 
 may be reformed, but not renewed ; we may 
 become other creatures, but not new ones. 
 
 What is the use we are to make of this aa 
 mission 1 Are we to derive from it ease in 
 sin 1 self-justification 1 excuses for indolence 1 
 reasons for despair? Self-despair, indeed, 
 grows out of it : but no other. There is hope 
 in Israel concerning this thing. We have a 
 resource ; and it is accessible : and we are 
 commanded to "be strong in the Lord, ana 
 in the power of his might." 
 
MARCH 10. 
 
 73 
 
 When we plead for this doctrine, we are 
 often charged with enthusiasm. But the 
 Scripture asserts, that we are his workman- 
 ship, created in Christ Jesus ; that it is God 
 who worketh in us to will and to do of his 
 good pleasure ; that hereby we know that he 
 abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath 
 given us. — And we retort the charge upon 
 those that would exclude this influence. For 
 what is enthusiasm, but visionary hope; 
 groundless expectation ? And what can be 
 more delusive, than looking for an end with- 
 out suitable and adequate means ? a mighty 
 effect, without a more powerful cause? a 
 practice, the most alien from our depraved 
 namre, without a divine principle ? a gather- 
 ing of grapes from thorns, and figs from this- 
 tles ? And this is the case with those who 
 deny the operations of that grace which is 
 alone sufficient for us. We allow that we 
 draw the character of the Christian high ; 
 and expect from him great things : that he 
 should be renewed in the spirit of his mind ; 
 that he should walk by faith, and not by 
 sight; that he should overcome the world; 
 and have his conversation in Heaven. — But 
 we have means answerable to all this. We 
 have a principle adequate to the practice. 
 We have a cause far superior to all these 
 grand results. We allow that the work of a 
 Christian, as it is described in the Bible, looks 
 fitter for an angel than for a fallen weak man ; 
 but this fallen weak man has more than the 
 sufficiency of an angel for the discharge of it 
 — his sufficiency is of God ! 
 
 Such a discovery, such an assurance is ne- 
 cessary. We are depraved creatures, and we 
 cannot be ignorant of it We have inward 
 repugnances to spiritual duties. We are sur- 
 rounded with outward difficulties. On the 
 side of sin there is number, example, constant 
 solicitation. Our slothful heart cries, " There 
 is a lion in the way, I shall be slain in the 
 streets" — With all this known and felt, who 
 could enter a religious course with pleasure 
 or vigour, without the certainty of effectual 
 aid'! Possibility, probability, is not enough. 
 Mere hope is not enough. Our hands hang 
 down, our knees tremble, our very souls are 
 chilled, unless we have a full and express 
 persuasion, that God will be with us and bear 
 us through. And here, therefore, he meets 
 us, and says, " Fear not, for I am with thee ; 
 be not dismayed, for I am thy God : I will 
 strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, 
 I will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
 righteousness. Rely on me. Nothing is too 
 hard for the Lord. I can enlighten the dark- 
 est understanding. I can turn the heart of 
 stone to flesh — Take hold of my strength, and 
 be more than a conqueror — I will never leave 
 thee, nor forsake thee." 
 
 At the sound of this animation, every thing 
 revives in me, like vegetation at the call of 
 spring. 1 am filled with confidence and cour- 
 K 7 
 
 age — weak in myself, 1 am strong in another 
 — and almighty in the God of my salvation. 
 
 And is it not better for me, that I should be 
 a constant suppliant at the mercy-seat, than 
 have no reasons for calling upon God — being 
 able to do without him ] Is it not better for 
 me to depend upon the God of all grace, for 
 the continual supplies of the Spirit of Jesus 
 Christ, than to have a fund of my own ? The 
 sufficiency lodged in me, must have been li 
 mited and finite ; but in the Lord Jehovah 1 
 have everlasting strength. I could not trust 
 in my own heart — but I can rely on his 
 word, I can never be so willing to supply 
 myself, as he is ready to succour me. 
 
 " Though in ourselves we have no stock, 
 
 The Lord is nigh to save ; 
 The door flies open when we knock, 
 And 'tis but ask and have." 
 
 MARCH 10. 
 
 " Wilt a man rob God?"— Mai. iii. 8. 
 
 — Is it probable ? Is it possible ? 
 
 Can he be so disingenuous ? What ? rob 
 a father, a friend, a benefactor ! The best of 
 all fathers ! The kindest of all friends ! The 
 most generous of all benefactors ? 
 
 Can he be so daring ? — To rob a Being so 
 high and sacred : and whose glory so en- 
 hances the offence ! To injure a fellow-suo- 
 ject is felony, hut to injure the king is trea- 
 son. To steal from a man is injustice ; but 
 to steal from God is sacrilege. The wretch 
 adds profaneness to violence when he breaks, 
 not into a house, but a temple, and takes off' 
 things dedicated to the service of the Deity. 
 
 Can he be so irrational'? — To rob a Being, 
 not when he is absent, for he never is absent ; 
 but when he is present — not in the night, but 
 in the day ; and darkness and light are both 
 alike to him — not when he sees not, observes 
 not, but wlule he is looking on, and must look 
 on — for his eyes are upon the ways of man. 
 and he pondereth all his goings ! 
 
 Can he be so desperate 1 — To rob one who 
 can, who will punish ; and whose wrath is not 
 only unavoidable, but intolerable ? It is a 
 fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
 living God ! 
 
 Yet says God — and he cannot be mistaken : 
 or accuse unrighteously — " Ye have robbed 
 me." But on whom falls the charge ? A Pha- 
 raoh only, who would not let the people go ? 
 a Nebuchadnezzar, who carried away the 
 vessels of the Sanctuary ? a Belshazzar, whe 
 profaned them ? an Ananias and a Sapphira, 
 who kept back part of the property they had 
 sold? a Herod, who beheaded John; or a 
 Nero, who slew Paul ? Alas ! the criminals 
 are less obvious characters,- and are found 
 much nearer home — they are to be found in 
 our own houses — they are to be found in the 
 house of God ! 
 
 Who has not robbed God of properly ? Out 
 
74 
 
 MARCH 11. 
 
 wealth is not oui own. We are only stew- 
 ards. It always looks suspicious when a 
 gentleman's steward becomes very rich, and 
 dies affluent. It is even so with professors of 
 religion. It would be better for them to die 
 comparatively poor ; it would be better for 
 their reputation ; it would be better for their 
 relations. A little, honestly obtained, would 
 be better than a large accumulation embez- 
 zled from God ; it would be more sweet ; it 
 would be more efficient. Substance is in- 
 trusted to its occupiers, for certain purposes 
 plainly laid down in the Scripture ; and the 
 providence of God is perpetually calling upon 
 you for it. Do you discharge "these claims ] 
 or do you alienate from them, by hoarding or 
 extravagance 1 How much do some unjustly 
 expend ; in table-luxuries, in costly dress, in 
 magnificent furniture'! And they are fond 
 of displaying these. They have little reason 
 —They glory in their shame. These are all 
 robberies. They are purloined from God's 
 cause, or God's poor. 
 
 Who has not robbed God of time? The 
 Sabbath he expressly claims for himself, and 
 it is called the Lord's Day. Have we not 
 often robbed him of much of this — perhaps of 
 all — by worldly accounts, by evil company, 
 by idle visits, by doing our own ways and 
 finding our own pleasures] Youth is the 
 morning, the spring of life : it is our best sea- 
 son, and therefore God has a right to it, and 
 calls upon us to remember his demands. But 
 have we not partially, or wholly robbed him 
 of these days : have we not squandered them 
 away in vanity, folly, and vice "J All our mo- 
 ments and opportunities are his ; and he com- 
 mands us to redeem the time. But who lays 
 to heart the brevity and uncertainty of life 1 
 Who values it as "the day of salvation?" 
 Who seizes it as the only season of useful- 
 ness 1 Who rises early 1 
 
 " Where is that thrift, that avarice of time, 
 (O glorious avarice!) thought of death inspires ?" 
 
 Where is He in all our ways, who said, " I 
 must work the work of Him that sent me 
 while it is day ; the night cometh wherein 
 no man can work 1" 
 
 Who has not robbed him of the heart ? 
 This was made for him ; and he demands it 
 — " My son, give me thine heart." But the 
 fear of the heart, the confidence of the heart, 
 the gratitude of the heart, the attachment of 
 the heart — we have transferred to the crea- 
 ture from the Creator, God over all, blessed 
 fi>r evermore. 
 
 And may not the same be said of our ta- 
 lents — of our learning 1 of our powers of con- 
 versation 1 of our retentivencss of memory 1 
 of our influence over others ? 
 
 Let us not affect to deny the charge, and 
 ask, as the accused here did, Wherein have 
 we robbed thee .' But let us repair to the foot- 
 stool of Mercy and cry, " If thou, Lord, 
 
 shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord who shall 
 stand ]" 
 
 " But there is forgiveness with him that he 
 may be feared : and with him there is plen- 
 teous redemption:" And we may, and we 
 ought to approach him with the encourage- 
 ment of hope. But this hope must be found- 
 ed on his own invitations and promises. It 
 must bring us "unto God by Him" who 
 said, " No man cometh unto the Father but 
 by me." To pray to God to save such creatures 
 in any other way, is to disobey his dearest 
 command. It is to affront and insult him, by 
 beseeching him to be untrue and unrigh- 
 teous ; to frustrate his grace, and to make 
 Jesus Christ to be dead in vain. But in him 
 he can be just, and yet the justifier. He can 
 redeem Jacob, and glorify himself in Israel. 
 
 We shall also be turned away from all our 
 iniquity: for he that confesseth and forsaketli 
 his sin, shall find mercy. We shall also sor- 
 sow after a godly sort ; and instead of com- 
 plaining of any of the methods of his grace 
 and providence, we shall cheerfully acquiesce 
 in them all — and remember, and be con- 
 founded, and never open our mouth more, be- 
 cause of our shame, when He is pacified 
 towards us for all that we have done. 
 
 MARCH 11. 
 
 " I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the 
 
 Lord." — Isaiah lxiii. 7. 
 There are three ways in which we should 
 resolve to do this. 
 
 We should mention the lovingkindnesses 
 of the Lord to others. We should do this in 
 a way of conversation. "Let no corrupt 
 communication," says the Apostle, " proceed 
 out of your mouth." Where there is nothing 
 immoral or indecent, there may yet be much 
 that is trifling and vain : he therefore adds, 
 " But that which is good to the use of edify- 
 ing, that it may minister grace to the hear- 
 ers." And here is a subject for discourse, not 
 only innocent, but profitable: a saying, not 
 only faithful, but worthy of all acceptation ; 
 and such as Moses and Elias would delight to 
 join in, were they in company with us. We 
 should also mention them to others, in a way 
 of recommendation. Some are convinced of 
 sin, and ready to despair ; and nothing but the 
 exceeding riches of divine grace can keep 
 them from it. And some are seeking happi- 
 ness where we know they can never find it. 
 Let us, therefore, say to them, " Wherefore 
 do ye spend money for that which is not 
 bread, and your labour for that which satis- 
 fieth not 1 Hearken diligently unto me, and 
 eat ye that which is good, and let your soul 
 delight itself in fatness." " O taste and see 
 that the Lord is good : blessed is the man that 
 trusteth in him." This, coming from out 
 own experience, and enforced by our own ex- 
 ample, may save a soul from death. Esoe 
 
MARCH 12. 
 
 75 
 
 cially, too, if we can bear a final testimony 
 to the truth, and say, with the departing 
 Henry, " You have heard the dying words of 
 many — These are mine : I have found a life 
 of communion with Christ the happiest life in 
 the world." 
 
 — We should also mention the lovingkind- 
 nesses of God to ourselves. There is such a 
 thing as self-converse ; and would God it were 
 more common ! It is said, fools talk much to 
 themselves; but wise men will talk more. 
 David enjoins this: "Commune with your 
 own heart upon your bed, and be still." And 
 he also was an example of it : " I commune 
 with mine own heart: and my spirit made 
 diligent search." Yet the Lord will com- 
 mand his lovingkindness in the day-time, and 
 in the night his song shall be with me. 
 Hence he chides his own soul: "Why art 
 thou cast down, O my soul? and why art 
 thou disquieted in me 1 hope thou in God : for 
 I shall yet praise him, who is the health of 
 my countenance, and my God." Are you 
 discouraged by your unworthiness, and the 
 greatness of your guilt I Bring before your 
 minds the freeness and the fulness of his 
 mercy, and his lovingkindnesses to others, 
 who had no more claim upon him than your- 
 selves. Are you in trouble? Recall his 
 goodness in former difficulties; and say, O 
 my desponding soul ! 
 
 "Did ever trouble yet befall, 
 And he refuse to hear thy call ? 
 And has he not his promise pass'd. 
 That thou shalt overcome at last?'' 
 
 Mention them also to yourselves, to excite 
 you to imitation. Has»he been so ready to 
 forgive ; and has he daily loaded me with his 
 benefits 1 and shall I, O my soul, be implaca- 
 ble and uncharitable 1 Let me be a follower 
 of God. Let me be merciful, even as my 
 Father who is in heaven is merciful. 
 
 — We should mention his lovingkindnesses 
 to God himself, in the various exercises of 
 devotion — In expostulating .with him : " Look 
 down from heaven, and behold from the ha- 
 bitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: 
 where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sound- 
 ing of thy bowels, and of thy mercies toward 
 me ? are they restrained V — In pleading with 
 him. If we fill our mouth with arguments, 
 thev must be fetched from his own goodness : 
 " For thy Name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine 
 iniquity, for it is great" — In praying for our- 
 selves: "Hear me speedily, O Lord: my 
 spirit faileth : hide not thy face from me, lest 
 I be like unto them that go down into the 
 pit Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness 
 in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause 
 me to know the way wherein I should walk ; 
 for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, 
 O Lord, from mine enemies : I flee unto thee 
 to hide me. Teach me to do thy will ; for 
 thou art my God : thy Spirit is good ; lead me 
 into die land of uprightness." — In interceding 
 
 for others — the conversion of our kinured, the 
 salvation of sinners, the prosperity of the 
 Church : " Do good in thy good pleasure unto 
 Zion, build thou the walls of Jerusalem." — 
 In thanksgiving: "O Lord, I will praise 
 thee : though thou wast angry with me, thine 
 anger is turned away, and thou comfortest 
 me."' 
 
 Alas ! how seldom does God hear this from 
 us! There was a time when this neavenly 
 exercise commenced — O that it had been 
 earlier ! But it will never end. They that 
 dwell in His house will be still praising Him. 
 
 Because my finite capacity will not admit 
 of blessedness infinite in the degree, it shall 
 be infinite in the duration ; and, by happy re- 
 views of the past and unbounded prospects 
 of the future, I shall feel perpetually growing 
 beatitudes, and shall be always singing a new 
 song. My mourning days ; and my warring 
 days; and my waiting days; and watching 
 days; and my praying days; will soon be 
 past — But 
 
 " My days of praise shall ne'er be past, 
 While life, or breath, or being last. 
 Or immortality endures." 
 
 MARCH 12. 
 
 " By love serve one another." 
 Gal. v. 13. 
 
 This admonition implies our connexion 
 with, our dependence upon, and our obligation 
 to each other. The service it enjoins is 
 levied upon all, without exception; and is to 
 be displayed in every way in which we can 
 afford mutual assistance. 
 
 But let me observe what it requires as the 
 principle of the practice — Love — " By love 
 serve one another." 
 
 The principle may be wanting where the 
 service is not And this may be easily proved 
 and exemplified. A man has a sum of money 
 to dispose of; he hears of a person by whom 
 it is desired, and to whom it will be useful ; 
 and he advances it on proper security. But 
 is the borrower's need or his own gain the mo- 
 tive'? — A hospital is built for the reception 
 of poor patients. A rich man in tne neigh- 
 bourhood becomes a subscriber and a patron. 
 "He is so charitable!" Nay; he wishes to 
 maintain the character of a man of liberality 
 and he fears appearing to a disadvantage 
 when compared with his wealthy neighbour. 
 Hence many who give, give in a way that 
 will be sure to make it known : they there- 
 fore impart it through the medium of some 
 other—in sp it e of the admonition, not to let 
 the left hand know what the right hand doeth. 
 Some would never give, if the name was not 
 printed. Some connect themselves with 
 public institutions, and labour to establish and 
 enlar o-e them, who would individually do no- 
 thing— but here they are put upon the com- 
 mittee, and gain distinction. But love seeketh 
 
n> 
 
 MARCH 13. 
 
 oot her own — It regards only th.i good of the 
 recipient. There are four reasons why we 
 should serve from this principle. 
 
 First. Without it the service has no value 
 or excellency in the sight of God. It may be 
 useful to the beneficiary ; but it will be no- 
 thing to the benefactor — Though I speak with 
 the tongue of men and of angels; and give 
 all my goods to feed the poor ; and even give 
 my body to be burnt ; and have not love ; it 
 profiteth me nothing. The Lord looketh to 
 the heart. If this be right, the least service 
 is regarded by him; and where it is not, the 
 most costly sacrifices are disdained. " If ye 
 love them which love you, what thank have 
 ye 1 for sinners also love those that love them. 
 And if ye do good to them which do good to 
 you, what thank have ye 1 for sinners also do 
 even the same. And if ye lend to them of 
 whom ye hope to receive, what thank have 
 ye ] for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive 
 as much again. But love ye your enemies, 
 and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing 
 again ; and your reward shall be great, and 
 ye shall be the children of the Highest ; for 
 he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 
 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also 
 is merciful." 
 
 Secondly. This will render the service 
 pleasing to the performer. It is the nature 
 of love to make even difficult things easy, 
 and bitter ones sweet. This made the seven 
 years of hard labour, which Jacob served for 
 Rachel, seem to him as so many days. Every 
 thing follows the heart, not only really, but 
 cheerfully. 
 
 Thirdly. What is done from love, will 
 excel in the manner. Being done willingly, 
 and pleasantly, it will be done more grace- 
 fully, and welcomely. What a man does 
 grudgingly, he does disagreeably, harshly, 
 repulsively. He puts on a north-east face ; 
 turns himself half round; murmurs and com- 
 plains; perhaps reproaches too; and if he 
 yields at last, you feel no more obliged than 
 if he refused. The ungracious, unfeeling 
 mode spoils the thing. Men may act the 
 hypocrite, but it is almost impossible, without 
 love, to act courteously and kindly. But 
 where love actuates, the sufferer is not in- 
 sulted while he is relieved. Alms are not 
 flung in his face, instead of being given. The 
 wound of distress is not torn open, but gently 
 touched with an angel-hand. I have seen, I 
 have heard some refuse entirely, or in a de- 
 gree, in a way that has soothed, and even 
 satisfied, the unsuccessful petitioner — "I wish 
 it was in my power — I lament my inability — 
 I wish this trifle was ten times more — Such 
 as it is, the blessing of God go with it — and 
 with thee." I wonder not that love is called 
 a grace — I am sure it deserves the name, not 
 only for its origin, but for its carriage and 
 oehaviour. 
 
 Lastly. This will make the service more 
 
 I efficient It will constantly excite us, and 
 I we shall think we have done nothing while 
 any thing remains to be done. For love is 
 generous. It does not eumd conditioning. It 
 will not be stinted by rules, and set measures ; 
 it does not want urgings and excitements, 
 like reluctance and taskings. The person 
 influenced by love, cannot, without shame, 
 sit and enjoy the luxuries of his table, while 
 Penury and Distress are his next-door neigh- 
 bours. He cannot go out of his road to pre- 
 serve his sensibility from being shocked at 
 the sight of a bleeding traveller. He will 
 let his eye affect his heart. He will not say 
 to the hungry and naked, Be ye warmed, and 
 be ye fed, while he gives them not such 
 things as are needful. He will give to his 
 power ; yea, and if some were to judge — be- 
 yond his power. He will not incapacitate 
 himself for beneficence by indulging extrava- 
 gance of any kind. He will labour with his 
 own hands, and guide his affairs with discre- 
 tion, to increase his means. He wfll not 
 grow weary in well-doing; and when he 
 meets with instances of ingratitude, though 
 he laments the evil, he will not suffer them 
 to justify illiberality. 
 
 This sweet little verse, if universally acted 
 upon, would immediately turn this earth into 
 a paradise — " Owe no man," therefore, " any 
 thing, but to love one another: for he that 
 loveth another, hath fulfilled the Law" — he 
 hath also fulfilled the Gospel too — for " the 
 end of the commandment is charity, out of a 
 pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith 
 unfeigned." 
 
 — You know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ — How did He — in the face of our un- 
 worthiness — and fore-seeing our sad returns 
 — how did he — look at Bethlehem, and Cal- 
 vary — how did he, by love, serve us 1 Be 
 ye, therefore, followers of God, as dear chil- 
 dren : and walk in love, as Christ also loved 
 us, and gave himself for us, an offering and a 
 sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savour. 
 
 MARCH 13. 
 
 " When thou goest out to battle against thine, 
 enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and 
 a people more than thou, be not afraid of 
 them : for the Lord thy God is with tliee, 
 ■which brought thee up out of the land af 
 Egypt." — Deut. xx. 1. 
 
 Israel was now a camp, rather than a na 
 tion. Though Canaan was given them, they 
 were to take and defend it by force of arms. 
 Hitherto they had seen little of war, having 
 had only a few brushes in their journey with 
 inferior adversaries. But things would soon 
 become more serious; and they would see 
 horses, and chariots, and a people more than 
 themselves. Hence they would be liable to 
 alarm ; and it was necessary for them to know 
 
MARCH 14. 
 
 77 
 
 what they Lad lo embolden them. Moses 
 therefore admonishes and encourages them; 
 and both the admonition and the encourage- 
 ment will apply to ourselves. 
 
 Religion is a state of conflict All Chris- 
 tians are soldiers. They wage, indeed, a good 
 warfare. It will bear examination. Every 
 thing commends it ; and every thing requires 
 it It is not only a just but a necessary war 
 — all that is valuable is at stake — and we 
 must conquer or die. But it is a trying war- 
 fare. It continues through every season, and 
 in every condition. It is here admitted, that 
 the forces of their enemies may be very supe- 
 rior to their own, in number, wisdom, vigil- 
 ance, and might 
 
 Hence the danger of apprehension and 
 alarm. And fortitude is the virtue of a war- 
 rior; and none needs it more than the man 
 who wrestles with all the powers of darkness. 
 And none has more grounds for courageous- 
 ness than he. If he considers his foes and 
 himself only, his confidence must fail him: 
 but he has something else to consider — 
 
 First The Divine presence: "For the 
 Lord thy God is with thee." And "how 
 many," said Antigonas to his troops, dismayed 
 at the numbers of the foe ; " How many do 
 you reckon me for?" But God is all-wise 
 and almighty. Nothing is too hard for the 
 Lord — and if He be with us, " they that be 
 with us are more than they that be with 
 them" — " Greater is He that is in us, than he 
 that is in the world." 
 
 Secondly, His agency: "Who brought 
 thee up out of the land of Egypt" This, to 
 the Jew, was not only a proof, but a pledge : 
 It not only showed what he could do, but was 
 a voucher for what he would do. For he is 
 always the same : and will not suffer what he 
 has done to be undone. It would have been 
 strange, after opening them a passage through 
 the sea, to have drowned them in Jordan. 
 What would he have done for his great 
 Name, after placing himself at their head to 
 lead them to the Land of Promise, if he had 
 Buffered them to be overcome by the way"! 
 He who begins the good work, is not only 
 able to finish, but begins it for the very pur- 
 pose. " He that spared not his own Son, but 
 delivered him up for us all, how shall he not 
 with him also freely give us all things?" 
 ** For if, when we were enemies, we were 
 reconciled to God by the death of his Son; 
 much more, being reconciled, we shall be 
 saved by his life." 
 
 "Grace will complete what grace begins,' 
 To save from sorrows or from sins : 
 The work thai Wisdom undertakes, 
 Eternal Mercy ne'er forsakes." 
 
 MARCH 14. 
 
 • That I may win Christ:'— Phil. iii. 8. 
 U this the language of Paul ? Is he the 
 
 7* 
 
 candidate for Chrut? How well might he 
 say, that in the subjects, of divine grace, old 
 things are passed away, and all things are be- 
 come new ! What a change must have taken 
 place in his own experience ! Compare the 
 man with himself. Now a blasphemer of the 
 Name of Jesus — and now asking at his feet 
 " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do f Now 
 persecuting his followers — and now preaching 
 the faith that once he destroyed. Now living 
 a Pharisee, and boasting of his Jewish privi- 
 leges and attainments — now saying, What 
 things were gain to me, those I count loss for 
 Christ Yea, doubtless, and I count all things 
 but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge 
 of Christ Jesus my Lord ; for whom I have 
 suffered the loss of all things, and do count 
 them but dung — that I may win Christ. 
 
 Yet had he not won him already? Foi 
 many years he had known, and served, and 
 enjoyed him. But intense affection makes us 
 think that we are never sure enough of the 
 object Intense delight in any good, makes 
 us long after more fruition. There is this 
 difference between a convinced sinner, and an 
 experienced believer in Christ: the former 
 desires, only from a sense of want ; the latte.t 
 desires also, from the relish of the enjoyment 
 For he has tasted that the Lord is gracious. 
 And hence he the more earnestly cries, Lord, 
 evermore give me this bread. Taste pro- 
 vokes appetite. Advancement in knowledge 
 produces humility and dissatisfaction. Hence 
 the nearer any one approaches completeness 
 in any thing, the more easily he discerns, and 
 the more mortifyingly he feels, his remaining 
 deficiencies. And no wonder, therefore, the 
 Apostle should here say, " I have not attained, 
 I am not already perfect :" for here, so im- 
 mense is the blessing, that what is possessed 
 will never bear a comparison with what re- 
 mains : and as the object is infinite, and the 
 faculty finite, there will always be a possi- 
 bility of addition ; and the happiness derivable 
 from the Saviour will not only be eternal, but 
 eternally increasing. 
 
 But is this prize attainable by us ? In an- 
 swer to this— How is He placed before us in 
 the Scripture ? Is he exhibited only to our 
 view ? or proposed to our hope ? Are not all 
 allowed, invited, commanded to seek him? 
 And all without exception ? And could any 
 be condemned for rejecting him, if he was not 
 placed within their reach ? 
 
 But what is necessary to make him oui 
 own ? Not desert. Witness the characters 
 of those who are encouraged to hope in him. 
 He came to seek and to save that which was 
 lost He died for the ungodly. Indeed, if 
 any meritorious qualifications were to be pos- 
 sessed, or conditions to be performed, in order 
 to our obtaining him, our case would be 
 desperate. 
 
 But desire is necessary. Ask, and ye shall 
 have ; seek, and ye shall find. Warrant is 
 
78 
 
 MARCH 15, 16. 
 
 one thing, disposition is another : unless we 
 are convinced of our need of him, we cannot 
 long after him ; and unless we value him, the 
 blessing could not gratify and content us, if 
 acquired. 
 
 Sacrifice is therefore needful ; and when 
 the desire is supremely urgent and active, 
 and nothing can be a substitute for the object, 
 we shall be ready to part with whatever stands 
 in competition with him. Hence we read in 
 the Scripture, of selling all to buy the pearl 
 of great price. Buying, here, does not signify 
 giving an equivalent for him — for who could 
 think of this 1 But, as in buying, to acquire 
 something, something is parted with ; so it is 
 here. And whether it be the pride of reason, 
 or self-righteousness, or our worldly connex- 
 ions and interests, or our sins, that keep us 
 back from him, we must forsake them all ; 
 and follow him. And shall we not be more, 
 infinitely more than indemnified — if we win 
 Christ? 
 
 MARCH 15. 
 
 " That I may win Christ"— Phil. iii. 8. 
 — And what a prize is He ! The tongue 
 of men and of angels would infinitely fail to 
 do Him justice. The sacred writers, though 
 inspired, labour for language and imagery to 
 aid us to conceive a little of his worth. He 
 is the hope ; the Saviour ; the consolation ; 
 the glory of his people of Israel. He is Lord 
 of all. In him all fulness dwells. In win- 
 ning Him, we gain all pure, spiritual, durable, 
 satisfying good. We gain a way to God ; a 
 justifying righteousness ; a sanctifying Spirit ; 
 a sufficiency of grace to help in time of need ; 
 a peace that passeth all understanding ; a joy 
 that is unspeakable and full of glory — we are 
 blessed with all spiritual blessings in heaven- 
 ly places in Christ. 
 
 If an ancient philosopher had been asked, 
 what one thing would entirely have met all 
 his wants, and satisfied all his hopes and de- 
 sires, he would have been at a loss for an 
 answer. But ask a Christian this question, 
 and, without a moment's hesitation, he re- 
 plies, All I need, all I wish, is to "win 
 Christ." Let me attain him, and I shall — I 
 can look no further. 
 
 How blessed, then, is the winner ! He is 
 iiappy now. Happy alone. Happy in trouble. 
 Happy in death — How much more happy will 
 he be hereafter ! By this acquisition he is 
 raised above the condition of Adam in Para- 
 dise — above the estate of angels in heaven. 
 His portion is to be judged of by what Christ 
 is ; and by what Christ has. For he has won 
 Him ! 
 
 But how foolish is the despiser ! How poor ! 
 How' wretched ! How miserable in time ! 
 How much more miserable in eternity ! 
 
 How can we escape, if we neglect so great 
 salvation 1 
 
 O my soul, hear him and live — •' He that 
 findeth me, findeth life ; and shall obtain fa- 
 vour of the Lord : but he that sinneth against 
 me, wrongeth his own soul : all they that hate 
 me, love death." 
 
 MARCH 16. 
 
 " When it pleased God, -who separated me from 
 
 my mother's -womb, and called me by hit 
 
 grace" — Gal. i. 15. 
 
 Paul is here referring to two events — his 
 natural birth, and his spiritual birth— the one 
 connecting him with the world — the other 
 with the Church. The former of these is 
 common to all men ; the latter is confined to 
 few. The former affords us no security from 
 the wrath to come — " Because they are a peo- 
 ple of no understanding, therefore he that 
 made them will not have mercy on them, and 
 he that formed them will show them no fa- 
 vour." The latter makes us heirs according 
 to the hope of eternal life. 
 
 Both these, therefore, are important. But 
 the one is far more momentous than the other. 
 The multitude are not thus minded. They 
 keep the day of their birth, and are thankful 
 for the continuance of life ; but never inquire 
 — has he who separated me from my mother's 
 womb called me by his grace 1 Has he made 
 me not only a creature, but a new creature 'i 
 Am I, not only a partaker of that life whose 
 days are few and evil ; but of the life which 
 the just live by faith, and which shall endure 
 for ever 1 
 
 This is the main thing. And you will 
 deem it so — when conscience shall be awaken- 
 ed ; when heart and flesh shall fail ; and the 
 cold hand of death lays hold of you, to bring 
 you into the presence of the Judge of all. To 
 this therefore attend ; and regard it without 
 delay. We would not have you indifferent 
 to the beauties of Nature, and the bounties of 
 Providence : but let it be your chief concern 
 to be blessed with all spiritual blessings in 
 heavenly places in Christ. Say, with David, 
 " I will praise thee ; for I am fearfully and 
 wonderfully made : marvellous are thy works ; 
 and that my soul knoweth right well." But 
 oh ! rest not satisfied till you can say, with 
 Paul, " He called me by his grace." 
 
 Regeneration is necessary. The nature of 
 religion demands it. The nature of God de- 
 mands it. The nature of heaven demands it. 
 Ye must be born again. Observe, again. 
 Paul, you see, had been born twice : and if 
 you are not born twice before you die once, 
 it had been good for you if you had never 
 been born. Those born once only, die twice 
 — they die a temporal, and they die an eter- 
 nal death. But those who are born twice, die 
 only once — for on them the second death hath 
 no power. 
 
 Paul was as fully persuaded of his being 
 I called by grace as he was of his having been 
 
MARCH 17. 
 
 79 
 
 separated from his mother's womb. What a 
 satisfaction must this be to the assured indivi- 
 dual ! All are not equally privileged. Some 
 have fears concerning their conversion. But 
 even this anxiety is a token for good. And 
 let them remember, that there is a certainty 
 attainable not only in Christian doctrine, but 
 in Christian experience ; and let them give all 
 diligence, to the full assurance of hope unto 
 the end. Let them wait on the Lord and 
 keep his way ; and read the things that are 
 written unto them that believe on the Name 
 of the Son of God, that they may know that 
 they have eternal life. 
 
 — Little, when Paul was born, did any 
 know what he was destined to be. The fa- 
 ther embraced him ; the mother forgot her 
 anguish, for joy that a man was born into the 
 world. His birth was no way distinguished 
 from any other birth. His religious friends 
 could not look into the future, nor conjecture 
 the powers he was to develop, the space he 
 was to occupy in history, the labours he was 
 to perform, the advantages he was to render 
 the human race to the end of time — nothing 
 of all this could they foresee in this helpless 
 babe. But here was the acorn of the oak. 
 God saw the end from the beginning. Ga- 
 maliel's pupil, the zealous Pharisee, the 
 bloody persecutor, the praying penitent, the 
 Christian disciple, the inspired apostle — all, 
 all were present to His view when he sepa- 
 rated him from his mother's womb. And 
 even then he had done virtually what He did 
 actually in the journey to Damascus — called 
 him by hLs grace. Time is nothing with 
 Him. Design is accomplishment Every 
 thing has its season. All the circumstances 
 of life, and godliness ; of our birth, and our 
 conversion; are arranged by Infinite Wis- 
 dom and Goodness. Just and true are all thy 
 ways, O thou King of saints. He hath done 
 all things well. 
 
 " Heaven, earth, and sea, and fire, and wind, 
 Show me thy wonderous skill ; 
 But I review myself, and find 
 Diviner wonders still. 
 " Thy awful glories round me shine 
 My flesh proclaims thy praise : 
 Lord, to thy works of Nature join 
 Thy miracles of grace." 
 
 MARCH 17. 
 
 " The same Lord over all is rich unto all that 
 call upon him." — Rom. x. 12. 
 Power and benevolence are rarely united 
 n our fellow-creatures. Here is one who has 
 abundance ; but he has no disposition to do 
 good: he turns away his ear from hear- 
 ing the poor ; and seems to live as if he was 
 born for himself only. Yea, the disposition 
 often decreases as the capacity increases ; so 
 that there are son e who not only give less 
 comparatively, but less really, than they did 
 when they were poorer. Then it hardly 
 
 seemed worth their while to be covetous and 
 to hoard, but now they have the means, and 
 the temptation conquers them. On the othei 
 hand, there is many a one who has bowels oJ 
 mercies; but he can only pity, and shed una- 
 vailing tears over victims of distress. He 
 is compelled to say only, Be ye warmed and 
 be ye filled, for he has it not in his hand tc 
 give such things as are needful for the bod} 
 — his hand is shortened that it cannot save, 
 though his ear is not heavy that it cannol 
 hear. But some few there are, in whom the 
 means, and the mind to use them, are found 
 united. The Lord increase their number' 
 These are little images of Himself, in whom 
 we equally find greatness and goodness, the 
 resources and the readiness of compassion. 
 " He is over all ; and he is rich unto all that 
 call upon him." 
 
 Let me look at his greatness. — He is ovei 
 all. All beings of every rank are under his 
 absolute control. He rules over all material 
 agents — over all animal agents : over all hu 
 man agents : over the best of men ; the 
 greatest of men ; the worst of men — over alt 
 invisible agents : over devils ; over angels 
 over departed spirits. He is Lord both of 
 the dead and the living. How astonishing 
 then are his possessions and his dominion ? A 
 nation seems a great thing to us. But what 
 is the greatest nation, to our earth? And 
 what is our earth, to the luminaries of heaven 1 
 Many of these are discernible by the nakec 
 eye. When this fails, art assists nature : and 
 Herichel sees innumerably more. When the 
 telescope fails, the imagination plunges into 
 the immensity beyond, and we exclaim, Lo ! 
 these are parte of his ways — But how small a 
 portion is known of Him — 
 
 Yet — for his mercy equals his majesty — the 
 same Lord who is over all, " is rich unto all 
 that call upon him." His goodness has three 
 characters. 
 
 First It is plenteous — He is rich unto all 
 that call upon him. Some, if they are boun- 
 tiful, are poor in bounty. And this appears 
 not only in the smallness of their gifts, but in 
 the mode of giving. It seems done by con- 
 straint not willingly and of a ready mind. It 
 does not drop from them as honey from the 
 comb, or flow like water from a spring — it 
 seems an unnatural effort You feel no more 
 respect when they give much, than when they 
 give little — every thing like nobleness is de- 
 stroyed by the manner: the meanness of the 
 disposition is betrayed; and the poor-spirited 
 mortal can no more give kindly and gener- 
 ously than a clown can dance gracefully. 
 But the Lord God. is a sun— He gives grace 
 and glory ; and no good thing will he with- 
 hold. He is abundant in goodness and in 
 truth. He abundantly pardons. And while 
 he gives liberally, he upbraideth not 
 
 Secondly. It is impartial. He is rich unto 
 all that call upon him. For there is no differ 
 
80 
 
 MARCH 18. 
 
 ence between Jew and Greek. And the same 
 will apply to sex, and age, and calling, and 
 condition, and character. The proclamations 
 of divine grace exclude none, whatever be 
 their circumstances — and it is well they do 
 not If any were excluded, awakened souls 
 would be sure to find themselves among the 
 exceptions. But what exceptions can any 
 find when they read — " Preach the Gospel to 
 every creature ;" " Whosoever will, let him 
 take of the water of life freely !" Evangeli- 
 cal mercy is like Noah's Ark, that took in the 
 clean and the unclean — only with this differ- 
 ence in favour of the truth above the type : 
 there all the beasts came out as they went 
 in ; whereas, if any man be in Christ, he is a 
 new creature. He changes all he receives, 
 and sanctifies all he saves. 
 
 Thirdly. It is wise — He is rich unto all 
 that call upon him. This is required, and 
 cannot be dispensed with. Not only because 
 God wills it ; but because it seemeth gdod in 
 his sight. He knows that we should never 
 praise him for blessings which we do not 
 value: and he knows that we never could 
 be made happy by them. For that which 
 gratifies, is something that relieves our 
 want; fulfils our desire; accomplishes our 
 hope ; and crowns our endeavours. God's 
 way, therefore, is to make us sensible of 
 our state, and to cause us to hunger and 
 'hirbt after righteousness ; and then we 
 shall be filled : for whoso asketh, receiv eth ; 
 tnd he that seeketh, findeth; and to him 
 iiat knccketh, it shall be opened. 
 
 God reveals hhnself, not only for our en- 
 ouragement, cut imitation ; and vain is our 
 onfidence in him, without conformity to him. 
 therefore, says the Apostle, Be ye followers 
 of God, as dear children. How] In what? — 
 Mid walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, 
 md given himself for us, an offering and a 
 sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling s»avo;ir. 
 Men would be like God, as the greatest of 
 beings; but we are to be like him, as the 
 best of beings. They would resemble hici 
 in his natural perfections ; but we are to re- 
 semble him in his moral. They would, as 
 He is, be over all, and gladly have every 
 thing at their own disposal — but we are to 
 5e holy, as he is holy ; and true, as he is true ; 
 ind patient, as he is patient ; and forgiving, 
 is he is forgiving ; and tender, as he is ten- 
 ler; and according to our resources, to be 
 cich unto all that call upon us. 
 
 MARCH 18. 
 
 Now Peter and John -went up together into 
 the temple at the hour of prayer, being the 
 ninth hour." — Acts Hi. 1. 
 
 The associates here were Peter and John. 
 We should not have noticed this particulai!\\ 
 m) we not found them so ft ^quently and co> 
 
 stantly together in the Scripture. The in- 
 stances will readily occur to all attentive 
 readers of the New Testament. But the rea- 
 sons of this peculiar intimacy are not men- 
 tioned. Each of the two had a brother among 
 the Apostles. But there is an amity superior 
 to relationship : there is a friend that sticketh 
 closer than a brother. It is commonly sup- 
 posed, that those who attract each other ant' 
 unite, very much resemble each other: 
 whereas, Peter and John seem to have been 
 more dissimilar than any other two of the 
 Apostles that could have been selected. Yet 
 may not the unlikeness be considered as one 
 of the causes of this friendship 1 Peter knew 
 the excellences of John were the opposites to 
 his imperfections, and would tend to rectify 
 them. Peter was eager and severe. John 
 was more patient and affectionate. Peter 
 was the hand, John the eye. But they were 
 the more mutually necessary to each other. 
 
 Peter had denied his Lord, and rendered 
 his attachment to him questionable. Perhaps 
 John had been more compassionate towards 
 him after his fall, and more ready to restore 
 him in the spirit of meekness. David, after 
 his backsliding, prayed, " Let them that fear 
 Thee turn unto me" — and some do this much 
 more freely than others. 
 
 But connexions and intimacies are not al- 
 ways accounted for. They often depend on 
 things impossible for us to describe. They 
 come from God, who has peculiar purposes to 
 answer, and link us together by invisible 
 chains. See an instance of this — " It came 
 to pass, when he had made an end of speak- 
 ing unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was 
 knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan 
 loved him as his own soul. Then Jonathan 
 and David made a covenant, because he loved 
 him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped 
 himself of the robe that was upon him, and 
 gave it to David, and his garments, even to 
 his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. ■ 
 Though an heir apparent, Jonathan was at 
 once attached to a man who was to exclude 
 him from the succession. But the thing was 
 of the Lord. How often do we read of God's 
 giving a man favour in the eyes of another ! 
 
 We have here a word in recommendation 
 of friendship. It is sanctioned by Scripture 
 and example. It is not good for man to be 
 alone ; but we are not required to put even 
 every one we love into our bosom. Peter 
 had many colleagues, but one companion, one 
 friend. 
 
 Their friendship was religious ; and instead 
 of leading them to walk in the counsel of the 
 ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners, or 
 sit in the seat of the scornful ; it took them to 
 the house of God, in company. Those con- 
 nexions are the most valuable, in which the 
 Bible is a witness between us ; in which an- 
 other world is not forgotten; in which we 
 'are bound by faith and love which are in 
 
MARCH 19, 20. 
 
 81 
 
 Christ Jesus ; in whicn we walk together as 
 heirs of the grace of life, that our prayers be 
 not hindered. 
 
 We see that public devotion has claims 
 upon us. God has commanded us not to 
 " forsake the assembling of ourselves toge- 
 ther, as the manner of some is;" and he has 
 said, " In all places where I record my name, 
 I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." 
 The worship of the sanctuary enlivens our 
 feelings ; endears us to each other ; and keeps 
 the distinctions of life from becoming exces- 
 sive. There the rich and the poor meet to- 
 gether; and seek and serve a Being, with 
 whom there is no respect of persons. Happy 
 they who love the place where his honour 
 dwelleth! Let me always avail myself of 
 the duty ; the privilege ; and be glad when 
 they say unto me, Let us go up into the 
 house of the Lord. 
 
 MARCH 19 
 
 14 Jlsh thy father, and he -will show thee ; thy el- 
 ders, and they -will tell thee" — Deut xxxii. 7. 
 
 There is much truth in the proverb, He 
 that will learn of none but himself, is sure to 
 nave a fool for his master. The way to ad- 
 vance in knowledge, is to be sensible of our 
 own deficiencies, and willing to avail our- 
 selves of assistance. The cause of all errors 
 is pride; for though we are ignorant, and 
 unable to guide ourselves, there is an infalli- 
 ble Instructor, under whose teachings we may 
 place ourselves — " If any of you lack wisdom, 
 let him ask of God, that giveth to all men 
 liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be 
 given him." 
 
 And there are others that may be subordi- 
 nately consulted : they possess and can impart 
 a little of his judgment ; for in his light they 
 see light The priest's lips should keep 
 knowledge ; and they should seek the law at 
 his mouth: for he is the messenger of the 
 Lord of hosts. And not only ministers, but 
 private Christians may be useful — yea, and 
 unlearned Christians, and poor and afflicted 
 Christians, who walk much with God, and 
 draw in their irradiations immediately from 
 the Scriptures. Indeed, there is hardly a be- 
 ing, however inferior to ourselves in some 
 respects, but, being better versed in others, 
 can teach us something. A wise man will 
 learn more from a fool, than a fool will learn 
 from a thousand wise men. — The Scripture 
 sends us even to the brute creation : " Ask 
 now the beasts, and they shall teach thee ; 
 and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell 
 thee." " Go to the ant, thou sluggart* : con- 
 sider her ways, and be wise." 
 
 But I said, days should speak, and multi- 
 tude of years should teach wisdom. It is 
 true, great men are not always wise, neither 
 do the aged understand judgment : yet they 
 
 1* 
 
 must have had many more opportunities for 
 observation and decision than others; and 
 God obviously intended to place some under 
 the tuition of others. We were designed to 
 live in a state of connexion with, and de- 
 pendence upon each other : and while the old 
 need the strength and activeness of the young, 
 the young need the prudence and counsel of 
 the old. Therefore, says Peter, " Ye younger, 
 submit yourselves unto the elder." In their 
 nothing can be more offensive than self-suffi- 
 ciency. Surely, they must acknowledge, 
 that those who are much older than them- 
 selves have at least the advantage of expert" 
 ence, which is commonly the slow growth 
 of time, and is the most valuable of all know- 
 ledge. And when young people so often en 
 in the connexions they form, and the steps 
 they take, and the hazarcs they run into ; is 
 it not from that self-confidence which deems 
 advice needless 1 They are not sober-minded ; 
 but think more highly of themselves than 
 they ought to think. 
 
 But what advantage do we derive from 
 writing and printing ! The birds and beasts 
 are no w T iser now, than when they went to 
 Noah for shelter, and to Adam for names. It is 
 nearly the same with savage life : knowledge 
 is not preserved, transmitted, and increased, 
 for want of books. But in consequence of 
 these helps, the improvements of one age flow 
 into another, and the stream is continually en- 
 larging by the influx of additional discoveries. 
 By means of them/ we can consult the dead, 
 as well as the living: for though dead, they 
 yet speak. And we can hold converse with 
 Bacon, and Boyle ; with Luther, and Leighton : 
 and can be alone with them ; and be with them 
 in their best moments; and when they are 
 most ready to communicate. Yea, by the 
 Scriptures, we can associate with Paul, and 
 Isaiah ; with Moses, and the Patriarchs ; and 
 can sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and 
 Jacob, in the kingdom of God. 
 
 MARCH 20. 
 
 "Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry untJ 
 thee daily" — Psalm lxxxvi. 3. 
 
 So David, though a man after God's own 
 heart, and perhaps the greatest proficient in 
 experimental and devotional piety before the 
 coming of Christ, felt his need of mercy, and 
 sought it daily. Let us follow his example, 
 and cry daily 
 
 — For pardoning mercy. It is well for us 
 that He is ready to forgive. Who can under- 
 stand his errors 1 In many things We offend 
 all. What omissions of duty are we chargea- 
 ble with! If our actions are materially good, 
 how defective are their principle and motive' 
 The sins of our holy things would condemn 
 us. Usher, one of the best as well as one of 
 
32 
 
 MARCH 21. 
 
 the greatest of men, therefore said, he hoped 
 to die with the words of the publican in his 
 mouth, God be merciful to me a sinner ; and 
 he died pronouncing them. And Paul, after 
 eulogizing Onesiphorus so highly for his good 
 works, adds, " The Lord grant that he may 
 find mercy of the Lord in that day" — he, 
 even he, would need mercy — to the last, and, 
 above all — at the last. And where is the 
 man, who, in prospect of that day, must not 
 fall upon his knees, and pray, " Enter not into 
 judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in 
 thy sight shall no flesh living be justified." 
 
 — Let us cry daily for sanctifying mercy. 
 We cannot be in a proper state of mind if we 
 only see the guilt of sin, and not the pollution 
 also : if our fear only be excited, and not our 
 aversion : if we are concerned to be delivered 
 from the wrath to come, but not to be " saved 
 by the washing of regeneration and the renew- 
 ing of the Holy Ghost." "I want," says the 
 Christian, " true holiness. I want to bear 
 more of the image of the heavenly. I want to 
 be purified even as He is pure." 
 
 — Let us cry daily for assisting mercy. 
 What can we do alone in our trials and our 
 duties ; in our calling as men, and our voca- 
 tion as Christians ? We cannot see to-morrow 
 with the light of to-day : nor will our present 
 food yield us future support— we must have 
 fresh supplies of light and of food. And we 
 must have fresh supplies of the Spirit of Jesus 
 Christ, to help our infirmities, to renew our 
 strength ; and to enable us to adorn the doc- 
 trine of God our Saviour in all things. We 
 must live in the Spirit, that we may walk in 
 the Spirit. 
 
 Let us cry daily for preserving mercy. Our 
 reputation, our substance, our business, our 
 health — every thing is exposed ; and He is the 
 preserver of men. But the great thing is the 
 soul. To what dangers is not this liable! 
 And he who knows his perils and himself, 
 will not only watch, but pray, lest he enter 
 into temptation. He knows'that God alone 
 can keep him from falling, and that without 
 nim he can no more stand than a staff when 
 the hand is withdrawn. Therefore his lan- 
 guage will be, " Hold thou me up, and I shall 
 be safe." 
 
 — Let us cry daily for providing mercy. 
 He has taught us this — When we pray, say, 
 Give us day by day our daily bread. Bread 
 signifies sustenance at large: but the word 
 employed is wisely chosen ; it is to teach us 
 moderation. We are not to pray for dainties, 
 but to be fed with food convenient for us. 
 Our necessity, as well as safety, if properly 
 consulted, will keep us from seeking great 
 things to ourselves. Nature wants little : and 
 grace, less. 
 
 — Let us cry daily for guiding mercy. 
 How much depends, not only upon a wrong 
 course, but even a wrong step ! It may give 
 a new character to my condition. It may 
 
 quarter upon me repentence for life. Ana 
 the way of man is not in himself. It \s not 
 in man that walketh to direct his steps. What 
 a privilege that He, who cannot err, is as wil- 
 ling as he is able to lead me. To him alone 
 let me repair, and on him alone depend, say- 
 ing, as the language both of choice and of 
 confidence — Thou shalt guide me with thy 
 counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. 
 Then daily prayer will be turned into cease- 
 less praise ; and I shall sing of the mercy of 
 the Lord for ever. 
 
 MARCH 21. 
 
 " The Lord thy God in the midst of thee m 
 mighty ; he -will save, he -will rejoice over 
 thee -with joy." — Zeph. iii. 17. 
 
 It is obvious He can save — for he is in the 
 midst of them, and mighty. Here is near- 
 ness and power : He is therefore able to save 
 to the uttermost — whatever be the heinous- 
 ness of guilt, or the depravity of nature, or 
 the extremity of danger, or the depth of dis- 
 tress. 
 
 But he will save — He is inclined, he is en- 
 gaged, he is bound by promise, and oath, and 
 blood — 
 
 — Neither does he repent of the obligation 
 under which he has been pleased to bring 
 himself — neither does he perform the work 
 with reluctance — He will save, he will rejoice 
 over them with joy. 
 
 — Are they his vineyard 1 I the Lord do 
 keep it ; I will water it every moment : lest 
 any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. Are 
 they his sheep 1 " The Lord shall save them 
 in that day, as the flock of his people : neither 
 shall the beast of the field devour them ; but 
 they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and 
 sleep in the woods." 
 
 But what is this Salvation 1 It does not 
 exclude temporal preservation and deliver- 
 ance. He knows how to deliver the godly 
 out of temptation. If he does not find a way, 
 he can easily make one. Thus he saved 
 Joseph from prison ; and David from the paw 
 of the lion and the bear, and the uncircum- 
 cised Philistine ; and Elijah from famine ; and 
 Jonah from the belly of hell. 
 
 We are not to look for miracles, but we 
 may look for Him who performed them ; and 
 who has said, I will be with thee in trouble. 
 He has all events at his control. He is 
 always the same. His hand is not shortened 
 that it cannot save ; neither is his car heavy, 
 that it cannot hear. A distinction, however, 
 is to be here observed. Temporal deliver- 
 ances are promised conditionally. He could 
 not have promised them otherwise. It would 
 be rather a threatening than a promise, were 
 he to engage to relieve and indulge you, 
 whether it be good for you or evil. And it 
 might be evil ; and though you may not, br 
 
MARCH 22. 
 
 aware of it, he can foresee it, and will pre- 
 vent it. He has therefore said, They that 
 seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. 
 As to your property, he can make a hedge 
 about all that you have. As to your reputa- 
 tion, he can hide you in the secret of his pa- 
 vilion from the strife of tongues. As to your 
 body, he can keep all your bones so that not 
 one of them shall be broken ; and if it be good 
 for you, he will — he must do it. But if it 
 would be otherwise, he will disappoint your 
 wishes and hopes, and make the privation the 
 privilege. 
 
 But as to the soul ! Ah ! what did you 
 mean when you first asked, " What shall I do 
 to be saved?" When you first prayed, 
 "Save me, and I shall be saved?" You 
 thought of nothing earthly then — but — of re- 
 demption from the curse of the Law ; of de- 
 liverance from the powers of darkness; of 
 freedom from the sting of death ; of release 
 from the dominion and being of sin. And it 
 was said unto you, " Believe on the Lord Je- 
 sus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And 
 this salvation is insured. This salvation is 
 begun. You are already justified by his 
 blood, and saved from wrath through him. 
 You are already renewed in the spirit of your 
 mind. You have already the earnest of your 
 inheritance ; and taste some of the grapes of 
 Eshcol. And as to the completion, now is 
 vour salvation nearer than when you believed. 
 The night is far spent: the day is at hand. 
 
 And what is every thing beside ! All well 
 with the soul! All well for eternity! A 
 smiling God ! An opening heaven ! — 
 
 " A hope so much divine 
 May trials well endure." 
 
 MARCH 22. 
 
 " Think it not strange concerning the Jiery 
 trial which is to try you, as though some 
 strange tiling happened unto you. — 1 Peter 
 iv. 12. 
 
 Are we then, before we really suffer, to 
 suffer in imagination; tormenting ourselves 
 with gloomy fears, and embittering present 
 comfort by future apprehension 1 No. 
 
 But neither are we to indulge presump- 
 tion. We are to consider difficulties as well 
 as advantages ; and though light is sweet, and 
 a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold 
 the sun, yet we are to remember also the days 
 of darkness, for they shall be many. If we 
 do not admit the possibility of disappointment 
 and distress, we shall, when they occur, be 
 dismayed and confounded, and say, If I am 
 his, why am I thus? What is unexpected is 
 overpowering: it does not leave us, for the 
 time, the use either of reason or religion ; and 
 we resemble a soldier, who, while seeking 
 his weapons, gives the enemy an advantage 
 against him. But to be fore-warned, is to be 
 
 fore-armed : and what we reckon upon in the 
 course of an enterprise, confirms, by the 
 event, the reasonableness of our scheme. The 
 Apostle would not have us to be surprised, or 
 deem it a strange thing, even if our trial 
 should be fiery. A strange thing is a thing 
 unlooked for, and which we had no reason to 
 expect. But is this the case with our afflic- 
 tions ? 
 
 — Think of the ordinary state of humanity. 
 Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly up- 
 ward ; and is it strange that he should inherit ? 
 How numerous and how delicate are the or- 
 gans of the body ! yet they are constantly in 
 use, and in danger. To how many accidents 
 are we exposed ! How many seeds of dis- 
 order are lodged within us ! Every posses- 
 sion makes us capable of loss ; every connex- 
 ion, of bereavement; every enjoyment, of 
 grief; every hope, of fear. The wonder is, 
 that we are ever free from trouble. 
 
 — Hear the declarations of Scripture . 
 " Many are the afflictions of the righteous." 
 "In the world ye shall have tribulation." 
 " Through much tribulation you must enter 
 the Kingdom." Are these the true sayings 
 of God? 
 
 — Trace the history of his people. How- 
 ever dear to God, or eminent in grace, which 
 of them escaped? 
 
 " The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 
 Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown 
 No traveller e'er reach'd that bless'd abode, 
 Who found not thorns and briers on the road." 
 
 Is this only the language of poetry ? " What 
 son is he," asks the Apostle, " whom the fa- 
 ther chasteneth not ?" " As many as I love," 
 says God, " I rebuke and chasten." 
 
 Consider the disposition of the world — 
 " Marvel not if the world hate you." If they 
 hate the light, they are not likely to love those 
 who diffuse it. The principles and walk of 
 the Christian reproach and condemn, not only 
 the profane, but many who would pass for re- 
 ligious, but who deny the power of godliness, 
 while they have the form. The mere moral 
 and pharisaical are often the bitterest enemies 
 of evangelical piety. The rule was once 
 deemed without exception: "Yea, and all 
 that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer 
 persecution." The absence of it now, is 
 owing, not to the want of disposition, but 
 power. Many things restrain it; yet it is 
 restrained only in the degree. The hand is 
 tied ; but the tongue is free — and how does it 
 deal with the decided followers of the Lamb? 
 And what is the carnal mind, but enmity 
 against God ! 
 
 —Survey the Christian's spiritual imper- 
 fections and necessities. Without suffering, 
 how can they resemble the Saviour? and be 
 weaned from the world ? and be witnesses for 
 God ? and be prepared for usefulness ? Car. 
 the welfare of the year dispense with winter? 
 Is it a strange thing for the husbandman to 
 
64 
 
 MARCH 23, 24. 
 
 plough up the fallow ground, to receive the 
 seed! or for the vinedresser to prune the 
 vine 1 or for the refiner to put his gold into 
 the furnace 1 Such a needs be is there for 
 all our afflictions : and he only who is igno- 
 rant of it, can wonder at the event. 
 
 But, Christian, while you look for the fiery 
 tria_, so as not to be astonished at the ex- 
 perience — remember, you have enough to 
 encourage you. He who died for you, and 
 rose again, and rules over all, has made pro- 
 vision for every condition in which you shall 
 be found. As thy sufferings abound, thy con- 
 solation shall abound also. If the way be 
 rough, thy shoes shall be iron and brass : and 
 as thy day, so shall thy strength be — Till the 
 last tear is wiped away — and all shall be 
 peace, and quietness, and assurance for ever. 
 
 MARCH 23. 
 ft I know -whom I have believed." — 2 Tim. i. 12. 
 
 Or trusted, as it is in the margin. This is 
 preferable ; for the Apostle is referring to an 
 act of confidence rather than of belief; and 
 which was expressed by his entrusting the 
 Saviour with a deposit, or committing his soul 
 into his hands. 
 
 The knowledge of which he speaks is not 
 only, or principally, the knowledge he had of 
 the Lord Jesus before he believed on him. 
 He had indeed such a knowledge, and he 
 must have had ; for how can we believe on 
 him of whom we have not heard 7 And who 
 would commit a jewel to a stranger 1 Who 
 would walk over a deep abyss without in- 
 quiring whether the plank was sound or rot- 
 ten 1 Ignorance in such a case would render 
 confidence the act of a fool ; whereas faith in 
 Christ is wisdom ; and when a man commits 
 his eternal all to him, he has the highest 
 reason in the world for so doing. This pre- 
 vious knowledge, however, is derived entirely 
 from testimony. 
 
 But there is also a subsequent knowledge 
 derived from experience : and he that believ- 
 eth hath the witness in himself. He knows 
 the bitterness of gall, and the sweetness of 
 honey, not from report, but from taste. My 
 conscience, says he, was burdened, and I 
 found no relief till I applied to the blood of 
 sprinkling. Without him, I can do nothing : 
 but I know that his grace is sufficient for me ; 
 for 1 have made the trial of it, both in duty 
 and in distress. I have read and heard much 
 of his excellency : and I have put it to the 
 proof — He is now a tried friend and benefac- 
 tor. I have tried — much — and often — his 
 power, faithfulness, and care ; and have found 
 them trustworthy. I therefore feel satisfac- 
 tion in reviewing what I have done. I have 
 often been imposed upon, often played the 
 fi »1 ; but not here. Of many things I have 
 repented ; but the longer I live, the less am I 
 
 disposed to repent of this transaction. I have 
 examined it in the retirement of the closet; 
 in the light of Scripture ; in the view of death 
 and eternity ; and the more I consider it, the 
 more I approve and glory in the deed. And 
 I will recommend the same to others — and I 
 can speak with the boldness and earnestness 
 of conviction — for I know whom I have be- 
 lieved. 
 
 And here we see the value of this know- 
 ledge. It increases reliance and confidence. 
 Hence, says David, " They that know thy 
 Name will put their trust in thee :" that is, 
 they will trust with more ease and more firm- 
 ness. Whence arise many of the doubts and 
 fears of Christians, but from their living more 
 upon their frames and feelings than upon the 
 clear and full views of the truth as it is in Je- 
 sus 1 As soon as ever you have committed a 
 valuable treasure to any one, you become 
 alive to his character ; and unless you are well 
 acquainted with it, every surmising, every 
 loose report, every dark and unexplained cir- 
 cumstance, may trouble and terrify the heart- 
 even though the deposit may be secure. For 
 though the safety of the deposit depends o« 
 the goodness of his character, your satisfac- 
 tion depends upon your knowledge of it. 
 
 Let me therefore be concerned to grow in 
 grace , and also — and for this very purpose — 
 in the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour Je- 
 sus Christ. Let me search the Scriptures, for 
 they are they that testify of him. Let me at- 
 tend his House, and the preaching of his Word. 
 Let me converse much with those who have 
 been much with him. Let me earnestly implore 
 the influence of the Holy Spirit, who, says 
 the Saviour, shall glorify me, for he shall 
 take of mine and shall show it unto you. 
 Paul, after such a length of acquaintance, 
 and such a depth of intimacy, not only said, 
 I count all things but loss for the excellency 
 of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord — 
 but that I may know him and the power of 
 his resurrection, and the fellowship of his 
 sufferings, being made conformable unto hk 
 death. 
 
 MARCH 24. 
 
 '* I will walk in thy truth." — Psalm lxxxvi. 11. 
 
 Every resolution expressed by a good man, 
 in a proper frame of mind, will be founded, 
 not in self-confidence, but in dependence on 
 divine grace. Then it will be useful ; it wi.l 
 tend to stimulate and to humble ; to bring tc 
 remembrance, and to bind — it will be like a 
 hedge that defends the field; or like the 
 hemming, that keeps the robe from ravelling 
 out. — " I will walk in thy truth," is a noble 
 resolution, and worthy our imitation. 
 
 Walking, in the Scripture, takes in the 
 whole of our conversation or conduct : and to 
 valk in any thing, intends a fulness of it 
 For a man jo walk in pride, is something 
 
MARCH 25. 
 
 85 
 
 «ore than to be proud : it says, that pride is 
 nis way : his element : that he is wholly un- 
 der the influence of it. 
 
 Four ways we should thus walk in God's 
 truth. 
 
 — We should walk in the belief of his 
 truth. It deserves our credence. It is a 
 faithful saying, as well as worthy of all ac- 
 ceptation. If we receive the witness of man, 
 the witness of God is greater. Men are very 
 tenacious of the honour of their word. If 
 their veracity be denied, they instantly de- 
 mand satisfaction for the insult. How often is 
 God made a liar ! How slow of heart are we 
 to believe all that the prophets have spoken ! 
 Lord, increase our faith. 
 
 — We should walk in the practice of his 
 truth. This is as necessary as the former, 
 and the evidence of it ; for we are to show 
 our faith by our works. Faith without works, 
 is as the body without the soul : there is no- 
 thing vital or operative in it. The Gospel is 
 a doctrine according to godliness. Every part 
 of it has a practical tendency : and we are 
 required to obey it from the heart. It is well 
 to hear ; but hearing is to be viewed in the 
 order of means, and not as an end. Blessed 
 are they that hear the word of God and keep 
 it. If ye know these things, happy are ye if 
 ye do them. 
 
 — We should walk in the enjoyment of his 
 truth. For it is not only of a sanctifying, but 
 a consolatory nature : it brings us glad tidings 
 of great joy ; it is all written for our learning, 
 that we, through patience and comfort of the 
 Scriptures, might have hope. If, therefore, 
 our conversation becometh the Gospel, it will 
 be happy, as well as holy. Thus it was with 
 the first Christians : they walked not only in 
 the fear of the Lord, but in the comforts of 
 the Holy Ghost They were not free from 
 trouble ; but, as the sufferings of Christ 
 abounded in the'm, the consolation also 
 abounded by Christ. They were not free from 
 complaint and self-abhorrence ; but in his 
 Name they rejoiced all the day, and in his 
 righteousness were exalted. Of themselves 
 they felt they could do nothing; but they were 
 strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 
 and through him they could do all things. 
 They knew not what a day would bring 
 forth; but they were careful for nothing, 
 casting all their care on him who cared for 
 them. The Gospel did not shut them up in 
 a dungeon of doubts and fears ; they knew the 
 truth, and the truth made them free indeed ; 
 and they walked in the glorious liberty of the 
 sons of God. 
 
 — We should walk in the profession of his 
 truth. If we know the joyful sound so as to 
 be blessed by it, we shall feel this yoke easy, 
 and this burden light. We shall not act to 
 be seen of men ; but we shall have no objec- 
 tion that men should see us. Praise will not 
 draw us out of a corner, and fear will not 
 8 
 
 drive us into one. We shall be willing for all 
 to know that we are not our own, but His 
 who bought us with a price ; and that we are 
 not only bound, but determined to glorify 
 him in our bodies and spirits. For his love 
 will constrain us not only to confess him with 
 the mouth, but with the life; for actions 
 speak louder than words: despising in oui 
 eyes a vile person, but honouring them tha? 
 fear the Lord : attending only where his truth 
 is preached, and his glory is maintained ; and 
 going forth to him without the camp, bearing 
 his reproach. 
 
 If we are thus governed, we shall be a cre- 
 dit and a comfort to our ministers, who have 
 no greater joy than to hear of their children 
 walking in the truth. We shall hold for^i 
 the word of life, and cause them to rejoice in 
 the day of Christ, that they have not run in 
 vain, nor laboured in vain. We shall adorn 
 the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 
 We shall be fellow-helpers to the truth. And 
 the Judge will graciously say — " They shall 
 walk with me in white, for they are worthy." 
 
 MARCH 25. 
 
 " The Lord knovieth the days of the upright ; 
 
 and their inheritance shall be for ever." 
 
 Psalm xxxvii. 18. 
 
 Every thing here requires attention— 
 
 — The persons — " The upright." The up- 
 right mean those who are sincere : sincere in 
 their dealings with their fellow-creatures; 
 with their own souls; and with their God. 
 The character is equally rare and excellent- 
 It admits of imperfection, but not of partiality ; 
 and is never found separate from the renew- 
 ing of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 — The period — " Their days." These are 
 "known of God." This knowledge being 
 spoken of as a privilege, something more than 
 mere intelligence must be intended : for, in 
 this sense, He knows the days of the wicked 
 as well as of the upright. The meaning is, 
 that he knows them kindly and graciously • 
 that he feels, and will acknowledge his con- 
 cern in them ; and "make them all work 
 together for their good. He knows their 
 number — This is with him. He has appoint- 
 ed it : friends cannot enlarge, enemies cannot 
 reduce it. Whenever they die, they have 
 filled their days, and are immortal till their 
 work is done. He knows the nature of them 
 — and he determines it — 
 
 " If light attends the course they run, 
 "Tis he provides those rays ; 
 And 'tis his hand that veils their sun 
 If darkness clouds their days." 
 
 — Have they days of affliction ? He knows 
 them: knows their source, their pressure, 
 how long they have continued, the support 
 they require, and the proper time to remove 
 them. — Have they days of danger 1 He knows 
 them ; and will be a refuge and defence in 
 
86 
 
 MARCH 26. 
 
 them. — Have they days of duty ? He knows 
 them ; and will furnish the strength and the 
 help they require. — Have they days of inac- 
 tion, when they are laid aside from their work, 
 by accident or disease 1 He knows them ; 
 and says to his servants, under every preven- 
 tion, " It is well that it was in thy heart." — 
 Have they days of privation, when they are 
 denied the ordinances of religion, after seeing 
 his power and glory in the temple, and going 
 with the voice of gladness to keep holy day ? 
 He knows them ; and will follow his people 
 <■ when they cannot follow him ; and be a little 
 sanctuary to them in their losses. — Have they 
 days of declension and of age, in which their 
 strength is fled, and their senses fail, and so 
 many of their connexions have gone down to 
 the dust — evil days, wherein they have no 
 pleasure 1 He knows them ; and says, " I 
 remember thee, the kindness of thy youth. 
 Even to old age I am He, and to hoar hairs 
 wUl I bear and carry you." 
 
 — The portion — " Their inheritance shall 
 be for ever." So was not the inheritance of 
 many of the angels in heaven ; for they kept 
 not their first estate. So was not the inherit- 
 ance of Adam in Paradise ; for the Lord drove 
 out the man. So was not the inheritance of 
 the Jew in Canaan ; for the glory of all lands 
 was made a desolation. So is not the inherit- 
 ance of the man of the world : his portion is 
 in this life. And what is this but a vapour, a 
 shadow ? Yet, at the end of it, he is stripped 
 of all, and departs as naked as he came. Yea, 
 and before the close, his hopes and comforts 
 may be all laid bare. For — 
 " Short-lived as we are, yet our pleasures, we see, 
 Have a much shorter date, and die sooner than we." 
 
 But the Christian has not only being, and 
 health, and riches, and honour, and peace, and 
 joy, and friendship-— but all these for ever ! 
 
 Indeed, the more important and valuable 
 the acquisition, the more miserable he would 
 feel if there was any uncertainty in the con- 
 tinuance. The thought of loss, and even of 
 danger, would embitter all. But it is for ever 
 — for ever ! Yea, it will be always increas- 
 ing. After millions of years we shall be 
 singing a new song. 
 
 In the world we may have losses, but they 
 cannot affect our estate. " I, one day," says 
 Mr. Newton, " visited a family that had suf- 
 fered by a fire, which had destroyed all the 
 house and the goods. I found the pious mis- 
 tress in tears. I said, Madam, I give you 
 joy ! Surprised, and ready to be offended, 
 she exclaimed, • What ! joy that all my pro- 
 perty is consumed V I give you joy that you 
 have so much property that no fire can touch. 
 This turn checked the grief, and she wiped 
 her tears, and smiled like the sun, shining 
 after an April shower." Thus the Hebrews 
 took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, know- 
 ing in'^emselves that in heaven they had a 
 better ^d an enduring substance. 
 
 MARCH 26. 
 
 " And noiv I have told you before it >.omt to 
 pass, that, -when it is come to pass, ye might 
 believe" — John xiv. 29. 
 
 He refers to what he had said concerning 
 his death and resurrection ; his sufferings and 
 glory. As nothing befell him by chance, sc 
 nothing took him by surprise. All was laid 
 out in his view : and he saw the end from the 
 beginning — and foretold it all before any of 
 it had come to pass. For what purpose? 
 " That, when it is come to pass," says he, 
 " ye might believe." 
 
 Hence we see the importance of faith. 
 This is what he always required in those he 
 healed. " Only believe," said he to the ruler 
 of the synagogue. He said to his disciples, 
 with regard to the death of Lazarus, " I am 
 glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, to 
 the intent ye may believe." If a man wishes 
 a tree to grow, he waters not the branches, 
 but the root. Holy tempers and good works 
 are the fruits of religion — Faith is the root ; 
 and as this is enlivened, every thing in the 
 divine life prospers. Unbelief makes God a 
 liar ! rendf's the Scripture a nonentity ; and 
 leaves Or* soul open to every sin. But he 
 that beh-^eth shall be saved. Yea, he hath 
 everlasting life. By faith we stand ; walk ; 
 live. We are justified, we are sanctified, by 
 faith. Faith purifies the heart, and over- 
 cometh the world. Unless we believe, we 
 shall not be established. We are filled with 
 all joy and peace in believing — We read of 
 the joy of faith ; the prayer of faith ; the work 
 of faith ; the obedience of faith ; the fight of 
 faith — every thing is ascribed to faith in the 
 word of God. 
 
 — Here we learn, also, that there may be 
 an improvement in faith, where the principle 
 is already found. Did not these disciples 
 believe at this very time 1 They had been 
 with him from the beginning. They had 
 heard his sayings, and witnessed his miracles, 
 and seen his glory. And they believed on 
 him too. And had left all to follow him. But 
 they did not sufficiently believe. Their faith 
 was too obscure in its views ; too feeble in its 
 hold; too powerless in its operation. Are 
 there not, then, degrees in godliness ! May 
 there not be a growth in grace 1 Does not 
 Paul tell the Thessalonians, that their faith 
 grew exceedingly ? And how desirable is 
 this progress ! The strong in faith have a 
 thousand advantages above the weak. The 
 latter have a heaven hereafter; the former 
 have a heaven here too. And if the Apostles 
 were defective, and said, I>ord, increase our 
 faith, what need have we to cry out, with 
 tears, like the father of the child, " Loid, 1 
 believe ; help thou mine unbelief!" 
 
 — We remark, also, that one of the best 
 means of increasing and establishing our 
 faith, is to compare the word and the works 
 
MARCH 27 
 
 87 
 
 ur the Lord together. This was the help and 
 advantage he would here insure to his dis- 
 ciples : " Now I have told you before it come 
 to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye 
 might believe." So did the Church in the 
 time of David : " As we have heard, so have 
 we seen in the city of our God." We have 
 heard the promises, and we have seen the 
 fulfilment We have heard the threatenings, 
 and we have seen the execution. We have 
 heard the doctrine, and we have seen the 
 practice. As soon as Jesus had said, " Go 
 thy way, thy son liveth," the nobleman 
 "believed, and went his way. But as he 
 was now going down, his servants met him, 
 and told him, saying, Thy son liveth ! Then 
 inquired he of them the hour when he began 
 to amend. And they said unto him, Yester- 
 day at the seventh hour the fever left him. 
 So the father knew that it was at the same 
 hour in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy 
 son liveth ; and himself believed, and his 
 whole house." That is, he now believed 
 more firmly and impressively ; and this was 
 the consequence of comparison. Thus, facts 
 are yielding us constant and growing evidence 
 of the truth of God's word. Upon this prin- 
 ciple, apostates and scoffers do not scandalize 
 us — the Scripture tells us they will come. 
 We read in the Scripture, the way of trans- 
 gressors is hard : that he who walketh up- 
 rightly, walketh surely: that the merciful 
 shall obtain mercy : that the way of the sloth- 
 ful is a hedge of thorns — and how little must 
 he have observed the experience of others, or 
 consulted his own, who is not every day more 
 convinced of the truth of these declarations! 
 — Finally. Does not this clearly intimate, 
 that the benefit to be derived from prophecy 
 is subsequent to its accomplishment 1 " Now 
 I have told you before it come to pass, that, 
 when it is come to pass, ye might believe." 
 He mentions the same thing in several other 
 places: and we are informed, in more than 
 one instance, of the result Thus we read — 
 "When, therefore, he was risen from the 
 dead, his disciples remembered that he had 
 said this unto them ; and they believed the 
 Scripture, and the word which Jesus had 
 said." So, also, when they had witnessed his 
 " zeal" in purifying the temple, " his disci- 
 ples remembered that it was written, The 
 real of thine house hath eaten me up." Thus 
 we see our remark justified. And, indeed, 
 how can it be otherwise 1 ? Where is the 
 evidence of the truth of prophecy before it 
 come to pass ? You say, a God who cannot 
 lie has spoken it But God himself does not 
 demand our faith on the announcement but 
 on the event And how little can it be un- 
 derstood beforehand ; unless as to its general 
 bearings ! A definite and particular acquaint- 
 ance with the contents of divine predictions 
 would derange the order of Providence, and 
 in many cases hinder the effect Had this 
 
 fact been duly considered, much time and 
 attention would have been more profitably 
 employed, than in attempts to open the seals, 
 and blow the trumpets, and pour out the vials 
 of the Apocalypse. There is no prophet 
 among us, not any that telleth how long ; yet 
 there are, as Fuller calls them, " fortune- 
 tellers of the Church." Pastors have been 
 drawn away from their proper wor k - 
 And " the hungry sheep look up, and are not 
 
 fed" And sinners are not converted from 
 
 the error of their ways. For even allowing 
 the views, advanced with so much presump- 
 tion, to be just and true, they are not repent- 
 ance towards God, and faith towards our Lord 
 Jesus Christ The Apostles preached a cru- 
 cified Saviour — and determined to know no- 
 thing else. 
 
 It is not for us to know the times or the 
 seasons, which the Father hath put in his 
 own power. He has entrusted us with his 
 commands ; but not with his decrees. " The 
 secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; 
 but those things which are revealed belong 
 unto us and our children for ever, that we 
 may do all the words of this law." 
 
 MARCH 27. 
 
 " He hath done all things -well." — Mark vii. 37. 
 
 A great commendation ; but deserved. 
 Human excellences are rare and individual. 
 One man does one thing well ; another does 
 another thing well — but He does all things 
 well. The little men do well, is only com- 
 paratively well; all he does is absolutely 
 well. And this will appear, whether we con- 
 sider him as the Creator — and survey the 
 works of nature ; or as the Saviour — and con- 
 template the wonders of grace; or as the 
 Governor — and examine the dispensations of 
 his providence. 
 
 We have some fine specimens of his agency 
 recorded in the Scripture. Take, for instance, 
 the history of Joseph. Read it over again 
 and again : and then ask, Could any link in 
 this chain, any stone in this structure, have 
 been omitted'? In this achievement could 
 any thing have been added to the plan, or the 
 execution? From a part we may estimate 
 the whole. And what applies to his dealings 
 with others, will apply to his dealings with 
 us ; for all the ways of the Lord are mercy 
 and truth. 
 
 —But whence, then, is it that we cannot 
 really and readily, with regard to his agency 
 in our affairs, and especially in those of a 
 trying nature, adopt the acknowledgment 
 and say, He hath done all thr'ngs well ? 
 
 — The reason is, we judge atheistically. 
 Every unregenerate sinner lives without God 
 in the world. But a Christian is made t s dif- 
 fer from others ; and from himself. Yet bis 
 sanctification is not complete. Something is 
 
88 
 
 MARCH 28. 
 
 ieft in him of all the old kinds of leaven ; and 
 therefore something of this atheism. He is 
 in a good frame when, with Eli, he can say, 
 of whatever befalls him, "It is the Lord, 
 let him do what seemeth him good." But 
 he does not always see him. He sometimes 
 stops at the instrumentality employed — " Oh ! 
 it was that unlucky accident j it was that 
 heedless servant ! it was that perfidious 
 neighbour ! it was that cruel enemy !" — No 
 wonder He does not do all things well, when 
 he is not acknowledged as doing any thing. 
 
 — We judge selfishly. We are not to 
 view ourselves as detached individuals. We 
 are parts of a whole ; and variously connected 
 with others. What is not good for us per- 
 sonally, may be good for us relatively. Sup- 
 pose a trying dispensation makes us more 
 tender and compassionate towards our fellow 
 creatures and our fellow Christians ; suppose 
 a distressing experience gives us the tongue 
 of the learned, and enables us to speak a 
 word in season to him that is weary : suppose, 
 as witnesses and examples of the power and 
 excellency of the Gospel, we arouse the care- 
 less, and confirm the wavering : is there not 
 enough here to call for our resignation and 
 praise ? Ezekiel was deprived of the desire 
 of his eyes, with a stroke : to himself, this 
 was painful ; but it was profitable to his min- 
 istry, and useful to his charge — and this was 
 the design of it. No man liveth to himself, 
 and no man dieth to himself! 
 
 — We judge carnally. What is not plea- 
 sing may yet be beneficial : and natural evil 
 may be moral good. When things are agree- 
 able to our wishes, we never think of any 
 difficulty in the divine proceedings. While 
 we have ease, and health, and friends, and 
 success in business, we never complain of the 
 darkness of Providence. But as soon as there 
 is any reverse— then we groan out, "His 
 way is in the sea, his path in the deep 
 waters, and his footsteps are not known" — as 
 if every thing was to be estimated by our ac- 
 commodation and convenience — as if God 
 acted wisely or unwisely, righteously or un- 
 righteously, just as his doings affect us — and 
 affect too, not our best interests, but our 
 present and temporal ! Is it wonderful that 
 we, who deserve stripes, should feel the rod 1 
 that we, who need correction, should meet 
 with chastisement ? Is it mysterious that the 
 vine should be pruned 1 the ground ploughed 1 
 the gold tried in the fire ] If the child now 
 thinks certain restraints, and privations, and 
 rebukes to which the father subjects him, 
 needless and harsh, he will more than ap- 
 prove of. them when he comes to years of 
 maturity. 
 
 — We judge prematurely. He that be- 
 lieveth maketh not haste. It is good for a 
 man not only to hope, but quietly wait for the 
 salvation of God : and one reason is, because 
 •t will prevent a wrong conclusion. There- 
 
 fore, says the Apostle, judge nothing before 
 the time until the Lord come. You would 
 not judge of the abilities of the limner from 
 the unfinished sketch, but you would wait til' 
 the canvass had received the last touches of 
 his masterly pencil. You would not judge 
 of the perfection of a building from the dig- 
 ging of the foundation, and the coarse mate- 
 rials lying in a kind of disorder all around , 
 especially if you had never seen the plan or 
 the model : but you would stay till the parts 
 were all put together in their places, and the 
 top-stone brought forward with shouting — 
 Let us stay till God has done. What I do, 
 says he, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt 
 know hereafter. Then every thing will 
 speak for itself. Then we shall walk, not by 
 faith, but by sight. Then we shall see what 
 we now believe ; and for ever acknowledge, 
 " He is the rock ; his work is perfect ; for all 
 his ways are judgment : a God of truth ai J 
 without iniquity, just and right, is he " 
 
 MARCH 28. 
 
 * Hereafter I will not talk much with you ; fo~ 
 the prince of this ivorld cometh, and halA 
 nothing in me" — John xiv. 30. 
 
 There are many talkers — profane talkers 
 — indecent talkers — foolish talkers — vain talk- 
 ers. And there are some who are wise and 
 good talkers ; their lips are as a well-spring 
 of life. But He was perfectly wise and good 
 —Oh! to have heard him " talk !" The term 
 is applied to his more public teaching — 
 " While he yet talked to the people." And 
 had some of his ministers spoken more in a 
 familiar and conversational mode, then they 
 would have resembled him more ; and the 
 poor would have had the Gospel preached 
 unto them ; and the common people would 
 have heard them gladly ; and the children in 
 the temple would have cried Hosanna. 
 
 It is here intimated that he had talked 
 " much" with them. He was never reserved. 
 If he kept back any .thing from them, it was 
 because at the time they could not bear it 
 He treated them not as servants, but friends; 
 for all things that he had heard of the Father he 
 made known unto them. He always instruct- 
 ed, and reproved, and encouraged them, as 
 the occasion required. He seized every op- 
 portunity for religious discourse, and levied a 
 tax of spiritual profit upon every natural ob- 
 ject and every providential occurrence that 
 presented itself. He could not see a sower 
 going forth to sow, or a fisherman dragging 
 his net ashore, or a woman drawing water, 
 but he derived from it a parable or an illus- 
 tration — Teaching his followers to be social 
 and communicative in divine things; and, for 
 this purpose, to cultivate their understanding 
 and to be filled with the Spirit For out of 
 the abundance of the heart the mouth speak 
 
MARCH 29. 
 
 89 
 
 cth How can much religious discourse be 
 expected from those v> ho have so little of the 
 life of God in them ! If, for the sake of con- 
 sistency, they sometimes make the attempt, 
 it must be a task ; and they will soon drop 
 into what is more natural to them, a conver- 
 sation empty as the wind, and barren as the 
 sand. 
 
 — But " hereafter" he would not talk much 
 with them — not from disinclination, but for 
 want of intercourse. Their opportunities 
 would soon be over — for he was going to 
 leave them. With regard also to us — it is 
 probable as to some — and certain as to others, 
 that we have heard and read much more than 
 we ever shall read or hear in future. Yet a 
 little while is the light with us. 
 
 The way in which he refers to his removal 
 from them by his suffering' and death is re- 
 markable — "For the prince of this world 
 cometh, and hath nothing in me." 
 
 He marks, First, the character of his adver- 
 sary — the prince of this world. He is not 
 so by right, but usurpation ; and by God's 
 allowing him power over those who provoke 
 him. When the traitor had received the sop, 
 Satan entered into him. He was in him be- 
 fore; but his agency was under restraints. 
 These restraints were then all taken away ; 
 and the Devil had his victim entirely to him- 
 self Israel would have none of him ; so he 
 gave them up to their own hearts' lust. All 
 who walk according to the course of this 
 world, walk according to the prince of the 
 power of the air, the spirit that now worketh 
 in the children of disobedience. They may 
 imagine themselves to be free, and many of 
 them make a figure in the eye of sense : but 
 faith sees them taken captive by the Devil at 
 his will ; and held in the vilest subjection — 
 he is their prince — yea, according to the 
 Apostle, he is the god of this world ; and, in 
 reality, they not only obey, but worship him. 
 — Secondly, he sees his approach: "He 
 cometh." Not personally — so he had come 
 to him in the wilderness and been foiled ; but 
 in his instruments. In Judas that betrayed 
 him ; in Peter that denied him ; in his disci- 
 ples that forsook him and fled ; in Herod that 
 threatened him; in Pilate that condemned 
 him; in the Jews that clamoured for his 
 olood ; and in the Romans that shed it " One 
 of you," says our Lord, " is a devil" — he gives 
 him the name, because he bore his image, 
 and did his work." " The devil," we read, 
 " shall cast some of you into prison." Is the 
 Devil a justice of the peace 1 No ; but if he 
 acts unrighteously and cruelly, the justice of 
 peace is the Devil. The Devil is not Vol- 
 taire; bft, by poisoning and destroying the 
 souls ofWn, Voltaire is the Devil, who was 
 a murderer from the beginning, and abode 
 not in the truth. 
 
 — Thirdly, he is confident of the result of 
 <he conflict : "And hath nothing in me." He 
 Vol. I, .M 8* 
 
 has enough in ?is. — First, enough of guilt 
 Hence he can alarm and dismay us. In the 
 conscience of some he produces such terror 
 and anguish, that the man chooses strangling 
 and death rather than life. He is also the 
 accuser of the brethren : and in their sins, 
 and the sins even of their holy things, he 
 finds enough against them, to perplex and 
 distress them in their afflictions, and in their 
 approaches to God. But he could find nc 
 guilt in Jesus ; and therefore he could stir up 
 no feeling of self-remorse or despair. — Se- 
 condly, enough of corruption. Hence he can 
 easily draw us aside by laying hold of our 
 envy, pride, avarice, impatience. Owing to 
 the remains of unrnortified passions, or, as 
 the Apostle calls it the sin that dwelleth in 
 us, we are always in danger from outward 
 things. We may be ensnared by our dress, 
 our table, our business, and our friends : what 
 is innocent and good in itself may become to 
 us injurious and evil. Here the sparks fall 
 upon tinder. But there was nothing inflam- 
 mable in him ; and therefore no unhallowed 
 fire could be kindled. He was the Holy One 
 of God. " He did no sin," and " in him was 
 no sin !" 
 
 — A proof that if he was stricken, smitten 
 of God, and afflicted, he was wounded for our 
 transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities , 
 the chastisement of our peace was upon him, 
 and with his stripes we are healed. 
 
 — We also see that there must be a great 
 difference between him and ourselves, as to 
 moral danger. He was safe every where, 
 and in all circumstances. We must watch 
 and pray, lest we enter into temptation — 
 The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh ia 
 weak. 
 
 MARCH 29. 
 
 " God hath not appointed us 10 wrath, but to 
 obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ '' 
 1 Thess. v. 9. 
 
 No : " He has not appointed us to wrath. ' 
 He might have done it. We deserved it. 
 We were by nature children of wrath, 
 even as others. But He has delivered us 
 from the wrath to come. We have trials, 
 but there is no curse in them. They come 
 from a father who corrects, not from a judge 
 who punishes. We may sometimes fear his 
 wrath, but this is our infirmity. Flesh cries, 
 Do not condemn me ; but faith cries, There 
 is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 — But " to obtain salvation." We are 
 often said to be saved already. We are so, 
 as to our state : but not as to possession and 
 enjoyment. This is a future blessedness. It 
 is, indeed, begun here : but that which is held 
 up to the hope of the believer is the accom- 
 plishment of all that God has promised — the 
 
yu 
 
 MARCH 30. 
 
 reception of the soul at death ; the resuriection 
 of the body at the last day ; the glorification 
 :>f the whole man for ever. What an object 
 of expectation ! How poor and pitiful is every 
 thing seen and temporal, compared with this ! 
 Some are destined to shine in courts ; some, 
 to stride over the heads of others; some, to 
 amass heaps of shining ore : but, if a Chris- 
 tian, thou art destined to an inheritance be- 
 yond the skies, and a crown of glory that 
 fadeth not away. What is life 1 However 
 indulged and endowed, it is, in its best estate, 
 altogether vanity ! What are the pleasures 
 of sin — for a season ! What are riches and 
 — death ! a title and — damnation at the end 
 of it ! And what are losses and afflictions to 
 a man who is going to obtain salvation ! 
 
 But by what medium will he acquire it ? — 
 " Through our Lord Jesus Christ." To seek 
 it in any other way is a vain pursuit. There 
 is salvation in none other. I am the way, 
 said he, the truth, and the life : no man 
 cometh unto the Father but by me. Yea, it 
 is not only useless, but sinful. It opposes 
 God's revealed will and express command ; it 
 robs the Lord Jesus of his highest glory : it 
 frustrates his grace : it makes him to be dead 
 in vain. Much comes to some, through 
 others. We have had friends and benefactors 
 — but, after all, what have they done for us 1 
 What self-denial have they exercised "! What 
 sufferings have they endured 1 But he knew 
 what would be required of him in opening for 
 us a passage to glory. Yet he readily con- 
 sented, and said, Lo ! I come. Behold, and 
 see if ever there was sorrow or love like his 
 sorrow — He became poor, that we might be* 
 made rich, He died, that we might live. 
 
 The Apostle does not forget to tell us, that 
 we are appointed to obtain this salvation 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ. As men, we 
 are not the creatures of chance. There is an 
 appointed time to man upon earth. God has 
 appointed the bounds of our habitation, and, 
 as Christians, are we the offspring of contin- 
 gency? Is conversion a happy accident 1 It 
 is the work of God ; and he does nothing 
 without foreknowledge and design. Four 
 things may be observed, with regard to this 
 appointment. The earliness of it — in hope 
 of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, 
 promised before the world began. — The /red- 
 ness of it — it was not founded on the fore- 
 sight of any worthiness or works of ours — 
 He hath saved us and called us, not accord- 
 ing to our works, but according to his own 
 purpose, and grace given us in Christ Jesus 
 before the world began. — Its efficiency — it 
 will not, cannot fail — the counsel of the Lord 
 standeth for ever. " I will make an ever- 
 lasting covenant with them, that I will not 
 turn away from them to do them good ; but I 
 will put my fear in their hearts, that they 
 shall not depart from me." — Its appropria- 
 tion — blessed %re the poor in spirit, foi theirs 
 
 is the kmgdom of heaven. Blessed are they 
 that mourn. Blessed are they that hunger 
 and thirst after righteousness. Go back from 
 effects to causes. Prove your calling, and 
 thus make your election sure. 
 
 And remember one thing. Be simple, and 
 receive the kingdom of God as a little child, 
 not only as to its doctrines, but as to its invi- 
 tations and promises. The writer, one day, 
 attended the dying bed of a young female. I 
 have little, said she, to relate, as to my expe- 
 rience. I have been much tried and tempted 
 — but this is my sheet anchor — He has said, 
 Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise 
 cast out. I know I come to him — and I ex- 
 pect that he will be as good as his word. 
 Poor and unworthy as I am, he will not trifle 
 with me, or deceive me — It would be be- 
 neath his greatness, as well as his goodness. 
 I am at his feet ; and you have often said- 
 
 " Tis joy enough, my All in All, 
 At thy dear feet to lie ; 
 Thou wilt not let me lower fall, 
 And none can higher fly." 
 
 MARCH 30. 
 
 " When they saw him, they besought him that 
 he would depart." — Matt. viii. 34. 
 
 He had now entered the country of the 
 Gadarenes, and cured two demoniacs. The 
 people should have deemed themselves ho- 
 noured by his presence ; and have thanked 
 him for relieving their wretched neighbours 
 from the most dreadful malady. But he had, 
 in correction of an unlawful traffic, destroyed 
 their swine. They, therefore, preferring 
 their sins to their souls, feared and hated 
 him, and — desired him to withdraw. He took 
 them immediately at their word — and went 
 — and returned no more. Oh! when he 
 comes to us, and convinces us of sin, and re- 
 proves us for our evil passions and vile 
 courses ; when he comes and makes us un- 
 easy, by the admonitions of conscience, of 
 friendship, of Scripture, of providence ; and 
 instead of yielding to his merciful design, we 
 regard him as an irksome intruder, and en- 
 treat him, and he hears our meaning without 
 speech, to leave us — he will comply with our 
 desire — and say, They are joined to idols, let 
 them alone — and woe unto them when I de- 
 part from them ! This is an awful truth — 
 
 But it is an equally pleasing one, that if we 
 desire his presence, he will indulge our wish. 
 And, therefore, when the two disciples, going 
 to Emmaus, reached the village whither they 
 went, and he made as if he would have gone 
 farther ; they constrained him, saying, Abide 
 with us, for it is towards evening, and the 
 day is far spent And, it is said, he went in 
 to tarry with them. So when the woman of 
 Samaria had persuaded many of her w igh- 
 bonrs to come to the well to see him; thev 
 
MARCH SL APRIL 1. 
 
 91 
 
 Dcsought him that he would tarry with 
 them : and he abode there two days. 
 
 Saviour Jesus ! Thou art all in all. Come 
 and dwell in our country — Come and dwell 
 in our Churches — Come and dwell in our 
 houses — Come and dwell in our hearts for 
 ever ! Cast me not away from thy presence ; 
 and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 
 
 "I cannot bear thine absence, Lord ; 
 My life expires if thou depart : 
 Be thou, my heart, still near my God, 
 And Thou, my God, be near my heart." 
 
 MARCH 31. 
 " But that the world may know that I love the 
 Father ; and as the Father gave me com- 
 mandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go 
 hence" — Johnxiv. 31. 
 When he say3, " Arise, let us go hence" 
 — he shows his readiness to suffer. " I will 
 not wait for the enemy : I will go and meet 
 him. I will go to the place where Judas 
 will look for me. I wdl go to the garden of 
 Gethsemane, where I am to agonize — and 
 from thence to Calvary, where I am to die. 
 I have a baptism to be baptized with ; and 
 how am I straitened till it be accomplished 1" 
 We always see in him this disposition — a 
 proof that he was not compelled to engage ; 
 that he did not undertake the case from ig- 
 norance : that he did not repent of his work, 
 even in the sight of enduring all its expen- 
 siveness of woe — He loved us, and gave him- 
 self for us. 
 
 Yet this alacrity was not rashness, but 
 obedience — "As the Father gave me com- 
 mandment." Though in his higher charac- 
 ter he had the disposal of himself; in his hu- 
 man nature, and in his mediatorial office, he 
 was obedient unto death, even the death of 
 the cross. He felt no inconsistency in this, 
 and why should we 1 " No man taketh my 
 life from me. I lay it down myself : I have 
 power to lay it down, and I have power to 
 take it again — This commandment have I 
 received of my Father." So mistaken should 
 we be in supposing that the Father was less 
 disposed to save us than the Son, or that his 
 love was purchased by that death which was 
 really the effect of it, and designed to be the 
 medium through which it should operate. 
 Herein God hath commended his love to- 
 wards us, in that while we were yet sinners 
 Christ died for us. And therefore did the 
 Father love him, because he laid down his 
 life that he might take it again : and for the 
 suffering of death, he crowned him with 
 glory and honour. 
 
 — Though there was something here pe- 
 culiar in our Saviour's obedience, there is 
 something also exemplary in it. He did not 
 expose himself before his hour was come ; but 
 cheerful./ submitted to the Divine will, when 
 it was come. So we are not to turn aside in 
 search of trials, but to take up our cross when 
 
 it is fairly in our way. We arc not to be im- 
 patient to suffer ; but when we are called to 
 it, the call should sustain us, and bear us 
 through, for God is with us. 
 
 And this obedience resulted from love — " I 
 love the Father." I delight, said he, to do 
 thy will ; yea, thy law is within my heart 
 My meat is to do the will of him that sent 
 me, and to f nish his work. His people, in 
 their measure and degree, can say the same. 
 As obedience is the best evidence of love, so 
 love is the best spring of obedience. It is 
 love that makes it pleasant to ourselves. It 
 is love that makes it acceptable to God. With 
 him, nothing can be a substitute for it. In- 
 deed, we ourselves, in the conduct of our fel- 
 low-creatures towards us, judge not by the 
 bulk of the action, but the disposition from 
 which it proceeds. The estimate is taken, 
 not from the service, but the principle ; not 
 from what is given, but from what is implied. 
 The smallest donation is welcomed as a token 
 of cordial regard ; while, like God, we abhor 
 " the sacrifice where not the heart is found." 
 
 Jesus would have this known, not to his 
 disciples only, but to others — and to all : 
 " But that the world may know that I love 
 the Father ; and as the Father gave me com- 
 mandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go 
 hence." And thff world ought to know it : 
 they are deeply concerned in it, and in due 
 time they will know it. At present a very 
 large majority of mankind have never heard 
 of his Name, or of his salvation. But his 
 cause is spreading. The Scriptures are en- 
 tering all languages. Missionaries are visit- 
 ing all climes. The Church is praying that 
 his Word may have free course and be glo- 
 rified. And God has said, " It is a light thing 
 that thou shouldest be my servant, to raise up 
 the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the pre- 
 served of Israel ; I will also give thee for a 
 light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my 
 salvation unto the ends of the earth." It must 
 therefore by-and-by be said, without a figure, 
 " Behold ! the world is gone away after him.' J 
 
 But blessed are our eyes, for they see, and 
 our ears, for they hear. We already know 
 these things. But how do we know them 1 
 Do we feel as well as understand them 1 Are 
 we like a December's night, as cold as we 
 are clear f Shall we be found in the number 
 of those who behold, and wonder, and perish? 
 Or, filled with admiration, and gratitude, and 
 confidence, and zeal, beholding, as in a glass, 
 his glory, are we changing into the same 
 image, from glory to glory, even as by the 
 Spirit of tha Lord ? 
 
 APRIL 1. 
 
 " His sweat was as it were great drops of bloou 
 
 falling down to the ground" — Luke xxii. 44. 
 
 It is a question whether this sweat was 
 
 blood comparatively, that is, whether it re- 
 
J2 
 
 APRIL 2 
 
 sembled blood, whose d r ops are denser, hea- 
 vier, and larger, than those of common per- 
 spiration — or really blood. The latter is 
 possible. There have been instances of the 
 land well authenticated. "Such an opinion 
 early and generally prevailed ; and nothing 
 was more common among the Fathers, than 
 to consider this as one of the times when he 
 bled for us, each of his pores, as a kind of 
 wound, flowing with that blood without which 
 there is no remission. It is, perhaps, impos- 
 sible to determine this absolutely. But even 
 allowing — what we by no means consider as 
 proved — that it was only blood in resem- 
 blance ; it must have been most extraordinary. 
 For he was abroad in the open air ; upon the 
 cold ground ; the night far advanced ; and the 
 weather chilling — for the High Priest's serv- 
 ants made a fire to warm themselves. Here 
 was enough to have checked perspiration — 
 Yet his sweat was as it were great drops of 
 blood falling down to the ground ! 
 
 And what could have caused it ? Surely 
 not the mere circumstances of dying. So- 
 crates — Seneca — did not sweat thus; they 
 were cool and calm. Look at the martyrs ; 
 and even those of the more timid sex : they 
 were tranquil in the prospect, and in many 
 instances came forth from prison smiling, and 
 blessed the instrument of "death — What was 
 the reason of this difference 1 they had not to 
 contend with the powers of darkness; but 
 this was their hour, and the power of dark- 
 ness. They had not to bear the sins of 
 others, nor yet their own ; whereas the Lord 
 laid on him the iniquities of us all. 
 
 We indulge here no curious speculations ; 
 and we require the definitions of no human 
 creeds : but neither will we be reasoned out 
 of the plain language and meaning of the 
 Scriptures. We believe God; and not as 
 some believe him ; that is, as a jury in a court 
 believe the testimony of a suspected, a dis- 
 credited witness, relying no further upon his 
 deposition than it is collaterally supported; 
 and thus yielding no honour to himself— We 
 do not found our belief on knowledge ; but 
 derive our knowledge from belief. We be- 
 lieve in the unerring wisdom and veracity 
 of God — and he has told us, that Christ also 
 suffered for sins, the just for the unjust : that 
 he bore our griefs, and carried our sorrows : 
 that the chastisement of our peace was upon 
 him ; and that by his stripes we are healed. 
 
 Men think lightly of sin ; but an awakened 
 conscience feels it a burden too heavy to 
 bear. It has made the whole creation groan. 
 But see Jesus bearing it in his own body — 
 and his sweat falls as great drops of blood 
 down to the ground ! What, then, if you 
 should bear it in your own person, O sin- 
 ner! — Why it will sink thee to the lowest 
 hell. Yet bear it you must, if you reject or 
 neglect him ; for there remaineth no more sa- 
 crifice fc • sin — He that believeth on the Son 
 
 of God, hath everlasting life ; and he that be- • 
 lieveth not the Son of God, hath not life, but 
 the wrath of God abideth on him. Yet, 
 
 " Each purple drop proclaims there 's room, 
 And bids the poor and needy come." 
 
 Oh! let me look on him who suffers thus. 
 Oh! let me mourn over my sins, which 
 caused his anguish — 
 
 " 'Twere you that pull'd the vengeance down 
 Upon his guiltless head ; 
 Break, break, my heart; and burst, my eyes; 
 And let my sorrows bleed !" 
 
 But let me also rejoice. That bloody sweat 
 proclaims my discharge from condemnation, 
 and tells me the law is magnified and made 
 honourable. 
 
 And can I help loving him ? Love begets 
 love. And what can evince love like suffer- 
 ing'? And such suffering! And for such 
 criminals ! And not only without their de- 
 sert, but their desire ! — Lord ! what wilt thou 
 have me to do 1 Speak, Lord, for thy servant 
 heareth. 
 
 APRIL 2. 
 
 " Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye ? 
 And they said, Jesus of Nazareth." — John 
 xviii. 7. 
 
 Every thing here is remarkable. 
 
 — How wonderful that any in the very fa- 
 mily of Jesus should be base enough to be- 
 tray him ! But here we find Judas, who had 
 been called to the Apostleship, and invested 
 with power to work miracles, and a few hours 
 before had partaken of the Holy Supper, 
 heading a band of men and officers, which he 
 had obtained from the Chief Priests and Pha- 
 risees ; and betraying his Master and Bene- 
 factor into their hands, with a kiss ! 
 
 — How wonderful was the courage of Je- 
 sus, that, though he knew all things that 
 should come upon him, not only remained in 
 the place, but came forth from his retreat, and 
 presented himself! This was the effect of a 
 love stronger than death. Perfect love cast- 
 eth out fear. 
 
 — How wonderful was the rebuke, and the 
 repulse, which his enemies met with! No 
 sooner did he pronounce the words, " I am 
 he," than they went backward, and fell to 
 the ground. Whether some rays of glory 
 broke from his sacred body, or whether he 
 immediately, by his power, impressed their 
 minds, we know not ; but, surely, here was 
 enough to induce them to discontinue the un- 
 hallowed enterprise. 
 
 — Yet — how wonderful, that in a few mo- 
 ments they rise, and recover heart enough 
 to approach him a second time — So that he 
 asks them again, Whom seek ye 1 And they 
 said, Jesus of Nazareth. This was partly the 
 influence of numbers. A man alone mav b«» 
 
APRIL 3. 
 
 93 
 
 often easily deterred from an evil action. But 
 it is otherwise where hand joins 'n hand, and 
 the sinner is seen and supported, and stimu- 
 lated or reproached, by his fellow-creatures. 
 It shows us, also, the hardening nature of 
 sin. When the men of Sodom were smitten 
 with blindness, they even then groped by the 
 wall to find the house where the heavenly 
 visitants were. Upon the removal of each 
 plague, when Pharaoh saw there was respite, 
 he hardened his heart. And Ahaz, in his 
 affliction, sinned yet more and more against 
 God. And of how many may it be said, 
 " Thou hast stricken them, but they have not 
 grieved ; thou hast consumed them, but they 
 have refused to receive correction : they have 
 made their faces harder than a rock; they 
 have refused to return !" 
 
 — Neither means, nor even miracles, will 
 avail, when God leaves a man to himself. 
 Persons often think that a dreadful event will 
 do what ordinances have failed to accomplish. 
 But we have known many who have been 
 stripped, and reduced ; and yet their minds 
 have not been humbled before God. They 
 have resembled fractions of ice, or stone; 
 broken, but not changed ; each piece retain- 
 ing the coldness and hardness of the mass. 
 They think that a spectre would be much 
 more efficacious than a preacher — Vain hope ! 
 If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, 
 neither would they be persuaded though one 
 rose from the dead. 
 
 O thou God of all grace, fulfil in my expe- 
 rience the promise — " A new heart also will 
 I give you, and a new spirit will I put within 
 you ; and I will take away the stony heart 
 out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart 
 of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, 
 and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye 
 shall keep my judgments, and do them." 
 
 APRIL 3. 
 
 " Jesus answered, I have told you that I am 
 he : if therefore ye seek me, let these go their 
 way." — John xviii. 8. 
 
 Here we see the Saviour's readiness to 
 Buffer. He makes not the least attempt to 
 escape from the hands of his enemies ; but 
 tells them a second time that he was the vic- 
 tim they sought after ; and yielded himself up 
 to be bound, and led away, without murmur- 
 ing or complaint. This willingness was mag- 
 nified—by the greatness of his sufferings^- 
 his knowledge of all he was to endure-^-his 
 deserving it not, but bearing it for others — 
 and his power of escape. 
 
 Here we see his tenderness towards his 
 disciples. He would not have them die or 
 suffer; or at present, even be apprehended 
 and alarmed. They were unable to bear it. 
 They could not follow him now. He has the 
 same heart still, and from this instance of his 
 
 conduct, we may conclude — Thut he will 
 suffer no affliction t • befall his disciples, un- 
 less for some wise and useful purpose — That 
 he will sympathize with them in their suffer- 
 ing — That he will afford them support and 
 comfort — That in due time he will wipe away- 
 all tears from their eyes. 
 
 Here also we see his authority and dominion 
 over their adversaries. We are mistaken if 
 we suppose that he presented a request, when 
 he said, If ye seek me, let these go their way. 
 A request would have been nothing in the 
 present state of their minds, and provided, as 
 they were, with officers, and an armed band 
 of Roman soldiers. It was in the nature and 
 force of a command. It was an absolute in- 
 junction. " I will not surrender unless these 
 are allowed to depart. You shall not touch a 
 hair of their head." Accordingly they make 
 not the least objection, and suffer them to re- 
 tire unmolested. 
 
 This was in character with his whole his- 
 tory. In his penury he always displayed his 
 riches ; in his deepest abasement he emitted 
 some rays of his glory — The manhood was 
 seen ; but it was, so to speak, deified human- 
 ity. What majesty was combined with the 
 humiliations of his birth — and of his death ! 
 Does he here submit? He is a conqueror, 
 demanding his own terms, and obtaining them. 
 
 And did not this serve to enhance the sin 
 of his disciples in denying and forsaking him 1 
 They were overcome by the fear of man. 
 But what had they to fear) Did they not 
 here see that their enemies were under his 
 control ; and could do nothing without his 
 permission ) Did he not here obtain for them 
 a passport, insuring their escape and safety ? 
 Yet they have not courage and confidence 
 enough to declare themselves on his side, and 
 to stand by him ! 
 
 And do we not resembje them ) How often 
 do we shrink back from the avowal of our 
 principles, or turn aside from the performance 
 of some trying duty ! And wherefore 1 We 
 also yield to the fear of man, that bringeth a 
 snare. Yet what can man, what can devils, 
 do unto us) Satan could not sift Peter, nor 
 touch an article of Job's estate, till leave was 
 granted him. Our foes are all chained ; and 
 the extent of their reach is determined by the 
 pleasure of him who loved us well enough to 
 die for us. If he careth for us, it is enough. 
 
 When shall we realize this, and go on our 
 way rejoicing ) If he says to events. Let that 
 man succeed in his calling; opposition and 
 difficulties are nothing— he gets forward: the 
 blessing of the Lord maketh rich. If he says 
 to sickness, Touch not that individual ; the 
 pestilence may walk in darkness, and the 
 destruction rage at noon-day : a thousand may 
 fall at his side, and ten thousand at his right 
 hand — it shall not come nigh him. If he has 
 any thing more for us to do or suffer, though life 
 be holden bv a rotten thread, that thread is 
 
!« 
 
 APRIL 4, 5. 
 
 jiore than cable — we are immortal till our 
 shange comes. 
 
 •• Hast thou not given thy word 
 To save my soul from death 1 
 And I can trust my Lord 
 To keep my mortal breath, 
 I'll go and come, 
 Nor fear to die, 
 'Till from on high 
 Thou call me, home." 
 
 APRIL 4. 
 
 ♦' Christ died for us." — Rom. v. 8. 
 
 So have many. All those who have paid 
 w\th their lives to the injured laws of their 
 country have died for us ; and if we derive 
 not improvement from it, the fault is our own. 
 The world drowned in the Deluge, perished 
 for us. The Jews, whose carcasses fell in the 
 wilderness, suffered, as the Apostle tells us, 
 as ensamples and admonitions to us. We 
 have buried friends and relations ; but 
 
 " For us they languish, and for us they die." 
 That husband of her youth ; that wife of his 
 bosom ; that child of their love — have been 
 removed, to wean the heart from earth, and 
 to show how frail we are. 
 
 But are we going to rank the death of 
 Christ with such deaths as these ? We would 
 rather class it with that of an Apostle : " If I 
 be offered," says Paul to the Philippians, 
 " upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, 
 I joy and rejoice with you." This was noble. 
 But was Paul crucified for us ? 
 
 —No—" It is Christ that died"— His death 
 is peculiar and pre-eminent — infinitely pecu- 
 liar and pre-eminent. This was indicated by 
 the prodigies that attended it. Yet on these 
 we shall not enlarge. Neither shall we dwell 
 on the many touching circumstances of his 
 death. Such a tragical representation may 
 be derived from the history as would draw 
 tears from every eye, while the heart may be 
 unaffected with, and the mind even uninform- 
 ed of, the grand design of his death. The 
 question is — What was this design ? 
 
 Some tell us that it was to confirm the truth 
 of his doctrine, by the testimony of his blood ; 
 and to suffer, leaving us an example, that we 
 should follow his steps. And this is true. And 
 we believe it as fully as those who will go no 
 further. But is this the whole, or the princi- 
 pal part of the design ? We appeal to the 
 Scriptures. There we learn, that He died fbr 
 us, as an expiation of our guilt, and to make 
 reconciliation for the sins of the people. 
 There we see that He died for us as a sacri- 
 fice, a ransom, a substitute — that He redeem- 
 ed us from the curse of the Law, being made 
 a curse fbr us — that He once suffered for sins, 
 the just for the unjust, that he might bring us 
 unto God. 
 
 — Exclude this, and the language of the 
 Bible becomes perfectly embarrassing and un- 
 intelligible. Exclude this, and what becomes 
 
 of the legal sacrifices'! They were snAcnws 
 without a substance : they prefigured nothing. 
 For there is no relation between them and 
 his death, as he was a martyr, and an exam- 
 ple : but there is a full conformity between 
 them and his death, as he was an atonement. 
 Exclude this, and how are his sufferings to be 
 accounted for at all ? For he did not die for 
 the sins of others, and he had none of hi? 
 own. Where, then, is the God of judgment? 
 That be far from Him to do after this man- 
 ner ; to slay the righteous with the wicked. 
 So far the Jews reasoned well : they rejected 
 him, for they considered him stricken, smitten 
 of God, and afflicted. And so he was : but he 
 was wounded for our transgressions ; he was 
 bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement 
 of our peace was upon him; and with his 
 stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, 
 have gone astray : we have turned every one 
 to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on 
 him the iniquity of us all." Exclude this, 
 and with what can we meet the conscience, 
 burdened with guilt? With what can we 
 ans\Ver the inquiry, How shall I come before 
 the Lord? With what can we wipe the 
 tear of godly grief? But we have boldness 
 to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus. 
 Surely he hath borne our grief, and carried 
 our sorrow. His death was an offering and a 
 sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. 
 The all-sufficiency, and the acceptableness, 
 were evinced, by his discharge from the grave, 
 and his being received up into glory. — There, 
 within the veil, our hope finds anchorage- 
 
 " Jesus, my great High Priest, 
 
 Offer'd his blood, and died; 
 My guilty conscience seeks 
 
 No sacrifice beside: 
 His powerful blood did once atone, 
 And now it pleads before the throne." 
 
 Yet even this is not all the design. Christ 
 died for us, not only to reconcile us, but to re- 
 novate ; not only to justify us, but to sanctify. 
 The one is as necessary to our recovery as 
 the other. And both equally flow from the 
 Cross. For he gave himself for us, that he 
 might redeem us from all iniquity ; and purify 
 unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
 good works. 
 
 "Oh! the sweet wonders of that Cross, 
 
 Where God, my Saviour, groan'd and died ! 
 My noblest life tier spirit draws 
 From his dear wounds and bleeding sidr " 
 
 APRIL 5. 
 
 " He -was buried." — 1 Cor. xv. 4. 
 
 The resurrection of our Saviour necessarily 
 pre-supposes his death, but not his burial. 
 His burial was an additional thing : and, as 
 his flesh could not see corruption, seemed an 
 unnecessary one — But it is worthy of our 
 notice. 
 
 Who begged his body for interment? It 
 was Joseph and Nicodemus. And here wp 
 
APRIL I. 
 
 i#> 
 
 cannot help remarking these petitioners them- 
 selves. Not many wise men after the flesh, 
 not many mighty, not many noble, are called ; 
 out these men were of distinguished rank and 
 condition in life. A few of these there have 
 Deen in every age of the Church ; sufficient 
 — to show, not that the cause of God depends 
 upon them, but to redeem religion from the 
 prejudice, that it suits the vulgar only ; and 
 also to prove the power of divine grace, in 
 counteracting temptation. Yet, down to this 
 period, Joseph and Nicodemus had not been 
 persons of much promise : so far from it, they 
 were ashamed and afraid to have their regard 
 to our Lord known, when his disciples were 
 professing their resolution to follow him to 
 prison and to death. Behold the change! 
 The latter, in the hour of trial, forsake him, 
 and flee: the former come, and openly ac- 
 knowledge him. Let us all seek after more 
 grace ; but let none trust in themselves, or 
 despise others. " The strong may be as tow ;" 
 and " the fee Lie may be as David." The man 
 of whom we now think nothing, may acquire 
 confidence and zeal ; and not only pass us in 
 the road, but leave us very far behind in at- 
 tainments and usefulness. " Who hath des- 
 pised the day of small things 1 A bruised 
 reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax 
 shall he not quench, till he send forth judg- 
 ment unto victory." 
 
 — Who attend as mourners 1 " The women 
 also, which came with him from Galilee, fol- 
 lowed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and 
 how his body was laid." With us, some days 
 elapse before interment; but ^ here, only two 
 hours were allowed between his execution 
 and his burial. If, indeed, his body had not 
 been implored by Joseph and Nicodemus, it 
 would have been interred at Golgotha — 
 thrown into a hole dug under the cross. 
 
 — Who carried the sacred corpse, we know 
 not ; but they had not far to bear it — " for 
 the sepulchre was nigh at hand." This was 
 not a grave of earth, but of stone; hewn out 
 of a rock. Thus there was only one avenue 
 leading to it; no one, therefore, could ap- 
 proach it from the sides, or behind ; and the 
 entrance was watched, guarded, and sealed. 
 It .was also a new tomb, in which never man 
 was laid. And here, again, we see the hand 
 of God : . for had there been other bodies, 
 some would have pretended collusion, and the 
 evidence could not have been so simple and 
 complete as it now was, when the body lay 
 alone there. Finally; it was not his own. 
 His followers are maid after the honours and 
 riches of the world ; but, living and dying, he 
 had not where to lay his head. He was born 
 in another man's house, and buried in another 
 man's grave. 
 
 — But why was he buried at alii First. 
 His burial was an additional confirmation of 
 uis death, upon which every thing depended. 
 Kn examination was made while he was upon 
 
 the cross; and finding him dead already, 
 thej brake not his legs ; but a soldier pierced 
 his side, and forthwith came thereout blood 
 and water — But now his mouth, and nostrils, 
 and ears were all filled with the odours and 
 spices — and who can question a man's death 
 when he is buried 7 Secondly. It was the 
 completion of his humiliation. " They have 
 brought me into the dust of death." Now 
 that he ascended, what is it but that he de- 
 scended first into the lowest parts of the 
 earth 1 Thirdly. By this he sanctified the 
 grave, and prepared it for his people. They 
 would have been afraid to go in, but he enter- 
 ed it before them. They can lie in his bed, 
 after him. He has freed it from every horror. 
 He has softened it, and made it easy for them. 
 " And there was Mary Magdalene, and the 
 other Mary, sitting over against the sepul- 
 chre." Let us sit by them, and contemplate. 
 There lies in that rock, He who made it. 
 There are sealed up, the lips which said, 
 " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest" There 
 are closed, the eyes which always beamed 
 compassion ; and wept for human wo. There, 
 cold, are the hands which were laid on little 
 children, to bless them, and that delivered the 
 widow's son to his mother. There lies, the 
 life of the world ; and the hope of Israel. He 
 was fairer than the children of men — He was 
 the image of the invisible God — He went 
 about doing good — He was rich, and for our 
 sakes, became poor — 
 
 "Come, saints, and drop a tear or two, 
 
 For Him who groan'd beneath your load : 
 He shed a thousand drops for you, 
 A thousand drops of richer blood." 
 
 On the tombs of mortals, however illus 
 trious, the humbling sentence is inscribed, 
 " Here he lies." But I hear the angel say- 
 ing, " Come, see the place where the Lord 
 lay." He was dead — but is alive again — and 
 because He lives, we shall live also — 
 
 " Break off your tears, ye saints, and tell 
 
 How high your great Deliv'rer reigns 
 Sing how he spoil'd the hosts of hell, 
 
 And led the monster, Death, in chains. 
 Say — ' Live for ever, wondrous King ! 
 
 Born to redeem, and strong to save.' 
 Then ask the monster, Where 's thy sting ? 
 
 And where 's thy victory, boasting Grave 1" 
 
 APRIL 6. 
 
 "After that he -was seen of above five hundred 
 brethren at once ; of -whom the greater part 
 remain unto this present, but some are fallen 
 asleep" — 1 Cor. xv. 6. 
 
 As the resurrection of our Lord and Sa- 
 viour is of such unspeakable importance, it 
 cannot be too clearly, and fully ascertained. 
 Now the way to prove a fact, is to call in 
 evidence : and if, in the mouth of two or throe 
 witnesses, every word shall be established — 
 
96 
 
 APRIL 7. 
 
 what shall we say, when we meet with such 
 a cloud of witnesses as the Apostle here 
 brings forward ] — witnesses the most compe- 
 tent; eye-witnesses; ear-witnesses; witnesses 
 who even handled the Word of Life — men, 
 not of hasty credence, but slow of heart to 
 believe; men, whose despondence was only 
 to be done away, by proof the most undenia- 
 ble, and upon which they hazarded every 
 thing dear to them ; and braved reproach, and 
 suffering, and death. 
 
 — This interview took place in Galilee, 
 where our Lord had principally resided, and 
 preached, and done his wonderful works. 
 There he was best known, and chiefly fol- 
 lowed. Before his death, he had said, " After 
 I am risen again, I will go before you into 
 Galilee." On the morning of his resurrec- 
 tion, we find the angel knew of this design ; 
 and, therefore, meeting the woman, he said, 
 u Go quickly, and tell his disciples, that 
 he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he 
 goeth before you into Galilee, there shall ye 
 see him; lo! I have told you." Influenced 
 by this authority, " the eleven disciples went 
 iway into Galilee, into a mountain where Je- 
 ms had appointed them." From whence it 
 appears, that the very spot had been named. 
 And, from the words of the Apostle, it is cer- 
 ain that the disciples did not repair to it 
 done ; but having made 1 known among their 
 annexions the approaching interview with a 
 lisen Saviour, they enjoyed the privilege, iu 
 fompany with this large assembly. " He was 
 ieen of above five hundred brethren at once ; 
 »f whom the greater part remain unto this 
 present ; but some are fallen asleep" — Every 
 ihing here is striking. 
 
 The name — "Brethren." O lovely dis- 
 tinction ! When will ; t swallow up every 
 other 1 When shall the religious world re- 
 member, that all real Christians, notwith- 
 standing their differences, are all justified by 
 the same blood ; sanctified by the same grace ; 
 travelling the same way ; heirs of the same 
 glory ; children of the same Father, of whom 
 the whole family in heaven and earth is 
 named?" 
 
 The number — " Above five hundred." We 
 were not aware that he had so many adhe- 
 rents. In Jerusalem they' could only bring 
 together one hundred and twenty. But there 
 were more in the country. Let us not judge 
 of our Lord's followers by a particular place 
 or party. Let us remember, that he has his 
 hidden ones, whom circumstances may never 
 bring to our notice. How surprised should 
 we be, if any event was to draw them toge- 
 ther from their various retreats — "These, 
 where have they been?" — What a multitude, 
 then, which no man can number, will there 
 be, when they shall be all assembled, out of 
 all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
 Ungues ! 
 
 The ravages of time — " Sone have fallen 
 
 asleep." And no wcnder, in the lapse of six 
 and-twenty years. Who has not, during such 
 a period, been summoned to the grave to 
 weep there 1 Whose heart within him has 
 not been desolate, at the loss of friends and 
 relations 1 Even the Church has not been a 
 sanctuary from the robber and spoiler. The 
 wise, and the good ; the holy, and the useful : 
 the followers and witnesses of the Redeemer, 
 have finished their course, and their testimo- 
 ny, and have slept the sleep of death. 
 
 Distinguished preservations—" The great- 
 er part remain unto this present" — The ma- 
 jority of five hundred spared so many years ! 
 — When, from the numberless perils of life, 
 it was marvellous that any one of them should 
 have lived even a week, or a day ! Have we 
 survived others'? Let us not ascribe it to our 
 own care, or the goodness of our constitution ; 
 but say, with Caleb, when so many carcasses 
 fell in the Wilderness, " The Lord hath kept 
 me alive." 
 
 And let us be concerned, that protracted 
 life be devoted to him, who is " the length of 
 our days," and " the God of our salvation." 
 
 APRIL 7. 
 
 " Thou -wilt not leave my soul in hell ; neither 
 ■wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see cor 
 ruption. Thou -wilt shoia me the path of life : 
 in thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy 
 right hand there are pleasures for ever 
 more." — Psalm xvi. 10, 11. 
 
 Our Lord tells us of many things concern- 
 ing himself, not only in the Law of Moseg 
 and in the Prophets, but in the Psalms. Some 
 have contended, that he is immediately re- 
 garded in every passage in them. This error, 
 arising from a noble truth carried too far, has 
 led the holders of it to take liberties with the 
 translation, and with the original too. We 
 may safely follow the applications of the Holy 
 Ghost ; and we are sure, from the language 
 of Peter in the Acts of the Apostles, that in 
 the words before us, David speaks of the Mes- 
 siah, or rather introduces the Messiah him- 
 self as the speaker. 
 
 Jesus knew that he was to suffer, and die ; 
 but he knew, also, that death could not feed 
 upon him. He knew he should be laid in 
 the grave ; but he knew, also, that he should 
 not remain there — Thou wilt not leave my 
 soul in hell. Hell, here, does not mean the 
 place of the miserable, but the abode of the 
 dead. This he entered; but continued not 
 long enough there for dissolution to commence : 
 " Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to 
 see corruption." 
 
 The path of life was his passage from the 
 sepulchre to glory ; from the tomb of Joseph 
 to the palace of the Great King. This path 
 no one had yet trodden. Enoch, and Elias, 
 
APRIL 8. 
 
 97 
 
 latl entered heaven, but did not go thither 
 from the grave. Thousands had entered 
 heaven, but left their bodies behind. But He 
 did not leave his body. He is therefore call- 
 ed, the first-born from the dead, because he 
 was the first that entered heaven after lying 
 in the grave. He was the first-born, too, in 
 the dignity and influence of the life he real- 
 ized. Lazarus, and the widow of Nain's son, 
 and others, though they were revived, died 
 again. But he, being raised from the dead, 
 dieth no more ; death hath no more dominion 
 over him. He lives as no one else ever lived, 
 or ever will live. He lives, having the keys 
 of hell and of death. He lives in the posses- 
 sion of all power in heaven and in earth. He 
 lives as our Head and Representative ; as the 
 source of all spiritual influence ; as the Fa- 
 ther of the everlasting age. And he shall see 
 his seed, and shall prolong his days ; and the 
 pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his 
 hand. 
 
 And because he lives, we shall live also. 
 His resurrection is the model, the cause, the 
 proof, and the earnest, of our own. For there 
 is a union between Christ and Christians, by 
 which they are federally and vitally one. 
 When, therefore, he died, they were cruci- 
 fied with him; and when he arose and ascend- 
 ed, they were quickened together with him, 
 and raised up, and made to sit with him in 
 the heavenly places. And though their bodies 
 return to the dust, they will not see corrup- 
 tion for ever — for this corruptible shall put on 
 incorruption, and this mortal shall put on im- 
 mortality. 
 
 The believer, therefore, can also say, Thou 
 wilt show me the path of life. This life 
 means the blessedness reserved in heaven for 
 the people of God, after the resurrection. 
 David here describes it — In thy presence is 
 fulness of joy : at thy right hand there are 
 pleasures for evermore. It has three charac- 
 ters. The first regards its source — It flows 
 from " his presence." He is the fountain of 
 life, and the supreme good of the mind. 
 
 The second regards its plenitude — It is 
 fulness of joy. In this vale of tears every 
 pleasure has its pain, and every comfort its 
 cross. We pursue satisfaction, but we grasp 
 vanity and vexation. We look to Jesus, and 
 find him the consolation of Israel. But con- 
 solation supposes trouble. His followers are 
 described, not only by their rejoicing, but 
 their mourning— without they have fightings, 
 and within they have fears. They have 
 blessed frames ; and in some religious exer- 
 cises, they seem to be partakers of the glory 
 that shall be revealed. And so they are ; but 
 it is by a glimpse, a taste, a drop — the fulness 
 is above. 
 
 The third regards its permanency — The 
 
 pleasures are for evermore. Uncertainty, as 
 
 well as deficiency, attaches to every thing 
 
 aere. We embrace our connexions, and, lo ! 
 
 N 9 
 
 they are gone. We set our hearts on thai 
 which is not 
 
 If there was a possibility of the destruction, 
 or loss of the blessedness above, we should be 
 miserable in proportion to its greatness. From 
 the moment of knowing it, the thought would 
 poison all the joy. But — It is a crown of 
 glory that fadeth not away. It is everlast- 
 ing life ! 
 
 APRIL 8. 
 "Ifby any means I might attain unto the re- 
 surrection of the dead." — Phil. iii. 11. 
 Here the subject of consideration is, the 
 resurrection of the dead ! But it is obvious 
 the Apostle does not refer to it as an event ; 
 for as an event it will be universal, and we 
 shall be the subjects of it, whether we are 
 willing or unwilling — for there will be "a 
 resurrection of the dead, both of the just and 
 of the unjust." But he refers to it as a 
 privilege. That can hardly be called a 
 deliverance that takes a man out of a bad 
 condition, and consigns him to a worse. 
 What is it for a criminal to be led out of 
 prison to be tried, and condemned, and exe 
 cuted 1 What is it for the body to be re- 
 vived, but not renovated — inheriting the 
 principles of all the evils entailed upon it by 
 sin, and rendered immortal for the duration 
 of misery 1 The grave is better than hell. 
 But while some will come forth unto the re- 
 surrection of damnation, others will come 
 forth unto the resurrection of life — a resur- 
 rection that shall change the vile body, and 
 fashion it like the Saviour's own glorious 
 body — and complete all that the Saviour has 
 procured for us, and the Gospel has promised 
 to us. 
 
 With regard to the acquisition of a share 
 in this blessedness, the Apostle makes use of 
 language that implies — valuation — difficulty 
 — variety — submission : "Ifby any means 1 
 might attain unto the resurrection of the 
 dead." 
 
 — It implies valuation of the object Things 
 may be important in themselves, and not 
 prized by those whom they concern. And 
 we see this with regard to the hlessings of 
 the Gospel : for though they are as superior 
 to all worldly good as the heavens are higher 
 than the earth, yet men make fight of them; 
 and were we to judge of eternal salvation by 
 the regard paid to it by the multitude, we 
 should consider it a trifle unworthy a mo- 
 ment's serious thought. But what is it in 
 the view of awakened souls 7 The " pil- 
 grim," when leaving the City of Destruction, 
 and implored by his friends and family to re- 
 turn, put his fingers in his ears, and ran, cry- 
 ing, Life ! life ! eternal life ! Such wait f 
 the Lord more than they tnat watch for 
 morning. They hunger and thirst 
 

 98 
 
 APRIL 8. 
 
 righteousness. They count all things but 
 loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
 Christ Jesus their Lord. "Every thing," 
 6ays Paul, " compared with this, is nothing." 
 This is the prize of my high calling. If I 
 miss it, I am undone for ever. If I reach it, 
 the possession will realize all my hopes and 
 desires — The very prospect, as I can make 
 it my own, enlivens and cheers me in all my 
 labours and sufferings — " If by any means I 
 might attain unto the resurrection of the 
 dead." 
 
 — It implies the difficulty of the acquire- 
 ment. All excellent things require applica- 
 tion and diligence ; and he who rationally 
 expects success must be determined, and 
 bring his mind to exertion and endurance. 
 What pains and patience are necessary to 
 attain human learning ! " There is no royal 
 way to geometry." And is Divine wisdom 
 the prey of the idle and careless 1 Must we 
 labour for the meat that perisheth ; and can 
 we, without labour, obtain that meat which 
 endureth unto everlasting life ) No, says the 
 Saviour, even in the very passage in which 
 he speaks of " giving it" — where it is obvi- 
 ous, therefore, that the giving is not opposed 
 to diligence, but desert. How readest thou'? 
 " Strive to enter in at the strait gate." 
 "Work out your salvation with fear and 
 trembling." " Fight the good fight of faith, 
 and lay hold on eternal life." But take those 
 who, in their religion, know nothing of the 
 privations and hardships of the soldier ; no- 
 thing of the unbending alacrity of the racer; 
 who never redeemed their time ; whose day 
 is only distinguished from their night by the 
 substitution of sloth for sleep ; who exercise 
 no self-denial ; who never mortify the deeds 
 of the body ; whose souls do not follow hard 
 after God ; would it not be perfectly absurd for 
 one of these to say, " If by any means I might 
 attain unto the resurrection of the dead T' 
 
 — It implies variety in the manner of 
 reaching glory. This does not apply to the 
 procuring of the blessing. This is done al- 
 ready. Jesus said, as he expired, " It is 
 finished." He made peace by the blood of 
 his cross ; and brought in everlasting right- 
 eousness; and all that believe on him are 
 justified from all things. At the Deluge 
 people could be drowned any where ; but 
 there was only one ark. The way of salva- 
 tion has been always the same from the be- 
 ginning ; but the methods by which this salva- 
 tion is applied are various. Various are the 
 means employed in our conversion ; and vari- 
 ous are the courses of duty in which we 
 actually obtain the promise. All the Lord's 
 people obey ; for he is the author of eternal 
 salvation only to them that obey him : but 
 they are called to obey in very different ways. 
 One is required to act th ', Christian in single, 
 
 another in relative life. One fills a public 
 station ; another a private. Some are to re- 
 ceive with gratitude ; others are to give with 
 cheerfulness. Some must discharge the 
 duties of prosperity ; others those of adversity. 
 Our sufferings, too, vary as well as our ser- 
 vices. One glorifies God by bearing reproach 
 and persecution ; another by enduring bodii} 
 pain and infirmities. These have much out- 
 ward trouble ; and those more inward conflict. 
 Each is to take up his cross, and to follow 
 the Lamb whithersoever he goetft. For, 
 
 Finally, it implies submission — not pre- 
 scribing ; not objecting ; but referring every 
 thing to the divine pleasure — " If by any 
 means I might attain unto the resurrection 
 of the dead. Whatever they are, I bow to 
 them." This implicit submission is neces- 
 sary, to evince the earnestness, and even 
 sincerity of our conviction. If a patient 
 really believes, and feels his disease and 
 danger, he will show it by readiness to yield 
 to the remedies the physician enjoins, how- 
 ever trying they may be. Here, indeed, the 
 great contention lies with many. It does not 
 regard the end : they would have heaven— 
 but not by any means — it must be by those 
 of their own devising or choosing. Are not 
 the rivers of Damascus better than all the 
 waters of Jordan ] May I not wash in them, 
 and be clean t But when a man is at the 
 point to die for ever — he will acquiesce in any 
 means of deliverance, however mysterious to 
 his reason, however humiliating to his pride, 
 however adverse to his sin and sloth. 
 
 God will have the whole management of 
 our case ; or he will have nothing to do with 
 it. And he ought to have it. The submis- 
 sion is an homage due to his sovereignty. 
 We have no claim upon him ; and it is mercy 
 and grace the most wonderful, that he will 
 save and bless us at all. We owe it, also, to 
 his wisdom and goodness : for, though he is 
 a Sovereign, in the exercise of his prerogative 
 he does not act arbitrarily ; but does all things 
 well : his work is perfect The issue, too, is 
 such as to justify our submission to any 
 means in securing it. In earthly things, the 
 honey does not always pay for the sting ; noi 
 the rose for the thorns. But here the suc- 
 cess will infinitely more than remunerate all 
 our services and sacrifices. And the success 
 also is sure. How many cases are there, in 
 which means, any means, may be used in 
 vain ! The race is not always to the swift, 
 nor the battle to the strong. In every de- 
 partment of human enterprise, the successful 
 candidates are few. Yea, the event in no 
 other pursuit is infallible. But if you are 
 like-minded with Paul, you need not fear the 
 result. The gate of mercy was never yet 
 shut against a returning sinner. Their liRart 
 shall live that seek God. 
 
APRIL 9, 10. 
 
 «J0 
 
 APRIL 9. 
 
 - JVow if ite be dead -with Christ, we believe 
 that -we shall also live -with him" — Rom. 
 vi. 8. 
 
 The death and the resurrection of Christ 
 constitute the substance of the Gospel : and 
 our concern with them, as doctrinal truths, 
 includes more than our admitting them into 
 our creed. They must become internal prin- 
 ciples, and produce in us corresponding effects. 
 He died ; and we must be dead — dead to the 
 law ; not as a rule of life, but as a covenant 
 of works. Dead to the world: not as the 
 scene of God's wonderful works; nor as a 
 sphere of duty, or a field of usefulness ; but 
 as the enemy of God, and our portion. Dead 
 to sin — This includes nothing less than our 
 avoiding it ; but it intends much more : we 
 may be alive to it even while we forsake it 
 But we must no longer love, or relish it — and 
 thus no longer live in it How shall we that 
 are dead to sin live any longer therein 1 
 
 We must be dead with him. We are dead 
 with him virtually. For he is the Head and 
 Representative of his Church ; and therefore 
 what he did for his people is considered as 
 done by them. We are dead with him effi- 
 ciently. For there is an influence derived 
 from his Cross, which mortifies us to sin ; and 
 this influence is not moral only, consisting in 
 'he force of argument and motive — though 
 this is true ; and nothing shows the evil of 
 sin, or the love of the Saviour, like Calvarv : 
 but it is spiritual also. He died to purify, "as 
 wed as to redeem ; and he not only made re- 
 conciliation for the sins of the people, but 
 received gifts for men, and secured the 
 agency of the Holy Spirit There is no real 
 holiness separate from the grace of the Cross. 
 There he draws all men unto him. We are 
 dead with him as to resemblance. We are 
 planted together in the likeness of his death ; 
 and therefore our death is called, as well as 
 his, a crucifixion : " Knowing this, that our 
 old man is crucified with him, that the body 
 of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we 
 should not serve sin." I am, says the Apostle, 
 not only dead, but crucified with Christ 
 That mode of dying was a painful one ; and 
 a visible one; and a gradual one; and a 
 sure one : for the moment the body was fast- 
 ened to the cross, it was as good as dead; the 
 bones might be broken to accelerate the 
 event but it was never taken down alive. 
 All tliis is easily applied to the crucifying of 
 the flesh, with the affections and lusts. 
 
 But he rose, and now lives — and we shall 
 live with him. That is — in consequence of 
 his living. Because he lives, we shall live 
 also. For we are quickened together with 
 Christ and are raised up, and made to sit to- 
 gether in heavenly places. That is— in his 
 company. Where I am, there shall also my 
 servant be. We have much in heaven to en- 
 J "~- t. How delightful will it be to join our 
 
 friends with all their infirmities done away — 
 But to depart, to be with Christ, is far better. 
 That is — in fellowship with him. We may 
 live with another, and not live like him. 
 We may be with another, and behold his 
 estate, but not share it But when he who is 
 our life shall appear, we also shall appear 
 with him in glory. I appoint unto you, says 
 he to his disciples, a kingdom, as my Father 
 hath appointed unto me: that ye may eat 
 and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and 
 sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes r 
 Israel. Even our vile body shall be fashioned 
 like his own glorious body. And the same 
 duration attaches to his blessedness, and ours. 
 I am alive, says he, for evermore ; and our end 
 is everlasting life. 
 
 Finally, Paul believed all this. And let 
 us do the same : but let us believe it as he 
 did. That is — Let us believe that we shall 
 live with him, if we be dead with him. 
 Some believe it without this. But their faith 
 is only presumption. Whatever they rely 
 upon, whether their knowledge, or orthodoxy, 
 or talking, or profession ; they are only pre- 
 paring for themselves the most bitter disap- 
 pointment — if they are not dead unto sin, and 
 delivered from the present evil world — for 
 if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he 
 is none of his. 
 
 — But let us also believe that if we be 
 dead with him, we shall also live with him. 
 The inclusion is as sure as the exclusion ; 
 and takes in every diversity, and degree of 
 grace. Whatever be their apprehensions of 
 themselves, none of them all shall come short 
 of this glory. It is as certain as the promise, 
 and oath, and covenant of God, and the death 
 and intercession of the Saviour, and the 
 pledges and earnests of immortality, can ren- 
 der it 
 
 Therefore, be not faithless, but believing. 
 It was used by Christians to animate and en- 
 courage each other, in the Apostles' days, as 
 a common and familiar aphorism ; and they 
 gave it full credit : " It is a faithful saying : 
 for if we be dead with him — we shall also 
 live with him." 
 
 APRIL 10. 
 
 " The sufferings of Christ, and the glory that 
 should follow."— 1 Peter i. II. 
 
 Connected with the sufferings of Christ 
 there was a threefold glory. 
 
 — There was a glory that preceded his 
 sufferings. This is implied in his language 
 — " I came forth from the Father :" " I came 
 down from heaven." But it is expressly 
 mentioned when he says, " The glory that I 
 had with Thee before the world began." 
 What condescension can there be where 
 there is no previous dignity ? And what pos- 
 sessions can a being claim before his exist- 
 ence 1 But he was rich, and for our sake* 
 
100 
 
 APRIL 11 
 
 became poor. He was in the form or" God, 
 and thought it no robbery to be equal with 
 God He took upon him the form of a ser- 
 vant, and made himself of no reputation. 
 
 There was a glory that accompanied his 
 sufferings. There is often much parade at 
 the death of a monarch, and, by a show of 
 greatness, an attempt is made to conceal or 
 alleviate the disgrace of real littleness. But 
 what are the suspensions of business, the 
 eplendid equipage, the tolling of bells, the 
 solemn music, the discharge of artillery — 
 
 " He dies— the heavens in mourning stood"— 
 
 The sun was darkened. The earth shook. 
 The rocks rent. The graves were opened. 
 The dead arose. Spiritual trophies, blended 
 with the prodigies of Nature. Peter's heart 
 was broken at a look. The Centurion, 
 watching, exclaimed, Surely this man was 
 (he Son of God. All the people that came 
 together to that sight smote their breasts and 
 returned. The dying thief believed with the 
 heart, and confessed with the tongue, unto 
 salvation ; and received an assurance of an 
 immediate place in paradise. And what a 
 scene of moral glory was here also displayed 
 — in his readiness to suffer ; in his apology 
 for his slumbering disciples ; in the order to 
 Peter to put up his sword ; in his healing the 
 ear of his enemy's servant ; in his stipulating 
 for the safety of his Apostles ; in his confes- 
 sion before Pontius Pilate ; in his bearing 
 without resentment the mocking, the spitting, 
 the scourging; in his sympathy with the 
 weeping daughters of Jerusalem, in his way 
 to Calvary ; in his tender concern for his wi- 
 dowed mother, on the cross ; in his prayer for 
 his murderers — Father, forgive them ; for 
 they know not what they do! — where shall 
 we end 1 Here, Celsus endeavours to turn 
 his glory into shame. Having represented 
 him as despitefully used, arrayed in purple 
 robes, crowned with thorns, and nailed to the 
 tree; he cries out, in the name of wonder, 
 Why, on this occasion at least, does he not 
 act the God'! and hurl some signal ven- 
 geance on the authors of his insults and an- 
 guish 1 But, O thou Enemy ! he does act the 
 God. Any madman on earth, or fury in hell, 
 is capable of anger, and wrath, and revenge — 
 But to bear the most shocking provocations, 
 and, though commanding the thunder and 
 the flame, forbear to punish, and only pity ! — 
 If it be the glory of a man to piss by a trans- 
 gression; and the noblest triumph to over- 
 come evil with good ; he died gloriously, be- 
 yond ail example. Yes — says even a Rous- 
 seau : If the death of Socrates was the death 
 of a sage, the death of Jesus was the death of 
 a God. 
 
 There was also a glory that followed his 
 sufferings. From the clouds that had con- 
 cealed him, he issues forth in all the radiance 
 of immortality, declared to be the Son of God 
 
 with power, by the Spirit of holiness, in his 
 resurrection from the dead. An angel de- 
 scends, and rolls away the door of the sepul- 
 chre, and sits in glory upon it; and shakes 
 the ground ; and causes the Roman guards 
 to flee for fear. His disciples are re-animat- 
 ed, and re-assembled, to whom, also, he 
 showed himself alive, after his passion, by 
 many infallible signs, being seen of them for- 
 ty days, and speaking of things pertaining to 
 the kingdom of God. See him ascend into 
 heaven, far above all principality and power, 
 and every name that is named, not only in 
 this world, but also in that which is to come. 
 Were there glories on the day of Pentecost 1 
 He shed forth that which was seen and 
 heard. He filled the Apostles with the Holy 
 Ghost, according to his promise, so that they 
 spake with new tongues, and all the people 
 heard, in their own language, the wonderful 
 works of God. And three thousand were 
 converted under one sermon. All the mira- 
 cles his servants performed were done in his 
 Name, and were rays of his glory. The esta- 
 blishment of the Gospel then, and the spread 
 of it ever since, and every soul called by 
 grace, is a part of the joy set before him, 
 wherein he sees of the travail of his soul and 
 is satisfied. 
 
 And, oh ! the glories that are yet to follow 
 — when the nations of them that are saved 
 shall walk in the light of the Lamb ! when 
 he shall sprinkle many nations ! when all na- 
 tions shall fall down before him, and all kings 
 shall serve him ! And, oh ! the glories that 
 are yet to follow, when his mediation shall be 
 completely accomplished, and he shall come 
 to be glorified in his saints, and admired in 
 all them that believe: and attract every eye. 
 and fill every heart, and employ ever}' 
 tongue, for ever ! 
 
 Saviour Jesus ! may I be with thee where 
 thou art, to behold thy glory ! 
 
 APRIL 11. 
 
 " In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye 
 call every man his neighbour under the vine 
 and under the fig-tree" — Zech. iii. 10. 
 
 Thus Inspiration characterizes the reign 
 of the Messiah — It was to be distinguished 
 by three things. 
 
 The First, Is enjoyment. The very image 
 is delightful. Vines and fig-trees were much 
 prized in the East. They afforded at once 
 delightful fruit for the taste, and refreshing 
 shade from the heat. Persons therefore re- 
 galed themselves under their branches and 
 leaves ; and thus the expression in time came 
 to signify happiness. And what said our Lord 
 to his disciples 1 Blessed are your eyes, for 
 they see ; and your ears, for they hear. Be- 
 cause Christians do not run to the same ex- 
 cess of riot with others ; and turn their back 
 
APRIL 12. 
 
 101 
 
 an tiie pleasures of sin, and the dissipations of 
 the world ; many think they are mopish and 
 melancholy. But blessed are the people that 
 know the joyful sound. It was so in the be- 
 ginning of the Gospel. Wherever it came, it 
 was received as good news, as glad tidings ; 
 and it was said of the receivers, that they 
 walked not only in the fear of the Lord, but 
 in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. It not 
 only relieved, but delighted them. It not 
 only tranquillized them, but inspired them 
 with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Have 
 we the same Gospel 1 Or do we embrace it 
 properly, if, instead of being thus blessed, it 
 leaves us in a dungeon of gloom, the victims 
 of sadness, and care, and apprehension ? 
 
 The Second, Is liberty. Slaves and cap- 
 tives did not sit under their vines and fig- 
 trees. Nor did proprietors in time of war. 
 When invaded, they were liable to the sur- 
 prises of the enemy. Then the inhabitants dis- 
 appeared from these loved, but no longer safe 
 retreats ; and longed for the time when, re- 
 leased from perils and alarms, they should go 
 forth with joy, and repose and refresh them- 
 selves again. Therefore, Rab-shakeh, to urge 
 the Jews to a surrender, said, " Make an 
 agreement with me by a present, and come 
 out to me, and then eat ye every man of his 
 own vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and 
 drink ye every one the waters of his cistern." 
 Hence we read, There was peace all the 
 days of Solomon : and from Dan to Beer- 
 6heba the people sat every man under his 
 vine and under his fig-tree. But a greater 
 than Solomon is here. In " His days shall Is- 
 rael be saved, and Judah shall dwell safely." 
 What have his subjects to fear 1 If God be 
 for us, who can be against us ? What shall 
 separate us from the love of God 1 Who is he 
 that condemneth 1 It is Christ that died, yea 
 rather, that is risen again, who is even at the 
 right hand of God, who also maketh interces- 
 sion for us. Christians may therefore give 
 up themselves to holy confidence. Their 
 souls may dwell at ease. They are free in- 
 deed. They are kept by the power of God. 
 They shall never perish, neither shall any 
 pluck them out of his hand. Let them real- 
 ize this; and feel a peace that passeth all un- 
 derstanding, keeping their hearts and minds 
 through Christ Jesus. Let them say, "I 
 will trust and not be afraid ; for the Lord Je- 
 hovah is my strength and my song ; he also 
 is become my salvation." 
 
 The Third, Is benevolence. Ye shall call 
 every man his neighbour under the vine, and 
 under the fig-tree. There is nothing like 
 selfishness here — they are anxious that others 
 should partake of their privileges. There is 
 no envy here — there is no room for it Here 
 is enough not only for themselves, but for 
 their neighbours — and for all of them. 
 
 And if we are Christians indeed, our hap- 
 piness, instead of being impaired by the expe- 
 9* 
 
 rience of others, will be increased by it Let 
 us therefore remember the lepers. They had 
 discovered plenty, and were regaling them- 
 selves, while their fellow-citizens were per- 
 ishing with famine in Samaria. But con- 
 science smote them, and " they said one to 
 another, 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." 
 Thus the first subjects of Christianity said to 
 the spiritually destitute and dying, "That 
 which we have seen and heard declare we 
 unto you, that ye also may have fellowship 
 with us : and truly our fellowship is with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" 
 Cursed be the temper of the elder brother 
 that turned wretched at the tears of joy that 
 bedewed the beard of an aged father, and the 
 ecstasies of a family thrown into transport at 
 the return and reception of the prodigal. Let 
 me resemble in every feeling of my soul those 
 happy beings who rejoice in the presence of 
 God over one sinner that repenteth. Let me 
 invite all that come within my reach to that 
 mercy which I have found. Let me say, O 
 taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed 
 is the man that trusteth in him. And let me 
 do this not only by my lips, but by all my 
 temper, and all my conduct — holding forth 
 the word of life. 
 
 APRIL 12. 
 
 " Being justified freely by his grace through 
 the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." — 
 Rom. iii. 24. 
 
 Here we have an answer to the most im- 
 portant and interesting of all inquiries — 
 " How shall man be just with God"!" 
 
 To be justified is to be acquitted from the 
 charge brought against us, and absolved from 
 the condemnation with which we were 
 threatened. With regard to us, the condem- 
 nation was deserved, and the charge was 
 deserved, and the charge was true. This 
 renders the case so difficult and peculiar; 
 and calls for the Apostle's development. 
 
 But in exposing the source of the privilege, 
 he seems to use a tautology — " Being justifi- 
 ed freely by his graced If it be done freely, 
 it must be of grace : and if it be gracious, it 
 must be free. Yet this is not saying too 
 much. Paul knew that men were proud, 
 and vain : and that as Simon Magus though', 
 of purchasing the Holy Ghost with money, so 
 they, in dealing with God about their souls, 
 wish to be merchants, rather than suppliants ; 
 and would seem to buy, while they are com- 
 pelled to beg. But surely, if it be not say- 
 ing too much, it is saying enough. Surely, 
 after this, the freeness and graciousness of 
 the thing cannot be questioned. It is not onh 
 
102 
 
 APRIL 13. 
 
 free and gracious, as opposed to constraint, 
 but as opposed to worthiness. Merit in a sin- 
 ner, is impossible — his desert lies all on the 
 other side. There he is worthy — and worthy 
 of death. A man, who asks a favour, may 
 have no claim upon you ; but you may also 
 nave no demand upon him ; and, therefore, 
 though you may justly refuse him, yet you 
 have no right to apprehend, and punish him. 
 But God has a right to punish, and destroy us; 
 and it is of his mercies that we are not con- 
 sumed. It is also free and gracious, as op- 
 posed to desire. This is undeniable, with re- 
 gard to the constitution and accomplishment 
 of the plan itself— for these long preceded 
 even our being. But is it true, with regard 
 to the application of it 1 The Publican pray- 
 ed, God be merciful to me a sinner: and 
 went down to his house justified. And you 
 sought, and found. .-But what induced you to 
 seek 1 A sense of your want of the blessing. 
 But how came you to feel this, after being so 
 long insensible of it"! Hearing such a preacher. 
 But who made this preacher, and sent him, 
 and placed him in your way, and applied 
 what he said to your heart 1 — And the same 
 may be asked, with regard to any other in- 
 strumentality. Go as far back as you please ; 
 when you arrive, you will find Him there 
 before you, with all his preparations and ex- 
 citements; and will hear Him say, as you 
 approach, "Come, for all things are now 
 ready." 
 
 But the Apostle tells us of the medium of 
 the privilege — " Through the redemption that 
 is in Christ Jesus." And it is obvious he did 
 not deem this inconsistent with the former. 
 He knew that it was still freely by his grace. 
 It was with God to determine whether the 
 law should take its course, or the penalty be 
 transferred to the surety: for the sentence 
 was, " The soul that sinneth it shall die." It 
 was, therefore, an instance of his sovereign 
 grace, to admit a substitute. Besides, if he 
 required reparation, he himself provided the 
 Lamb for a burnt offering. Herein "God 
 hath commended his love toward us, in that 
 while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
 us :" and hence the exclamation, " Herein is 
 love ; not that we loved God, but that he* 
 loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitia- 
 tion for our sins." We have an illustration 
 of this, in the case of Job's friends. They 
 had displeased God ; and yet he was willing 
 that they should be reconciled. He there- 
 fore ordered a proceeding that should be 
 available: "Therefore take unto you now 
 seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my 
 servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a 
 burnt offering ; and my servant Job shall pray 
 for you : for him will I accept : lest I deal 
 with you after your folly." The sacrifice, 
 and the intercession of Job, did not dispose 
 Gal to show mem mercy, for he prescribed 
 Jiem: but they were the way in which he 
 
 chose to exercise it. And thus, " He laid on 
 him the iniquities of us all." " He made him, 
 who knew no sin, to be a sin-offering for us, 
 that we might be made the righteousness of 
 God in him." This redemption, therefore, ia 
 the effect of his goodness. He loved his own 
 Son, because he laid down his life for us ; and 
 higbly exalted him, because he was obedieii 
 unto death, even the death of the Cross. 
 
 We cannot say too much of God's mercy 
 — this is the origin of all our hopes. But, 
 surely, he had a right to determine the way 
 in which it should be extended towards those 
 who had no claims upon it : and of the pro- 
 priety of the way, both with regard to himself 
 and also with regard to us, he was the only 
 competent judge. And, therefore, if he has 
 appointed a way, and revealed it in his word ; 
 ignorance, pride, or rebellion only can lead 
 us to oppose or neglect it ; and wretchedness 
 and ruin must be the sure result of it. If we 
 could not see the reasonableness of the dis- 
 pensation, yet, if He has declared that it 
 " became him," we should be bound to acqui- 
 esce and adore. But we can see that he has 
 herein abounded towards us, in all wisdom 
 and prudence; that here, mercy and truth 
 meet together, righteousness and peace kiss 
 each other; that the law is magnified, and 
 made honourable ; that sin is condemned in 
 the flesh ; that God is just, while he justifies 
 the ungodly who believeth in Jesus ; and that 
 every end that could have been answered by 
 the destruction of the sinner has been equally 
 — better — infinitely better answered by the 
 death of the Saviour. 
 
 And now what wait we for? We are ac- 
 cepted in the Beloved. Let us come in his 
 Name. Let us draw near in full assurance 
 of faith. Let us joy in God, through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now 
 received the atonement. And let us not 
 conceal, but zealously and gladly make known 
 the blessedness that has brought us into th» 
 glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 
 APRIL 13. 
 
 " Upon one stone shall be seven eyes. 
 Zech. iii. 9. 
 
 The Lord Jesus is often called a stone , 
 and seldom without some attribute of distinc- 
 tion. Thus Peter calls him, "A living 
 stone ;" and Isaiah, " A tried stone, a precious 
 corner stone, a sure foundation." And here 
 the use of him is announced. He is the basis 
 to sustain the complete salvation of the Church 
 of God, which is his house ; his temple. Of 
 such a structure how great would be the fall ! 
 The crash would be heard beyond the stars. 
 But what can bear up for ever the weight oi 
 such an edifice 1 Our worthiness, and 
 works'? Our righteousness, and strength? 
 Better would the sliding sand, the leaf of 
 
APRIL 14. 
 
 108 
 
 autumn, the down of the thistle, support St. 
 Paul's cathedral, or one of the pyramids of 
 Egypt, or the pillars of the earth. But He 
 is infinitely equal to the importance of his 
 station : and whoso believeth on him shall not 
 be ashamed. 
 
 But let us observe the notice he was to ex- 
 cite and engage — Upon one stone shall be 
 seven eyes. Seven is not to be taken here 
 literally. It is what the Jews call a perfect 
 nun ber; and is designed to indicate a great 
 muLitude. Thus God says, If ye walk con- 
 trary to me, I also will walk contrary to you, 
 and will punish you seven times for your in- 
 iquities ; that is, often and severely. Shall I 
 forgive my brother, says Peter, until seven 
 times] 
 
 Let us look at a little of the accomplish- 
 ment — The eye of God was upon him. No 
 finite understanding can conceive the com- 
 placency He had in contemplating him, while 
 achieving the redemption of his people, and 
 finishing the work that was given him to c o — 
 " In whom," says He, " my soul delighte h." 
 
 — We read of an innumerable compan / of 
 angels — The eyes of these were upon him. 
 He was seen of angels. They announced, 
 and carolled his birth. They ministered to 
 him in the wilderness. 
 
 '•' Through all his travels here below 
 They did his steps attend ; 
 Oft. gaz'd, and wonder'd where at last, 
 The scene of love would end. 
 
 " Around the bloody tree 
 
 They press'd, with strong desire 
 That wond'rous sight to see — 
 The Lord of Life expire ; 
 And, could their eyes have known a tear, 
 Had dropp'd it there, in sad surprise." 
 
 — The eye of Satan was upon him. He 
 watched him through life, hoping to make a 
 prey of him, as he had done of the first Adam. 
 But here was the Lord of heaven. And he 
 found nothing in him. 
 
 — The eyes of men were upon him. Si- 
 meon saw him, and wished to see nothing 
 else. Blind Bartimaeus saw him, and fol- 
 lowed him in the way. Judas saw him closely, 
 for three years, and confessed that he had be- 
 trayed innocent blood. Pilate saw him ju- 
 dicially, and said, I am pure from the blood 
 of that just man. The Centurion watched 
 him in death, and said, This man was the Son 
 of God. And all the people that came to- 
 gether to that sight, beholding the things 
 which were done, smote their breasts, and 
 returned. Mary, his mother, was standing 
 by the cross — She saw him ; and what were 
 her emotions when she viewed the head, that 
 had oft reposed upon her bosom, fall upon his 
 shoulder, and yielding up the ghost ! After 
 his resurrection, then were the disciples glad 
 wi»°n they saw the Lord. Have not I seen 
 Christ ? says Paul : yes ; and even at mid-day 
 ae shone above the brightness of the sun. 
 -And, how many thousands and millions 
 
 have seen him since ! — not with the eye of the 
 body, but of the mind ; not with the eye of 
 sense, but of faith. Indeed this is the grand 
 essential : " He that seeth the Son, and be- 
 lieveth on him, hath everlasting life." The 
 one single design of the Gospel and all the 
 ordinances of religion, is to bring the eyes cf 
 men to fix upon him ; for there is salvation in 
 no other. He, therefore, cries, " Behold me ! 
 behold me!" Every minister endeavours 
 only to awaken attention to him; saying, 
 with John, " Behold the Lamb of God, that 
 taketh away the sin of the world !" 
 
 — Ah ! Christians, it is your grief, not that 
 you are so little known and regarded, but 
 that so few eyes are upon him. But more 
 are viewing him than you are aware of. 
 And, soon, Jews shall look upon him whom 
 they have pierced ; and Gentiles shall come 
 to his light, and kings to the brightness of his 
 rising. Yea, all kings shall fall down before 
 him, and all nations shall serve him. 
 
 — And, in another world, he is all in all. 
 There he draws every eye, and employ* every 
 tongue. There his servants shall serve him, 
 and they shall see his face, and his Name 
 shall be on their forehead. O glorious hope ! 
 It doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but 
 this we know, that when he shall appear, we 
 shall be like him ; for we shall see him ap 
 
 APRIL 14. 
 
 " The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of 
 tJie Lord, -was taken in their pits, of -whom toe 
 said, Under his shadotv toe shall live among 
 the heathen." — Lam. iv. 20. 
 
 The words are spoken of Zedekiah, the 
 last king of Judah. And two things are to 
 be noticed and improved. First, How his 
 people regarded him — they called him " The 
 breath of their" nostrils." That is, he seemed 
 as dear and necessary, as the air they res- 
 pired. How prone are we to make too much 
 of creatures ! To love them properly is a 
 duty; to over-value them, is folly and sin. 
 Yet even Christians are in danger of tins, ac- 
 cording to the Apostle John — " Little chil- 
 dren, keep yourselves from idols." And who 
 can cast stones at Zedekiah's subjects'! Is 
 there no being who is the breath of our nos- 
 trils! Have we never made flesh our arm? 
 Never said of a child, " This same shall com- 
 fort us?" Never called gold our hope? — 
 What is all sin, but a departure from God; a 
 transferring of that fear, and confidence, and 
 dependence, and homage to the creature, 
 which are due to the Creator, God over all, 
 blessed for evermore? Religion is nothing 
 but a compliance with the demand — "My 
 son, give me thine heart" 
 
 Secondly; observe how he disappointed 
 them. They reposed their trust in him, and 
 
104 
 
 APRIL 15. 
 
 expected that under his empire they should 
 enjoy security and happiness among the sur- 
 rounding nations : " We sa id of him, Under his 
 shadow we shall live amoKg the heathen : but 
 he was taken in their pits," — Alluding to his 
 unsuccessful effort to escape, when Jerusalem 
 was broken up : " all the men of war fled, and 
 went forth out of the city by night by the 
 way of the gate between the two walls, which 
 was by the King's garden : but the army of 
 the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and 
 overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho ; 
 and all his army was scattered from him. 
 Then they took the king, and carried him up 
 unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the 
 land of Hamath ; where he gave judgment 
 upon him." Thus painfully were their hopes 
 deceived : and their idol, instead of defending 
 and blessing them, was himself bereaved, and 
 blinded, and imprisoned for life : " And the 
 king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah 
 before his eyes: he slew also all the princes 
 of Jadah in Riblah. Then he put out the 
 eyes of Zedekiah ; and the king of Babylon 
 bound him in chains, and carried him to Ba- 
 bylon, and put him in prison till the day of 
 his death." Thus liable are we to disap- 
 pointment, when we confide in creatures. 
 " The inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully 
 for good : but evil came down from the Lord 
 unto the gate of Jerusalem." " Behold," says 
 Hezekiah, " for peace 1 had great bitterness." 
 
 The young are peculiarly exposed here, 
 owing to their ignorance, and inexperience. 
 Yet the older are not always wise. But we 
 are the authors of our own disappointments. 
 We disregard the notices of history, and ob- 
 servation, and the word of truth ; and look 
 for that from creatures which they are neither 
 designed nor able to afford. There is no 
 assurance of the continuance of any earthly 
 possessions or enjoyments : they are liable to 
 outward violence: they are corruptible in 
 their qualities : they perish in the using. 
 And there is not only a physical, but a moral 
 uncertainty in their duration : for when we 
 look to them rather than God, God will either 
 take them away, that we may make him the 
 only strength of our heart, and our portion for 
 ever ; or, if he leaves them, he will take 
 away the comfort from them, and render 
 them our rebukes. For whatever we make 
 the means of our forsaking or forgetting God, 
 God will make the instrument of chastising 
 us. We may therefore often read our sin in 
 our sufferings : and it will be well if the rem- 
 nant of Israel no more shall stay upon him 
 that smote them; but shall stay upon the 
 Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 
 
 Many have had reason to say, It is good 
 for me that I have been afflicted. The dis- 
 pensation that removed a creature introduced 
 them to the God of all grace : and the Valley 
 of Achor became the door of hope. And so 
 it has been, not only in the commencement, 
 
 but in the progress of tne divine life. Tb* 
 Lord's people have been enriched by their 
 worldly losses ; and in the failures of human 
 dependences, they have taken a fresh hold of 
 his arm, and said, " I will trust, and not be 
 afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength 
 and my song ; he also is become my salva- 
 tion." A good man being observed to be as 
 cheerful in adversity as he had been in pros- 
 perity, assigned as a reason — when I had 
 every thing about me, I enjoyed God in all ; 
 and now I have nothing, I enjoy all in God. 
 And happy he, who when he abounds, can 
 say, with the poet, 
 
 " To thee we owe our wealth and friends • 
 Our health, and safe abode : 
 Thanks to thy Name for meaner thing* , 
 But they are not my God:" 
 
 And who, when he is abased, can say, with 
 the Prophet ; " Although the fig-tree shall 
 not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the 
 vines ; the labour of the olive shall fail, and 
 the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock shall 
 be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no 
 herd in the stalls : yet I will rejoice in the 
 Lord, I will joy in the God of mv salvation." 
 
 APRIL 15. 
 
 " Then all the disciples forsook him. axc/.ed. 
 Matt, xxvi.56. 
 
 Let us look at this lamentable fact, in con- 
 nexion with the disciples, the Saviour, und 
 ourselves. 
 
 — With regard to the disciples, it shows 
 us their weakness and depravity. They fled, 
 from fear ; but their fear was needless. He 
 had stipulated for their safety, when he sur- 
 rendered himself in the Garden : " If, there- 
 fore, ye seek me, let these go their way: 
 that the saying might be fulfilled, Of them 
 which Thou hast given me, I have lost none." 
 They were under great obligations to him. 
 He had done much for them in calling them 
 by his grace, and dignifying them with the 
 Apostleship. And he was now going to bleed 
 and die for them. And they had professed a 
 great attachment to him: for when Peter 
 said, Though I should die with thee, I will 
 not deny thee ; so said all the disciples. Yet 
 they all forsook him, and fled ! Lord, what 
 is man ! 
 
 Yet this culpable cowardice was overruled 
 for good. For their very declension made 
 their witness, after his resurrection, the more 
 unexceptionably credible ; and the weakness 
 of their faith has proved the strengthening of 
 ours. They were not persons of hasty be- 
 lief. They had doubted, and for the timo 
 abandoned the cause, saying, "We trusted 
 it had been he which should have redeemed 
 Israel :" and were repairing to their former 
 homes and callings. What could have rallied 
 them, and brought them back, and inspired 
 them with courage to go forth, and bear ro 
 
APRIL lb. 
 
 105 
 
 S roach, anil persecution, and death, in his 
 fame, but a conviction that nothing could 
 resist ? 
 
 — With regard to the Saviour, this was a 
 part, and a very trying part of his cibasement 
 and passion. A friend is born for adversity. 
 Then his presence, his sympathy, his coun- 
 tenance, is peculiarly desirable and necessary. 
 Common humanity says, To him that is 
 afflicted, pity should be showed of his friend 
 — But he looked for some to take pity, and 
 there was none, and for comforter, and he 
 found none. These men had been three years 
 with him : they could have borne witness to 
 his freedom from sedition; his innocency; 
 his piety. They could have cheered him by 
 their standing at his side; and their deter- 
 mination to suffer with him. But one be- 
 trayed him ; another denied him : and all for- 
 sook him, and fled. Behold, and see, if ever 
 there was sorrow like unto his sorrow ! — Yet 
 he foresaw, and foretold this: "The hour 
 cometh, and is now come, that ye shall be scat- 
 tered every man to his own, and shall leave 
 me alone." This enhanced his anguish. He 
 suffered in the apprehension, as well as in the 
 reality. But it also enhanced his love. He 
 was not drawn into any part of his suffering 
 by ignoranc'e, or surprise — he knew all — all 
 was before him — but he turned not his back. 
 — With regard to ourselves, it may teach 
 us not to sink, or wonder, if we should be de- 
 serted by those from whom we had reason to 
 look for better things. Did not one tell Da- 
 vid, " Behold, Ahithophel is among the con- 
 spirators with Absalom !" And did not he groan 
 — " It was not an enemy that reproached me ; 
 then I could have borne it : neither was it he 
 that hated me that did magnify himself against 
 me ; then I would have hid myself from him. 
 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, 
 and mine acquaintance. We took sweet 
 counsel together, and walked unto the house 
 of God in company 1" Did not Job complain 
 — " My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a 
 brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass 
 away ; which are blackish by reason of the 
 ice, and wherein the snow is hid : what time 
 they wax warm, they vanish ; when it is hot, 
 they are consumed out of their place 7" Did 
 not Paul say — " At my first answer, no man 
 stood by me, but all men forsook me — I pray 
 God that it may not be laid to their charge 1" 
 Above all, " lest ye be wearied and faint in 
 your minds," consider the Lord Jesus. Is 
 the servant above the master] or the disciple 
 Bbove his Lord ? 
 
 APRIL 16. 
 
 " / -will not leave you comfortless : I will come 
 to you." — John xiv. 18. 
 These tender words are part of our Sa- 
 viour's farewell address to his disciples, im- 
 mediately after the Holy Supper. 
 O 
 
 We see in them his kindness. These dis- 
 ciples had shown many defects, and had very 
 little improved any of their advantages ; but 
 loving his own who were in the world, he 
 loved them unto the end. They were now 
 going to prove themselves very unworthy: 
 and he foresaw, and foretold, what, according 
 to their present views and feelings, seemed 
 perfectly incredible to themselves — that they 
 would an forsake him in the hour of trial, 
 notwithstanding their obligations, and pro- 
 fessions. They were going to leave him 
 comfortless, as far as it depended upon them ; 
 and to induce him to complain — " I looked 
 for some to take pity, and there was none, 
 and for comforter, and I found none." But- 
 much as they deserved it — " I will not," says 
 he, " leave you comfortless." " I will" — not 
 to punish, or upbraid, but to relieve, and en- 
 courage — " I will come to you." 
 
 Here, also, we perceive his greatness. 
 When we are going away from our connex- 
 ions to some distant place, we may speak of 
 our return ; but it must be conditionally. We 
 are not sure of the event ; it does not depend 
 upon us ; and we ought always to say, " If 
 the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or 
 that." But when we die, we know our re- 
 turn is impossible ; and our friends know it, 
 and weep most of all that they will see our 
 faces no more. The dying pastor cannot say 
 to his anxious flock, I will not leave you com- 
 fortless ; I will come to you, and again feed 
 you with the Bread of Life. The dying fa- 
 ther cannot say to his family, mourning 
 around his bed, I will come again and provide 
 for you. One of the most touching circum- 
 stances in the beautiful lines of Cowper, on 
 his mother's picture, is the delusion employ- 
 ed to comfort him — 
 
 " Thy maidens, grieved themselves at my concern, 
 Oft gave me promise of thy quick return : 
 What ardently I wish'd, I long believed ; 
 And, disappointed still, was still deceived 
 By disappointment every day beguiled. 
 Dupe of to-morrow even from a child — 
 Thus many a sad to-morrow came, and went, 
 Till, all my stock of infant sorrow spent, 
 I learn 'd, at last, submission to my lot ; 
 But, though I less deplored thee, ne'er forgot." 
 
 And —the same lesson we must all learn, with 
 regard to every dear delight we here enjoy. 
 The departing Joseph said unto his brethren, 
 " I die ; and God will surely visit you." He 
 does not say, I will visit you — he knew he 
 was going the way whence he could not re- 
 turn. But Divinity here speaks, as well as 
 friendship. " I will not leave you comfort- 
 less; I will come to you." This is the lan- 
 guage, not only of fore-knowledge, but of 
 sovereign dominion : the language of one who 
 had the keys of hell, and of death : of one who 
 said, No man taketh my life from me ; I lay 
 it down of myself— I have power to lay it 
 down, and I have power to take it again 
 Even death would not interrupt his goodness 
 
10b 
 
 APRIL 17. 
 
 His entering another world would not affect 
 his intercourse with his people in this. His 
 presence with them was not confined to his 
 bodily residence. While on earth, he said, 
 " The Son of man who is in heaven." And 
 now, though in heaven, he is no less on earth. 
 Lo ! said he, I am with you alway, even unto 
 the end of the world. 
 
 — And can we help perceiving, here, how 
 nidispensable he is to the happiness of his 
 people 1 The disciples were comfortless in 
 the view of his absence ; and it is easy to ac- 
 count for this, both from their attachment to 
 him, and from the pleasure and profit they 
 had derived from him. We feel, and trem- 
 ble, and groan, at parting with a friend, or 
 relation. What must the feelings of the dis- 
 ciples have been, at the thought of losing 
 him ! They would be left in the world, like 
 sheep without their shepherd ; like travellers 
 in a wilderness, without their guide ; like 
 orphans, bereaved of the father's care, and 
 the mother's bosom. And what could com- 
 fort them, but the promise of himself again 1 
 Had he said, I will not leave you comfortless, 
 I will send you riches, and honours ; princes 
 shall be your friends, and angels your ser- 
 vants — what would all this have been, with- 
 out the assurance, " J will come to you 1" 
 But this is sufficient. Here is a resource 
 equal to the exigency; a consolation adequate 
 to all the distress. 
 
 The good found in creatures is always 
 finite, and very limited. It is also much dis- 
 persed, so that we must apply to many, to 
 contribute their part to make up one comfort 
 The happiness we derive from creatures is 
 like a beggar's garment — it is made up of 
 pieces, and patches, and is worth very little 
 after all. But the blessedness we derive from 
 the Saviour is single, and complete. In him 
 all fulness dwells. He is coeval with every 
 period. He is answerable to every condition. 
 He is a physician, to heal ; a counsellor, to 
 plead ; a king, to govern ; a friend, to sympa- 
 thise ; a father, to provide. He is a founda- 
 tion, to sustain ; a root, to enliven ; a fountain, 
 to refresh. He is the shadow from the heat ; 
 the bread of life ; the morning star ; the sun 
 of righteousness — all, and in all. No crea- 
 ture can be a substitute for him ; but he can 
 supply the place of every creature. He is 
 all my salvation, and all my desire. My hope, 
 my peace, my life, my glory, and joy. 
 
 Whom have I in heaven but Thee 1 and 
 there is none upon earth that I desire beside 
 thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but 
 Thou art the strength of my heart, and my 
 portion for ever. I cannot be exposed ; I can- 
 not be friendless ; I cannot be poor ; I cannot 
 be fearful ; I cannot be sorrowful — with Thee. 
 
 " If Thou, my Jesus, still art nigh. 
 Cheerful I live, and cheerful die ; 
 Secure, wnen mortal comforts flee, 
 To And ten thousand worlds in Thee.' 
 
 APRIL 17. 
 
 " Behold, I -will engrave the graving thereof 
 saith the Lord of hosts." — Zech. hi. 9. 
 
 This is spoken of the stone, upon which 
 were to be seven eyes, and which intends the 
 Messiah, the foundation laid in Zion. 
 
 To engrave, is to pierce and cut. When 
 he became a man of sorrows ; when he said, 
 Reproach hath broken my heart; when he 
 gave his back to the smiters, and his cheek 
 to them that plucked off the hair ; when the 
 crown of thorns entered his temples, and the 
 nails his hands and feet, and the spear his 
 side — then, O my soul, was the Scripture 
 fulfilled. 
 
 As there is no engraving without wound- 
 ing, so to engrave is to embellish and beautify. 
 And he was made perfect through suffering. 
 Hence, " I do cures," said he, " to-day and 
 to-morrow, and the third day I shall be per- 
 fected." Hence he calls the season of his 
 passion the hour in which he was to be 
 "glorified." Hence he adds, "Now is the 
 judgment of this world : now shall the prince 
 of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lift- 
 ed up from the earth, will draw all men unto 
 me." And the richest display of his graces; 
 and the acquirement of the dispensation of 
 the Spirit ; and the dominion he exercises in 
 our nature; and the prerogative of judging 
 the world in righteousness ; and the praises 
 he will inhabit through eternal ages — all 
 these resulted from his sufferings, according 
 to the language of divine prophecy, and his- 
 tory — "When thou shalt make his soul an 
 offering for sin, he shall prolong his days, and 
 the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in hit 
 hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, 
 and shall be satisfied : by his knowledge shall 
 my righteous servant justify many ; for he 
 shall bear their iniquities." " Because he 
 was obedient unto death, even the death of 
 the cross, therefore God hath exalted him, and 
 given him a name above every name." 
 
 And as is the heavenly, such are they alsi 
 that are heavenly. To a person unacquaint 
 ed with the process, the pruning of the tree , 
 the cleaving of the ground with the plough- 
 share ; the operation of the chisel on the stone; 
 would look like an effort to injure or destroy. 
 But look at the thing afterwards. Behold the 
 vine, adorned with purple clusters. Survey 
 the field, yielding the blade, the ear, the full 
 corn in the ear. Examine the carved work 
 when the sculptor has achieved his design, 
 and fixed it in the proper place ! 
 
 — Christians are sometimes perplexed, and 
 discouraged, because of their trials. They 
 know not what God is doing with them. 
 They fear he is angry, and going to crush 
 and destroy. But they are his workmanship 
 He is preparing them for their destination in 
 the temple of his grace. These trials are ap- 
 plied to qualify and advance thern. They 
 
APRIL 18, 19. 
 
 107 
 
 will only perfect that which concemeth them. 
 Howard was taken by the enemy, and con- 
 fined in prison. There he learned the heart 
 of a captive : and this experience originating 
 in his suffering, excited and directed his 
 thoughts, and led him into all his extraordi- 
 nary course of usefulness and fame. It is good 
 for me, says David, that I have been afflicted. 
 I know, says Paul, that this shall turn to my 
 salvation. For our light affliction, which is 
 but for a moment, worketh for us a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 
 
 APRIL 18. 
 
 "Another parable spake he unto them ; The 
 kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which 
 a woman took, and hid in three measures of 
 meal, till the whole was leavened" — Matt. 
 xiii. 33. 
 
 We may consider the kingdom of heaven, 
 as intending the empire of the Gospel in the 
 world ; and also the empire of grace in the 
 heart 
 
 Let us confine our attention to the latter. 
 
 The leaven in the meal is a foreign import- 
 ation. It is not naturally in the meal, nor 
 derived from it It is the same with Divine 
 grace. Though it resides in us, it does not 
 arise from us : for in our natural state dwell- 
 eth no good thing — It is altogether a new 
 production ; and so alien is it from the man 
 himself, who is the subject of it, that the in- 
 troduction of the principle occasions a fer- 
 ment or contest, that lasts for life — the flesh 
 lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit 
 against the flesh. 
 
 The leaven in the meal is active, and ope- 
 rating. There it works ; and evinces its resi- 
 dence by its agency. And the grace of God, 
 — Is this a dead, powerless thing 1 Is it a 
 notion 1 Or a principle ? We read of the 
 work of faith ; the labour of love ; the patience 
 of hope. The same may be said of repent- 
 ance : " What carefulness it wrought in you ; 
 yea, what zeal ! yea, what revenge !" I will 
 show thee, says James, my faith by my works : 
 I will show thee the sun, by its shining ; and 
 the spring, by the streams. Faith justifies the 
 soul ; but works justify faith, and prove it to 
 be of the operation of God. 
 
 The leaven is assimilating. It converts; 
 it changes — not by destroying the substance 
 of the meal, but altering the quality ; commu- 
 nicating its own property, tincture, relish. 
 It is the same here. We are transformed by 
 the renewing of the mind. The man remains 
 physically the same as he was before : the 
 Eame in his relations, talents, condition, busi- 
 ness — Yet he is another man ; a new man. 
 He is evangelized. He has something of the 
 holy and heavenly nature of divine truth in 
 him. If the grace of God be light it en- 
 lightens him. If salt it seasons him. If 
 
 glory, it glorifies him. If leaven, it leavens 
 him. 
 
 The operation of the leaven is gradual 
 The effect in the meal is not produced at 
 once ; but by degrees. And do we not read 
 of being renewed day by day ? of going from 
 strength to strength ? of being changed into 
 the same image, from glory to glory, as by 
 the Spirit of the Lord 1 the work would want 
 the evidence of analogy, if it were instanta* 
 neous. In the family, we see children be- 
 coming young men ; and young men becom- 
 ing fathers. In the field, we see, first the 
 blade, then the ear, and after that the full 
 corn in the ear. Some are not sensible of 
 their religious advancement ; and the reason 
 is, they judge by the growing, rather than by 
 the growth. The one escapes us ; the other 
 is perceptible. Were you to stand by the 
 side of the most rapidly growing plant you 
 would not see it grow ; but you would see 
 when it was grown. Thus judge yourselves, 
 and see whether there is not an increase in 
 your convictions of sin, and the vanity of the 
 world, and the preciousness of the Saviour. — 
 Thus look at your dispositions; your de- 
 pendence ; your taste ; your diligence ; your 
 self-denial, in the service and ways of God. 
 
 The influence of the leaven is diffusive. 
 Commencing from the centre, it reaches, in 
 due time, to the extremities, and penetrates 
 every particle of the meal The grace of 
 God is lodged in the heart ; but it is not con 
 fined there. It reaches all the powers of thi 
 man's mind, and all the senses of his body. 
 It enters all his situations, and circumstances 
 in life. It affects him in the field; in the 
 shop ; in the family ; in all his connexions : 
 in all his civil and common actions; and 
 whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he 
 does, he does all to the glory of God. 
 
 — And, as the leaven ultimately attains its 
 object, and leavens the whole — so here the 
 issue of the grace of God will be universal 
 and complete holiness. It will sanctify us 
 wholly — body, soul, and spirit It will per- 
 fect that which concerneth us. And the re- 
 sult is sure, even now. How small soever 
 the leaven is, compared with the mass, the 
 less will prevail, and subdue the greater. 
 The dawn will chase away the night and 
 blaze in full day. " He which hath begun a 
 good work, will perform it : let us not despise, 
 therefore, the day of small things, either in 
 ourselves or others." 
 
 APRIL 19. 
 
 " Wc ought to lay down our lives for the 
 brethren." — 1 John iii. 16. 
 
 In the beginning of the Gospel this test of 
 love was frequently required : and Christians 
 not only dared to be companions of them that 
 suffered, but were ready to suffer for them 
 
10S 
 
 APRIL 19. 
 
 So Paul testifies ot Priscilla and Aquila, his 
 helpers in Christ ) " Who," says he, " have 
 for my life laid down their own necks : unto 
 whom not only I give thanks, but also all the 
 Churches of the Gentiles." It is well the 
 providence of God does not call us to such a 
 severe trial. But surely the principle requires 
 ns to he ready to do every thing in our power 
 on their behalf; and will not allow us to refuse 
 any service or sacrifice for our brethren, 
 however arduous. 
 
 We may do much for their minds; by dis- 
 sipating their doubts, removing their fears, 
 and bringing them comfort in their spiritual 
 distresses. Thus Jonathan went to David in 
 the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 
 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so 
 doth a man his friend by hearty counsel. A 
 Christian is self-suspicious, and is afraid of 
 every conclusion in his own favour drawn by 
 himself He sees not the consolation to which 
 he is entitled, though so near him ; but an- 
 other, like the Angel to Hagar, may open his 
 eyes, and show hitn the well. Sometimes 
 he is cast down, supposing many things are 
 peculiar to himself; especially those painful 
 feelings which arise from the assaults of 
 Satan, and his conflict with indwelling sin, 
 more and more of which he is continually 
 discovering. But you can relieve him by 
 opening your own experience, and letting him 
 know that it is so with you. There is an- 
 other important case : " Brethren, if a man be 
 overtaken in a fault, ye, which are spiritual, 
 restore such an one in the spirit of meek- 
 ness; considering thyself, lest thou also be 
 tempted." 
 
 What can be dearer to a man than reputa- 
 tion 1 A good name is rather to be chosen 
 than great riches : but it may be injured va- 
 rious ways. And surely we ought to be alive 
 to a brother's character ; and willingly throw 
 ourselves between him and the strife of 
 tongues. When any thing is said to his dis- 
 paragement, we should show that charity, 
 which rejoiceth not in iniquity ; but hopeth all 
 things. We should frown away the slander 
 cf insinuation. We should not allow a relater 
 to go on, without inquiring whether he will 
 allow us to name it to the person aggrieved, 
 or to the person from whom he affirms he has 
 derived it. What a world of calumny and 
 miscnief would this single expedient prevent ! 
 He that helps not in the circulation of the re- 
 port, yet, if he pleasingly, or even patiently, 
 sits to hear it, shares half the blame: and, as 
 Dr South says, the tale-bearer and the tale- 
 nearer should be both hanged up, back to 
 back, only the one by the tongue, and the 
 other by the ear. 
 
 The body may need help. And our Saviour 
 bore our infirmities, and sicknesses, by com- 
 passion and sympathy. His commiseration 
 could bear thein away from the sufferers. We 
 cannot perform miracles. But we may be 
 
 useful 6y medical aid, ami by personal attend 
 ance, and succour. And where the malady 
 cannot be removed, the enduring may be 
 alleviated. Is it nothing to the patient, that 
 you visit him in his affliction I that he sees 
 you at the side of the bed of languishing 7 
 that, by your tears and prayers, you are an- 
 swering to the address — Pity me, pity me, 
 O ye my friends ! for the hand of God hath 
 touched me 1 
 
 The estate of our brethren may call for as- 
 sistance ; and is to be relieved according to 
 our ability. It will be as base in us as un- 
 profitable to them, to say, Depart in peace ; 
 be ye warmed and filled ; while we give them 
 not those things which are needful to the 
 body. " Whoso hath this world's good, and 
 seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up 
 his bowels of compassion from him, how 
 dwelleth the love of God in him 1" Job could 
 say, The blessing of him that was ready to 
 perish came upon me, and I caused the 
 widow's heart to sing for joy. It was the 
 saying of our Lord, It is more blessed to giv« 
 than to receive. It was the glory of Christi 
 anity, in its first powerful effect, that none 
 who embraced it " lacked." As glory in hea- 
 ven, and as grace on earth, so the blessings 
 of Providence were free and open to all. The 
 property of Christians went along with their 
 affections; "and distribution was made to 
 every one as he had need." And so tender 
 were they of each other, that " the multitude 
 of them that believed were of one heart and 
 of one soul : neither said any of them that 
 aught of the things which he possessed was 
 his own ; but they had all things common." 
 " Oh, this is no rule for us." Well ; take it 
 and interpret it in your own way. Yet, will 
 not — what even you infer from it as a duty, 
 include much more than is now found in the 
 temper and practice of Christians 1 " But we 
 are not able." — This is commonly the lan- 
 guage of those who are able, but not willing. 
 Some incapacitate themselves. A decent 
 distinction above the vulgar will not satisfy 
 them : they must be splendid in dress, and 
 luxurious in table, and magnificent in furni- 
 ture. Others are disabled by hoarding. If 
 accumulation be not condemned by Christi- 
 anity, the extent of it is. A man may de- 
 cently provide for his family, without wish- 
 ing to leave them in the snares of affluence, 
 and with a heap, which if they do not dissi- 
 pate by vice and excess, they are likely only 
 to be concerned to enlarge. And may not 
 persons increase their powers of beneficence, 
 by diligence, and economy, and self-denial ? 
 And is not self-denial the first lesson in 
 the school of Christ? And you know the 
 grace of Him, who, though he was rich, 
 yet for your sakes he became poor, that you, 
 through his poverty, might be ri6h. — "We 
 
 OUGHT TO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOB THE 
 BRETHREN." 
 
APRIL 20, 21. 
 
 1CW 
 
 APRIL 20. 
 
 • Jir.d oemg in an agony he prayed more earn- 
 estly." — Luke xxii. 44. 
 And what must this agony have been, when 
 it is added, that " his sweat was as it were 
 gTeat drops of blood falling down to the 
 ground !" What, my soul, could have caused 
 Jhis? 
 
 • Oh, what wonders love has done ! 
 
 But how little understood! 
 God well knew, and God alone. 
 
 What produced that sweat of blood. 
 Who can thy deep wonders see, 
 Wonderful Gethsemane '?" 
 
 —But let us now observe his deportment 
 For we are not only to view him in his pas- 
 sion as our Mediator, but as also suffering for 
 us, to leave us an example that we should 
 follow his steps — " In his agony, he prayed 
 more earnestly." Not that he was cold and 
 formal before in his devotions: but as the 
 hour and power of darkness advanced, and he 
 began to be sore amazed and very heavy; 
 and his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even 
 unto death; there was more excitement in 
 his feelings and vehemency in his manner of 
 expression — Now were the days of his flesh, 
 in which, with strong cryings and tears, he 
 made supplications to Him, who was able to 
 save him from death. So it is to be with us. 
 Prayer is never out of season. We see this 
 in the life of Jesus. On what occasion did 
 he pray ? But there is a time when it is spe- 
 ciaJy seasonable. Therefore says God, "Call 
 upon me in the day of trouble." "Is any 
 afflicted ? Let him pray." Prayer is the de- 
 sign, the refuge, the solace, the improvement 
 of affliction : and the greater the distress and 
 anguish we are in, the more necessary will it 
 be, both for our sanctification and support — 
 Let us, therefore, be the more importunate. 
 In the greatness of our distress, 
 
 — Let us not, like Adam and Eve, flee, and 
 endeavour to hide ourselves from God — but 
 
 — Let us not, like Cain, begin to build, and 
 try, by worldly projects, to dissipate our 
 grief— but pray. 
 
 — Let us not, like Jonah, fret under the 
 loss of our gourds, and tell God himself, that 
 we do well to be angry, even unto death — 
 but pray. 
 
 — Let us not, like Ephraim and Judah, re- 
 pair to creatures: "When Ephraim saw his 
 sickness, and Judah saw his wounds, then 
 went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to 
 king Jareb : yet could he not heal them, or 
 cure them of their wound" — but pray. 
 
 — Let us not, like Saul, who went to the 
 Witch of Endor, repair to the Devil himself, 
 by error, drunkenness, and sin — but pray. 
 
 — Let us not, like Ahithophel and Judas, 
 have recourse to suicide, and plunge into hell, 
 for relief— but pray. Let us say, with the 
 Church, " Come, and let us return unto the 
 Lord •- lor he hath torn, and he will heal us : 
 10 
 
 he hath smitten, and he will bind us up;" or 
 
 with Job, " Though he slay me, yet will 
 
 trust in HitnJ" 
 
 " I seem forsaken and alone, 
 I hear the lions roar, 
 And every door is shut, but one. 
 And that is Mercy's door. 
 
 •' There, till the dear Deliverer comes, 
 
 I'll wait, with bumble prayer : 
 
 And, when he calls his exile home. 
 
 The Lord shall find me there." 
 
 APRIL 21. 
 
 " Fear not ye : for I know that ye seek Jesat t 
 ■which -was crucified" — Matt xxviii. 5. 
 
 This was the address of an angel to Mary 
 Magdalene, and the other Mary, that had 
 come to see the sepulchre before break of 
 day. They were last at the cross, and first at 
 the tomb. Favours are given sovereignly by 
 the Lord, but honour is conferred according 
 to a rule ; and the rule is this — " Them that 
 honour me, I will honour." These women 
 were informed of his resurrection before the 
 Apostles. The Apostles received the intelli- 
 gence from them ; but they received it from 
 an angel. At first, these pious visitants were 
 afraid. And what wonder, when we consi- 
 der — that they were females — that all their 
 sensibilities were alive — that they were in 
 the garden of another — that they were alone 
 — that the earth was reeling under them— 
 that the guards were fleeing, and perhapa 
 shrieking — that it was early m the morning 
 — and the remaining darkness rendered more 
 visible and awful the Divine messenger sit- 
 ting at the door of the tomb— his countenance 
 as lightning, and his raiment white as snow ! 
 But, says the angel, " You have nothing to 
 apprehend from me. He is my master, as 
 well as your Saviour. I serve him whom ye 
 seek ; and having attended his resurrection, 1 
 now announce it to you. He is not here ; he 
 is risen, as he said — Step forward — Come* 
 see the place where the Lord lay." 
 
 And it is true in its most extended appli- 
 cation, that they who seek Jesus Christ which 
 was crucified, have really nothing to fear 
 whatever at first may dismay them. 
 
 But who are entitled to this assurance? Do 
 you feel your need of him as once you did 
 not, for all the purposes of salvation ? Have 
 you desires after him — so peculiar that no- 
 thing else can satisfy them — so powerful as 
 to make you willing to part with whatever 
 stands in competition with him ? Are you de- 
 termined to press through all difficulties? Are 
 you found in the use of all the means which 
 he has appointed ? Are you submissively ask- 
 ing, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? 
 depending on the aid of his Holy Spirit ? and 
 looking for his mercy unto eternal life ? If 
 you can answer these questions in the affirm- 
 ative, / know that ye seek Jesus which was 
 crucified. 
 
 -.-• 
 
110 
 
 APRIL 22. 
 
 — And I also know, that ye have nothing 
 to fear. " Fear not ye." — Fear not that you 
 have a graceless heart — the very seeking is 
 a token for good. It cannot be the effect of 
 Nature — that which is of the flesh, is flesh ; 
 but that which is of the Spirit, is spirit. They 
 that are after the flesh, do mind the tilings of 
 the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit, 
 the things of the Spirit — Fear not that your 
 search will be successless. Had he a mind to 
 kiL you, he would not have shown you such 
 things as these. His aim in making you sen- 
 sible of your condition, was not tc render you 
 miserable, but to endear himself; and to draw 
 rbrth your souls after him. You shall not be 
 disappointed. You may be tried, but he will 
 appear to your joy. Did any ever seek him 
 in vain ] Can he deny himself? They that 
 sow in tears shall reap in joy. Blessed are 
 they that do hunger and thirst after right- 
 eousness, for they shall be filled. — Fear not, 
 that you shall fall under the power of any 
 evil. From what evil are you not secured ] 
 Is it temporal want ] The young lions may 
 lack, and suffer hunger ; but they that seek 
 the Lord shall not want any good thing. Is 
 it the penalty of the Law ] He has redeemed 
 you from the curse of the law, having been 
 made a curse for you. Is it sin ] Sin shall 
 not have dominion over you ; for ye are not 
 under the law, but under grace. Is it the 
 world ] This is the victory that overcometh 
 the world ; even our faith. Is it Satan 1 The 
 God of peace will bruise Satan under your 
 feet, shortly. Is it death ] He has abolished 
 death. O death, where is thy sting] O 
 grave, where is thy victory ] " Nay, in all 
 these things we are more than conquerors 
 through him that loved us. For I am per- 
 suaded, that neither death, nor life, nor an- 
 gels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, nor 
 height, nor depth, nor any other creature, 
 shall be able to separate us from the love of 
 God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
 
 APRIL 22. 
 
 " It came to pass, when the ark set forward, 
 that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let 
 thine enemies be scattered ; and let them that 
 hate thee fee before thee. And when it rest- 
 ed, he said, Return, Lord, unto the many 
 thousands of Israel." — Numb. x. 35, 36. 
 We might have expected that Aaron 
 would have done this, as he was the high 
 priest. But Moses was the leader and com- 
 mander of the people ; and he was not offer- 
 ing sacrifice, or burning incense — in which 
 he would have offended: but performing a 
 duty of natural, as well as revealed religion. 
 This is binding upon all ; and especially upon 
 public men. Thus Solomon, though a king, 
 kneeled on a scaffold of wood at the dedica- 
 tion of the temple ; and led himself the pray- 
 
 ers of the nation. Princes, officers, magis- 
 trates, masters of families, should all be mm 
 of prayer. Relative, as well as personal 
 claims, bind them to the duty. 
 
 It would seem that Moses, always on these 
 occasions, employed the same terms. Our 
 Lord also, in the garden, prayed three times, 
 saying the same words. It is obvious from 
 hence, that whatever advantages extempora- 
 neous prayer possesses — and it has many — 
 yet forms of prayer cannot be in themselves 
 improper, in public or in private. 
 
 As Moses thus addressed God at the com- 
 mencement, and the conclusion of every 
 march — does it not behove us to acknowledge 
 Him in all our ways ] and with prayer to be- 
 gin and end every day ] every meal ] every 
 ordinance] every enterprise] every jour- 
 ney ] every going out and every coining in ] 
 
 Especially let us think of those short and 
 sublime addresses in our travelling heaven- 
 ward, through this wilderness world. 
 
 Here is the marching prayer — " Rise up, 
 Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; 
 and let them that hate thee flee before thee." 
 That is — " Before we move, we commend 
 ourselves to thy guidance, and guardian care, 
 and almighty agency. We are passing not 
 only through strange, but hostile regions. 
 There are foes, open or concealed, which 
 would hinder our progress — rob us — wound 
 us — destroy us. But we are thy charge, and 
 engaged in thy cause. They that hate us 
 hate thee. Our enemies are thy enemies. 
 And formidable as they are, Thou canst as 
 easily vanquish them as the sun, rising in his 
 strength, can disperse the shadows that seem 
 to oppose his march." Let us realize this, 
 and we shall feel enough to animate us to go 
 forward, though men, though devils, beset our 
 path. " The Lord is my light and my salva- 
 tion ; whom shall I fear ] The Lord is the 
 strength of my life; of whom shall I be 
 afraid] Though an host should encamp 
 against me, my heart shall not fear : though 
 war should rise against me, in this will 1 be 
 confident" 
 
 Here is the resting prayer — " Return, O 
 Lord, unto* the many thousands of Israel." 
 That is — If Thou goest on, in vain we are 
 left. What can we do without thee in our 
 encampment, any more than in our march ] 
 
 Thy presence is our security, our treasure, 
 our glory, our joy. What is any station with- 
 out thee ] — How can its duties be discharged ] 
 its trials be endured ] its comforts be sancti- 
 fied ] But every residence with thee is en- 
 nobled and blessed. Heaven is the only ta 
 bernacle of God with men. — Thus the two 
 disciples, when the Lord made as if he would 
 have gone farther, constrained him, saying, 
 It is toward evening, and the day is far spent 
 — and — did he refuse ] He went in to tarry 
 with them. Do we thus prize him ] Do we 
 thus pray that he would go where we go, ard 
 
APRU 23. 
 
 Ill 
 
 dwe I wnere we dwell ] If not, we have a 
 poor prospect before us. If we can live with- 
 out God with us in this world, we must live 
 without him in another. But if our souls 
 cleave to Hun, and cry, " Cast me not away 
 from thy presence, and take not thy Holy 
 Spirit from me" — we may rejoice in the pro- 
 mise, " I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
 thee." • 
 
 — But let me not here overlook two things. 
 First, The number of his people — " The many 
 thousands of Israel." " For," unless we send 
 out ignorance and bigotry to count them, " who 
 can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of 
 the fourth part of Israel 1" And the Lord add 
 to his people, how many soever they be, a 
 thousandfold ! Secondly, We should be con- 
 cerned for the whole Israel of God. They 
 all belong to us. They are all fellow-citizens 
 of the same community; branches of the same 
 household; members of the same body. They 
 are more intimately related, and ought to be 
 more endeared to us, than any earthly friends, 
 or natural relations. 
 
 — Pray therefore for the peace of Jerusa- 
 lem. For your brethren and companions' 
 sakes, say, Peace be within thy walls, and 
 prosperity within thy palaces. — " Return, O 
 Lord" — not unto our family, or tribe ; not 
 unto the thousands of Episcopalians or Dis- 
 senters — but " unto the many thousands of 
 Israel." " Grace be with all them that love 
 our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." And 
 "As many as walk according to this rule, 
 peace be on them and mercy, and upon the 
 Israel of God." 
 
 APRIL 23. 
 
 " From the end of the earth -will I cry unto thee, 
 ■when my heart is overwhelmed : lead me to 
 the Rock that is higher than I. For thou hast 
 been a shelter for me, and a strong to-wer 
 from the enemy" — Psalm Ixi. 2, 3. 
 
 He does the most important service, who 
 instructs us to pray. We may here learn 
 much from the example of David. 
 
 — Hoio would he pray ] " I will cry unto 
 Thee." Crying is a substitute for speech; 
 and also the expression of earnestness. A 
 child can cry, long before it can articulate; 
 and its cries as much move the parent, as any 
 eloquence of words. A person in great dan- 
 ger, or want, or pain, not only utters himself, 
 but cries out, and often aloud, according to 
 the pressure of his feelings. Let me pray as 
 I can. I may not be able to express my de- 
 sires as some do ; but, if I am deeply affected 
 by them, and they spring from a broken heart 
 and a contrite spirit, they shall not be des- 
 pised. 
 
 — Where would he pray] "From the 
 tnds of the earth will I cry unto Thee." He 
 
 means any condition, however desolate oi 
 distant — distance of place being put for great- 
 ness of extremity. Sometimes we may be 
 thrown into situations the most trying and 
 remote from human aid. But wherever we 
 are, God is there to hear and succour us. 
 Thus Joseph found him, when sold into Egypt 
 and John, when he was exiled in Patmos; 
 and Paul, when tossed far off upon the sea. 
 We are as near the Throne of Grace in one 
 place as another. Prayer can reach Him, 
 wherever we are, in a moment, in the twink- 
 ling of an eye. "While they speak I will 
 answer ; and before they speak I will hear." 
 
 — When would he pray? " When my 
 heart is overwhelmed." Not that he would 
 restrain prayer at other times : we are to pray 
 without ceasing. It is the character of a 
 hypocrite, that he will not always call upon 
 God. There are birds who only make a noise 
 at the approach of bad weather; and there 
 are persons who only pour out a prayer when 
 God's chastening hand is upon them. But 
 what should we think of a neighbour or friend, 
 who never called upon us, but when he want- 
 ed to borrow, or to beg ? — Yet, what is always 
 proper, may be sometimes peculiarly seasona- 
 ble, natural, and necessary. And this is the 
 case when we are in trouble and affliction. 
 Therefore says God, Call upon me in the day 
 of trouble. The answer will in due time re- 
 lieve and deliver. The exercise will imme- 
 diately soothe and sanctify. Is any afflicted * 
 Let him pray. 
 
 — For what would he pray 1 " Lead me to 
 the Rock that is higher than I" What means 
 he by this Rock, but something which could 
 afford him support, when he was ready to be 
 swallowed up "J The perfections of Jehovah ; 
 the everlasting Covenant; the doctrine of 
 Providence ; the Lord Jesus, who is our hope 
 — This is the rest, and this is the refreshing. 
 And yet, when the relief is provided, and 
 when we see it too, we cannot reach it of our- 
 selves. We need a divine agency to conduct 
 us to it. We live in the Spirit, and walk in 
 the Spirit 
 
 — Whence does he derive his encourage- 
 ment to pray 1 " For Thou hast been a shel- 
 ter for me, and a strong tower from the ene- 
 my." Nothing can be more confirming and 
 exciting, than the review of God's former in- 
 terpositions on our behalf: and to reason 
 from what he has been, to what he will be ; 
 and from what he has done, to what he will 
 do. For he is the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and for ever. And they that know his Name 
 will put their trust in him. 
 
 " His love, in time past. 
 
 Forbids me to think 
 He 'II leave me, at last 
 
 In trouble to sink. 
 Each sweet Ebenezer 
 
 I have in review. 
 Confirms his good pleasure 
 
 To help me quite through.' 
 
112 
 
 APRIL 24. 
 
 APRIL 24. 
 
 " But now they are hid from thine eyes" 
 Luke xix. 42. 
 
 When Pharaoh saw there was respite, he 
 aardened his heart. Solomon tells us, Because 
 sentence against an evil work is not executed 
 speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of 
 men are fully set in them to do evil. But 
 God's keeping silence is not approbation. His 
 long-suffering is not even connivance. He 
 can be merciful, without allowing us to trifle, 
 and insult him for ever. His patience has its 
 rules and its bounds. And Jerusalem knew 
 this. 
 
 — Much has been said on what is termed a 
 day of grace; and much which we neither 
 admire or believe. We are not authorised to 
 say any one is beyond hope, while he is yet 
 in life. Manasseh would have seemed very 
 likely to be such a desperate character ; but 
 he obtained mercy. 
 
 "And while the lamp holds nut to burn, 
 The vilest sinner may return." 
 
 If we cannot view any of our fellow-crea- 
 tures as beyond the possibility of salvation, so 
 we have no rule by which we can absolutely 
 determine against ourselves — Yet there are 
 several things of fearful import, to which we 
 do well to attend. 
 
 First. The language of the Word of God 
 is fearful. "Ephraim is joined to idols; let 
 him alone." " Israel would none of me ; so I 
 gave them up to their own hearts' lust." 
 " In thy filthiness is lewdness : because I have 
 purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou 
 shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any 
 more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon 
 thee." " If we sin wilfully after that we have 
 received the knowledge of the truth, there re- 
 maineth no more sacrifice for sins ; but a cer- 
 tain fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery 
 indignation, which shall devour the adversa- 
 ries." " Because I have called, and ye re- 
 fused : I have stretched out my hand, and no 
 man regarded : but ye have set at nought all 
 my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 
 I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will 
 mock when your fear cometh." "Behold, 
 now is the accepted time : behold, now is the 
 day of salvation." We offer no commentary 
 on these passages — but, surely, their language 
 is fearful. 
 
 Secondly. We know that final impenitency 
 is irrecoverably hopeless ; and with life all 
 our opportunities end — and this is fearful. It 
 would not be kindness, but cruelty, to flatter 
 nen with a contrary expectation. Search 
 the Scripture, and you will always find a dif- 
 ference between the present and the future. 
 One is a state of trial, the other of decision. 
 
 The one is sowing, the other leapmg: and 
 whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also 
 reap. Is not this sufficient to induce us to 
 seek the Lord while he may be found ; and 
 to call upon him while he is near ! 
 
 Thirdly. This life, upon which every thing 
 depends, is very brief— this is fearful. Look 
 at the images of Scripture : a flower of the 
 field ; a flood ; a watch in the night ; a dream ; 
 a vapour. Consider the deaths that come 
 under your own observation. Observe the 
 frailty of your frame. Remember the num- 
 berless diseases, and accidents to which you 
 are exposed. Think of your pulse, where 
 the question is asked sixty times every 
 minute, whether you shall live or die — and 
 then you may well exclaim — 
 
 " Great God ! on what a slender thread 
 Hang everlasting things ! 
 The eternal state of all the dead 
 Upon life's feeble strings!" 
 
 Fourthly. Our continuance here is as un- 
 certain as it is short — this is fearful. " I have 
 not had," said a good man, " a to-morrow for 
 years." It would be well if we had not. In- 
 deed, we have not in reality, whatever we 
 may have in imagination. " Boast not thy- 
 self of to-morrow ; for thou knowest not what 
 a day may bring forth." 
 
 Fifthly. Before this short and uncertain 
 period terminates, many opportunities and 
 advantages may elapse, to return no more — 
 this is fearful. Many convictions may die 
 away, no more to be renewed again unto re- 
 pentance. We may be deprived of reason ; 
 and religion can only operate through the 
 medium of thought. Old age helps on in- 
 sensibility ; and before we are aware, though 
 unpardoned and unrenewed, we may become 
 incapable of a moral change. The Gospel 
 may be removed from us. We may be placed 
 where it is not in our power to attend it. We 
 may become deaf, or blind. Sickness may 
 confine us to a room of pain, or a bed of 
 languishing. The influences necessary to 
 render the means of grace effectual may be 
 withholden. Though Paul plants, and Apol- 
 los waters, God alone gives the increase : and 
 though we can do nothing to deserve his 
 grace, we may provoke his anger ; and he 
 may judicially give us up to a reprobate 
 mind. The heart is hardened through the 
 deceitfulness of sin — and no less so — by 
 familiarity with divine things. And is not 
 this the case with many 1 Once their con- 
 sciences smote them. They dropped a tear 
 upon their Bible. When walking alone, 
 among the works of God, they prayed, " Lord, 
 I am thine ; save me." But Felix no more 
 trembles. And the Gadarenes have besought 
 the healer of their neighbours, and the re- 
 prover of their sin, to depart out of their 
 coasts. 
 
APRIL 25. 
 
 119 
 
 APRIL 25. 
 
 *lu the morning, rising up -a great -while be- 
 fore day, he -went out, and departed into a 
 solitary place, and there prayed." — Mark. i. 
 •15. 
 
 And yet he had been greatly occupied the 
 whole of the day preceding this. We think 
 little of time ; but he never passed an idle 
 hour. The whole of his life said, I must 
 work the works of Him that sent me, while 
 it is yet day : the night cometh wherein no 
 man can work. He was really a man ; he 
 took our infirmities : and wearied nature re- 
 quired repose : but he distinguished between 
 the necessary and the needless; and even 
 between refreshment and indulgence ; and 
 while he enjoined self-denial upon his dis- 
 ciples, as the very first lesson in his school, 
 " he pleased not himself." 
 * It is allowed, that as to the measure of 
 
 sleep, no one rule can be laid down for all. 
 Some require more than others. But it is 
 questionable whether the' require much 
 more. Yea, it may be questioned, whether 
 they require any more, as to length. What 
 they want more of is better sleep : and the 
 quality would be improved by lessening the 
 quantity. Let those who are now so wake- 
 ful, and restless, and can only sleep sound 
 when they ought to be rising — let them try 
 the expedient, and see whether a few hours 
 of sweet and solid sleep be not preferable to 
 the privilege of being bedridden, rather than 
 of enjoying repose. 
 
 We should also inquire too, whether we 
 have not produced the habit itself that now 
 demands so much to satisfy it. If so, we are 
 accountable for the cause, as well as the effect 
 — We should also be always fearful and 
 suspicious when our reasonings and pleadings 
 are on the side of gratification and ease. It 
 is here, where nothing sinful is thought of, 
 and no danger appears ; it is here we pecu- 
 liarly need the admonition, Watch and pray, 
 lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit in- 
 deed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 
 
 — Some live only to do evil. We do not 
 w ish them to rise early. They are only harm- 
 less while they sleep. 
 
 — Some live a life of mere indolence and 
 ease. They are indeed free from vice, but 
 they have no useful employment It is of 
 little importance at what time they rise. 
 There is very little difference between their 
 sleeping and wakeful hours. The one is as 
 barren as the other of any active endeavours 
 to glorify God, or serve their generation, or 
 work out their own salvation. 
 
 But surely there are some who feel that 
 life is infinitely important : who know that 
 they are placed here to gain good and to do 
 good : who remember that the only opportuni- 
 ties they have for both, are short and uncer- 
 tain—Surely these will not sleep as do others 
 P 10* 
 
 — Surely these urill fee*, the excitement ant'. 
 reproach — It is high time to awake out of 
 sleep — They that sleep, sleep in the night. 
 
 — In a word, has not early rising every re 
 commendation] Is it not physically advan- 
 tageous] Is it not better for health T Con- 
 sult your strength, your appetite, your nerves, 
 your spirits, your complexion. Ask your 
 physician. Is there a medical man upon 
 earth that would risk his reputation by a con- 
 trary opinion 7 Sinclair, in his volumes on 
 health and longevity, remarks, that though 
 those who lived to a very great age differed 
 in many things, they all resembled each other 
 here. There was not one of them but rose 
 early. 
 
 — Is it not desirable as to our civil con- 
 cerns 7 What an advantage has a tradesman 
 by early rising 1 in planning and arranging 
 his concerns for the day 1 in forwarding his 
 work, and placing it under his command? 
 and in having leisure for any incidental en- 
 gagement, without stopping or deranging the 
 usual course of his calling 1 — While another, 
 who has said, A little more sleep, a little 
 more slumber ; and who begins at ten what 
 he should have commenced at six; is thrown 
 into haste and confusion ; hurries on to over- 
 take himself; finds through the day his duty 
 a turmoil ; and feels himself a drudge. If 
 we turn from the shop and look into the 
 family, what a difference between the early 
 and late mistress ! and the early and the late 
 servant ! Even those who do not practise 
 early rising themselves plead for the import- 
 ance of it in their domestics, and would never 
 engage them without it Indeed the reputa- 
 tion of every individual, whatever be his con- 
 dition in life, is concerned in it; and his 
 character, in the feelings of others, is unavoid- 
 ably lowered by late rising, unless there be a 
 known and justifiable cause. 
 
 — Above all, is it not morally important 7 
 The Heathens said, the morning was the 
 friend to the muses. It is surely a friend to 
 the graces. If it be the best time for study, 
 it is also the best time for devotion. It is 
 better to go from prayer to business than from 
 business to prayer. Intercourse with God 
 prepares us for our intercourse with our fel- 
 low-creatures ; and for every occurrence, 
 whether pleasing or painful. Who would go 
 out in the morning, not knowing what a day 
 may bring forth, and feeling his ignorance, 
 and weakness, and depravity, and danger— 
 without retiring first and committing himself 
 to God ? Boerhaave, the celebrated physician, 
 rose early in the morning, and, through life, 
 his practice was to retire an hour for private 
 prayer and meditation. This, he often told 
 his friends, gave him firmness and vigour for 
 the business of the day. He commended it, 
 therefore, from experience, as one of the best 
 rules of life. The great Judge Hale, too, 
 rose early, and retired for prayer, and read 
 
114 
 
 APRIL 26. 
 
 i portion of God's Word ; without which, he 
 said, nothing prospered with him all the day. 
 But see the I ord of all ! !— What did He 1 
 
 APRIL 26. 
 
 * Sitting at the feet of Jesus." — Luke viii. 35. 
 
 — This was a place of nearness. Love 
 longs to oe near its attraction — and this man 
 now loves his benefactor, and feels his obli- 
 gations to his pity and power. 
 
 — It was a place of safety. He naturally 
 dreaded the return of the malady, and the 
 devils gaining possession of him again — he 
 therefore keeps close to his Deliverer. 
 
 It was the place of instruction. The two 
 former purposes might have been answered 
 by his sitting at the side of Jesus. But sitting 
 at his feet was the position and posture of a 
 learner. " They sat down at his feet," says 
 Moses, when God was on the top of Horeb, 
 and the people at the bottom, and received of 
 his words. Isaiah, speaking of Abraham, says, 
 "God called him to his feet," Martha had 
 a sister, " who also sat at Jesus' feet." Saul 
 of Tarsus " was brought up at the feet of Ga- 
 maliel." In all these instances there is a re- 
 ference to the ancient and Eastern custom — 
 when the master occupied a higher seat, and 
 the scholars were sitting at his feet — as here- 
 by he had them in view, and they were re- 
 minded, by their very place, of the reverence 
 and submission which became them, as 
 learners. 
 
 This is the place we should all be found in. 
 But how is it possible for us to sit at his feet 
 now 1 He said, I am no more in the world : 
 and the heavens have received him till the 
 restitution of all things. It is true, he is no 
 longer here, corporeally ; but he is here spiri- 
 tually. He is not visible, but he is accessible. 
 
 We have his Throne, and his House, and 
 his Word, and his ministers, and his ordi- 
 nances — We have himself: for he has said, 
 Lo ! I am with you alway, even unto the end 
 of the world. Where two or three are ga- 
 thered together in my Name, there am I in 
 the midst of them — We can, therefore, sit at 
 his feet. And, in recommendation of this 
 place, let. us observe the excellences of the 
 Master, and the advantages of his disciples ; 
 for the one involves the other. 
 
 And here we must not overlook the digni- 
 ty of his character. A tutor seems to shed 
 lustre over his pupils ; and scholars have al- 
 ways prided themselves in the name of an 
 illustrious preceptor. A young Israelitish 
 prophet would have boasted in having been in 
 the school of Samuel, or Elijah. How far 
 did the Queen of Sheba come to hear the 
 wisdom of Solomon ! — But, behold, a greater 
 than Solomon is here !— 'One fairer than the 
 children of men — He is Lord of all. See that 
 poor, despised Christian. He is debarred 
 
 every seat of learning among men; but he id 
 under a Divine instructor, and such honour 
 have all his saints. For so highly are they re 
 lated ; so peculiar is their destination ; so sub- 
 lime are the stations they are to fill, and the 
 functions they are to discharge, as kings and 
 priests unto God for ever ; that their educa- 
 tion is not entrusted to a creature — All thy 
 children shall be taught of the IiOrd. 
 
 There is, also, the perfection of his ability. 
 In fiim are hid all the treasures of wisdom ami 
 knowledge. Other teachers may be mista- 
 ken, and they may deceive us. They cannot, 
 therefore, deserve our implicit and absolute 
 confidence. But he knows every thing, and 
 every thing perfectly. We cannot, therefore, 
 rely too much on his decisions. Heaven and 
 earth may pass away ; but His word shall not 
 pass away. 
 
 There is the kindness of his manner. Men 
 often discourage, and intimidate learners, by 
 their distance, hastiness, and austerity. They 
 have not long-suffering, and gentleness, and 
 tenderness enough, to attract and attach the 
 very soul of the pupil ; to soften and shame 
 him, if perverse; to fix bim, if roving and vola- 
 tile ; to inspire him with confidence, if timid ; 
 and to produce in him at once, that freedom 
 and application of mind, so essential to im- 
 provement, and so incompatible with agitation 
 and confusion of spirit. For something besides 
 talent — and may we not say something beyond 
 talent 1 — is required in a teacher. In propor- 
 tion to the greatness of his knowledge, and 
 the quickness and facility of his apprehension, 
 a master will be tried by the imperfections of 
 his scholars; and the scholars will be the 
 more liable to be abashed, and depressed. 
 Conscious of their ignorance, and inability, 
 and slowness, they will be reluctant, and 
 afraid to give up themselves to such a supe- 
 rior tutor — unless he has o^her qualities ; and 
 such a tutor will not be very likely to waste, 
 as he would suppose, his time and talents, 
 upon such unpromising subjects. But we 
 sit at the feet of One, whose condescension 
 equals his greatness. He will stoop to teach 
 me, even where I must begin. He will ac- 
 commodate himself to my wants, and weak- 
 ness. He will repeat his lessons. He wil 
 give me line upon line, precept upon precept, 
 here a little and there a little — and upbraid 
 not. Thus he taught his immediate disciples, 
 as they were able to bear it, and loved them 
 to the end, notwithstanding their mistakes 
 and infirmities. And thus he said to his 
 hearers ; Learn of me, for I am meek and 
 lowly in heart Does he not refer to himseh 
 in these attributes as a motive, as well as an 
 example 1 As much as to say, " You need 
 not be afraid to place yourselves under mv 
 care — I will deal tenderly with you." 
 
 — There is also the efficiency of his tui- 
 tion. None teaches like him. Other mas- 
 *ers teach, but they cannot make their pin ilf 
 
 
APRIL 27 
 
 115 
 
 cam. Thej can improve, but they cannot 
 jnpart ability : and without some aptitude 
 for an art or science, little progress will be 
 made under the best efforts. What could 
 Handel or Haydn have done with a clown, 
 without any taste or ear for music 1 But Jesus 
 gives the capacity and the disposition he re- 
 quires. He furnishes, not only the medium, 
 but the faculty of vision. He makes the blind 
 to see. And though, like the morning, we set 
 off with a few rays only, our path is like that 
 of the shining light that shineth more and 
 more unto the perfect day. 
 
 But what are the instructions he gives ! 
 What is all other knowledge compared with 
 mis ] Ask Paul : he wasa man of genius and 
 learning ; he did not despise science — yet he 
 exclaims, " Yea, doubtless, and I count all 
 things but loss for the excellency of the 
 knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." Of 
 other knowledge we may be destitute, and 
 yet safe. But this is life eternal. Other 
 knowledge leaves us as it finds us; yea, it 
 often injures the possessor ; and talent caters 
 for depravity. But a man at his feet feels his 
 words to be spirit and life. He is taught to 
 deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to 
 live soberly, righteously, and godly in the 
 present world. In other cases, "in much 
 wisdom there is much grief; and he that in- 
 creaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow ;" but, 
 " Blessed are the people that know the joyful 
 sound." The burden of guilt is removed, and 
 they enter into rest They cast all their care 
 on Him, who careth for them. Their minds 
 are kept in perfect peace. They can not 
 only bear, but enjoy solitude. Even in the 
 midst of trouble they are revived ; and re- 
 joice] in hope of the glory of God — How 
 Bweet are his words unto their taste! yea, 
 sweeter than honey to their mouth ! 
 
 No wcnder, therefore, the disciple prizes 
 his privilege, and cannot be seduced from his 
 Master's feet He has been taught the truth 
 as it is in Jesus. He knows the truth ; and 
 the truth has made him free. And, therefore, 
 upon the question, when others are offended, 
 " Will ye also go away V he answers, with 
 Peter— Where can we do so well 1 Lord, to 
 whom shall we go? To sin 1 That hath 
 ruined us. To the world 1 That has deceiv- 
 ed us. To the Heathen philosophers] Their 
 foolish hearts are darkened. To the Chief 
 Priests and Pharisees ? They are the blind 
 leading the blind. To the Law ! That roars, 
 and names despair. To Moses 1 He wrote 
 of thee. To thee gave all the Prophets wit- 
 ness. Lord, to whom should we go, but unto 
 rtiee? Thou hast the words of eternal life. 
 
 APRIL 27. 
 
 " Members one of another." — Rom. xii. 5. 
 All mankind are joined together by a con- 
 nexion which only death can dissolve. The 
 
 remoteness of the situation in which we are 
 placed does not hinder this connexion, but 
 rather strengthens it We see this in the 
 traffic of different nations, and their mutual 
 exchange of commodities. The inhabitants 
 of one region cultivate the productions of the 
 ground, and produce articles of manufacture 
 for the use of those of another ; and those of 
 another do the same in return for them ; and 
 we sometimes find the four quarters of the 
 globe in the furniture of one house, or the pro- 
 visions of one table. The sea, which seemed 
 likely to separate the dwellers upon earth, 
 has, in the progress of science and arts, ren- 
 dered them accessible to each other; and 
 navigation has become the principal medium 
 of trade. 
 
 There are various distinctions in life ; and 
 the Scripture does not discountenance them. 
 Neither are we to view them as selfish, or 
 terminating only in the advantage of the supe- 
 rior ranks. The lowest are useful, as well as 
 the highest The rich benefit the poor ; and 
 the poor labour for the rich. The king is the 
 protector of his subjects ; and every subject 
 contributes to the support of the king : the 
 king is served by the labour of the field. 
 There is no such thing as independence ; and 
 were it not for ignorance and pride, we should 
 never think of it The under ranks are even 
 the basis of the community : the lowest parts 
 of the wall sustain the higher. The more wc 
 rise, and possess, the less claim have we to 
 independence ; as a larger building requires 
 more support than a smaller. A nobleman 
 employs a thousand hands ; a peasant wants 
 but two — and these are his own. 
 
 — If this reasoning be true as to men, it is 
 more so as to Christians. And it is in this 
 light Paul so frequently and largely speaks 
 of it — "I say, through the grace given unto 
 me, to every man that is among you, not to 
 think of liimself more highly than he ought 
 to think ; but to think soberly, according as 
 God hath dealt to every man the measure of 
 faith." To show how important it is to display 
 a mutual dependence, he remarks — " The eye 
 cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of 
 thee : nor again the head to the feet I have 
 no need of you. Nay, much more those 
 members of the body, which seem to be 
 more feeble, are necessary." They have all 
 their respective places and uses. Each is 
 necessary ; necessary to each, and necessary 
 to the whole ; necessary to the beauty, the 
 strength, the happiness the perfection of the 
 whole — Why, then, should we set at nought 
 a brother ? 
 
 Yet the harmony is often broken and a 
 schism found in the body. The Christian 
 Church would never have been reduced to 
 its present disjointed state, if the members 
 had not been beguiled from the simplicity 
 that is in Christ The first wrong step took 
 them to a distance from the Spirit; and a? 
 
116 
 
 APRIL 28. 
 
 Jiough Christ had been divided, and had im- 
 parted himself and his Gospel to some, exclu- 
 sively of others ; the names of creatures be- 
 came noted as the sources from which particu- 
 lar doctrines were derived, and by whom par- 
 ticular modes of discipline were established. 
 The words the Holy Ghost used were less re- 
 garded than the words which man's wisdom 
 teacheth. The worthy Name by which 
 Christians were originally called, was no 
 longer sufficient. They ranged themselves 
 under different leaders, and called " Rabbi ;" 
 forgetting who had forbidden this ; and that 
 one was their Master, even Christ, while all 
 they are only brethren. Hence feuds and 
 animosities followed; and the professors of 
 meekness itself learned to bite and devour 
 one another. The consequences of such mea- 
 sures are known and felt even at the present 
 day : and though much of the violence of re- 
 ligious parties has subsided, distinctions un- 
 scriptural, and unnecessary, (in the degree, if 
 not in the existence) are supported: and 
 though all hold the same Head, the members 
 of one communion often look for no more 
 honour and assistance from those of another, 
 than if they were not of the body. 
 
 But "if the foot shall say, because I am not 
 the hand, I am not of the body ; is it therefore 
 not of the body 1 And if the ear shall say, 
 Because I am not the eye, 1 am not of the 
 body ; is it therefore not of the body V " But 
 now are they many members, yet but one 
 body;" "that there should be no schism in 
 the body ; but that the members should have 
 the same care one for another. And whether 
 one member suffer, all the members suffer 
 with it ; or one member be honoured, all the 
 members rejoice with it." " For by one Spirit 
 are we all baptized into one body, whether we 
 oe Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or 
 free; and have been all made to drink into 
 one Spirit." f 
 
 — Christians are not only as so many mem- 
 oers in a natural body, but as so many mem- 
 bers in a civil, or domestic state. However 
 different and distant they were by nature from 
 each other, an effectual method has been 
 taken by Divine Grace to bring them toge- 
 ther. They are reconciled in one body on the 
 Cross. They are no longer strangers and fo- 
 reigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, 
 and of the household of God. Therefore they 
 are one in Christ, by obligation, as well as by 
 connexion and dependence. Christ over his 
 own house, has right to enact a law, for the 
 well-ordering and governing of those placed 
 under him. This law is clearly contained in 
 the Scripture ; and vain is every other proof 
 of our belonging to him, unless we obey it. 
 And what says He 1 " Then are ye my dis- 
 ciples, if ye love one another." According to 
 this, we must not live to ourselves— -Each is 
 to live for the good of each, and of all. Even 
 a gratification, harmless in itself, is to be 
 
 avoided, if the peace of a weak conscion x. 
 will thereby be destroyed. Such \va3 the 
 example of Paul. Such was the example of 
 Jesus — " Let every one of us please his neigh* 
 bour for his good to edification: for even 
 Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is writ- 
 ten, The reproaches of them that reproached 
 thee fell on me." 
 
 " Now, by the bowels of my God, 
 
 His sharp distress, his sore complaints, 
 By his last groans, his dying blood, 
 I charge my soul to love the saints " 
 
 APRIL 28. 
 
 " When Jesus kneiv that his hour was come 
 that he should depart out of this -world unto 
 the Father." — John xiii. 1. 
 
 — "His hour" means the period of his 
 death. In another place it is called the hour 
 of his enemies — " This," said he, " is your 
 hour and the power of darkness." It is call- 
 ed their hour because they seemed to have 
 every thing their own way. They appre- 
 hended him ; and mocked him ; and scourged 
 him ; and nailed him to the cross. All their 
 purposes and wishes succeeded ; and they 
 considered his cause as annihilated. But 
 their triumph was short and foolish. What 
 they had done was provided for ; was admitted 
 into his plan ; arid the very means of accom- 
 plishing his design — 
 
 — It was " His hour." He was delivered 
 by the determinate counsel and foreknow- 
 ledge of God. There was nothing casual in 
 his death. The time was appointed; and till 
 this arrived the attempts of his adversaries 
 were vain — " They could not lay hands on 
 him, because his hour was not yet come." It 
 was not only his hour by appointment, but by 
 importance. No such hour had been wit- 
 nessed since time had commenced. No hour 
 of his own life would bear a comparison with 
 it. It was infinitely unique, wonderful, and 
 interesting in its design and effects. Now 
 was the judgment of this world. Now was 
 the prince of this world cast out. Now was 
 the ceremonial law abolished. Now was the 
 moral law magnified and made honourable. 
 Now he was to finish transgression. Now he 
 was to bring in everlasting righteousness. 
 Now he was to open the kingdom of heaven 
 to all believers. Now he was to get himself 
 a name above every name. 
 
 — He knew that his hour was come. So 
 perfect was his foresight of the event, that he 
 knew not only the fact ifself, but the incidents 
 attending it. He knew the whole before 
 there was any appearance of the tiling: be- 
 fore his enemies had formed the design ; be- 
 fore Judas had felt the thought of treason. 
 And thus he evinced, not only his wisdom 
 but his devotedness to his work. He saw 
 the hour was at hand, but he seeks no hiding- 
 
APRIL 29. 
 
 117 
 
 place, nor attempts to escape, though he had 
 so many means in his power, i does not 
 • affect this to say, that in another sense he 
 was unable to have released himself, because 
 he was bound by covenant engagement ; and 
 if he saved others, himself he could not save. 
 For his engagement was made in the full 
 prospect of all he was to endure ; and as the 
 tremendous suffering approached, so far was 
 lie from repenting of what he had brought 
 upon himself, that he said, " How am I strait- 
 ened till it be accomplished !" 
 
 — But how is his passage through this 
 dreadful scene expressed I " That he should 
 depart out of this world unto the Father." 
 Here let us think of his people as well as of 
 himself. In all things he must have the pre- 
 eminence : but they resemble him. What is 
 here said of his death, will, in a pleasing de- 
 gree, apply to their own. Their death is not, 
 indeed, like his, mediatorial. Neither know 
 they the hour when it will take place. But 
 all their times are in God's hand. And the 
 circumstances of their death, as well as of 
 their life, fall under his arrangement. They 
 know they have their hour ; and are immor- 
 tal till it arrives. They know that enemies 
 cannot hasten it ; that friends cannot retard 
 it They know also that it is approaching; 
 that it cannot be far off; that it may be very 
 near — and therefore that it requires a con- 
 stant readiness. 
 
 But was his death a "departing out of this 
 world]" So is theirs. He was in it for 
 three-and-thirty years. Many of them are in 
 it a shorter, and many a much longer period. 
 It was a sad world to him. It knew him not, 
 but despised and rejected him. It hated him 
 without a cause. It persecuted him from his 
 birth, refused him a place where to lay his 
 head, and could not be satisfied till it had 
 shed his blood. And they find it a vain and 
 deceitful world ; a vexing and injurious world ; 
 a vile and wicked world. Every thing in it 
 cries, Arise, and depart hence : for this is not 
 your rest, because it is polluted. And are we 
 unwilling to go ] Yes — 
 
 "Thankless for favours from on high, 
 Man thinks he fades too soon ; 
 Though 'tis his privilege to die, 
 Would he improve the boon. 
 
 " But he, not wise enough to scan 
 His best concerns aright, 
 Would gladly stretch life's little span 
 To ages if he might — 
 
 'To ages, in a world of pain- 
 To ages, where he goes, 
 Gall'd by affliction's heavy chain, 
 And hopeless of repose. 
 
 " Strange fondness of the human heart, 
 Enamour'd of its harm! 
 Strange world, that costs it so much smart, 
 And yet has povv'r to charm!" 
 
 We do not wonder, indeed, that this should 
 be so much the case with "men of the 
 world." They have "their portion in this 
 lifiV' and no hope of a better. Bad as it is, 
 
 they know that it is the best world they will 
 ever be in ; and that whatever be its troubles, 
 to them they are only the beginnings of sor- 
 row. But it is otherwise with Christians. 
 They are here, like Israel in Egypt; and 
 death is their departure for the Land of 
 Promise. They are like strangers in an in- 
 hospitable country, and travellers at a cheer- 
 less inn ; and death is their departing to their 
 delightful home. 
 
 Was his death a "going to the Father?" 
 So is theirs. That is, going to heaven ; for 
 the Father is there : and in his presence there 
 is fulness of joy, and at his right hand there 
 are pleasures for evermore. He went to the 
 Father, to carry on their cause, and to pos- 
 sess his own reward ; but he had been there 
 before. Hence he said, " I came forth from 
 the Father, and am come into the world; 
 again, I leave the world, and go unto the 
 Father." Hence he speaks of heaven, with- 
 out wonder. He had been at court He had 
 resided there, and had only left it for a sea- 
 son. His return, with all the glories that 
 should follow, was the joy set before him, for 
 which he endured the Cross. And, as love 
 delights in the welfare of its object, he ex- 
 pected that his disciples would rejoice, when 
 he said, " I go unto the Father ; for the Father 
 is greater than I." But they were never 
 there before : all will be new, and surprising 
 to them. Yet they, also, will have their 
 work, and will be still praising him. They, 
 also, will drink of the rivers of his pleasure. 
 They will have immediate and uninterrupted 
 access to his Father and our Father, to his 
 God and our God. And with Him is the foun- 
 tain of life. 
 
 APRIL 29. 
 
 " And there appeared an angel unto him from 
 heaven, strengthening him." — Luke xxii. 43. 
 
 Thus, though the cup was not taken from 
 him, he was heard, in that he feared, accord- 
 ing to the promise ; " I have heard thee in a 
 time accepted ; and in the day of salvation 
 have I succoured thee." We may be heard, 
 when we are not delivered. We may be 
 succoured in distress, when we are not saved 
 from it. And if the burden be not diminish 
 ed, yet, if our ability to endure it be increased, 
 the effect is the same. Paul was a proof of 
 this. When he besought the Ix>rd thrice, 
 that the thorn in the flesh might depart from 
 him, the Saviour said, My grace is sufficient 
 for thee ; for my strength is made perfect in 
 weakness. And, says David, In the day that 
 I cried, Thou answeredst me ; and strength- 
 enedst me with strength in my soul. 
 
 —Here we see the humiliation of the Sa- 
 viour. He who was rich, for our sakes be- 
 came poor. He was in the form of God, but 
 took upon him the form of a servant. Ho 
 
118 
 
 APRIL 30. 
 
 was Lord of all, but had not where to lay his 
 lead, and was relieved by the creatures of his 
 
 Eower: "Certain women, which had been 
 ealed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary 
 called Magdalene, out of whom went seven 
 devils, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza Herod's 
 steward, and Susanna, and many others, mi- 
 nistered unto him of their substance." He 
 was the Lord of angels, but he was made a 
 little lower than they — yea, he received as- 
 sistance from them. " There appeared unto 
 him an angel from heaven, strengthening 
 him." 
 
 — What a contrast is here ! His Apostles, 
 who had been so much honoured by him, for- 
 sook him. Even Peter, James, and John, 
 who had been admitted to the Transfigura- 
 tion, and now were selected to be with him 
 in the garden, slumbered and slept. And 
 though, when he came to them, and found 
 them in this condition, he pitied them, and 
 said, The spirit indeed is willing, but the 
 flesh is weak : yet he felt it — deeply felt it ; 
 and said, "What! could ye not watch with 
 me one hour ?" — But if earth disowns him, 
 heaven does not If men abandon him, angels 
 cry with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb ! 
 — " He was seen of angels." One of them an- 
 nounced his approaching conception ; another 
 proclaimed his birth; a multitude of them 
 carolled his advent In his temptation in the 
 wilderness, " behold, angels came and minis- 
 tered unto him." An angel rolled away the 
 stone from the door of the sepulchre, and said 
 to the women, " Fear not ye : for I know that 
 ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is 
 not here :" " Come, see the place where the 
 Lord lay." And here an angel appeared unto 
 him from heaven, strengthening him. 
 
 He could have asked the Father, and he 
 would have given him twelve legions of an- 
 gels, and rescued him — what are we saying! 
 One of these would have been sufficient — the 
 least of them could have looked all his adver- 
 saries into nothing — But how then could the 
 Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be 1 
 And how could he put away sin by the sacri- 
 fice of himself! Or how could he have sym- 
 pathised with us, if he had never suffered 1 
 The angel, therefore, only strengthened him. 
 Reminding him of the joy that was set before 
 him : telling him of the result of his passion 
 — the effect of it in the glory of God, and the 
 salvation of the world : spreading before him 
 the promises — perhaps reading to him the 
 prophecy of Isaiah, " When thou shalt make 
 his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his 
 seed, he shall prolong his days, and the plea- 
 sure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 
 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and 
 shall be satisfied" — Raising him up from the 
 cold ground; supporting his fainting head; 
 wiping away the bloody sweat from his dear 
 face— so that he appeared fresh, and fair, and 
 frlorious in his visage : and made those who 
 
 came to apprenend him go backward, and fall 
 to the earth, when he only presented himself, 
 and said, " I am he." 
 
 In all things he has the pre-eminence; 
 and how willing are his people to acknowledge 
 it! But while he is the first-born among 
 many brethren, all of them are predestinated 
 to be conformed to him. Angels, therefore, 
 who attended him, attend them also. " Are 
 they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to 
 minister unto them that are the heirs of sal- 
 vation'?" Their attendance is no less real 
 than formerly, though it is no longer visible, 
 according to the principle of the economy 
 under which we live, and which is, to walk 
 by faith, and not by sight They delight to 
 do the will of their Lord and ours. These 
 blessed beings have no envy, no pride. They 
 are enemies to his enemies; but they are 
 friends to his friends. They rejoice when a 
 sinner repenteth : and carry the dying saint 
 into Abraham's bosom. 
 
 APRIL 30. 
 
 " But go your -way, tell his disciples and Peter 
 that he goeth before you into Galilee : there 
 shall ye see him, as he said unto you." — Mark 
 xvi. 7. 
 
 These are the words of the angel who had 
 descended from heaven to attend his rising 
 Lord. They were addressed to Mary Mag- 
 dalene, and Mary the mother of James, and 
 Salome. These women had honoured the 
 Saviour ; and he honoured them. They 
 were the first to receive the announcement 
 of his resurrection, and the first to report it. 
 
 But observe, they were to carry the news, 
 not to the Chief Priests and Pharisees ; not 
 to Pilate ; not to Herod. It was just to leave 
 these men in the darkness they loved. They 
 rebelled against the light; and no evidence 
 would have convinced those who had already 
 seen his miracles, and believed not. But his 
 disciples, though timid and weak, and imper- 
 fect were sincere. They had forsaken all to 
 follow him. Their very doubting arose from 
 the greatness of their love ; and sorrow had 
 now filled their hearts. They would, there- 
 fore, welcome the intelligence, and be influ- 
 enced by it as his followers and witnesses. 
 
 — But why is Peter distinctively mention- 
 ed 1 Because he was the chief of the Apos- 
 tles? So far from it, the distinction reminds 
 us of his humiliation. He had fallen by his 
 iniquity ; and after the most solemn warnings 
 and professions, he had denied his Master, 
 with oaths and curses. But the look in the 
 judgment-hall had broken his heart and made 
 him go out and weep bitterly. He was now 
 on the verge of despair, and ready to say — 
 perhaps was even now saying — Ah ; he will 
 disown me — and righteously disown me — foi 
 ever ! The angel's naming Hm. therefore. 
 
MAY 1. 
 
 119 
 
 on this occasion, was as much as to say, " The 
 Saviour has not cast thee off; he has not for- 
 gotten to be gracious. He does not break a 
 bruised read, nor quench the smoking flax, 
 but will send forth judgment unto victory." 
 It also conveyed an intimation to his brethren 
 that they were to follow his example, and 
 endeavour to restore such an one m the spirit 
 of meekness, considering themselves lest they 
 also were tempted. 
 
 — The message, more than announcing his 
 resurrection, added, that he would go before 
 them into Galilee. In vain we ask how he 
 passed thither. He had the power to appear, 
 and disappear ; and to transport himself from 
 place to place, as he pleased, in a moment of 
 time. But what led him down so many miles 
 from Jerusalem ] Was it to intimate his for- 
 saking that guilty city 1 Woe unto you when 
 I depart from you !— -Or was it to call them 
 off from the strife and cruelties of their ene- 
 mies ] It was comparatively a place of secu- 
 rity and concealment. Or was it, that their 
 journeying down separately, or with each 
 other, might bring them to recollection, and 
 recover them from their late cowardice and 
 unbelief! — Was it to tell them to withdraw, 
 in order to be in the way of intercourse with 
 him? It was a despised place — would he 
 teach them to rise above local and vulgar 
 prejudices; and to call nothing common or 
 unclean ] It is certain that he had been much 
 in Galilee himself: and had many followers 
 there. And this accounts for the largeness 
 of the assembly : for the Apostles would na- 
 turally inform his friends there of this expect- 
 ed interview. Hence he was now seen of 
 above five hundred brethren at once ; many 
 of whom were living when Paul wrote to the 
 Corinthians, though some had fallen asleep. 
 
 — His promise, that they should see him 
 there, would prove a test of their faith and 
 affection. If they valued the sight of him, 
 and believed his word, they would certainly 
 repair thither. Accordingly they did repair 
 thither; and there was he! — Let us apply 
 this to ourselves. There are means and or- 
 dinances which he has established. In these 
 he has engaged to be found of those that seek 
 him. If we rely on his truth, and desire 
 communion with him, we shall gladly avail 
 ourselves of them. And shall we — can we 
 be disappointed — if we do] Has he ever said 
 to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain ] 
 He has often been better than his word ; but 
 who ever found him worse! Let us go, 
 therefore, to his Throne, and to his House, 
 with full and lively expectation — In all places 
 where I record my Name, I will come unto 
 thee, and I will bless thee; for where two or 
 three are gathered together in my Name, 
 there am I in the midst of them. There 
 shall we see him, as he has said unto us. 
 
 — He is also gone before us into heaven. 
 Let uj arise, and depart hence, and seek him 
 
 there — There shal we see him in all his 
 glory, according to his promise — Where I am, 
 there shall also my servants be. Oh ! to join 
 him there ! To be for ever with the Lord : 
 
 " O glorious hour ! O bless'd abode ! 
 I shall be near, and like ray God : 
 And flesh and sin no more control 
 The sacred pleasures of my soul." 
 
 MAY 1. 
 
 " And I -will give her her vineyards jvom 
 theiice" — Hosea ii. 15. 
 — Observe the Author of these favours — 
 i" will do it, says God. Every good gift and 
 every perfect gift is from him. And his 
 people will readily acknowledge that all they 
 enjoy is not only from his agency, but his 
 grace. 
 
 — Observe also the richness of the supplies, 
 — I will give her — not her corn — corn is for 
 necessity, but grapes — grapes are for delight 
 Yea, it is not a vine — but a vineyard — yea, 
 vineyards ! He engages to give, as if he 
 could not do too much for them ; being con- 
 cerned — not only for their safety, but for 
 their welfare — not only for their relief, but 
 enjoyment — and not only for their tasting his 
 consolation, but their being filled with all joy 
 and peace in believing. 
 
 — Observe also the strangeness of the way 
 in which these indulgences are to be commu- 
 nicated. For whence are these supplies to 
 come ] From a wilderness. " I will allure 
 her, and bring her into the wilderness, and 
 speak comfortably unto her : and I will give 
 her her vineyards from thence." What could 
 be looked for in a wilderness but loneliness, 
 and mazes, and danger, and beasts of prey, 
 and reptiles, and sand, and briers, and thorns 
 — Who would expect to find the vineyards of 
 Engedi there] "He only doeth wondrous 
 things; he is God alone." He turneth the 
 shadow of death into the morning. He makes 
 rivers in high places, and streams in the 
 desert He makes the wilderness to rejoice 
 and blossom as the rose — and gives us vine- 
 yards from thence. 
 
 The region through which his people pass- 
 ed in their way from Egypt to Canaan, wag 
 a wilderness. Here read the words of Jere- 
 miah : " Who led us through the wilderness, 
 through a land of deserts and of pits, and of 
 the shadow of death, through a land which 
 no man passed through, and where no man 
 dwelt" Moses also calls it That terrible 
 wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and 
 scorpions, and drought ; where there was no 
 water. But he gave them their vineyards 
 from thence. Though the place yielded them 
 nothing, they were well supplied from above. 
 Though they had no rivers or springs, he 
 smote the rock, and the waters gushed out 
 and followed them in all their journevings. 
 
120 
 
 MAY 1, 2. 
 
 Though they had no food, the clouds poured 
 down manna, and they did eat angels' food. 
 Though they had no road, they had a guide to 
 lead them the right way, in a pillar of cloud 
 and of fire, which shaded them by day and 
 comforted them at night The tabernacle of 
 God was in the midst of them. From the 
 mercy-seat he communed with them. He 
 sent them Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam. 
 He gave his good Spirit to instruct them. 
 They had grapes from Eshcol. They had a 
 view of the glory of all lands ; and at length 
 the possession of it — where they sang — " To 
 Him that led his people through the Wilder- 
 ness ; for his mercy endureth for ever !" 
 
 — Earth is a wilderness. And he gives 
 them their vineyards from thence. It was 
 not designed to be a wilderness. But, by one 
 man, sin entered into the world ; and it was 
 said to the transgressor, " Cursed is the 
 ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat 
 of it all the days of thy life ; thorns also and 
 thistles shall it bring forth to thee" — and there 
 are enough of these. Such it is as the Fall 
 left it. Such it now would be, but for divine 
 grace. How discontented and miserable are 
 the men of the world who have nothing else! 
 especially in their afflictions — and man is 
 born to trouble. But to the Christian the 
 curse is turned into a blessing. He has not 
 only before him a land of promise, but even 
 now — even here, he has a thousand allevia- 
 tions, and succours, and even delights. 
 
 • The men of grace have found 
 Glory begun below ; 
 And heavenly fruits on earthly ground 
 From faith and hope may grow." 
 
 And if earth be a wilderness — when they at- 
 tend divine ordinances ; and hear the joyful 
 sound ; and embrace the promises ; and rejoice 
 in hope of the glory of God ; and walk in the 
 comforts of the Holy Ghost — they have their 
 vineyards from thence. 
 
 Solitude is a wilderness. And he gives 
 them their vineyards from thence. There is 
 not only much to be done alone, but gained 
 alone, and enjoyed alone. There we gain 
 much of our best knowledge, and our richest 
 experience. There we enjoy the freedom of 
 prayer, and the most unreserved intercourse 
 with God. There his secret is with them 
 that fear him ; and he shows them his Cove- 
 nant. They are neveV less alone than when 
 alone. " Go forth into the plain, and I will 
 there talk with thee." David said, " My soul 
 shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, 
 and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful 
 lips, when I remember thee upon my bed, and 
 meditate on thee in the night watches." 
 Nathanael under the fig-tree found something 
 more refreshing than the shade of its leaf; 
 more delicious than the taste of its fruit. 
 
 Outward trouble is a wilderness. Many 
 have been afraid to be brought into it — yet 
 He has given them their vineyards from 
 
 thence, and the Valley of Achor for a door ol 
 hope. They have been saved by their undo 
 ing ; and enriched by their losses. Manasseh, 
 in his affliction, sought and found the God of 
 his father. And David, though he was con- 
 verted before, could say, It is good for me 
 that I have been afflicted. What proofs have 
 all his people had that He was with them in 
 trouble ! What discoveries ! what supports ! 
 what tenderness of comfort have they had 
 there! As the sufferings of Christ have 
 abounded in them, the consolation hath also 
 abounded by Christ 
 
 — The state of mind produced by conviction 
 of sin is a wilderness. A wounded spirit who 
 can bear! Who does not remember the sur- 
 prise, the confusion of mind, the terror, the 
 anguish, the self-despair, he once felt — and 
 who can forget the feelings induced by a dis- 
 covery of the Cross, and the joy of God's sal- 
 vation! Many are afraid when they see 
 their relations and friends trembling at God's 
 Word, and broken in heart at his feet— But 
 Christians hail it as a token for good. They 
 know that he gave them their vineyards from 
 thence. 
 
 The same may be said of that soul-abase- 
 ment and distress the believer himself may 
 feel from increasing views of his unwor- 
 thiness, depravity, and guilt And this may 
 be the case after he has been for years in the 
 way everlasting, and hoping better things of 
 himself. The experience is truly lament- 
 able: but will the humiliation hurt him] 
 He giveth grace unto the humble. The rain 
 falls upon the mountain-tops, as well as in the 
 valley: but the valleys are fertilized; they 
 are also covered over with corn ; they shout 
 for joy ; they also sing. 
 
 — The valley of the shadow of death is the 
 last wilderness. There is much to render it 
 uninviting and awful ; and yet, when it has 
 been actually entered, the apprehension and 
 the gloom have fled. This has been the case 
 generally, even with those who were most 
 subject to bondage by the fear of it. The 
 place has been made glad for them. They 
 have had not only a peaceful, but a delightful 
 entrance into the joy of their Lord. And 
 what vineyards does he give them from 
 
 THENCE ! ! 
 
 MAY 2. 
 
 " A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the 
 house of David." — Psalm xxx. 
 
 This he built for himself, as soon as he 
 was established king over Judah and Israel. 
 It was, doubtless, very different from the 
 cottage he occupied when a shepherd. But 
 there was no impropriety in this change. A 
 man may alter his mode of living, with his 
 rising condition in the world. The grada- 
 tions of life are not discountenanced in the 
 
MAY 2. 
 
 121 
 
 Scriptures ; and we have never seen any ad- 
 vantage arising from the neglect of them. 
 Good men ought to avoid extravagance ; but 
 by being mean or parsimonious, they may 
 cause their good to be evil spoken of. 
 
 David, as a king, was obliged to do many 
 things from a regard to his station, rather 
 than from personal choice. Yet godliness is 
 to show itself in all circumstances. There- 
 fore, when he took possession of his dwelling- 
 house, he consecrated it to God. At enter- 
 ing a new house, an entertainment is often 
 given, and dissipation and excess follow. 
 Many are invited ; but God is not of the num- 
 
 y ber : yea, they say unto God, Depart from 
 us ; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. 
 But every thing is to be sanctified by the 
 word of God and prayer. Our religion is to 
 be exemplified in little and common things. 
 We are to sanctify the week, as well to re- 
 member the Sabbath ; and to walk with a 
 perfect heart in our own dwellings, as well 
 as to worship in the temple of God. All we 
 have is the Lord's ; and nothing is a blessing 
 till he blesses it And we know not what 
 may befall us in our new abode. Here our 
 children may be about us ; or here we may 
 weep, because they are not. Here we may 
 find a house of mourning, for the desire of 
 our eyes, or the guide of our youth. Here 
 we may enjoy health, or be made to possess 
 months of vanity, and have wearisome nights 
 appointed unto us. Here we may live many 
 years, or our sun may go down at noon — Let 
 it then be our concern that the place may be 
 the house of God while we live, and the gate 
 of heaven when we die. 
 
 David was a poet : and was accustomed to 
 indulge his pious genius on any particular 
 occurrence. Here are the lines he com- 
 posed on the present occasion — " I will extol 
 thee, O Lord ; for thou hast lifted me up, and 
 hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O 
 Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou 
 hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought 
 up my soul from the grave : thou hast kept 
 "me alive, that I should not go down to the 
 pit. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, 
 and give thanks at the remembrance of his 
 hcliness. For his anger endureth but. a mo- 
 ment ; in his favour is life : weeping may en- 
 dure for a night, but joy cometh in the morn- 
 ing." 
 
 All we notice here is, that previously to 
 his occupying this fine mansion, he had been 
 suffering under a dangerous disease. Kings 
 aro as mortal as their subjects, and exposed 
 to the same evils of life. And what would 
 
 • . a house of cedar be to one who carried into 
 it a body full of pain 1 But God had recover- 
 ed him speedily ; and while renewed health 
 enabled him to enjoy the blessings of Provi- 
 dence, Divine Grace taught him to value life 
 as a privUege for religious purpose; pro- 
 Longing his opportunities to glorify God, 
 Q 11 
 
 and serve his generation according to His 
 will. 
 
 Nothing is more interesting than little 
 casual insights into the history, and, above 
 all, the experience of good and great men 
 And in this ode we see the workings of 
 David's mind — before, and — under, and — af- 
 ter the affliction. 
 
 — Before the affliction : "And in my pros- 
 perity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, 
 by thy favour thou hast made my mountain 
 to stand strong" — He has not said this in 
 words; but his views and feelings, and ac- 
 tions, were all vocal with God. And do we 
 not here see the danger of indulgence ? How 
 little can we bear without self-security, with- 
 out presumption, without losing the heart of 
 a stranger ! Hence the necessity of a change, 
 and the advantage of those trials that cry to 
 our hearts, "Arise, and depart hence, for 
 this is not your rest." 
 
 — Under the affliction : " Thou didst hide 
 thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to 
 thee, O Lord ; and unto the Lord I made sup- 
 plication. What profit is there in my blood, 
 when I go down to the pit 1 Shall the dust 
 praise thee 1 Shall it declare thy truth ? 
 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me : 
 Lord, be thou my helper." Cain, in his dis- 
 tress, goes to building. Saul sends for 
 music. Few turn to Him that smiteth them. 
 But prayer is the design, the sanctification, 
 the resource, of affliction — Is any afflicted, 
 let him pray. 
 
 — After the affliction : " Thou hast turned 
 
 for me my mourning into dancing : thou hast 
 
 put off my sackcloth, and girded me with 
 
 gladness ; to the end that my glory may sing 
 
 praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord 
 
 my God, I will give thanks unto thee for 
 
 ever." He has done it 
 
 "His hand has loos'd my bonds of pain, 
 And bound me with his love." 
 
 Therefore I will serve him with my best 
 powers, and for ever — 
 
 And his practice corresponded with his 
 profession. No sooner had he taken posses- 
 sion of his new palace, than " the king said 
 unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell 
 in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God 
 dwelleth within curtains." And then it was 
 that he availed himself of a pious and ardent 
 frame of mind, to swear unto the Lord, and 
 vow unto the mighty God of Jacob. " Sure- 
 ly I will not come into the tabernacle of my 
 house, nor go up into my bed ; I will not 
 give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine 
 eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, 
 an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." 
 How different the disposition of. the selfish 
 Jews on their return from Babylon ! " Is it 
 time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled 
 houses, and this house lie waste?" And 
 what gained they ? Them that honour me 
 says God, I will honour. " Ye looked foi 
 
128 
 
 MAY 3, 4. 
 
 much, and, lo, it came to little ; and when 
 ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why ] 
 saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine 
 house that is waste, and ye run every man 
 unto his own house." 
 
 MAY 3. 
 
 " To reveal his Son in me." — Gal. i. 16. 
 To reveal is to lay open something which, 
 hough in existence before, was yet unknown. 
 The knowledge of the Son of God is neces- 
 sary for all the use we can make of him. 
 And we may observe a four-fold revelation 
 of him. The text only speaks of one of these : 
 but they are all true ; and they are all profit- 
 able. 
 
 There is a revelation of the Saviour to us. 
 This is found in the Scripture, which there- 
 fore we often call emphatically " revelation." 
 It discovers many things ; but he is the prin- 
 cipal subject : and we are persuaded nothing 
 has found a place in it but has some relation 
 to him. This revelation early began. It 
 dawned in Paradise, and the light continued 
 to shine more and more unto the perfect day. 
 All the Jewish ordinances and sacrifices pre- 
 figured him. Of him, Moses in the law, and 
 the prophets, did write : and the testimony of 
 Jesus was the spirit of prophecy. He came 
 personally as a preacher, and he was his own 
 subject He unbosomed himself to his dis- 
 ciples as far as they were able to bear it ; and 
 promised them a fuller manifestation. This 
 was done when the Holy Spirit taught them 
 all things ; and brought all things to their re- 
 membrance that he had said unto them ; and 
 inspired them to communicate the informa- 
 tion to others ; that all might read and under- 
 stand their knowledge in the mystery of 
 Christ. 
 
 There is a revelation of the Saviour in us. 
 This is more than the former. Many who 
 have access to the Scriptures will perish; 
 and all their knowledge will only prove the sa- 
 vour of death unto death. There is however, 
 as to information, nothing in the internal re- 
 velation that is not in the external. It is not, 
 therefore, a new revelation in itself; for the 
 truths themselves are as old as the Creation ; 
 but it is new as to our perception and expe- 
 rience. If a man, born blind, were to receive 
 his sight, he would not see a new sun, but it 
 would be new to him. Even in a land of vi- 
 sion we may be called out of darkness into 
 his marvellous light ; because the eyes of our 
 understanding may be opened. We heard 
 of these things before, but now, in God's 
 light, we see light. This illumination shows 
 us not only their reality, but their excellency ; 
 and, with their glory, fixes, and replenishes, 
 and sways the soul. Be not satisfied with 
 any thing short of this. Distinguish between 
 • Christian in name, and a Christian in deed. 
 
 Do not place your religion in ai y tiling witn- 
 out you. Have you the witness in your- 
 selves] Is Christ revealed in you] Have 
 you such a sight of him, by faith, as to see 
 that he is fairer than the children of men ] as 
 to feel him infinitely endeared ] as to count 
 all things but loss for the excellency of his 
 knowledge ] This is what he himself means, 
 when he said, "He that seeth the Son, and 
 believeth on him, hath everlasting life." 
 
 There is a revelation of him by us. It is 
 our destiny, our duty, our privilege, to make 
 him known. This is done by our being the sub- 
 jects of his agency ; as the work displays the 
 attributes of the author, and the streams pro- 
 claim the quality of the fountain. We should 
 discover him by our resemblance, as his fol- 
 lowers; and by our testimony, as his wit- 
 nesses. We can speak upon other subjects — 
 Why not upon this] Who has not oppor- 
 tunities to extol him among children, serv- 
 ants, friends, neighbours ] What do seeking 
 souls want, but to see Jesus] Or doubting 
 ones, but to be assured of hi3 love ] Have 
 we been freely healed by him ] Let us tell 
 the diseased and dying of the Physician. Let 
 us zealously aid every institution that aims 
 to show forth his praise. Pray that his glory 
 may be revealed, and that all flesh may see 
 the salvation of our God. 
 
 There is also a revelation of him with us. 
 The world knoweth us not : it knew him not 
 We are now hid ; and he is hid ; and both arG 
 to be displayed at the same time. The day 
 of the manifestation of the sons of God is also 
 the revelation of Jesus Christ. And when 
 he, who is our life, shall appear, we also shall 
 appear with him in glory. Them that sleep 
 in Jesus will God bring with him. They 
 suffered with him, and they shall be glorified 
 together. 
 
 We wish to be distinguished. We want 
 something exclusive: half the relish and 
 value is gone, if others share with us. But 
 his benevolence, his condescension, are such 
 that he cannot be satisfied unless we partake 
 with him : " I appoint unto you a kingdom, as 
 my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye 
 may eat and drink at my table in my king- 
 dom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve 
 tribes of Israel." "To him that overcometh 
 will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 
 even as I also overcame, and am set down 
 with my Father in his throne." — But wher? 
 will the ungodly and the sinner appear * 
 
 MAY 4. 
 
 " For even Christ pleased not himself." 
 Rom. xv. 3. 
 
 — Not as if his undertaking our cause was 
 against his will ; or that he ever felt it to be 
 a task, and a grievance. He was voluntary 
 in the engagement, and cheerful in the ex 
 
MAY 4. 
 
 123 
 
 ecution ; and could say, I have a baptism to 
 De baptized with, and how am I straitened 
 till it be accomplished! — But he never fol- 
 lowed the indulgence of his natural inclina- 
 tion in the days of his flesh. He preferred 
 the glory of God and our benefit to his own 
 gratification. He did not consult his ease; 
 but denied the demands of sleep when duty 
 required exertion. He rejected, with anger, 
 Peter's proposal to spare himself from suffer- 
 ing. He did not consult ambitious feeling ; 
 but refused the people, when they would have 
 made him a king. He stood not upon rank 
 and consequence; but washed the disciples' 
 feet, and was among them as one that serveth. 
 He was far more delighted with Mary's re- 
 ception of his word than with Martha's prepa- 
 ration for his appetite. He was not only 
 thirsty, but hungry, when the disciples left 
 him at the well to go and buy meat; but 
 when they returned, and said, Master, eat; he 
 replied, " I have meat to eat which ye know 
 not of— In your absence I have had something 
 above corporeal satisfaction — I have been 
 saving a soul from death, and hiding a multi- 
 tude of sins — My meat is to do the will of 
 Him that sent me, and to finish his work." 
 When the collectors of the Temple-tax came 
 to Peter, he said to him, "What thinkest 
 thou, Simon ] of whom do the kings of the 
 earth take custom or tribute 7 of their own 
 children, or of strangers 1 Peter saith unto 
 him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, 
 Then are the children free — The Temple is 
 the house of my Heavenly Father, and I am 
 his only begotten Son." But, though not 
 bound like others, he foregoes his right, in 
 order to avoid offence: "Notwithstanding, 
 lest we should offend ;" that is, excite pain, or 
 dislike, or reflection, by their thinking we 
 have not a proper regard to the Sanctuary and 
 ordinances of God — "lest we should offend 
 them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, 
 and take up the fish that first cometh up ; and 
 when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt 
 find a piece of money : that take, and give 
 unto them for me and thee." This he ex- 
 emplified all through life : He was, therefore, 
 well prepared, and authorized to say, "If any 
 man will be my disciple, let him deny him- 
 self, and take up his cross, and follow me." 
 
 —And observe the use the Apostle makes 
 of it — Because Christ pleased not himself, 
 therefore " let the strong bear the infirmities 
 of the weak, and not please themselves" — 
 "Let every one of us please his neighbour for 
 his good to edification." He, indeed, limits 
 the duty. We are not to humour our bre- 
 thren in a sinful course ; but only in things 
 innocent and lawful — and we are to do this, 
 with a view to secure and promote his wel- 
 fare, and not for any advantage of our own. 
 But we are not to consult our own little con- 
 veniences, and appetites, and wishes. We 
 are not even to follow our convictions in everv 
 
 disputed matter. " Let us not therefore judge 
 one another any more : but judge this rather, 
 that no man put a stumblingblock or an occa- 
 sion to fall in his brother's way. I know, and 
 am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is 
 nothing unclean of itself: but to him that 
 esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it 
 is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved 
 with thy meat, now walkest thou not chari- 
 tably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for 
 whom Christ died. Here, again, the Apostle 
 calls in Jesus, as a motive, and an example — 
 He denied himself so as to die for this weak 
 brother, and will you, says he, refuse to deny 
 yourselves in a trifling forbearance on his be- 
 half]" " It is good neither to eat flesh, nor 
 to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy 
 brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made 
 weak." 
 
 Herein, too, Paul enjoins no more than he 
 practised; for he drank deep into the Sa- 
 viour's spirit — " I please all men in all things, 
 not seeking my own profit, but the profit of 
 many, that they may be saved." " If meat 
 make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh 
 while the world standeth, lest I make my bro- 
 ther to offend." And how noble does he here 
 look ! And how below his principles does a 
 Christian act, when he thinks of himself only ; 
 his own accommodation — yea, even his own 
 conscience. He is to regard the satisfaction 
 of another's mind, as well as his own; and is 
 to walk, not only righteously, but charitably. 
 Yet some say, " /do not think it sinful ; there- 
 fore I am not obliged to abstain" — And was 
 Paul obliged to abstain] All things were 
 pure to him ; but he would not eat with of- 
 fence. . Some seem never to regard how their 
 conduct will affect others : but the Scripture 
 says, " Give none offence ; neither to the Jews, 
 nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of 
 God." Asaph was checked in his improper 
 language by remembering, that if he so spake, 
 he should "offend against the generation of 
 the upright." Let us, therefore, beware of 
 throwing stumblingblocks in the way of the 
 blind. Let us make straight paths for our 
 feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of 
 the way : but let it rather be healed. 
 
 Christianity is designed to refine and 
 soften ; to take away the heart of stone, and 
 to give us hearts of flesh : to polish off the 
 rudenesses and arrogances of our manners 
 and tempers ; and to make us blameless and 
 harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke. 
 Lord Chatham, in one of his Letters to his 
 Nephew, finely says, " Politeness is benevo- 
 lence in little things." Religion should make 
 us the most polite creatures in tha world : 
 and what persons of rank do from education, 
 we should do from principle] yielding our 
 own desires and claims, to become all things 
 to all men, if by any means we may gain 
 some; and be not only sincere, but without 
 offence, until the day of Christ 
 
124 
 
 MAY 5. 
 
 If so, some professors of religion have 
 much to learn. They think of nothing but 
 their own indulgence. They know nothing 
 of bearing with infirmity ; of waiting for im- 
 
 ;rovement; of watching for opportunity, 
 'hey are decisive, and dictatorial, and hasty, 
 and severe. They pride themselves only on 
 what they call faithfulness, and which is the 
 easiest thing in religion to them, because it 
 fells in witli their own natural temper — not 
 to say, that frequently what they mean by 
 fidelity is only rudeness and insolence. But 
 while we can do nothing against the truth, 
 but for the truth, we are required to be cour- 
 teous ; and to pursue whatsoever things are 
 lovely, and of good report. 
 
 And without this, professors will not only 
 render religion unamiable and repulsive ; 
 but will lower themselves in general estima- 
 tion, and lose the influence which is deriv- 
 able from reputation and esteem. Who can 
 regard the haughty, and the selfish ! But for 
 a good man some would even dare to die. An 
 inoffensive, self-denying, lovely disposition 
 and carriage wins the heart. It is not in our 
 power to love : but it is in our power to be 
 loved. Our loving another depends upon 
 him ; and here we have no control : but 
 another's loving us, depends upon ourselves ; 
 and he that will have friends, must show 
 himself friendly. 
 
 Doddridge buried a most interesting child 
 at nine years of age. The dear little crea- 
 ture was a general favourite : and he tells us 
 m his Funeral Sermon, that when he one day 
 asked her, how it was that every body loved 
 her — I know not, she said, unless it be that I 
 iove every body. Tell your children this. 
 Also read to them — " The child Samuel grew 
 on, and was in favour both with the Lord and 
 also with men." 
 
 "For he that in these things serveth 
 Christ, is acceptable to God, and approved of 
 men. Let us, therefore, follow after things 
 which make for peace, and things wherewith 
 one may edify another." 
 
 MAY 5. 
 
 " If thou knewest the gift of God." 
 John iv. 10. 
 
 As if he had said to the woman — Thou 
 mistakest me for a mere Jew, wandering, and 
 weary, and sitting thus on the well, and ask- 
 ing for the refreshment of water, seemingly 
 dependent on the kindness of a stranger. But 
 if thou wert acquainted with me — that I am 
 the Mercy promised from the beginning ; the 
 Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace 
 and truth ; that I am come into the world to 
 save sinners; and that in me all fulness 
 dwells — what an opptrtunity wouldst thou 
 find is now afforded thee — " if thou knewest 
 the gift of God"— 
 
 He calls himself the gift of God, because 
 he came not according to the course of na- 
 ture. A body was prepared him. A virgin 
 conceives, and bears a Son ; and the holy 
 thing born of her is called, The Son of God. 
 — We go also further. A preternatural inter- 
 position might have taken place in a way of 
 wrath ; and this is what seemed most proba- 
 ble in the case, and would have been the 
 foreboding of our guilty minds. But God sent 
 not his only begotten Son into the world to 
 condemn the world, but that the world 
 through him might be saved. He therefore 
 came, not according to any rule of desert. A 
 few years ago, we heard much of the rights 
 of man; and though the expression was 
 abused, and brought into contempt, there is a 
 propriety in it. Man has rights, with regard 
 to his fellow-creatures. Children have rights, 
 with regard to parents ; and subjects, with 
 regard to sovereigns. A man has a right to 
 enjoy the fruit of his labour ; he has a right 
 to worship the Supreme Being according to 
 his conscience. But what were his rights 
 with regard to God ! What right to protec- 
 tion has a subject that has become rebellious! 
 What right to wages has a servant that has 
 run away from his master ! As sinners, we 
 had forfeited all expectation from God — ex- 
 cept a fearful looking-for of judgment and 
 fiery indignation. We could have no right 
 to the bread we eat, or th« air we breathe. 
 What claim, then, had we upon God for the 
 Son of his love! He was a gift infinitely 
 free ; and not only free as opposed to desert, 
 but also as opposed to desire. Was he with- 
 holden till we felt our need of him, and be- 
 came suppliants at our offended Maker's 
 feet! Ages before we were born, the plan 
 was formed, and accomplished, and an- 
 nounced. And when we are desirous of ob- 
 taining the blessings of it, we find them pro- 
 vided ; and hear a voice, saying, Come, for 
 all things are now ready. All other good, 
 too, is insured by him. He that spared not 
 his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, 
 how shall he not with him also freely give us 
 all things ! Yea, he has given us all things in 
 him ; and whatever a perishing sinner needs, 
 even to life eternal, is to be derived from him 
 
 — And if you knew the gift of God — surel} 
 you would say, with the Apostle, " Thanks 
 be unto God for his unspeakable gift." You 
 should overlook nothing in his bounty ; but 
 gratitude should bear some proportion to the 
 favour it acknowledges. What is the sun in 
 Nature, to this Sun of Righteousness ! What 
 is our daily bread, to this Sun of Righteous- 
 ness ! What is our daily bread, to this Bread 
 of Life ! Here are the- exceeding riches of hig 
 grace — in his kindness towards us by Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 — If you knew the gift of God, surely you 
 would avail yourselves of it. You would con 
 sider a participation of him as the one thing 
 
MAY 6, 7. 
 
 l«fi 
 
 needful. You would receive him as he is 
 presented in the Gospel ; and as Zaccheus 
 received him, who made haste, and came 
 down, and received him joyfully. 
 
 — If you knew the gift of God, you would 
 not yield to despondency. You would not 
 say, by way of objection, I have no money, no 
 worthiness. This is supposed. Who thinks 
 of buying a gift ] of deserving a gift I espe- 
 cially such a gift ! 
 
 — If you knew the gift of God, you would 
 make him known. You would commend 
 him to your children, your relations, your 
 friends, your neighbours — You would pray, 
 " Let the whole earth be filled with his fflo- 
 
 ry"- 
 
 "His worth if all the nations knew, 
 Sure the whole earth would love him too." 
 
 MAY 6. 
 
 ' Therefore hath thy servant found in his heart 
 
 to pray this prayer unto thee." — 2 Sam. vii. 
 
 27. 
 
 Where did he find his inclination and 
 power to pray ? " In his heart" The heart 
 is every thing in religion. Man judgeth ac- 
 cording to the outward appearance ; but the 
 Lord looketh to the heart; and requires it — 
 My son, give me thy heart. Where he does 
 not find this, He finds nothing. Where this 
 speaks, words are needless : he knows what 
 is the mind of the spirit. Hannah — she spake 
 in her heart ; only her lips moved, but her 
 voice was not heard — yet what a prayer she 
 prayed ! and how successfully ! It is a blessed 
 thing, therefore, to find it in our heart to pray, 
 — so that, while it is with many a bodily ex- 
 ercise only ; a task which they would gladly 
 decline; an effort forced upon them from 
 something without, from some danger, or 
 trouble : we may do it naturally : and there- 
 fore constantly and pleasantly, from a prin- 
 ciple in us — like a well of water, springing 
 up into everlasting life. 
 
 And what was the prayer he found there ? 
 It was this — " Let the house of thy servant 
 David be established before thee." David had 
 a peculiar concern for his family ; and, from 
 his character, we may be assured, he wished 
 it to be not only or principally glorious, but 
 good. It is a man's duty to seek to promote 
 the temporal welfare of his house : for he that 
 provideth not for his own, especially those of 
 his own house, hath denied the faith, and is 
 worse than an infidel. But the wish of many 
 is not to build up their house in Israel, but in 
 the world. They are only anxious for an in- 
 crease of earthly wealth and honour. And 
 how injurious have such risings in life proved 
 to the comfort and the religion of the family. 
 And how inconsiderate and inconsistent are 
 parents, especially if they are pious ones, in 
 longing for such perils, when they know the 
 depravity of human nature, and the snares of 
 11* 
 
 prosperity. How much better is it to see, 
 and to leave their household great h? the 
 sight of the Lord ; and under the blessing of 
 that Providence which will make all tilings 
 work together for their good. 
 
 And what produced this prayer 1 " There- 
 fore" — " For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of 
 Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, 1 
 will build thee an house:" "therefore hath 
 thy servant found in his heart to pray this 
 prayer unto thee." He had refused him the 
 pleasure and honour of building the Temple 
 which he had purposed. But he should be no 
 loser. The will should be taken for the deed. 
 Though he did not build God a house, God 
 would build him a house — and except the 
 Lord build the house they labour in vain that 
 build it. But all things are possible with 
 him: and them that honour him, he will 
 honour. What the king said to his prime 
 minister — " You mind my affairs, and I will 
 mind yours" — he says to each of his servants : 
 Serve me yourselves ; and be persuaded that 
 my blessing is upon my people, and that the 
 generation of the upright shall be blessed. 
 
 — But see — the certainty of a thing does 
 not supersede the use of the means in attain 
 ing it. Why should David pray for it when 
 God had pledged himself to do it 1 So some 
 would argue : but it would be the arguing of 
 folly. The Scripture, the wisdom of God, 
 knows nothing of this perversion. No doc- 
 trine there leads to enthusiasm. There the 
 means and the and ure connected. There 
 activity grows oat of dependence ; and zeal, 
 out of confidence. There God says, after he 
 has promised the thing, "I will yet be in- 
 quired of by the House of Israel to do it for 
 them." Yea, we see prayer is not only con- 
 sistent with the promise, but derived from it. 
 It is this that furnishes the matter of our pe- 
 titions, and gives us all our encouragements. 
 
 Therefore let us be thankful for the pro- 
 mises. Let us search them out Let us place 
 them opposite all our wants. Let us plead 
 them, and say, Remember the Word unto thy 
 servant, upon which thou hast caused him to 
 hope. And, as then we can ask in faith, so 
 we may pray with confidence: for whatsoever 
 we ask according to his will, we know he 
 heareth us. 
 
 MAY 7. 
 
 " The Sun of Righteousness shall arise. ,: 
 Mai. iv. 2. 
 
 He is called the Sun of Righteousness, to 
 intimate that he is the same in the righteous 
 world as the orb of day is in the natural. The 
 importance of the latter is acknowledged by 
 all ; but the value of the former is infinitely 
 greater. What are the interests of time and 
 sense, to those of the soul and eternity ! 
 
 We know there is only one sun in our 
 system : and there is one Mediator betweer 
 
126 
 
 MAY 8. 
 
 God ana man. Neither is there salvation in 
 any other — I am the way, the truth, and the 
 life : no man cometh unto the Father but by 
 me. The vastness of the sun is surprising : 
 but Jesus is the Lord of all. His greatness 
 is unsearchable. The beauty and glory of 
 the sun are such, that, in the absence of Re- 
 velation, and when creatures were idols, we 
 can scarcely wonder that this illustrious dis- 
 play of Deity should have been adored. But 
 He is fairer than the children of men — Yea, 
 he is altogether lovely ; and all the angels of 
 God are commanded to worship him. But 
 consider the inestimable usefulness of this 
 iUminary ! How he enlightens ! warms ! fruc- 
 tifies ! adorns ! blesses ! What changes does 
 he produce ! How he fills the air with songs, 
 and the gardens with fruit and fragrance ! 
 How he clothes the woods with foliage, and 
 the meadows with grass ! How he fills the 
 valleys with corn, and makes the little hills 
 rejoice on every side : and crowns the year 
 with his goodness ! — And this he has always 
 done. The sun that ripened Isaac's corn, 
 ripens ours ; and, though he has shone for so 
 many ages, he is undiminished, and is as all- 
 sufficient as ever. What an image of Him, 
 who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for 
 ever ! who has always been the source of 
 light, life, relief, and comfort ! the hope, the 
 consolation of Israel ! the desire of all nations ! 
 Truly light is sweet ; and a pleasant thing it 
 is for the eyes to behold the sun. But he 
 that seeth the Sun of Righteousness, and be- 
 lieveth on Jesus, hath everlasting life. 
 
 — The rising of the sun is the finest spec- 
 tacle in the creation. I fear some never saw 
 it ; at least at the most interesting season of 
 the year. What, to them, are a thousand 
 rising suns, to the sublimity of lying late in 
 bed ! But when and how does this Sun of 
 Righteousness arise? His coming was an- 
 nounced immediately after the Fall, when 
 God said, the seed of the woman should 
 bruise the Serpent's head. This was the 
 very first beam of the early dawn of that light 
 which was to shine more and more unto the 
 perfect day. His approach obscurely ap- 
 peared in the types and services of the Cere- 
 monial Law. In the clearer discoveries of 
 the prophets, the morning was beginning to 
 spread upon the mountains. But to the Jews 
 he was below the horizon : they longed to see 
 his day ; and kings and righteous men pressed 
 forward to the brightness of his rising. At 
 length, he actually arose ; and when the ful- 
 ness of time was come — God sent forth his 
 Son. A messenger from heaven proclaimed 
 him to the shepherds, and said, I bring you 
 glad tidings of great joy. The Saviour is 
 born ! Oh the splendour of that morning ! 
 — It brought glory to God in the highest, and 
 sn earth peace, good will towards men — God 
 was manifest in the flesh. 
 
 — He rises in the lispensation of the Gos- 
 
 pel. Whenever this enters a nation 01 a vil- 
 lage, He is evidently set forth, and the savour 
 of his knowledge diffused. It is then said to 
 the place, and to the people, Arise, shine, for 
 thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is 
 risen upon thee. 
 
 — He rises in spiritual illumination. Then 
 he is revealed in us. He is presented to the 
 eye of the soul. He is seen in a new manner. 
 He fixes and fills the mind ; he governs the 
 life. 
 
 — He rises in renewed manifestations. For 
 sometimes he hides his face, and we are trou- 
 bled. Then we anxiously ask, O when wilt 
 Thou come unto me 1 Then we wait for him 
 more than they that watch for the morning — 
 and when we behold him again, find a brighter 
 day. 
 
 — He rises in ordinances. What fresh and 
 enlivening views of him have we often in me- 
 ditation ; in prayer ; in his own Supper ; in 
 reading and hearing his word ! 
 
 — " Sometimes a light surprises 
 
 The Christian, while he sings ; 
 It is the Lord that rises 
 With healing in his wings." 
 
 But how will he arise in the irradiations of 
 heaven — in the morning of immortality ; ma- 
 king a day, to be sullied with no cloud, to be 
 followed with no evening shade ! Then their 
 sun shall no more go down — 
 
 " God shall rise, and, shining o'er you, 
 Turn to day the gloomy night ; 
 He, your God, shall be your glory, 
 And your everlasting light." 
 
 MAY 8. 
 
 11 1 will look for him" — Isaiah viii. 17. 
 
 This is peculiar language. It is the lan- 
 guage of none in heaven. There all have 
 found him, and are for ever with the Lord. It 
 is the language of none in hell. There they 
 are only concerned to escape from his hand, 
 and to elude his eye. It is not the language of 
 any in the world. There they are sufficiently 
 active and eager ; but they rise early, and sit 
 up late, and eat the bread of sorrow, to gain 
 some temporal advantage, honour, or pleasure 
 — but none saith, " Where is God my Maker, 
 who giveth songs in the night V It is not 
 the language of all in the church. There 
 are some happy souls who know the joyful 
 sound, and walk in the light of God's counte- 
 nance : in his Name they rejoice all the day, 
 and in his righteousness they are exalted. 
 But there are others, whose desire is to his 
 Name, and to the remembrance of him; 
 whose wish is, " Oh that I were as in months 
 past, when the candle of the Lord shined upon 
 my head, and the Almighty was yet with me." 
 These — these are the persons who are saying 
 — and they cannot do better than tosay — "I 
 will look for him." 
 
 It is here supposed f hat God may hide him 
 
MAY 9. 
 
 12*; 
 
 self from liis people. Indeed it is expressly 
 asserted in the former part of the verse, " I 
 will wait upon the Lord, who hideth himself 
 from the house of Jacob." Sometimes he 
 does this as to providential dispensations, suf- 
 fering them to fall into trouble, and for awhile 
 leaving them, as if he had no regard for them, 
 and had forgotten to be gracious. But we 
 now refer to spiritual manifestations. Some- 
 times fuey are so in the dark, that they are 
 unable to perceive their condition, or to enjoy 
 the comforts of the Holy Ghost God loves 
 them always, and they cannot serve him, in 
 vain; but they cannot always see this, as 
 they once did. The sun is as really in his 
 course, in a dark day, as in a bright one, but 
 his face is hid by fogs and clouds : and, David 
 says to his God, " Thou didst hide thy face, 
 and I was troubled." For when we are in 
 the dark with regard to him, other things 
 come forth and dismay us — and it is true, 
 morally, as well as physically, " Thou makest 
 darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts 
 of the forest do creep forth." 
 
 But the subjects of divine grace cannot 
 rest satisfied without God. We see this in 
 Job : " Oh that I knew where I might find 
 him ! Behold, I go forward, but he is not 
 there; and backward, but I cannot perceive 
 him : on the left hand, where he doth work, 
 but I cannot behold him : he hideth himself on 
 the right hand, that I cannot see him." This 
 anxiety and restlessness to find him results 
 from three things. Love — that longs to be 
 near the object of attachment, and cannot en- 
 dure separation. Conviction — which tells 
 him of God's infinite importance to his case, 
 and of his own entire dependence upon him. 
 I am sick, says he, and he is my only physi- 
 cian ; I am a traveller, and he is my only 
 guide. I have nothing ; he possesses all 
 things. Experience — he has tasted that the 
 Lord is gracious, and the relish of the enjoy- 
 ment adds to the sense of want; for that 
 which indulges the appetite, provokes it also. 
 Hence, though the believer does not desire 
 more than God, he desires more of him. 
 
 Well — this restlessness is a token for good. 
 Henry says, " A Christian is always on the 
 perch, or on the wing : he is always reposing 
 in God, or in flight after him ; and the latter 
 s as good an evidence of religion as the former 
 — for delight is not only a part of complacency 
 and aifection, but also fear, complaint, desire 
 —fear of losing the object — complaint of our 
 enjoying so little of it— desire of attaining 
 and feeling more." 
 
 Therefore be of good comfort — and if you 
 ask, Where you are to look for him : Look for 
 him in Christ, where he is reconciling the 
 world to himself. In him he is well pleased. 
 Look for him in the promises : there you will 
 find him, pledged in every readiness of power 
 and compassion. Look for him in his ordi- 
 nances : where two or tliree are gathered to- 
 
 gether, there is He in the midst oi them. 
 And not only look for him in the temple, but 
 in the closet : pray to thy Father who is in 
 secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret 
 shall reward thee openly. Look for him in 
 thy former experiences. Call to remembrance 
 thy song in the night. Can all your former 
 views andJeelings be a delusion ] Would he 
 have shown you such things as these, and also 
 have accepted an offering at your hands, if he 
 had been minded to kill you 1 
 
 And when you have found him whom you 
 are looking for, fall at his feet, and ingenu- 
 ously confess your unworthiness in causing 
 him to withdraw from you. Do not complain 
 of him ; justify him ; but condemn yourselves. 
 And instead of thinking he has dealt hardly 
 with you, wonder-that he has not cast you off 
 for ever, and be thankful that he has been 
 found of you again. Again you have morn- 
 ing ; again you have spring : but the rising 
 and shining of the sun has made it. "• Thou 
 hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: 
 thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me 
 with gladness ; to the end that my glory may 
 sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord 
 my God, I will give thanks unto thee for 
 ever." Cleave to him with purpose of heart. 
 Resolve rather to die than again grieve his 
 Holy Spirit And not only watch, but pray, 
 lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit in- 
 deed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 
 
 MAY 9. 
 
 " So Daniel -was taken up out of the den, and 
 no manner of hurt was found upon hivi, be 
 cause he believed in his God." — Dan. vi. 23. 
 
 His case at first seemed very hard to flesh 
 and blood. But here we see the end of the 
 Lord. All was sc over-ruled, that Daniel had 
 no reason to repent of his conduct or to la- 
 ment the result of it It is true, the God he 
 served continually did not preserve him from 
 the den of lions ; but he delivered him out of 
 it. He could have made a way for his escape ; 
 but the prevention of the trial would not have 
 been half so impressive and useful as the issue. 
 What a night did he pass there ! What 
 hours were they of prayer and praise ! of 
 peace and joy! What reflections did he 
 make upon the power and goodness of his 
 God — while the hungry lions, ana they had 
 been prepared to devour, looked on, and 
 snuffed his flesh, but felt an invisible Res- 
 trainer, who said, Touch not mine anointed, 
 and do my prophet no harm. How would he 
 resolve to confide in him, and confess him, 
 and serve him, in future ! How would the 
 multitude be impressed ! Those who doubt- 
 ed would be convinced. The timid would be 
 emboldened. Many proselytes would be made 
 to the religion of Daniel — while the kini; 
 said, "I make a decree, That in every doinf- 
 
128 
 
 MAY 10. 
 
 nion of my kingdom men tremble and fear be- 
 fore the God of Daniel : for he is the living 
 God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom 
 that which shall not be destroyed, and his do- 
 minion shall be even unto the end. He de- 
 livereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs 
 and wonders in heaven and in earth, who 
 hath delivered Daniel from the power of the 
 lions." 
 
 How much, therefore, did his steadfastness 
 conduce to the glory of God, and the advance- 
 ment of his cause ! Christians never honour 
 God more than in the fires. When they suf- 
 fer like themselves ; when they are witnesses 
 for God ; when they show that his service is 
 too dear to be forsaken, and that they are wil- 
 ling to follow him to prison, or to death ; and 
 that the religion they more than profess, ena- 
 bles them to glory in tribulation also, — then, 
 men see that there is a reality in it — a vital — 
 a blessed reality ; and that the righteous is 
 more excellent than his neighbour. 
 
 But the result equally terminated in Daniel's 
 own honour and welfare. When taken up, 
 how would every eye be drawn towards him ! 
 How breathless would be their gaze ! How 
 would every tongue extol him ! With what 
 shoutings would they follow him home! — 
 When they met him, how ready would every 
 man be to say, There is the man who would 
 rather enter a den of hungry lions, than vio- 
 late his conscience, or sin against his God ! 
 What influence would be attached to his 
 character ! what weight to his advice and 
 counsel ! — A good name is rather to be chosen 
 than great riches. His reputation is perfected. 
 His attainder is revoked. He is restored. He 
 is promoted by his sovereign to a higher sta- 
 tion. 
 
 — And who would not have done what Da- 
 rius did ! He who had been faithful to his 
 God was more likely to be faithful to his king. 
 This is, indeed, one of the ways in which god- 
 liness naturally conduces to a man's present 
 advantage. It gains him confidence : and this 
 i3 the lever of elevation. Constantius, the 
 father of Constantine the Great, while as yet 
 inis prince was a heathen, wished to know 
 the character of those about him. He, there- 
 fore, called together before him all the chiefs 
 in his suit, and ordered them to offer sacrifices 
 to his gods, on pain of being deprived of all 
 their honours and functions. The trial was 
 severe. Many sunk under it. They could 
 not give up every thing that was dear und 
 valuable. But some were inflexible. They 
 had bought the truth, and they would not sell 
 it for any price. Whatever they suffered, 
 they were resolved to have a conscience void 
 of offence. What happened 1 Those who 
 basely complied, he drove from his presence ; 
 while those who nobly refused, he entrusted 
 with the care of his person, and placed them 
 in the most important offices — saying, On 
 these men I can depend — I prize them more 
 
 than all my treasures. And we know wht 
 hath said, Them that honour me I will ho- 
 nour ; but they that despise me shall be lightly 
 esteemed. 
 
 MAY 10. 
 
 "And the children of Israel -went up iz.rncssea 
 out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took 
 the bones of Joseph -with him : for he had 
 straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, 
 God -will surely visit you ; and ye shall 
 carry up my bones away hence -with you." 
 Exod. xiii. 18, 19. 
 
 Here are two circumstances not to be over- 
 looked, because God has deemed them worthy 
 of record. 
 
 The first is not easily understood from the 
 present version. It is said, They went up 
 out of Egypt harnessed. The word harness, 
 when the Bible was translated, signified not 
 the furniture of a horse, but of a soldier — or 
 armour ; and this is the first sense the term 
 bears in the dictionary : and, to check the 
 presumption of a warrior, it was once said, 
 "Let not him that putteth on the harness 
 boast himself like him that putteth it off." 
 The translators therefore meant to say, that 
 they went out armed. Yet this is not at al. 
 probable. Such a jealous tyrant as Pharaoh 
 would, by his spie3, have prevented the Isra- 
 elites from manufacturing, or purchasing, ox 
 hoarding up, weapons. We find in after- 
 times, when the Philistines held the Jews in 
 subjection, they would not allow a smith t<« 
 live in the country, and only permitted them 
 to sharpen their agricultural implements at 
 particular places. " But they had arms in 
 the Wilderness, when they fought Amalek 
 and others." Yes, they had carried away a 
 few weapons concealed, and made others out 
 of the materials they had with them ; and 
 above all, they furnished themselves from tlie 
 spoils of Pharaoh's army thrown on shore — 
 But they were now only going out from Egypt 
 The margin is, they marched "five in a rank" 
 — But this would have extended the train to 
 an immense length. Others, therefore, have 
 rendered it, " in five squadrons." But all the 
 meaning seems to be — that they moved out — 
 not armed — but in soldier-like order ; as regu 
 larly organized and slowly as disciplined 
 troops — and not like a rude rabble, or a hud 
 died jostling multitude. It shows that the) 
 did not go out by " haste or by flight." And 
 this i3 very remarkable, considering theii 
 numbers, and the quality of the people, and 
 how natural it was for those behind to dread 
 lest their task-masters should overtake them 
 and therefore to press forward and incommodf . 
 those that were before. But there was no- 
 thing of this : they moved with such steadi- 
 ness and stillness, that " against none cf them 
 did a dog move his tongue." We are also in 
 
MAY 10 
 
 129 
 
 vormed that u there was not found one feeble 
 among them." Indeed, they had enough to 
 do to take care of themselves and their goods, 
 without being encumbered with invalids. Yet 
 did ever such an immense multitude leave a 
 place before without one individual unable to 
 follow ] It was the Lord's doing, and it is 
 marvellous in our eyes. 
 
 The other circumstance in this march re- 
 gards "the bones of Joseph, which Moses 
 took with them " This rendered it a* kind of 
 funeral procession, and such as no other his- 
 tory relates. Much people of Nain followed 
 the bier of the widow's son; but Joseph's 
 corpse was accompanied with every man, wo- 
 man, and child, of a whole nation. There is 
 generally some time between death and in- 
 terment, though in warm climates this is very 
 short: here was an interval of near two hun- 
 dred years. Other bodies may have been car- 
 ried as far, but were never so long in their 
 conveyance to the grave — for here forty years 
 were taken up in bearing Joseph to his burial. 
 
 We read at the death of Joseph, that " they 
 embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in 
 Egypt ;" and when we consider that he was 
 the prime minister and the saviour of the 
 country, and the most popular man in the 
 realm, we may be assured that this was done 
 in a manner the most perfect and sumptuous. 
 The descendants of his own family would be 
 likely to have the care of this precious de- 
 posit ; and they would feel a peculiar venera- 
 tion for it — But it was dear to all ; and use- 
 ful to all. It was a memento of the vanity 
 of all human greatness. Joseph had risen in 
 life to an unexampled degree of eminence. 
 But what! where] now is the Governor and 
 idol of Egypt 1 Mummied within those few 
 inches of board ! It was also a moral, as well 
 as a mortal memento. Joseph was a very 
 pious character : he had been highly exem- 
 plary in every relation and condition of life ; 
 and much of God, of providence, and of grace, 
 was to be read in his history — What an ad- 
 vantage to be always reminded of such a 
 man, in having his remains always in the 
 midst of them ! But the body would be, 
 above all, valuable, as a pledge of their future 
 destination. It was a present palpable sign 
 of God's Covenant with their fathers, on their 
 behalf. 
 
 For observe how they came in possession 
 of this treasure. 
 
 It was according to the dying wish and 
 prophecy of Joseph : " For he had straitly 
 charged the children of Israel, saying, God 
 will surely visit you ; and ye shall carry up 
 my bones away hence with you." His charge 
 did not arise from a superstitious principle, 
 as if it were better or safer to moulder in one 
 place than another. Nor even from a prin- 
 ciple of natural and relative affection — This 
 feeling, indeed, is often strong, and the wish 
 »f persons to lie with their kindred seems to 
 R 
 
 grow with the decline of life. How affec- 
 tionately does Jacob express this sentiment, 
 when dying ! " I am to be gathered unto 
 my people : bury me with my fathers m the 
 cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 
 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah. 
 which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, 
 which Abraham bought with the field ot 
 Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a bury- 
 ingplace. There they buried Abraham and 
 Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and 
 Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah." 
 This, however, was more than the language 
 of Nature in the father — and so it was in the 
 son. The Apostle tells us, " By faith Joseph, 
 when he died, made mention of the depart- 
 ing of the children of Israel ; and gave com- 
 mandment concerning his bones." If he dia 
 it by faith, his faith must have had a divine 
 warrant. This was the promise of a God 
 that cannot lie, that he would give Canaan 
 for a possession to the seed of Abraham. 
 
 " And he said unto Abram, Know of a 
 surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a 
 land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; 
 aid they shall afflict them four hundred 
 years ; and also that nation, whom they shall 
 serve, will I judge : and afterward shall they 
 come out with great substance." And this 
 was, at the very time, ratified by a solemn 
 covenant Joseph knew of this engagement, 
 and believed it ; and though the time was 
 remote, and the difficulties in the accomplish- 
 ment many, like a true son of Abraham, he 
 staggered not at the promise of God, through 
 unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving 
 glory to God. This raised him above the 
 treasures of Egypt ; this kept him from natur- 
 alizing there amidst all his prosperity — there 
 he was only a stranger and a sojourner — 
 another nation was his people — another land 
 was his home. And therefore, instead of 
 being entombed in an Egyptian pyramid, he 
 ordered his body to be taken immediately to 
 Goshen, and kept by them till they should 
 go as a body to possess their inheritance, and 
 then bury him with his fathers. 
 
 And behold the fulfilment ! Enslaved as 
 they were, they are delivered. Their ene- 
 mies perish. They live by miracle for forty 
 years in the Wilderness. The Jordan is 
 crossed. Canaan is taken — and, says the 
 Conqueror to the people he had led to victory, 
 " Behold, this day I am going the way of all 
 the earth : and ye know in all your hearts 
 and in all your souls, that not one thing hath 
 failed of all the good things which the Lord 
 your God spake concerning you ; all are 
 come to pass unto you, and not one thing 
 hath failed thereof." "So Joshua made a 
 covenant with the people that day, and set 
 them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.'* 
 What more! "And the bones of Joseph, 
 which the children of Israel brought up out 
 of Egypt ouried they in Shechem, in a parcel 
 
130 
 
 MAY 11, 12. 
 
 af ground which Jacob bought of the sons of 
 Hamor the father of Shechem for an hun- 
 dred pieces of silver : and it became the in- 
 heritance of the children of Joseph." Here 
 we leave his hallowed remains till the re- 
 surrection of the just; inscribing over his 
 sepulchre — A memorial of the faithful- 
 ness of God. 
 
 MAY 11. 
 
 - The lame man which was healed held Peter 
 and John" — Acts iii. 11. 
 
 How perfectly natural and picturesque 
 are the narratives of the Bible. They serve 
 at once to vouch for the truth of their state- 
 ments, and to leave their representations 
 fixed in the memory. 
 
 The circumstance here mentioned is too 
 sunple, striking, and touching, to be over- 
 looked. The poor man had been lame from 
 his mother's womb, and was placed daily at 
 the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, to ask 
 alms of the worshippers. Silver and gold 
 Peter and John had none. But they gave 
 him something far better. In the name of 
 the Lord Jesus, said they, rise up, and walk. 
 And immediately his feet and ankle-bones 
 received strength. And he, leaping up — 
 stood — and walked — and entered with them 
 into the temple — walking — and leaping — 
 and praising God. The people, also, seeing 
 what was done, hastened to Solomon's porch, 
 greatly wondering. But the man that was 
 healed — held Peter and John. 
 
 Was this the effect of apprehension ? Did 
 he imagine their influence was confined to 
 their bodily presence"! and that if he let 
 them go hia lameness would return ] 
 
 Or did it result from a wish to point them 
 out to the multitude 7 " Are you looking 
 after the wonderful men who have made me 
 whole" — " Here," says he, eager and proud 
 to proclaim them ; " Here they are — These 
 are they." 
 
 Was it not still more the expression of 
 his attachment 1 ? "O my deliverers and 
 benefactors, let me attend upon you. Let 
 me enjoy the happiness to serve you. En- 
 treat me not to leave you, nor to return from 
 following after you. Let me live, let me 
 die with you." 
 
 — So it is in our spiritual cures. It is 
 natural to feel a regard for those who have 
 been the means of our recovery ; and to keep 
 hold of them. But let us remember, we 
 may hold them too closely. And we do so, 
 if we suffer them to draw us away from the 
 God of all grace. For whoever are the in- 
 struments of doing us good, He is the agent ; 
 and he will have us to remember, that the 
 «xcellency of the power is of him, and not 
 of them. Hence the reproof—" For while 
 one saith, I am of Paul ; and another, I am 
 
 of Apollos ; are ye not carnal 1 Who then 
 is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by 
 whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to 
 every man ? I have planted, Apollos water- 
 ed; but God gave the increase. So then 
 neither is he that planteth any thing, neither 
 he that watereth ; but God that giveth the 
 increase." They are something in the order 
 of means, and a proper respect is due to them 
 in this character : but they are nothing as to 
 efficiency ; success is entirely from God ; and 
 his glory will he not give to another. To 
 idolize a minister is the way to have him re- 
 moved from us, or rendered unprofitable to 
 us — "Not by might, nor by power, but by 
 my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." We 
 can never honour God so much as by depen- 
 dence upon him. And them that honour 
 him he will honour ; and they that despise 
 him shall be lightly esteemed. 
 
 MAY 12. 
 
 " And sent messengers before his face : an* 
 they -went, and entered into a village of the 
 Samaritans, to make ready for him. And 
 they did not receive him, because his face 
 •was as though he -would go to Jerusalem. 
 And when his disciples James and John saw 
 this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we com- 
 mand fire to come down from heaven, and 
 consume them, even as Elias did? But he 
 turned and rebuked them, and said, Ye knoto 
 not what manner of spirit ye are of For 
 the Son of man is not come to destroy men's 
 lives, but to save them." — Luke ix. 52 — 56. 
 
 Why did our Saviour send a message to 
 " make ready for him 1" It could not be from 
 a principle of self-indulgence — he had blamed 
 Martha for her too much serving when she 
 entertained him. Neither was it for the pur- 
 pose of show and ostentation. But it was 
 from a motive of civility — not wishing to put 
 them to trouble and confusion by his sudden 
 arrival, especially as he travelled not alone, 
 but with his disciples, and probably others ; 
 and also, as he purposed paying for the ac- 
 commodation he ordered — it was to try their 
 dispositions. Accordingly they were imme- 
 diately discovered. 
 
 But why " would they not receive him !" 
 There had always been an implacable aver- 
 sion between them and the Jews. It appeared 
 on all occasions, and even hindered, as we 
 find in the answer of the woman at the well, 
 the common offices of civil life. But to this 
 ordinary dislike, something peculiar was here 
 added. They knew that our Lord was a 
 public teacher, and had heard of his miracles; 
 but his services had been with their enemies. 
 They also had their temple and their festi* 
 vals, which were held at the same time with 
 those of the Jews : and one of these was at 
 hand. But they saw he was bound, not to 
 
MAY 13. 
 
 131 
 
 mount Gerizim, but to mount Zion — There- 
 fore " they did not receive him, because his 
 face was as though he would go to Jerusa- 
 lem." 
 
 Not far from this very place Elijah had 
 punished Azariah's captains and companies, 
 sent to take him. John and James therefore 
 ask, " Lord, wilt thou that we command fire 
 to come down from heaven to consume them, 
 even as Elias did]" The very infirmities 
 of good men are peculiar ; they are the spots 
 of God's children. Here was something ex- 
 cusable ; yea, even commendable. Such was 
 their acquaintance with Scripture — their ap- 
 plying to our Lord for his permission and 
 approbation — their faith and confidence in his 
 power, that if He willed the thing, it must 
 take place — and their attachment to him : for 
 they could not bear to see one so dear to them 
 insulted, in being refused the common rights 
 of strangers. But evil blended with the good. 
 Their zeal was not according to knowledge. 
 The punishment was also extreme : for though 
 the people had shown their rudeness and pre- 
 judices, they had not offered them violence ; 
 yet they must be destroyed and sent down 
 quick into hell in their sins — and all of them 
 — though some might have been far less 
 blameable than others. The cases, too, were 
 not parallel. Elias had a call — the very im- 
 pulse in him was supernatural, and was jus- 
 tified by the event : for fire from heaven would 
 not have obeyed the dictate of private pas- 
 sion. He acted from a regard to the glory of 
 God, and the welfare of Israel — But these 
 men had no call, and were urged on by then- 
 own feelings — 
 
 He therefore rebukes them — " Ye know 
 not what manner of spirit ye are of." They 
 little suspected how much their own tempers 
 bad to do in the proposal. When the Gada- 
 renes besought him to depart out of their 
 coasts ; and when the Nazarenes took him to 
 the brow of the hdl to cast him do wn ; these 
 disciples did not call for such \engeance 
 then — No : they were Jews — but these offend- 
 ers are Samaritans. How insensibly does 
 something of our selfish and carnal feelings 
 creep in and assume a religious pretension ! 
 None of our passions justify themselves so 
 much as anger ; we think we do well to be 
 angry— but the wrath of man worketh not 
 the righteousness of God. We may offer 
 strange fire on God's own altar ; but it is not 
 thereby sanctified. The Author of Peace 
 and Lover of Concord requires us to " show 
 out of a good conversation our works with 
 meekness of wisdom. And the fruit of righte- 
 ousness is sown in peace of them that make 
 peace." 
 
 How much does it become us to study our 
 own spirits, a id watch over the springs of 
 our actions ! A Jehu may say, " Come, see 
 my zeal for the Lord," when he was only re- 
 
 moving God's enemies to clear his own way 
 to the throne. What do some mean by deal- 
 ing faithfully, as they call it, with others, but 
 indulging their dislike and insolence 1 Some 
 professors of religion never reprove their ser- 
 vants and children, but in fretfulness and 
 ill humour ; and then their temper is dis 
 charged in a kind of spiritual scolding. Who 
 can understand his errors 1 " Search me, O 
 God, and know my heart : try me, and know 
 my thoughts : and see if there be any wicked 
 way in me, and. lead me in the way everlast- 
 ing." 
 
 Our Lord knew James and John better 
 than they knew themselves ; and, in further 
 reproof, he refers to himself as their exam- 
 ple : " For the Son of man is not come to de- 
 stroy men's lives, but to save them." He 
 came indeed to seek and to save the soul 
 principally ; but he did not overlook the body. 
 He healed the disease. He fed the hungry. 
 And he has taught us to be merciful to the 
 temporal wants of our fellow-creatures. Anu 
 even in carrying on his own peculiar cause, 
 and endeavouring to promote the religion of 
 the Bible, he allows us not to employ force ; 
 or to impoverish, or imprison, or in any way 
 persecute. The weapons of his warfare are 
 not carnal, but spiritual. My kingdom, said 
 he, is not of this world : else would my ser- 
 vants fight — Indeed they would. Yea, they 
 have fought Men — women — children have 
 fought. They have fought with more than 
 the courage of heroes. They have prayed ; 
 and lived ; and taught ; and wept ; and bled ; 
 and died .' 
 
 MAY 13. 
 
 " I thank God through Jesus Christ o%ir Lord" 
 Rom. vii. 25. 
 
 The experience of the Christian while in 
 this world is of a mixed nature. It resembles 
 the day spoken of by Zechariah ; which was 
 neither dark nor clear. Whatever advan- 
 tages he attains at present, there is always 
 enough to tell him that this is not his rest 
 Yet, under all his complaints, he has reason 
 to take courage, and be thankful. So it was 
 with Paul. For these words are to be taken 
 in connexion with his language in the pre- 
 ceding verse; where he groans, being bur- 
 dened with the remains of indwelling sin; 
 " O wretched man that I am ! who shall de- 
 liver me from the body of this death 1 I thank 
 God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 — Yes; even in the midst of such an ex 
 perience as this, there is a fourfold ground of 
 thankfulness. The Christian may say— First 
 I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 that my corruption is my complaint. Once 
 it was not so with me — neither is it so with 
 many now. They drink in iniquity as th<j 
 ox drinketh in water. It is their element- 
 
132 
 
 MAY 14. 
 
 but it is not mine. They roll it as a sweet 
 morsel under their tongue ; but I have been 
 made to know that it is an evil thing and bit- 
 ter. I loathe it, and abhor myself for it, re- 
 penting in dust and ashes. The heart of 
 stone has been taken away, and I have a 
 heart of flesh ; a heart affected not only with 
 the guilt, but the pollution and the vileness 
 of sin. I have nothing to boast of: every 
 view I take of myself is humbling — but my 
 desire is before him, and my groaning is not 
 hid from him. And the weary and heavy 
 laden are invited to come to the Saviour for 
 rest. 
 
 Secondly, I thank God, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord, that though I am in the 
 conflict, I am not conquered. Though yet 
 alive, the enemy is dethroned. Though it 
 rages, it does not reign. It threatens to re- 
 sume its ascendency, and has sometimes 
 alarmed my fears — I have said, I shall one 
 day perish ; but having obtained help of God, 
 I continue to this day : faint, yet pursuing — 
 and feeling no disposition to turn back. 
 
 Thirdly, I thank God, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord, that deliverance is sure. 
 
 " What though my inbred lusts rebel ; 
 'Tis but a struggling gasp for life : 
 The weapons of victorious grace 
 Shall slay my sins, and end the strife." 
 
 The victory in this case may be inferred from 
 the reality of the conflict. It is as certain as 
 the word of God can render it The result 
 is left to no precariousness, but secured in the 
 everlasting Covenant. He who made his 
 aoul a sacrifice for sin, shall see his seed, and 
 be glorified in them. Their help is laid on 
 one that is mighty. His blood cleanseth from 
 all sin. His righteousness justifies the un- 
 godly. His grace is sufficient for the most 
 weak and exposed — They shall never perish ; 
 neither shall any pluck them out of his hand. 
 And they may anticipate the consequence; 
 and rejoicing in a hope that maketh not 
 ashamed, say, I know whom I have believed ; 
 and am persuaded that He is able to keep that 
 which I have committed to him against that 
 day. Yea, 
 
 Finally, I thank God through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord, that the deliverance is near. Were 
 it remote, I ought to wait for it with patience. 
 Others wait. The husbandman waiteth for 
 the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long 
 
 {>atience until he receive the early and the 
 atter rain. But it will not tarry. If life be 
 short, the conflict cannot be long. Soon the 
 warfare must be accomplished. Soon the 
 enemies I have seen to-day, I shall see no 
 more for ever. My salvation is nearer than 
 when I believed. The night is far spent. 
 The day is at hand — 
 
 "Though painful at present, 
 
 'Twill cease before long ; 
 
 And then, O how pleasant 
 
 The Conqueror'* »oog!" 
 
 MAY 14. 
 
 " / will cause you to pass under the rod." 
 Ezck. xx. 37. 
 
 Three things in the Scripture go by this 
 name. A father's scourge ; a king's sceptre ; 
 and a shepherd's crook. All these will apply 
 in the present instance ; and all of them are 
 necessary to do some justice to the subject. 
 
 — There is a paternal rod. Thus we read, 
 He that spareth the rod, hateth his son. 1 
 will visit their transgressions with a rod, and 
 their iniquities with stripes. There can be 
 no mistake here. The idea is correction; 
 and the rod means the instrument with which 
 the father chastises. God is a father ; and he 
 has a rod. This rod is made up of any kind 
 of affliction — outward troubles — bodily pains 
 — family bereavements. Even men, wicked 
 men, reproaching and injuring us, and unde- 
 servedly too, as to them, may be God's scourge 
 to make us suffer. Thus he said of the As- 
 syrian ; " O Assyrian ; the rod of mine anger, 
 and the staff in their hand is mine indigna- 
 tion. I will send him against an hypocritical 
 nation, and against the people of my wrath 
 will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, 
 and to take the prey, and to tread them down 
 like the mire of the streets." Our friends, 
 our children, our dearest comforts in life, if 
 needs be, God can make the means of chas- 
 tising us. Who comes not under this rod ? 
 " As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." 
 They are not all exercised in the same way : 
 but " what son is he whom the father chasten- 
 eth not ?" And who, painful as the exercise 
 may be, cannot acknowledge in the review, 
 if not in the enduring, " it is good for me that 
 I have been afflicted ]" 
 
 And as they are useful in our progress in 
 the divine life, so they have frequently been 
 the means of first awakening the desire, 
 " Where is God my Maker, who giveth songs 
 in the night 1" The' failure of the human 
 arm has led to a dependence on the Divine. 
 The desolations of earth have said to purpose, 
 " Arise, and depart hence, for this is not your 
 rest." What sent the Prodigal home ? He 
 began to be in want. What brought Ma- 
 nasseh to repentance 1 ? In his affliction he 
 sought the Lord God of his father. 
 
 " Father, I bless thy gentle hand: 
 How kind was thy chastising rod, 
 That forced my conscience to a stand, 
 And brought my wandering soul to God!" 
 
 — There is a regal rod. So we call a 
 sceptre. Of the Messiah, the King on his 
 holy hill of Zion, it is said, " He shall rule 
 them with a rod of iron :" but this refers to 
 his adversaries. He has another kind of rod 
 for his subjects : the Lord shall send the rod 
 of his strength out of Zion. And what was 
 sent out of Zion but the Gospel 1 The Gos- 
 pel, therefore, is his rsd : and this rod is his 
 
MAY 15. 
 
 l&J 
 
 sceptre; the emblen of his authority, display- 
 ing 1 his majesty, and maintaining his rule. 
 Hence it is added, " Rule Thou in the midst 
 of thine enemies;" meaning, over his sub- 
 jects, though surrounded with foes : for they 
 are brought under his sway, and feel and ac- 
 knowledge their subjection. It therefore fol- 
 lows, "Thy people shall be willing in the 
 day of thy power." Though once they said, 
 Who is the Lord'! and we will not have him 
 to reign over us ; they are all brought under 
 the rod of his strength. The Gospel has 
 come to them, not in word only, but in power. 
 fc has awakened their consciences; it has 
 changed their dispositions ; it has made them 
 submit to the righteousness which is of God, 
 and to yield themselves to his service, as those 
 who are alive from the dead. They were 
 the servants of sin : but they now obey from 
 the heart the form of doctrine which was de- 
 livered them. 
 
 — There is a pastoral rod. Of this David 
 speaks: when addressing the Lord as his 
 shepherd, he says, "Yea, though I walk 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, I 
 will fear no evil ; for Thou art with me : thy 
 rod and thy staff, they comfort me." This 
 refers to the crook with which the shepherd 
 both walks as he follows, and uses as he ma- 
 nages the sheep. It is the symbol and in- 
 strument of his charge and office. The people 
 of God are naturally like lost sheep going 
 astray, wandering upon the mountains of bar- 
 renness and danger. He seeks them, and 
 finds them out, and brings them all under his 
 rod. And happy they who are under his 
 care. He is their shepherd, and they shall 
 not want He will make them to lie down 
 in green pastures. He will feed them beside 
 the still waters. He will restore their souls, 
 and load them in the paths of righteousness, 
 for his Name's sake. He will gather the 
 lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bo- 
 som, and gently lead those that are with 
 young. And the privilege commenced in 
 grace, will be continued and completed in 
 glory. "Therefore are they before the 
 throne of God, and serve him day and night 
 in his temple: and he that sitteth on the 
 throne shall dwell among them. They shall 
 hunger no more, neither thirst any more; 
 neither shall the sun light on them, nor any 
 heat For the Lamb which is in the midst 
 of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead 
 them unto living fountains of waters: and 
 God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eves." 
 
 MAY 15. 
 
 ' will bri?ig you into the bond of the cove- 
 nant. — Ezck. xx. 37. 
 
 What is this covenant? Some always 
 consider it a kind of stipulation between God 
 12 
 
 and us ; in which he proposes to do so much, 
 if we will do so much : thus representing the 
 Supreme Being as a bargainer, getting as good 
 terms as he can, while man, the other high 
 contracting party, agrees to them. But God 
 is said to make a covenant with the earth, 
 and with the beasts of the field. This cannot 
 intend a reciprocal negotiation ; but the en- 
 gagement of God only. It is called a cove- 
 nant allusively, to signify its stability and cer- 
 tainty ; the effect in the one instance being 
 put for the cause in the other. For the same 
 reason this name is given to that gracious 
 constitution for the salvation of sinners 
 through the Mediator, made known in the 
 Scripture for the obedience of faith ; and is the 
 very same with what is also called " the 
 mercy promised to the fathers;" and "the 
 hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot 
 lie, promised before the world began." 
 
 The bond of this covenant is the obligation 
 which it lays upon God who makes it and 
 upon those who are saved by it We could 
 not, without profaneness, have talked of bind- 
 ing God ; but he has been pleased, in his in- 
 finite condescension, to bind himself. His 
 heart could have been trusted ; but he knew 
 our frame, and our weakness ; and to remove 
 all our fearful misgivings, arising from our 
 meanness and guilt he has brought himself 
 under a covenant engagement And if it be 
 but a man's covenant yet if it be confirmed, 
 no man disannulleth it And he has confirm- 
 ed his engagement by an oath — and because 
 he could swear by no greater, he sware by 
 himself; and also by sacrifice — and the vic- 
 tim was no less than his only begotten Son, 
 and whose blood, therefore, is called the blood 
 of the everlasting covenant Thus he is 
 bound to be the God of his people. He is 
 bound to save them ; to pardon them ; to sanc- 
 tify them ; to help them. Bound to make all 
 things work together for their good. Bound 
 to give them grace and glory, and to with- 
 hold no good thing from them. 
 
 It also binds them — Not to atone for their 
 sin — this is already expiated ; nor to produce 
 a righteousness to justify them before God— 
 this is already brought in, and on this their 
 hope only relies — but they are bound to obey, 
 and serve, and glorify Him who has done 
 such great things for them. Surely evidence, 
 consistency, gratitude, justice require it 
 They feel the obligation and acknowledge it 
 and wish all to know that they are not their 
 own, but bought with a price. They feel the 
 obligation, and it is not irksome ; for though 
 they are bound, it is with the cords of a man, 
 and the bands of love. It is the obligation of 
 a mother to press to her bosom her sucking 
 child; it is the obligation of a hungry man to 
 eat his pleasant meat — My meat is to do the 
 will of him that sent me. It is a yoke ; bul 
 it is like the yoke of marriage to the happy 
 pair who daily bless the bonds. It is a bur 
 
134 
 
 MAY 16, 17. 
 
 den ; but it is like the bui-uwi of wings to the 
 bird, which, instead of confining him, gives him 
 the freedom of the slues — My yoke, says the 
 Saviour, is easy, and my burden is light. 
 
 Blessed are the people that are in such a 
 case — Their humble confidence can author- 
 ise them in every trouble to say, " Yet hath 
 he made with me an everlasting covenant, 
 ordered in all things and sure ; for this is all 
 my salvation and all my desire" — and their 
 affectionate zeal, in every temptation, will 
 constrain them to sing, 
 
 " All that I have, and all I am, 
 Shall be for ever thine : 
 Whate'er my duty bids me give, 
 My cheerful hands resign. 
 
 " Yet, if I might make some reserve. 
 And duty did not call, 
 I love my God with zeal so great, 
 That I should give him all." 
 
 MAY 16. 
 
 4 And it came to pass, when the time -was come 
 that he should be received up, he steadfastly 
 set his face to go to Jerusalem. "-Luke ix. 51. 
 
 Whither he was to be received up is not 
 mentioned. But it is easily understood, espe- 
 cially if we compare the words with other 
 passages. Accordingly the margin refers us 
 to two places ; in the first of which Luke says, 
 " Until the day in which he was taken up ;" 
 and, in the second, Mark says, " So, then, after 
 the Lord had spoken unto them, he was re- 
 ceived up into heaven, and safe on the right 
 hand of God." The event, therefore, was his 
 ascending to his Father and our Father ; to 
 his God and our God. There was the home 
 where he originally dwelt. He speaks of a 
 glory which he had with the Father before 
 the world was. Thus he was rich; but for 
 our sakes he became poor, and made himself 
 of no reputation. He resided on earth for 
 three-and-thirty years in a kind of exile : a 
 prince, higher than the kings of the earth, in 
 disguise ; and the world knew him not. But 
 having accomplished the work that was given 
 him to do, he entered into his glory. 
 
 And if nothing is left to chance in our mi- 
 nutest affairs, surely there was nothing unar- 
 ranged with regard to his leaving this world 
 to go unto the Father. Accordingly we here 
 read of the time for his being received up. 
 And if they have chronicles above, and days, 
 as we have — what a memorable day would 
 that have been in which, after such an ab- 
 sence, and after such astonishing exploits, 
 and completely vanquishing all the powers of 
 darkness, the everlasting doors were opened, 
 for the King of glory to enter in ! 
 
 On this, therefore, the Saviour fixed his 
 eye ; and this emboldened him to set his face 
 steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, For what 
 zeal, what courage, did the determination re- 
 ouire ! He knew the perilous nature of the 
 
 journey. He apprehended all that awaited 
 him when he should arrive. He knew that 
 there he should be forsaken — and betrayed— 
 and apprehended— and mocked— and scourged 
 — and crucified. Yet his resolution does not 
 fail him. Lo ! I come, says he, to do thy 
 will, O God ! I have a baptism to be baptized 
 with ; and how am I straitened till it be ac- 
 complished! For he looked — beyond — and 
 regarded the blessed result. And this was 
 the glorification of his human nature; the 
 acquirement of his mediatorial reward ; the 
 dispensation of the Holy Spirit ; the govern- 
 ment of the world ; the salvation of the 
 Church ; the enjoyment of the praises of the 
 redeemed for ever! This was the joy sel 
 before him in covenant engagement ; and for 
 this he endured the Cross, and despised the 
 shame. For though his soul was to be made 
 a sacrifice for sin, yet he knew that he should 
 rise from the dead, and see of the travail of 
 his soul and be satisfied. Therefore, as the 
 season drew near, he looked to the issue, and 
 triumphed in the prospect. Now, says he, is 
 the hour that the Son of man shall be — not 
 abased, but — glorified. Now is the judgment 
 of this world ; now is the Prince of this world 
 cast out; and I, if I be lifted up from the 
 earth, will draw all men unto me. 
 
 — So, Christian, should it be with you. 
 There is a time appointed when you also 
 shall be removed from this vale of tears, and 
 be for ever with the Lord. Think of it ; and 
 set your face boldly and firmly to go, wher- 
 ever duty calls. The man who has an ampu- 
 tation to suffer must not dwell on the opera- 
 tion — but must pass beyond, to the restora- 
 tion of health, and the continuance of life. 
 This, Christian, is the way to endure, and *o 
 be more than a conqueror. It is to reckon, 
 that the sufferings of the present time are not 
 worthy to be compared with the glory that 
 shall be revealed — You may sow in tears, 
 but you shall reap in joy. The road may be 
 rough, but it will soon bring you home. 
 
 "Yet a season, and you know, 
 Happy entrance will be given ; 
 All your sorrows left below. 
 And earth exchanged for heaven." 
 
 MAY 17. 
 
 " If it be so, our God -whom toe serve is able to 
 
 deliver us from the burning fiery furnace ; 
 
 and he -will deliver us out of thine hand, 
 
 king. But if not, be it known unto thee, 
 
 king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor 
 
 worship the golden image which thou hast set 
 
 up"— Ban. iii. 17, 18. 
 
 Conduct so tried, and so triumphant in the 
 
 trial, must have had some principle to produce 
 
 it. He who acts without principle, is the 
 
 slave of impulse, humour, accident, custom ; 
 
 and you can no more rely upon him than upon 
 
 a wave of the sea, driven with the wind an»J 
 
MAY 18. 
 
 135 
 
 tossed. But when a man is governed by 
 principle, he will be consistent in his practice. 
 He may have infirmities, but a sameness per- 
 vades his character. He may err, but he is 
 conscientious; and his excellences will ap- 
 pear even in his mistakes and failings. Can 
 we find a principle adequate to this heroism ? 
 The Apostle tells us it was faith. But faith 
 must have something to lay hold of- — and the 
 faith of these young men seizes three things. 
 
 The first is, the power of God. "Our 
 God whom we serve is able to deliver us from 
 the burning fiery furnace." " They knew no- 
 thing was too hard for the Lord. And we 
 believe in the Father Almighty, Maker of 
 heaven and earth. We, indeed, are not to 
 look for miracles : but the power of God is 
 the same as formerly ; and there are cases in 
 which the view of it can alone inspire relief. 
 When difficulties multiply, and means fail, 
 and creatures say, Help is not in us — then we 
 must lay hold of his strength, and remember 
 that he is able to do for us exceeding abund- 
 antly above all we can ask or think. 
 
 The second is, his disposition. " And he 
 will deliver us out of thine hand, O king." 
 This they deemed probable — perhaps they 
 had a persuasion of it, derived from a divine 
 impression ; or deduced from the character of 
 God, and the records of his Word. They had 
 read in the Scriptures, along with the expe- 
 rience of his people, the assurance, " Call 
 upon me in the "day of trouble, and I will de- 
 liver thee :" " When thou passest through the 
 waters, I will be with thee ; and through the 
 rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when 
 thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not 
 be burnt ; neither shall the flame kindle upon 
 thee." Here is another argument of faith — 
 His people eye his goodness, as well as his 
 power; and know that he will appear for 
 them, and save them — in his own way, and in 
 his own time. 
 
 The third, is a future state. — " But if not, 
 be it known unto thee. O king, that we will 
 not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden 
 image which thou hast set up." What ! would 
 they refuse, even if death was the conse- 
 quence 1 Yes ! And this shows undeniably; 
 that they did not consider death as annihila- 
 tion. They would not have acted thus had 
 they believed that there was nothing beyond 
 the grave. Had they perished in the furnace, 
 their martyrdom could not have been their 
 duty — it wcxi.d have been the sacrifice of 
 fbols — their end would have been madness. 
 
 This is the very case argued by the Apos- 
 tle, " If in this life only we have hope in 
 Christ, we are of all men the most miserable :" 
 " Else what shall they do which are baptized 
 for the dead, if the dead rise not at an"! why 
 are they then baptized for the dead 1 And 
 why stand we in jeopardy every hour V' God 
 does not require us to sacrifice our being and 
 happiness for ever to his pleasure — It is not 
 
 his pleasure — It cannot be his pleasure. By 
 the law of our nature, and the authority of 
 his Word, we are even commanded to seek 
 our welfare, and to seek Jirst the kingdom of 
 God and his righteousness — and therefore to 
 be willing to give these up, would be disobe- 
 dience and contempt But the language was 
 wise and noble, when they knew, that though 
 they fell in the conflict, they should yet be 
 more than conquerors ; and that, if they lost 
 a dying, they would obtain an immortal life. 
 
 It is absurd to suppose the Jews of old had 
 no knowledge of a future state. Search the 
 Scriptures, says the Saviour, for in them ye 
 think ye have eternal life. Abraham, and 
 his fellow-heirs of the same promise, said such 
 things as declared plainly that they sought a 
 country, even a heavenly. David said, Thou 
 shalt guide me with thy counsel, and after- 
 ward receive* me to glory. Shadrach, Me- 
 shach, and Abednego, acted upon this belief: 
 and must have acted upon it They endured 
 as seeing Him who is invisible. And what 
 was Nebuchadnezzar, compared with the Al- 
 mighty] What was the furnace, compared 
 with the lake that burneth with fire and brim 
 stone, which is the second death? What 
 could they gain by complying, compared with 
 what they would for ever lose ? And what 
 could they lose by refusing, compared with 
 what they would for ever gain — We reckon, 
 said they, that the sufferings of the present 
 time are not worthy to be compared with the 
 glory that shall be revealed in us. 
 
 — And our faith must regard the future , 
 or we shall be often perplexed and vanquish- 
 ed. This is the victory that overcometb the 
 world, even our faith. Moses chose rather to 
 suffer affliction with the people of God, than 
 to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, for 
 he had respect unto the recompence of the 
 reward. This believed and realized explains 
 all ; harmonizes all ; indemnifies all ; glori- 
 fies alL " For our light affliction, which is 
 but for a moment worketh for us a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 
 while we look not at the things which are 
 seen, but at the things which are not seen : 
 for the things which are seen are temporal ; 
 but the things which are not seen are eter- 
 nal." Lord, I believe ; help thou mine un- 
 belief. 
 
 MAY 18. 
 
 " Tlien answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, 
 Lord, it is good for us to be here : if thou 
 •wilt, let us make here three tabernacles ; one 
 for thee, and one for Moses, and on; for 
 .E/iW— Matt xvii. 4. 
 
 — " Not knowing," we are assured by the 
 Holy Ghost ; " not knowing what he said. n 
 For had the motion been complied with, how 
 could our Saviour have suffered and died 
 
136 
 
 MAY 19. 
 
 And if Peter had continued there, how could 
 he have attended to his wife and children 1 
 Besides, he was mistaken as to the nature and 
 design of the dispensation ; which was only 
 for a confirmation of their faith, by making 
 them witnesses of his glory, and to afford 
 them a glimpse or taste of the heavenly bles- 
 sedness — The full fruition was for another 
 world. If ever we think of building taberna- 
 cles here, we shall soon hear a voice saying, 
 " Arise, and depart hence, for this is not your 
 rest" 
 
 But though he did not know what he said, 
 lie knew why he said it. Two things caused 
 his bliss. First, the communion of Saints. 
 And here were not only John and James, but 
 Moses and Elias. And these were not shin- 
 ing statues — they spake — and spake of the 
 Saviour's decease. What a subject ! What 
 speakers ! How delightful must such inter- 
 course have been ! — But the second was the 
 presence of Jesus. And surely it cannot be 
 a question, why it is good to be where He is. 
 With him we are safe ; and no where else. 
 He is the source of all delight and know- 
 ledge. He is the fountain of honour and ex- 
 cellency. He is the Consolation of Israel. 
 He is all in all. 
 
 But where is he with his people ] — we do 
 not mean as to his essential presence — this is 
 universal ; but as to his special and gracious. 
 — He is with them in the closet. There he 
 manifests himself to them, as he does not in 
 the world. There they enjoy an intimacy, a 
 freedom, an unrestrained intercourse with 
 him, such as other company will not allow. 
 Could these beams and rafters, said a good 
 man, pointing to an unceiled roof, speak; 
 they would testify what hours of enjoyment I 
 have had here in communion with him. Of 
 the closet, therefore, they can say, It is good 
 for us to be here. 
 
 — He is with them in his Temple. Where 
 would you look for a man, but in his own 
 house 1 And the Sanctuary is the place 
 where the Lord's honour dwelleth. In all 
 places where I record my Name, I will come 
 unto thee, and I will bless thee. And have 
 they not found the promise true ] Have they 
 not seen his power and glory in the Sanctu- 
 ary ] Of his house, therefore, they can say, 
 It is good for us to be here. 
 
 — He is with them at his table. His Cross 
 is every thing to a Christian ; and here be- 
 fore our eyes Jesus Christ is evidently set 
 forth crucified among us. What a sublime 
 duty, what an exalted privilege is the Com- 
 memoration of his Death ! His flesh is meat 
 indeed, and his blood is drink indeed ! Who 
 has not peculiarly found him in this exercise 
 the Tree of Life 1 Who has not said, I sat 
 down under his shadow with delight, and his 
 fruit was sweet to my taste 1 It is good for us 
 to be here. 
 
 He is with them in the furnace. There 
 
 the Three Hebrew Children found him. The 
 flames only consumed their bands, and set 
 them free ; and they were seen walking in 
 the midst of the fire with the Son of God ! ] 
 will be with thee, says he, in trouble. And 
 if this be fulfilled — and it must be fulfilled — 
 they will have reason to say, however deep 
 the distress — Lord, it is good for us to be 
 here. 
 
 — He is with them in the vale of death 
 How much will they need him then ! Then 
 all other friends and helpers leave them. 
 Then heart and flesh will fail them — What 
 shall we do, they have often said ; what shall 
 we do without him then 1 But they will not 
 be without him. He knows their frame ; and 
 his grace is sufficient for them ; and his 
 strength shall be perfect in their weakness — 
 Yea, though they walk through the valley of 
 the shadow of death, he is with them ; his rod 
 and his staff they comfort them : and then 
 they have cause to say, Lord, it is good for us 
 to be here. 
 
 How much more will they be justified in 
 saying this in heaven ! There he is with them 
 immediately. There they will see him as he 
 is. There, before the presence of his glory, 
 they will possess fulness of joy and pleasures 
 for evermore. 
 
 But none will be translated thither in per- 
 son, whose hearts are not sent off first. — 
 None will have their residence in heaven 
 hereafter, who have not their- conversation in 
 heaven here. — None will be with the Lord 
 for ever, but those that find it their happi- 
 ness for the Lord to be with them now. 
 
 MAY 19. 
 
 " He riseth from supper, and laid aside his gar' 
 ments ,• and took a toivel, and girded him- 
 self. After that he poureth -water into a 
 basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, 
 and to -wipe them -with the toivel -wherewith he 
 was girded." — John xiii. 4, 6. 
 
 That he designed this to be exemplary is 
 obvious, from his own declaration after the 
 action had been performed. "Know ye what 
 I have done to you 1 Ye call me Master and 
 Lord : and ye say well ; for so I am. If I 
 then, your Lord and Master, have washed 
 your feet; ye also ought to wash one ano- 
 ther's feet For I have given you an exam- 
 ple, that ye should do as I have done to you 
 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is 
 not greater than his lord ; neither he that is 
 sent greater than he that sent him. If ye 
 know these things, happy are ye if ye dt 
 them." 
 
 Now it is not necessary that we should re- 
 semble him in the very circumstances of the 
 action ; but only in the spirit of it. In Popish 
 countries, the ceremony of washing the feet 
 of another, is often performed by persons no' 
 
MAY 20. 
 
 137 
 
 very lowly in heart — sometimes by a cardi- 
 nal — yea, and even by the Pope himself. But 
 the design is to enforce the humility of bro- 
 therly love ; and to teach us that no service 
 is to be deemed too mean for Christians to 
 perform, when Providence brings it in their 
 way, and the condition of a fellow-creature 
 requires it We may profess to do this in the 
 abstract, but refuse to afford the actual assist- 
 ance called for, in particular instances, be- 
 cause the office is too mortifying to the pride 
 of our feelings or manners. But this is not 
 to love without dissimulation. This is to love 
 in word and in tongue ; but not in deed and 
 in truth. Many have lost all credit here, by 
 their unfeeling, distant, and disdainful con- 
 duct towards their inferiors, when they had 
 the finest opportunities to evince their conde- 
 scension, if they had any. 
 
 It would be well, if all who name the 
 Name of Christ would attend to the admoni- 
 tion of his Apostle — " In honour preferring 
 one another — Mind not high things, but 
 condescend to men of low estate." Job was 
 the greatest man in the East ; yet he could 
 say, " If I did despise the cause of my man- 
 servant or of my maidservant, when they 
 contended with me ; what then shall I do 
 when God riseth up ? and when he visiteth, 
 what shall I answer him"! Did not he that 
 made me in the womb make him ? and did 
 not one fiishion us in the womb 1 !" And 
 with regard to those sufferers generally over- 
 looked by greatness, yea, and by mediocrity 
 too ; and those instances of humbler kindness, 
 which splendid beneficence never thinks of; 
 he could make this affecting appeal : " If I 
 have withheld the poor from their desire, or 
 have caused the eyes of the widow to fail ; 
 or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fa- 
 therless hath not eaten thereof; (for from 
 my youth he was brought up with me, as 
 with a father, and I have guided her from 
 my mother's womb;) if I have seen any 
 perish for want of clothing, or any poor with- 
 out covering ; if his loins have not blessed 
 me, and if he were not warmed with the 
 fleece of my sheep; if I have lifted up my 
 hand against the fatherless, when I saw my 
 help in the gate : then let mine arm be bro- 
 ken from the bone." 
 
 A great man seldom wants more help than 
 he can purchase or procure. Though he 
 has wasted his substance, and reduced him- 
 Felf so as to deserve starvation ; his utmost 
 extremity is superfluous subsistence, com- 
 pared with the suffering of a worthy charac- 
 ter, who is neglected because originally in- 
 digent But the industrious poor should be 
 the objects of our attention, whose distress 
 is brought upon tnem, not by vice, extrava- 
 gance, and speculation, but by the providence 
 of God ; and whose condition sinks them be- 
 low observation; so that, in the midst of 
 their trouble, none careth for them. 
 S 12* 
 
 Services small in their nature, are great- 
 ly esteemed by those who are commonly 
 neglected. And in those sffices you perform 
 for them, you serve the Iiord Christ. They 
 cannot recompense you; but He will gra- 
 ciously say, " Inasmuch as ye did it unto one 
 of the least of these my brethren, ye did it 
 unto me." 
 
 Let me, then, hear his blessed invitation 
 — Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; 
 for I am meek and lowly in heart ; and ye 
 shall find rest unto your souls. Let the 
 same mind be in me, which was also in 
 Christ Jesus : who, being in the form of God, 
 thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; 
 but made himself of no reputation, and took 
 upon him the form of a servant, and was 
 made in the likeness of men ; and being found 
 in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and 
 became obedient unto death, even the death 
 of the cross. 
 
 MAY 20. 
 
 " Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable 
 gift"—1 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
 This gratitude, no doubt, must be due, 
 infinitely due. Yet, to excite and increase 
 our thankfulness, it is desirable to know, not 
 only that the Son of God has been given for 
 us, but to us ; and that he is now actually our 
 own. There are some who are satisfied here. 
 They can say, This is my beloved, and this 
 is my friend : the strength of my heart, and 
 my portion for ever. But this is not the case 
 with all. Some are asking, with all the 
 anxiousness the importance of the subject re- 
 quires, Is this unspeakable gift, §>r which 
 eternity will be too short to praise God, 
 mine 1 In answer to which, allow me to 
 ask, 
 
 Do you approve of the design for which he 
 was given ? He came into the world to save 
 sinners, in a way equally gracious and holy. 
 Do you acquiesce in a purpose which involves 
 the destruction of self and sin ? 
 
 Have you received him ? In the word and 
 means of grace he is presented to us. We 
 read of some who have received Christ Jesus 
 the Lord; and as many as received him were 
 privileged to become the sons of God. Has 
 this act been yours? When Laban saw 
 Abrahams servant laden with presents, he 
 said, " Come in, thou blessed of the Lord" — 
 Did you ever give Christ such an invitation ? 
 " Zaccheus made haste, and came down, and 
 received him joyfully"— Did you ever give 
 him such a welcome ? And are you willing 
 to receive him wholly? For is Christ di- 
 vided ? Can you receive him as your prophet 
 and not as your king ? as your priest and not 
 as your example? Can you enjoy him in his 
 sacrifice, and refuse him in his service ? Can 
 
138 
 
 MAY 21. 
 
 you entertain iinn in spiritual privileges, and 
 cast him out in spiritual duties ? 
 
 Have you given yourselves to him ? I do 
 not say, youi substance only, or your time 
 only. You may subscribe to religious institu- 
 tions, and attend the means of grace — and 
 keep back the main thing. But have you 
 given him yourselves'! The Corinthians 
 gave their ownselves unto the Lord — Can you 
 remember such a surrender ? An evening, 
 perhaps — when like Isaac, in the field you 
 said, " Lord, I am thine, save me." The 
 close of a Sabbath, perhaps — when, in your 
 closet, you read, and wept, and kneeled — and 
 then rose, and wept, and kneeled again, and 
 said — " O Lord, other lords beside thee have 
 had dominion over me — henceforth by thee 
 only will I make mention of thy Name." 
 
 Do you supremely prize him ? To them 
 that believe, he is precious. Paul longed to 
 depart, to be with — James? Isaiah 1 ? Moses? 
 No — but to be with Jesus. You have some 
 who are dear to you on earth ; you have more 
 in heaven. Perhaps you have a child ; love- 
 ly here, but a cherub there. Perhaps you 
 have a mother there, whose knees were the 
 altar on which you laid your little hands to 
 pray. Perhaps you have there the dear 
 minister who turned your feet into the path 
 of peace — But, thinking of him, can you say, 
 " Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there 
 is none on earth I desire beside thee ?" — An- 
 swer these inquiries, and claim this unspeak- 
 able gift as your own for ever. 
 
 — But here is another question : What use 
 should the possessor make of this Gift? If 
 you are Christians, though you were once 
 darkness, you are now light in the Lord, and 
 must walk as children of light. And much 
 of your wisdom must appear in knowing what 
 a prize you have in your hand. — Make use 
 of him then, in all your duties. Meditation 
 is a duty — Let him enrich, and enliven, and 
 sweeten it. Prayer is a duty — Pray always 
 in his Name. — Make use of him in all your 
 wants. You want cleansing — use him as the 
 fountain open for sin and uncleanness. You 
 want safety — flee to him as your refuge. 
 You want food — and his flesh is meat indeed, 
 and his blood is drink indeed — feed on it. — 
 Make use of him in all your afflictions. Are 
 you bereaved? are you poor? Rely upon 
 him, in whom you possess all things. You 
 know that your Redeemer liveth. 
 
 — We have one question more — What can 
 we think of those who disregard this unspeak- 
 able gift? What can we think of their in- 
 genuousness — in contemning such infinite 
 goodness and mercy ? Of their danger ? 
 How can they escape if they neglect so great 
 salvation ? Of their misery ? — What can a 
 wretch do without him in death 1 and at the 
 judgment-day ? 
 
 Tt is awful to think that the Saviour may 
 
 become the destroyer. The greatest bless- 
 ing may prove the greatest curse. 
 
 MAY 21. 
 
 " That I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that 
 I have not run in vain, neither laboured in 
 vain." — Phil. u. 16 
 
 This is mentioned as an argument, to en- 
 force the duties he had just recommended; 
 " Do all things without murmurings and dis- 
 putings : that ye may be blameless and harm- 
 less, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the 
 midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among 
 whom ye shine as lights in the world ; hold- 
 ing forth the word of life." And surely we 
 are to know them that labour among us ; and 
 to esteem them very highly in love for their 
 works' sake; and to co-operate with them; 
 and to be zealously concerned to promote 
 their usefulness and comfort. — There is a pe- 
 culiar relation between the minister and the 
 people of his charge : and, as a well-condi- 
 tioned flock is the credit of the shepherd ; and 
 a well-ordered family the commendation of 
 the master; and the moral and prosperous 
 state of his subjects, the praise of the ruler : 
 so a wise, holy, consistent, amiable, lively, 
 useful church is the honour and happiness of 
 the preacher — He lives, if they stand fast in 
 the Lord. They are his glory and joy. 
 .But why, for this satisfaction, does the 
 Apostle refer to so late a period as the day of 
 Christ ? Had he no present rejoicing, from 
 their excellences and exertions ? He had. 
 Yet he knew that he must now rejoice with 
 trembling. He had known many who did 
 run well, but were hindered ; who began in 
 the Spirit, but ended in the flesh. He had 
 seen many moral blossoms perishing without 
 fruit; and experience taught him to distin- 
 guish between the hope of the spring and the 
 richness of autumn. Persons for a season 
 may rejoice in a minister's light, but in time 
 of temptation fall away. They may hang on 
 his lips, and then break his heart He only 
 that endureth to the end shall be saved. Then 
 are we made partakers of Christ, if we hold 
 the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto 
 the end — and " the day will declare it" 
 
 And till then the true character and con- 
 dition of those among whom he has laboured, 
 will not be completely ascertained and de- 
 veloped. 
 
 Till then, also, his hearers will not be 
 placed beyond the reach of moral harm ; or be 
 incapable of injuring the cause they profess. 
 
 Till then, also, his aim will not be fully 
 accomplished, which is, to "present every 
 man perfect in Christ Jesus," and "filled with 
 all the fulness of God." 
 
 Then, also, many will acknowledge their 
 obligations to his instrumentality, for then 
 conversion or edification, which he knew 
 
MAY 22,23. 
 
 139 
 
 aotl ing cf here. And it will be safer and bet- 
 ter for him not to know the extent and degree 
 of his usefulness, till he is secure from the 
 possibility of vanity and pride — Then is the 
 period for rejoicing, when there can be no 
 mistake, no excess, no danger, in the joy. 
 
 Oh ! may he that watches for my soul, as 
 one that must give an account, do it with joy, 
 and not with grief! — 
 
 What a proof is here that there will be a 
 knowledge of each other in heaven ! How 
 else could the Apostle say of converts, " What 
 is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing] 
 Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, at his coming !" 
 
 MAY 22. 
 
 " Justified by the faith of Chrtsi." — Gal. ii. 16. 
 
 Let me remark here the blessing, and the 
 way in which it is obtained. 
 
 What is justification ? It is not the mak- 
 ing us righteous in person, but in state. The 
 Papists confound it with sanctification ; and 
 some Protestants do the same. But justifica- 
 tion stands opposed to condemnation. It is 
 the absolving a roan from a charge ; the ac- 
 quitting him when accused ; and pronouncing 
 him righteous. Only as we are really guilty 
 — we cannot be justified by disproving the 
 offence, but by the non-imputation of it, and 
 treating us as innocent The manner is de- 
 scribed by the Apostle: We are justified 
 freely by his grace, through the redemption 
 that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set 
 forth as a propitiation for sin. The blessing 
 is full and complete: for we "are justified 
 from all things." It is permanent and irre- 
 versible : " Their sins and iniquities will I re- 
 member no more." It is also a present benefit 
 The perception of it may be wanting; but the 
 state is real : they have passed from death unto 
 life : they are accepted in the Beloved. And 
 blessed, says David, is the man whose trans- 
 gression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 
 Blessed in his duties. Blessed in his com- 
 forts. Blessed in his trials. For him afflic- 
 tion has no curse. Death, no sting. Eternity, 
 no terror. 
 
 This inestimable blessing is obtained by 
 the faith of Christ We are often curious, 
 and ask for reasons, when we should be satis- 
 fied with facts. It is not necessary to be able 
 to explain precisely how faith justifies the souL 
 It should be enough for us to know that it is 
 a truth clearly revealed. 
 
 And since, O my soul, none are justified 
 that do not believe ; and all that believe are 
 justified ; let me apply my heart unto wis- 
 dom. Instead of losing myself in subtle in- 
 quiries and angry disputes, let me do two 
 things — Let me observe, first, the importance 
 of this faith. It is, in a sober sense, as im- 
 portant as Christ What therefore, is as- 
 cribed to him meritoriously, is ascribed to 
 
 faith instrumentally He is the well ; but by 
 faith we draw water out of it He is the re- 
 fuge ; but a refuge cannot screen us, unless it 
 be entered. He is the bread of life; but food 
 cannot nourish us, unless it be eaten — and all 
 this is done by faith only. 
 
 Let me, secondly, ask, seriously and ear- 
 nestly, have I this faith of Christ ? Do I be- 
 lieve the record, that God hath given us 
 eternal life, and that this life is in his Son ? 
 And am I repairing to him ; and trusting in 
 him alone for salvation ? How does my feith 
 sow ? Does it " sow in tears !" How does 
 it rejoice ? Does it " rejoice in Christ Je- 
 sus !*♦ and has it " no confidence in the flesh ?* 
 How does it work ? Does it " work by love ?" 
 How does it travel? How plead? Can J 
 say, " I will go in the strength of the Lora 
 God ; I will make mention of his righteous • 
 ness only ?" 
 
 MAY 23. 
 
 " Be not ye called Rabbi ; for one is your mat 
 ter, even Christ ; and all ye are brethren " 
 Matt, xxiii. 8. 
 
 Rabbi signifies Master ; not a domestic or 
 civil master, having servants or subjects under 
 him; but a master of pupils; a leader, a 
 teacher, having disciples who admire and fol- 
 low him. It was not an ancient title : we 
 scarcely read of it before the coming of the 
 Messiah. The Scribes and Pharisees were 
 exceedingly fond of this name. " They 
 love," says our Lqrd, " greetings in the mar- 
 kets, and" to be called of men, Rabbi, rabbi.' 
 " But" adds he, " be not ye called Rabbi" 
 
 The Apostles followed this admonition. 
 " We have no dominion," said they, " over 
 your faith, but are helpers of your joy." They 
 did not lord it over God's heritage, but fed 
 them with knowledge and understanding; 
 and were ensamples to the flock. They con- 
 sidered themselves as messengers, deriving 
 all their authority from their employer ; and 
 always referred their people from themselves 
 to him. They delivered nothing but what 
 they had received ; and called upon those they 
 addressed, not to believe in them implicitly, 
 but to search the Scriptures ; to prove all 
 things ; and hold fast that which was good. 
 They were offended if persons thought too 
 highly of them, or wished to be named after 
 them. "Was Paul crucified for you? or 
 were ye baptized in the name of Paul ? Who 
 then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but minis- 
 ters by whom ye believed, even as God gave 
 to every man?" "So, then, neither is h* 
 that planteth any thing, neither he that wa- 
 tereth ; but God that giyeth the increase." 
 
 It is now hardly possible to avoid religious 
 names ; but we lament that they were ever 
 introduced. Why should parties be called 
 Calvinists, Arminians, Lutherans, Baxter ians. 
 
140 
 
 MAY 24. 
 
 or by any other denomination 1 ? If the senti- 
 ments held by any of these men are not found 
 in the Sacred Writings, they are rot binding 
 ■jpon the conscience, whoever sanctions them : 
 and if they are, why should it be intimated 
 that they have any other origin 1 Let us be 
 satisfied with the words the Holy Ghost 
 useth, without attaching salvation or damna- 
 tion to men's definitions of them. The docu- 
 ments are divine and infallible ; but who can 
 pronounce the explications to be so 1 
 
 If we call ourselves by the name of any 
 human authority, let it be an inspired one. 
 Let us call ourselves Paulites, after Paul; 
 or Johnites, after John. But no. The wor- 
 thy name by which we will be called, is 
 Christians — after Christ. All we are bre- 
 thren — but he is our Master ; and the voice 
 from the most excellent glory cries, " Hear 
 ye him." His authority was proved by mi- 
 racles, wonders, and signs. In him are hid 
 all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 
 All he delivers to us is truth — truth unmixed 
 with error — truth of the mightiest import- 
 ance — truth that can make us free — truth 
 that can make us holy — truth that can make 
 us blessed — for evermore. And as to the 
 mode of his tuition, none teaches like him ; so 
 tenderly ; so effectually ; so perseveringly. 
 
 — Will ye also go away 1 Lord, to whom 
 should we go, but unto thee 1 
 
 — Will ye also be his disciples? O my 
 soul ! refuse not the privilege. Henceforth 
 may I hear — him, watching daily at his gates, 
 and waiting at the posts of his doors. Lead 
 me in thy truth, and guide me ; for thou art 
 the God of my salvation : on Thee do I wait 
 all the day. 
 
 MAY 24. 
 
 "I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good 
 land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly 
 mountain, and Lebanon." — Deut. iii. 25. 
 
 This desire seemed improper. For God 
 had expressly said unto Moses and Aaron, 
 " Because ye believed me not to sanctify me 
 in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore 
 ye shall not bring this congregation into the 
 land which I have given them." We are 
 poor creatures, and often insensibly transfer 
 to God the effects of our own feeling and con- 
 duct. Did Moses then, through infirmity, 
 think that God was changeable'! No : but he 
 thought the threatening was not absolute; 
 especially as it was not ratified by an oath, as 
 the exclusion of the people was. For many 
 of God's denunciations, as we see, for in- 
 stance, in the sentence with regard to Nine- 
 veh, have a condition implied, though not ex- 
 pressed. They will be executed unless re- 
 pentance intervenes. Upon this principle it 
 was possible for Moses to hope for a retrac- 
 tion of the interdict 
 
 But the desire was a very natural one. ±\ 
 was natural for him to desire to enter Canaan, 
 even as an object of curiosity, of which he had 
 heard so much ; but still more as an object of 
 hope, which had been so long promised, with 
 every enliancement. This it was that had 
 animated the people to leave Egypt. This 
 had encouraged them in all their travels in 
 the desert. This was the end, the recom- 
 pence of all their toils and sufferings for forty 
 years. And they had now nearly reached it ! 
 How painful to miss the prize — when the 
 hand was in the very act of seizing it; and 
 to have the cup dashed — even from the lip ! 
 
 Yet the desire was refused. And the Lord 
 said unto him, Let it suffice thee — speak no 
 more to me of this matter. For he some- 
 times refuses the desires of his servants, and 
 the most eminent and endeared of them too. 
 And he does this in two ways. Sometimes 
 he does it in love. He denies, because what 
 is desired would prove dangerous and in- 
 jurious. We should think badly of a father 
 who, if a son asked bread, would give him a 
 stone; or, if he asked a fish, would give a 
 scorpion. But suppose, through ignorance, 
 his son should ask for a scorpion instead of a 
 fish ; or suppose he should cry for a sharp in- 
 strument ; or beg to climb up a steep ladder : 
 would he love his child then, unless he re- 
 jected his wish 1 In how many cases must 
 a wise and good parent distinguish between 
 a child's wishes and his wants! He may 
 wish for liberty ; but he wants restraint : he 
 may wish for holidays ; but he wants school- 
 ing : he may wish for dainties ; but he wants 
 medicine — Here the love of the parent must 
 appear acting, not according to the wish, but 
 welfare of his child. How well would it 
 have been for the Jews, had God more than 
 once turned a deaf ear to their importunity ! 
 They would have a king — and he "gave 
 them a king in his anger, and took him away 
 in his wrath." They would have flesh — and 
 he gave them their hearts' desire, but sent 
 leanness into their souls. On the other hand 
 who does not see, in looking back upon life, 
 how well for him it was that such a scheme 
 failed ; that such a hope was crushed ! How 
 much evil lurked under the specious appear- 
 ance, or would have resulted from the indul- 
 gence ! Who knows what is good for a man 
 in this life? No one but God — the good 
 God- 
 
 "Good when He gives, supremely good. 
 Nor less when he denies : 
 E'en crosses from hissov'reign hand 
 Are blessings in disguise." 
 
 He also sometimes refuses in anger. 
 Wrath is incompatible with love ; but anger 
 is not : anger may even flow from it. Though 
 Christians cannot be condemned, they may 
 be chastened : and the law of the house is 
 that if his children walk not in his command- 
 ments, he will visit their transgression with a 
 
 : 
 
MAY 25. 
 
 141 
 
 rod, and their iniquities with stripes. Hence 
 those who shall be saved eternally, may lie 
 under the present rebukes of Providence; 
 and be refused many things on which they 
 have set their heart, as to station, business, 
 connexions, and usefulness : for them that ho- 
 nour him, he will honour. They may think 
 hard of this at first; but as they discover their 
 unworthiness and desert, they will bow to the 
 dispensation, and say, with David, " I know, 
 O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and 
 that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me." 
 By such conduct, too, Providence reads les- 
 sons to others. See, it says, the evil of sin. 
 See how severely God deals with it, even in 
 his own people. And if these things are 
 done in the green tree, what shall be done in 
 the dry ! If judgment begins at the house of 
 God, what shall the end be of them that obey 
 not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ! 
 And if the righteous scarcely are saved, 
 where shall the ungodly and the sinner ap- 
 pear ! 
 
 — Yet his desire was partially indulged: 
 " Thou shalt not go over this Jordan : but get 
 thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up 
 thine eyes westward, and northward, and 
 southward, and eastward, and behold it with 
 thine eyes." This was obviously intended, 
 not to tantalize him, but to be a mitigation 
 of the severe sentence. The preservation of 
 his good sight to so great an age, fitted him 
 for the gaze; and probably it was also 
 strengthened and enlarged for this very pur- 
 pose. The prospect showed him how worthy 
 the country was of all that God had said con- 
 cerning it ; and would give him high and ho- 
 nourable views of the truth and goodness of 
 God, in his Covenant with Abraham, and 
 Isaac, and Jacob. Along with this, too, there 
 was exerted the influence of divine grace, 
 which soothed and satisfied him. For by this 
 God can make us easy and contented under 
 the refusal oj loss of any comfort, however 
 essential to our happiness it appeared before : 
 so that we behave and quiet ourselves as a 
 child that is weaned of his mother ; our soul 
 is even as a weaned child. While, also, his 
 mind was raised to things above, and, in type 
 and emblem, to a better country, into which 
 he was immediately to enter. Then there 
 would be no want of an earthly Canaan. 
 
 — Thus, in the midst of judgment, He re- 
 members mercy. Though he cause grief, yet 
 will he have compassion. Like as a father 
 pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them 
 that fear him ; for he knoweth our frame ; he 
 remembereth that we are dust. 
 
 MAY 25. 
 
 " Grieve not the holy Spirit of God." 
 Ephes. iv. 30. 
 The expression is not to be taken properly 
 and literally, as if the holy Spirit of God was 
 
 capable ot vexation or sorrow. The Divine 
 Nature is not subject to human passions. 
 God's condescension is not to rob him of his 
 glory. When the Scripture ascribes to him 
 actions or affections that imply imperfection, 
 it is in accommodation to our weakness of 
 apprehension. We lisp with infants. And 
 unable to view the shining sun with the 
 naked eye, we survey it in a vegsel of water, 
 or through obscured glass. 
 
 We grieve a friend when we neglect him, 
 or go contrary to his wishes and interests. 
 And when he is grieved he betrays it His 
 countenance is not towards us as aforetime. 
 Frowns succeed to smiles. He complains and 
 reproves. He discontinues his visits and cor- 
 respondence. All this will apply to the 
 grieving of the holy Spirit of God. And there 
 are three reasons' why we should not grieve 
 him. — Nothing can be more unbecoming — 
 ungrateful — unwise. 
 
 — Nothing can be more unbecoming, if we 
 consider his greatness. The holy Spirit is 
 deserving in himself of all the regard we can 
 express. If a nobleman was calling upon 
 you, common civility would tgach you not to 
 hurt his mind. If the king honoured you 
 with his presence, how anxious would you 
 feel not to offend him ; how studious would 
 you be to please him in all your actions, and 
 words, and looks. Here all comparison fails. 
 No mortal is honoured like the Christian, with 
 whom the King of kings and Lord of lords 
 deigns even to dwell. And will he not be sen- 
 sible of this honour 1 Will he not exclaim, 
 " Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of 
 him, or the son of man, that thou visitest 
 him ]" Will he not fall upon his knees, and 
 pray, " Let the words of my mouth, and the 
 meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy 
 sight, O Lord, my strength and my re?- 
 deemer !" 
 
 — Nothing can be more ungrateful, if we 
 consider his goodness. What obligation was 
 he under to you 1 You were not worthy of 
 the least of all his mercies ; you deserved that 
 his wrath should have come upon you as 
 children of disobedience. Had he therefore 
 left you to perish, you would have had no rea- 
 son to complain. But who remembered you in 
 your low estate 1 Who quickened you, when 
 dead in trespasses and sins 1 Who unstopped 
 your deaf ears, and opened your blind eyes'! 
 Who turned your feet into the paths of 
 peace 1 Who enabled you to believe on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ to life everlasting] Who 
 gave you a disposition, a taste, congenial 
 with the work and enjoyment of heaven 1 
 Who sealed you unto the day of redemption 1 
 But for his gracious agency, where, and what 
 would you now have been J And are you 
 forgetful of all this 1 Are you grieving such 
 a benefactor? Is tliis thy kindness to thy 
 friend 1 
 
 — Nothing can be more unwise, if we con- 
 
142 
 
 MAY 26. 
 
 sider his importance to you. As you are 
 deeply indebted to him for the past, so you 
 are entirely dependent upon him for the fu- 
 ture. You live in the Spirit, you walk in 
 the Spirit. Grieve the holy Spirit of God ! 
 What ! would you grieve your Leader, and 
 be left to travel alone 1 Can you find your 
 way without him ] Can you learn without 
 this teacher ? Must he not guide you into 
 all truth 1 What ! would you grieve your 
 Helper, and be left to act alone in your 
 work ] Can you worship without the prepa- 
 ration of the heart, and the answer of the 
 tongue, which are from him 1 Without him, 
 can you order your speech, by reason of 
 darkness ] Can you know what to pray for 
 as you ought, unless the Spirit helps your in- 
 firmities] What power have you in any 
 duty, unless you are strengthened with might 
 by the Spirit in the inner man] You may 
 spread your sails, but he must fill them. 
 What ! would you grieve your Preserver, 
 and be left to contend by. yourselves against 
 your enemies?- Are you a match for the 
 powers of darkness, and the devices of Satan ] 
 The first temptation that assaults you alone, 
 may occasion your sinning and falling : and 
 by this you may cause the way of truth to be 
 evil spoken of — ministers to be discouraged — 
 vour fellow-Christians to be distressed — that 
 ■vhich is lame to be turned out of the way — 
 while your sin would be ever before you. 
 What! would you grieve your Comforter, 
 and lose your hold of the promises, and be 
 unable to discern your evidences of heaven, 
 and feel your hope decline, and your heart 
 sink in the day of adversity ; and be in bond- 
 age through fear of death — and groan, " Oh 
 that it were with me as in months past, when 
 the candle of the Lord shined upon my head ; 
 and when by his light I walked through dark- 
 ness, and while as yet the Almighty was with 
 me]" 
 
 The comforts of the Holy Spirit can afford 
 such strong consolation, as will revive us in 
 the midst of trouble. According to the Sa- 
 viour's assurance, when leaving this world, 
 his being with us can more than make up for 
 the loss of his own bodily presence. But, 
 " when he hideth his face, who can behold 
 him ]" Vain then are friends, ministers, or- 
 dinances. "For these things," saith the 
 Church, " I weep : mine eye runneth down 
 with water, because the Comforter that should 
 relieve my soul is far from me" — What infa- 
 tuation to grieve him ! 
 
 Yet if there were no danger of this, the 
 admonition would not have been given. Let 
 me not be high-minded, but fear. " Blessed 
 is the man that feareth always." I have al- 
 ways at hand an active adversary, the Devil. 
 I am passing through a world lying in wick- 
 edness. I carry within me an evil heart of 
 Unbelief. Every tiling without is rendered 
 dangerous by the sin that dwelleth in me. 
 
 They who far surpass me in every vhmg, 
 have been overcome. Let me therefore 
 watch and pray. " Hold thou me up, and I 
 shall be safe." 
 
 Nor let me be satisfied with negative reli- 
 gion. Let it not, O my soul, be enough that 
 I grieve him not. Let me cherish all his 
 motions. Let me walk so as to please him 
 Let me abound therein more and more. 
 
 MAY 26. 
 
 " Ask of me, "and I shall give thee the heathen 
 for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parti 
 of the earth for thy possession." — Psalm ii. 8. 
 
 " The heathen" — " the uttermost parts of 
 the earth ;" viewed in the representations of 
 Scripture, and the reports of historians, tra- 
 vellers, and missionaries, seem a very unen 
 viable acquisition. If it be true, that the 
 whole world lieth in wickedness, it seems 
 fitter to be for the inheritance " and the pos- 
 session" of Satan, than the Son of God. But 
 two things are to be taken into the account. 
 Notwithstanding the present condition of the 
 estate, it contains very valuable and convert- 
 ible materials. 
 
 Every human being, however depraved and 
 degraded, is a creature of God. He is the 
 work of his hands, and is fearfully and won- 
 derfully made. He has a soul of more value 
 than the material world. The child of a 
 savage is a richer production than the sun. 
 The sun sees not his own light ; feels not Lis 
 own heat; and, with all his grandeur, is 
 doomed to perish — But that child is the sub- 
 ject of reason ; the heir of immortality. That 
 child is capable of knowing, and serving, and 
 resembling God, and of filling a sphere of 
 everlasting action and enjoyment. That child 
 will hear the heavens passing away with a 
 great noise, and see the elements melting 
 with fervent heat, and stand with all the 
 dead, small and great, before God. 
 
 And we are also to consider what they 
 may, and will become. Thus the Saviour 
 viewed them, when they were surrendered 
 to him. He pitied them : and he knew he 
 was able to bless them — and he knew that 
 they would not remain what they were ; but 
 that for him the wilderness and solitary place 
 should be made glad, and the desert rejoice 
 and blossom as the rose. He knew it had 
 been said, by Faithfulness and Truth, " Ye 
 shall go out with joy, and be led forth with 
 peace : the mountains and the hills shall 
 break forth before you into singing, and all 
 the trees-of the field shall clap their hands. 
 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir- 
 tree, and instead of the brier shall come up 
 the myrtle-tree ; and it shall be to the Lord 
 for a name, for an everlasting sign, that shall 
 not be cut off." The more desperate the con- 
 dition of the patient, the more pleasure does 
 
MAY 27. 
 
 143 
 
 ais recover; tfford the physician; and the 
 more does it display his skill and ability. So 
 here. All these captives the Redeemer ran- 
 soms ; and each of them, as a justified, sanc- 
 tified, glorified being, will for ever reflect his 
 honour. He found them at hell's dark door ; 
 but he raises them above the heavens. He 
 found them in the likeness of the Devil ; and 
 he adorns them with the image of God. He 
 found them the disgrace of the universe ; and 
 he makes them an eternal excellency, the 
 joy of many generations. 
 
 What is so interesting and delightful to a 
 man of taste as alteration and improvement ] 
 With what pleasure does he view a piece of 
 rude and barren soil, under his cultivation, 
 looking forth, dressed in living green, and 
 abounding with trees and flowers ! What 
 pleasure does a benevolent mind feel, when 
 he views the child he has taken up, exchang- 
 ing rags for decency, ignorance for knowledge, 
 vicious and idle habits for virtue and industry 
 — and contemplates his comfort, usefulness, 
 and respectability, as the fruit of his kindness 
 and labour! What satisfaction must the 
 Saviour feel to behold, as the effect of his 
 Cross, and his Grace, the renewal of human 
 nature ; the deliverance of province after pro- 
 vince from the power of Satan ; and the king- 
 doms of this world coming under the influence 
 of the Gospel ! What an inheritance — what 
 a possession will the Heathen and the utter- 
 most parts of the earth be to the Messiah, 
 when Paganism, and Mahommedanism, and 
 the man of sin, shall perish ! when the Jews 
 shall come in, with the fulness of the Gen- 
 tiles ! when, in every place, incense shall be 
 offered unto him, and a pure offering ! when 
 the nation shall learn war no more! when 
 the people shall be all holy, trees of righteous- 
 ness, the planting of the Lord, that he may 
 De glorified ! 
 
 We read of two vast gifts of God in the 
 Scripture : the gift of his Son to the world ; 
 and the gift of the world to his Son. The 
 first of these is the greatest ; and we ought 
 never to think of it without exclaiming, 
 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift ! 
 But let us think of the other also; and rejoice 
 that our earth is to come under the dominion 
 of the Messiah, and is given to him for this 
 purpose. It is thus to him, as Canaan was to 
 the Jews. Canaan was to them the Land of 
 Promise; and, God having promised it, in 
 vain was every attempt made to keep them 
 from obtaining it. Egypt was plagued ; 
 Pharaoh and his army were destroyed ; the 
 sea opened a passage for the heirs of pro- 
 mise; Jordan was driven back; and they 
 were brought in triumph to the rest and the 
 inheritance, which the Lord their God had 
 given them. So will it be here. All oppo- 
 sition will be as vain as it is unreasonable. 
 His enemies shall lick the dust. The word 
 is gone out of God's mouth, and shall not re- 
 
 turn ; that to him every knee shall bow, and 
 every tongue confess. I will overturn, over- 
 turn, overturn, until he shall come whose 
 right it is, and I will give it him. 
 
 Let us think of his prospects. We have 
 sympathized with him in his agony and 
 bloody sweat ; in his cross and passion. Let 
 us exult at the thought, that he is crowned 
 with glory and honour — and has the heathen 
 for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
 the earth for his possession. And what an 
 immensity of subjects will he derive from 
 them ! and what an infinity of services ! and 
 what an eternity of praises and delights ! It 
 was the joy set before him — and he shall see 
 of the travail of his soul — and shall he satis- 
 fied. 
 
 We ought also to rejoice from a principle 
 of benevolence. His dominion involves the 
 happiness of the human race. Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, and other conquerors, had nations 
 given into their hand ; but they only enslaved, 
 and impoverished, and cursed their subjecta 
 But, 
 
 " Blessings abound where'er he reigns . 
 The pris'ner leaps to lose his chains i 
 The weary find eternal rest, 
 And all the sons of want are blest " 
 
 MAY 27. 
 
 " The dumb spake." — Matt. ix. 33. 
 
 This was a natural dumbness, the cure ot 
 which was to be one of the miracles attending 
 the Messiah's advent : " Then the eyes of the 
 blind shall be opened, and the ears of the 
 deaf shall be unstopped : then shall the lame 
 man leap as an heart — and the tongue of the 
 dumb sing." 
 
 But there is a moral dumbness, and the 
 Saviour heals this when he makes us new 
 creatures. Then old things pass away, and 
 all things become new — not physically new, 
 but spiritually new; each faculty becoming 
 new in quality, application, and use. Thus 
 the man has a tongue before, but not a reli- 
 gious one. He speaks before ; but now his 
 speech is with grace. Now he speaks — of 
 God — for God — and to God. 
 
 He speaks of God. Of his perfections. Of 
 his designs. Of his works and ways. Of 
 his word. Of his commands and promises— 
 a theme for angels. 
 
 He speaks for God. " On his behalf," as 
 Elihu says. In defending his truth. In jus- 
 tifying his people. In recommending his 
 service. In pleading his cause. Wisdom is 
 necessary here; and we are to distinguish 
 between places and seasons, and characters. 
 " A word fitly spoken, how good is it ! It is 
 like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Yet 
 caution, though it should qualify our zeal, 
 should not quench it. We should be cour- 
 ageous as well 'as discreet — i 
 
144 
 
 MAY 28. 
 
 " And if some proper hour appear 
 I'll not be overaw'd ; 
 But let the scoffing sinner know, 
 That I can speak for God." 
 
 He speaks to God. — And this is the better 
 avidence of our sincerity. For many speak 
 oj God, and many for him, who never speak 
 to him. While the world hears them, and 
 the temple hears them, the closet reigns in 
 silence. But the Christian's delight is in God, 
 and the duties and exigences of his spiritual 
 condition will bring him often to his seat ; and 
 he will address him much in a way of adora- 
 tion, and confession, and intercession, and 
 prayer. 
 
 If you are the subject of this grace, use it ; 
 and be concerned that the words of your 
 mouth, as well as the meditation of jour 
 heart, may be acceptable in God's sight. Be- 
 ware of any return of the old malady. There 
 is an occasional, partial, comparative, dumb- 
 ness ; and it is brought on by sin. This stops 
 our speech. It did so in the case of David, 
 when he had fallen by his iniquity. It not 
 only broke his bones, and deprived him of 
 joy, but of confidence, and rilled him with 
 fear and silence — He could neither speak, as 
 he had done, of God, or for God, or to God. 
 It is a sad evil; and, if it be your experience, 
 do — it is the best thing you can do — do as he 
 did. Take the case, and lay it before God, 
 and say — ''Open thou my mouth, and my 
 Jips shall show forth thy praise." 
 
 " Then will I teach the world thy ways ; 
 Sinners shall learn thy sov'reign grace ; 
 I'll lead them to my Saviour's blood, 
 And they shall praise a pard'ning God. 
 
 'Oh may thy love inspire my tongue ! 
 Salvation shall be all my song! 
 And all my powers shall join to bless 
 The Lord, my strength and righteouanaM." 
 
 MAY 28. 
 
 ' Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." — 2 Pet. iii. 
 18. 
 
 If we consider these words as containing 
 two injunctions, may we not view the second 
 as prescribing the means for the accomplish- 
 ment of the first? It is certain that there 
 is a supreme excellency in the knowledge 
 here recommended; and that he who would 
 grow in grace, must grow in the knowledge 
 of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 
 
 This knowledge is supposed to be progres- 
 sive. It was gradual even in its communica- 
 tion to the world. Judaism was the dawn ; 
 Christianity, the day. Prophets and right- 
 eous men desired to see the things that we 
 see, and did not see them ; and to near the 
 things that we hear, and did not hear them. 
 There are degrees, also, in its personal at- 
 tainment and experience — Four ways we 
 may grow in this knowledge. 
 
 First In its extent. Who has advanced 
 
 near the extremities of this field ? How lit- 
 tle do the wisest know of the treasures hid 
 in it! 
 
 " The cross, the manger, and the throne, 
 Are big with glories yet unknown." 
 
 Angels know much more :han they once did. 
 But they still desire to look into these thing* 
 — How much more should we ! 
 
 Secondly. In its certainty. This is, and 
 must be, the same in itself; but, as to us, the 
 degree of it depends upon the perceptiDii of 
 evidence : and the mind may be led along 
 from possibility to probability, and from pro- 
 bability to full conviction. The firmness of 
 belief may be strengthened by the confirma- 
 tions of experience. The whole life of a 
 Christian is a series of tests, by which he 
 tries and proves the word of God. He is, 
 therefore, perpetually increasing in the full 
 assurance of understanding, and has his heart 
 established with grace. 
 
 Thirdly. In its influence. This implies 
 the former, but is distinguishable from it 
 There cannot be practical knowledge with- 
 out speculative. But who will not own that 
 there may be speculative knowledge without 
 practical ! Who is ignorant of the difference 
 there is between knowing things in theory, 
 and in experience 1 ? between the apprehen- 
 sions of the judgment, and the bias of the will, 
 and the glow of the affections ? Who feels, 
 and fears, and loves, according to his belief I 
 Alas ! how often do we see and approve bet- 
 ter things, and follow worse ! How often 
 are the clearest dictates of the understand- 
 ing, and even convictions of the conscience, 
 counteracted by our appetites and passions ! 
 We believe that we are dying creatures, and 
 live as if we were to live here always ! We 
 own ourselves under the providence of Him 
 who doth all things well : and we murmur 
 and repine, as if his dealings were unjust or 
 unkind ! We doubt not the Saviour's power 
 and love ; and yet we cannot trust in him ; 
 and are strangers to consolation and peace ! 
 
 Fourthly. In its appropriation. Job could 
 say, " I know that my Redeemer liveth." 
 David said, " God is the strength of my heart, 
 and my portion for ever." The first Chris- 
 tians said, " We know that the Son of God 
 is come, and hath given us an understanding, 
 that we may know Him that is true ; and we 
 are in him that is true." Who does not want 
 more of this delightful confidence, to raise 
 him above the world, to support him in his 
 trials, to embolden him in his profession, and 
 to enable him to triumph over the fears of 
 death? 
 
 O God, preserve me from delusion in a 
 business of everlasting importance ! Let me 
 feel a thousand terrors rather than perish 
 with a lie in my right hand. But, if I am 
 thine, save me from the uncertainties I now 
 feel. Give me the full assurance of hope 
 unto the end. Tiet me know not only that 
 
MAY 29, 30. 
 
 145 
 
 •nere aie exceeding great and precious pro- 
 mises, but that I am an heir of promise — not 
 only that in the Lord Jesus all fulness dwells, 
 but that I am blessed with all spiritual bless- 
 ings in heavenly places in him. Say unto 
 «nv soul, I am thy salvation. 
 
 MAY 29. 
 
 " Ye are the children of the Lord your God." 
 Deut. xiv. 1. 
 
 The Jews were so by nation. All men 
 are so by Creation and Providence. Chris- 
 tians are so by special grace, according to 
 the language of Inspiration — " Ye are all the 
 children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus." 
 " As many as received him, to them gave he 
 power to become the sons of God, even to 
 them that believe on his Name ; which were 
 born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
 nor of the will of man, but of God." Let us 
 make this relation a standard, by which to 
 estimate four things. 
 
 First The Divine goodness — Here we 
 Dnly follow the example of the apostle John. 
 He, even he, could not comprehend it ; but 
 he admires it, and calls upon others to admire 
 it with him : " Behold what manner of love 
 the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we 
 should be called the sons of God !" What 
 manner of love ! How rich ! how free ! how 
 expensive ! What difficulties stood in the 
 way! Yet he removed them. How, said 
 He, shall I put thee among the children? 
 But he did it He not only spared and par- 
 doned us ; he not only admitted us into his 
 family as servants, but as sons ; and, for this 
 purpose, he gave his own Son for us, and his 
 Spirit to us. " When the fulness of time 
 was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a 
 woman, made under the Law, to redeem 
 them that were under the Law, that we might 
 receive the adoption of sons. And because 
 ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of 
 his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Fa- 
 ther. Wherefore thou art no more a servant 
 but a son ; and if a son, then an heir of God, 
 through Christ" 
 
 Secondly. The believer's dignity. Secular 
 nobility derives all its lustre "from flesh and 
 blood ; and if retraced, will be found to origi- 
 nate in the dust of the ground, from which 
 Adam was taken. It has little value, unless 
 in the fancies of men. But our relation to 
 God confers real and durable honour; com- 
 pared with which, the most magnificent titles 
 in the world are mere shadows and smoke. 
 How did the Jews boast of having Abraham 
 to their father ? " Is it a light thing," said 
 David, a subject " that I should be son-in- 
 law to the king r But I think of the majesty 
 and dominion of God ! The world is his, and 
 the fulness thereof— I behold the productions 
 t 13 
 
 of the earth, and the wonders of the skies, 
 and say — 
 
 " My Father made them all P 
 
 Thirdly. The happiness of the Christian. 
 The relation has connected with it the pro- 
 mise of pardon : and we daily need it : for in 
 many things we offend all. But I will spare 
 him, says God, as a man spareth his own son 
 that serveth him. It gives us free access to 
 God in prayer; and inspires us with confi- 
 dence and hope of success : " If ye being evil 
 know how to give good gifts unto your chil- 
 dren, how much more shall your Father 
 which is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to 
 them that ask him !" Hence correction : 
 " For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, 
 and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." 
 Hence education : he does not leave the child 
 to himself; but trains him up in the way he 
 should go. Hence provision : He who feeds 
 the ravens, will not suffer the righteous to 
 famish. Their Heavenly Father knoweth 
 what things they have need of before they ask 
 him ; and will suffer them to want no good 
 thing. And if children, then heirs ; heirs of 
 God, and joint heirs with Christ Many are 
 born to an estate which they never obtain , 
 but here the inheritance is reserved in hea- 
 ven ; and they are kept by the power of God, 
 through faith, unto salvation, on earth. 
 
 Fourthly. The duty of the Saints. Are 
 they all the children of the Lord their God 1 
 Then they ought to fear him. If I am a fa- 
 ther, where is my fear "i This will keep them 
 from offending him. This will make them 
 studious to please him. This will induce 
 them to pray, " Let the words of my mouth, 
 and the meditation of my heart be acceptable 
 in thy sight O Lord, my strength and my re- 
 deemer." 
 
 As his children, they must walk worthy of 
 God, who hath called them unto his kingdom 
 and glory. We have read of a Polish Prince, 
 who carried the picture of his father always 
 in his bosom ; and on any particulur occasion, 
 he would take it out and view it and say, 
 Let me do nothing unbecoming so excellent 
 a father. Christians, do nothing unbecoming 
 the rank of your family, and the grandeur of 
 your descent Be harmless and blameless, 
 the sons of God, without rebuke. Be follow- 
 ers of God, as dear children. Be ye perfect, 
 even as your Father who is in heaven is per- 
 fect 
 
 MAY 30. 
 
 "Jlsk of me"— Psalm ii. 8. 
 
 This is the condition of a very important 
 grant — Ask of me — and I shall give thee the 
 heathen for thine inheritance, and the utter- 
 most parts of the earth for thy possession. 
 
 Whatever appears humiliating in the eon- 
 dilion tn which the Saviour submitted, let it 
 
146 
 
 MAY 31. 
 
 oe remembered that he entered it voluntarily, 
 and knowingly. He was aware that if the 
 children were partakers of flesh and blood he 
 likewise himself must also take part in the 
 same ; and that in all things it behoved him 
 to be made like unto his brethren. He must 
 therefore not only suffer, but obey; and 
 though he was a Son, yet learned he obedi- 
 ence. He must therefore pray. Prayer is 
 he act of an inferior nature; and the Word 
 was made flesh. Though rich, he became 
 poor ; and made himself of no reputation. 
 
 Many objections are made to prayer. Some 
 of them are specious, but they are all founded 
 in ignorance. The best way to answer them 
 is to take our stand on the Scripture, and 
 make our appeal. Does not God derive his 
 character and glory from his hearing prayer 1 
 Is not his Spirit the Spirit of grace and of 
 supplication ] Is not this his command 7 Is 
 not this his promise ? " Ask, and it shall be 
 given you ; seek, and ye shall find." Does he 
 dispense with this — even in the case of his 
 own Son ] And can it be dispensable with 
 regard to us 1 We know his determination : 
 For all these things I will yet be inquired of 
 by the house of Israel to do it for them — 
 " Ask, and I shall give thee." 
 
 But how was he to ask ? First, when he 
 was on earth, he prayed like one of us. He 
 prayed alone, and in company with his disci- 
 ples ; he prayed in the Wilderness, and in 
 the Garden, and on the Cross : " In the days 
 of his flesh, he offered up prayers and suppli- 
 cation, with strong crying and tears, unto 
 him that was able to save him from death, 
 and was heard in that he feared." Secondly, 
 he continued the presentation of his desire, 
 when he entered heaven. We know not 
 whether this was done vocally, but it was 
 done really. Thirdly, he does it relatively. 
 Thus prayer is made for him continually. 
 And whenever individuals, ministers, and 
 churches, pray for the success of his cause — 
 He is asking. 
 
 And his prayer, and our praying, are 
 founded on the same consideration ; his suf- 
 ferings and death. It was said, that when 
 the Father should make his soul an offering 
 for sin, he should see his seed, and prolong 
 his days, and the pleasure of the Lord should 
 prosper in his hands ; he should see of the 
 travail of his soul, and should be satisfied. 
 This was the joy set before him : and having 
 fulfilled the awful condition on which it was 
 suspended, he pleads for it — He therefore 
 asks, in his own Name, and on his own be- 
 half. And we ask on the same behalf, and in 
 the same Name : according to his own direc- 
 tion, " Whatsoever ye shall ask, believing, in 
 my Name, ye shall receive." 
 
 And this should encourage and embolden 
 na. There can be no more uncertainty at- 
 tending the success of our asking, than of 
 his; for herein we are identified with him. 
 
 There is no unfaithfulness with God ; and ht 
 hath said, " Ask of me, and I shall give thee 
 the heathen for thine inheritance, and the ut- 
 termost parts of the earth for thy possession." 
 If our prayers are sincere, they must be in- 
 fluential ; and we shall exert ourselves in the 
 Redeemer's cause. Nor can we labour in 
 vain. We are on the sure, the rising, the 
 prevailing side. Merchants, heroes, politi- 
 cians, may all weary themselves for very va- 
 nity. We are at a certainty. A king shall 
 reign and prosper. " His Name shall endure 
 for ever: his Name shall be continued as 
 long as the sun : and men shall be blessed in 
 him : all nations shall call him blessed. Bless- 
 ed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who 
 only doeth wondrous tilings. And blessed be 
 his glorious Name for ever ; and let the whole 
 earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and 
 Amen." 
 
 MAY 31. 
 
 " And it came to pass, as he sat at meat -with 
 them, he took bread, and blessed it, and 
 brake, and gave to them." — Lukexxiv. 30. 
 This was not a sacramental meal, as 
 when he took bread, and blessed it, and brake 
 it, and said, This is my body. Neither was 
 it a miraculous meal, as when he took the 
 loaves, and blessed them, and multiplied them. 
 But an ordinary meal. Yet he blessed the 
 food. And this he did always. And his ex- 
 ample has the force of a law with all his fol- 
 lowers — For, " he that saith he abideth in 
 Him ought himself also so to walk as he 
 walked." Hence the command, "Whatso 
 ever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus :" that is, as his dis- 
 ciples, who are not only to believe in him, 
 but to represent him. 
 
 From his observing this practice, we may 
 be sure that it is wise, and useful, and neces- 
 sary. Sin has brought a curse upon all oui 
 enjoyments; and the blessing of God alone 
 can take it ofE 
 
 " How sweet our daily comforts prove. 
 When they are season'd with his love I" 
 
 But how true — 
 
 " 'Tis all in vain till God has bless'd." 
 
 " Man liveth not by bread alone, but by ever? 
 word that proceedeth out of the mouth of 
 God." Can he also abuse the bounties of 
 Providence ; who has implored the Divine 
 benediction upon the use of them f Can he 
 indulge in excess ! — Will he not add to his 
 faith temperance ] It is lamentable, there- 
 fore, that such a duty should ever be omitted 
 — or performed with haste and irreverence — 
 as if the performer was ashamed of the per- 
 formance. 
 
 Let tire Saviour's conduct also teach us not 
 to confine our religion to extraordinary and 
 sacred occasions. In all our ways let u* 
 
1UNE 1. 
 
 147 
 
 acknowledge God. Morning and evening 
 WGrship is good : but let us be in the fear of 
 the Lord all the day long. It is well to in- 
 quire in his temple : but let us abide with God 
 in our calling. We must remember the Sab- 
 bath, and keep it holy ; but the spirit of devo- 
 tion is to actuate us during the week, and to 
 indu2e us, whether we eat or drink, or what- 
 ever we do, to do all to the glory of God. 
 Tell me not what a man is in a storm — in 
 the calm what is he 1 Not how he behaves 
 himself in sickness — but in health. A Balaam 
 may pray, Let me die the death of the 
 righteous. A David prays, Unite my heart 
 to fear thy name. There is a goodness which 
 depends upon impulse, not principle; upon 
 outward excitement, not upon internal dis- 
 position. 
 
 There is a devotion that resembles the 
 blaze of straw ; but that which is spiritual is 
 like the fire on the Jewish altar — kindled 
 from above, and which never went out. It is 
 a stream fed by a living fountain ; not a sud- 
 den torrent, however wide or impetuous at 
 the time, produced by the melting of" the snow, 
 or a summer's thunder shower. The water, 
 says the Saviour, that I shall give him shall 
 be in him a well of water springing up into 
 everlasting life. 
 
 JUNE 1. 
 
 " 1 am the vine" — John xt. 5. 
 Ministers are not to preach themselves, 
 but Christ Jesus the Lord. But he was his 
 own subject — He preached himself How 
 could he have done otherwise, concerned as 
 he was to be useful 1 for 
 
 " None but Jesus, none but Jesus 
 Can do helpless sinners good." 
 
 And he knew this far be ter than we do. — 
 And who was able to declare what he truly 
 was so well as himself? 
 
 — Here he calls himself the vine. A very 
 easy and natural image. And natural images 
 are the most preferable in divine things. 
 Many writers and preachers love those allu- 
 sions which show their learning, and which 
 the uneducated cannot understand. Our Sa- 
 viour never takes his comparisons from the 
 sciences, and seldom from the arts ; but from 
 natural scenery, which is obvious and intelli- 
 gible to all. 
 
 A vine is not so remarkable in its appear- 
 ince as many other trees. In loftiness, it 
 yields to the cedar. In strength, to the oak. 
 In sightliness, to the palm tree and the fir. 
 The greatness of Jesus was spiritual. He 
 had no earthly pomp and riches. Like his 
 , kingdom, he was not of this world. Hence it 
 was said, " He shall grow up before him as a 
 tender plant, and as a root out of a dry 
 ground : he hath no form nor comeliness ; and 
 when we shall see him, there is no beauty 
 that we should desire him." 
 
 The vine is rerr ivned for its fertility. One 
 single vine, planted by the Empress Lavinia, 
 yielded one hundred and eight gallons of wine 
 in one year — Many grapes grow on one clus- 
 ter, many clusters on one branch, and many 
 branches on one tree. How many have been 
 saved by the Lord Jesus ! In him all fulness 
 dwells. In him we are blessed with all 
 spiritual blessings. What clusters were 
 brought from Eshcol, to show Israel the good- 
 liness and fruitfulness of Canaan ! And what 
 specimens of heaven ; what earnests of the 
 inheritance; what first-fruits of the Spirit, do 
 faith and hope bring believers from him, even 
 while they are in the Wilderness ! 
 
 The nature of the produce of the vine L 
 delightful and profitable. The fruit is sweet 
 to the taste. The juice it yields cheers and 
 makes glad the heart of man — Give wine to 
 those that be of heavy hearts. It was some- 
 times used medicinally. The good Samaritan 
 poured oil and wine into the wounds of the 
 bleeding traveller. And he brings us health, 
 and cure, and comfort, and delight, and more 
 than angels' food ; for 
 
 " Never did angels taste, above, 
 Redeeming grace and dying love." 
 
 The vine also yields shade, and it was valued 
 for this purpose in the East. Hence we so 
 often read in the Scripture of sitting under 
 the vine and the fig-tree. They had walks 
 and bowers made of these ; and while the 
 fruit refreshed them, the shelter screened 
 them from the sun. And he is a shadow from 
 the heat; and rescues us from the evil of 
 every annoyance to which we are exposed. 
 I sat, says the Church, under his shadow with 
 delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste! 
 
 The image, therefore, is pleasing and stri- 
 king, and aids us in our conceptions of him, 
 and communion with him. Yet it teaches us 
 as much by contrast as by comparison. A 
 vine is not always green. It does not always- 
 bear. It never bears twelve manner of fruits. 
 It does not endure for ever — But all this is 
 true of him. 
 
 The fruit of the vine, if taken too largely, 
 will injure the partaker ; but there is no 
 danger here — while we are forbidden to be 
 drunk with wine, wherein is excess, we are 
 commanded to be filled with the Spirit. The 
 produce of the vine is only for the body, and 
 for time ; but his benefits are for the soul, and 
 eternity. Many cannot obtain the advantages 
 of the vine ; but none, however poor and 
 mean, are excluded from the participations of 
 Christ. The image, therefore, is but a hum- 
 ble one, and falls far short of his glory. So 
 does every thing that is employed to show 
 forth his worth, his glory, or his grace 
 
 " Nor earth, nor seas, nor sun, nor stars. 
 Nor heaven, his full resemblance heart* 
 His beauties we can never trace 
 Till we behold him face to face " 
 
148 
 
 MJNE 2,3. 
 
 JUNE 2. 
 
 " Ye are the branches." — John xv. 5. 
 For whatever he is, they have a relation 
 rcrresponding with it. Thus, if he is the 
 king, they are the subjects. If he is the 
 shepherd, they are the sheep. If he is the 
 head, they are the members. Therefore, 
 having said to his disciples, 1 am the vine, he 
 adds — Ye are the branches. 
 
 This reminds us of their union with him. 
 The vine and the branches are connected. 
 The latter are even parts of the former : and 
 t would be absurd for a person to say, I did 
 not hurt the vine ; I only injured the branches. 
 Why persecutest thou me ? said the Saviour 
 to Saul, who was only persecuting his follow- 
 ers. He that touches them, touches the apple 
 of his eye. And as he is sensible of their 
 wrongs, so he feels every kindness shown 
 them ; and says, Inasmuch as ye did it unto 
 one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it 
 unto me. 
 
 This gives them a character of likeness. 
 The branches are the very same kind of wood 
 as the vine ; and the very same sap pervades 
 them both. And they that are joined to the 
 Lord are of one spirit. The same mind is in 
 them which was also in Christ Jesus. 
 
 This shows their dependence. " The right- 
 eous shall flourish as a branch:" but the 
 branch does not bear the tree, but the tree the 
 branch. Whatever likeness there may be, in 
 aJ things he has the pre-eminence. He is 
 our life and strength. Abide, says he, in me : 
 as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, ex- 
 cept it abide in the vine, no more can ye, ex- 
 cept ye abide in me ; for without me ye can 
 do nothing. 
 
 This proclaims their usefulness. The 
 branches are the beauty and excellency of the 
 vine ; and by these, its vigour and fertility 
 are displayed. He is glorified in his people. 
 He makes them to blossom and yield fruit. 
 He diffuses his goodness through their pray- 
 ers and lives. In him is their fruit found, as 
 to its source and support — but they bear it — 
 they are the branches — they are filled with 
 all the fruits of righteousness, which are by 
 Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of 
 God. 
 
 Ijet me learn one thing from all this Let 
 me accustom myself to derive spiritual reflec- 
 tions from all the material objects around me. 
 A taste for natural scenery is pleasing and 
 good in itself. But let me not approach it, as 
 a creature only to enjoy ; or a philosopher, 
 only to admire — but as a Christian also, to 
 improve. Let -sense be a handmaid to faith. 
 Let that which is seen and temporal, raise me 
 to that which is unseen and eternal. 
 
 JUNE 3. 
 " Which is our hope."— \ Tim. i. 1. 
 Much has been said in praise of hope. 
 
 It has been called the main-spring of motion. 
 The soul of enterprise. The balm of life. 
 The soother of care. And the healer of sor- 
 row. 
 
 We are not, however, going to speak ot 
 hope in general. We therefore say nothing 
 of the hope of the worldling, which is a thing 
 of nought. Or of the hope of the infidel, 
 which is annihilation. Or of the hope of the 
 Antinomian, which is a devil's dream. Or 
 of the hope of the Pharisee, which is a spider's 
 web. Or of the hope of the hypocrite, which 
 is a lie in his right hand. But of our hope — 
 as Christians. And what is this? Jesu? 
 Christ, says the Apostle — he " is our hope." 
 He deserves and realizes the character four 
 ways — He is our hope substantially, meritori- 
 ously, efficiently, and exemplarily. 
 
 He is the object of our hope. There be 
 many that say, Who will show us any good ! 
 But any good will not answer the wishes of a 
 believer. His supreme aim is the — principal 
 the — only good — 
 
 "Sufficient in itself alone, 
 And needful, were the world our own."— 
 
 It is, to win Christ ; to be found in him ; and 
 in him to be blessed with all spiritual bless- 
 ings. — The Christian's hope is chiefly laid up 
 for him in heaven. And is not He the essence 
 of all the blessedness there 1 The place is 
 glorious : but what would it be without His 
 presence 1 The company is attractive : but 
 what would friends, and saints, and angels 
 be, without communion with him ?— We some- 
 times hear it said, " Well — we are hoping for 
 the same heaven !" But nothing can be more 
 false. A natural man is hoping for one kind 
 of heaven ; a spiritual man, for another : and 
 each herein follows his peculiar disposition. 
 I cannot hope for what I do not love and de- 
 sire. As a man, I may hope for a heaven that 
 shall secure me from hell ; and exempt me 
 from all toil and trouble ; and furnish me 
 with things in which I feel pleasure. But it 
 is only as a Christian, I can long to depart to 
 be with Christ, which is far better — and be 
 able to say, 
 
 " 'Tis heaven on earth to taste his lovo, 
 To feel his quick'ning grace ; 
 And all the heaven I hope aSove 
 Is but to see his face." 
 
 He is the ground of our hope. In propor- 
 tion to the use and grandeur of a building 
 should be the basis. Nothing can equal the 
 vastness and value of the believer's expecta- 
 tion. If we are wise, therefore, we shall in- 
 quire what is to bear it up. And no other 
 foundation can any man lay than that is laid, 
 which is Christ Every thing else we de- 
 pend upon will prove sand. But here is rock , 
 and he that believeth on him shall not be 
 ashamed. View him as incarnate — Why is 
 not our condition as hopeless as that of devils 1 
 Verily he took not on him the nature of an- 
 gels ; but he took on him the seed of Abra- 
 
JUNE 
 
 149 
 
 nam — Because the children were partakers 
 of flesh and blood, he likewise himself took 
 part of the same. He assumed the nature he 
 would save ; and he will save, as surely as 
 he assumed it View him as the gift of God 
 -God so loved the world, that he gave his 
 Only Begotten. What can discourage us 
 no*? 1 If our un worthiness, or the greatness 
 of the blessing, could prove a hinderance to 
 the Divine goodness, it would have operated 
 earlier ; and he would have withholden from 
 the guilty this unspeakable gift — He that 
 spared not his own Son, but delivered him up 
 for us all, how shall he not with him also give 
 us all things! But His goodness is wise 
 goodness, just goodness ! It must be as ho- 
 nourable to himself as it is beneficial to us — 
 and we behold his Son set forth as*a propitia- 
 tion, through faith in his blood, to declare his 
 righteousness. Sin is punished, while it is 
 pardoned. Even the Law has nothing to 
 complain of in our deliverance — it is much 
 more glorified in our salvation, than it would 
 have been by our destruction. One died for 
 all ; and he was infinitely more than all. Do 
 we question whether he finished the work 
 that was given him to do ; and whether it was 
 an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet- 
 smelling savour ; and whether he shall see of 
 the travail of his soul and be satisfied 1 Behold 
 him discharged from the grave, and ascend- 
 ing up on high, and receiving gifts for men, 
 even for the rebellious, and entering into the 
 holy place, there to appear in the presence of 
 God for us ! What can we desire more ) If 
 while we were enemies we were reconciled 
 to God, by the death of his Son, much more 
 now, being reconciled, we shall be saved by 
 his life. " Who is he that condemneth ? It 
 is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen 
 again, who is even at the right hand of God, 
 who also maketh intercession for us." Will 
 not this suffice ? He raised him up from the 
 dead, and gave him glory, that our faith and 
 hope might be in God. 
 
 He is the author of our hope. For it is not 
 natural to us, neither is it derived from our- 
 selves ; but he produces it in us by his Holy 
 Spirit Means may be used ; but the excel- 
 lency of the power is of him, and not of them. 
 Hence, says the Apostle to those who were 
 glorying in men, Who then is Paul, and who 
 is ApolJos, but ministers by whom ye believ- 
 ed, even as the Lord gave to every man) 
 Every tiling in the new world is done by the 
 Spirit of Christ. Under a conviction of guilt 
 enough to condemn us a thousand times over 
 — did we find it an easy thing to hope in God 
 at first and believe that he was pacified to- 
 wards us for all that we had dont ? and that 
 we were accepted in the Beloved 7 Have we 
 proved it an easy thing since, to keep this 
 hope lively and flourishing) or even to main- 
 tain it at all 1 How often should we have 
 «iid, My hope is perished from the Lord, and 
 13* 
 
 have given up all our profession, but for " the 
 supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" in glo- 
 rifying him afresh — according to the promise, 
 " He shall receive of mine, and shall show it 
 unto you." 
 
 He is also the model of our hope. For 
 though he is unspeakably more than our ex- 
 ample, he is nothing less; and the higher 
 views we have taken of him do not hinder, 
 but indeed, the more require our saying, that 
 the same mind which was in him must be in 
 us — that we must walk even as he walked — 
 that we must pray as he prayed — fear as he 
 feared — and hope as he hoped. And how did 
 he hope 1 " I will," said he, " put my trust 
 in Him." He was remarkable for this. It 
 was not to quote prophecy, that his insulters, 
 when he was on the cross, said, " He trusted 
 in God : let him deliver him now, if he will 
 have him ; for he said, I am the Son of God" 
 — It was to reproach him for the confidence 
 in God, which they knew he had professed to 
 exercise. It will be well, if our enemies can 
 revile us for nothing worse. David seems 
 early to have been dedicated to God ; but it 
 was in the name of the Holy Child Jesus he 
 spake, when he said, " Thou art he that took 
 me out of the womb ; thou didst make me 
 hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. 
 I was cast upon thee from the womb ; thou 
 art my God from my mother's belly." From 
 his earliest infancy, from the first exercise of 
 reason, he honoured him — Nor did he ever 
 fail in his confidence in God. In every ex- 
 tremity he trusted in him. Even when in 
 anguish on the cross, and dying, he cried, 
 " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
 me V — " Father, into thy hands I commit my 
 spirit." His confidence, also, was equally 
 cheerful. He sung a hymn when he was en- 
 tering the garden of Gethsemane. Though 
 a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, 
 instead of murmuring, he said, " In the midst 
 of the Church will I sing praises unto Thee." 
 Thus may I bear the image of the heavenly, 
 till he shall appear, and I shall be perfectly 
 like him ; for I shall see him as he is. 
 
 JUNE 4. 
 
 " The -woman then left her -water-pot." 
 John iv. 28. 
 
 Three reasons may be assigned for this- 
 Perhaps she left it from kindness to otr 
 Saviour and his disciples. His disciples had 
 gone into the city to buy meat and had just 
 returned; and they were now going to par- 
 take of their homely fare. But for beverage, 
 they had nothing to draw with, and the well 
 was deep. She therefore leaves them her 
 vessel, to enable them to draw and drink. 
 Female kindness, and contrivance, and ac- 
 commodation, are as quick as thought; and 
 need no prompter I admire the simplicity 
 
100 
 
 JUNE 5. 
 
 jf early hospitality. See Rebekah with 
 Abraham's steward : " And she said, Drink, 
 my lord ; and she hasted, and let down her 
 pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink." 
 Ah! ye generous hearts! who wish to do 
 good, and feel your want of power — do what 
 you can. And remember the Saviour's 
 words : " Whosoever shall give to drink unto 
 one of these little ones a cup of cold water 
 only in the name of a disciple, verily I say 
 unto you, he shall in no vise lose his re- 
 ward." 
 
 Perhaps she left it from indifference. She 
 was now so impressed and occupied with in- 
 finitely greater and better things, that she 
 forgets the very errand that brought her to 
 the well. The feelings of new converts are 
 peculiarly strong and lively. The eternal 
 realities and glories that open to their view, 
 dazzle their minds, and render them incapa- 
 ble of distinctly observing other objects. Con- 
 sidering the infirmity of our nature, it is not 
 to be wondered at, if the powers of the world 
 to come, and the " one thing needful" — the 
 care of the soul, should, for the time, engross 
 all their attention, and make them too heed- 
 less of other claims. 
 
 Hence what we should censure in others, 
 we excuse in young beginners, especially if 
 they are suddenly awakened. I say, excuse 
 — for we never wish to justify ignorance, im- 
 prudence, and rashness. God is not the God 
 of confusion : " Let every thing," says the 
 Apostle, "be done decently, and in order." 
 Religion is not to draw us off from our busi- 
 ness and callings. Neither are we to leave 
 our places and stations in life, even in pur- 
 suit of things good in themselves. When 
 the demoniac had been dispossessed, he be- 
 sought the Saviour that he might be with 
 him — Yet "Jesus suffered him not;" but 
 said, Return to thine own house, and show 
 how great things God hath done for thee. 
 And, says Paul to the Thessalonians, " Study 
 to be quiet, and to do your own business, and 
 to work with your own hands" — to provide 
 things honest in the sight of all men; to 
 maintain your families without dependence ; 
 and have, to give to him that needeth ; and to 
 preserve your religion from censure. We 
 are not, therefore, to abandon our water-pots. 
 We are not to be careless of our worldly sub- 
 stance ; but to preserve and use it. Witness 
 the cautions in Scripture against suretyship, 
 and backing bills, and the admonition, " Ga- 
 ther up the fragments that remain, that no- 
 thing be lost." — Yet those who are born from 
 above, and bound for glory, are only strangers 
 and pilgrims upon earth : and they who have 
 found the pearl of great price, will not, and 
 cannot, feel towards worldly things as they 
 once did. They cannot be so anxious to gain 
 them ; so overjoyed in possessing them ; so 
 depressed in losing them. And they will be 
 willing to forsake whatever the service of 
 
 God requires them to part with, however deax 
 or valuable. Thus Matthew, sitting at the 
 receipt of custom, upon hearing the call, 
 " Follow me," " arose, and followed him." 
 
 Perhaps she left it, as it would have proved 
 a hinderance to her speed. The king's bu- 
 siness requires haste. In this she was now 
 engaged ; and burning with zeal, she could 
 not bear the thought of losing a moment in 
 communicating the knowledge she possessed ; 
 and of saying to her neighbours, Come, see a 
 man which told me all things that ever I did 
 — Is not this the Christ? She knew the im- 
 portance of the case. And she knew the bre- 
 vity and uncertainty of the opportunity. It 
 was not the gratification of their curiosity — 
 it was then* life. And if he withdrew from 
 the well before they arrived, the day of their 
 visitation might never return. 
 
 Upon the same principles, let us get rid of 
 every impediment, and avoid every delay, not 
 only in gaining good for ourselves, but in 
 doing good to others. All is hanging — upon 
 the moment ! " Whatsoever thy hand findeth 
 to do, do it with thy might. There is no 
 work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, 
 in the grave, whither thou goest." 
 
 JUNE 5, 
 
 "Be thou their arm eve^y morning. 
 Isaiah xxxiii. 2. 
 
 This is a prayer for others. And when we 
 repair to the throne of the heavenly grace we 
 should never forget our fellow-Christians. 
 But those will never pray earnestly, or even 
 sincerely, for others, who do not pray for 
 themselves. Every believer, therefore, in- 
 cludes himself in the number of those for 
 whom he implores the blessing — ^'Be thou 
 their arm every morning." 
 
 He is made sensible of his own weakness 
 and insufficiency. He knows, he feels, and 
 he increasingly knows and feels, his need — 
 of an arm — a Divine arm — every morning. 
 
 — For what purpose 1 
 
 He needs this arm to defend him in all his 
 dangers, and to keep him from all evil, espe- 
 cially the evil of sin, that it may not grieve 
 him. 
 
 He needs this arm to uphold him under his 
 burdens. The pressure often urges him to 
 exclaim, "Lord, I am oppressed, undertake 
 for me." 
 
 He needs his arm to lean on, in all his 
 goinga. What a journey lies before him! 
 And what step can he take alone ! This is 
 the image of tne Church. She is represented 
 as coming up out of the wilderness, leaning 
 on her Beloved. 
 
 And as this arm is necessary ; so it is suf- 
 ficient ; and it is kindly held out hi the pro- 
 mises and invitations of the word — " There.* 
 
says God, ' let him take hold of my strength." 
 And we take hold of it by faith and prayer. 
 
 Let me then avail myself of the privilege 
 — Be thou my arm every morning. Let me 
 lean — and converse with thee. Let me lean 
 and feel thee at my side. Let me lean — and 
 go forward without dismay or discourage- 
 ment " Because he is at my right hand, I 
 shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is 
 glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also 
 shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not suffer 
 thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt 
 show me the path of life : in thy presence is 
 fulness of joy ; at thy right hand are pleasures 
 for evermore." 
 
 JUNE 6. 
 
 " And -walk humbly -with thy God." 
 Micah vi. 8. 
 Why not joyfully ? There is a foundation 
 laid for this. It is their privilege ; and it is 
 said, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord. 
 This is not, however, absolutely necessary. 
 In a sense, Christians may go on without it. 
 We have known much self-denial, and dead- 
 ness to the world, and spirituality of devotion, 
 and zeal for the glory of God and the welfare 
 of others, in persons who may be said to be 
 saved by hope rather than confidence. But 
 with regard to humbleness of mind, this is in- 
 dispensable — always, and in — every thing — 
 and no progress can be made without it So 
 that when Luther was asked what was the 
 first step in religion, he replied, Humility; 
 and when asked what was the second, and the 
 third, answered in the same way. And Peter 
 admonishes Christians to be clothed with hu- 
 mility ; as if he would say, This is to cover, to 
 defend, to distinguish, to adorn all. But how 
 is our walking humbly with God to appear? 
 
 It is to appear in connexion with divine 
 truth. Here God is our teacher ; and if, as 
 learners, we walk humbly with him, we shall 
 cast down imaginations and every high thing 
 that exalteth itself against the knowledge of 
 Christ: we shall sacrifice the pride of reason; 
 and having ascertained that the Scriptures 
 are the word of God, and discovered what 
 they really contain, we shall not speculate 
 upon their principles, but admit them on the 
 divine authority. Nothing can be more proud 
 and vain than to believe no more than we can 
 comprehend, or can make appear to be credi- 
 ble in itself. Is not this founding our faith on 
 knowledge, and not on testimony 1 Is not 
 this trusting God like a discredited witness 
 in Court, whose disposition is regarded only 
 as it is collaterally supported 7 Is this ho- 
 nouring his wisdom, or veracity 7 Is this re- 
 ceiving with meekness the engrafted word ] 
 Is this receiving the kingdom of heaven as a 
 little child ? 
 
 It will appear in connexion with divine 
 Drdinar.cer. Here we walk with God as wor- 
 
 JUNE 6. 151 
 
 shippers ; and if we walk humbly with him, 
 we shall have grace, whereby we may serve 
 him acceptably, with reverence and with 
 'godly fear. We have, indeed, in Christ, 
 boldness and access with confidence : but it is 
 by the faith of him ; that is, by the confidence 
 of" one who feels his encouragement derived 
 from a mediator. We may come boldly to 
 the throne of grace: but it is to obtain mercy, 
 and find grace to help us : the boldness, there- 
 fore, can only be the boldness of the indigent 
 and the guilty, who have nothing of their own 
 to plead. We approach him as a father : but 
 if I am a father, says He, where is mine ho- 
 nour 1 We have heard some address the Su- 
 preme Being with such levity and freedom as 
 they would not have used to a fellow-crea- 
 ture a little above their own level in life. We 
 should keep our feet when we go to the house 
 of God. He is in heaven and we upon the 
 earth, therefore our words should he few. 
 
 It will appear in connexion with his mer- 
 cies. . Here we walk with God as our bene- 
 factor : and if we walk humbly with him, we 
 shall own and feel that we have no claim 
 upon God for any thing we possess or enjoy. 
 Am I indulged ] I am not worthy of the 
 least of all his mercies. Am I distinguished 1 
 
 " Not more than others I deserve, 
 Yet God has given me more." 
 
 Am I successful ] I shall not ascribe it to 
 my own skill, or the power of my own arm. 
 I shall not sacrifice to my own net, or burn 
 incense to my own drag. The blessing of 
 the Lord it maketli rich, and he addeth nc 
 sorrow with it 
 
 It will appear, with regard to our trials. 
 Here we walk with God as our reprover and 
 corrector : and ifwe walk humbly, we shall not 
 charge him foolishly ; we shall not arraign 
 his authority ; or ask, What doest thou 1 We 
 shall not expose ourselves to the reflection, 
 Thou hast smitten them, and they have not 
 grieved. We shall be in subjection to the 
 Father of spirits, and live. We shall be 
 dumb, and open not our mouth, because He 
 does it. Or if we speak, it will be to ac- 
 knowledge that his judgments are right, and 
 that in faithfulness he has afflicted us. "I 
 mourn ; but I do not murmur. I wonder not 
 that my troubles are so heavy ; but that they 
 are so light I more than deserve them all — 
 and I need them all. I would not only bear, 
 but kiss the rod. It is the Lord : let him do 
 what seemeth him good." 
 
 It will appear, with regard to our condi- 
 tions. Here we walk with God as our dis- 
 poser and governor : and if we walk humbly, 
 we shall hold ourselves at his control; we 
 shall be willing that he should choose our in- 
 heritance for us ; we shall not lean to our own 
 understanding, but in all our ways acknow- 
 ledge him. We shall be satisfied with our 
 own allotment ; and learn, in whatsoever 
 state wr ar?-, therewith to be cr ntent We 
 
152 
 
 JUNE 7. 
 
 Bhall abide in the callings wherein his provi- 
 dence has placed us, and not be eager to rise 
 into superior office, feeling our unfitness for 
 them, and fearful of their perils; saying, 
 "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine 
 eyes lofty ; neither do I exercise myself in 
 great matters, or in things too high for me. 
 Surely I have behaved and quited myself as 
 a child that is weaned of his mother : my soul 
 is even as a weaned child." 
 
 It will appear, with regard to our qualifica- 
 tion and ability for our work. Here we walk 
 with God, as our helper and strength ; and if 
 we walk humbly, we shall be sensible of our 
 insufficiency for all the purposes of the divine 
 life. We shall feel that we know not what 
 to pray for as we ought, unless the Spirit it- 
 self helpeth our infirmities; that the prepara- 
 tion of the heart, and the answer of the tongue, 
 are from the Lord ; that with regard to the 
 exercise of every grace, and the performance 
 of every duty, as the branch cannot bear fruit 
 of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more 
 can we, except we abide in him, for without 
 him we can do nothing. Did Peter walk 
 humbly with him, when, even after the warn- 
 ing he had received, he leaned on his own 
 resolution for superior constancy] Here 
 humility is— to fear always; and— to pray, 
 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. 
 
 It will appear, with regard to the whole of 
 our recovery. Here we walk with God, as 
 a Saviour ; and if we walk humbly, we shall 
 not go about to establish our own righteous- 
 ness, but submit ourselves unto the righteous- 
 ness which is of God : and acknowledge that 
 we have nothing to glory in before him. " Not 
 by works of righteousness which I had done, 
 but according to his mercy he saved me. I 
 look to the rock whence I was hewn, and to 
 the hole of the pit whence I was digged. 
 How long did he wait for me ! What pains 
 were used in vain to bring my heart to him ! 
 He was found of me, when I sought him not. 
 And how little have I attained ! I am still an 
 unprofitable servant. The sins of my holy 
 things would condemn me — I must look only 
 for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto 
 eternal life. If I am called, he called me by 
 his grace. If I have a good hope, it is a good 
 hope through grace. By the grace of God I 
 am what I am." 
 
 Happy this humble walker with God ! God 
 resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the 
 humble. 
 
 I cast them at thy feet— raj only plea 
 Is what it was, dependence upon thee— 
 While struggling in the vale of tears below, 
 That never fail'd, nor shall it fail me now. 
 Angelic gratulations rend the skies ; 
 Pride falls unpitied, never more to rise ; 
 Humility is crown'd, and Faith receives the pme 
 
 JUNE 7 
 
 " The Lord is our Judge." — Isaiah xxxiii. 22. 
 
 " All joy to the believer I He can speak— 
 Trembling yet happy, confident yet meek. 
 Since the dear hour that brought me to thy foot, 
 And cut up all my follies by the root, 
 I never trusted in an arm but thine, 
 Nor hoped, but in thy righteousness divine. 
 My prayers and alms, imperfect and denied, 
 Were but the feeble efforts of a child ; 
 Howe'er perform 'd, ft was their brightest par 
 That they proceeded from a grateful heart, 
 Cleansed in thine own all-purifying blood 
 Forgive thoir evil, and accept their good ; 
 
 In ancient times the character of a judge 
 was united with that of a sovereign. To de- 
 liver the award of acquittal, condemnation, or 
 pardon, was the exclusive prerogative of ma- 
 jesty. Even in our days the sentence pro- 
 nounced by the appointed expositors of the 
 law must have the fiat of the monarch before 
 it can be fulfilled. 
 
 The word Judge is frequently in the Scrip- 
 ture synonymous with Ruler. But here, the 
 Lord, as " our Judge," is distinguished from 
 the Lord, as " our Lawgiver" and " our 
 King :" the term should therefore be taken in 
 its more peculiar meaning. And this view of 
 God should blend with every other character 
 he sustains : not to depress hope ; but to pre 
 vent presumption : not to hinder our access to 
 God ; but to sanctify us when we come nigh 
 him : not to inspire gloom ; but to exclude 
 from us all that carelessness and levity so in- 
 consistent with our dependence and responsi- 
 bility. " If ye call on the Father, who, with- 
 out respect of persons, judgeth according to 
 every man's work, pass the time of your so- 
 journing here in fear." 
 
 He is our future Judge. So then, says the 
 Scripture, every one of us must give account 
 of himself to God : God will bring every work 
 into judgment, with every secret thing. And 
 who could bear the thought of this process, 
 without the knowledge of a Mediator ! The 
 only way to find safety in that day, is to look 
 for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto 
 eternal life : and to be found in him. He is 
 our advocate with the Father : and he is the 
 propitiation for our sins. The charges brought 
 against us are all true ; and we have nothing 
 to offer even in our own extenuation. But we 
 appeal to our Surety ; and he answers for us. 
 Who is he that condemneth'? It is Christ 
 that died: yea, rather, that is risen again: 
 who is even at the right hand of God ; who 
 also maketh intercession for us. 
 
 He is our Judge at present. And the 
 Apostle speaks of it as a privilege of the Gos- 
 pel dispensation, that " we are come to God, 
 the Judge of all." 
 
 Are you perplexed about the path of duty, 
 and yet you must move forward, while im- 
 portance is attached to every step 1 Refer 
 yourselves to his unerring counsel. Be in- 
 fluenced and encouraged by the command and 
 the promise — "Trust in the Lord with all 
 thine heart ; and lean not unto thine own un 
 
JUNE a 
 
 158 
 
 derstanding. In all thy ways acknowledge 
 him, and he shall direct thy paths !" 
 
 Is your spiritual state doubtful to your own 
 minds 1 And do you dread delusion ] Pre- 
 sent th case before him ; and say — " Search 
 me, O Jod, and know my heart ; try me, and 
 know my thoughts : and see if there be any 
 wicked way in me, and lead me in the way 
 everlasting." 
 
 Do you lie under the misapprehension of 
 friends, and the reproaches of enemies 1 Say, 
 with Job, " Behold, my witness is in heaven, 
 and my record is on high." How often did 
 David turn from the groundless and cruel 
 censures of men, to Him who knoweth all 
 things ! " Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor 
 mine eyes lofty ; neither do I exercise myself 
 in great, matters, or in things too high for me. 
 Surely, I have behaved and quieted myself as 
 a child that is weaned of his mother ; my soul 
 is even as a weaned* child." " Let my sen- 
 tence come forth from thy presence : let thine 
 eyes behold the things that are equal." Are you 
 reviled 7 Revile not again. Do you suffer 7 
 Threaten not — but commit yourselves to Him 
 that judgeth righteously. It is pleasing to 
 have the approbation of our fellow-creatures ; 
 out there is — a higher — a juster — a more 
 merciful tribunal. It is a light thing to be 
 judged of man's judgment He that judgeth 
 us is the Lord. " Therefore judge nothing 
 before the time, until the Lord come, who both 
 will bring to light the hidden things of dark- 
 ness, and will make manifest the counsels of 
 the hearts ; and then shall every man have 
 praise of God." 
 
 JUNE 8. 
 
 " The grace that is in Christ Jesus." 
 2 Tim. ii. I. 
 
 Grace is connected with the whole of our 
 recovery as sinners. It is all in all in every 
 part of our salvation. Whether he is chosen, 
 or redeemed, or justified, or converted, or 
 sanctified, or preserved, or comforted — the be- 
 liever will acknowledge, By the grace of God 
 I am what I am— not I, but the grace of God 
 which is with me. 
 
 But where is this grace to be found ? The 
 Apostle tells us, when he speaks of it, as the 
 resource of Timothy, both as a minister and 
 a Christian— Thou, therefore, my son, be 
 strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
 As mediator, he is the principle, and treasury 
 of it, with regard to us. 
 
 It is in him exclusively. And we may as 
 well think of finding snow on the bosom of 
 the sun, or water to cool the tongue in heii, 
 as to think of finding elsewhere than in him 
 wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re- 
 demption. As Pharaoh said to the famishing 
 multitudes that cried to him for corn, " Go 
 onto Joseph, he has all the corn ;" so perish- 
 
 ing sinners are sent to be blessed with all spi. 
 ritual blessings in heavenly places — in Christ, 
 If there was only one well in the vicinity of a 
 place, this would soon become the scene of 
 concourse, and hither all the inhabitant 
 would repair or die — And to him shall the 
 gathering of the people be. If any man 
 thirst, said he, let him come unto ine and 
 drink. Neither is there salvation in any 
 other ; for there is none other Name given 
 under heaven among men, whereby they 
 must be saved. And what Christian will re- 
 fuse to join in the ascription, Of his fulness 
 have all we received, and grace for grace? 
 
 It is in him ail-sufficiently. For it is not in 
 him as water in a vessel, which, though as 
 large as the Brazen Sea, would, by constant 
 drawing, be soon drawn dry ; but as water in a 
 spring, which, though always flowing, is al- 
 ways as full as ever. It is not in him like light 
 in a lamp, which, however luminous, consumes 
 while it shines, and will soon go out in dark- 
 ness ; but, like light in the sun, which, after 
 shining for so many ages, is undiminished, 
 and is as able as ever to bless the earth with 
 his beams. There never has been, and there 
 never will be, never can be a deficiency in 
 him : Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to- 
 day, and for ever. 
 
 It is in him relatively. He has it for the 
 use and advantage of his people. Is he head 
 over all things ? It is to his body, the Church. 
 Has he power given him over all flesh 1 It 
 is that he might give eternal life to as many 
 as the Father hath given him. Is he exalted 
 at the right hand of God 1 ! It is to be a 
 Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto 
 Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Did he re- 
 ceive gifts 7 It was for men, and even for 
 the rebellious also, that the Lord God might 
 dwell among them. Many trustees are faith- 
 less to their office. The rich have wealth 
 for the poor; but it is either hoarded by 
 avarice, or squandered by extravagance ; so 
 that the poor often share but little of it, and 
 the design of the proprietor is subverted by 
 the baseness of the steward. But here there 
 is no danger. He to whom all our welfare 
 is entrusted, will be faithful, not as a servant, 
 like Moses ; but as a Son over his own hcuse. 
 His work falls in with every disposition of 
 his heart He so loves the recipients of his 
 bounty, that he even died for them, and rose 
 again. The power and authority to bless 
 them was the joy set before him ; for which 
 he endured the Cress, and despised the shame 
 
 And it is wisely in him. Could we see nc 
 reason for it we ought to believe in the pro- 
 priety of the dispensation. God does al. 
 things well ; and we may always infer the 
 rectitude of any instance of his conduct even 
 from his adopting it And when he has told 
 us that a particular course of action " became 
 him," it is absurd to speculate, and profane 
 to object But it is easy to apprehend the 
 
154 
 
 JUNE 9. 10. 
 
 wisdom of God in his being pleased that in 
 him should all fulness dwell. It is thus in- 
 finitely secure. Adam had all m his own 
 hand, and soon failed, and ruined his whole 
 race. And should we act better than he? 
 But " this man abideth ever :" and therefore 
 the Covenant, of which he is the head, is 
 everlasting, ordered in all things and sure. 
 By this appointment also, there is rendered 
 necessary a communion between Christ and 
 Christians, equally honourable to him, and 
 beneficial to them. Let me explain this by 
 a simple reference. An infant, when born, 
 if left to himself, would perish : for he is en- 
 tirely unequal to his own support But he 
 is not abandoned. Provision is made for his 
 nourishment — Where? In another! In 
 whom ? The one — above all others interest- 
 ed in him — and whose relation to him — whose 
 anguish on his behalf — whose love — will al- 
 ways yield him a welcome access to her 
 bosom : and the mutual action of giving and 
 receiving will endear the babe to the mother, 
 and the mother to the babe. It is well we 
 cannot live independent of Christ Jesus. How 
 much are his glory and our welfare connect- 
 ed with the blessed necessity of our daily and 
 hourly intercourse with him ! 
 
 JUNE 9. 
 
 " And a certain man, lame from his mother's 
 ■womb, -was carried, ivhom they laid daily at 
 the gate of the temple -which is called Beauti- 
 fid, to ask alms of them that entered into the 
 temple." — Acts iii. 2. 
 
 What an object of distress was here ! 
 Some, if they are poor, are strong and health- 
 ful ; and limbs and labour are sufficient for 
 them. And some, if they are sickly and 
 infirm, have wealth ; or relations and friends 
 that can afford them support. But here 
 penury and helplessness are combined. The 
 sufferings of some are accidental, and endured 
 for a season only ; but this man's affliction 
 entered the world with him, and upwards of 
 forty years he had endured the calamity. 
 
 What a vale of tears is this earth ! To 
 what a variety of evils are the human race 
 exposed ! Oh ! could we see all ! — could we 
 see a little of the millionth part ! What is a 
 burial-ground? a field of battle? a hospital ? 
 every dismembered, disordered body'? but a 
 commentary upon sin as the text ! For sin 
 " Brought death into the world, and all our wo." 
 Can we see such a case as this, and not be 
 thankful for our exemption and preservation ? 
 Shall we say, He deserved to be such a crip- 
 ple; but I did not? Rather, shall we not 
 say, By the grace of God, I am what I am ? 
 
 Such an instance of misery is presented to 
 try our disposition. The eye affecteth the 
 heart ; and was designed to do it. None but 
 a Priest or Levite will pass by on the otner 
 
 side. Such sights will attract the notice or 
 the humane, and the merciful, and move all 
 his bowels of compassion, and put in requisi- 
 tion all his powers of relief. Job, even with 
 regard to his prosperity, which too often 
 makes men insensible and careless, could 
 make this appeal : " When the ear heard me 
 then it blessed me ; and when the eye saw 
 me, it gave witness to me : because I deliver- 
 ed the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and 
 him that had none to help him. The bless- 
 ing of him that was ready to perish came up- 
 on me : and I caused the widow's heart to 
 sing for joy." " I was eyes to the blind, arid 
 feet was I to the lame." 
 
 As the only expedient of this poor wretch 
 was begging ; so, to give him an advantage, 
 they placed him daily at the Beautiful gate 
 of the temple, to ask alms of them that went 
 in. This was wise. Surely he who is going 
 to seek mercy, will be ready to show it 
 Surely he who is going to pray for pardon, 
 will not be unforgiving and implacable. 
 " Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, 
 and there rememberest that thy brother hath 
 aught against thee, leave there thy gift before 
 the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled 
 to thy brother, and then come and offer thy 
 gift." What communion hath light with 
 darkness? What fellowship can the cruel 
 and uncharitable have with him who is love 
 itself? 
 
 Piety without benevolence is hypocrisy. 
 " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his 
 brother, he is a liar : for he that loveth not 
 his brother whom he hath seen, how can he 
 love God whom he hath not seen ? And this 
 commandment have we from him, That he 
 who loveth God love his brother also." The 
 tongue of men and angels, without charity, is 
 as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. The 
 gift of prophecy, the understanding of all 
 mysteries, and all faith so that we could re- 
 move mountains, would be nothing without 
 charity. How such a man, whatever be his 
 profession, can be a partaker of divine grace, 
 perplexed even an inspired Apostle. " Whoso 
 hath this world's good, and seeth his brothei 
 have need, and shutteth up his bowels of 
 compassion from him, how dwelleth the love 
 ofGodinhim?" 
 
 How well he adds — "My little children, 
 let us not love in word, neither in tongue ; 
 but in deed and in truth." 
 
 " And hereby we know that we are of the 
 truth, and shall assure our hearts before him " 
 
 JUNE 10. 
 "He delighteth in mercy." — Micah vii 18. 
 
 Causes are best discovered in their effects. 
 We determine the nature of the spring by 
 the quality of the streams. The tree is known 
 by the fruits. We judge of men's principles 
 
JUNE 10. 
 
 15b 
 
 and dispositions, by their pursuits and con- 
 duct God himself, so to speak, submits to 
 be examined in the same way. To ascertain 
 what he is, we have but to consider what he 
 does. The things the Scripture testifies con- 
 cerning him, are confirmed and exemplified 
 by the facts to which it refers us. Thus says 
 the Church — " As we have heard, so have 
 we seen in the city of our God." Is he call- 
 ed, " The God of all grace 1" " The Father 
 of mercies V Is it said, "He is rich in 
 mercy ?" " He delighteth in mercy ? H Let 
 us pause and reflect ; and we shall find the 
 proofs and illustrations more wonderful than 
 the assertion itself. 
 
 We are saved by hope ; hope is the first 
 step in the return of a sinner to God ; and 
 " what hath God wrought," to gain the confi- 
 dence of our guilty, and therefore foreboding 
 and misgiving minds! Here let us follow 
 the example of the inspired John — " What is 
 it that arrests and enraptures his attention V 
 "Herein is love." Where? In what! 
 " Herein is love — not that we loved God, but 
 that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the 
 propitiation for our sins." Not that he would 
 overlook the other doings of God ; but here he 
 saw most clearly that " God is love." God's 
 soul delights in his own Son, yet he would 
 seem to delight more in mercy ; for when he 
 met with him and us on Calvary, he said, 
 Thou shalt die, and they shall live." It there- 
 fore pleased the Lord to bruise him ; that by 
 his stripes we might be healed ; and, through 
 his sweet-smelling sacrifice, become dearer to 
 God than if we had never sinned. And we 
 must here take in, not only the expensiveness 
 of the act, but the character of the objects. It 
 is the reasoning of another Apostle : " Scarce- 
 ly for a righteous man will one die : yet per- 
 adventure for a good man some would even 
 dare to die. But God commendeth his love 
 towards us, in that, while we were yet sin- 
 ners, Christ died for us." And having made 
 the provision, so that all things are now 
 ready — would he endeavour to awaken our 
 attention to it 1 would he send forth the mi- 
 nistry of reconciliation to beseech us to ac- 
 cept it— unless he delighted in mercy 7 
 
 He delights, also, not only in the exercise 
 of mercy to us, but by us. He, therefore, 
 would not leave mercy to the operation of 
 reason and religion only ; but, as our Maker, 
 he has rendered it a law of our being. By 
 our very physical constitution pity is an un- 
 avoidable emotion. When we see the pain 
 and distress of a fellow-creature, the eye af- 
 fecteth the heart. We involuntarily feel an 
 uneasiness, which prompts us to succour him, 
 even to relieve ourselves. As far, indeed, as 
 this is implanted in us, it is a mere instinct. 
 But who produced it there 1 Who made it 
 natural ? Who rendered it so difficult to be 
 subdued and destroyed, but a Being who de- 
 lighted in mercy' 1 Besides, though it be 
 
 originally an instinct only, by cherishing it, 
 we render it a virtue ; and, by exciting and 
 exercising it from religious motives, we turn 
 it into a Christian grace. 
 
 And see what stress he has laid upon it in 
 his word. How often does he enjoin it! 
 How dreadfully has he threatened the neglect 
 of it ! And what promises has he made to the 
 practice of it! "He shall have judgment 
 without mercy, that showed no mercy." " Bui 
 blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain 
 mercy." He has told us, that no clearness 
 of knowledge, no rectitude of opinion, no fer- 
 vour of zeal, no constancy of attendance oi. 
 ordinances, no talking of divine things, will 
 be a compensation for charity. " Whoso hath 
 this world's good, and seeth his brother have 
 need, and shutteth up his bowels of compas- 
 sion from him, how dwelleth the love of God 
 in him ?" And hence the pre-eminence our 
 Saviour gives it in the proceedings of the last 
 day. " 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 : for I was 
 an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was 
 thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a 
 stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye 
 clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I 
 was in prison, and ye came unto me." The 
 language has been perverted, for men dream 
 of merit, where, above all things, we need 
 mercy. This word " for" is here not causa- 
 tive, but evidential— just as we may say, the 
 spring is come, for the birds sing ; the singing 
 of the birds does not cause the coming of the 
 spring, but is the effect and proof of it. But 
 even this distinction affords the merciless no 
 favour : for though the practice here so no- 
 ticed be not the procuring of the blessedness, 
 it is the character of the blessed. On every 
 ground, therefore, the man who is a stranger 
 to it, is not entitled to hope. For which rea- 
 son, too, our Lord goes on to the subjects of 
 condemnation. And who are these? Ty- 
 rants'? robbers'? murderers of fathers and 
 mothers'? perjured persons'? No — but the 
 slothful and the selfish — the unkind tongue — 
 the close hand — the unfeeling heart — the un- 
 pitying eye — the foot that knew not the door 
 of misery. "Then shall he say also unto 
 them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye 
 cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
 Devil and his angels: for I was an hungered, 
 and ye gave rne no meat: I was thirsty, and 
 ye gave me' no drink: I was a stranger, and 
 ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me 
 not : sick, and in prison, and ye visited me 
 not" 
 
 Let us, therefore, not only admire, but let 
 us be followers of Him who delighteth in 
 mercy. We cannot love him, unless we are 
 concerned to please him; and we cannot 
 please him, unless we are likeminded with 
 him. Neither can we enjoy him. Resem- 
 
£56 
 
 JUNE 11. 
 
 ilance is the foundation of our communion 
 with him. He only that dwelleth in love, 
 dwelleth in God, and God in him. " Be ye 
 therefore merciful, even as your father 
 who is in heaven is merciful." 
 
 JUNE 11. 
 
 ' Jt came to pass, that ivhcn Isaac teas old, and 
 his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he 
 called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, 
 M'j son : and he said unto him, Behold, here 
 am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, 
 I know not the day of my death : now there- 
 fore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy 
 quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, 
 and take me some venison ; and make me sa- 
 voury meat, such as I love, and bring it to 
 me, that I may eat ; that my soul may bless 
 thee before I die." — Gen. xxvii. 1 — 4. 
 
 In Isaac's blindness we see one of the fre- 
 quent accompaniments of age. Age is ge- 
 nerally an aggregate of privations, diseases, 
 and infirmities. If, by reason of strength, we 
 reach fourscore years, the strength then be- 
 comes labour and sorrow : labour in the pre- 
 serving, and sorrow in the possession. 
 
 " Oar vitals, with laborious strife, 
 Bear up the crazy load ; 
 And drag the dull remains of life 
 Along the tiresome road. 
 
 A powerful reason why we should remember 
 our Creator in the days of our youth, that we 
 may have a resource, when the evil days 
 come, in which we shall say, I have no plea- 
 sure. What a privilege, when exercised 
 with loss of sight, and of hearing ; with trem- 
 bling of limbs, and sleepless nights ; and fear- 
 ful apprehensions, and failure of desire; to 
 have God for the strength of our heart, and 
 our portion for ever : and to hear him saying, 
 " Even to your old age I am he ; and even to 
 hoar hairs will I carry you : I have made, and 
 I will bear; even I will carry, and will de- 
 liver you." 
 
 — The reflection of Isaac upon his mor- 
 tality may be adopted by every individual, 
 whatever his condition, or health, or age. All 
 are ignorant of the time of their dissolution. 
 For the human race dies at all periods, as 
 well as in all circumstances : and we know 
 not what a day may bring forth. But when 
 Isaac says, " I know not the day of my death," 
 he means that it was near ; and that every 
 day might be reckoned as his last. Death is 
 not far from every one of us. But while, as 
 the proverb says, the young may die, the old 
 must die. And it becomes the aged to think 
 frequently and seriously of their departure as 
 at. hand. They should prepare for it ; and re- 
 gard zealously the call of every present duty. 
 It was the prayer of Moses, " So teach us to 
 number our days, that we may apply our 
 hearts unto wisdom." It was the profession 
 of our Lord and Saviour, " I must work the 
 
 works of Hiin that sent me while it is day; 
 the night cometh wherein no man can work." 
 It was the admonition of Solomon : " What 
 soever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thj 
 might : for there is no work, nor device, nor 
 knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither 
 thou goest." 
 
 Thus Isaac was roused into a concern to 
 finish his work before he finished his course: 
 " Now, therefore, take, I pray thee, thy wea- 
 pons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to 
 the field, and take me some venison ; and 
 make me savoury meat, such as 1 love, and 
 bring it to me, that I may eat ; that my soul 
 may bless thee before I die." Observe, he 
 speaks of doing it while yet alive- -not after- 
 ward. In like manner, Elijah, when waiting 
 for his ascension into heaven, said to Elisha, 
 " Ask now what I shall do for thee, before I 
 be taken up from thee," believing his inter- 
 course with him, and his acting for him, 
 would then be terminated. This is a solemn 
 and should be a useful thought. Look at 
 your children, your relations, your friends, 
 your neighbours, and see in what way you 
 can serve your generation. Note you can 
 bless them by your prayers, your counsels, 
 your example, your liberality : but all these 
 opportunities are confined to life ; and this 
 life is a vapour, that appeareth for a little 
 time, and then vanisheth away ! Isaac did 
 well in seizing the present moment to set his 
 house in order before his death. But there 
 are two things in which he was blameable. 
 
 First He shows too great a regard for 
 the indulgence of his appetite. It is mourn- 
 ful to see a good man, and especially an old 
 man, instead of mortifying the deeds of the 
 body, studying his sensual gratification, and 
 making provision for the flesh, not to fulfil 
 the wants, but the lusts thereof. Carriages 
 should be dragged as they are going down 
 hill. 
 
 Secondly. He was more influenced by 
 natural affection, than a regard to the will of 
 God. He wished to make Esau heir; but 
 God had expressly declared, " the elder shall 
 serve the younger." Isaac could not have 
 been ignorant of this. Had he forgotten it 1 
 Or did he disregard it] Here we see his 
 frailty. Yet this does not render the pur- 
 pose of God of none effect His counsel shall 
 stand, and he will do all his pleasure. Re- 
 bekah, on the other hand, was fond of Jacob 
 — and a father has no chance against a mo- 
 ther, who has a favourite whom she is deter- 
 mined to advance ; especially such a selfish, 
 crafty, cunning creature as was here at work. 
 Rebekah's aim, indeed, fell in with God's de- 
 sign ; but this concurrence arose, not from her 
 piety, but her partiality. Her conduct was 
 unjustifiable and sinful : for we must not do 
 evil that good may come. She had the Di 
 vine promise on the side of her preference 
 and she should have rested in the Lord, ano 
 
JUNE 12, 13. 
 
 157 
 
 waited patiently for him ; and not have fret- 
 ted herself in any wise to do evil. " He that 
 believeth maketh not haste." Had she quietly 
 committed her way unto the Lord, he would 
 have brought it to pass, without those wretch- 
 ed consequences that afflicted the family. 
 For God uses instruments without approving 
 of them : and though he makes the folly and 
 passions of men to praise him, he fails not to 
 prove that it is an evil and bitter thing to for- 
 sake him, and to act without his fear in our 
 hearts. 
 
 — How painful would it be to go on, and 
 see a mother teaching her child to tell lies ; 
 and to see a son imposing on the blindness of 
 an aged father! We have no notion that 
 Rebekah was ever religious. And what 
 proof have we that Jacob was pious at this 
 time 1 — Was he not converted in his journey 
 from Beersheba to Haran 1 At Bethel God 
 met with him ; and there he spake with us. 
 
 JUNE 12. 
 
 * The Lord -went before them by day in a pil- 
 lar of a cloud, to lead them the -way ; and by 
 night in a pillar of fire, to give them light ; 
 to go by day and night : He took not atoay 
 the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar 
 of fire by night, from before the people." 
 Exod.xiii.21, 22. 
 
 Tins institution was necessary : for there 
 was no path in the desert ; and they had no 
 maps, no pioneers, no guides. But, says 
 God, I have not brought you out of Egypt to 
 leave you to wander and perish in the wil- 
 derness — Behold your conductor unto the rest 
 and the inheritance which the Lord your God 
 giveth you. Accordingly, by this, they were 
 to be regulated in all their journeying. As 
 this rose, they rose. As this paused, they 
 paused. As this turned to the right hand or 
 to the left, they turned. It sometimes called 
 them to leave a more endeared spot, and to 
 stop in a less inviting scene ; but they were 
 not at liberty to cling to the one, or de- 
 cline the other : the signal was instantly 
 decisive. This pillar was obviously nothing 
 less than a real miracle ; yet how little were 
 the observers affected by it ] They sinned, 
 and even committed idolatry with this hover- 
 ing prodigy always over them ! We are 
 prone to ascribe too much moral efficacy to 
 such supernatural appearances. They soon 
 became as unimpressive and uninfluential as 
 the ordinary means of grace are with us. 
 
 It was a symbol of the Divine Presence — 
 " The Lord was in the pillar." It was this 
 nearness of God that insured their safety, and 
 gave them their distinction and pre-eminence. 
 There he was always at hand, always in 
 view. " And," says Moses, " what nation is 
 there so great, who hath God so nigh unto 
 them as the Lord our God is in all things that 
 we call upon him for V 
 14 
 
 But how extensively adapted was this pro- 
 vision to their state and exigences ! It was 
 both a pillar of a cloud, and a pillar of fire, to 
 lead them in the way — The one appearance 
 was for the day ; the other for the night. Fire 
 by day would have added to the dazzling ant 1 
 fervidness of a burning sky — the pillar was 
 therefore a cloud by day, and screened them 
 like a large umbrella from the scorching rays 
 of the sun. Cloud by night would have add- 
 ed to the gloom, the darkness, and the dread 
 of danger — the pillar was therefore a fire by 
 night, to lick up the unwholesome damps, to 
 warm the chilling atmosphere, and to afford 
 them a light, by which they could see to 
 move about in their tents, and also to travel, 
 as they often did after the sun was set. 
 
 If this ordinance showed his wisdom and 
 goodness, the continuance of the blessing 
 evinced his patience — for, notwithstanding 
 their unworthiness, and their provocations, 
 and their various corrections, this pillar was 
 not taken away from before the people, till 
 they reached the border of Jordan, and came 
 to their journey's end ! 
 
 He has a people for his Name now. They 
 are only strangers and pilgrims on earth, 
 bound for a better country, that is, a heavenly. 
 This they would never reach, if they were 
 left to themselves. But the God of Israel is 
 with them. They have not the same sensi 
 ble proof of his presence as the Jews had 
 Yet they have real evidence of it ; and it is 
 satisfactory to their own minds. He keeps 
 them from falling. He accommodates him 
 self to their conditions. He is a very present 
 help in trouble. He makes his goodness to 
 pass before them. He leads them by hie 
 word, and his Spirit, and his providence. He 
 has also said, I will never leave thee, nor for- 
 sake thee. Therefore they may boldly say, 
 This God is our God for ever and ever: He 
 will be our guide even unto death. 
 
 " Thus, when our first release we gain, 
 From Sin's old yoke and Satan's chain 
 We have this desert world to pass, — 
 A dang'rous and a tiresome place. 
 
 " He feeds and clothes us all the way ; 
 He guides our footsteps lest we stray ; 
 He guards us with a powerful hand ; 
 And brings us to the promised land.'* 
 
 JUNE 13. 
 
 " The censers of these sinners against their own 
 sotds, let them make them broad plates for a 
 covering of the altar." — Numb. xvi. 38. 
 He had solemnly forewarned and admonish- 
 ed the rebels themselves before they suffered . 
 and thus, in wrath he remembered mercy. 
 When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who head- 
 ed the conspiracy, were buried alive; and 
 their companions, the two hundred and fifty 
 princes, men of honour, were burned with fire ; 
 he would make them beacons ; and prevent 
 others from coming into the same condemna 
 
158 
 
 JUNE 13. 
 
 tion. Orders, therefore, were given t© take 
 up the censers in which they had dared to 
 burn incense ; and make of them broad plates 
 to cover the altar of burnt offering — that they 
 might " be a sign unto the children of Israel :" 
 that is, a memorial to the Levites, and the 
 comers thereunto, of the revolt of these men ; 
 and that they were punished for invading an 
 office which God had forbidden them. 
 
 Whence we note, that the sin which is 
 hurtful to the transgressors should be useful 
 to the observers. 
 
 " These sinners against their own souls !" 
 Whenever men sin, they sin against them- 
 selves. Society cannot exist without laws : 
 and laws are nothing without penalties. Con- 
 nivance at the guilty would be cruelty to the 
 innocent. In every well-ordered government 
 crimes are punished. And will they, can 
 they escape in the empire of a Being, holy in 
 all his ways, and righteous in all his works 1 
 What would you think of a magistrate, who 
 bore the sword in vain 1 and who was not a 
 terror to evil doers as well as a praise to them 
 that do well] What would you think of him, 
 if, when you brought before him the incendia- 
 ry of your house, or the murderer of your 
 child, he should say, This does not regard me 
 — and smile, and say — Go in peace ! We dis- 
 like the word vindictive justice — there seems 
 something malignant in it : but substitute in 
 the room of it, the vindicatory, or punitive jus- 
 tice of God, and we contend that this is essen- 
 tial to the excellency of his character ; and 
 that you could not esteem, or even love him, 
 without it. What regard could you have for 
 a being, who equally respected lies and truth! 
 cruelty and kindness] a Nero and a Howard 1 
 We readily own, that when anger and wrath 
 are ascribed to God in the Scriptures, they do 
 not imply any thing in him like passion in us : 
 but only principle. But principle they do es- 
 tablish : and this principle is the soul of or- 
 der ; adherence to rectitude ; determination to 
 punish. 
 
 And we may see this in his threatenings. 
 For his wrath is revealed from heaven against 
 all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men. 
 If this book be true, the wicked shall not 
 stand in his sight. He hateth all workers of 
 iniquity. 
 
 He has also confirmed and exemplified it in 
 his conduct. Look to heaven, and see the an- 
 gels sinning against themselves, and cast 
 down to hell. See Adam and Eve driven 
 from the garden of Eden. See the Flood 
 carrying away the world of the ungodly. See 
 the inhabitants of the Plain. And Pharaoh. 
 And the nations of Canaan. And the Jews, 
 though so peculiarly indulged of God. Yea, 
 he even visits the transgressions of good men 
 with a rod : and though he forgives their ini- 
 quities, he takes vengeance on their inven- 
 tions. See Moses and Aaron forbidden to 
 onter the Land of Promise : and Eli and Da- 
 
 vid so awfully judged in this life. And if 
 these things are done in the green tree, what 
 shall be done in the dry 1 And if the righte- 
 ous are recompensed in the earth, how much 
 more the sinner and the ungodly ! 
 
 It would be easy to trace the injury of sm 
 with regard to every thing of which the wel- 
 fare of the sinner is compounded. His con- 
 nexions ought to be dear to him. But how 
 does he sin against these ! How does the 
 wicked child rend the heart of his parents, 
 and bring down their gray hairs with sorrow 
 to the grave ! How does the husband, instead 
 of providing for those of his own house, by 
 his vices, reduce the wife he ought to love 
 even as himself, to indigence and wretched- 
 ness ; and her hapless babes along with her ! 
 What a blessing is health. But how does he 
 sin against this ! By intemperance and sen- 
 suality, he is made to possess the iniquities of 
 his youth, which lie down with him in the 
 dust. Envy is the rottenness of the bones. 
 So are hatred and malice. And so are all 
 those corroding anxieties and fears which they 
 must feel who have no confidence in God, or 
 hope of heaven. Reputation is desirable, as 
 it enables us to live in the esteem of others ; 
 and valuable as it is, an instrument of useful- 
 ness: a good name, says Wisdom itself, is 
 better than great riches. But who regards 
 the sinner! Who confides in him? What 
 is his friendship 1 or his promise ? The name 
 of the wicked shall rot. A wicked man is 
 loathsome, and cometh to shame. We must 
 be measured, and weighed, by our souls. The 
 mind is the standard of the man. This is the 
 seat of happiness or misery. But he that sin- 
 neth against me, says God, wrongeth his own 
 soul. Wrongs it of peace — for there is no 
 peace to the wicked. Wrongs it of liberty 
 and pleasure — for he is in the gall of bitter- 
 ness, and in the bond of iniquity. Wrongs it 
 of safety — for the wrath of God abideth on 
 him : he is condemned already. 
 
 But let not these sinners suffer in vain. 
 They are our martyrs. They die and peris! 
 for us. Their loss should be our gain ; and 
 their destruction our salvation. 
 
 The first advantage we may derive from an 
 observation of the sins and sufferings of others, 
 is the confirmation of our faith. And nothing 
 can tend more to establish our belief in the 
 truth of the Scripture, than to take its declara- 
 tions and decisions, and compare them with 
 the documents of men's lives. The Bible 
 tells us that the way of transgressors is hard. 
 That they proceed from evil to evil. That a 
 little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. That 
 the companion of fools shall be destroyed. That 
 the love of money is the root of all evil. And 
 who has not seen this, as well as read it 1 
 
 Another benefit, is gratitude. When we 
 see the wicked, we see what we should have 
 been, but for preventing and distinguishing 
 grace. Who made me to differ 1 Have I a 
 
JUNE 14. 
 
 159 
 
 Heart of flesh, while they are insensible! Am 
 I light in the Lord, while they are darkness! 
 Am I walking in the way everlasting, while 
 destruction and misery is in their paths! By 
 the grace of God, I am what I am. 
 
 The observation should also awaken and 
 «;xcite zeal. Surely none so much need our 
 compassion, as those who are destroying them- 
 selves for ever. We talk of doing good. 
 What advantage can we procure a fellow- 
 creature like that godliness, which is profita- 
 ble unto all things! What enemy can we 
 rescue him from, like his lusts and vices! If 
 we convert a sinner from the error of his way, 
 we save a soul from death, and hide a multi- 
 tude of sins. 
 
 . It should also serve to wean us from the 
 present world. What a bedlam it is ! What 
 a sink of corruption too! What righteous 
 soul is not daily, hourly, vexed with the filthy 
 conversation of the ungodly ! Thus the ear, 
 the eye, the heart, is constantly sickened. 
 We behold the transgressors, and are grieved. 
 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging- 
 place of way-faring men! Oh that I had 
 wings like a dove, for then would I flee away, 
 and be at rest — with the spirits of just men 
 made perfect — dwelling in love, and dwelling 
 in God ! 
 
 Finally. Let us fetch from it warnings. 
 When Daniel, addressing Belshazzar, re- 
 minded him of his father's pride and destruc- 
 tion, he aggravates his guilt, by saying, " Thou 
 knewest all this." When the Apostle men- 
 tions " the sins and plagues that Israel knew," 
 he says, " Now these things were our exam- 
 ples, to the intent we should not lust after 
 evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be 
 /e idolaters, as were some of them ; as it is 
 written, The people sat down to eat and 
 drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us 
 commit fornication, as some of them commit- 
 ted, and fell in one day three-and-twenty 
 thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as 
 some of them also tempted, and were des- 
 troyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as 
 some of them also murmured, and were de- 
 stroyed of the destroyer. Now all these 
 things happened unto them for ensamples: 
 and they are written for our admonition, upon 
 whom the ends of the world are come. Where- 
 fore let him that thinketh he standeth take 
 heed lest he fall." 
 
 And surely, O my soul, if the sins of others 
 may be rendered thus profitable, I ought to 
 be concerned to gain something from my own. 
 Let me derive wisdom from my follies; 
 strength from my weakness; and standing 
 from my very falls. Let me see more of my 
 depravity ; and put, on humbleness of mind ; 
 and apply to the blood of sprinkling; and 
 never more trust in my own heart, but be 
 strong ir the grace that is in Christ Jesus : 
 and be sober o'-.d vigilant ; and — till I am be- 
 
 yond the reach of evil, pray, " Hold thou mc 
 up, and I shall be safe." 
 
 JUNE 14. 
 
 " Jesus saiih unto him, Have I been so long 
 time with you, and yet hast thou not known 
 me, Philip J?"— John xiv. 9. 
 
 He had been with Philip and his fellow- 
 disciples corporeally ; for the Word was made 
 flesh, and dwelt among them, and they beheld 
 his glory. But his bodily presence was con- 
 fined to Judea, and few knew him after the 
 flesh. And soon he was known so no more : 
 for he was received up into heaven. But it 
 is remarkable, that while on earth, he evinced 
 that his efficiency was not dependent on his 
 bodily presence : for he performed cures at a 
 distance, as we see in the case of the noble- 
 man's son, and the centurion's servant, who 
 were healed by no amplication, but simply by 
 his volition ; as if to encourage the belief, that 
 when removed hence, he could still operate 
 in our world. 
 
 Arid if his word is to be relied upon, he is 
 with his people now. What was his promise 
 to his ministers! to his churches! to indi- 
 viduals! "Lo! I am with you alway, even 
 unto the end of the world." " Where two 
 or three are gathered together in my Name, 
 there am I in the midst of them." " If a man 
 love me, he will keep my words; and my 
 Father will love him, and we will come unto 
 him, and make our abode with him." — There- 
 fore he has either given promises which he 
 is unable to fulfil, or, though now in heaven, 
 he is with his disciples on earth — with them 
 specially, graciously, spiritually. Effects 
 prove the existence of the cause. The ope- 
 ration of the workman shows his presence. 
 And that " his Name is near, his wondrous 
 works declare." He has done enough in the 
 Christian, to demonstrate that he is with him 
 — and he hath said, I will never leave thee, 
 nor forsake thee. 
 
 Yet he says to Philip — "Hast thou not 
 known me !" Philip was not entirely ignorant 
 of him. But he knew him not sufficiently ; 
 he knew him not comparatively; he knew 
 him not, considering how he might have 
 known him. And is not this the case with 
 us ! Some have very little knowledge of any 
 kind. They never guide even the common 
 affairs of this life with discretion. They seem 
 incapable of improvement. Even suffering 
 does not teach them wisdom. " Experience," 
 says Franklin, " is a dear school ! yet fools 
 will learn in no other." And they do not 
 learn even in this. Yet the children of this 
 world are wiser in their generation than the 
 children of light We live in a land of vision ; 
 we have Sabbaths and Bibles, and religious 
 ordinances and teachers. Yet as to a know- 
 ledge of the peculiar truths of the Gospel, and 
 
160 
 
 JUNE 15. 
 
 the reality of Christian experience, numbers 
 are as ignorant as heathens: "The light 
 shineth in darkness, but the darkness com- 
 prehendeth it not." Must we go on 1 What 
 do many Christians, real Christians, who have 
 long had the great Teacher with them — what 
 do even they know 1 What do they know of 
 their own interest in him 1 Are they not yet 
 unable to determine what their spiritual con- 
 dition is, and to say, with Thomas, My Lord 
 and my God 1 — How little do they know of 
 his salvation ! How little of the glories of his 
 person ! How little of the nature of his dis- 
 pensations towards them : so that they — are 
 confounded with the fresh discoveries they 
 make of the evils of their own hearts — per- 
 plexed with their afflictions — desponding if 
 difficulties multiply, and they see no means or 
 way of escape — and ready to conclude that 
 he has shut out their prayers, because he does 
 not immediately and sensibly answer them : 
 and all this from their knowing so little of 
 the manner in which he deals with his people. 
 
 Yet the defectiveness of their knowledge 
 is very censurable, especially after long in- 
 timacy with him. Hence the Apostle re- 
 proaches the Hebrews : " When for the time 
 ye ought to have been teachers, ye have need 
 that one teach you again which be the first 
 principles of the oracles of God." Hence our 
 Lord said to his disciples on another occasion ; 
 "Are ye also yet without understanding'!" 
 And here again he says ; " Have I been so 
 long time with you, and yet hast thou not 
 known me, Philip V ' He had scarcely been 
 three years with them then ; and he had very 
 gradually developed himself, and kept back 
 many things for a future communication. 
 Yet it was a long period, considering its im- 
 portance and privileges. And always having 
 access to him, with their inquiries ; and hear- 
 ing his discourses ; and witnessing all his con- 
 duct ; they ought to have gained much more 
 than they did. But they were slow of heart, 
 and made very little progress, as we see by 
 their various mistakes and embarrassments. 
 Yet what right have we to cast a stone at 
 them ] How few, how poor, how wretched 
 have been our attainments ! And yet he has 
 been much longer with many of us — ten — 
 twenty — forty years — years, too, abounding 
 with every assistance. Four things ought to 
 make us blush at the thought of this. 
 
 First. The necessity and value of the 
 knowledge that we have made so little pro- 
 ficiency in. How much depends upon it — 
 our usefulness — our preservation from error — 
 our peace and comfort — and our progress in 
 the divine life. For though we may grow in 
 knowledge without growing in grace, we can- 
 not grow in grace without growing in know- 
 ledge. Religion does not act upon us me- 
 chanically, but morally ; that is, through the 
 influence of just views and motives. 
 
 Secondly. Some have made far greater 
 
 advancement in much less time, and with very 
 inferior advantages. They set out long after 
 us; but they soon passed us on the road. 
 They have had very little pious intercourse, 
 and have seldom heard a Gospel sermon. Yet 
 when we converse with them; and observe 
 them in the relations, duties, and trials of 
 life ; how much below them must we feel ! 
 
 Thirdly. Our obligations and responsibility 
 rise with our means and opportunities. What 
 an advantage are pious relations ! What a 
 privilege is a Gospel ministry ! What a pre- 
 cious talent is time ! Where is conscience, 
 while we look at our slender improvement of 
 all these 1 Where much is given, much will 
 be required. 
 
 Lastly. Our unprofitableness is the sub- 
 ject of divine disappointment and complaint 
 "What could have been done more to my 
 vineyard that I have not done in if! Where- 
 fore, when I looked that it should bring forth 
 grapes, brought it forth wild grapes I" The 
 thought of displeasing and dishonouring him 
 is nothing to some people. But shall we pro- 
 voke, and grieve, his Holy Spirit 7- Can we 
 who love him and know what he has done for 
 us — can we be insensible to the Saviour's de- 
 cision — " Herein is my Father glorified, that 
 ye bear much fruit : so shall ye be my disci- 
 ples?" 
 
 What remains — but that we admire and 
 adore the patience of him who still bears with 
 us, though we have so often constrained him 
 to ask, " How long shall I be with you ! how 
 long shall I suffer you ?" — And let us search 
 and try our ways, and turn again unto the 
 Lord. Let us guard against indecision and 
 sloth. Let us be diligent in the use of all 
 the means of religious improvement. Let us 
 not cease to pray that we may be " filled with 
 the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and 
 spiritual understanding. That we may walk 
 worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, bping 
 fruitful in every good work, and increasing in 
 the knowledge of God." 
 
 " Then shall we know, if we follow on to 
 know the Lord. His going forth is prepared 
 as the morning. And he shall come unto us 
 as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto 
 the earth." 
 
 JUNE 15. 
 
 " When the Most High divided to the nations 
 their inheritance, -when he separated the sons 
 of Adam, hi ret the bounds of the people ac* 
 cording- to the number of the children of Is- 
 rael." — Deut. xxxii. 8. 
 This is an important and interesting com- 
 munication. It supplies us with two facts. 
 
 First That God originally divided the 
 nations their inheritance. When, after the 
 Deluge, he gave the new earth to the chil- 
 dren of men, he did not throw it in among 
 them, so to speak, for a kind of scramble, that 
 
.iJNE 16. 
 
 161 
 
 each nught seize what he could: but he as- 
 signed them their several portions, that the 
 discontented might not invade the peaceful, 
 nor the mighty prey upon the weak. God 
 permits what he does not approve: but no- 
 thing can be more contrary to his design and 
 pleasure, than for powerful states to invade 
 and incorporate little ones. And the crime 
 generally punishes itself. Such unjust and 
 forced accessions add nothing to the safety, 
 strength, or happiness of the acquirers ; but 
 become sources of uneasiness, corruption, and 
 revolt — so difficult is it to suppress old at- 
 tachments, and patriotical instincts that are 
 almost equal to the force of Nature. Paul 
 justifies the sentiment of Moses: " He hath 
 made of one blood all nations of men for to 
 dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath 
 determined the times before appointed, and 
 the bounds of their habitation ; that they 
 should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel 
 after him, and find him, though he be not far 
 from every one of us." 
 
 Secondly. In the arrangement of the li- 
 mits and conditions of mankind, he had an 
 especial reference to the future common- 
 wealth of Israel. For they were by far the 
 most important detachment of the human race. 
 They were the Lord's portion, and the lot of 
 his inheritance. They were the depositaries 
 of revealed religion; the heirs of the righte- 
 ousness which is by faith. To them pertained 
 the adoption, and the glory, and the covenant, 
 and the giving of the law, and the service of 
 God, and the promises : theirs were the fa- 
 thers ; and of them, as concerning the flesh, 
 Christ came. We cannot trace this fact per- 
 fectly, for want of more materials ; and we 
 know not all the purposes of God in making 
 and keeping the Jews a peculiar body — 
 otherwise we should clearly see how all the 
 dispensations of God corresponded to their 
 privileged destination. 
 
 One thing is to be observed. They were 
 not intended to engross the Divine favour, 
 but to be the mediums and diffusers of it 
 They were not only to be blessed, but to be 
 blessings. Hence their being placed in the 
 midst of the earth, that from them knowledge 
 might be derived, and proselytes to revealed 
 religion-might be made ; and that in the ful- 
 ness of time, out of Zion might go forth the 
 law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusa- 
 lem ; and that the great Supper, as our Lord 
 calls it, and which was designed for the whole 
 family of Adam, might be spread in the midst 
 of the earth, and be accessible to all. 
 
 While we here see that there is nothing 
 like chance in the government of the world, 
 there is what may be called a peculiar provi- 
 dence in particular instances. And here we 
 cannot help thinking of our own country. No 
 country on earth bears such a comparison 
 with Judea, in privilege and design, as this 
 fcuou'-ed land. Its aopropriation and appoint- 
 ee 14* 
 
 ment will account for its preservation, and 
 emerging from difficulties which seemed 
 likely to swallow it up. And when we con- 
 sider what it is, and what it more than pro- 
 mises to be, we can find reason for its insular 
 situation ; its government, laws, and com- 
 merce ; its talent, and learning, and influence, 
 and dominion. We are a sinful people : but 
 as " the new wine is found in the cluster, and 
 one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in 
 it ; so, says God, will I do, for my servants' 
 sakes, that I may not destroy them all." We 
 cannot approve of every thing we have done, 
 especially in the West and East Indies : but 
 we cannot be ignorant that God is overruling 
 it for good ; and has ends in view far beyond 
 slaveholders, and mercantile companies, and 
 heroes, and statesmen. We have fought, and 
 we have conquered: but the Negro is in- 
 structed ; and the enptive is made free indeed ; 
 and openings are made and occupied for the 
 spread of the Gospel. 
 
 The economies of Heaven on earth have 
 always been regulated by one end — the cause 
 of the Messiah : and could we view things as 
 God does, we should perceive how all the re- 
 volutions of the world ; the changes of em- 
 pire ; the successes or defeats of haughty 
 worms ; have affected this cause — immediate- 
 ly or — remotely — in a way — of achievement 
 or — preparation — of purification or — increase 
 — of solidity or — diffusion : and that all things 
 are going on, not only consistently ^ith it. 
 but conducively to it. For, says the Ruler 
 over all, " I have sworn by myself, the word 
 is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and 
 shall not return, That unto me every knee 
 shall bow, every tongue shall swear." 
 
 And, oh ! Christian, there is a special pro- 
 vidence over thee. The hairs of thy head are 
 all numbered. One thing regulates all that 
 befalls thee ; all the dark as well as the clear, 
 all the painful as well as the cheerful — thy 
 spiritual — thy everlasting welfare. " For we 
 know that all things work together for good 
 to them that love God ; to them that are the 
 called according to his purpose." 
 
 JUNE 16. 
 
 " Thy lovingkindnets it before mine eyes." 
 Psalm xxri. 3. 
 
 An© it will be well to follow David; and 
 to keep the lovingkindness of God before our 
 eyes also. This should be done four ways. 
 
 First As a subject of contemplation. 
 The mind will be active ; and it is our wisdom 
 to regulate and sanctify our thoughts. Isaac 
 went out into the field at eventide to meditate ; 
 and we may infer the nature of his reflections 
 from his character. David said, My medita- 
 tion of Him shall be sweet How precious 
 are thy thoughts unto me, O God ! how great 
 is the sum of them ! People complain of the 
 
162 
 
 JUNE 17. 
 
 ifficulty they feel in fixing their minds : but 
 the duty would become easier by use — and 
 Eurely they can never be at a loss for a theme. 
 Let them take his lovingkindness and set it 
 before their eyes. Let them observe it as it 
 appears in the promises of his word ; in the 
 history of his Church ; in Lneir own experi- 
 ence. Let them pass from the instances of 
 his lovingkindness to the qualities of it. Let 
 them dwell upon its earliness ; and fulness ; 
 and extensiveness ; and seasonableness ; and 
 constancy — " Whoso is wise and will observe 
 these things, even they shall understand the 
 lovingkindness of the Lord." 
 
 Secondly. As the source of encourage- 
 ment. How often shall we need this ! We 
 shall feel our want of it lmder a sense of our 
 guilt, and unworthiness, and continued im- 
 perfections : and nothing short of the exceed- 
 ing riches of his grace, in his kindness to- 
 wards us by Christ Jesus, will be able to 
 relieve us. But this will relieve us ; and effec- 
 tually succour us. It will give us everlast- 
 ing consolation and good hope through grace ; 
 and boldness and access with confidence by 
 the faith of him. And it will do all this with- 
 out reconciling us to our sins, or even our 
 infirmities — yea, it will make us lament our 
 deficiencies the more, and grieve that we 
 serve him so little, who loves us so much. 
 We shall want it in our afflictions. And who 
 can hope to escape these in a vale of tears 1 
 Now nothing is so desirable in our sufferings 
 as to see, not only the hand, but the kindness 
 of God in them. For often they look like the 
 effects of his wrath, and we tremble under 
 them, and cry, " Do not condemn me. I 
 could bear these trials if I thought they were 
 only the strokes of a Father's rod, and knew 
 they were sent in love." And they are sent 
 in love. They are only the strokes of a Fa- 
 ther's rod, laid hold of with reluctance, and 
 laid aside with pleasure. 
 
 Thirdly. As an excitement to praise. It 
 is afflicting to think how little the lovingkind- 
 ness of God is acknowledged by those who 
 are constantly partaking of it. How lament- 
 able, says Leighton, is it, that a world so full 
 of God's mercy should be so empty of his 
 glory. Oh ! says David, again and again, Oh 
 that men would praise the Lord for his good- 
 ness, and for his wonderful works to the chil- 
 dren of men! Were there not ten lepers 
 cleansed] But where are the nine? Did 
 even Hezekiah render according to the 
 benefits done him ? And are we better than 
 they ? And whence is it that we feel so lit- 
 tle the obligations we are under to the God 
 of our mercies 1 Because the mercies of God 
 are so little remarked and remembered by us. 
 Nothing can impress us when it is out of our 
 minds and thoughts. Therefore, says David, 
 " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not 
 all his benefits." At the moment when God 
 appears for us. we are sensible of his good- 
 
 ness, and speak well of his Name : but, likt 
 the Jews, we soon forget his works, and the 
 wonders which he has shown us. We in 
 scribe our afflictions upon a rock, and the 
 characters remain : we write our mercies in 
 the sand of the seashore, and the first wave 
 of trouble washes them out. 
 
 Lastly. We should keep his lovingkind- 
 ness before our eyes as an example for imita- 
 tion. The Scripture calls upon us to be fol- 
 lowers of God as dear children. And in what 
 are we to resemble him? His moral, and 
 not his natural perfections. We may wish 
 to resemble him in power and independence ; 
 and to be as gods, knowing good and evil. 
 But we are to be concerned to reverence 
 Him, not as the greatest, but the best of be- 
 ings — to be faithful as he is faithful — to be 
 holy as he is holy — to be patient, and forgiv- 
 ing, and kind, like himself " I say unto you, 
 Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
 you, do good to them that hate you, and pray 
 for them which despitefully use you, and 
 persecute you ; that ye may be the children 
 of your Father which is in heaven : for he 
 maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the 
 good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the 
 unjust." Be ye therefore merciful, even as 
 your Father which is in heaven is merciful. 
 
 You would do well to keep in view some 
 of your fellow-creatures, who feel that it is 
 more blessed to give than to receive. Think 
 of a Howard, a Thornton, a Reynolds. But 
 in Him the fatherless findeth mercy. God 
 is love. We cannot equal him. But it is 
 our happiness to resemble. He that dwelleth 
 in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. 
 " Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy 
 and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, 
 humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffer- 
 ing; forbearing one another, and forgiving 
 one another, if any man have a quarrel against 
 any : even as Christ forgave you, so also do 
 ye. And above all these things, put on 
 charity, which is the bond of perfectness " 
 
 JUNE 17. 
 
 ' The breath of our nostrils, the anointed oj 
 the Lord, was taken in their pits, ~of -whom 
 we said, Under his shadow we shall live 
 among the heathen." — Lam. iv. 20. 
 
 Some commentators suppose that these 
 words are intended to apply to the Saviour — 
 We see no ground for this conclusion. Others 
 imagine that there may be a reference to him 
 under the case of Zedekiah. However this 
 may be, the passage may be used — not to 
 prove any doctrine, but to remind us of several 
 things pertaining to the Lord Jesus, and fulls 
 established in the Scriptures of Truth. 
 
 Such as his office — " The anointed of the 
 I-ord :" the very meaning of the word Mes- 
 siah in the Old Testament, and of Christ in 
 
JUNE 17. 
 
 163 
 
 the New. Prophets, priests, and kkgs were 
 anointed at their consecration. He was all 
 these. And therefore he is said to be anoint- 
 ed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. 
 Here the term imports majesty : and he is the 
 King of glory ; the King of saints ; the King 
 of nations — " With my holy oil have I anoint- 
 ed him." 
 
 Such is the estimation in which he is hol- 
 den by his subjects — "The breath of our 
 nostrils." He is not so regarded by others. 
 The world knew him not. The Jews receiv- 
 ed him not. He is now, as to the multitude, 
 despised and rejected of men. This was the 
 case once with his own people. They ac- 
 knowledged it ; and look back with shame and 
 sorrow upon a period — and with some of them 
 : t was a long period, during which he had no 
 tbrm nor comeliness, nor any beauty that they 
 should desire him. But he has been reveal- 
 ed in them. And now he appears fairer than 
 the children of men, and altogether lovely. 
 Faith makes him precious. He is their 
 righteousness and strength ; their glory and 
 joy ; all their salvation and all their desire. 
 We may be excessive in our attachment to a 
 creature ; but we can never think too highly 
 of him. It was idolatry in these Jews to call 
 their prince the breath of their nostrils ; but 
 Jesus is really and absolutely so to us. How 
 dear ! How important ! How indispensable ! 
 
 "This flesh of mine might learn as soon 
 To live, yet part with all my blood ; 
 To breathe when vital air is gone. 
 Or thrive and grow without my food." 
 
 —Such is their expectation from him — 
 " Of whom we said, Under his shadow we 
 shall live among the heathen." The Israel- 
 ites were literally among the heathen, sur- 
 rounded as they were with the Gentile na- 
 tions. This was also the case with the first 
 Christians. Yea, they were not only encom- 
 
 rsed by them, but intermixed with them, 
 one house dwelt an idolater ; in the next, 
 a worshipper of God. A Pagan and a Chris- 
 tian laboured together in the same field, or 
 the same manufactory. We should not un- 
 dervalue the outward advantages of Chris- 
 tianity. How much more privileged are we, 
 than our missionary brethren! — They live 
 under his shadow— but it is among the hea- 
 then! While we have our Sabbaths, and 
 temples, and preachers, and our fellow-Chris- 
 tians, with whom we take sweet counsel 
 together. Though there are no heathens 
 among us, nominally, and as to dispensation, 
 yet there are some who know nothing doc- 
 trinally ; and many who know nothing spiritu- 
 ally : many who are without God in the world, 
 and who hate and oppose, as far as they are 
 allowed, the religion we experience. And 
 how often is a righteous soul vexed with the 
 filthy conversation of the ungodly, and con- 
 strained to sign, " Wo is me, that I dwell in 
 
 Mesech !" — But whatever be the disadvan- 
 tages of our condition, there is a shadow — 
 and his shadow — under which we can live ! 
 A shadow from the heat — not the shadow of 
 a summer-cloud only ; but of a great rock in 
 a weary land : the shadow of a tree yielding, 
 not only shade, but fruit, according to the ac- 
 knowledgment of the Church — " I sat down 
 under his shadow with great delight, and his 
 fruit was sweet to my taste." So it is said, 
 " They that dwell under his shadow shall re- 
 turn : they shall revive as the corn, and grow 
 as the vine : the scent thereof shall be as the 
 wine of Lebanon." His shadow means pro- 
 tection, and all the blessings of his empire. 
 The reign of some rulers is like the shadow 
 of a vulture over the bird of prey ; or as a 
 hurricane over the flooded meadow, and the 
 stripped forest But let the children of Zion 
 be joyful in their King. Blessed are all they 
 that put their trust in him. 
 
 — Such is his apprehension and suffering 
 — " He was taken in their pits." They 
 watched him, and persecuted him through 
 life. At length he was betrayed into the 
 hands of his enemies : and they insulted him, 
 and crucified him, and laid him in the grave 
 — -Then his disciples said, M We trusted that 
 it had been he which should have redeemed 
 Israel" — "The breath of our nostrils, the 
 anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits, 
 of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall 
 live among the heathen." 
 
 — But here correspondence becomes con- 
 trast. No type, no image, no illustration, can 
 do justice to him : and when examined, it 
 will always be found to teach more by unlike- 
 liness, than by conformity. Zedekiah's sub- 
 jects had their hopes disappointed and de- 
 stroyed by his arrest; and when carried 
 away, and imprisoned at Babylon, he could 
 no longer defend or comfort them. But Jesus 
 is our hope, notwithstanding his apprehension 
 and death — yea, and in consequence of it. He 
 is made perfect through sufferings. And thus 
 it is that he brings many sons unto glory. 
 When he fell into the hands of his enemies, 
 they thought they had completely succeeded. 
 But their triumph was short He fell ; but in 
 dying he overcame. And then was the judg- 
 ment of this world, and then was the prince 
 of this world cast out We therefore glory 
 in his Cross ; there he becomes the author of 
 eternal salvation. He died for us, and rose 
 again; and because he lives, we shall live 
 also. 
 
 — Let us, then, live under his shadow ; se- 
 curely live; nobly live; joyfully live— not 
 only having life, but having it more abund- 
 antly. 
 
 — And let us invite others to come, and 
 share with us. "In that day shall ye call 
 every man his neighbour under the vine, and 
 under the fig-tree." 
 
164 
 
 JUNE 18 
 
 JUNE 18. 
 
 " After these things Paid departed from 
 Athens, and came to Corinth ; and found a 
 certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontics, 
 lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscil- 
 la ; (because that Claudius had commanded 
 all Jews to depart from Home :) and came 
 unto them. And because he was of the same 
 craft, he abode with them, and wrought : for 
 by their occupation they were tentmakers." 
 Acts xviii. 1 — 3. 
 
 Aquila and Priscilla were persons of great 
 religious excellence. They are often men- 
 tioned with commendation in the Epistles, as 
 well as in the Acts of the Apostles — especial- 
 ly where Paul says to the Romans, " Greet 
 Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ 
 Jesus: who have for my life laid down their 
 own necks : unto whom not only I give 
 thanks, but also all the churches of the Gen- 
 tiles." They were born in Pontus — then they 
 resided in Italy — and were now in business at 
 Corinth. Hither they had been driven by an 
 Imperial decree ; and probably thought hard 
 of the measure that banished them. But in 
 consequence of this trial they became ac- 
 quainted with Paul, and had him for their 
 guest, their friend, and companion. And 
 what a companion must a man of his talents 
 and grace have been ! And what an advan- 
 tage must they have derived from his morn- 
 ing and evening devotions ! and his example ! 
 and his constant conversation ! Surely they 
 would acknowledge, It is good for us that we 
 nave been afflicted. 
 
 The lives of some have been very change- 
 able : and in their removals, contrary to a 
 disposition to enjoy a fixed and permanent 
 dwelling, they have been ready to murmur 
 and complain. But nothing occurs by chance ; 
 and all the ways of the Lord are mercy and 
 truth to those that fear him. Let such re- 
 member, that they know not what designs 
 God has to accomplish by events of this na- 
 ture, either with regard to themselves or 
 with regard to their connexions. Let them 
 also reflect, that this is not their rest ; and 
 view every present residence as 
 
 " Preliminary to the last retreat." 
 
 In proportion as we look after a better 
 country, and realize it as our own, all earthly 
 situations will be alike indifferent to us — 
 yea, we shall find each of them none other 
 than the house of God and the gate of 
 Heaven. 
 
 Paul not only lodged with them, but 
 wrought : for they were of the same occupa- 
 tion with himself. For though he had been 
 educated at the feet of Gamaliel, he had been 
 bred to the craft of tentmaking. The Jews, 
 whatever was their condition in life, were 
 accustomed to give their sons a calling: 
 
 wisely considering it a prevention or idle* 
 ness, a security from temptation, and a re- 
 source in accidental indigence. Hence, of 
 their doctors, one was surnamed Rabbi, the 
 shoemaker; another, Rabbi, the baker; ano- 
 ther, Rabbi, the carpenter. Bicaut say's, the 
 Grand Seignior, to whom he was ambassador, 
 was taught to make wooden spoons. Is this 
 degrading 1 Seneca says, he would rather 
 be sick, and confined to his bed, than be un- 
 employed. Adam and Eve were placed in 
 the garden to dress and to keep it. And our 
 Saviour declined not working at his supposed 
 father's business. Paul, the chief of the 
 Apostles, was not ashamed of labour. But, as 
 a man of taste and learning, he must have 
 been fond of reading ; and he desired Timothy 
 to bring him his books and parchments. It 
 seems, therefore, strange that his friends 
 should not have indulged him with leisure 
 and entire freedom for his office also ; by ex- 
 empting him from manual toil. The work- 
 man is worthy of hir. hire : and this he al- 
 ways claimed as a right, contending that 
 they who preached tlw Gospel should live of 
 the Gospel : adding, ftiso, that no man who 
 warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of 
 this life. 
 
 But a right is sometimes to be given up : 
 and there is no general rule but allows of ex- 
 ceptions. Priscilla and Aquila were not rich, 
 and would lament their inability to do more 
 for their illustrious guest. And he had an 
 independence of mind, and seeing these wor- 
 thy people themselves labouring to gain a 
 livelihood, he would not be burdensome, but 
 pay for his accommodations. And they are 
 mean souls who will endure to be supported 
 by the alms, and especially by the industry 
 of* others, when their own hands are sufficient 
 for them — They who will not work should 
 not eat. In a word, Paul knew the infancy 
 of the cause, and was acquainted with all the 
 circumstances of the case; and acted, we 
 may be assured, with wisdom and prudence. 
 Yet his conduct displayed the noblest self-de- 
 nial and zeal. 
 
 There are two places in which he refers to 
 his working. The first shows the degree in 
 which he toiled, often — after teaching, sitting 
 up late at night — " Ye remember, brethren, 
 our labour and travail : for we laboured night 
 and day, because we would not be charge- 
 able unto you." The second tells us that his 
 aim was not only to support himself, but to be 
 able to succour others — " Ye yourselves 
 know that these hands have ministered to my 
 necessities, and to them that were with me. ' 
 What a soul had this man ! And how well 
 could he add — " I have showed you all things 
 how that so labouring ye ought to support 
 the weak, and to remember the words of the 
 Lord Jesus, how he said, It is mi re blessed tr 
 give than to receive. 
 
JUNE 19, 20. 
 
 itfo 
 
 JUNE 19 
 
 11 Be strong- in the grace that is in Christ 
 Jesus." — 2 Tim. ii. 1. 
 
 We may have this grace, and not be strong 
 m it The reality is one thing ; the degree 
 is another. We read of weak faith, as well 
 as of strong faith. There are lambs in our I 
 Shepherd's fold, as well as sheep: and in our i 
 Father's house there are little children, as 
 well as young men. But while there is in 
 religion an infancy which is natural and 
 lovely ; there is also another which is un- 
 locked for and offensive — it is the effect of 
 relapse. It is not of the beginning of the 
 Divine life, but of an after period, the Apostle 
 speaks, when, reproving the Hebrews, he 
 says, " Ye are become such as have need of 
 milk, and not of strong drink" We must 
 not despise the day of small things. The Sa- 
 viour himself does not break the bruised reed, 
 nor quench the smoking flax ; but he is con- 
 cerned to bring forth judgment unto victory. 
 And while the feebleminded are to be com- 
 forted, the slothful are to be stimulated ; and 
 all are to be kept from " settling upon their 
 lees." 
 
 Every thing shows how necessary it is to 
 be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
 Your dangers require it — These are to be 
 found in all the relations, offices, conditions, 
 and circumstances of life. Your passions are 
 not wholly mortified — There is the sin that 
 yet dwelleth in you — The world lieth in 
 wickedness, and you are passing through it — 
 Your adversary, the Devil, goeth about seek- 
 ing whom he may devour. How much de- 
 pends upon one instance of falling ! And did 
 not Abraham equivocate? Did not Moses 
 speak unadvisedly ? Did not Peter deny his 
 Lord! And what says all this to us! Be 
 strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Your duties require it You have a fami- 
 ly ; and with your house you are to serve the 
 Lord. You have a calling ; and in this you 
 are to abide with God. You have the ex- 
 ercises of devotion, in which you are to wor- 
 ship God in spirit and in truth. You have to 
 walk by faith, and not by sight You are to 
 have your conversation in heaven, while 
 every thing conspires to keep you down to 
 earth. 
 
 Your usefulness requires it You are not 
 to live to yourselves, but to him that died for 
 you, and rose again. You are to look not on 
 your own things, but also on the things of 
 others. You are to walk in wisdom towards 
 them that are without, and endeavour to win 
 souls. You are to do good, as you have op- 
 . portunity, unto all men, especially unto those 
 that are of the household of faith. 
 
 Your trials require it Who but must 
 reckon upon these in a world like this ? And 
 if you faint in the day of adversity, your 
 "strength is small. To glorify God in the 
 
 fires, and to recommend religion by its sup. 
 ports and comforts, when every thing else 
 fails, demands no small share of grace. 
 
 Your consolations require it Consolations 
 are not only delightful, but they are even of 
 practical importance in religion. They en- 
 large the heart, and enliven zeal, and em- 
 bolden courage, and wean from the world — 
 And you read of a peace that passeth all un- 
 derstanding! and a joy that is unspeakable 
 and full of glory ! Yet what do some of you 
 know of these? More grace would bring 
 more evidence; and raise you more above 
 your fears and depressions. If ye will not 
 believe, surely ye shall not be established. 
 
 Death requires it. Other events may, but 
 this must occur. It is a melancholy day to 
 those that have no God; and a very serious 
 one to those who have. To think of it — to 
 meet it — with triumph — or even with confi- 
 dence — will not this call for more grace than 
 you now possess? And what is the language 
 of all these demands? Despond? No— but 
 be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
 Without him you can do nothing : but through 
 his strengthening of you, you can do all 
 things. 
 
 Best not therefore, in any present attain- 
 ment Like Paul, forget the things that are 
 behind, and reach forth unto those that are 
 before. It is to be lamented that we are 
 easily dissatisfied where we ought to be con- 
 tent ; and content where we ought to be dis- 
 satisfied. In temporal matters we should 
 have our conversation without covetousness, 
 and be content with such things as we have. 
 But here, alas ! we are avariciously anxious. 
 And though three feet are enough for us in 
 the cradle, and seven in the grave, nothing 
 will hardly satisfy us between. But in spi- 
 ritual things, with what trifling acquisitions 
 are we contented ! Yet here it is even our 
 duty to be covetous, to be ambitious ! And 
 as before us lies an infinite fulness, and we 
 are not straitened in our resources, let us not 
 be straitened in our desires and expectations : 
 let us ask, and receive, that our joy may bn 
 full. 
 
 JUNE 20. 
 
 " Thou hast given me the heritage of those tha. 
 fear thy Name." — Psalm lxi. 5. 
 So then, they that fear God have an he- 
 ritage. All of them have not an heritage in 
 the world. And they need not be ashamed 
 to own it : they have the honour of conformity 
 to their Lord and Saviour, who had not where 
 to lay his head. And though they have no- 
 thing, they, yet possess all things—" I know 
 thy poverty; but thou art rich." Indeed, 
 even as to temporal good, they are above 
 others. He blesses their bread and then- 
 water; and bread and water, with the ftvout 
 
16« 
 
 JUNE 21. 
 
 
 of God, are dainties. And a little that a righ- 
 teous man hath, is better than the riches of 
 many wicked. It is not only sweeter, but 
 safer, and will go further. The grace of God 
 will make a little go a great way. This we 
 have often seen ; and we should have been 
 amazed how some individuals, with their very 
 slender means, could make a decent appear- 
 ance, and pay their way, and have a trifle to 
 give to him that needeth — did we not know 
 that the secret of the Lord was upon their 
 tabernacle. Godliness, also, with content- 
 ment, is great gain. Contentment is a kind 
 of self-sufficiency. It does not allow us to 
 want what Providence denies. And who, 
 whatever be his affluence, can be more than 
 content? A man is satisfied with much less 
 in a journey, than he has at home. Now re- 
 generation makes a man a stranger and a pil- 
 grim upon earth : and then reason, as well as 
 faith, says to him, 
 
 " Turn, pilgrim, turn ; thy cares forego ; 
 All earth-born cares are wrong: 
 Man wants but little here below; 
 Nor wants that little long." 
 
 But as to spiritual good, they may well say, 
 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant 
 places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage. For 
 the Lord is the portion of their inheritance, 
 and of their cup. His testimonies are their 
 heritage for ever ; and they find them the re- 
 joicing of their hearts. All the exceeding 
 great and precious promises are theirs. And 
 theirs is the inheritance incorruptible and un- 
 defined, and that fadeth not away, reserved in 
 heaven for them. Compared with this, what 
 was the heritage of a Jew in Canaan 1 ? of 
 Adam in Paradise? What is the heritage 
 of a crowned worldling? of an angel in glory ? 
 Yet this is as true as it is wonderful — " This 
 is the heritage of the servants of God ; and 
 their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." 
 
 For this heritage is not obtained by force, 
 nor by purchase, nor by desert; but by bounty 
 and grace — It is " given." 
 
 And we may know that we possess it. 
 David speaks without any hesitation — Thou 
 hast given me the heritage of those that fear 
 thy Name. 
 
 Oh that I could read my title clear. Praise 
 waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion. I lohg to 
 be able to praise thee as the health of my 
 countenance, and my God. Say unto my 
 soul, I am thy salvation. And show me a 
 token for good. 
 
 Above all, as — whatever they may doubt 
 or fear — blessed are they that do hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness, for they shall be 
 filled ; enable me — if I cannot say with confi- 
 dence, Thou hast given me the heritage of 
 those that fear thy Name ; enable me to pray, 
 with supreme desire, " Remember me, O 
 Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto 
 thy people : O visit me with thy salvation ; 
 that 1 may see the good of thy chosen, that I 
 
 may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, tlial 
 I may glory with thine ir-heritance " 
 
 JUNE 21. 
 
 " Neither trive place to the Devi I. 
 ~Eph. iv. 27. 
 
 If this admonition be connected with the 
 words immediately preceding — " Be ye angry, 
 and sin not : let not the sun go down upon 
 your wrath ;" the Apostle intimates that sin- 
 ful passion arises from the influence of the 
 Devil ; and that, when it prevails, we give 
 up ourselves to his power. And can there 
 be a truer specimen of hell than a man in a 
 state of fury and revenge ? 
 
 But there is nothing in the case that re- 
 quires us to confine the address to the repul- 
 sion of wrath. The truth is, that Satan has 
 access to us, and in various ways is always 
 endeavouring to encroach upon us; and it 
 must be our object to repel him. The image 
 is familiar and striking. If an enemy was 
 trying to enter your field, your garden, or 
 your house, you would withstand him : for 
 you would see, that as you yielded, he ad- 
 vanced. In every successful temptation, Sa- 
 tan gains upon us, and takes a position which 
 we ought to have kept. 
 
 With the philosophy of this subject wo 
 have nothing to do, but only with the fact it- 
 self The sacred writers as much support the 
 doctrine of diabolical agency as of divine. 
 They make use of the same terms and phrases 
 in the one case as in the other. Is God said 
 to open the eyes of our understanding ? Satan 
 is said to blind the minds of them that believe 
 not. Is God said to work in us to will and to 
 do ? Satan is the spirit that now worketh in 
 the children of disobedience. Are Christians 
 filled with the Spirit? Why, says Peter to 
 Ananias, has Satan filled thine heart ? 
 
 But, while the fact is proved, nothing ia 
 said of the mode in which his operations are 
 carried on. We cannot think, however, that 
 it is always done personally and immediately. 
 This would involve an impossibility. If he 
 were thus soliciting every individual in every 
 part of the earth at the same time, and hi? 
 work is always going on, he must be omni- 
 present and omniscient But he is the god of 
 this world ; and having under him all that is 
 in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of 
 the eye, and the pride of life ; and having all 
 the errors and the wickedness which he has 
 introduced into our region to make use of; 
 and such a depraved nature as ours to work 
 upon — he has power enough to employ medi 
 ately for all his purposes. The bird need not 
 be afraid of the fowler if he keeps away from 
 his gun and his snare ; for he is not in much 
 danger from his fingers. How is the fish 
 taken ? The angler does not wade into the 
 water, and seize it in his hand. He doen no 
 
JUNE 22. 
 
 167 
 
 even see his prey : but he reaches it, and se- 
 cures it, by a baited hook at the end of his 
 line, and his rod. Yet he catches the fish ; 
 and would do the same if his instrument was 
 a mile long. 
 
 There are many reasons why we should 
 not give place to the Devil. One is, because 
 his designs are always bad. He may trans- 
 form himself into an angel of light And he 
 may endeavour to introduce his evils and mis- 
 chiefs under specious names: representing 
 covetousness as laying up for children ; and 
 pride as dignity ; and revenge as a becoming 
 spirit ; and trimming in religion as prudence ; 
 and conformity to the world as winning others 
 - -Thus we are hardened through the deceit- 
 fulness of sin. But we ought not to be igno- 
 rant of Satan's devices. We read of his depths 
 and his wiles. And God in his word tears 
 off all his disguises ; and shows us at once that 
 his aim is only to ensnare, and enslave, and 
 rob, and degrade, and wound, and destroy. 
 He, therefore, that yields, wrongeth his own 
 soul, and loves death. 
 
 Another is, because the more you give 
 way, the more advantage he has over you. 
 It will always be found much more easy to 
 keep him out than to get him out When the 
 Moors were admitted into Spain, they staid 
 there for more than six hundred years, in 
 spite of every groan and effort — so much har- 
 der is expulsion than exclusion. 
 
 Let us therefore avoid parleying with this 
 enemy. He will rise in his demands with 
 every concession. He is not to be treated 
 with, but rejected. Let us guard against be- 
 ginnings ; they increase unto more ungodli- 
 ness. In this down-hill course we easily pro- 
 ceed from evil to evil. When a person walks 
 out in the morning clean in his apparel, he is 
 cautious how he treads ; and the first soil he 
 contracts affects him : but the second offends 
 him less ; and the third much less still ; till he 
 says, " It matters not now" — and heedlessly 
 dashes on. The youth is not profligate at 
 once: but evil communications corrupt good 
 manners. The first time he complies with a 
 temptation he feels a reluctance, and after 
 the crime is committed, his conscience smites 
 him. But a degree of this is overcome by 
 every subsequent repetition: and the pro- 
 fkner of the Sabbath, and the drunkard, and 
 the sensualist, go boldly on, waxing worse 
 and worse. One sin naturally leads to ano- 
 ther ; prepares for another ; pleads for another ; 
 and renders another necessary, either by way 
 of finish or concealment Thus David, to 
 hide his adultery, commits murder ; and then 
 impiously ascribes this to the providence of 
 God— "The sword smiteth all alike!" 
 
 Another reason is, because you need not 
 yield. You are not forced. If the Devil com- 
 pelled you, he would also justify you ; for 
 there can be no guilt where there is no liber- 
 ty The motives to sin can never be so great 
 
 as the arguments tc forbear. What can weigh 
 for a moment against the authority of an In- 
 finite Being on whom we entirely depend ! 
 And what is any indulgence or suffering, 
 compared with endless happiness or misery! 
 Would God have enjoined upon us a thing 
 that is impracticable ? And is not his grace 
 sufficient for us ? And is it not attainable by 
 us? Is not his promise true; Ask, and it 
 shall be given you ? And in the history and 
 experience of his people in all ages, do we 
 not see proof of this ? Have not multitudes 
 in the same condition, ^exposed to the same 
 perils, feeling the same weaknesses and de- 
 pravity, been more than conquerors? 
 
 Finally, resistance is the way to success, 
 and insures it Hence, says God, resist the 
 Devil, and he will flee from you. Can God 
 be mistaken ? Can he deceive ? And does 
 not every one know that persons slacken in 
 any course or action, in proportion as they 
 want encouragement ? For hope is the main- 
 spring of motion. If a beggar be relieved, 
 however slenderly or seldom, he will in ex 
 tremity repair to the door again — but not it 
 he be positively and invariably refused. 
 
 Resist therefore, steadfastly ; and show 
 that you are in earnest and determined. For 
 there is a heartless undecided refusal that in- 
 vites renewed application — or at least does 
 not shut the door entirely against importu- 
 nity. If Satan cannot look into the heart, he 
 is acquainted with the ways in which it shows 
 itself; and is sure to know whether there is 
 a latent wandering after what is professedly 
 renounced — and so will be led to watch his 
 opportunity, and work his means. 
 
 — But the Apostle adds, Resist him stead- 
 fastly — in the faith. There is no fighting on 
 a quagmire. Faith furnishes the only solid, 
 the only safe ground on which we can con- 
 tend. Faith clothes us with the whole ar- 
 mour of God. Faith connects us with the 
 Captain of our salvation, without whom we 
 can do nothing ; but through whose strength- 
 ening of us we can do all things — 
 
 " And Satan trembles when he sees 
 The weakest saint upon his knees." 
 
 " A friend and helper so divine 
 Doth my weak courage raise : 
 He makes the glorious vict'ry mine 
 And his shall be the praise." 
 
 JUNE 22. 
 " He left Judea, and departed again into Ga- 
 lilee. And he must needs go through Sama- 
 ria." — John iv. 3, 4. 
 
 For two reasons. Because Samaria lay in 
 his passage — and because he had in design 
 the conversion of this poor woman. We can- 
 not imagine an event of sucn magnitude in 
 itself— for there is joy in the presence of the 
 angels of God over one sinner that repent eth ; 
 and attended with such consequences as tliia 
 
168 
 
 JUNE £t, 
 
 was — for it involved the salvation also of 
 many of the Samaritans ; we cannot imagine 
 that such an event was accidental. Nothing 
 takes place by chance in our most common 
 affairs — and is the conversion of a soul for 
 everlasting blessedness a casualty 1 
 
 In the recovery of sinners the grace of God 
 is equally necessary and illustrious. By grace 
 are we saved through faith ; and that not of 
 ourselves, it is the gift of God : not of works, 
 lest any man should boast : for we are his work- 
 manship, created in Jesus Christ. And in the 
 conversion Jesus here accomplished, we have 
 an example of this grace. An example of 
 its freeness ; of its gentleness ; of its power ; 
 and of its effects. 
 
 Of its freeness — in selecting this wicked 
 wretch, in spite of her unworthiness, and with- 
 out her desire ; and making her not only the 
 partaker, but the instrument of his goodness. 
 
 Of its gentleness — in having recourse to 
 no means of alarm ; no violence. T o angel 
 appears with a drawn sword ; no lightnings 
 flash ; no thunder rolls ; no threatening terri- 
 fies. All is mercy, all is mildness: and he 
 employs circumstances the most natural and 
 suitable, to bring her to conviction, and to in- 
 duce her to pray. 
 
 Of its power — in the victory it gained over 
 the corruptions of her heart If there be a 
 moral disorder that seems incurable; or an 
 evil capable of resisting all reasoning and 
 motive ; it is the spirit of impurity. But be- 
 hold here a new creature ! She is not only 
 pardoned, but renewed; and the change 
 wrought at once ! 
 
 Of its effects — She not only believes with 
 the heart, but confesses with the mouth. She 
 is not only enlightened, but inflamed. No 
 sooner has she gained good, than she is con- 
 cerned to do good. Personal religion becomes 
 social. She cannot for a moment keep from 
 others what she has seen and heard herself — 
 What benevolence! What zeal! What 
 urgency ! What fortitude ! " The woman 
 then left her waterpot, and went her way 
 into the city, and saith to the men, Come, 
 see a man which told me all things that ever 
 I did : is not this the Christ!" — And what suc- 
 cess too ! For they who speak from experi- 
 ence seldom speak in vain. " Then they 
 went out of the city, and came unto him." 
 Some of these might have accompanied her 
 from curiosity ; and some from the mere con- 
 tagion of example : but not a few were deeply 
 and savingly impressed. " And many of the 
 Samaritans of that city believed on him, for 
 the saying of the woman, which testified, 
 He told me all that ever I did. So, when the 
 Samaritans were come unto him, they be- 
 sought him that he would tarry with them : 
 and he abode there two days." 
 
 The sight of this had so affected our Sa- 
 viour as, it would seem, to take away his ap- 
 petite. He had N^n hungry as well as 
 
 thirsty ; and the disciples had gone away mrc 
 the city to buy meat. But when they re- 
 turned, and prayed him, saying, Master, eat ; 
 he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye 
 know not of. And when they said one to an- 
 other, Hath any man brought him aught to 
 eat 1 he said, " My meat is to do the will of 
 Him that sent me, and to finish his work." 
 What a repast have I had since you left me ' 
 A poor, sinful Samaritaness has been here 
 And I have manifested myself to her. And 
 under the impression, she has hastened to in- 
 form and invite her neighbours to come and 
 hear me — and has prevailed ! " Say not ye, 
 there' are four months, and then cometh har- 
 vest J" But see the encouragement you have 
 to scatter the seeds of divine truth. " Lift up 
 your eyes, and look on the fields" — See the 
 woman and her company coming over yonder 
 plain — " for they are already white unto har- 
 vest." Here the success is so immediate, that 
 " the sower and the reaper rejoice together." 
 And so it is written — " Behold, the days come, 
 saith the Lord, that the ploughman shall over- 
 take the reaper, and the treader of grapes him 
 that soweth seeds ; and the mountains shall 
 drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt" 
 
 JUNE 23. 
 
 " The Lord -will give strength unto his people} 
 
 the Lord will bless his people -with peace." 
 
 Psalm xxix. 11. 
 
 The God of Nature gave David a fine po- 
 etical talent. And he employed it like a good 
 man, for his own improvement, and the profit 
 of many. It is well to take advantage of the 
 excitement of any present feeling ; and to give 
 it a religious direction ; according to the ad- 
 monition of the Apostle James, Is any af- 
 flicted! let him pray. Is any merry? let him 
 sing psalms. David did this ; for he was ac- 
 customed to put his sentiment into verse, on 
 the occurrence of any interesting or signifi- 
 cant event. Many of his psalms took their 
 rise from a trouble or a deliverance he had 
 just experienced. The thirty-first psalm was 
 written at the dedication of his new house. 
 The one hundred and fourth was a spring 
 meditation. The eighth is a night scene. 
 The nineteenth a morning piece. The lines 
 before us were composed in a thunder-storm. 
 
 Thunder is one of the sublimest dispJays oi 
 Deity. It generally produces fearfulness and 
 terror. Caligula, the Emperor, at the hearing 
 of it would creep into any hole or corner. 
 But such a man should reflect that if God has 
 a mind to kill him, he can do it without rais- 
 ing Nature into a storm — his breath is in his 
 nostrils: he is crushed before the moth— 
 " Thine eye is upon me, and I am not !" And 
 we should do well to think of a more dreadful 
 event. This did Baxter. When a storm 
 came op as he was preaching, and the con 
 
JUNE 24 
 
 169 
 
 gregation was obviously disconcerted and dis- 
 mayed; he paused, and then said, " Men and 
 brethren, we are assembled here to prepare 
 for that hour, when the heavens, being on fire, 
 shall be dissolved, and the elements shall 
 melt with fervent heat ; f he earth also, and 
 itll the works that ar^ therein, shall be burnt 
 up." 
 
 All greatness is comparative. David there- 
 fore naturally addresses "The mighty" — as 
 much as to say to them — You are flattered 
 Mid feared ; but what is the greatest of you 
 before Him ! Think of the Thunderer, and 
 adore. " Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, 
 give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give 
 unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ; 
 worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 
 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters : 
 the God of glory thundereth : the Lord is upon 
 many waters. The voice of the Lord is pow- 
 erful ; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 
 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; 
 yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 
 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Le- 
 banon and Sirion like a young unicorn, ^he 
 voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. 
 The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; 
 the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 
 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to 
 caVve, and discovereth the forests." Here let 
 the mind review the description ; and we shall 
 aee how truly and vividly David's imagination 
 marked and pourtrayed the circumstances and 
 effects of the phenomenon — 
 
 He then leads us from the uproar of Na- 
 ture, to the small still voice of ^grace. He 
 retires with us into the sanctuary of God, 
 there to testify the glory of his goodness; 
 and to calm and cheer us with the assurance 
 of his providential empire over all the com- 
 motions of life, and his attention to the 
 welfare of his people : " And in his temple 
 doth every one speak of his glory. The 
 Lord sitteth upon the flood ; yea, the Lord 
 sitteth King for ever. The Lord will give 
 strength unto his people ; the Lord will bless 
 his people with peace." 
 
 But this promise, you say, is made to " his 
 people." It is. But be not afraid. Perhaps 
 they will not be found so unlike yourselves 
 as you imagine. It is here implied, that 
 they are weak and distressed. They want 
 strength and peace. And both these bless- 
 ings are insured. 
 
 Are they by nature without strength'! and 
 have they from experience a growing con- 
 viction of their inability? Yet with all this 
 sense of weakness, have they trials to en- 
 dure 1 duties to perform 1 a race to run ? a 
 warfare to accomplish] As their day, so 
 shall their strength be. His grace is suffi- 
 cient for them. Let the weak say, I am 
 strong. 
 
 Do they need rest and refreshing 1 The 
 God of peace shall give them peace always 
 Y 15 
 
 by all means. Not worldly peace. He has 
 nowhere absolutely engaged to give this — 
 We say absolutely; for if it be good for them, 
 they shall not want it ; for they shall want 
 no good thing. But there is a peace as far 
 exceeding every other as the soul surpasses 
 the body, and eternity exceeds time — the 
 peace of God, which passeth all understand- 
 ing, and which keeps the heart and mind 
 through Christ Jesus. This does not depend 
 upon outward things. In the world, says the 
 Saviour, ye shall have tribulation, but in me 
 ye shall have peace. And hence, as when 
 weak they are strong — so, though sorrowful, 
 they are always rejoicing. 
 
 Yet it is only the beginning of it they 
 have here. At death they enter into peace 
 fully. Every enemy is then vanquished. 
 The din of war is heard no more. The dan- 
 gerous, treacherous, raging, sickly sea is 
 crossed — And then are they glad because 
 they be quiet. So he bringeth them unto 
 their desired haven. 
 
 JUNE 24 
 
 " He departed thence, and entered into a trr- 
 tain man's house, named Justus, one thai 
 ■worshipped God, -whose house joined hard t» 
 the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ru 
 ler of the synagogue believed on the Lord 
 •with all his house ; and many of the Corin- 
 thians hearing believed, and -were baptized." 
 Acts xviii. 7, 8. 
 
 This was at Corinth. Here he continued 
 a year and six months, assured that the Lord 
 had much people in that city. At first he 
 reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, 
 and persuaded the Jews. But upon theii 
 opposing and rejecting him, he sought ano- 
 ther place to teach in. It was not a build- 
 ing appropriated to public worship. At this 
 time, and long after this, the Christians had 
 no such edifices. They assembled wherevei 
 they could find an accommodation. The spot 
 was indeed consecrated — not by a religious 
 ceremony — but by the presence of God and 
 the service itself. The Saviour himself at- 
 tached no holiness to walls or ground : but 
 said, Where — let it be where it will — two 
 or three are gathered together in my Name, 
 there am I in the midst of them. He 
 preached not only in the Temple, and in the 
 synagogue ; but in the private dwelling, and 
 by the way-side, and in the mountain, and on. 
 board a ship. And his Apostles followed his 
 example; and every where lifted up hdy 
 hands without wrath and doubting. 
 
 The house Paul now entered belonged to 
 a worshipper of God whose name was Jus- 
 tus; and it joined hard to the synagogue. 
 The nearer the church, the proverb is, the 
 farther from God. This is founded on the 
 observation, that what men can easily reach 
 
170 
 
 JUNE 25. 
 
 and enjoy, they often neglect. And who are 
 they that come late to the sanctuary ? Not 
 those from a distance, but they who live near. 
 Who are absent in bad weather? Those 
 who have carriages, or can procure vehicles ; 
 not they who come on foot. Who most fre- 
 quently excuse their non-attendance I The 
 strong and healthful ; not the indisposed and 
 weak. Who sleep during the service 1 Not 
 the poor and laborious, who have seldom an 
 hour of repose — but the lazy and genteel, 
 who never know what fatigue means. 
 
 It was a trial of principle in this man to 
 open his house to Paul. It would create him 
 inconvenience, and trouble, and expense ; and 
 it would draw upon him danger and re- 
 proach ; as it was an open avowal of his ad- 
 herence to the cause ; and he knew that the 
 sect was everywhere spoken against. How 
 many professors of religion, yielding to their 
 selfish and dastardly reasonings, would have 
 refused. They would have said — What will 
 people think of me"? What will my relations 
 say 1 And may not my business suffer 1 We 
 are never prepared for a course of godliness 
 till we can give up every thing to God, espe- 
 cially our paltry reputation, as our worldly 
 profit. Bunyan, with as much truth as ge- 
 nius, places all the pilgrims under the con- 
 duct of Mr. Great-Heart. It is to intimate 
 that we shall need courage every step of the 
 way to the Shining City. Let us consult 
 not with flesh and blood, but only with con- 
 viction ; and go forth to the Saviour without 
 the camp, bearing his reproach. We shall 
 then, not only retain peace of mind, but 
 please Him whose lovingkindness is better 
 than life. Did Obed-edom repent of taking 
 in the ark? The Lord blessed his house, and 
 all that pertained to him. Who was ever a 
 loser by any thing he did for the cause of 
 God ? Who can be a loser while He re- 
 mains true who has said, Them that honour 
 me I will honour. They shall prosper that 
 love Zion? 
 
 What Justus did in accommodating Paul, 
 rewarded and dignified him; and it is now 
 told for a memorial of him. How must it 
 have delighted him to see the good that was 
 done under his own roof! There is joy in 
 the presence of the angels of God over one 
 sinner that repenteth. But here a man of 
 some rank and influence, Crispus, the chief 
 ruler of the synagogue, believes — nor is this 
 all. His house too is added to the Lord ! 
 Yea, and many of the Corinthians, hearing, 
 believe and are baptized ! 
 
 Yet Paul baptized but few of them. And 
 when he wrote his epistle to these people, he 
 rejoiced in the fact. This has puzzled those 
 who look upon the dispensation of the sacra- 
 ments, so called, as by far the most honoura- 
 ble and sacred part of the ministerial function. 
 And in all our churches persons are allowed 
 In preach before they ar 3 authorized to ad- 
 
 minister what are called divine ordinances 
 And many reasons have been alleged to ac- 
 count consistently with this — for Paul's 
 conduct in thanking God, that in all the time 
 he staid here, and notwithstanding the multi- 
 tude of converts, he had only baptized Cris- 
 pus and Gaius, and the household of Stepha- 
 nus. But the reason he himself assigns 
 overturns an unscriptural notion and practice 
 — He had devolved upon others the baptism 
 of the new converts, because, says he, Jesus 
 Christ sent me not to baptize — which out- 
 ward form could be dispensed by others of 
 inferior station and talent : but — which is by 
 far the most important and difficult part of 
 my office — to preach the Gospel. 
 
 JUNE 25. 
 
 " The ark of the Covenant of the Lord -went 
 before them in the three days 1 journey, to' 
 search out a resting place for them." — 
 Numb. x. 33. 
 
 That is, the Lord did this. But the Ark 
 was the symbol of his presence, and the seat 
 of his residence ; from which, by the cloud, 
 he regulated all their movements. Yet the 
 expression is still metaphorical ; and we must 
 not suffer the condescension of his language 
 to injure the glory of his perfections. He 
 feels no perplexity. He never deliberates ; 
 never examines ; never searches : for " there 
 is nothing that is not manifest in his sight." 
 But as men do this, and must do this, if they 
 would avoid mistakes, and decide and act ju- 
 diciously ; the Lord *.hus intimates — that his 
 wisdom was concerned in all their journey- 
 ings; and that his people may keep their 
 minds in perfect peace, being stayed on him 
 — for, as strangers and pilgrims on the earth, 
 he careth for them — they are under his guid- 
 ance — nothing befalls them by chance. All 
 their removals, and their rests ; all their situ 
 ations, their trials, their comforts; are cho- 
 sen for them by the only wise God their Sa- 
 viour, who is always on the look-out for 
 them — "For the eyes of the Lord run to and 
 fro throughout the whole earth, to show him- 
 self strong in the behalf of them whose heart 
 is perfect toward him." 
 
 He not only leads his people in the way 
 that they should go, but is concerned to af- 
 ford them repose as well as direction. Thus, 
 in his promise to Moses he said, " My pre- 
 sence shall go with thee, and I wi.i give thee 
 rest." Thus, in the review of his goodness 
 he says, by Jeremiah, "The people which 
 were left of the sword found grace in the 
 wilderness, even Israel, when I went to 
 cause him to rest." 
 
 Thus here he searched out for them a 
 resting-place — in their journey and — after 
 it. To the forsner Moses refers, when he 
 says, " The Lord your God went in the way 
 before you, to search you out a place to pitch 
 
JUNE 26. 
 
 171 
 
 your tents in"— before they were required to 
 lay them entirely aside. Thus, before they 
 reached Canaan, he led them into many rest- 
 ing-places; in some of which they continued 
 only days ; in some, weeks ; in some, months ; 
 and in a few, even years. It was a fine rest- 
 ing-place when they came to Elim, where 
 were twelve wells of water, and threescore 
 and ten palm-trees — But this was at the be- 
 ginning of their journey, and designed to en- 
 courage them. They could not look for many 
 stations like this. Each, however, which 
 they successively occupied, was of the Lord's 
 selecting. 
 
 We may apply this to the temporal resi- 
 dences of Christians. How moveable have 
 some of them been ! But He has led them 
 from one situation to another : and it should 
 be satisfying for them to think — that he could 
 find a better resting-place for them than they 
 could have chosen for themselves, for he per- 
 fectly knows both the place and the persons. 
 Sometimes the lines fall to them in agree- 
 able scenes; and he kindly exceeds their 
 hopes. In other cases, the abode is less in- 
 viting, and even trying. But they must ac- 
 quiesce, without murmuring or complaining, 
 in their Cunductor's disposal — conscious that 
 they are not worthy of the least of all his 
 mercies ; and remembering that they are not 
 yet come unto " the rest and inheritance 
 which the Lord giveth them." 
 
 It will apply also to their spiritual peace 
 and refreshment in their travels. " Thus 
 saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and 
 see, and ask for the old paths, where is the 
 good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find 
 rest for your souls." There are spiritual rest- 
 ing-places on this side heaven. In their ac- 
 quaintance with his throne, his house, his 
 day, his word, the covenant of peace — here 
 he affords them the shadow of a great rock in 
 a weary land. Here he maketh his flock to 
 rest at noon. Here they lie down in green 
 pastures, and are fed beside the still waters. 
 
 But the principal resting-place he sought 
 out for them was at their journey's end. It 
 was Canaan — " In the day I lifted up mine 
 hand unto them, to bring them forth of the 
 land of Egypt into a land that I had espied 
 for them, flowing with milk and honey, 
 which is the glory of all lands." 
 
 Yet there is a better country. And this, 
 Christian, He is looking out for you ! What- 
 ever you now enjoy, your repose is imperfect 
 and interrupted. Something, aloud or in 
 whisper, says — Arise, and depart hence ; for 
 this is not your rest. 
 
 But there remaineth a rest for the people 
 of God. A rest from all toil and temptation. 
 Prom all sorrow and sin. A rest not only in 
 God, but a rest with him. 
 
 "O glorious hour! O bless"d abode! 
 I shall be near and like my God : 
 And flesh and sin no more control 
 The sacred pleasures of my soul." 
 
 JUNE 26. 
 
 " Upon this came his disciples, ana marvellea 
 that he talked with the woman: yet no man 
 said, What seekest thou ? or, Why talkes 
 thou with her ?" — John iv. 27. 
 
 That is, immediately upon the conversa 
 tion, and just as he had said unto her, I the 
 speak unto thee am the Messiah. 
 
 Thus their return broke off the conference 
 and the woman was probably grieved to set 
 the disciples so near at hand. Our most in- 
 teresting interviews in this world are often 
 and soon interrupted. It is sweet to hold 
 converse with our fellow-Christians and with 
 ministers ; and it is far sweeter still to hold 
 communion with the Saviour. There are 
 moments in the sanctuary and the closet, 
 when we can say, 
 
 " While such a scene of sacred joy 
 Our raptur'd eyer md souls employs, 
 Here we could sit, and gaze away 
 A long, an everlasting day." 
 
 But not only our sinful distractions, but our 
 lawful connexions, and businesses, and cares, 
 invade and disperse our enjoyments; and 
 make us long after a state where these inter- 
 ruptions will be no more. Now we have 
 visions, or at best but visits — then we shall 
 be for ever with the Lord. 
 
 The disciples were astonished — and the 
 cause of their marvelling was, that "he 
 talked with the woman." Had they an appre- 
 hension that she was a woman of ill charac- 
 ter ? And, like the Pharisees, did they sup- 
 pose that it was incompatible with the sanc- 
 tity of the Messiah to hold any intercourse 
 with persons of infamous reputation 1 This 
 is not probable. She was a stranger to them. 
 Our Lord indeed knew her ; but it was by 
 his divine prerogative ; and as yet he had no 
 opportunity to speak of her to his disciples. 
 
 It is mOre likely that their wonder arose 
 from seeing hini in close and friendly conver- 
 sation with a woman of Samaria; for the 
 Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. 
 The rancour excluded even the common ci- 
 vilities of life. At present the disciples 
 seemed not aware of their Lord's design to 
 extend favour to the Gentiles ; and were but 
 little acquainted with the nature of his king- 
 dom — "where there is neither Jew nor 
 Greek, bond or free, male or female, for we 
 are all one in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Again. Women have not always been 
 properlv regarded. If they contribute to theii 
 own degradation, they must blame themselves. 
 It has often been asked, why the conversation 
 of even wise men, is, with women, always 
 vain and trifling? We do not entirely ad- 
 mit the fact. If, however, there be truth in 
 the supposition, the cause is to be found in 
 females themselves— they must be pleased 
 with such discourse— for men will naturally 
 accommodate themselves to their taste — and 
 it is their interest to do so. Let women rise 
 
172 
 
 JUNE 27. 
 
 and vindicate their sex — many are now doing 
 so : let them show that they consider them- 
 selves, and wish to be considered, as rational 
 as well as animal creatures ; and as compa- 
 nions as well as playthings and toys, and ar- 
 ticles of sense and dress. But at this period 
 the sex were treated, and are so still in the 
 East, as a kind of beings inferior to men. 
 Now the disciples knowing that Jesus never 
 trifled in conversation, but always spoke su- 
 periorly and divinely, were amazed to find 
 him discoursing on deep and important sub- 
 jects with a poor menial woman, judged in- 
 capable of understanding them. 
 
 The meanness of the persons to whom he 
 manifested himself always scandalized flesh 
 and blood. Have, it was asked, any of the 
 rulers believed on him'} But this people, 
 who know not the Law, are cursed. Yet it 
 was his glory that the poor had the Gospel 
 preached unto them; and that the common 
 people heard him gladly. When he rejoiced 
 in spirit, he said, I thank thee, O Father, 
 Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid 
 these things from the wise and prudent, and 
 revealed them unto babes. And his Apostle 
 follows in the same strain. " For it is writ- 
 ten, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, 
 and will bring to nothing the understanding 
 of the prudent. Where is the wise ] where 
 is the scribe 1 where is the disputer of this 
 world? hath not God made foolish the wis- 
 dom of this world 1 But God hath chosen 
 the foolish things of the world to confound the 
 wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things 
 of the world to confound the things which 
 are mighty ; and base things of the world, and 
 things which are despised, hath God chosen, 
 yea, and things which are not, to bring to 
 nought things that are: that no flesh should 
 glory in his presence." 
 
 But we here see the diffidence and sub- 
 mission of the disciples — " Yet no man said, 
 What seekest thou 1 ! or, Why talkest thou 
 with her 1" — Confidence in his greatness and 
 rectitude awed them into silence. Whence 
 we recommend two things. First, let us ob- 
 serve the words of Solomon : " If thou hast 
 thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth." 
 A good man should make conscience of the 
 state of his mind as well as of his speech : but 
 what we cannot always prevent in thought, 
 we may restrain in expression. Words are 
 worse than thoughts : they add to them ; they 
 snow more of the dominion of evil; they are 
 more injurious to others; and betray ourselves 
 more into difficulties. In a multitude of 
 words there wanteth not sin. Therefore let 
 us resolve to take heed to our ways, that we 
 sin not with our tongue. David prayed, 
 " Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth ; 
 keep the door of my lips." 
 
 Secondly, as the reverence of the disciples 
 induced them not to question the propriety of 
 our Lord's conduct — though for the present 
 
 they could not understand it — so should we 
 act towards him. He is not bound to give 
 account of any of his matters ; and he often 
 requires us to walk by faith, and not by sight. 
 But we know that his work is perfect ; his 
 ways are judgment. Let us never charge 
 him foolishly, but acquiesce in the most mys- 
 terious of his dispensations ; assured that he 
 has reasons for them which at present satisfy 
 him, and will satisfy us when they are finished 
 and explained. What we know not now, we 
 shall know hereafter. — " Shall not the Judge 
 of all the earth do right]" "Just and true 
 are all thy ways, O thou King of saints." 
 
 JUNE 27. 
 
 " Thou hast been a shadow from the heat." 
 Isaiah xxv. 4. 
 
 And what he has been, he is, and will be— 
 the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 
 
 Heat means evil ; any evil, every evil, from 
 which it is desirable to be screened. Heaven 
 is a state — and many have reached it — where 
 the sun does not light on them, or any heat. 
 But it is otherwise in this world. Here many 
 things affect the mind, as oppressive heat does 
 the body : and make us pant for deliverance 
 and repose. The wrath of God — a sense of 
 his fiery law in the conscience — the tempta- 
 tions of Satan — the persecutions of wicked 
 and unreasonable men — afflictions, public 
 and private, personal and relative — Here is 
 the heat — 
 
 Where is the shadow 1 ? Behold me, says 
 the Saviour of sinners, Behold me ! Come 
 unto me, and I will give you rest. This is 
 the rest, says God, wherewith ye shall cause 
 the weary to rest ; and this is the refreshing. 
 
 But what kind of shadow is He ? We read 
 in the Scripture — Of the shadow of a cloud 
 — Of the shadow of a tree — Of the shadow 
 of a rock — Of the shadow of a tabernacle 
 from the heat. The shadow of the cloud in 
 harvest is grateful, but transient. The sha- 
 dow of a tree under which we sit down, is 
 delightful ; but it is limited to a small dis- 
 tance : and the rays frequently pierce through 
 the boughs. The shadow of a great rock is 
 dense and cool ; but it befriends not on every 
 side, and covers little from the vertical rays. 
 The shadow of a tabernacle, into which we 
 may continually resort, and find not only 
 room, but entertainment, is the most complete 
 and inviting. All these have some truth in 
 their application to him : but none of them 
 can do justice to the subject. He is what 
 they imply, but more ; and not only more 
 than each of them, but more than all of them ; 
 and more than all of them combined ; and 
 more than all of them combined in their best 
 estate — and infinitely more. He is not only 
 perfect, but divine ; and he that dwelleth in 
 the secret place of the Most High shall abide 
 under the shadow of the Almighty. 
 
JUNE 28. 
 
 173 
 
 Let me leave, then, other shadows. They 
 tse all inadequate to the wants of the soul ; 
 and, in some way or other, will be sure t; 
 fail me — yea, whatever else I get under foi 
 shelter, will not only prove vanity, but vexa- 
 tion of spirit 
 
 But let me make use of this shadow from 
 the heat. He is not far off. He is accessible. 
 He is easy to approach. And it is only by 
 repairing to him that I can enjoy the benefit 
 derivable from him. 
 
 And while believing, I rejoice in him with 
 joy unspeakable ; let me show my benevo- 
 lence, by recommending him to others. They 
 also are strangers to repose. They also want 
 rest unto their souls. And he is sufficient to 
 receive, and defend, and succour, and bless alL 
 Oh happy period ! when the eyes of men, as 
 of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the 
 Lord ! And when in him all the families of 
 the earth shall be blessed ! The Lord hasten 
 it in his time ! 
 
 JUNE 28. 
 
 •* If hat doest thou here, Elijah 7" 
 1 Kings xix. 13. 
 
 The principle of this question was not ig- 
 norance. God well knew how, and why, he 
 came there. But he would know from Eli- 
 jah himself; and therefore asks him — that, 
 being called upon to account for his conduct, 
 he might be convinced of his folly, and be 
 either speechless, or condemned out of his 
 own mouth. We may view the inquiry three 
 ways. 
 
 First, as an instance of God's moral obser- 
 vation of his creatures. His eyes are upon 
 the ways of man, and he pondereth all his 
 doings. Nothing can screen us from this in- 
 spection. Elijah was in a wilderness, and 
 alone ; he had even left his sen-ant behind 
 him — but the eye of God followed him. And 
 the eyes of the Lord are in every place, be- 
 holding the evil and the good. And let us 
 not imagine that he only looks after an extra- 
 ordinary character, like Elijah. No one is 
 too small and inconsiderable to be disregarded 
 by him. Every human being is not only his 
 creature, but his subject, and responsible to 
 him. The meanest slave is great in the sight 
 of God, as possessed of a soul, and destined 
 for eternity. God has a right to know where 
 we are, and what we are doing ; and a much 
 greater right than a father or a master has to 
 know this, with regard to a child or a ser- 
 vant : for we are absolutely his. And he is 
 interested in observing our conduct : interest- 
 ed as a judge, who is to pass sentence upon 
 our actions : interested as a friend and bene- 
 factor, who would check us when we are 
 going astraj, or recall us when we have 
 wandered. For, 
 
 15 
 
 Secondly, we may consider it as a reproof 
 given to a good man. He ought not to have 
 been here, hiding himself from his enemy, 
 and begging that he might die ; but should 
 have been engaged in carrying on the cause 
 of God in the reformation he had so nobly be- 
 gun — He was therefore blameable. God does 
 not cast him off"; but he reprehends him. 
 And as many as he loves he rebukes and 
 chastens. And fa ithful are the wounds of th is 
 Friend. 
 
 And how does he administer this reproof? 
 He had all the elements under his control : 
 and he showed Elijah what he could do: 
 " And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the 
 mount before the Lord. And, behold, the 
 Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind 
 rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the 
 rocks before the Lord ; but the Lord was not 
 in the wind : and after the wind, an earth- 
 quake ; but the Lord was not in the earth- 
 quake : and after the earthquake, a fire ; but 
 the Lord was not in the fire : and after the 
 fire, a still small voice. And it was so, when 
 Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in 
 his mantle, and went out, and stood in the en- 
 tering in of the cave." " And, behold, there 
 came a voice unto him and said" — You cow- 
 ardly deserter? You ungrateful, rebellious 
 wretch ! — No : but — " What doest thou here, 
 Elijah?" And this, "in a small still voice" 
 — a kind of under tone, or whisper, as if no 
 one should hear it beside. Here was no up- 
 braiding ; nothing to inflame passion ; but a 
 kind and calm appeal to reason. How forci- 
 ble ! and yet tender ! It is thus his gentleness 
 makes us great It is thus he does not break 
 the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking 
 flax. It is thus he calls upon us to be followers 
 of him, as dear children. If a brother be 
 overtaken in a fault let us not employ the 
 earthquake, the wind, and the fire ; but the 
 small still voice. Let us take him aside. Let 
 us tell him his fault between him and us 
 alone. Let us restore such an one in the 
 spirit of meekness. Reproof should never be 
 given in a passion. It is too much, says an 
 old writer, to expect that a sick patient u ill 
 take physic, not only when it is nauseous, but 
 boiling warm. And we know who has said. 
 " In meekness, instructing those that oppose 
 themselves." " The wrath of man worketh 
 not the righteousness of God." 
 
 Thirdly, as a rule by which we may judge 
 ourselves. Let us .suppose that we heard 
 God addressing us, as he did Elijah. How 
 should we answer him? Could we say, I 
 hope I am where Thou wouldst have me to 
 be ? and doing what thou wouldst have me to 
 do ? He does thus inquire. And therefore it 
 behoves us so to act as to be able to give a 
 satisfactory account of our conduct 
 
 Let us apply the question to our troubles. 
 How came we in these difficulties? Have 
 
174 
 
 JUNE 29, 30. 
 
 they befallen us in following after God 1 Or 
 have we drawn them upon ourselves by our 
 folly and sin! 
 
 Let us apply it to our connexions. We 
 are choosing associates — Are we walking 
 with wise men. or are we the companions of 
 fools ? We are engaging ourselves for life — 
 Are we marrying in the Lord, or unequally 
 yoking ourselves with unbelievers ? "What 
 doest thou here, Elijah?" 
 
 Let us apply it to our recreations. Are 
 they such as conduce to the health of the 
 body'! and accord with purity of mind? or are 
 they amusements and dissipations which, if 
 God should call us to account, would strike 
 our consciences dumb ? 
 
 Let us apply it to our stations. Are we 
 abiding with God in our own callings! or are 
 we acting out of our proper sphere of duty ? 
 How many have injured, if not ruined, their 
 usefulness and comfort, by improper remov- 
 als, or striking their tent without the cloud ! 
 
 Let us apply it to our religious services. 
 We ought to have an aim in coming to his 
 house. Happy they who, when they hear the 
 inquiry, What doest thou here, Elijah? can 
 say, Here I am — not from custom or curiosity, 
 but to know what the Lord will speak ; and 
 to see his power and his glory as I have seen 
 him in the sanctuary. 
 
 And let us remember, that a false answer 
 will be more than useless. We often assign 
 a reason very different from the true one, to 
 an inquiring fellow-creature: and him we 
 may deceive. But God is not mocked. 
 
 JUNE 29. 
 " Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by 
 a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold 
 not thy peace : for I am with thee, and no 
 man shall set on thee to hurt thee : for I have 
 much people in, this city." — Acts xviii. 9, 10. 
 The Lord is a very present help in trouble ; 
 and before his people express their apprehen- 
 sions, he foresees them, and effectually pro- 
 vides against them. 
 
 It is obvious Paul was now depressed and 
 discouraged. He had nature in him, as well 
 as grace. The Christian, and even the 
 Apostle, did not destroy the man. He had 
 genius ; and not only great sensibility, but a 
 tinge of melancholy is perhaps inseparable 
 from this endowment. He was also the sub- 
 ject of bodily enervation ; and was now worn 
 down, not only by constant preaching, but 
 also by working manually, day and night, to 
 support himself and relieve others. In allu- 
 sion to which, he says, in his Letter to these 
 Corinthians, " I was with you in weakness, 
 and in fear, and in much trembling." Yea, 
 he was now it would seem, afraid — of men — 
 of suffering persecution — of death. Is this he 
 that said, None of these things move me, 
 neither count I my life dear to myself, so that 
 
 I may finish my course with joy? Ves. He 
 then spoke sincerely, and according to the 
 frame he was in. But what a change do we 
 feel, if the Lord hides his face ; or faith fails ; 
 yea, or if there be only a variation in the 
 humours of the body, or the state of tlte 
 weather ! 
 
 The Lord therefore removes his fear by the 
 assurance that no man should set upon him 
 to hurt him ; for " He was with him ; and had 
 much work for him to do" — so that even his 
 destination secured him. And see how faith- 
 fully and remarkably this was accomplished. 
 For though the place was so abandoned, and 
 he had so many enemies, he continued there 
 a year and six months, teaching the word of 
 God among them without any molestation 
 At length a storm arose, which tried his con- 
 fidence in the promise. But it issued in the 
 proof that the Saviour in whom he trusted was 
 true and righteous altogether. For all the 
 Jews in the city made a violent insurrection 
 against Paul, and brought him before Gallio 
 the deputy. But he refused to take cogni 
 zance of the affair, and drove them from the 
 judgment-seat. Upon which, provoked by 
 his conduct, the Greeks, who had joined the 
 Jews in this assault, fell upon Sosthenes, the 
 chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in 
 sight of the bench — But Paul, on whose ac- 
 count the persecution was raised, was suffer- 
 ed to escape uninjured, and continued his la- 
 bours a considerable time longer, undisturbed, 
 and at length withdrew from the place in 
 peace! 
 
 — Is not this enough to prove that nothing 
 is too hard for the Lord ? that he can turn the 
 shadow of death into the morning ? that our 
 enemies, however numerous and malignant, 
 are all under his control ? and cannot move a 
 hair's breadth beyond the length of the chair, 
 in which he holds them ? 
 
 Do we not here see, that if we have 
 his promise we have enough to establish, 
 strengthen, settle us, whatever our difficulties 
 and dangers may be? Heaven and earth 
 may pass away, but his word cannot fail. If 
 a child, even in the dark, feels his father'? 
 hand grasping his, and hears him say, I am 
 with thee, fear not ; he is calmed and con- 
 fident. Yea, says David, though I walk 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, 1 
 will fear no evil ; for thou art with me. He 
 hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake 
 thee : so that we may boldly say, The Lord 
 is my helper, and I will not fear what man 
 shall do unto me. " Yea, in all these things 
 we are more than conquerors, through him 
 that loved us." 
 
 JUNE 30. 
 
 " There is a river, the streams whereof shal 
 make glad the city of God."— Psalm xlvi. 4. 
 What can this " river" be, but ihat blesseo 
 
JULY 1. 
 
 175 
 
 covenant to which David himself repaired in 
 the time of trouble, and extolled bevond every 
 other resource or delight — Although my 
 house be not so with God ; yet hath he made 
 with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in 
 all things, and sure : for this is all my salva- 
 tion, and all my desire, although he make it 
 not to grow. 
 
 And what are " the streams" of this river, 
 but the outgoings and effects of this divine 
 constitution — The blood of Jesus — The in- 
 fluences of the Holy Spirit — The doctrines 
 and promises of the Gospel— rThe ordinances 
 of religion — And all the means of grace? 
 
 There are four ways in which the streams 
 of a river would gladden the citizens. They 
 will all apply in a pre-eminent degree to the 
 case before us. 
 
 The first regards prospect. Nothing can 
 be more pleasing or interesting to those who 
 relish the simple beauties of nature, than to 
 walk by the side of living streams ; to see the 
 fish playing and . disappearing ; the green 
 weeds waving their long streamers in the 
 water; the reeds bending and recovering 
 themselves again ; the rippling of the shal- 
 lows ; and the glassy reflections of the deeps ; 
 while the bushes and trees form a quivering 
 shade on the banks. Here is enough to fix 
 the tasteful mind ; and to induce the poet to 
 take out his pen, and the painter his pencil. 
 What views have Christians by the side of 
 their streams ! How various ! How endear- 
 ing! How impressive the objects which 
 strike and occupy their minds ! " My medi- 
 tation of him shall be sweet; I will rejoice in 
 the Lord." 
 
 The second regards traffic. It is an un- 
 speakable advantage to a place to be accessi- 
 ble by waterj as it renders commerce not 
 only practicable, but easy and extensive. The 
 Humber was the making of Hull. The 
 Thames has rendered London so famous. 
 Were this stream dried up or diverted, how 
 would the mistress of the nations be humbled 
 and reduced ! It is owing to their trade, 
 carried on by the means of their rivers, that 
 many cities on the Continent have united 
 themselves to the ends of the earth, and ac- 
 quired such distinction and wealth. And by 
 these streams Christians obtain riches for 
 the soul and eternity; unsearchable riches; 
 durable riches, with righteousness. It is by 
 these they carry on business with the land 
 that is very far off, the merchandise of which 
 is better than the merchandise of silver, and 
 the gain thereof than fine gold. 
 
 The third regards fertility. Imagine a 
 dry and barren land where no water is, and 
 think what happiness would ensue if springs 
 gushed forth from the sands, and meandered 
 through meadows with grass, and reeds, and 
 rushes. Lot chose the plain country, the vale 
 of Sodom, near Jordan, because it was well 
 watered, like the garden of the Lord. Did 
 
 you never read the words of Balaam in de- 
 scribing the blessedness of Israel ] " As the 
 valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by 
 the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which 
 the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees 
 beside the waters." What is a tree planted 
 by the rivers of waters, bringing forth fruit 
 in its season, and with never-withering leaves, 
 but a Christian by these streams, growing in 
 the divine life ; adorned with the graces of 
 the Spirit ; and filled with all the fruits of 
 righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto 
 the praise and glory of God 1 
 
 The fourth regards supply. What could 
 a city do without this precious, all-important 
 fluid? An enemy, therefore, always en- 
 deavours to cut off the water, to compel a 
 place the more suddenly and speedily to sur- 
 render. Hence the boast of Rabshakeh; 
 " With the sole of my foot I have dried up all 
 the rivers of the besieged places." This shall 
 never be the case here. Your resources can 
 never fail. Your relief can never be cut off. 
 You have always access to the God of all 
 grace. And how superior are your supplies ■. 
 How free ! How full ! How satisfying ! 
 "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whoso- 
 ever drinketh of this water shall thirst again • 
 but whosoever drinketh of the water that 1 
 shall give him shall never thirst; but th< 
 water that I shall give him shall be in him s 
 well of water springing up into everlasting 
 life." 
 
 Are you asking, Who will show us an) 
 good 1 Let the subject supply an answer 
 Oh, there is — there is a river, the streams 
 whereof make glad the city of God. Forsake 
 the foolish and live, and go in the way of un- 
 derstanding. Leave the world and enter the 
 Church. There — how unlike creatures, who 
 are all vanity and vexation of spirit — there 
 you will find a Saviour full of grace and 
 truth. Acquaint now thyself with him , and be 
 at peace ; thereby good shall come unto thee. 
 
 O my soul, am I the subject of this happi- 
 ness ! Let me give proof of it. Let me be 
 a witness for God. Let me exemplify his 
 word. Let me convince others that there is 
 — a reality — an excellency — a blessedness in 
 the religion of Jesus that can set the heart at 
 rest, and yield a joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory. 
 
 The pleasures of which we have been 
 speaking are the pleasures of the way. 
 What will be those of the end ! 
 
 " If such the siveetness of the streams, 
 What must the fountain be, 
 Where saints and ange's draw their blim 
 Immediately from Thee !" 
 
 JULY 1. 
 
 " / beseech thee show me thy glory." 
 Exodus xxxiii. 18. 
 
 This* prayer was not entirely proper, it 
 
17b 
 
 JULY 2. 
 
 would seem that Moses desired some visible 
 display of Deity, or some kind of representa- 
 tion of Him. And so far it was refused. "He 
 said. Thou canst not see my face : for there 
 shall no man see me, and live. Behold, there 
 is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a 
 rock: and it shall come to pass, while my 
 glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a 
 clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my 
 aand while I pass by : and I will take away 
 mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts : 
 but my face shall not be seen." 
 
 Here we perceive our weakness, even 
 physically considered. How little can we 
 bear ! When Daniel only saw an angel he 
 fell into a deep sleep. John, at the sight of 
 Him on whose bosom he had often leaned, fell 
 at his feet as dead. Flesh and blood cannot 
 inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth 
 corruption inherit incorruption. 
 
 We cannot go on well till God has gained 
 our full confidence. Let us never suppose 
 that he denies us any thing from insufficiency 
 to give, or from a grudging disposition. " He 
 that spared not his own Son, but delivered 
 him up for us all ; how shall he not with him 
 also freely give us all things]" The very 
 same principle that leads him to give us some 
 things, induces him to withhold others — a 
 regard to our safety and happiness — 
 
 " Good when he gives, supremely good ; 
 Nor less when he denies: 
 E'en crosses, from his sov'reign hand, 
 Are blessings in disguise." 
 
 Had the Lord yielded all the wish of Moses, 
 Moses would have been destroyed upon the 
 spot. He therefore rejects what was evil in 
 it, but grants what was good — " I will make 
 all my goodness pass before thee, and I will 
 proclaim the name of the Lord before thee ; 
 and will be gracious to whom I will be gra- 
 cious, and will show mercy on whom I will 
 show mercy." We are morally defective; 
 and our infirmities appear even in our prayers. 
 We know not what to pray for as we ought. 
 What would be the consequence, if all our 
 desires were accomplished? It is our privi- 
 lege that God is as wise as he is kind. He 
 knows what is really good for us ; and an- 
 swers us not according to our wishes, but our 
 wants ; and according to what we ourselves 
 should only pray for, if we were alive to our 
 real welfare, and always knew what it in- 
 cludes. 
 
 Thus qualified, we cannot do better than 
 to make this prayer our own, and desire God 
 to show us his glory. For he alone can do it 
 efficiently. As the sun can only be seen by 
 his own shining, so God can only be known 
 by his own revealing : in his light we see 
 light But we have every encouragement 
 we could desire, if we seek the discovery from 
 him. If any lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 
 who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraid- 
 eth not, and it shall be given him. Then 
 
 shall ye know if ye follow on to know tne 
 Lord. 
 
 Let us pray, therefore, that he would show 
 us more of his glory. More of it in his works. 
 More of it in his ways. More of it in his dis- 
 pensations and ordinances. And, above all, 
 more of it in the face of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Nor let us ever think we do not stana ii 
 need of more. For who expressed this desire ? 
 A man who had been indulged already beyond 
 any of his fellow-creatures! Yet, after core* 
 munications the most deep and extensive, 
 after being inspired to write Scripture ; after 
 beholding God in the burning bush ; after 
 talking with him as a man talketh with his 
 friend — so far is he from being satisfied, that 
 his soul is drawn forth after more acquaint- 
 ance with him ; and he, even he, cries — I be- 
 seech thee, show me thy glory. Behold ano- 
 ther instance. Paul, after all his intimacies 
 with the Lord Jesus for many years, cries — 
 " That I may know him !" But who is Moses ? 
 Who is Paul? — "Which things the angels 
 desire to look into." 
 
 Yet some are so perfectly indifferent to the 
 subject of this prayer, that they say unto God, 
 Depart from us, for we desire not the know- 
 ledge of thy ways. Spiritual darkness is tlif 
 forerunner and pledge of eternal. If ou) 
 Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. 
 Because they are a people of no understand 
 ing, therefore he that made them will not 
 have mercy on them ; and he that formed them 
 will show them no favour. 
 
 JULY 2. 
 
 " From whence they -went to Beer : that is the 
 
 •well -whereof the Lord spake unto JMoscs, 
 
 Gather the people together, and I will give 
 
 them water. Then Israel swig this song, 
 
 Spring up, well ; sing ye unto it : The 
 
 Princes digged the well, the nobles of the 
 
 people digged it, by the direction of the law 
 
 giver, with their staves. And from the wil 
 
 derness they went to Mattanah : and from 
 
 jyiattanah to JVahaliel : and from Nahaliel 
 
 to Jiamoth." — Numb. xxi. 16 — 19. 
 
 Beer was a pleasing station to the Jews , 
 
 and it is a very instructive one to us. They 
 
 here came into a dry place ; but they neither 
 
 rebelled nor murmured against God, or his 
 
 servant Moses. 
 
 See, first, How easily the Lord can s upply 
 the wants of his people. " Gather the }>eople 
 together, and I will give them water." Nol 
 only is every good gift and every perfec t gift 
 from above ; but all our temporal comforts 
 come from the hand of God. We are not to 
 look for miracles ; but we may be assured thai 
 his word can be accomplished without them : 
 "For sooner all Nature shall change, than 
 one of God's promises fail." And he has said, 
 " Thy bread shall be given thee; and thy 
 water shall be sure." And what he has pro 
 
JULY 3. 
 
 17V 
 
 mised, he is able also to perform. Let us not 
 limit the Holy One of Israel. Nothing is too 
 hard for him. He can turn the shadow of 
 death into the morning. Jehovah-jireh ! The 
 Lord will provide. "When the poor and 
 needy seek water, and there is none, and their 
 tongue faileth for thirst, 1 the Lord will hear 
 them, I the God of Israel will not forsake 
 them. I will open rivers in high places, and 
 fountains in the midst of the valleys : I will 
 make the wilderness a pool of water, and the 
 dry land springs of water." 
 
 Secondly. See how want endears our 
 blessings. " Then Israel sang this song, Spring 
 up, O well ; sing ye unto it" We feel un- 
 thankful for this precious fluid, because it is 
 eo common, and we have never been deprived 
 of it Had we gone several days in a wilder- 
 ness without it, how should we have exulted 
 and praised God at the sight of a refreshing 
 supply ! It is thus, by their removal or sus- 
 pension, we are taught the worth of our com- 
 forts. How is liberty prized and enjoyed 
 after bondage 1 and health after sickness? 
 and spring after winter 1 and morning after 
 night 1 We become indifferent to the means 
 of grace. By a change of residence, or by 
 accident, or disease, we are deprived of the 
 privileges of the sanctuary. Then we re- 
 member these things, and pour out our souls 
 in us : for we had gone with the multitude ; 
 we went with them to the house of God, with 
 the voice of joy and gladness, with a multi- 
 tude that kept holy day. Oh, says David, 
 when he was faint, Oh that one would give 
 me to drink of the water of the well that is by 
 the gate of Bethlehem ! And were we equal- 
 y athirst, spiritually, how should we long for 
 the well of salvation, and say, 
 
 Thou, of life the fountain art: 
 
 Freely let me take of Thee ; 
 Spring thou up within my heart. 
 
 Rise to all eternity I" 
 
 Thirdly. His agency does not exclude or 
 supe»3ede our instrumentality. "The princes 
 digged the well, the nobles of the people 
 digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, 
 with their staves." God filled it ; but they 
 digged it This was their part. This they 
 could do : and why should God have exempt- 
 ed them from it 1 He gives the increase ; but 
 Paul must plan and Apollos water. He fur- 
 nishes the wind ; but we are to spread the 
 saila He gives: but we gather. Prayer 
 and diligence, dependence and activity, har- 
 monize in the Scripture, and are only incon- 
 sistent in the crudeness of ignorant and fool- 
 ish men. Paul makes divine influence, not 
 an excuse for the neglect of means, but a mo- 
 tive and encouragement to the use of them — 
 " Work out your own salvation with fear and 
 trembling; for it is God who worketh in you 
 both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 
 
 Fourthly. However pleasing any of our 
 present stations are, we must if w e are the 
 Z 
 
 Israel of God, leave them. And from the 
 Wilderness they went to Mattanah : and 
 from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Naha- 
 liel to Bamoth." The part they left is called, 
 indeed, the Wilderness ; and so it was ; but 
 it was good for them to be there. There 
 they had witnessed proofs of the power and 
 goodness of God ; and there they had enjoyed 
 a time of refreshing from his presence. But 
 they had compassed the place long enough ; 
 and, decamping from this loved scene, had to 
 journey on in the Desert Here, also, Chris- 
 tians have their indulgences. But these are 
 designed, not to induce them to tarry, but to 
 encourage them to advance. In the midst of 
 their enjoyments a voice cries, Arise ye, and 
 depart hence ; for this is not your rest 
 
 These people would have been the more 
 willing to move — because they knew they 
 were moving towards Canaan, a better coun- 
 try, the end and aim of their journey ; and — 
 because they were under the direction of 
 God, as their guide, and who would never 
 leave them nor forsake them. So it should 
 be with us. 
 
 JULY 3. 
 
 " Faint — ." — Judges viii. 4. 
 
 What war is there that has nothing to de- 
 press 1 Nothing to animate 1 And that does 
 not furnish a diversity of feelings in those 
 who carry it on 1 
 
 Christians resemble these followers of Gi- 
 deon and subduers of the Amalekites — Faint, 
 yet pursuing. 
 
 Yes — while engaged in this good fight of 
 iaith, they may be faint. We need not won- 
 der at this, if we consider the enemies they 
 have to vanquish. These are, bodily appe- 
 tites; filthiness of spirit ; a depraved nature - 
 all sin and error ; the present evil world ; the 
 Devil, and his angels. If we also consider 
 the qualities of their adversaries ; their num- 
 ber ; their malignity ; their power ; their po- 
 licy ; their success ; for they have cast down 
 many mighty ; yea, many strong men have 
 been slain by them. When we think of the 
 heroes, the statesmen, the princes, the philo- 
 sophers, the divines, and all the myriads they 
 have enslaved and destroyed, who is not rea- 
 dy to tremble, and exclaim, " I shall one day 
 perish !" 
 
 There is also the length of the service. It 
 is not for a season only, but for life. We are 
 not allowed to receive any proposals of peace. 
 We cannot enter into a truce — no, not even 
 to bury the dead — Let the dead bury theu 
 dead. We are to fight on through summei 
 and winter— by day and night— m every si- 
 tuation and condition. He that endureth tc 
 the end, the same only shall be saved. In 
 conversion we throw away the scabbard ; in 
 death only we lav down the sword. While 
 
178 
 
 JULY 4, 5. 
 
 we are here, something is still to be done ; 
 Eomething still to be avoided — in company — 
 in solitude — in health — in sickness. And is 
 it nothing to watch in all things ! To pray 
 without ceasing! In every thing to give 
 thanks ! To be always abounding in the work 
 of the I/>rd ! 
 
 There are also occasional difficulties too 
 common to be overlooked. It is easy to sup- 
 Dose a few of them. What marvel if the sol- 
 dier is faint — when the road is rough and 
 thorny — and the weather is warm and op- 
 pressive — and he hungers and thirsts for want 
 of seasonable refreshments and supplies, 
 which are interrupted, if not cut off — and he 
 feels a loss of strength, occasioned by a 
 wound from without, or an indisposition from 
 within 1 Is this talking parables 1 There is 
 not a Christian on earth whose religious ex- 
 perience will not easily explain it. 
 
 And if this, therefore, be my experience — 
 let me remember that there is nothing omi- 
 nous, nor even peculiar, in it. Every subject 
 of divine grace is well acquainted with the 
 heart's bitterness — and must know it — or 
 much of the Scripture could not be applied 
 X) him, either in a way of description, or 
 comfort 
 
 — And let me be thankful that to will is 
 present with me, though how to perform that 
 which is good I find not If I faint, I do not 
 App.. Faint — yet pursuing. 
 
 JULY 4. 
 
 " — Yet pursuing." — Judges viii. 4. 
 
 The life and experience of the Christian 
 are full of contrasts. He resembles the bush 
 of Moses, which was seen burning, but not 
 consumed. And his language is, Cast down, 
 but not destroyed ; sorrowful, yet always re- 
 joicing ; as dying, and behold we live. We 
 are now viewing him as a soldier. In our 
 last page, we saw him faint : but we shall 
 now find him, amidst all that is grievous, 
 feeling no disposition to give up. Faint — yet 
 pursuing. 
 
 And there is much to encourage and ani- 
 mate him. There is something in himself, 
 and which is nothing less than a principle of 
 divine grace. Every thing else will decline 
 when it meets with its proper temptation. 
 Natural and merely moral resources are as 
 the morning cloud, and the early dew, which 
 soon passeth away. But we are confident of 
 this very thing, that He which hath begun a 
 good work in us, will perform it. That which 
 is divine is durable, is invincible. That which 
 is born of God, overcometh the world. 
 
 There is also much to encourage him in 
 his cause. It is a good warfare. It will bear 
 examination. Conscience entirely approves 
 of it. Angels applaud it. There is, there- 
 fore, nothing to make us waver, or hesitate. 
 
 Every thing in the conflict feeds "ourage. 
 We ought to engage and persevere. It is the 
 cause of truth, of righteousness, of glory — cf 
 real glory. It would be more honourable to 
 be foiled in this cause than to conquer in any 
 other. 
 
 There is also much in his Leader and 
 Commander. Some chiefs have so attached 
 and inspired their troops, that they would 
 plunge into any enterprise, or follow them 
 into any danger. It was said proverbially at 
 Rome, that it was unbecoming a Roman sol- 
 dier to fear while Cresar was alive. It is 
 much more unworthy a Christian soldier to 
 fear while Christ is alive : for, because, says 
 he, I live, ye shall live also. When Antigo- 
 nus heard some of his troops rather despond 
 ingly say, How many are coming against us 1 
 he asked — But, my soldiers, how many do 
 you reckon me for '.' And whenever we think 
 of our foes, and the Captain of our salvation, 
 we may truly say, More are they that be 
 with us than they that be with them. 
 Greater is he that is in us than he that is in 
 the world. Who goes before us? Who 
 teaches our hands to war, and our fingers 
 to fight 1 Who provides for us 1 Who 
 renews our strength 1 What limits have 
 his wisdom and power 1 Did he ever lose 
 an action yet? or a single private in his 
 army ? 
 
 And let me think of the certainty of the 
 issue. Fear unnerves : but it would make » 
 hero of a coward to assure him in the conflict 
 that he should overcome. This can rarely 
 or never be done in other contentions: for 
 nothing is so doubtful as the result of battle. 
 Prudence, therefore, says, Let not him that 
 putteth on the harness boast himself like him 
 that putteth it off— But the Christian enter* 
 the field under peculiar advantage. How- 
 ever trying or lengthened the struggle maj 
 be, he fights not uncertainly. Yea, in all 
 these things we are more than conquerors ! 
 
 For what will be the result of success 1 
 What do other victors gain "! How precari- 
 ous, how unsatisfying, how poor, how mean 
 the rewards of the world's warriors, compared 
 with the acquisitions of the good soldiers of 
 Jesus Christ ! He that overcometh shall in- 
 herit all things ! 
 
 JULY 5. 
 
 " Submit yourselves to God" — James iv. 7. 
 This is the great thing. This is the ex 
 cellency, the essence, the proof of religion 
 God is our Saviour. Our Lawgiver. Oui 
 Disposer. Under each of these characters 
 his people are made willing to submit to him 
 in the day of his power. And nothing but 
 the efficiency of divine grace can influence o 
 man cordially to resign himself to God in af 
 these relations. 
 
JULY 6. 
 
 i73 
 
 We must submit ourselves to God, as the 
 Saviour. Here our concern with him begins. 
 And here it must begin. We are condemned ; 
 and the first thing is, to obtain deliverance. 
 We are diseased and dying; and the first 
 thing we "want is the physician and the 
 remedy. When, therefore, the Jews asked 
 our Lord, What must we do that we may 
 work the works of God ? " This," said he, 
 " is the work of God, that ye oelieve on him 
 whom he hath sent." When the gaoler 
 asked Paul and Silas what he should do to be 
 saved, they said unto him, " Believe on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ." G§d is a sovereign, at 
 whose mercy we absolutely lie. We have 
 no claims upon him ; and it is wonderful that 
 he is disposed to undertake our case at all. 
 But he requires us to submit ; and will never 
 allow us to prescribe. He will have the 
 entire management of our case, or he will 
 have nothing to do with it And it might be 
 supposed that there would be no great diffi- 
 culty here. But men are not sensible of 
 their condition and danger ; and there is much 
 in the nature and manner of this salvation 
 that is not palatable to the pride of the human 
 heart No court is paid to our reason ; but 
 we are required to trust in a plan concerning 
 which we have never been consulted; and 
 even to become fools, that we may be wise. 
 However decent and moral our character has 
 been, we must be content to enter into life 
 in the very same way with the chief of sin- 
 ners. We must renounce our own right- 
 eousness, and plead for acceptance as guilty. 
 We must depend on another for all our 
 strength. We must acknowledge that all 
 we have is from the exceeding riches of his 
 grace ; and be crying, to the last "Not unto 
 us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name 
 give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's 
 sake." 
 
 But to this every awakened and humbled 
 sinner is brought And his submission is not 
 the effect of necessity only. It is accom- 
 panied with acquiescence and approbation. 
 He sees a consistency and an excellency in 
 it that delight him, while they relieve. And 
 though he knows there is no other way, yet 
 if there were a thousand other ways, he would 
 turn from them all, and say, God forbid that 
 I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ 
 
 We must submit ourselves to Him, as the 
 lawgiver ; and be willing to live, not to the 
 lusts of men, but to the will of God. He is 
 only the author of eternal salvation unto all 
 them that obey him. We cannot love Him, 
 till we hope in his mercy ; nor run in the 
 way of his commandments till we are freed 
 from the load of guilt and terror — a burden 
 too heavy for us to bear. But faith is follow- 
 ed by love ; and love, by obedience. We are 
 delivered from the hand of our enemies, says 
 ZtCttrias, not to be lawless, but to serve Him, 
 
 who has made us free, without fear, in holi- 
 ness and righteousness, before him, all the 
 days of our lives. Our obligations are in- 
 finitely increased by redeeming grace and 
 dying love. And every believer feels them, 
 and acknowledges that he is not his own ; for 
 he is bought with a price, and bound to glorify 
 God in his body and in his spirit which are 
 God's. The love of sin, as well as the love 
 of self, is subdued in him : and he gratefully 
 asks, " What shall I render unto the Lord for 
 all his benefits towards me 1" " Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?" He finds his 
 yoke easy. He accounts his service to be 
 the truest freedom. He cannot indeed, do 
 the things which he would ; and this is his 
 grief: but he delights in the law of God aflei 
 the inward man. He would not bring down 
 the Divine commands to his deficiencies ; but 
 longs to rise to the level of their perfection. 
 And though he is full of complaints, it is of 
 the servant and not of the Master — He al- 
 ways speaks well of his Name ; and recom- 
 mends him to others. 
 
 We must also submit to him, as out 
 Disposer, and be willing that he should choose 
 our inheritance for us. Man naturally loves 
 independence: he wishes to be at his own 
 control; and to have the management of 
 events, both as they affect others, and him- 
 self. Many, also, who talk much of the 
 providence of God, are constantly striving 
 with it. Hence they envy the successes of 
 their fellow-creatures ; and are discontented 
 and repining when things do not fall out ac- 
 cording to their mind. And especially under 
 their trials, they think God deals improperly 
 with them : and so charge him foolishly or 
 unkindly. 
 
 This temper is at least dethroned in the 
 Christian : and he is disposed to say, " Here 
 I am ; let him do what seemeth him good." 
 I am ignorant, and liable to be imposed upon ; 
 but He is all-wise : and by not sparing his 
 own Son for me, he has justified the implicit 
 confidence of my heart Let him therefore 
 determine the bounds of my habitaton, and 
 arrange all the events of my condition. If 
 things are not such as I had wished and 
 reckoned upon, I have no reason to complain. 
 He has a right to do what he will with his 
 own ; and he always uses it in a way the 
 most conducive to my welfare. How often 
 have I desired him to undertake and act foi 
 me ! Ana when he complies, is it for me to 
 murmur, and dispute ; or say unto Him, Wha 
 doest thou 1 
 
 JULY 6. 
 
 " What went ye out into the -wilderness to see?* 
 Matt. xi. 7. 
 These are the words of Jesus to the multi- 
 tude, concerning John, to whose preaching 
 
180 
 
 JULY a 
 
 they had repaired. " There were many of 
 you — and persons of all ranks and conditions 
 — and some from a great distance. What 
 did you think of the preacher? What in- 
 duced you to attend his ministry'! Surely 
 you had some reason for it ; some design in it 
 —What was it!" 
 
 May we not learn from hence that we 
 should always have an end in view in repair- 
 ing to the ordinances of religion 1 and be able 
 to answer the question, Why we attend the 
 ministrations of the word? 
 
 This becomes us, even as men. Men ought 
 not to act at random; or like the inferior 
 creatures, who are led by blind impulse or 
 instinct, without reflection or motive. They, 
 as the Scripture says, have no understanding, 
 and must be governed and guided by those 
 above them. But God teaches us more than 
 the beasts of the field, and maketh us wiser 
 than the fowls of the air : there is a spirit in 
 man, and the inspiration of the Almighty 
 giveth him understanding. And wherein is 
 this pre-eminence to appear, but in our acting 
 wisely, and with design 1 
 
 We rise higher, and say, that without this 
 we cannot please God. There can be nothing 
 religious without design. Intention is essen- 
 tial to moral conduct. And though a good 
 motive cannot sanctify a bad action, a bad 
 motive will always vitiate a good action. The 
 Pharisees fasted, and prayed, and gave alms ; 
 but it was to be seen of men : and thus all 
 was corrupted in its principle. 
 
 Without an aim in our attendance, we 
 have nothing to pray for before we go ; no- 
 thing to make the subject bear upon while 
 we are hearing; nothing by which to exa- 
 mine ourselves when we return. How can 
 we decide, whether our meeting together is 
 for the better or the worse ? whether we have 
 failed in the opportunity, or succeeded?— 
 Success is the accomplishment of an end; 
 and must be judged of by it. 
 
 A man that acts without an end, never 
 acts in earnest. It is the end that stimulates 
 zeal ; that sweetens labour ; that repays eve- 
 ry expense. What would induce a patient 
 to the taking of medicine, or the losing of a 
 limb, but the thought of restoring or preserv- 
 ing health and life ? 
 
 To finish the argument — the concern itself 
 here should be taken into the account. In 
 common and trivial matters, we may act 
 without motive ; but in momentous ones, 
 every kind of deliberation is wisdom. And 
 how important is our attendance on the word 
 of life! It regards God. And the soul. 
 And eternity. Its consequences will remain 
 for ever. It must furnish the most awful 
 part of our future account. We forget these 
 exercises ; but they are a.l recorded in the 
 book of God's remembrance. We have soon 
 lone with the sermon ; but the sermon has 
 lot done with us, till it has judged us at the, 
 
 last day. What an insult is offered to God, 
 to come before him, and, by an appearance of 
 devotion, to call forth his attention, when, in 
 reality, we have nothing to do with him! 
 What a trifling is it with divine things' 
 And what can be so dangerous as this ! It 
 impairs the conscience. It deadens moral 
 sensibility. It renders the means of grace 
 unimpressive, by familiarity. It provokes 
 God to withhold or withdraw the influence 
 that is essential to their success. 
 
 But, admitting that we always ought to 
 have an end in view ; what ought that end 
 to be ? — Not curiosity and amusement. This 
 was the case with Ezekiel's hearers. They 
 went to his preaching as persons go to a 
 concert. 
 
 Not criticism and cavilling. Many are 
 wiser than their teachers. They come to 
 judge, not to learn; and make a man an 
 offender for a word. Many came to our Sa- 
 viour, to " catch him in his talk." 
 
 Not any outward advantage. A man, by 
 his attending the Gospel, may secure himsell 
 reputation, business, or friendship. This is 
 trading in divine things. And what is the 
 hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, 
 when God taketh away his soul ? 
 
 Not the quieting of conscience. Some are 
 at ease in Zion, because they hear the word 
 of truth, though they do it not. But the 
 Apostle tells us, they deceive their own 
 selves: and our Lord calls them fools, be- 
 cause they build upon the sand. 
 
 But the end should be — 
 
 To obtain the conversion of the soul to 
 God. This is the very design of the ministry 
 itself. And how many have we known, since 
 we attended the word, who have been turned 
 from the error of their ways, into the path of 
 peace ! Has faith come to us by hearing ? 
 Has this efficacy ever been our aim — our 
 wish — our prayer ? 
 
 It should also be, to gain all needful instruc- 
 tion. This was the case with many who came 
 to hear John. The people, the publicans, 
 and the soldiers, severally said to him — " And 
 what shall we do 1" They did not inquire 
 after the duty of others, but after their own. 
 David went to inquire in God's temple ; and 
 said, I will hear what God the Lord will 
 speak. The best disposition we can go in, is 
 when we have no partialities, and can sin- 
 cerely ask, Lord, what wilt thou ha\e me to 
 do ? — Not shunning to hear all the counsel of 
 God; or counting the preacher our enemy 
 because he tells us the truth. 
 
 It should be, to have divine things re-ap 
 plied and re-impressed. If we do not want 
 new information, it is desirable to be remind- 
 ed of forgotten truth, and to have our know 
 ledge reduced to experience and practice 
 The principle of divine grace cannot be lost 
 But what changes do believers feel in their 
 frames! How often do their souls cleave 
 
JULY 7. 
 
 181 
 
 ante the dust ! And here they obtain quick- 
 ening - , accord ii.g to his word. And by wait- 
 ing upon Him their strength is renewed. 
 
 It should be also to aid in upholding the 
 public means of grace for the advantage of 
 others. How adapted to usefulness is the in- 
 stitution of preaching ! We may judge what 
 a neighbourhood would be without the minis- 
 try of the word, when we see what it is 
 even with it. Here are always to be heard 
 calls to repentance, and proclamations of 
 pardon. Here are always furnished solace to 
 the afflicted, and excitement to the careless. 
 
 It is lamentable that so little of this spirit 
 is to be found in the midst of so much hear- 
 ing as there is in our day. We read of a 
 concourse of people in the Acts, occasioned 
 by the clamour of Demetrius, of whom it is 
 said, " Some cried one thing and some ano- 
 ther ; for the assembly was confused ; and the 
 more part knew not wherefore they were 
 come together." With the exception of the 
 crying out, this is a fair representation of 
 many a religious audience. A few are in- 
 formed and principled, but the mass have no 
 aim, or an improper one. 
 
 In another view it is pleasing to see a 
 place filled with hearers. They are in the 
 way; and God may meet with them. His 
 grace is sovereign and free. Some, who 
 came with no serious design, have been con- 
 vinced of all, and judged of all ; and con- 
 fessed that God was in the midst of them of 
 a truth. Yet his sovereignty is not our rule, 
 but our resource. What he may do, is one 
 thing; what he will do, is another. He has 
 said, " Draw nigh to God, and he will draw 
 nigh to you." And though he is sometimes 
 found of them that seek him not, he is al- 
 ways found of them that seek him. 
 
 JULY 7. 
 
 ' wretched man that I am ! -who shall deli- 
 ver me from the body of this death ?" — Rom. 
 vii. 24. 
 
 It is commonly supposed that here is a re- 
 ference to a cruel usage sometimes practised 
 by the tyrants of antiquity; and which is 
 mentioned by Virgil and Cicero, and Vale- 
 rius Maximus. It consisted in fastening a 
 dead carcass to a living man. Now suppose 
 a dead body bound to your body — its hands to 
 your hands — its face to your face — its lips to 
 our lips. Here is not only a burden, but an 
 ffence. You cannot separate yourself from 
 four hated companion — it lies down — and 
 .rises up — and walks with you. You cannot 
 breathe without inhaling a kind of pestilence 
 — and " Oh !" you would say, " Oh how slow- 
 ly the parts corrupt and fall off— Oh how can 
 I longer endure it ! When shall I be free 1 
 O wretched man that I am ! who shall deli- 
 ver me from the body of this death?" This 
 is very strong. Yet it comes not up to Paul's 
 
 case. He is speaking of such a wretched- 
 ness not without him, but within. 
 
 Whatever we may think of this allusion; 
 here is a representation of the sin that dwell- 
 eth in us : it is the body of this death, or as it 
 is in the margin, this body of death. It is 
 called a body, to intimate the entireness and 
 universality of the evil. Thus we call a code 
 of laws a body of laws ; and a system of di- 
 vinity a body of divinity. And it is a body of 
 — death, to mark its malignant effect Gun- 
 powder is a body of destruction ; arsenic is a 
 body of poison — sin is a body of death. It 
 brought death into the world. It has slain 
 all the inhabitants of the earth, and will soon 
 slay us. It has brought upon us spiritual as 
 well as corporeal death. And it produces a 
 deadness even in the souls of believers, and 
 hinders the operation of those vital principles 
 which they have received from above. By 
 this baneful influence the tendencies of the 
 divine life in them, which are so glorious, are 
 chilled and checked : and therefore they are 
 frequently wandering in meditation ; and stu- 
 pid in reading and hearing ; and insensible in 
 prayer ; and dull even in praise ; so that 
 
 " Hosannas languish on their tongues, 
 And their devotion dies." 
 
 Till, roused by reflection, they cry, My soui 
 cleaveth to the dust ; quicken thou me ac- 
 cording to thy word. 
 
 For there are remains of this evil even in 
 the subjects of divine grace. None of them 
 are free. In many things, says James, we 
 offend all. In all our doings, says the Church, 
 our sins do appear. My tears, says Beve- 
 ridge, require to be washed in the blood of 
 Christ; and my repentance needs to be re- 
 pented of. Those who could die for the Sa- 
 viour have used the most humbling language 
 with regard to themselves. Sometimes, says 
 Bradford, O my God, there seems to be no 
 difference between me and the wicked. My 
 understanding seems as dark as theirs, and 
 my will as perverse as theirs, and my heart 
 as hard as theirs. Yea, says Paul, at the end 
 of so many years of advancement, I have not 
 attained, I am not already perfect Aflei 
 this, " Who can say, / have made my hear' 
 clean, J am pure from my sin V 
 
 But observe the distress this remaining cor 
 ruption occasions them. It is their chief bur 
 den and grief— O wretched man that I am ; 
 who shall deliver me from this body of death? 
 Paul never said any thing like this of any of 
 his sufferings. Yet he was a great sufferer, 
 he suffered the loss of all things; he was once 
 stoned, thrice he suffered shipwreck, he was 
 twice beaten with rods, five times he received 
 forty stripes save one: he was in prisons 
 more frequent, in deaths oft — yet so far from 
 groaning and complaining,, he tells us he took 
 pleasure in all this, because it was for Christ's 
 sake. And it is a sad evidence against us, if 
 we are more affected with our calamities 
 
182 
 
 JULY a. 
 
 than with our corruptions. We are not re- 
 quired to be Stoics : we may feel our suffer- 
 ings. But there is something we shall feel 
 more if we are in a right state of mind, name- 
 ly, an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from 
 the living God. 
 
 Tbe people of the world judge of Christians 
 by their own views and feelings ; and because 
 they love sin, and would deem the liberty to 
 indulge in it a privilege, they think Christians 
 are disposed to take every advantage for the 
 same purpose. But how shall they who are 
 dead to sin live any longer therein] Sin is 
 their abhorrence ; and at the foot of the Cross 
 they have sworn to have indignation against 
 it for ever. They have a new nature ; and as 
 far as they are sanctified, there is as perfect 
 a contrariety between them and sin, as be- 
 tween darkness and light Hence the con- 
 test within. The flesh lusteth against the 
 Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; and 
 these being contrary the one to the other, they 
 cannot do the things that they would. And 
 will not this be painful 1 If a mechanic long- 
 ed to excel in his workmanship, and an ene- 
 my stood by and marred every thing before 
 lie put it out of his hand, would not this be 
 vexatious ] Would not a man in a journey 
 of importance, and anxious above all things 
 to speed his way, feel a hinderance, that 
 would impede him for an hour, more than an 
 idler would the loss of a day ] He that de- 
 lights in neatness, will suffer more from a 
 single stain, than another would from wear- 
 ing a filthy garment. Because their senti- 
 ments are evangelical, their enemies seem to 
 think their feelings must be Antinomian : but 
 though this may not he made plain to others, 
 their doctrinal views befriend holiness ; and 
 with their mind they serve the law of God ; 
 yea, they, delight in the law of God after the 
 inward man. The goodness of God leadeth 
 them to repentance. His love is shed abroad 
 in their hearts, and they love him in return. 
 They grieve to think they serve him so de- 
 fectively, and have still in them so much of 
 that which he infinitely hates. How painful 
 to think that while they repose upon his bo- 
 som, they should often pierce it too ! 
 
 In a word, while many would represent the 
 Christian, if not an enemy to holiness and 
 good works, yet too indifferent to their claims, 
 he is abasing himself before God for the hid- 
 den evils of his heart ; and is more affected 
 with his sins of infirmity than his revilers are 
 with sins of profligacy and presumption. 
 Thus you may drive a sword through the 
 body of a dead man, and no muscle moves : 
 while the puncture of a thorn will pain a 
 living one all over. 
 
 JULY 8 
 ' But ye are -washed, but ye are sanctified, but 
 ye are justified." — 1 Cor. vi. 11. 
 Wjc consider the word " washed," as a 
 
 general term, comprehending a twofold cleans- 
 ing ; a cleansing from the guilt, and a cleans- 
 ing from the pollution of sin. It would be 
 easy to show that in Scripture it is used in 
 both these senses. The two added articles, 
 therefore, are explanatory of its meaning 
 here — Ye are washed, that is, ye are sanctified 
 and justified. 
 
 What we wish to observe is — that both 
 these are found in the same subjects. Justi- 
 fication and sanctification should be always 
 discriminated ; but they must never be disu- 
 nited. Where they are not distinguished, a 
 religious system cannot be clear ; and where 
 they are divided, it can never be safe. Where 
 they are not distinguished, Law and Gospel, 
 free will and free grace, the merit of man 
 and the righteousness of Christ, run into a 
 mass of confusion and disorder. And where 
 they are divided, Pharisaic pride, or Antino- 
 mian presumption, will be sure to follow. 
 
 Be it remembered, then — That the one re- 
 gards something done for us ; the other, some- 
 thing done in us. The one is a relative, the 
 other a personal change. The one a change 
 in our state, the other in our nature. The 
 one is perfect at once, the other is gradual. 
 The one is derived from the obedience of the 
 Saviour, the other from his Spirit. The one 
 gives us a title to heaven, the other a meet- 
 ness for it 
 
 But let us not forget their union. It is 
 supposed that this was typified in the dying 
 of the Lord Jesus, when from his pierced side 
 there came forth blood and water ; the one to 
 atone, the other to purify. But not to lay too 
 much stress on an historical incident, and 
 which can be physically accounted for, the 
 truth to which we allude is most expressly 
 asserted in the word of God. " If any man 
 be in Christ he is a new creature : old things 
 are passed away ; behold, all things are be- 
 come new." " There is no condemnation to 
 them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not 
 after the flesh, but after the Spirit. We need 
 one, as well as the other. And if we were 
 not sanctified, as well as justified, we could 
 neither serve God properly, nor enjoy him. 
 Suppose an unrenewed man pardoned : he 
 would be no more able to see the kingdom of 
 God than before ; but would feel the com- 
 pany, the pleasures, and employments, of the 
 state, uncongenial and irksome. Or suppose 
 you had a son ; and you forbad him to entet 
 a place of contagion, on pain of losing all you 
 could leave him. He goes, and is seized with 
 the infection. He thus is not only guilty, by 
 transgressing your command ; but he is also 
 diseased. And do you not perceive, that your 
 forgiving him does not heal him? He wants 
 not only the father's pardon, but the physi 
 cian's aid ; and in vain is he freed from the 
 forfeiture of his estate, if he be left under the 
 power of his disorder. 
 
 Let us, therefore, judge of the one by th* 
 
JULV 9. 
 
 183 
 
 nther; and make our election, by making our 
 calling sure. To be justified freely from all 
 things ; to have passed from death unto life ; 
 and never to come into condemnation again, 
 is a privilege of infinite value ; and there is 
 a possibility of knowing that it belongs to us. 
 But how is it to be known] Not by an audi- 
 ble voice from heaven, as the woman heard 
 — " Thy sins are forgiven thee." Not by a 
 sudden impulse, or working the mind into a 
 persuasion which we are unable to justify. 
 for the very thing to be determined is, whe- 
 ther this confidence be a good hope through 
 grace, or a mere presumption. If the confi- 
 dence itself were sufficient, the Antinomian 
 would be surer than the Christian ; but he 
 has a lie in his right hand. The Sacred Wri- 
 ters do not consider this certainty of mind as 
 self-proved ; nor regard all apprehensions of 
 its wavering, as unbelief. They tell us to 
 " fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering 
 into his rest, any of us should seem to come 
 short of it" They call upon us to " examine 
 ourselves, whether we be in the faith ;" and 
 to " prove our own selves." " We know," 
 says John, " that we have passed from death 
 unto life — because we love the brethren." 
 " Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by 
 the Spirit which he hath given us." This is 
 the way, walk ye in it — What is the Spirit 
 which he hath given you 1 Does it convince 
 of sin? Does it cause you to hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness'? Does it glorify 
 Christ? 
 
 It is true that our souls are justified by faith ; 
 but faith is justified by works. Has this pro- 
 mise been fulfilled in us? "Then will I 
 sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall 
 be clean : from all your filthiness, and from 
 all your idols, will I cleanse you. And I will 
 put my spirit within you, and cause you to 
 walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my 
 judgments, and do them." As far as we are 
 strangers to this practice, and to these dispo- 
 sitions, whatever our knowledge, or our as- 
 surance may be, we ought to tremble. For 
 though the grace of God finds us sinners, it 
 does not leave us such. While it " bringeth 
 salvation," it teaches us " that, denying un- 
 godliness and worldly lusts, we should live 
 soberly, righteously, and godly, in this pre- 
 sent world ; 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 ini- 
 quity, and purify unto himself a peculiar peo- 
 ole, zealous of good works." 
 
 JULY 9. 
 
 " And it came to pass, that, as he ivas praying 
 in a certain place, -when he ceased, one of 
 hi* disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to 
 
 pray, as John also taught his disciples. 
 
 Luke xi. 1. 
 
 Though " one" of the disciples only said 
 this, we have no reason to think the rest dif- 
 fered from him in sentiment He was the 
 mouth for them all. When our Lord said to 
 the twelve, Will ye also go away 1 ? Peter 
 answered — but it was in the name of his bre- 
 thren ; and expressed the conviction of each of 
 them — "Lord, to whom shall ice gol Thou 
 hast the words of eternal life." It is very 
 probable he was the speaker here: for his 
 heart was always very near his lips. But 
 whoever the speaker was, every thing here 
 was praiseworthy. 
 
 I admire his decorum. Some are satisfied 
 with the moralities of conduct; but there are 
 the proprieties too ; and these are not to be 
 overlooked. " Let every thing be done," says 
 the Scripture, " decently, and in order." 
 This should be peculiarly the case in our 
 holy assemblies. Let us guard against every 
 thing that is unseemly and disturbing. Let 
 us avoid coughing as much as we can. Let 
 us not look and stare all over the house of 
 God. Let us not talk or whisper. Let us be- 
 ware of coming in during the service. How 
 painful and injurious is it to the preacher and 
 worshipper to be interrupted and diverted in 
 those sacred moments in which we ought to 
 attend on the Lord without distraction. Ob- 
 serve these disciples. They surrounded our 
 Saviour while he was engaged — but with 
 breathless silence ; and did not break in upon 
 his devotion, but waited — till he had " ceased 
 praying." 
 
 I admire his emulation. Having heard his 
 Master, he began to say, Well, this is prayer. 
 What dignity ! What wisdom ! What reve- 
 rence ! What submission ! What fervour are 
 here ! According to this, we have never 
 prayed yet Lord, teach us to pray. Indeed, 
 the more we attend on him in any thing, the 
 less shall we think of ourselves. The beams 
 of this Sun will soon darken our tapers. 
 
 I admire his wish to resemble what he so 
 much admired. We should always endeavour 
 to improve by the superior endowments and 
 excellences of others. These should not ex- 
 cite envy, or yield discouragement ; but excite 
 to imitation. What others are, they are by 
 grace: and when we see how any of our 
 fellow-Christians bear prosperity ; or endure 
 affliction ; or fill up their stations ; we should 
 be anxious to follow them, even as they fol- 
 low Christ 
 
 I admire his spiritual wisdom. Some wish 
 to resemble others in worldly possessions ; or 
 bodily qualities; or mental endowments and 
 acquisitions. But it is better to resemble them 
 in grace, than in any of these. Many would 
 rule, or compose, or speak like others ; but the 
 thing is, to pray like them. It is by prayer 
 we hold communion with God. It is bv thif 
 
1«4 
 
 JULY 10. 
 
 we unlock all his treasures. He that knows 
 how to pray, has the secret of safety in pros- 
 perity, and of support in trouble. He has the 
 art of overruling every enemy, and of turning 
 every loss into a gain. He has the power of 
 soothing every care ; of subduing every pas- 
 sion ; of adding a relish to every enjoyment — 
 The merchandise of it is better than the mer- 
 chandise of silver ; and the gain thereof, than 
 much fine gold. Many things are good for 
 me ; but none so good as to draw nigh to God. 
 
 I admire his humility. He is convinced that 
 they are not sufficient of themselves for the 
 duty, but need Divine aid. We want in- 
 struction in every thing. The way of man 
 is not in himself: it is not in man that walk- 
 eth to direct his steps : but we peculiarly need 
 guidance here. The Spirit helpeth our in- 
 firmities, says the Apostle ; for we know not 
 what to pray for as we ought. The best of 
 men have erred in their prayer. Take my 
 life from me, says Elijah, in the very midst 
 of his usefulness. I beseech Thee, says 
 Moses, show me thy glory. You ask for 
 death, says God ; for no man can see me, and 
 live. " James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 
 come unto him, saying, Master, we would 
 that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we 
 shall desire. And he said unto them, What 
 would ye that I should do for you 1 They 
 said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, 
 one on thy right hand, and the other on thy 
 left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto 
 them, Ye know not what ye ask : can ye 
 drink of the cup that I drink of J and be bap- 
 tized with the baptism that I am baptized 
 with 1" What would children be — how miser- 
 able — how useless — what burdens to them- 
 selves — and what plagues to others, if they 
 had whatsoever they desired! As to tem- 
 poral blessings, it is hard to distinguish be- 
 tween our real and our imaginary wants ; 
 and between what is pleasing, and what is 
 profitable. And even as to spiritual things, 
 we never see their beauty and glory, so as to 
 desire them supremely, till the Lord teaches 
 us to profit. Nor do we know of ourselves 
 how to come before the Lord, and deal con- 
 cerning them. Under a sense of guilt, and a 
 concern to obtain acceptance, what strange 
 expedients do we often adopt, and what a 
 self-righteous traffic do we carry on, before 
 we come to the blood of sprinkling, and make 
 mention of his righteousness only ! We may 
 also err, as to our end and aim. We often 
 ask, and receive not, because we ask amiss, 
 that we may consume it upon our lusts. 
 
 — " An easy thing to pray !" Who that 
 has made the trial, and is concerned for the 
 result of it, but exclaims, with Elihu, " Teach 
 us what we shall say unto Him ; for we can- 
 not order our speech by reason of darkness'!" 
 or, with the disciples, "Lord, teach us to 
 prav 1" 
 
 JULY lb 
 
 " Thanks be unto God for his v*n » » **'| 
 gift." — 2 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
 We have always been accustomed to think 
 of Christ when these words are pronounced ; 
 and we are not disposed to give up this ap- 
 plication without necessity. And we see no 
 such necessity if we appeal to authority : for, 
 not to mention many of the ancients, this ap* 
 plication is supported by many of the moderns 
 also ; by a Henry, a Scott, a Doddridge. And 
 we see no such necessity if we refer to the 
 writer of the words. Paul's mind was full 
 of Christ ; the love of Christ constrained him : 
 and nothing is more common in his Epistles 
 than sudden and unlooked-for allusions to 
 him. To which we may add, the nature of 
 the case itself: for if the words would apply 
 to the charity of the Corinthians, how much 
 stionger will they apply to the Saviour of 
 sinners ! And though we would do justice 
 to every part of the Scripture, we would yet 
 rather be followers of Cocceius than Crellius, 
 of whom, as expositors of the Bible, it was 
 said, the one found Christ every where, the 
 other nowhere. 
 
 God then — this is the meaning, so loved 
 the world, that he gave his only begotten 
 Son, that whosoever believeth on him shouJd 
 not perish, but have everlasting life. Yea, 
 he is not only a gift, but an unspeakable 
 gift. Much has indeed been said of this gift ; 
 in Christian conversation ; in the sermons of 
 ministers ; in the preaching of Prophets ana 
 Apostles ; in the Scriptures of truth, of which 
 it is the principal, and, in a sense, the only 
 subject. But it is not in the power of words 
 to do it justice. And we see how even in- 
 spired men labour for terms and images, when 
 they would hold forth a little of the Saviour's 
 glory. 
 
 He is a gift unspeakable — if we consider 
 the greatness of his person. We consider 
 him a man of sorrows : but he was not always 
 so. He was born in the fulness of time : but 
 his goings forth were from of old from ever- 
 lasting. In the beginning was the Word, 
 and the Word was with God, and the Word 
 was God. All tilings were made by him, and 
 without him was not any thing made that 
 was made. 
 
 Unspeakable — if we consider the immensitj 
 of the plenitude which he possesses, as Media 
 tor, for our use. Some things include many 
 more. What an unspeakable blessing is 9 
 fountain, being the source of all the refresh- 
 ing streams that flow from it, and fertilize 
 and beautify the ground ! What an unspeak- 
 able blessing is the sun, that makes our day, 
 our spring, our summer ! — What would the 
 earth be without the sun ! What an unspeak- 
 able blessing is life, with all its intelligence, 
 pursuits, productions, and enjoyments ! He 
 
JULY 11. 
 
 185 
 
 is tne fountain of living waters. He is the 
 Sun of righteousness. He is the life of the 
 soul and eternity. He not only insures ever)' 
 thing else, but contains it In him it hath 
 pleased the Facher that all fulness should 
 dwell. In him we are blessed with all spiri- 
 tual blessings in heavenly places. 
 
 — And can we think of this,, and not ex- 
 claim — Thanks be unto God for his unspeak- 
 able gift! Nothing is so detestable as 
 ingratitude. The very heathens condemned 
 it One of their philosophers said, Call a man 
 ungrateful and you call him every thing that 
 is vile. The Lacedaemonians made it punish- 
 able. South compares such a wretch to the 
 sea, that turns the sweet influences of the 
 clouds into brine ; and to the grave, which is 
 always receiving and never restoring. How 
 soon we complain of a want of thankfulness 
 in our fellow-creatures towards ourselves ! 
 How soon do we abandon them, when our fa- 
 vours seem lost upon them ! 
 
 And yet what are these favours, when, too, 
 from a community of nature, and the com- 
 mand of God, we are under an obligation to 
 show them! How few! How small! How 
 far from being entirely pure in their motive ! 
 With how little self-denial and sacrifice at- 
 tended ! Herein is love ! not that we loved 
 God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to 
 be the propitiation for our sins. 
 
 And can this love deserve only a careless 
 reflection of the mind ? Or a cold acknow- 
 ledgment of the lip? Ought it not to claim 
 and consecrate the heart ? Ought we not to 
 ask, every moment, What shall I render unto 
 the Lord for all his benefits towards me? 
 Ought we not, by the mercies of God, to pre- 
 sent our bodies a living sacrifice ? 
 
 " Were the whole realm of Nature mine, 
 That were a present far too small : 
 Love so amazing, so divine. 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all." 
 
 JULY 11. 
 " And he arose, and did eat and drink, and 
 went in the strength of that meat forty days 
 and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of 
 God." — 1 Kings xix. 8. 
 
 Having, on Mount Carmel, witnessed the 
 triumph of truth over idolatry ; and destroyed 
 Baal's prophets ; and predicted the return of 
 rain : and urged the king to hasten home, lest 
 he should be impeded by the approaching tor- 
 rents ; " Elijah girded up his loins, and ran 
 before Ahab to the entrance of Jjzreel." Had 
 Ahab properly regarded Elijah, he would 
 have taken him up into his chariot, as the 
 Eunuch did Philip ; and have honoured him 
 before his attendants; and conversed with 
 him respecting the awful state of the coun- 
 try. But he did not cordially like him : and 
 was happy to get rid of him ss soon as possi- 
 ole as Felix said unto Paul, " Go *hy way 
 2 A 16* 
 
 for this time; when I have a convenient Bea- 
 son I will call for thee." 
 
 But we admire the conduct of Elijah. He 
 was not elated by the recent unparalleled ho- 
 nours conferred upon him above the duty of 
 a subject ; and, therefore, notwithstanding the 
 character of Ahab, he pays respect to him as 
 his sovereign ; and renders honour to whom 
 honour was officially due. 
 
 It is probable that Elijah came to Jezreel to 
 carry on the reformation he had begun ; and 
 hoping that the late miracle would give him 
 a powerful influence. But soon after he ar- 
 rives in the suburbs, he learns the determina- 
 tion, not of the queen consort, but of the queen 
 regent (for Ahab, though king, was com- 
 pletely governed by a termagant wife), to put 
 him to death. " And Ahab told Jezebel all 
 that Elijah had done, and withal how he had 
 slain all the prophets with the sword. Then 
 Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, 
 So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I 
 make not thy life as the life of one of them 
 by to-morrow about this time." Upon this he 
 should have stood his ground, and have re- 
 solved to go on with his work, leaving events 
 with God, and relying upon that providence 
 and grace which had so signally appeared for 
 him. He should have replied, as Chrysostom 
 did, when Eudoxia, the empress, threatened 
 him— " Go, tell her that I fear nothing bit. 
 sin:" or as Bazil did, when Valerius, the 
 Arian emperor, sent him word that he would 
 put him to death — " I would that he would ; ] 
 shall only get to heaven the sooner ;" or as 
 Luther did, when they would have dissuaded 
 him from going to Worms — " I would go if 
 there were as many devils there as there are 
 tiles upon the houses :" or as the prince of 
 Conde did to the French king, when he pro- 
 posed that he should go to mass, or suffer 
 perpetual banishment, or death — " As to the 
 first of these, by the grace of God, I never 
 will ; and as to the other two, I leave the 
 choice of either to your majesty." 
 
 But where Is the faith that never staggers 
 through unbelief? The hand that never 
 hangs down? The knee that never trem- 
 bles? We are amazed at the magnanimity 
 of Elijah before, in reproving Ahab to his 
 face, opposing single-handed all the followers 
 of Baal, and slaying Jezebel's four hundred 
 and fifty chaplains ! But what is man ! He 
 cannot stand longer than God holds him, or 
 walk further than God leads him — This same 
 hero now turns pale, and flees for his life ! 
 " And when he saw that, he arose, and went 
 for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which 
 belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 
 And why did he leave him ? Was it fron 
 tenderness, wishing to save him from the 
 perils to which he himself was exposed ? Oi 
 was it the more perfectly to conceal hie 
 movements, as one could be more easily ind 
 than more • Or did he wish fo- unrestrained. 
 
ISO 
 
 JULY 12. 
 
 unwitnessed intercourse with God 7 There 
 are seasons, and places, in which we wish no 
 eye to see, no ear to hear, out God to be all in 
 all. Abraham left his young men below 
 when he ascended to worship God. And Je- 
 sus said to Peter, James, and John, in the 
 garden, Tarry ye here, while 1 go and pray 
 yonder. 
 
 However this was, "he went a day's jour- 
 ney into the Wilderness, and came and sat 
 down under a juniper tree:" and, fatigued 
 with journeying and hunger ; and harassed 
 with forebodings ; and despairing of further 
 success in his exertions ; he asked to resign, 
 not only his office, but his life — " H e request- 
 ed for himself that he might die ; and said, It 
 is enough ; now, O Lord, take away my life; 
 for I am not better than my fathers" — That 
 is, I am not fitter to bear their trials, or dis- 
 charge their duties, than they were. Why 
 then should I remain, when they are removed ] 
 [ have done and suffered my share. This was 
 the language of nature, not of grace. Chil- 
 dren grow fretful as they grow sleepy. Paul 
 longed to depart, to be with Christ, which 
 was far better ; yet he was willing to abide in 
 the flesh, because it was needful for others. 
 While we are ready to go, we must also be 
 willing to stay, if God has any thing for us to 
 do, or to suffer. To be impatient for retreat, 
 especially as soon as we meet with disap- 
 pointment, is unmanly and sinful. 
 
 Though Elijah was forward to die, it was 
 a peevish haste, and evinced that he was in 
 a very improper frame for the event. — But 
 God remembered that he was dust, compas- 
 sionated his weakness, and appeared for him, 
 even in a strait of his own producing, and 
 dealt not with him after his desert. " And as 
 he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, 
 then an angel touched him, and said unto 
 him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, be- 
 hold, there was a cake baken on the coals, 
 and a cruse of water at his head. And he 
 did eat and drink, and laid him down again." 
 Before, He had fed him by ravens ; now he 
 supplies him by one of those heavenly mes- 
 sengers who are all ministering spirits unto 
 the heirs of salvation. The office seems be- 
 neath one of these glorious beings. But he 
 was as much pleased to bring a meal to this 
 weary traveller, as he would have been, had 
 he received orders to manage the affairs of 
 an empire. Angels have no partialities. They 
 consider not the nature of the command, but 
 only the Author. May His will be done on 
 earth as it is done in heaven ! 
 
 But what was the meal 1 A cake of bread 
 and a cruse of water! Nature is content 
 with little ; and grace with less. How many 
 disorders arise from access ! A voracious ap- 
 petite is a judgment. A delicate one is an 
 infirmity. A dainty one is a disgrace. Mi- 
 nisters, above all men, should not be givej. 
 to appetite, or be fond of dainty meats. Ar .' 
 
 *;■■» 
 
 those who entertain them snould not insul 
 them hy the nature and the degree of their 
 preparations. Did our Saviour require much 
 serving] Did not he reprove Martha for 
 being cumbered about many things ] When 
 an angel was the guest, Abraham brought 
 him forth a cake, baked on the hearth, with 
 butter and milk. And when an angel, who 
 had the command of every store, catered for 
 the greatest and best man of the age, it wag 
 a cake of bread and a cruse of water. 
 
 But " the angel of the Lord came agair. 
 the second time, and touched him, and said 
 Arise, and eat; because the journey is too 
 great for thee." God's caring for his people 
 is not only relieving, but prospective. He 
 foresees what they will need, and prepares 
 them for difficulties and duties which they 
 had not reckoned upon. He strengthens the 
 shoulder when the burden is going to be in- 
 creased. And when he gives them an addi- 
 tional supply of faith, hope, peace, and joy ; 
 little, perhaps, do they imagine what trials 
 they are to endure, or what steps they are to 
 take, in the strength of it ! 
 
 But how was Elijah fitted for his journey ! 
 Surely the sustenance derived from this meal 
 was miraculous. But it shows us what his 
 power can do ; and teaches us that man liveth 
 not by bread alone, but by every word that 
 proceedeth out of the mouth of God. " And 
 he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in 
 the strength of that meat forty days and forty- 
 nights unto Horeb the mount of God." And 
 why did he choose to repair hither 1 Would 
 no other place have afforded him an equally 
 safe retreat 1 Was he actuated by curiosity 1 
 or piety ? Here was much to strike his mind, 
 and to aid his faith and devotion. Here, 
 would he say, Israel encamped ! Here fell 
 manna ! Here moved, and here stood, the 
 fiery cloudy pillar ! On the top of this hill 
 God spake all the words of his Law ! And 
 there God spake with Moses, face to face !— 
 How much is connected with some spots ! 
 " They are none other but the house of God 
 and the gate of heaven." 
 
 JULY 12. 
 " / die daily:'— I Cor. xv. 31. 
 
 We need not confine the meaning ; but 
 take the expression in all its latitude of im- 
 port. In what sense could not Paul make this 
 acknowledgment ! In what sense is it not 
 possible, or proper, for us to make it ! 
 
 First. He died daily, because he professea 
 to preach the Gospel, in constant hazard of 
 life. "In labours," says he, "more abundant, 
 in stripes above measure, in prisons more fre- 
 quent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times 
 received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was 
 1 beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice 
 I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I havfl 
 
JUL* 13. 
 
 187 
 
 been in the deep ; in journeyings often, in 
 perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils 
 by mine own countrymen, in perils by the 
 heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the 
 wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils 
 among' false brethren; in weariness and 
 painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and 
 thirst, in fastings often, in cold and naked- 
 ness." Well might he affirm, " I die daily." 
 In this sense, you say, the words are not ap- 
 plicable to you. It is true, from many of his 
 dangers you are secure. Your religion is not 
 exposing you to the loss of your life ; or even 
 of your liberty, or your substance. But do not 
 even you die daily 1 Are not you in jeopardy 
 every hour 1 Are you not surrounded by 
 wicked and unreasonable men, whose vices 
 and passions would destroy you, without the 
 restraining providence of God 1 Are you not 
 liable to a thousand accidents 1 What a frail 
 thing is the human body ! How strange that 
 such a curious machine, composed of such a 
 multitude of delicate organs, should continue 
 so long in force and operation ! Know you 
 not that the heart beats seconds, and that 
 sixty movements of the blood take place 
 every minute — so that sixty times every mi- 
 nute the question is asked whether we are to 
 live or die ! We die daily ! 
 
 Secondly. Paul could say this, as death 
 was actually invading him daily. And this 
 is the case with us. We are mortal, not only 
 in destination, but in state. We decay while 
 we receive sustenance. We talk of dying ! 
 But is dying a future thing '.' Have we not 
 always been dying? 
 
 ' The moment we begin to live, 
 We all begin to die." 
 
 We talk of dying ! Why many of us are 
 half dead already; and some much more. 
 Many of our connexions are dead : many of 
 our comforts : many of our hopes. We have 
 buried many of our opportunities, and days, 
 and years — and every year, and every day, 
 brings us near the entire end of the whole. 
 It is absurd to confine dying to the act of se- 
 paration between soul and body — This is 
 only the finishing stroke — We die daily. 
 
 Thirdly. Paul, by a moral decease, died 
 daily. So should we. To die to an object, ac- 
 cording to Scripture, is to have no more con- 
 nexion with it, or attachment to it. Thus 
 the Apostle says to the Romans, "Reckon 
 ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin." 
 " How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any 
 longer therein F And this moral dying is 
 frequently expressed by the word crucifixion, 
 in allusion to the mode of it ; and to remind 
 us also of the cause, aa well as the example. 
 Hence it is said, " Our old man is crucified 
 with him, that the body of sin might be de- 
 stroyed, that henceforth we should not serve 
 sin ; <6r he that is dead is" thus " freed from 
 •in Now if we be dead with Ch-ist, we be- 
 
 lieve that we shall also live with him." 
 Thus the Christian dies daily, by a course of 
 mortification to sin, and the world, and the 
 impression of things seen and temporal, and 
 the power of temptation — " For they that are 
 Christ's have crucified the flesh, with its af- 
 fections and lusts." 
 
 Fourthly. Paul died daily, by a readinesf 
 for his dissolution, whenever it should take 
 place. And the man who is like-minded will 
 feel a concern to be prepared to die ; to die in 
 a good state, and in a good frame ; to die safely ; 
 to die cheerfully ; to die glorifying God ; and 
 having an abundant entrance ministered unto 
 him into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
 and Saviour. And this must commence with 
 the Apostle's desire, " To win Christ and be 
 found in him." Nothing can be done to pur- 
 pose, in our preparation for eternity, till we 
 have said, " Into thine hand I commit my spi- 
 rit : thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of 
 truth." The voice from heaven only pro- 
 nounces those blessed who " die 'in the Lord ;" 
 in a state of union and communion with him : 
 having his righteousness to give them a title 
 to heaven, and his grace to give them a 
 meetness for the inheritance of the saints in 
 light. 
 
 But we should be concerned, not only to be 
 habitually, but actually ready to die. That is, 
 to be in a waiting posture ; having our loins 
 girded, and our lamps burning ; keeping our ' 
 consciences clear and calm ; drawing off our 
 affections from earth ; that when the sum- 
 mons comes we may be willing to depart, and 
 not be constrained to plead, " O spare me a 
 little, that I may recover strength before 1 
 go hence, and be no more." In the history 
 of Charles V., emperor of Germany, we are 
 told, that he resigned the reins of govern- 
 ment, and retired into a convent in Spain. 
 There he resolved to celebrate his own obse- 
 quies. For this purpose, he ordered his tomb 
 to be erected in the chapel of the monastery 
 of St. Justus. Thither, at the proper seofcon, 
 all his domestics were ordered to march in 
 funeral procession, carrying in their hands 
 black tapers. The Emperor followed in his 
 shroud. Arrived at the nlace, he was laid in 
 his coffin. The service of the dead was per- 
 formed : and when the ceremonies were 
 ended, the doors were closed, the attendants 
 dismissed, and he was left alone. After re. 
 maining some time in the grave, he arose, 
 and repaired to his apartment, filled with all 
 those awful reflections which the solemnity 
 was adapted to inspire. — Now we do not re- 
 commend the practice of such a gloomy and 
 abject superstition. But you may sanctify 
 the expedient, at least, in thought You may 
 anticipate an event that must befall you. 
 And, oh that you were wise, that you under- 
 stood this, that you would consider your lat- 
 ter end ! Oh that you would rememoer, that 
 the services you perform for others, will r»r 
 
188 
 
 JULY 13. 
 
 iainly be required for yourselves ! Oh that 
 when you see man going to his long home, 
 and the mourners going about the streets, 
 you would say, " I also am accomplishing, as 
 an hireling, my day ; and in a little time, my 
 neighbours, friends, and relations, will seek 
 me — and I shall not be !" 
 
 — Would it be improper or useless for you, 
 m imagination, to suppose yourselves — enter- 
 ing your sick-chamber — stretched upon a bed 
 of languishing — dying — wrapped up in your 
 winding-sheet — laid in your coffin — friends, 
 for the last time, touching your cold cheek 
 with their lips or the back of their hand — the 
 lid screwed down — and your remains borne 
 through the mutes at the door — and accom- 
 panied to the grave — and left there — while 
 the spirit had returned to God, who gave it. 
 In endeavouring to realize this condition, I 
 ask, How would the world appear 1 What 
 would you think f the censure or preise of 
 men 1 What, of many of your pursuits ] 
 Would not this check the levity of the mind, 
 and the pride of life 1 — Would not also this 
 contemplation break the force of surprise 1 
 " Familiar thoughts can slope the way to death." 
 
 — But if we think not of the subject, the event 
 will be a sudden precipice. 
 
 .The sum of human wisdom is, to keep us 
 from surprise in any thing : the sum of divine 
 wisdom is, to keep us from surprise in death. 
 We know not how soon the event may come. 
 Nor in what manner it may befall us. It 
 may not wait the close of threescore years 
 and ten. It may not announce its approach 
 by the common warnings of sickness. If we 
 have not learned this truth already from our 
 observations of mortality — neither should we 
 bo persuaded though one rose from the dead. 
 
 JULY 13. 
 
 " I -will yet for this be inquired of by the house 
 
 of Israel, to do it for them." — Ezek. xxxvi. 
 
 37. 
 
 That is, what he had been promising ; and 
 n< twithstanding the freeness and certainty of 
 th«, engagement. Such is the revealed " will" 
 of God. And his will is law ; and lav/ from 
 which there lies no appeal. Nothing, there- 
 fore, can dispense with the obligation of 
 prayer. But let us look at this fact. 
 
 As we have no claims upon God, and all 
 he does for us must be from pure mercy and 
 grace ; no one can deny that he has a right 
 to determine the way in which his favours 
 shall be conferred. Nor can it be questioned 
 that he is the most competent judge in thi3 
 case; for his understanding is infinite: he 
 knows himself and his relations; and he 
 knows us and our welfare perfectly. 
 
 Yet let us not suppose that he acts arbi- 
 trarily, though he may act sovereignly. And 
 let u» remember, too, that his acting sove- 
 
 reignly does not consist in his acting witn» 
 out reasons, but in his being governed Dy 
 reasons which are often far above out of our 
 sight. 
 
 His wisdom and his goodness are to be seen 
 here as plainly as his authority. Some vain ly 
 ask, Where is the propriety of prayer ] Can 
 prayer be necessary to inform a Being, per- 
 fect in knowledge ? Or to excite a Being, 
 always ready to do good'? Or to induce a 
 Being, with whom there is no variableness, 
 to change his measures ] But the question 
 is beside the mark. What is not necessary 
 as to God, may be necessary as to us. Re- 
 ligion is founded not in his wants, but in ours. 
 Does not something of this kind obtain among 
 all ranks and conditions of our fellow-crea- 
 tures 1 All-parental as you are, do you al- 
 ways dispense with your child's asking for 
 what he wants 1 As a master, though will- 
 ing to forgive, do you not deem it needful to 
 require the servant that offended you to con- 
 fess his fault and implore pardon 1 
 
 How many are the advantages arising from 
 God's requiring us to ask, that we may have , 
 and seek, that we may find ! The exercise 
 of prayer keeps alive a sense of our indigence 
 and dependence. Every time I go to God in 
 prayer, I am reminded that I am ignorant, 
 and that he is wise ; that I am weak, and that 
 he is powerful; that I am guilty and miser- 
 able, and that he is merciful and gracious; 
 that I am nothing, and that he is all in all. 
 
 Prayer, by bringing us into the presence of 
 God, will impress us with his excellences; 
 and the intercourse we have with him, will 
 lead us to admire, and fear, and love, and re- 
 semble him. For we soon catch the spirit, 
 and take off the manners of those with whom 
 we are intimate; especially if they are above 
 us, and we much esteem them. It is said, 
 that those who are about the court have an 
 air and an address peculiar to themselves 
 and that it is difficult, if not impossible, for 
 another to assume it. A man who is much 
 at the throne of grace, will betray it in a 
 manner of feeling, speaking, and acting, that 
 a religious pretender can never entirely 
 exemplify. 
 
 Hereby, too, the blessing is more endeared, 
 and enhanced. We never much regard what 
 we acquire without application or effort The 
 effort is a kind of price : and we judge of the 
 commodity by the cost. That which blesses 
 us, is what relieves our wants; fulfils our 
 desire ; accomplishes our hope ; crowns our 
 sacrifices. God's blessings are not bestowed 
 upon those who are incapable of feeling their 
 value: they would then yield neither plea- 
 sure to the receiver, nor praise to the giver. 
 His way, therefore, is to make us sensible of 
 our need ; to show us the importance and ex- 
 cellency of the favours ; and to draw forth our 
 souls after them. Then we are in his way. 
 Then we can plead his promise. For blessed 
 
JULY 14. 15. 
 
 189 
 
 ire they that do hunger and thirst after right- 
 eousness; for they shall be filled. 
 
 JULY 14. 
 
 " My peace I give unto you." — John xiv. 27. 
 
 Peace sometimes signifies a confluence of 
 temporal good things. This is not the mean- 
 ing of it here. Our Saviour himself was 
 poor, and a man of sorrows. And he said to 
 his disciples, In the world ye shall have tribu- 
 lation. Yet at the same time they were to 
 have peace in him. This peace, therefore, 
 must have been something which trouble 
 could not hinder or injure. It must have 
 been a spiritual privilege—composure of 
 mind ; especially — for here is the source of 
 the greatest perplexity and disquietude ; the 
 calm of conscience, arising from a hope of 
 our acceptance in the Beloved. Before it 
 can be enjoyed, the awful breach between 
 God and us must be healed ; and the blessed 
 partaker of it be able to say, Thou wast an- 
 gry with me ; but thine anger is turned away, 
 and thou comfortedst me. For there must 
 be a sense of apprehension of God's favour, 
 which is life. I may be pardoned ; but if I 
 am ignorant of my forgiveness, my anxieties 
 and uneasinesses will remain. But when 
 He says to my soul, I am thy salvation, then, 
 being justified by faith, I have peace with 
 God — not only peace with him above, but 
 peace with him within — a peace that passeth 
 all understanding. 
 
 For who can adequately conceive the 
 value of this donation 1 We need not de- 
 scend into the depths of hell, to inquire what 
 the miserable victims of despair would give 
 for a moment's enjoyment of it Let those 
 speak who have been convinced of sin, who 
 have felt a wounded spirit, and, expecting to 
 fall into the hand of the living God, have ex- 
 claimed, What must I do to be saved 1 What 
 were the feelings of the manslayer, with the 
 avenger of blood.urging on at his heels 1 And 
 what was the change he experienced, as 
 soon as he entered the appointed asylum, and 
 could turn round and face the foe ! Say ye — 
 for ye have realized the blessed transition — 
 ye who have fled for refuge to lay hold of 
 the hope set before you. 
 
 " 'Tis a young heav'n on earthly ground, 
 And glory in the bud." 
 
 It is a cluster of the grapes of Eshcol. It 
 weans from the world. It enlivens duty. It 
 smooths the rugged path of adversity. It 
 turns a dying chamber into the house of God 
 and the gate of heaven. 
 
 But the Saviour calls it his peace — " My 
 peace I give unto you." It would be a low 
 sense of this, though a true one, that he came 
 and preached it It was his in an infinitely 
 more expensive way. He procured it for us. 
 He came not to tell us the way to heaven, 
 
 but to be the way : not to show us how ie 
 make our peace with God, but to make it 
 And he did make it: we were reconciled 
 unto God by the death of his Son. The chas- 
 tisement of our peace was upon him, and by 
 his stripes we are healed. He made peace 
 by the blood of his Cross. And he applies it 
 by the agency of his Holy Spirit; enabling us 
 to beKeve, and enter into rest ; and maintain- 
 ing our hope in all the changes of life, and 
 under a continued sense of our unworthiness 
 and guilt 
 
 Nor is it more his by derivation than 
 distinction. Many have peace ; but how un- 
 like his ! There is the peace of the sinner. 
 This is of Satanic origin. The strong man 
 armed keepeth his palace and his goods in 
 peace. This peace is worse than war. It is 
 not founded in conviction, but ignorance. It 
 cannot endure thought It is unworthy of the 
 name of peace — There is no peace, saith my 
 God, to the wicked. How can a man retire, 
 and go to sleep, when, if he dies before the 
 morning, (and how easily may his bed be- 
 come his grave !) God is under an oath to de- 
 stroy him 1 He denies it or forgets. There 
 is the peace of the self-righteous Pharisee ; 
 and the peace of the evangelical hypocrite ; 
 both of which will prove as the spider's web, 
 and as the giving up of the ghost — There is 
 the peace of the worldling, who, in the calm 
 of his fireside, or evening's walk, musing on 
 his abundance, says, O my soul, thou hast 
 much goods laid up for many years; take 
 thine ease ; eat drink, and be merry. But he 
 may, that very night have his soul required 
 of him; and then whose are those things 
 which he has provided 1 What is it to be at 
 ease in our circumstances, and to enjoy peace 
 with our neighbours, and in our families, 
 while we are at war with God, and his wrath 
 abideth on us ! 
 
 — But this man shall be the peace when 
 the Assyrian cometh into the land ! Look to 
 him. Repair to him. " He healeth the broken 
 in heart and bindeth up all their wounds." 
 While you neglect him, you may seek peace, 
 but you will never find it But he crig^ — 
 oh ! hear him — " Come unto me, all yethat 
 labour and are heavy laden, and I will give 
 you rest" And is not this the very thing 
 you want! Rest? Rest unto your souls' 1 
 Believe. Try his word. " Lo this, we have 
 searched it so it is; hear it, and know thoc 
 it for thy good." 
 
 JULY 15. 
 
 " It came to pass, that when Jesus had finishes 
 these parables, he departed thence. Ana 
 ■when he -was come into his o-wn country, he 
 taught them in their synagogue, insomuch 
 that they -were astonished, and said, Whence 
 hath this man this -wisdom, and these mighty 
 ■works? Is not this the carpenter's son? it 
 
190 
 
 JULY 15 
 
 not his inothir called Mary? and his bre- 
 thren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and 
 Judas ? And his sisters, are they not all 
 ■with us? Whence then hath this man all 
 these things ? And they were offended in 
 him. But Jesus scii unto them, A prophet 
 is not -without honour, save in his own coun- 
 try, and in his own house. And he did not 
 many mighty works there because of their 
 unbeJe/:'— Matt. xiii. 53—58. 
 — His own country here means, not Be- 
 thany, where he was born, but Nazareth, 
 where he had been brought up. It v/?ts a 
 poor and despised place ; so that it was pro- 
 verbially asked, " Can any good thing come 
 out of Nazareth V Yet there was he found, 
 who is the King of glory ! 
 
 Here he taught in their synagogues. 
 What he taught is not recorded. But we 
 may determine the substance of it from his 
 addresses on other occasions, and from the 
 end which he always kept in view — " to seek 
 and to save that which was lost." Of his 
 manner of teaching, we cannot form an ade- 
 quate conception. It was all his own. " Grace 
 was poured into his lips." Even those who 
 derived no saving advantage from it— even 
 his enemies — said, "Never man spake like 
 this man." 
 
 Accordingly, the people were astonished. 
 Wonder has its place in religion; and there 
 is every thing in the Gospel to call it forth. 
 Yet many emotions of this kind are not pow- 
 erful enough to produce any decisive result : 
 and the subjects of them behold, and wonder, 
 and perish. Thus it was here. They ac- 
 knowledge his works to be mighty works, 
 that is, miraculous ; but are offended with his 
 want of education, having been at no univer- 
 sity: at the feet of no Gamaliel, never having 
 learned letters. And also because he was 
 not a man of birth and rank ; but had rela- 
 tions in common life, and was himself en- 
 gaged in manual employment. See how the 
 god of this world blinds the minds of them 
 that believe not. Who can stand before envy 
 and prejudice) If he had the wisdom, and 
 did the works — both of which they admitted, 
 surely it was the more commendable, and the 
 more marvellous, that he was so pre-eminent 
 without any ordinary helps: and the more 
 likely was he to be divinely inspired. There 
 seemed no other way of accounting for the 
 prodigy. And this seems to strike them. But 
 men do not value things according to their 
 real excellence. And when there is not a 
 cordial liking to any subject, every circum- 
 stance, which would otherwise befriend, is 
 converted into objection. 
 
 In answer to their offence, our Saviour 
 remarks, " A prophet is not without honour, 
 save in his own country, and in his own 
 house." Usefulness depends upon accept- 
 ance ; and acceptance upon esteem. Hence 
 a bishop is to have a good report of them that 
 
 are without; and hearers are commanded :.ot 
 only to receive such, but to hold them in 
 reputation. Those who have been above a 
 man in condition, do not like to come down 
 and listen to him as an instructer and re- 
 prover : and those who have been his equals 
 have been too familiar with him to feel vene- 
 ration towards him. Many things, though 
 quite consistent with sanctity, yet breed not 
 that reverence and respect which attach to a 
 man that comes to us, so to speak, from a 
 kind of distance, arid is only seen through the 
 medium of his *scred office. The case, here 
 stated, is not universally and absolutely true. 
 But it is so generally and comparatively : and 
 even our Saviour himself was not an excep- 
 tion to it. After this, some of his servants 
 need not be astonished at the treatment they 
 experience. Neither should they fret and 
 complain. They must take human nature as 
 it is, and accommodate themselves, as much 
 as they can, prudently and innocently, to the 
 actual state of society. This governed the 
 Master ; and he assigns it as the reason why 
 he preferred labouring elsewhere — " He said 
 unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this 
 proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever 
 we have heard done in Capernaum, do also 
 here in thy country. And he said, Verily, I 
 say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his 
 own country. 
 
 What a conclusion is here !— ,; And he did 
 not many mighty works there because of their 
 unbelief." Some he did. Mark says, he laid 
 his hands on a few sick folk, and healed them 
 — but what was the prevention of more 1 He 
 generally required faith in his miraculous ex- 
 ertions. Hence the expressions — Be it unto 
 thee according to thy faith — Believest thou 
 that I am able to do this ? — If thou canst be- 
 lieve, all things are possible to him that 
 believeth. There were, indeed, some cases 
 in which he wrought without this ; at least 
 without the faith of the individual himself: 
 though even then, faith was found in those 
 who applied on his behalf; or who brought 
 him to Jesus. 
 
 But faith is always necessary in spiritual 
 operations. He can produce faith within us ; 
 but he cannot carry on his works of grace 
 without it. If he could, it would be in con- 
 tradiction to his word ; and by a blind, posi- 
 tive, physical force, without our knowledge, 
 feeling, wishes, or designs. But this is not 
 his way. He does every thing by faith. We 
 are saved through faith. Hence the import- 
 ance of believing. The first, the chief con- 
 cern is, to get faith. Talk not of the suffi- 
 ciency and excellency of the remedy — it 
 cannot heal us unless it be applied ; and it 
 can only be applied by faith. The Gospel is 
 the power of God to salvation — but it is onlv 
 to every one that believeth. 
 
 There is something infinitely evil in unbe- 
 lief, if we only consider what it prevents. I* 
 
JULY 16. 
 
 191 
 
 kiands, and it is the only thing that does 
 stand, between a sinner and the relief of the 
 Gospel. Let him believe, and he is saved. 
 He that hath the Son hath life ; and he that 
 believeth, hath the Son. As to others, the 
 wrath of God abideth on them ; for nothing 
 else can withdraw them from under it The 
 Jews could not enter into Canaan, because of 
 their unbelief. It equally bars heaven against 
 us. But what mighty works attend faith! 
 By faith we are justified. By faith we are 
 sanctified. We stand, we walk, we live, we 
 conquer by faith. 
 
 And what an injurious bar to a Christian 
 himself is unbelief! How much does it hin- 
 der him from achieving in a way of duty, and 
 realizing in a way of privilege ! What keeps 
 him so weak and wavering'? Unbelief. "If 
 ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be es- 
 tablished." If we depend on our frames and 
 feelings, we draw from a summer brook, in- 
 stead of the well of living waters. Pleasing 
 experiences are cordials ; but faith furnishes 
 the soul's food. Faith in the promises would 
 immediately tranquillize us, as it did Paul in 
 the ?torm — " Be of good cheer ; for I believe 
 God, that it shall be as it was told me." What 
 keeps a Christian so poor in consolation 1 Un- 
 belief. " Filled with all joy and peace in be- 
 lieving." " Believing, we rejoice with joy 
 unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 Who would not, then, by faith, let loose all 
 the sources of Divine mercy and grace 1 
 
 Who would not cry out, with tears, " Lord, 
 I believe : help Thou mine unbelief]" 
 
 JULY 16. 
 
 " Call to remembrance the former days." 
 Heb. x. 32. 
 
 This will soon convince us that there is 
 nothing new under the sun; and keep us 
 from saying, " What is the cause that the 
 former days were better than these f In 
 many respects we have the advantage. In 
 knowledge, and civilization, and liberty, and 
 trade, and the conveniences and comforts of 
 life, and above all, in spiritual privileges, we 
 far surpass our predecessors. 
 
 If we look back to the period of Judaism, 
 ?e shall have reason to say, " Blessed are our 
 eyes, for they see; and our ears, for they 
 hear : for many prophets and righteous men 
 desired to see the things that we see, and did 
 not see them, and to hear the things that we 
 hear, and did not hear them." They had the 
 type, we have the reality ; they had the pro- 
 mise, we have the accomplishment; they had 
 the dawn, we have the day — God having 
 provided some better thing for us, that they 
 without us should not be made perfect 
 
 If we look back to the period previous to 
 the entrance of the Gospel into our own 
 country, what were our ancestors'? Naked 
 
 painted savages in the woods , oppressed by 
 cruel rites ; enslaved by idolatry ; being with- 
 out Christ; strangers to the commonwealth 
 of Israel ; having no hope, and without God 
 in the world. 
 
 We were called Christians long before the 
 Reformation. But look at the period prior to 
 that auspicious event In what a state of 
 mental degradation were we — religion super- 
 stition — the service performed in an unknown 
 tongue — the Scriptures kept from the com- 
 mon people — and nothing suffered to peep or 
 mutter, but as priestcraft gave leave ! 
 
 And when men began to know the words 
 of life, and to serve God in spirit and in truth, 
 what interdictions were they under : and to 
 what fines, imprisonments, tortures, deaths, 
 were they exposed by the spirit of persecu- 
 tion — Popish and even Protestant ! Remem- 
 ber the former times, in which your forefa- 
 thers endured a great fight of affliction for 
 conscience' sake. Think how they would 
 have rejoiced to see a day in which we sit 
 under our own vine and fig-tree, and none 
 can make us afraid ; in which the Gospel is 
 spreading far and wide ; in which individuals, 
 and churches, and communities, combine to 
 make manifest the savour of the Redeemer's 
 knowledge in every place. Christians should 
 judge by a rule of their own ; and deem 
 those the best times in which the best cause 
 flourishes most We therefore live in the 
 most preferable sera the world ever yet wit- 
 nessed. 
 
 But it i3 well for us also to remember the 
 earlier periods of our own personal history 
 and experience; our days of religious no- 
 thingness, when we never called upon his 
 Name, and had no fear of God before our 
 eyes. What feelings does the review of 
 these days require ! 
 
 But other days, better days, blessed days 
 followed, after we knew God, or rather were 
 known of him. He remembers these : " Go 
 and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, 
 Thus saith the Lord ; I remember thee, the 
 kindness of thy youth, the love of thine es- 
 pousals, when thou wentest after me in the 
 wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 
 Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the 
 first-fruits of his increase." And shall we fcr- 
 get them 1 Can we forget them ? 
 
 " How sweet their memory still f" 
 
 In one respect the review must be humbling. 
 For how little has our practice corresponded 
 with our profession ! or our proficiency with 
 our advantages ! Yea, instead of advancing, 
 have not we stood still, or rather have we not 
 gone back 1 We read of " the first ways of 
 David." They were, alas! his best. "The 
 king of Israel never equalled the shepherd of 
 Bethlehem. When at ease in Zion his soul 
 prospered much less than when he was hunt- 
 ed like a partridge upon the mountains And 
 
192 
 
 JULY 17. 
 
 nave we never sighed, "Oh that it was with 
 me as in months past !" Here is the charge, 
 4 1 have somewhat against thee, because thou 
 hast left thy first love." Let us not deny it; 
 but remember from whence we are fallen, 
 and repent, and do our first works. 
 
 Are we in trouble 1 Do we see no way 
 for our escape J Does God seem to have for- 
 gotten to be gracious ] Let us remember the 
 years of the right hand of the Most High. 
 His love, and power, and truth are still the 
 eame. And' because he has been my help, 
 therefore, under the shadow of his wing will 
 I rejoice. 
 
 JULY 17. 
 
 " Ye, have an unction from the Holy One." 
 1 John ii. 20. 
 
 Who is this Holy One? Unquestionably 
 tne Lord Jesus. It was one of the names by 
 which he was known in the days of his flesh. 
 The devils knew him by it ; and said, We 
 know thee who thou art, the Holy One of 
 God. Ye denied, said Peter and John to the 
 Jews, the Holy One and the Just. He was 
 so called from the innocency of his life ; the 
 purity of his nature ; and the eminency of his 
 perfections : and therefore, in a sense, appli- 
 cable to no mere creature. God is often 
 called the Holy One, in the Old Testament : 
 and, alluding to the very place where holi- 
 ness is thrice ascribed to him by the Sera- 
 phim, the Evangelist affirms, " This said 
 Isaiab, when he saw his glory, and spake of 
 him." He is relatively, as well as personally 
 holy; and evangelically, as well as legally. 
 He is as holy in his Gospel as in his Law. 
 He is as holy in his dispensations as in his or- 
 dinances. He is holy in all his ways, and 
 righteous in all his works. He came by wa- 
 ter, as well as by blood ; and gave himself for 
 us, to redeem us from all iniquity, and to pu- 
 rify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
 good works— And though he will bring mil- 
 lions from the depraved race of Adam to glo- 
 ry, he will bring them all there, not having 
 spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. 
 
 And what is this unction from Him ? John 
 was a Jew ; and well knew that oil, unction, 
 anointing, it is all the same thing, was used 
 to consecrate, to beautify, to refresh and de- 
 light The word therefore is used here for 
 the influence of the Holy Spirit. And this is 
 derived from the Lord Jesus. This was typi- 
 fied in the case of Aaron, when the oil was 
 poured upon his head, and went down to the 
 skirts of his garments. So here, the unction 
 descends from the head of the Church to the 
 lowest members of the body. Hence it is so 
 often called the Spirit of Christ It comes to 
 us through his mediation ; and it comes to us 
 from his possession. For it was not, as Mr. J 
 
 Howe observes, the design and effect of the 
 sufferings and death of Christ, that the Spirit 
 should be given immediately to any indivi- 
 duals; but that the whole dispensation 
 should be lodged in his hands, and the admi- 
 nistration be the honour of his office. He re- 
 ceived gifts for men : and this was the chief 
 of them. Being by the right hand of God 
 exalted, says Peter, and having received of 
 the Father the promise of the Spirit, he 
 hath shed forth this which ye now see and 
 hear. He therefore said to his disciples, " It 
 is expedient for you that I go away : for if 1 
 go not away, the Comforter will not come 
 unto you ; but if I depart I will send him 
 unto you" — " And he shall not speak of him- 
 self; but whatsaever he shall hear, that shall 
 he speak : and he will show you things to 
 come. He shall glorify me : for he shall re- 
 ceive of mine, and shall show it unto you." 
 
 Thus it pleased the Father, that in him 
 should all fulness dwell. And of his fulness, 
 says every saved, every sanctified sinner, 
 have all we received, and grace for grace. 
 
 Have we this unction from the Holy One 1 
 If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he 
 is none of his. Destitute of this, our religion 
 will be a form of godliness, without the 
 power; the practice, without the principle; 
 duty, without delight — a task — wearisome- 
 ness — vanity. We can only know that he 
 abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath 
 given us. 
 
 If strangers to the benefit, let us seek it 
 We know to whom we are to apply. He is 
 able, he is willing, to give us the supply of 
 his own Spirit. How encouraging to address 
 ourselves to one who loved us, and gave him- 
 self for us ; who says, if any man thirst, let 
 him come unto me and drink; who never 
 sent one suppliant empty away — who never 
 will — never can — for he cannot deny him- 
 self. 
 
 Cherish this unction. It is what the Apos- 
 tle means, when he says, " Grieve not the 
 holy Spirit of God, by which ye are sealed to 
 the day of redemption." Not only does gra- 
 titude require this, because of what the Spi- 
 rit has already done for you ; but a concern 
 for your own welfare. What can you do, 
 without his aids and comforts? In conse- 
 quence of his sin, David feared the entire 
 loss of his agency ; and therefore critJ, Cast 
 me not away from thy presence, and take not 
 thy Holy Spirit from me. Yea, he had suf- 
 fered the loss of the consolation and support 
 which he alone can give — Restore unto me 
 the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with 
 thy free Spin,. 
 
 Let us diffuse this unction. Let us make 
 manifest the savour of the Redeemer's know- 
 ledge, in every place ; in every condition ; in 
 every company. Let it so abound in our con- 
 duct, temper, and discourse, that we may be 
 distinguished and recommended by it Sc 
 
JULY 18. 
 
 193 
 
 thai all may take knowledge of us that we 
 have been with Jesus. 
 
 JULY 18. 
 God who is rich in mercy." — Ephes. ii. 4. 
 
 In a thousand things God entirely eludes 
 our research. In every thing he surpasses 
 our comprehension. But we know that he is 
 mercifui ; we are sure that he is rich in 
 mercy. And we cannot be too thankful, that 
 the eminence of an attribute, so essential to 
 our happiness and hope, is not obscurely re- 
 vealed, but so plainly and fully made known, 
 in the works of his hands ; the dispensations 
 of his providence ; the promises of his word ; 
 the provisions of his house ; and the Son of 
 his love. 
 
 For who does not need this assurance'! 
 The self-righteous Pharisee, who thanks God 
 that he is not as other men are — he does not 
 require it And t!ie proud pretender, who is 
 free from a)', sin — he does not require it — he 
 formerly required it; but he has now attain- 
 ed, he is now already perfect But there are 
 four classes of characters to whom it must be 
 like life from the dead. 
 
 First The victims of affliction. These 
 are not rarely to be met with in this vale of 
 tears. To such we would say — We ask you 
 not what your distresses are ; but if oppressed, 
 pray, Lord, undertake for me. Cast thy bur- 
 den upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. 
 Repair not, under the pressure of wo, to the 
 rope, or the bowl of intoxication, or tbe dissi- 
 pations of the world — this is like Saul's go- 
 ing to the witch of Endor: but go to the 
 throne of the heavenly grace, imploring the 
 pity of the God of all comfort He does not 
 afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of 
 men. It is your welfare that has called forth 
 this seeming severity. He knows your frame. 
 He remembereth that you are dust He lays 
 upon you no more than he will enable you to 
 bear. He will not always chide ; neither 
 will he keep his anger for ever. When the 
 benevolent end of the dispensation is answer- 
 ed, he will readily lay aside the rod, and say, 
 " Is Ephraim my dear son ! is he a pleasant 
 child ? For since I spake against him, I do 
 earnestly remember him still : therefore my 
 bowels are troubled for him; I will surely 
 have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. Set 
 thee up waymarks, make the high heaps : set 
 thine heart towards the highway, even the 
 way which thou wentest : turn again, O vir- 
 gin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities." 
 
 Secondly. Convinced penitents. They were 
 formerly always extenuating their guilt : now 
 they are dwelling only upon the aggravations 
 of it. Lately they seemed unsusceptible of 
 alarm ; now they refuse to be comforted. Such 
 is their unworthiness ! The number and great- 
 ness of their sins ! They are cast out of his 
 ?B 17 
 
 sight ! And there is only, fcr them, a certain 
 fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery in 
 dignation ! But awakened sinner, remember 
 there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 
 There is everlasting consolation, and good 
 hope, through grace. With the Lord there 
 is mercy ; and with him is plenteous redemp- 
 tion. Judge not of his goodness by a human 
 standard. Who is a God like unto him ! View 
 him not through the medium of your own 
 feelings. Believe his own word, wherein he 
 assures you, that he is ready to forgive ; that 
 he will abundantly pardon. Believe his oath, 
 wherein he swears by himself—" As I live, 
 saith the Lord, I desire not the death of him 
 that dieth; wherefore, turn, and live ye." 
 
 Thirdly. Desponding backsliders. These, 
 after walking in the way everlasting, have 
 fallen by their iniquity : and perhaps feel more 
 anguish of mind, than when they were first 
 led to repentance. They say, and they say 
 justly, "No one has sinned with such en- 
 hancement as I have done. I have sinned in 
 the dearest relations, and under the highest 
 obligations, and against the greatest advan- 
 tages. I have sinned after being made to 
 know what an evil and bitter tiling it is ; and 
 also after tasting that the Lord is gracious 
 My sin has been more injurious in its effects 
 than that of others : it has more dishonoured 
 religion, and grieved the holy Spirit of God." 
 All this they ought to feel — Yet must not. 
 they forget that he is rich in mercy. It is 
 this belief that will break the heart most and 
 make it sorrow after a godly sort. It is this 
 alone that will lead them forward, with weep- 
 ing and supplication, saying, Lord, take aw ay 
 all iniquity : create in me a clean heart, O 
 God, and renew a right spirit within me. 
 And He — will He refuse to reply, "I will 
 heal their backsliding, I will love them freely ; 
 for mine anger is turned away from him t " 
 
 " Return, ye wandering souls, renin. 
 And seek his tender breast ; 
 Call back the memory of those days 
 When there you found your rest. 
 
 " Behold, great God, we <:ome to Thee, 
 Though blushes veil our face; 
 Constrain'd our last retreat to seek 
 In thy much-injured grace." 
 
 Fourthly. Persevering believers. These 
 have holden on their way; and, having ob- 
 tained help of God, continue to this day. They 
 ought therefore, to feel thankful. Yet it be- 
 comes them, also, to be humble. Indeed, the 
 more they advance in the divine life, the more 
 will they be dissatisfied with themselves. 
 They will be deeply affected with a sense of 
 their unprofitableness, and numberless infirm- 
 ities. If their outward conduct has been fair 
 to men, they know how little their heart has 
 been right with God. They know, the sins 
 of their holy things would be enough to con- 
 demn them,' if God should bring them into 
 judgment with him. Their langjage, there- 
 
194 
 
 JULY 19. 
 
 fore, still is, God be merciful to me, a sinner. 
 This is their only relief— He is rich in mercy. 
 And living — and dying — they "look for the 
 mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal 
 life." 
 
 JULY 19. 
 
 • At the appearance of the bow that is in the 
 cloud in the day of rain, so -was the appear- 
 ance of the brightness round about. This 
 was the appearance of the likeness of the glory 
 of the Lord"— Ezek. i. 28. 
 There is always ground for the Prophet's 
 complaint ; " Seeing many things, they ob- 
 serve not." How often do even objects, pe- 
 culiarly designed and adapted to excite and 
 impress, fail to strike ; or at least to awaken 
 any proper attention ! This is the case with 
 the rainbow. Children wonder at the novelty, 
 grandeur, and construction of the figure; but 
 seldom ask a question about it. The com- 
 mon people, who are much abroad in the 
 field, rarely give it a gaze ; and never con- 
 nect a thought with it, but as it may be sup- 
 posed, by the time of its exhibition, to intimate 
 the state of the weather. And what does the 
 philosopher 1 In the pride of science, he des- 
 pises the vulgar; but, although able to ex- 
 plain the mediate cause of the phenomenon, 
 lie never looks after any thing the Scripture 
 says concerning it. But who is, not only a 
 naturalist, but a moralist 1 And not only a 
 moralist, but a Christian ] A Christian in the 
 field, as well as in the temple 1 making that 
 which is seen and temporal, the means of 
 communion with that which is unseen and 
 eternal J 
 
 The rainbow may be viewed three ways. 
 First. Physically. Thus it is, in the sky, 
 a semicircle of various colours, which appears 
 in showery weather. It is gendered by the 
 sunbeams on a cloud. When there is a moist 
 and dark cloud opposite the orb of day, and 
 disposed to receive and reflect his rays, the 
 bow is seen ; and never without this concur- 
 rence. 
 
 Secondly. Federally. The first time we 
 read of it in the Book of Genesis, is in this 
 covenant relation. " I do set my bow in the 
 cloud, and it shall be for a token of a cove- 
 nant between me and the earth. And it shall 
 come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the 
 earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud : 
 and I will remember my covenant, which is be- 
 tween me and you, and every living creature 
 of all flesh ; and the waters shall no more be- 
 come a flood to destroy all flesh." It was in 
 being before. But now it was made a di- 
 vinely constituted sign, or token. Thus it 
 should lead us to think of the holiness and 
 justice of God, in the destruction of the old 
 world : and also of his forbearance and good- 
 new., in engaging not to destroy it in like 
 
 manner again ; and i/i affording a sensible a» 
 surance of it. The appearance may be, in 
 some measure, viewed as even typical of 
 the event. The bow was early the prin- 
 cipal weapon of war ; and soon became the 
 emblem of it. David says, " He hath ben 
 his bow, and made ready his arrows upon the 
 string, to shoot at the persecutors." But 
 here is a bow without arrows, and without a 
 string ! When a man uses the bow in a hos- 
 tile manner, the ends arc towards himself; 
 and the back is towards the enemy. But 
 here the bow is reversed — the back is towards 
 heaven ; and the ends towards the earth. And 
 therefore if it had arrows upon the string, 
 they must be discharged upwards not down- 
 wards — the earth is safe, and has nothing to 
 fear from it If this should be thought more 
 curious than wise ; yet the bow thus viewed, 
 if not a type, is a proof and a pledge. It says, 
 the flood is gone — never to retern! And 
 here we feel a perfect certainty. However 
 long or violently the rain falls, we are not 
 alarmed. We look to the bow in the cloud ; 
 and are sure, that " while the earth remaineth, 
 seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and 
 summer and winter, and day and night, shall 
 not cease." And why do we not feel equally 
 sure, with regard to another interposition ] 
 
 For thirdly. The bow is to be viewed evan- 
 gelically. " For a small moment have I for- 
 saken thee; but with great mercies will I 
 gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face 
 from thee for a moment; but with everlasting 
 kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the 
 Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the 
 waters of Noah unto me : for as I have sworn 
 that the waters of Noah should no more go 
 over the earth ; so have I sworn that I would 
 not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 
 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills 
 be removed ; but my kindness shall not de- 
 part from thee, neither shall the covenant 
 of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that 
 hath mercy on thee." Here we find God do- 
 ing, in a nobler case, what he did after the 
 deiuge. Here we find him — with a better, 
 an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things 
 and sure. And to render the allusion similar, 
 and to afford strong consolation to those who 
 are fleeing for refuge to lay hold of the hope 
 set before them, we have his oath, accompa- 
 nied with a sign or token, that should subdue 
 every apprehension. Where 1 What is it? 
 " Upon the likeness of the throne," says Eze- 
 kiel, " was the likeness as the appearance of 
 a man above upon it. 1 " We know to whom 
 this refers. " And I saw as the colour of am- 
 ber, as the appearance of fire round about 
 within it, from the appearance of his loins 
 even upward, and from the appearance of his 
 loins even downward, I saw as it were the 
 appearance of fire, and it had brightness round 
 about. As the appearance of the bow that is 
 in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the 
 
JULY 20. 
 
 195 
 
 ipj>earance of the brightness round about 
 This was the appearance of the likeness of 
 the glory of the Lord" — An emblem of his 
 glory, both as to his person, and importance. 
 Who can help admiring the rainbow 1 It is 
 one o e the most beautiful appearances in Na- 
 ture, How various the colours ! Yet the ce- 
 lestial tints are united ; and, though distinct, 
 melt into each other, to make one astonishing 
 whole. And his Name is Wonderful. What 
 a combination of excellences is found in him 
 — " He is altogether lovely." All human and 
 divine beauties meet in him. All the charms 
 of Nature, all the attractions of all creatures 
 in earth and in heaven, are blended in him, 
 and infinitely surpassed — " For how great is 
 his goodness ; and how great is his beauty !" 
 
 It also reminds us of his importance. He 
 insures us safety — covenant safety. We are 
 justified by his blood, and saved from wrath 
 through him. He is the hope — the consola- 
 tion of Israel. He that believeth on him 
 cannot peribh ; but hath everlasting life. 
 
 Let us look to him, and be comforted, 
 against every adverse threatening. Afflic- 
 tions cannot overwhelm us. The Law cannot 
 curse us. Enemies cannot injure us. "Nay, 
 in all these things we are more than conquer- 
 ors through him that loved us. For I am 
 persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, nor height, 
 nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
 able to separate us from the love of God, 
 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
 
 JULY 20. 
 " They took knowledge of them, that they had 
 been -with Jesus." — Acts iv. 13. 
 This recognition is explained two ways. 
 Some take it literally, as referring to the per- 
 sons of the Apostles. These, their arraigners 
 remembered, when they looked at them, for 
 they had seen them before in company with 
 him. And this, it is more than probable, was 
 the case. For some of this very council at- 
 tended, his examination on the night of his ap- 
 prehension. Yea, he was examined in the 
 very house of this Caiaphas ; and we are as- 
 sured, that Peter, on the occasion, went into 
 the High Priest's palace, to see the end. 
 Jesus, also, had openly taught in the Temple, 
 when, more than once, some of these men 
 were present, disputing with him; and he 
 was always accompanied by his disciples. No 
 wonder, therefore, that Peter and John were 
 recognized by them. — But others take it, in 
 allusion to their qualities, behaviour, and 
 mode of speaking : connecting it particularly 
 with the former words. And " when they 
 saw the boldness of Peter and John, and per- 
 ceived that they were unlearned and igno- 
 rant men, they marvelled ; and they took 
 knowledge of them, that they had been with 
 
 Jesus :" remarking that they were of the same 
 party ; or, as we should say, of the same 
 stamp. So the sentence has been commonly 
 understood. And three remarks may be 
 made upon it 
 
 First Some have been with Jesus. Peter 
 and John had been, as to his bodily presence, 
 with him, for several years, in public, and in 
 private ; going out and coming in with him. 
 And who is not ready to envy them such in- 
 tercourse'? But he was received up into 
 glory : and they who had known him after the 
 flesh, knew him so no more. Yet he had 
 promised his people his spiritual presence, to 
 the end of the world. And thus, though now 
 invisible, he is yet accessible. Hereafter 
 they will be for ever with the Lord. But 
 this heaven begins on earth. They were 
 naturally without Christ; though not as to 
 dispensation, yet as to experience. But their 
 religion began with an introduction to him — 
 They were made sensible of their need of 
 him. They sought him : they found him. 
 They had much to do with him then ; and 
 they have had much to do with him ever 
 since. And they only go on well in religion, 
 as they are able to say, " I am continually 
 with thee." They are with him — in his 
 word — in his house — at his table — with him 
 in the closet — in the field — They are with 
 him as pupils are with their teacher — as ser- 
 vants are with their master, waiting upon 
 him all the day — as followers with their 
 leader, willing to follow him whithersoever 
 he goeth — as soldiers with their commander • 
 fighting the good fight of faith — For " they 
 that be with him, are called, and chosen, ana 
 faithful" — And " he that is not with him, is 
 against him." 
 
 Secondly. It is expected that they who 
 are with him should resemble him. It is 
 proverbially said, Tell me a man's company, 
 and I will tell you his character. And it is 
 well known, that like not only attracts, but 
 begets like. Hence the importance we attach 
 to the choice of associates. Hence we say to 
 the unmarried — Be not unequally yoked to- 
 gether with unbelievers. Hence to the 
 young — He that walketh with wise men shall 
 be wise ; but a companion of fools shall be 
 destroyed. If we enter the house of mourn- 
 ing, we instantly catch the sympathy. The 
 heart softens. The countenance contracts. 
 The eye melts. How different are our sen- 
 sations in the circle of festivity and mirth ! 
 It is said that those who live at court, have a 
 manntr of their own, which others cannot 
 successfully put on. 
 
 All association, however limited, produces 
 some influence. But the conformity will be 
 in proportion— to the degree of the intimacy 
 — and the constancy of the intercourse — and 
 the love we have to the individual — and the 
 veneration we feel for Lis greatness. Now 
 all these will apply sur jcnely to tl e Ciris* 
 
1% 
 
 JULY 21. 
 
 tian's acquaintance with Christ. And there- 
 fore the resemblance must be the greater — 
 especially when we add to all this — That it 
 is the duty, and the main business of his reli- 
 gion to imitate him — For he that saith, he 
 abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk 
 as he walked. And if any man have not the 
 Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 
 
 Thirdly. This conformity will not be 
 overlooked. The Christian himself may not 
 be sensible of it; for the more progress he 
 makes in the divine life, the more humble 
 will he be. Moses was not aware of the bril- 
 liancy of his face, when he came down from 
 being with God; and was surprised to see 
 the people dazzled at the glory of his counte- 
 nance. And Paul said, I have not attained, I 
 am not already perfect. But God will take 
 knowledge of it. Angels will take knowledge 
 of it. Ministers will take knowledge of it. 
 His fellow-Christians will take knowledge of 
 it. The world will take knowledge of it — 
 his profiting will appear unto all men. And 
 though the wicked cannot be pleased with it, 
 yet they are aware of what, by their profes- 
 sion, Christians ought to be ; and their consis- 
 tency will enthrone them in their conviction, 
 and put silence to their ignorance ; and may 
 constrain them to glorify God in the day of 
 visitation. 
 
 If persons are seen firm in principle ; fear- 
 less in duty ; zealous in the cause of God ; yet 
 humble and lowly ; and gentle and tender ; 
 and patient in suffering ; and ready to forgive 
 — no one need be told with whom they have 
 been. 
 
 So, if you are proud, and vain, and worldly- 
 minded, and avaricious, and revengeful, and 
 censorious, and unkind ; we do not require 
 you to tell us with whom you are most inti- 
 mate. And though we do not believe in 
 witchcraft, we know that you have a familiar 
 spirit; and we know who, and what, he is. 
 And " glory not, and lie not, against the truth. 
 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but 
 is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where en- 
 vying and strife is, there is confusion and 
 every evil work. But the wisdom that is from 
 above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, 
 and easy to be entreated ; full of mercy and 
 good fruits ; without partiality, and without 
 hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is 
 sown in peace of them that make peace." 
 
 JULY 21. 
 
 " taste and see that the Lord is good." 
 Psalm xxxiv. 8. 
 
 That God is good is too obvious to be de- 
 nied : though, alas ! we are so little affected 
 with it. He is good to all, and his tender mer- 
 cies are over all his works. He openeth his 
 hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living 
 thing. As to ourselves, he made us. He 
 placed us so high in the scale of beings. He 
 furnished for our reception a world filled with 
 
 his bounty and beauty. He gives tne sweei 
 interchange of hill and vale, and wood and 
 lawn. He makes the outgoings of the morn- 
 ing and evening to rejoice ; and, in the suc- 
 cession and produce of the seasons, he crowns 
 the year with his goodness. He not only 
 provides for our support, but for our comfort 
 He not only feeds and clothes, but feasts and 
 adorns us. All our senses might have been 
 so many inlets of pain, but they are the ave- 
 nues of a thousand pleasures : and we are fur- 
 nished with the most delightful colours, and 
 sounds, and relishes, and perfumes. Our 
 food might have been rendered distasteful; 
 but He has made it pleasant ; and connected 
 gratification with the most necessary act of 
 life. No one eats from a sense of duty, or to 
 avoid death ; but for pleasure. 
 
 Distinguished from this general kindness 
 of God, there is, however, a peculiar good- 
 ness ; and which regards us, as sinners. It is 
 called in the Scriptures, mercy and grace. It 
 led him to remember us in our low estate, and 
 to make provision for our salvation from every 
 effect of the Fall. He spared not his own 
 Son. He delivered him for our offences, and 
 raised him again for our justification. And 
 in him all things are now ready for our ac- 
 ceptance. And in him, unworthy as we are, 
 we may obtain all spiritual blessings in hea- 
 venly places, for ever. Herein is love ! And 
 this favour which he bears unto his people, 
 and which regards the soul and eternity ; thia 
 good will of him that dwelt in the bush w 
 what we are supremely to seek after. 
 
 But what is the best way to know this good- 
 ness 1 David does not say, Hear, and know; 
 read, and know; believe, and know — but, 
 Taste and see that the Lord is good. That 
 is, apply to him for yourselves, instead of le- 
 lying on the authority of others ; as in a case 
 of disputed relish you determine not by testi- 
 mony, but taste. In other words, it means 
 experience. Experience is knowledge de 
 rived from experiment, in contradiction from 
 theory. Since the mighty mind of Bacon 
 beat down hypothesis, and introduced *he in- 
 ductive system, philosophy has reasoned from 
 facts ; and experimental philosophy has been 
 much applauded. Why then should we ridi- 
 cule experimental religion ? Is there no 
 standard in divinity to which we can appeal 1 
 Is there no test to be applied to the truth of 
 pious pretensions 1 Are there no facts to bear 
 out or to contradict what the Scripture says 
 of sin ] of repentance ? of hope J of peace anc 1 
 joy in believing'! 
 
 Some, and in our day many, know div.n* 
 things in a way of speculation. But they are 
 not under their operation : they feel not the 
 powers of the world to come. And these are 
 the most unlikely characters to be wrought 
 upon. They are familiar with the truths o<' 
 the Gospel ; they admit all the preacher ad- 
 vances; they acknowledge all he proves: but 
 
JULY 22, 23. 
 
 197 
 
 it has no influence over the heart and life. 
 They believe in hell ; but makp no attempt 
 to ilea t'rom the wrath to come. They believe 
 in heaven ; but do not set their affection on 
 things above. They believe in the value of 
 the soul, and that its redemption ceaseth for 
 ever; and yet neglect the only opportunity 
 to embrace the things that belong to their 
 peaei 1 . They go through the Bible ; but its 
 threatenings do not alarm, and its promises do 
 not allure them. They resist every motive. 
 They have been wooed and awed a thousand 
 times in vain. They see and approve better 
 things, and follow worse. They are not hap- 
 py, and contrive not to be miserable. They 
 are in the jaws of death, and yet are at ease 
 in Zion — What paradoxes ! What contra- 
 dictions are you ! Of what worth is your 
 knowledge 1 To know a refuge, and never 
 enter it ! To know a remedy, and never ap- 
 ply it! To know good, and never partake 
 of it ! This will not only leave you to per- 
 ish, but deprive you of excuse ; and aggra- 
 vate your sin and condemnation. Like Uriah, 
 with his fatal letter, you carry information 
 that will place you in the front of the battle 
 Be not satisfied, therefore, till you know these 
 things to purpose — which can only be by 
 ycur knowing them experimentally. 
 
 Then your heart will be established with 
 grace ; and you will be so confirmed in the 
 truth, that you will not be led away by the 
 error of the wicked, to fall from your own 
 steadfastness. 
 
 Then you will desire greater degrees of it ; 
 and having tasted that the Lord is gracious, 
 your prayer will be, " Lord, evermore give us 
 this bread." 
 
 Then you will be excited and qualified to 
 address others. You will speak from the 
 heart, and recommend a tried remedy — a 
 remedy that has effectually cured yourselves. 
 " Lo this, we have searched it, so it is : hear it, 
 and know thou it for thy good." 
 
 JULY 22. 
 
 " To him that overcometh." — Rev. iii. 21. 
 
 There are seven addresses of this kind, 
 closing the seven epistles, which John was to 
 write, and send to the churches which were 
 in Asia : to Ephesus, and Smyrna, and Perga- 
 mos, and Thyatira, and Sardis, and Philadel- 
 phia, and Laodicea. Overlooking what is 
 peculiar to each of them, let us notice what 
 is common to all. Four things are so. 
 
 First. All of them regard a particular 
 character. It is a successful soldier — Him 
 that overcometh. This reminds us of the na- 
 ture of the Christian's life. It is a warfare. 
 It was such, unquestionably, in the days of 
 the Apostles. We read of their wrestling 
 vith principalities and powers: of their fight- 
 ■ng the good fight of faith : of their resisting 
 unto blood. If it be said, " The language is 
 figurative ;" we allow it Yet it must, or we 
 17* 
 
 are triflea with, imply realities — And what 
 are these] If it be said, " Religion is not the 
 same thing now, as it was then ;" wo ask, 
 when was it changed 1 And by whom ] And 
 what is it at present ? What would be thought 
 of a preacher, who should come forward in 
 public and say, A religious life was a difficult 
 thing once : but it is a very easy one now 
 The first Christians were required, in order 
 to be the disciples of Christ, to deny them- 
 selves, and take up their cross, and follow him 
 in the regeneration : but all this is dispensed 
 with now ! He may prophesy falsely — and 
 the people may love to have it so : but what 
 will be done in the end thereof 1 If, there- 
 fore, you think yourselves in the way ever- 
 lasting, without knowing any thing of this 
 spiritual warfare, you are in a pitiable condi- 
 tion : and pertain to the strong man armed, 
 who keeps his palace and goods in peace. 
 
 Secondly. All of them are attached to an 
 individual — Not to them that conquer ; but to 
 — him that overcometh. As much as to say — 
 Each is perceived by me in the crowd : and 
 if all in the Church should prove corrupt, and 
 only one maintain his fidelity, faint, yet pur- 
 suing ; let him not be ashamed or afraid. He 
 shall be confessed before my Father and the 
 holy angels. For him that honours me, I will 
 honour. 
 
 Thirdly. All of them contain the assur- 
 ance of some reward of grace. Such as the 
 food of Paradise — a crown of life — the hidden 
 marina, and the white stone — the morning 
 star — white raiment — a pillar in the temple 
 of God — a seat with the Saviour on his throne 
 — But who can describe 1 ! or comprehend 
 these remunerations ? They are yet to be re- 
 vealed. But we know enough of them to 
 animate us in the conflict; and to convince 
 us that godliness is profitable unto all things. 
 
 Fourthly. All represent the Lord Jesus as 
 the Author and Beptower of every honour and 
 indulgence. / will make; I will give; 1 
 will grant — says He who procured all for us ; 
 and in whom all the fulness dwells. The joy 
 set before him, for which he endured the 
 Cross, and despised the shame, was the grati- 
 fication of his benevolence, in receiving gifts 
 for men. And he shall see of the travail cf 
 his soul, and shall be satisfied. 'He saves 
 them spiritually now. He shall raise up their 
 bodies at the last day. And he shall say to 
 those on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of 
 my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
 you from the foundation of the world. 
 
 He shall come to be glorified in his saints, 
 and to be admired in all them that believe. 
 Amen. 
 
 JULY 23. 
 
 "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to for' 
 give ; and plenteous in mercy unto all them 
 that call upon thee." — Psalm lxxxvi. 5. 
 The first word, " for," shows that the text 
 
198 
 
 JULY 24. 
 
 contains! leason for something; and it was 
 this — as we see by the preceding verse: 
 " Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." 
 We learn from it, of what importance it is, to 
 place and keep the Supreme Being before the 
 eye of the mind, in an amiable and inviting 
 character, when we have to do with him. 
 Tell me not there is danger in such represent- 
 ations : they may gender presumption. They 
 may. Every thing is liable to abuse. But 
 we are saved by hope. By withdrawing his 
 confidence in God, man fell ; and he can only 
 be restored, by replacing it in him. The first 
 step of a sinner, in returning to God, must re- 
 sult from this trust Accordingly, the design 
 of Revelation is to produce and support it. 
 " For whatsoever things were written afore- 
 time were written for our learning, that we 
 through patience and comfort of the Scrip- 
 tures might have hope." The same is said 
 of the mediation of Christ — " By him we be- 
 lieve in God, who raised him up from the dead, 
 and gave him glory, that our faith and hope 
 might be in God." More are destroyed by 
 despair than by presumption. When once a 
 man says, There is no hope, he becomes aban- 
 doned ; and the despondence he feels is the 
 strongest link in the chain that binds him to 
 an unconverted state. Let there be, there- 
 fore, always a refuge open, and into which a 
 sinner, when he looks back, and wishes to en- 
 ter, may return. Tell him that yet there is 
 room. Tell him that God is good ; and ready 
 to forgive ; and plenteous in mercy unto all 
 them that call upon him. 
 
 And, from hence, let me also learn, that — 
 when we have no comfort arising from personal 
 assurance, there is encouragement enough in 
 the general views which the Scripture gives 
 us of God to induce us to wait on the Lord, 
 and keep his way. David does not, here, say, 
 I will lift up my soul to Him, for he is my 
 God, and he has given me the heritage of 
 them that fear his Name ; but he looks to his 
 goodness, and readiness to forgive, and the 
 plenteousness and impartiality of his mercy. 
 These considerations do not require me to as- 
 certain, before I come to him, that I am a 
 saint; but tell me to come, as a sinner; and 
 assure me, that he will in no wise cast me 
 out. When I know not that I have grace, 
 how delightful is it to know that it is attain- 
 able ; and to hear a voice, saying, Whosoever 
 will, let him take of the water of life freely ! 
 Thus Mr. Scott said, when dying, that those 
 Scriptures refreshed and comforted him most, 
 which were not limited to a particular class, 
 but open to all. 
 
 Yet, however good, and forgiving, and mer- 
 ciful, He is — this is nothing to those who re- 
 fuse or neglect to " call upon him." Such 
 blessed assurances are not intended to make 
 us careless ; but to excite and animate our 
 implications to him. Prayer is the way in 
 which he, who nas a right to determine, and 
 
 who cannot err, has chosen, for our obtaining 
 his favours — Yet I will be inquired of. Ask 
 and ye shall have. Seek, and ye shall find. 
 Those, therefore, that live without prayer 
 are shut out from the blessedness. But this 
 is not all. They incur, also, the curse which 
 results from the contempt of his grace. There 
 is no aggravation of misery like the conscious* 
 ness of patience exhausted, kindness abused, 
 opportunity lost. But lost entirely by our 
 own fault ! Lost for ever ! This conviction 
 will be the food of the worm that never dies, 
 and the fuel of the fire that never shall be 
 quenched. 
 
 JULY 24. 
 " Prove me now." — Mai. in. 10. 
 
 There is nothing of which men are more 
 tenacious, than the honour of their veracity. 
 How offended do they feel, if we seem to sus- 
 pect the truth of their word, by requiring a 
 pledge or voucher, before we can venture 
 upon it. If a king were to address his sub- 
 jects in a way of privilege ; and they should 
 say, We must try thy faithfulness before we 
 can trust it ; he would consider himself in- 
 sulted, and, in wrath, have nothing to do with 
 them. God is veracity itself; and magnifies 
 his Word above all his Name. And he might 
 justly say to us — Such are my declarations — 
 dishonour me not, by requiring any confirma- 
 tion — I am entitled to implicit credence — and 
 if ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be 
 established. But he knoweth our frame ; and 
 he knoweth the absolute importance of our 
 confidence in him : and therefore he allown 
 us to acquire it in our own way, and seems 
 more concerned for our satisfaction, than for 
 his own glory. 
 
 And yet hereby he glorifies himself too ■ 
 for by this method he not only shows his kind- 
 ness and condescension in accommodating 
 himself to our infirmities ; but obtains a sen- 
 sible and satisfactory conviction in favour of 
 his truth. In addition to testimony, we are 
 furnished with experience. What we have 
 read and heard, we have brought to trial, and 
 have demonstrated ourselves. So that we do 
 not merely believe. There must be, indeed, 
 a degree of faith to induce us to make the 
 trial ; but when we have made it, and made 
 it successfully, the proof increases the confi- 
 dence of faith; and he that thus believeth 
 hath the witness in himself. 
 
 Hence, when God invites us to prove him, 
 it is not sinful to do it ; yea, it would be sin- 
 ful to refuse. We see this in the case of Ahaz, 
 " Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz 
 saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; I 
 ask it either in the depth, or in the heigh! 
 above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither 
 will I tempt the Lord." He did not decline 
 it from confidence in God, or from numility 
 
JULY 25. 
 
 199 
 
 but, from desperation or indifference — "Not 
 I — it is useless." Isaiah so understood it, as 
 appears from his answer and complaint: 
 ** Hear ye now, O house of David ; is it a 
 small thing for you to weary men, but will 
 ye weary my God also f When He allows 
 a privilege, it becomes us gratefully to use it : 
 we reflect upon his kindness and wisdom if 
 we do not Some, like Gallio, care for none 
 of these things. They do not think religion 
 or revelation worthy of proof. Hume said he 
 had never read through the New Testament 
 n his life ! As much as to say, It is nothing 
 to me, whether these things be true or false. 
 I will take no pains to ascertain whether we 
 have souls, as well as bodies; whether another 
 world succeeds this ; and whether, after death, 
 there be a judgment. 
 
 There is, indeed, a censurable proving of 
 God ; and it is more than once charged upon 
 the jews of old. It was founded in unbelief, 
 and led them to dare his judgments. Thus 
 Pharaoh, and thus Adam and Eve, tried his 
 word, in his threatenings. This is always 
 wrong. First, because, if the trial proves the 
 denunciation true, the proof is useless; for it is 
 derived from the infliction of the evil itself: 
 and we are not convinced by being punished. 
 Secondly, we cannot put the menaces of God 
 to the test, but by criminal conduct It is 
 only by sinning that we can try whether what 
 he has threatened against sin will be accom- 
 plished, as the practice is the condition on 
 which the penalty is suspended. But it is 
 otherwise with the promises of God : if we 
 find them true, we are saved and happy : and 
 we can only seek the proof of their truth, in 
 what is good and improving ; in praying ; in 
 obedience ; in the use of r„ll the means which 
 God has ordained. 
 
 Let us then prove him — and see whether 
 his word will come to pass or not. Let us 
 prove him with regard to the freeness of his 
 mercy. For he hath said, " Let the wicked 
 forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
 thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, 
 and he will have mercy upon him; and to 
 our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 
 Let us prove him with regard to the efficacy 
 of his grace. For he hath said, " My grace 
 is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made 
 perfect in weakness." Let us prove him 
 with regard to the care of his Providence. 
 For he hath said, " There is no want to them 
 that fear him." " He careth for you." " The 
 hairs of your head are all numbered." Let 
 us prove him with regard to the advantage 
 of benevolence. For he hath said, " God is 
 ' not unrighteous to forget your work and la- 
 bour of love, which ye have showed towards 
 his name, in that ye have ministered to the 
 saints, and do minister." Let us prove him 
 with regard to the blessedness of his service. 
 For he hath said, "Godliness is profitable 
 unto all things having promise of 'he life 
 
 that now is, and of that which is to come." 
 " There is no man, that hath left house, or 
 parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for 
 the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not re- 
 ceive manifold more in this present time, and 
 in the world to come life everlasting." 
 
 By how many millions has all this been 
 proved ! His word is a tried word. And it 
 has never failed in the trial. And never will 
 fail. 
 
 Let us make the trial for ourselves, and 
 set to our seal that God is true. Thus we 
 shall become his witnesses to others, and be 
 able to say, " O taste and see that the Lord 
 is good : blessed is the man that trusteth in 
 him." 
 
 JULY 25. 
 
 "For Moses tmdy said unto the fathers, A pro- 
 phet ohall the Lord your God raise up unto 
 you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall 
 ye hear in all things -whatsoever he shall say 
 Unto you. And it shall come to pass, that 
 every soul, ivhich -will not hear that prophet, 
 shall be destroyed from among the people '" 
 Acts iii, 22, 23. 
 
 There was a remarkable resemblance be- 
 tween Moses and the Messiah, which it would 
 be easy to trace. But the likeness here spoken 
 of regards his office. Moses was a prophet ; 
 a peculiar prophet; a pre-eminent prophet 
 He introduced and established the whole of 
 the Jewish dispensation with miracles, won- 
 ders, and signs. He was the mediator between 
 God and the people. Other prophets received 
 divine communications through various me- 
 diums; but he received every thing from 
 God immediately. " If there be a prophe< 
 among you, I the Lord will make myself 
 known unto him in a vision, and will speak 
 unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is 
 not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 
 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even 
 apparently, and not in dark speeches ; and the 
 similitude of the Lord shall he behold." But 
 if " the Law was given by Moses, grace and 
 truth came by Jesus Christ." "No man 
 hath seen God at any time ; the only begot- 
 ten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, 
 he hath declared him." Yea, in all things he 
 has the pre-eminence. Moses was faithful aa 
 a servant ; but Christ as a Son over his own 
 house. The commission of Moses was con- 
 fined to one nation; Christ is not only the 
 glory of his people Israel, but a light to light- 
 en the Gentiles— the light of the world. 
 
 Every office the Saviour sustains requires 
 a corresponding disposition in those to whom 
 he is sent. As he is a prophet, we are com- 
 manded to " hear him." It cannot mean a 
 mere hearing. Then many would be safe 
 who are condemned already. But it includes 
 
200 
 
 JULY 26. 
 
 our believing his instructions with a faith 
 unfeigned, and our cordial submission to 
 them; or, as the Apostle expresses it, our 
 obeying from the heart the form of doctrine 
 delivered us. Blessed are they that hear the 
 word of God and " keep it" If he com- 
 mands us to lay up treasure in heaven ; and 
 we mind earthly things : if he tells us to 
 deny ourselves, and take up our cross, and 
 follow him ; and we live to the lusts of men : 
 if he says, Look unto me, and be ye saved ; 
 and we go about to establish our own righte- 
 ousness: we do not hear him, but despise 
 and reject him. He that hath his command- 
 ments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth 
 him ; and he it is that heareth him. 
 
 We are not only to hear him, but to hear 
 him " in all things whatsoever he shall say 
 unto us." Some dislike the mysterious parts 
 of Christianity. Some, the humiliating. Some, 
 the practical. But the only inquiry of a true 
 discipie is, " Lord, what wilt thou have me 
 to Jo?" He will not dictate ; he will not ob- 
 ject ; he will not prefer one thing to another, 
 but say, " I esteem all thy commandments 
 concerning all things to be right, and I hate 
 every false way." The test of real obedience 
 is, to " do all things without murmurings and 
 disputings." 
 
 Notwithstanding our duty and our respon- 
 sibility, it is here supposed that some " will 
 not hear this Prophet." This is a sad intima- 
 tion : and we might wonder at the fact. But 
 the depravity of human nature will account 
 for it ; and all history confirms it. Some ri- 
 dicule and oppose. Many never attend the 
 means of grace. Numbers have only "a 
 form of godliness," while they deny the pow- 
 er thereof. 
 
 And to what are they exposed 1 " It shall 
 come to pass, that every soul that will not 
 hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from 
 among the people." Mark the impartiality 
 of the sentence — " every soul." The refusers 
 may be many ; and they may differ from each 
 other. But, though each may turn to his 
 own way, all are going astray. There is 
 only one path of life; but there are many 
 avenues to death. And it matters not what 
 our particular character is, whether profligate 
 or formalist, Pharisee or hypocrite — he that 
 believeth not shall be damned — and without 
 holiness no man shall see the Lord. — See the 
 nature of the doom — " shall be cut off." This 
 is not correction, but excision. Not, how- 
 ever, annihilation ; this would be a privilege. 
 They shall seek death; but they shall not 
 find it. In vain Will they ask the rocks to 
 fall on them, and the mountains to cover 
 them. The penalty is not the loss of their 
 being, but of their happiness and of their 
 hope ; the destruction of body and soul in hell 
 for ever. — Observe the dreadfulness of the 
 aggravation — ' from among the people." 
 They aro intermixed now ; and some of them 
 
 very peculiarly. They attend in the sam* 
 sanctuary; they live under the same roof; 
 they are united by the ties of friendship and 
 of blood. But their privileged situation and 
 condition only evinced and increased their 
 depravity. "Let favour be showed to the 
 wicked, yet. will he not learn righteousness . 
 in the land of uprightness will he deal un- 
 justly ; and will not behold the majesty of the 
 Lord." Their present advantages, therefore, 
 will afford them no security. Neither will 
 they be able to retain them. The wicked 
 shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners 
 in the congregation of the righteous. Bu 
 severed from the just, they will be led forth 
 with the workers of iniquity ; and carry away 
 with them into the place of torment only the 
 remembrance and the guilt of all they neg- 
 lected and abused here. 
 
 " See, then, that ye refuse not him that 
 speaketh. For if they escaped not who re- 
 fused him that spake on earth, how much 
 more shall not we escape, if we turn away 
 
 FROM HIM THAT SPEAKETH FROM HEAVEN '" 
 
 JULY 26. 
 
 " The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure 
 hid in a field ; the -which -when a man hath 
 
 found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth 
 and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that 
 
 field." — Matt. xiii. 44. 
 
 How well may the Saviour call the Gospel a 
 treasure ! The tongue of an angel could not 
 describe its value and preciousness. It meets 
 and relieves every want »f the soy' It 
 blesses us with all spiritua. blessings. It is 
 the true riches. Unsearchi '>le riches. Du- 
 rable riches. It profits in the day of wrath. 
 It delivers from death. It ennobles in the 
 world to come. 
 
 A man may find a treasure hid in a field 
 by accident, or by search. There is nothing 
 casual in the salvation of a sinner, as to God : 
 but as to himself, the event may be wholly 
 undesigned and unlooked-for. He may have 
 been seeking, but not for this object: Saul 
 was searching when Samuel met him ; but it 
 was for his father's asses, and not for the 
 kingdom. Thus the Lord is found of them 
 that sought him not ; and asked not for him. 
 Matthew was sitting at the receipt of custom 
 when the Saviour said, Follow me. Saul was 
 in a journey of iniquity when the Saviour 
 appeared to him in the way, and called him 
 by his grace. Some have gone to the house 
 of God, from mere custom or curiosity, or a 
 design to ridicule, but have returned to pray, 
 and have said, Lord, what wilt thou have me 
 to do ? But, says Henry, Though he is some- 
 times found of them that seek him not, he is 
 always found of them that seek him. This 
 was the case with Cornelius. He was a de- 
 vout man, and feared God, with all his house, 
 praying and giving alms always, when Pelei 
 
JULY 27. 
 
 201 
 
 waj sent to tell him words by which he was 
 to be saved. Nathanael had retired beneath 
 the fig-tree to read, and reflect, and pray, 
 when the Saviour took knowledge of him, 
 and said, Thou shalt see greater things than 
 these. And there are those now, who are 
 awakened, rather than enlightened : they feel 
 their spiritual wants, and are using the means 
 of grace. And whatever ignorance or legality 
 mixes with their eftbrts, they are in the 
 search ; and they shall find. He who has 
 touched the heart, and turned it from the 
 world, will fulfil the desire of them that fear 
 him,; he also will hear their cry, and will 
 save them. Then shall we know, if we fol- 
 low on to know the Lord. 
 
 The emotions of the finder are naturally 
 pourtrayed. First, when he hath found the 
 treasure, he hideth it When we are anxious 
 to secure a thing, we conceal it The way, 
 therefore, is here used for the end : and hiding 
 refers not to secrecy, but safety. The allu- 
 sion is to that holy jealousy recommended by 
 the Apostle, when he says, Let us therefore 
 fear, lest a promise being left us of entering 
 into his rest, any of us should seem to come 
 short of it: looking diligently, lest any man 
 fail of the grace of God. To that trembling 
 at God's word, when we are more affected 
 with the inviting than with the awful parts. 
 To that solicitude to obtain, which always 
 genders apprehension. Oh ! how shall 1 
 make all this my own ! Oh ! if I should miss 
 it ! What must I do to be saved ! 
 
 Secondly. He feels joy thereof. Not that 
 firm and glorious joy which arises in the es- 
 tablished Christian, from a consciousness of 
 possession, and who can say, I know that my 
 Redeemer liveth: but the joy that results 
 from che discovery of the reality, the excel- 
 lency, the suitableness, the al l-sufficiency, the 
 attainableness, of the blessing; and is called, 
 Rejoicing in hope. The patient while the 
 disease yet oppresses him, cannot feel at ease ; 
 but he is gladdened when he hears of the 
 arrival of a physician, bringing with him a 
 remedy that was never applied in vain. 
 
 Thirdly. He goeth — for now it is impos- 
 sible for him, like many, to sit still — and 
 selleth all that he hath, and buyeth the field. 
 That is, he is fully determined to submit to 
 the cost of procuring it whatever it may be. 
 We can offer no equivalency for the posses- 
 sion : nor is this the meaning of the word. In 
 this way, were we to buy, it would be with- 
 out money, and without price. But the 
 meaning is simply exchange ; as, in buying, 
 we part with something to gain something. 
 Hereby, we show our estimation: for what 
 stronger proof can we give of our valuation 
 if an object, than parting with all we have 
 for the sake of it 
 
 And the case here is such, that we must 
 make a choice, and a sacrifice, to evince our 
 preference, and attain our desire. Some 
 2C 
 
 things must be abs( lately given up. Some, 
 conditionally. And all, as to supreme regard 
 and dependence. Are we willing, then, to 
 part with our sins ? All our sins ? Even our 
 bosom lusts ? The right hand ! The right 
 eye ? — Are we willing to part with our own 
 wisdom ? not leaning to our own understand- 
 ing, but receiving the kingdom of God as lit- 
 tle children, and becoming fools, that we may 
 be wise? Are we willing to part with self- 
 righteousness ? not with the practice of obe- 
 dience, morality, and good works ; but only 
 the substitution of them in the room of the 
 Saviour; and reliance on them for our ac- 
 ceptance before God ; and the pleading of 
 them as a title to heaven — instead of saying, 
 In the Lord have I righteousness and strength. 
 Are we willing to part with the world ? The 
 promises of superiors'! The applause of com- 
 panions? The smiles of friends? The ties 
 of the dearest relations? For "he thatloveth 
 father or mother more than me, is not worthy 
 of me." 
 
 This is a hard saying. But every thing 
 requires sacrifice, and every thing in propor- 
 tion to the importance of the attainment 
 And, here, the prize is infinite. And we are 
 more than indemnified for all we suffer or 
 lose. " Verily, I say unto you, There is no 
 man that hath left house, or parents, or bre- 
 thren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom 
 of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold 
 more in this present time, and in the world 
 to come life everlasting." 
 
 JULY 27. 
 " This grace -wherein ive stand." — Rom. v. 2. 
 
 What is this state? And what is this 
 standing ? The state, is a state of grace , 
 and means the privileged condition in which 
 all Christians are found, though they were by 
 nature children of wrath, even as others. It 
 is expressed, by our Apostle, in the preceding 
 words ; Being justified by faith, we have peace 
 with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ : by 
 whom also we have access by faith into this 
 grace. 
 
 It may well be called this grace ; tor it 
 only flows from, and only proclaims, the ex 
 ceeding riches of his grace in his kindness 
 towards us, by Christ Jesus. How dreadful 
 is it to have God for our adversary ! — He, in 
 whom we live ! — He, who is about our path, 
 and our lying down !— He, on whose side all 
 creatures rise up, and arrange themselves ! — 
 He, whose look is death, and whose frown is 
 hell ! What were our alarms when we be 
 gan to discover our danger ; and conscience 
 induced us to cry, "What must I do to be 
 saved !" And when we saw the storm pass- 
 ing off; when we were told that the dreadful 
 breach was made up; when be believed that 
 God was pacified towards us for all that wc 
 
202 
 
 JULiT 28. 
 
 had done — what were our feelings then — but 
 life from the dead 1 And in that day we said, 
 ' O Lord, I will praise thee : though thou 
 wast angry with me, thine anger is turned 
 away, and thou comfortedst me." 
 
 But we may be reconciled to another, so 
 as to be forgiven, and not be admitted into 
 the intimacies of friendship. After Absalom 
 was, through the intercession of Joab, allow- 
 ed to return to Jerusalem, two years elapsed 
 before he was allowed to see the King's face. 
 But God favours us with the most familiar 
 intercourse and communion. We come bold- 
 ly to the Throne of Grace. In every thing, 
 by prayer and supplication, we make known 
 our requests. We dwell in his house. We 
 eat at his table. We walk with God. We 
 lean on his arm, and on his bosom. He 
 honours us with his confidence, and trusts us 
 with his secrets. He allows us to put him in 
 remembrance, and plead with him, and say — 
 can his condescension go further] — " Con- 
 cerning the work of my hands, command ye 
 me." 
 
 This Grace means, also, approbation and 
 complacency. He takes pleasure in them 
 that fear him. He rests in his love. He 
 joys over them with singing. They are his 
 children, his bride, his jewels, his glory. And 
 as their persons, so their services are accept- 
 ed in the Beloved. Poor as they are, he 
 smiles upon them. Their prayer is his de- 
 light ; and their alms are the odour of a sweet 
 smell. He views their motive, and passes by 
 their mistakes. He regards their wishes and 
 design ; and says, in their failures, " It is well 
 that it was in thy heart" 
 
 Hence follows sympathy and compassion. 
 What is done to them, he resents as a per- 
 sonal injury: for he that toucheth them 
 toucheth the apple of his eye. In all their 
 affliction, he is afflicted. Though he corrects 
 them, it is for their profit. He takes the rod 
 with reluctance, and he lays it aside with 
 pleasure. He cannot withstand their yield- 
 ing and their tears. Is Ephraim my dear 
 son 7 is he a pleasant child ] for since I spake 
 against him, I do earnestly remember him 
 still— 
 
 ' So fathers their young sons chastise, 
 With gentle hand, and melting eyes; 
 The chii 5ren weep beneath the smart, 
 And move the pity of their heart " 
 
 In this grace they stand. Standing, here, 
 intends firmness, stability, permanence. It 
 is sometimes opposed to condemnation — If 
 Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquity, O Lord, 
 who shall stand? To which we may an- 
 swer, No one that appeals to his own obedi- 
 ence ; but every one that is found in Christ. 
 There is no condemnation to them that are 
 in him. For toho is he that condemneth 1 It 
 is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen 
 
 again ; who is even at the right hand of Gcd, 
 who also maketh intercession for us — Henco 
 without presumption, they may exclaim 
 
 " Bold shall I stand in that great day ; 
 For who aught to my charge shall lay ? 
 While through his blood, absolved I am 
 From sin's tremendous curse and shame 1" 
 
 — Sometimes it is also opposed to defeat. 
 Take to you the whole armour of God — that 
 ye may stand in the evil day ; and having 
 done all, may stand. And of this they may 
 be assured ; for whatever disproportion there 
 is between them and their enemies, the worm 
 Jacob shall thresh the 7nountains. Some 
 warriors have barely overcome ; such another 
 victory as they gained would have almost 
 ruined them : but a Christian, having van- 
 quished all his adversaries, stands with his 
 feet on their necks ; and is ready to engage 
 as many more — Yea, in all these things we 
 are more than conquerors through him that 
 loved us. 
 
 The more privileged any condition is, the 
 more anxieties does it awaken. It is easy 
 therefore, to imagine what a Christian must 
 feel, if he apprehended any uncertainty, as 
 to the state he is in. But that state is as 
 safe as it is blessed. Neither death, nor life, 
 nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, nor height, 
 nor depth, nor any other creature, shall bo 
 able to separate him from the love of God 
 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 
 "Arise, my soul, my joyful powers, 
 And triumph in my God : 
 Awake, my voice, and loud proclaim 
 His glorious grace abroad. 
 
 " He raised me from the deeps of sin, 
 The gates of gaping hell ; 
 And fix'd my standing more secure 
 Than 'twas before I fell." 
 
 JULY 28. 
 
 " Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the 
 
 Lord."— I Chron. xvi. 10. 
 
 — And yet many believe, or pretend to be- 
 lieve, that religion is a joyless thing ! 
 
 The heart has very little, if any, share 
 in other enjoyments. Those delights only 
 gratify the appetites, and striko the senses, 
 and charm the imagination. But where is 
 the heart? Even in laughter the heart is 
 sorrowful ; and the end of that mirth is heavi- 
 ness. In religion, the heart finds relief, re- 
 pose, satisfaction, joy. 
 
 " Yes, the heart of those who are fully as- 
 sured of their condition ; who have already 
 attained, or have far advanced in the divine 
 life." Nay — says the Prophet, Let the heait 
 of them rejoice that seek the Lord. And 
 there are three reasons to authorize it. 
 
 First. Because it is an evidence of grace. 
 They may draw a conclusion against them 
 
JULY 29. 
 
 203 
 
 selves, and refuse to be comforted ; but no 
 man can seek to know and enjoy, and serve 
 and resemble, God from mere nature. Ac- 
 tions may not indicate the state of the mind ; 
 but desires spring from it We may be 
 forced to do ; but we cannot be compelled to 
 prefer, and to choose. 
 
 Secondly. Because their success is sure. 
 This is the case in no other pursuit. In the 
 fields of worldly labour, we may spend our 
 strength for nought, and in vain. A rival 
 may bear off from us a prize, which we have 
 long been chasing, and at the very moment 
 we are seizing it. The cup of enjoyment, 
 filled with eager hope, is often dashed to the 
 ground from the very lip that touches it. But 
 their heart shall live that seek God. He 
 that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing preci- 
 ous seed, shall doubtless return again with 
 rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 
 Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst 
 after righteousness ; for they shall be filled. 
 Is there unfaithfulness with God 1 Did he 
 ever say to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me, 
 in vain 1 
 
 Thirdly. Because, when they have found, 
 their aim and their wish in seeking are fully 
 answered. All they can desire is treasured 
 up in him : and they that seek the Lord shall 
 not want any good thing. As to success 
 in other cases, the wise man tells us, all is 
 vanity and vexation of spirit : vexation, if we 
 lose ; and vanity, if we gain. To one of these 
 alternatives we are inevitably subjected. We 
 must be disappointed either in acquiring them 
 — and this is often the case ; or in possessing 
 them — and this is always the case. 
 
 " In vain we seek a heaven below the sky ; 
 
 The world has false but flattering charms: 
 [ts distatit joys show big in our esteem, 
 Rut lessen still as they draw near the eye : 
 
 In our embrace the visions die ; 
 And when we grasp the airy forms, 
 
 We lose the pleasing dream." 
 
 But while every thing earthly falls short of 
 hope, it is not possible to form an expectation 
 adequate to the riches of the glory of the in- 
 heritance in the saints. What is it to have 
 God himself for our portion and exceeding 
 joy ! To be blessed with all spiritual bless- 
 ings in heavenly places in Christ ! To real- 
 ize a happiness, that solitude increases, that 
 trouble improves, that death perfects ! As it 
 is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 nor have entered into the heart of man the 
 things which God hath prepared for them that 
 love him. 
 
 While thus the heart of them that seek 
 him should rejoice, the heart of others should 
 be induced to seek him. At present, he is not 
 far from any one of you. He is even inviting 
 you to seek him. Yet a little while and it 
 will be too late. Therefore, seek ye the Lord 
 while he may be found ; and call ye upon 
 him while he is near. 
 
 JULY 29. 
 
 " To whom he showed himself alive after kit 
 passion." — Acts i. 3. 
 
 How much will eternity reveal to oui 
 astonished minds ! and, in reference to a thou- 
 sand things, we may safely follow the advice o\ 
 the Poet — 
 
 " Wait the great teacher, Death ; and God adore." 
 
 The Scripture is given to establish oui 
 faith, and comfort our hearts, and sanctify 
 our lives ; but not not to amuse us, and to gra- 
 tify our curiosity. — Our Saviour rose from 
 the dead, and ascended into heaven : but be- 
 tween these events there elapsed a consider- 
 able portion of time. During these interven- 
 ing weeks, where was he 7 And how 
 employed 1 One thing only we know — that 
 he frequently showed himsel f to his disciples. 
 
 But what purposes were these intermediate 
 appearances intended to answer 1 The Lord 
 does not always give an account of any of his 
 matters ; and we ought to be peculiarly cau- 
 tious in assigning reasons for his conduct who 
 says, " My ways are not your ways, and my 
 thoughts are not your thoughts." We can- 
 not, however, err in remarking, 
 
 — That they were the accomplishment of 
 his word. He had said, " Ye now have sor- 
 row : but I will see you again, and your 
 hearts shall rejoice ; and your joy no man 
 taketh from you." "I will not leave you 
 comfortless, I will come to you. Yet a little 
 while, and the world seeth me no more ; but 
 ye see me." Now though these declarations 
 extend to his final coming to judgment, and 
 his advent in the gifts and graces of the Holy 
 Ghost ; yet they more immediately insure his 
 manifestation of himself between his resur- 
 rection and his glory. And if the disciples 
 understood it not at the time, the meaning 
 would be explained by the Verification. And 
 they would see how well they might in every 
 other case rely upon his promise. 
 
 — They were also to convince them how 
 fully he had forgiven them, and thus to gain 
 the confidence of their hearts. For they had 
 behaved very unworthily. After all he had 
 done for them, and their own professions of 
 attachment, when the hour of trial came, 
 they all forsook him and fled. How much lie 
 felt their defection, we learn from his com- 
 plaint, " 1 looked for some to take pity, and 
 there was none; and for comforter, and I 
 found none." And their own consciences up- 
 braided and condemned them for their vile- 
 ness. And therefore, had he gone away to 
 heaven, and they had not seen him, they 
 would have feared his resentment and dis- 
 pleasure. But he appeared to them again 
 and again ; and always with kindness in his 
 looks, and peace on his lips ; and at last, lay- 
 ing his hands on them, he was taken up to 
 heaven in the very act of blessing them — thug 
 
2U4 
 
 JULY 30. 
 
 ■elling them that he had the same heart as 
 jver, and was more than pacified towards 
 thern after all that they had done. 
 
 — They were also to evince the certainty 
 of his resurrection. The importance of this 
 event rendered it necessary that it should be 
 placed beyond the possibility of all reasonable 
 doubt. The disciples were not eagerly cre- 
 dulous of the fact, but slow of heart to believe ; 
 and their diffidence has been overruled to 
 confirm our faith. For they required and ob- 
 tained every kind and degree of proof. And 
 these deponents were many. And were eye 
 and ear, witnesses. And even handled the 
 Word of Life. And did eat and drink with 
 him. And for a length of time. And in 
 cases of a most peculiar nature. They could 
 not, therefore, be mistaken : and toe cannot be 
 deceived. He is risen indeed ! And there- 
 fore he is the Son of God. And we are not in 
 our sins. The dead in Christ are not 
 perished. And because he lives we shall live 
 also. 
 
 — They were also to impart information on 
 subjects not touched, or only hinted at, before ; 
 because the disciples were not able to bear 
 them ; and the proper hour was not yet come. 
 And therefore the sacred historian says, that 
 he not only showed himself alive after his 
 passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen 
 of them forty days, but also spake to them of 
 things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 
 And this led them to think so differently of this 
 kingdom from what they had done before, and 
 to wait by prayer for its coming, in righteous- 
 ness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 
 
 But when he said, I am no more in this 
 world: and, also, Lo! I am with you always, 
 3ven unto the end of the world : and when he 
 said, " He that hath my commandments, and 
 Veepeth them, he it is that loveth me ; and 
 he that loveth me shall be loved of my Fa- 
 ther, and I will love him, and will manifest 
 myself to him" — surely he intended a mani- 
 festation beyond his appearance, between his 
 grave and his glory. And this we ourselves 
 may hope to claim. But how is it that he 
 will manifest himself unto us, and not unto 
 che world ? We disclaim all pretensions to 
 personal manifestations. Some have con- 
 tended for these ; and, like Colonel Gardiner, 
 have believed that they corporeally saw him. 
 But surely, this was mistaking a lively im- 
 pression on the mind for a reality. The case 
 speaks for itself. Being embodied, he could 
 render himself visible ; but then it would be 
 a true representation ; we should see him as 
 ( ie is. And, accordingly, Saul saw him, when 
 he appeared to him in his way to Damascus, 
 with a body glorious above the brightness of 
 the sun. But these good people always see 
 him as he is not — they always see him bleed- 
 ing on the cross — but he is not there — he 
 dieth no more, death hath no more dominion 
 over him. We need no sensible appearance. 
 
 — But there is a spiritual manifestation ab 
 solutely necessary. Paul experienced this, 
 or the outward vision would have been of 
 little avail : " It pleased God," says he, " to 
 reveal his Son in me." And our Saviour 
 himself said, He that seeth the Son, and be- 
 lieveth on him, hath everlasting life. It is a 
 perception, by faith, of his glory, so as to in- 
 duce us to love him, and trust in him, and 
 follow him. 
 
 — There are also special manifestations of 
 himself (we mean as to clearness and enjoy- 
 ment) occasionally experienced by his peo- 
 ple; and which excite them to exclaim, 
 " This is none other but the house of God, 
 and this is the gate of heaven." These are 
 not their food, but cordials. They are regu- 
 lated by their condition and exigences. But 
 though they are limited, as to number and 
 degree, they are most desirable and valuable. 
 They make us better acquainted with hea- 
 ven than all the descriptions contained in ser- 
 mons and books. And they make us long 
 after a state, in which his servants shall 
 serve Him ; and they shall see his face — 
 "And so shall they be for ever with the 
 Lord." 
 
 JULY 30. 
 
 " This is now the third time that Jesus showed 
 himself to his disciples, after that he wat 
 risen from the dead." — John xxi. 14. 
 
 Not the third time in succession — for he 
 had appeared before this to the women, and to 
 Cephas, and to James, and to the two disci- 
 ples going to Emmaus. But the third time in 
 kind : that is, the third time when the disci- 
 ples were together. 
 
 — " And on this wise showed he himself." 
 The place was, " the sea of Tiberias" — called 
 also, the lake of Gennesaret, and the lake of 
 Galilee. Who would not like to visit this 
 sea, whose surface and whose shores so often 
 felt the presence, and witnessed the miracles 
 of the Son of God? 
 
 — The favoured party were, " Simon Pe- 
 ter, and Thomas, called Didymus" — he had 
 lost much by his absence before, but now he 
 keeps close to his brethren — " and Nathanael, 
 of Cana in Galilee" — we thought well of him 
 from the beginning ; for though at first he had 
 some infirmities, he was open to conviction, 
 and loved retirement: and he who saw him 
 under the fig-tree, assured him that he should 
 see greater things than these — "and the sons 
 of Zebedee" — John and James — " and two 
 other of his disciples" who are not named 
 But it may be asked, How came the disciples 
 here, seeing when he rose from the dead, 
 they were, unless, perhaps, Nathanael, at Je- 
 rusalem 1 The Saviour had said, " The hour 
 cometh, and now is, when ye shall be scat- 
 tered every one to his own ;" and it : s said. 
 
JULY 31. 
 
 20b 
 
 fc Then the disciples went away again unto 
 their own home" — This was the effect of fear. 
 But though fear made them flee, yet their re- 
 pairing down into Galilee was enjoined them 
 by the angel, who appeared to Mary Magda- 
 lene and the other Mary. And Jesus himself 
 had said, before his death, " After I am risen, 
 I will go before you into Galilee." They be- 
 lieved his word, and obeyed; and he was 
 faithful that had promised. 
 
 — But how did he find them engaged? 
 4 Simon Peter," who had a house of his own, 
 and perhaps had retained the implements of 
 his business, " saith unto them, I go a fish- 
 ing They say unto him, We also go with 
 thee." This was not, as some imagine, 
 blameable ; as if they ought to have remained 
 fasting and praying ; or as if this exertion was 
 the effect of despondency, with regard to his 
 appearance, and his care to provide for them. 
 They acted commendably. It showed their 
 humility — that, though advanced, they were 
 not elated, nor ashamed of their former en- 
 gagement; and their wish — not to be bur- 
 densome to any ; if they could supply their 
 own wants, and with quietness work, and eat 
 t«eir own bread ; and also their diligence — 
 in redeeming their time, and not waiting for 
 him in idleness. And he appeared to them, 
 though not engaged in a religious exercise, 
 but in a secular, honest calling; as the 
 angels had appeared to the shepherds, when 
 keeping their flocks by night And if he 
 came to any of us, by death, how much better 
 would it be for him to find us active, in fulfil- 
 ling the duties of a useful station, than telling 
 our beads, or kneeling before a skull, or a 
 crucifixion, in a cell ! When Elijah was 
 consciously waiting for the chariot that was 
 to carry him to heaven, what did he 1 Retire 
 to fast and pray] No; but he continued 
 talking with his pupil and successor, for his 
 improvement — determined to be useful to the 
 last, and to live, as long as he breathed — 
 And blessed is that servant whom his Lord, 
 when he cometh, shall find so doing. 
 
 — But " that night they caught nothing." 
 Though, in an ordinary way^ the hand of the 
 diligent maketh rich, yet this rule has its ex- 
 ceptions. These should be sufficient to teach 
 us, that the blessing of the Lord, it maketh 
 rich; and that, except the Lord build the 
 house, they labour in vain that build it The 
 race is not always to the swift, nor the battle 
 to the strong. Men, and even good men, may 
 for awhile be baffled in their efforts; to 
 teach them the lesson of dependence upon 
 Providence ; and to keep them, when success 
 cometh, from sacrificing to their own net and 
 burning incense to their own drag, as if by 
 these their portion had been made plenteous. 
 
 — He loves to astonish, as well as relieve, 
 his people ; he therefore often delays his ap- 
 pearance, till our hopelessness has prepared 
 us for the display of his glory to the greatest 
 18 
 
 advantage. Weeping may endure for a 
 night; but joy cometh in the morning — 
 " When the morning was come, Jesus stood 
 on the shore." But they " knew not that it 
 was Jesus" — supposing him to be some com- 
 mon person, waiting their coming ashore, to 
 purchase what they had caught And this 
 was the meaning of the question, " Children, 
 have ye any meat!" — that is, Have you suc- 
 ceeded in fishing 1 And have you any provi- 
 sion to dispose of? — Upon their answering, 
 No; he showed his omniscience. He saw 
 where a shoal was approaching the boat, and 
 ordered them to " cast the net on the right 
 side of the ship," assuring them, that they 
 should find. They did so — and who ever lost 
 by obeying him ? So signal was their success, 
 that they were not able to draw the net for 
 the multitude of fishes ! 
 
 — Thus good men sometimes see their af- 
 fairs, after many a fruitless struggle, taking 
 a favourable turn, and succeeding beyond 
 their expectation. At evening tide it shall 
 be light " It is vain for you to rise up early, 
 to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows : for 
 so he giveth his beloved sleep." — We shall 
 look at this narrative again. 
 
 JULY 31. 
 
 " And on this -wise shoved he himself" 
 John xxi. 1. 
 
 — We have traced this appearance dowi 
 to the moment when the disciples ascertainec 
 who he was. John recognized him first ; re 
 minded as it would appear, by a former mira 
 cle of the same kind ; and on the perform 
 ance of which, Peter had exclaimed, Depart 
 from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Yet 
 Peter was not at present struck with the re- 
 collection himself. But no sooner does John 
 say to him, " It is the Lord," than the ship 
 can hold him no longer ; but, girding himself 
 with his fisher's coat he plunges into the sea 
 to reach him ! What rashness ! What zeal ! 
 How perfectly in character does this man al- 
 ways appear ! He was fervent but acted by 
 feeling, rather than reflection. He had a 
 warm heart The Lord had lately turned 
 and looked upon him in the judgment-hall, 
 and he went out and wept bitterly. He had 
 had much forgiven ; and he loved much. The 
 Saviour had more than pardoned his late sad 
 conduct ; and had sent a message to him dis- 
 tinctively, "Go, tell my disciples, and Pe- 
 ter !" And how could he love him enough 1 
 And love is strong as death. Many water* 
 cannot quench love ; neither can the floods 
 drown it 
 
 — The rest of the disciples followed slowly, 
 but surely, dragging the net. Had all done 
 like Peter, the fish had been abandoned, and 
 the vessel left to be drifted and injured. 
 While we admire some, we must no con- 
 
206 
 
 AUGUST 1. 
 
 demn others. The dispositions and the duties 
 of men are various : and while some perform 
 splendid actions, and excite notice, others go 
 ploddingly on in the sober discharge of their 
 common calling — But they also have the tes- 
 timony that they please God. 
 
 — What did they find when they came to 
 land 1 " A fire of coals, and fish laid thereon, 
 and bread." This was to show that he cared 
 for them; that they should be furnished, not 
 only with grace sufficient for them, but with 
 food convenient for them ; and that verily 
 they should be fed. He had reminded them 
 of this on a former occasion. When he sent 
 them forth on their missionary excursion un- 
 provided, they had misgivings how they were 
 to be supplied — though they were ashamed to 
 make known their fears; but he who em- 
 ployed them was bound to maintain them — 
 and when they returned, he said, When I 
 sent you forth without purse and scrip, lacked 
 ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. "O 
 fear the Lord, ye his saints : for there is no 
 want to them that fear him ! The young 
 lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they 
 that seek the Lord shall not want any good 
 thing." You serve a kind master, and the 
 world is his, and the fulness thereof — Jeho- 
 vah-jireh ! — But we read, " Thou shalt eat the 
 labour of thine hand ;" and nothing has such a 
 peculiar relish as what is gained by the bless- 
 ing of God upon our own endeavours. He 
 therefore also said unto them, " Bring of the 
 fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter 
 went up, and drew the net to land full of 
 great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three : 
 and for all there were so many, yet was not 
 the net broken." And thus, while they must 
 have marvelled and adored at what was no- 
 thing less than a miracle, they were not only 
 supplied for their immediate use; but the 
 sale of the capture would pay their expenses 
 back to Jerusalem, and while waiting there 
 for the promise of the Father. 
 
 — Filled with reverence and awe, they 
 seemed reserved, and disposed to keep back 
 —He therefore invited them — " Come and 
 dine. And none of his disciples durst ask 
 him, Who art thou 1 knowing that it was the 
 Lord." But still keeping back : " Jesus then 
 cometh" to them, " and taketh bread, and 
 giveth them, and fish likewise." The meat 
 was ordinary, and coarsely dressed: but it 
 wa3 wholesome ; and the appetite of labour 
 made it welcome. We do not live to eat, but 
 eat to live. Nature wants little, and grace 
 less. Luther often dined upon a herring; 
 and Junius, on an egg. If it be, as is said, 
 beneath a philosopher to be nice and finical 
 in his food, how much more is it so in a 
 Christian ! in a minister ! Jesus censured 
 Martha and commended Mary. The table 
 fie sprejids for us is frugal and simple — It is 
 the world, the flesh, the devil, disease, and 
 death, bring in the rest. No mention is made 
 
 of his blessing the repast ; but there is no 
 doubt but he did — It was his constant usage 
 — to teach us to be religious in our commoi 
 actions, and that man liveth, not by bread 
 alone, but by every word that proceedeth ou? 
 of the mouth of God. 
 
 But did he actually partake of the provi- 
 sion himself? — What says Peter ] " He 
 showed him openly not to all the people, but 
 unto witnesses chosen before of Gad, even to 
 us who did eat and drink with him after he 
 rose from the dead." Did he rise with the 
 same body that died] "Behold," said he, 
 "my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: 
 handle me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh 
 and bones, as ye see me have." Did his body 
 undergo any change before his ascension.' 
 Will things in a future state be possible that 
 are not necessary] We know but in part 
 And the sacred writers prophesy but in part. 
 
 But " Blessed is he that shall eat bread in 
 the kingdom of God." — Let me be one of the 
 number to whom he shall say, " Ye are they 
 which have continued with me in my temp- 
 tations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, 
 as my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye 
 may eat and drink at my table in my king- 
 dom, and sit on thrones judging the twelvp 
 tribes of Israel." 
 
 AUGUST 1. 
 " So -when they had dined.'' — John xxi. 18. 
 
 They did not, we presume, continue long 
 at table. Table, indeed, they had none. The 
 place was the seaside. The viands, bread 
 and fish. The fare, dressed and served 
 coarsely. Yet part of it was miraculously 
 provided before they landed ; and part of it 
 supplied from the wonderful capture they 
 had just made — Here were seven Apostles 
 — and the Lord of angels. Who, then, 
 would not have been at the homely meal 1 
 Who, having any piety, or wisdom, would 
 not have preferred the entertainment — thus 
 dignified — however humble — to the sumptu 
 ous feast of Belshazzar, or Ahasuerus? 
 Where there is much provision for the flesh, 
 there is commonly little repast for the mind. 
 And this is found after the meal. It has of- 
 ten been lamented, that the best part of so- 
 ciety should be expected to withdraw, as 
 soon as dinner is ended : but females may be 
 assured, that, with few exceptions, they sus- 
 tain no loss by their removal. 
 
 But here, when they had dined, discourse 
 followed, which had been deemed worthy the 
 page of inspiration ; and was written for our 
 learning and admonition. It commenced with 
 an inquiry. "Jesus saith to Simon Peter, 
 Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more 
 than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; 
 thou knowest that I love thee. He saith un- 
 to him again the second time, Simon, son of 
 
AUGUST 1. 
 
 207 
 
 Jonas, lovest thou me] He saith unto him, 
 Yea, Lord ; thou knowest that I love thee, 
 lie saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith 
 unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, 
 lovest thou me"? Peter was grieved because 
 he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou 
 me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou 
 knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love 
 thee. Jesus saitli unto him, Feed my sheep." 
 
 The question was put to Peter, because of 
 his late conduct. Instead, therefore, of show- 
 ing any pre-eminence in him, it implied his 
 fall, and tended to his humiliation. This, and 
 this alone, was the reason why our Lord thus 
 freely, yet tenderly, addressed him in the 
 presence of his brethren — It was necessary 
 both for his sake and for their sakes. 
 
 The question was first put comparatively 
 
 " Lovest thou me more than these ?" There 
 is something ambiguous and equivocal in the 
 expression. Did our Lord, by these, refer to 
 the fish, the nets, the boat, his present occu- 
 pation and profit? Doddridge says this is a 
 forced and frigid sense. But this does not 
 appear. By this calling, Peter had gained 
 his subsistence — he might naturally be at- 
 tached to it — and feel a degree of reluctance 
 at leaving it, without any other means of 
 support in view — and, as our Lord would be 
 freely served, he inquires whether Peter was 
 willing to resign all — and go a fishing no 
 more — and be wholly engaged in his service. 
 —Or did he pint to the rest of the disciples, 
 when he said, Lovest thou me more than 
 these 1 — That is, more than these thy bre- 
 thren love me? To this, Whitby objects; be- 
 cause it would be impossible for Peter to an- 
 swer such an inquiry ; as he could not know 
 the hearts of others, and compare them with 
 his own. But the question refers not to Pe- 
 ter's knowledge but to his opinion. He had 
 already expressed a degree of self-preference, 
 as well as self-confidence, when he said, 
 " Though all should be offended because of 
 thee, yet will I never be offended"— and he 
 had now done more than the other disciples, 
 in swimming to shore, to reach him first— 
 "Am l,then," says Jesus, "to suppose that 
 thou lovest me more than these 1 Peter's re- 
 ply shows his improvement. " 1 have done 
 with judging others— and I say nothing of 
 the degree of my love— but thou knowest the 
 reality." 
 
 It was thrice renewed. Thrice is used as 
 a kind of perfect number. In Peter's vision, 
 the thing was done thrice, to render it the 
 more observable. There is little doubt, how- 
 ever, that our Saviour alluded to the repeti- 
 tion of his offence — and the forewarning he 
 had received — " Before the cock crow twice, 
 thou shalt deny me thrice.'" 
 
 Peter, when asked the question the third 
 time, was grieved — This grief was not anger 
 at the Saviour's conduct ; but pain, to think 
 he had rendered his love to so dear a Master 
 
 suspicious; and fear, also — as he knew h« 
 never spoke in vain — that there was a cause 
 for this additional inquiry, and that it intimat- 
 ed an apprehension of some fresh peril. This 
 sensibility showed a good frame of mind. 
 
 To all the inquiries he replies without a 
 moment's hesitation, and addresses himself, in 
 each instance, to the Saviour's own know- 
 ledge, with an additional force in the last ap- 
 peal — " ' Lord, tbcu knowest all things ; thou 
 knowest that I x ove thee' — I do not say, I 
 shall never yield to temptation again — Lord, 
 preserve me ! — And I wonder not that those 
 who can only judge from outward appearance, 
 think unfavourably of me, after all that I have 
 done. But thou seest the heart." We ought 
 to stand clear with men ; but it is a peculiar 
 satisfaction, when we are misjudged of our 
 fellow-creatures, to know that our witness is 
 in heaven, and our record is on high. 
 
 After every answer, our Lord commands 
 him to feed his lambs, and his sheep. Here, 
 again, a desperate cause wants to find a proof 
 of Peter's supremacy. But he is not told to 
 lord it over all the other shepherds, but to do 
 the work of a pastor himself — the very same 
 thing which Peter, too, himself enjoins upon 
 others — " Feed the flock of God that is among 
 you." Yea, instead of his being exalted above 
 his brethren, he is again reproved and abased. 
 They had not forfeited their charge ; but he 
 had ; and it was necessary to renew it. And, 
 therefore, now he is re-converted, he is re- 
 commissioned. If a servant had offended and 
 forfeited his place, it would not be enough 
 for the master to say, I forgive thee, but I can 
 no more trust thee, or employ thee. Nothing 
 would be deemed a full restoration but re- 
 employment 
 
 Two things may be observed here. First, 
 the difference there is among the Lord's peo- 
 ple. There are not only sheep, but lambs — 
 These mean new converts and weak believ- 
 ers. These are not to be disregarded. He 
 does not despise the day of small things — and 
 he tells those who are strong, to bear the in- 
 firmities of the weak. Secondly, we see 
 what the Lord requires, as the principle of 
 his service — "If you love me, Peter, feed my 
 lambs, feed my sheep. I wish you to do no- 
 thing for me, unless you do it from love. 
 This alone willfrender your work your de- 
 light; and carry you through all your diffi- 
 culties — Love is strong as death." And while 
 he requires the love, as the principle of the ser- 
 vice ; he requires the service, as the proof of 
 the love. "You cannot show your love to 
 me personally ; show it relatively. I have a 
 cause — endeavour to promote it I have fol- 
 lowers — aid them — and inasmuch as ye do it 
 unto one of the least of these my brethren, 
 ye shall do it unto me." 
 
 This love, O my soul, is the grand thing ! 
 Without it, whatever be my religious pre- 
 tensions, T am nothing. Let me put my liamr 
 
aue 
 
 AUGUST 2. 
 
 in the place of Peter's ; and suppose the Lord 
 Jesus asking me this question — Dost thou love 
 uip' 
 
 " Lord, it is my chief complaint, 
 
 That my love is weak and faint : 
 Vet I love thee, and adore ; 
 O for grace to love Thee more !" 
 
 AUGUST 2. 
 
 " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou 
 wast young, thou girdest thyself and walk- 
 edst -whither thou tooxddest : but -when thou 
 shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy 
 hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry 
 thee -whither thou toouldest not. This spake 
 he, signifying by -what death he should glo- 
 rify God." — John xxi. 18, 19. 
 
 This was another part of his discourse, 
 " when they had dined." He had enjoined 
 Peter his doing work, and now he appoints 
 him his suffering work. In such a world as 
 this, doing well and bearing ill are commonly 
 connected. In the first days of Christianity 
 they were inseparable. 
 
 The representation may be applied to the 
 difference there is between youth and age. 
 The glory of young men is their strength. 
 They can gird themselves ; and go, with ease 
 and speed, whither they would. And let 
 them use well their powers and opportunities. 
 Let them be active and useful, and prepared 
 for the future. Other days will come ; and 
 when they shall be old, they shall stretch 
 forth their hands, and another shall gird them, 
 and carry them whither they would not. Then 
 they will be helpless and dependent. People 
 long for age : but what is it but longing for 
 days in which we have no pleasure ; when 
 we shall be dim-sighted ; and hard of hear- 
 ing ; and tremblings will come upon us ; and 
 the grasshopper will be a burden ; and desire 
 fail ! These are the effects of the state : and 
 if by reason of strength our years are three- 
 score and ten, yet is their strength labour and 
 sorrow. Let us secure succour against such 
 a period. It is said, an old man has no friend 
 but his money. But if we are kind, and live 
 not to ourselves, we shall not want those who 
 will rock the cradle of our age. And, above 
 all, God will be our comfort and strength; 
 and bear and carry us ; and gently take us to 
 himself; where our youth shall be renewed 
 like the eagle's, and mortality swallowed up 
 of life. 
 
 But our Lord, we are assured, designed to 
 intimate, that after Peter had served him as 
 an Apostle, he was to honour him as a martyr 
 —" signifying by what death he should glo- 
 rifyGod." Thus, 
 
 First. Our Lord foresaw Peter's suffer- 
 .ngs, and the manner in which be was to fin- 
 ish his course. And he foresees all that shall 
 befall each of us. We know not what a day 
 may bring forth. But nothing is left to chance. 
 
 No event will turn up that is new to him j 
 and for which he has not provided. 
 
 Secondly. Peter was not to die till he 
 should be old. Very good and useful men 
 have been removed in the midst of life ; and 
 this is one of the most mysterious dispensa- 
 tions of Providence. But this is not always 
 the case. Religion conduces to health and 
 longevity. Many of God's most eminent ser- 
 vants have " filled their days," and come to 
 the grave in a good old age, like a shock of 
 corn fully ripe, in its season. And the hoary 
 head is a crown of glory, when it is found in 
 the way of righteousness. Such a man is not 
 only a kind of physical wonder — that he shoula 
 have been preserved so long with such a fee- 
 ble frame, and exposed to so many outwarc 
 dangers : but a moral wonder — that with suci. 
 a heart, and in such a world, he should have 
 held on his way, and kept his garments clean 
 and have been without offence. He is a monu- 
 ment to the glory of divine grace. 
 
 Thirdly. He was to die by crucifixion. 
 This is the meaning of his " stretching forth 
 his hands, and being girded, and carried whi- 
 ther he would not" — That is, his arms wouk 
 be extended on a cross, and he would be 
 bound, to be led to a death of violence, not 
 agreeable to his feelings, and at which nature 
 would revolt. For religion does not divest 
 us of humanity ; an aversion to pain is not in- 
 consistent with submission to the will of God j 
 we may love the result of death, and shudder 
 at the passage. Paul wished not to be un- 
 clothed, but clothed upon : and Jesus himself, 
 with strong cryings and tears, said, Father, if 
 it be possible, let this cup pass from me. 
 Peter would, and would not ; there would be 
 nature in him, as well as grace. And while 
 the spirit would be willing, the flesh would 
 be weak. We see this related of some of 
 the martyrs. Latimer, in one of his letters 
 in prison, says to his friend — " O ! pray for 
 me ! I sometimes shudder, and could creep 
 into a mouse-hole ; and then the Lord visits 
 me again with his comforts ; and thus, by his 
 coming and going, shows me my infirmity." 
 Ridley, at the stake, said to the smith that 
 was driving in the staple, " Knock it in hard, 
 my good fellow; for the flesh may have its 
 freaks." And when they were leading Raw- 
 lins along to the flames, chancing to see his 
 wife and children among the crowd, he burst 
 into a flood of tears, and striking his breast, 
 he exclaimed, "Ah! flesh, you would have 
 your way ; but I tell thee, by the grace of 
 God, thou shalt not gain the victory." 
 
 Lastly. His death was to issue in the Di- 
 vine glory. Persecution has always been 
 overruled to advance the cause it aimed to 
 destroy. The wrath of man has praised God. 
 The blood of the martyrs has been the seed 
 of the churches. The death of such men has 
 been honourable to the truth and grace of the 
 Gospel. It has awakened attention, and in- 
 
AUGUST 3, 4. 
 
 209 
 
 Auced inquiry ; and by displaying the temper 
 and supports of the sufferers, such impressions 
 have been made upon the spectators, that, be- 
 fore the ashes were extinguished, others were 
 ready to be baptized for the dead. 
 
 We are not martyrs.* But we are often 
 called to suffer ; and we may glorify God in 
 the fires. There is only one way into the 
 world ; but there are many ways out By 
 which of these we are to pass we know not. 
 But we may glorify God by the death we shall 
 die — if we are enabled to exercise faith, pa- 
 tience, and repentance ■ if the joy of the Lord 
 is our strength ; and we can, from experience, 
 recommend his service. 
 
 For this we should be concerned. But for 
 this we presume many would desire to die, 
 " softly, suddenly, and alone" — Yet what they 
 should choose, they wot not. They therefore 
 leave all with their heavenly Father — only 
 praying that Christ may be magnified in their 
 body, whether it be by life or by death. 
 
 AUGUST a 
 
 And -when he had spoken this, he saith unto 
 him, Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, 
 seeth the disciple -whom Jesus loved follow- 
 ing ; which also leaned on his breast at sup- 
 per, and said, Lord, which is he that betray- 
 eth thee ? Peter seeing him, saith to Jesus, 
 Lord, and what shall this man do ? Jesus 
 saitf. unto him, If I will that he tarry till 1 
 come, what is that to thee ? follow thou me" 
 John xxi. 19—22. 
 
 This is another part of the discourse " when 
 they had dined." It is the reproof of Peter, 
 who, though recovered from his fall, and re- 
 commissioned to his office, was not faultless — 
 Who can understand his errors 1 
 
 The case was this. As soon as our Lord 
 had tried Peter's love, and predicted his death, 
 he said unto him, "Follow me." This is to 
 be taken literally : for though it might be in- 
 tended as a symbol, yet he now arose from his 
 seat, and, walking away from the company, 
 he told Peter to come after him — probably 
 wishing to have some communication with 
 him apart. Peter obeyed. But John, seeing 
 this, and fearing that our Lord was departing, 
 and would take Peter along with him, could 
 not remain where he was ; and so he followed 
 them ; silent and anxious, and, perhaps, weep- 
 ing. Peter, turning round, sees him: and 
 asks, "Lord, and what shall this man doT' 
 It is probable this arose partly from an affec- 
 tionate concern for his companion ; and, con- 
 sidering the peculiar friendship there was 
 between them, we might have considered the 
 question as excusable, if not even laudable. 
 
 But we are sure it was wrong in the mo- 
 tive. Peter, instead of being satisfied with a 
 knowledge of his own duty and destiny, and 
 praying to be able to perform the one, and 
 endure the other ; wishes to pry into John's 
 2 D 18* 
 
 future circumstances, and to know what wu 
 to become of him ; whether he also shoulc 
 suffer ; and what death he should die. This, 
 in the view of him whr reproved not accord- 
 ing to the hearing of the ear, involved in it ar. 
 improper curiosity —a principle, when in- 
 dulged, always the most unprofitable in itself 
 aud often the most rude in its exercuie, and 
 injurious in its effects. Our Lord always dis- 
 couraged it; and therefore he here rebukes 
 Peter in these memorable words — "If I will 
 that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee 1 
 follow thou me" — as I have commanded thee. 
 How many things engage our time and atten- 
 tion which do not concern us ! How often 
 do we turn from what is plain and important ; 
 and perplex or amuse ourselves with what is 
 too distant for us to reach ; too deep for us to 
 fathom ; too complicated for us to unravel ; or 
 too trifling to merit regard I When poring 
 over the future state of the heathen, and the 
 destiny of idiots, and the decrees of God, and 
 the union of fore-knowledge and free-agency, 
 and the fulfilment of prophecy; is not the 
 Saviour asking, " What is that to thee ] fol- 
 low thou me." "The secret things belong 
 unto the Lord our God; but those things 
 which are revealed belong unto us, and to our 
 children for ever, that we may do all the words 
 of this Law." 
 
 Our present knowledge is proportioned to 
 our present state. More information upon 
 certain subjects would now injure, rather than 
 improve, by multiplying our diversions, and 
 drawing us more off from the one thing needful. 
 We are now in a state of action and prepara- 
 tion. Jiet us leave the knowledge that is too 
 wonderful for us. A day-labourer will gain 
 more of it in a moment after he enters heaven, 
 than any philosopher or divine can acquire by 
 the toil of a whole life on earth. Let us wait 
 the great teacher, Death, and God adore — 
 Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right 1 
 
 But what have we to do ? Follow thou 
 me. Lord help me to follow thee as thy dis- 
 ciple and thy servant — immediately, without 
 delay — freely, without constraint — fully, with- 
 out reserve — and constantly, without change, 
 or — a shadow of turning ! 
 
 AUGUST 4. 
 
 " Then went this saying abroad among the 
 brethren, that that disciple should not die ; 
 yet Jesus said not unto them, He shall not diet 
 but, if I will that he tarry till I come, what 
 is that to thet ?" — John xxi. 23. 
 
 What did he mean by his coming to John ? 
 It may be understood three ways. 
 
 — Of his coming by a natural death ; and 
 he was the only apostle who did not suffer a 
 violent end. 
 
 — Of his coming to destroy Jerusalem ; and 
 he survived that event 
 
210 
 
 AUGUST 5. 
 
 — Of his coming at the last day ; in which 
 case he answers Peter, by the supposition of 
 a miracle — u What if I choose that he should 
 continue on earth till I come to judge the 
 world ]" In this sense it was taken. 
 
 But observe how it was mis-reported. Jesus 
 only supposed a case ; and it was turned into 
 an assertion. He only said, What if I will 
 that he tarry till I come ; and it was circulat- 
 ed that he should so tarry — and the saying 
 went abroad among the brethren that he 
 should not die. Who has not heard the ab- 
 surd story of the wandering Jew] Whether 
 any now believe such a delusion, we know 
 not : but we see what influence the notion had 
 in the early ages. Beza mentions an impostor 
 in his time, at Paris, who gave out that he 
 was the deathless John, and was burnt at 
 Toulouse. 
 
 But see how ready people are to credit 
 things strange and wonderful — O that they 
 were equally ready to receive the witness of 
 God! 
 
 How many mistakes have arisen from de- 
 viating Dy little and little from the language 
 of Revelation. Many errors might be pre- 
 vented, and many rectified, if we could bring 
 the parties to the very words the Holy Ghost 
 useth. Let us distinguish between Divine 
 truth, and men's explanations of it. Let us 
 not take up with the statements of Calvin, or 
 Arminius, or any other reporter, while we 
 can go to the Scripture itself. " To the law 
 ?Jid to the testimony : if they speak not ac- 
 cording to this word, it is because there is no 
 light in them." 
 
 But let us make a moral use of this mis- 
 representation, and learn the importance of 
 accuracy in our statements. It is owing to 
 the neglect of this that there is so much cir- 
 cumstantial falsehood. We refer to the re- 
 lations of facts, true in substance, but false in 
 circumstances. Some seldom ever apprehend 
 things distinctly; and how can they report 
 them accurately ] Some have memories that 
 rarely retain perfectly what they hear. Some 
 are careless. Some mind not morally what 
 they say. Some are full of eagerness and 
 feeling : and love to excite — and for this pur- 
 pose they love to enlarge and enhance. From 
 one cause or another, many, who would shrink 
 back from a direct lie, occasion deception by 
 those omissions or additions which can give 
 an erroneous turn or effect to the case spoken 
 of. By this means, what aid is given to 
 slander, and what injury is often done to 
 character, whore there is no risk on the one 
 side, and no redress on the other ! 
 
 Look at the text, and see what conse- 
 quences may result from the substitution of a 
 shall, for an if: and always make conscience 
 of your speech. Distinguish things that dif- 
 fer. What you know as probable, state as 
 probable ; and state as certain, only what you 
 know to to certain. As a good remedy for 
 
 this, and every other evil of the tongue- 
 Let us be swift to hear, but slow to speak-~ 
 Let us remember, that in the multitude of 
 words, there wanteth not sin — Let us believe, 
 that by our words we are to be justified 01 
 condemned — Let us keep our hearts with all 
 diligence ; for out of them are the issues of 
 life — Let us pray — Set a watch, O Lord, be« 
 fore my mouth, keep the door of my lips. 
 
 AUGUST 5. 
 
 " Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.' 
 Joel iii. 13. 
 
 The season renders the language interest- 
 ing ; and we may consider the words, literal- 
 ly, as an address to husbandmen. 
 
 The husbandman waiteth for the precious 
 fruits of the earth, and hath long patience for 
 it, until he receive the early and the latter 
 rain. He casts the seed into the ground, 
 where it seems lost. For awhile, he sees 
 nothing to reward his labour and expense: 
 for that which he soweth is not quickened 
 except it die. But it soon rises from the 
 dead: and he perceives the blade, gently 
 rising through the earth. Then comes win- 
 ter. The wind howls over it ; the frost bends 
 and binds it ; the snow covers and oppresses 
 it. But it weathers all. The spring arrives. 
 The stalk shoots up. The ear appears, and 
 the full corn in the ear. The crop ripens ; 
 and the golden harvest waves its treasures ; 
 and calls for the reaper to fill his hand, and 
 he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom. The 
 husbandman may think little or nothing of 
 God — unless he wants fine weather ; but it is 
 He that worketh all in all. Whatever in- 
 terventions there may be, He is the first 
 cause : " I will hear, saith the Lord, I will 
 hear the heavens, and they shall hear the 
 earth ; and the earth shall hear the corn, and 
 the wine, and the oil ; and they shall hoar 
 Jezreel. 
 
 And herein we see the power of God. The 
 spectators wondered when five loaves were 
 multiplied into a sufficiency for more than five 
 thousand consumers. Why are not we struck, 
 when we see the grain in the earth annually 
 increasing thirty, sixty, an hundred fold ? It 
 is the commonness of the effect that prevents 
 our astonishment The only difference in the 
 cases is, that in one instance the operation is 
 sudden; in the other, it is slow: but this 
 magnifies the agency, instead of detracting 
 from it. 
 
 And here we see the truth of God. When 
 Noah and his family left the Ark, and saw 
 the new world, every appearance of c.oud 
 awakened their fears ; and God, to tranquil- 
 lize them, said, " I will not again smite any 
 more every thing living, as I have done. 
 Whke the earth remaineth, seedtime and 
 
AUGUST 6. 
 
 211 
 
 narvest, and cold and heat, and summer and 
 winter, and day and night shall not cease." 
 And every time the sickle is put in, he tells 
 us that he is a faithful God, and that we may 
 always rely upon his word. 
 
 Here we behold his goodness. For whom 
 does he thus constantly and plenteously pro- 
 vide ; but ar. unworthy, guilty, ungrateful 
 world; who will overlook his kindness, and 
 abuse his benefits, and turn his gifts into 
 weapons of rebellion against him ! Were he 
 to deal with them after their desert, or re- 
 ward them according to their iniquities, the 
 heavens over us would be brass, and the 
 earth iron, the grain would perish in wet- 
 ness, or be burnt up with drought; and we 
 should have cleanness of teeth in all our 
 dwellings; and while the children cried for 
 bread, the mother would have none to give 
 them. 
 
 Here we also trace the wisdom of God. 
 For though all things are of God, he does not 
 encourage sloth. Our activity is as necessary 
 as our dependence. Though there is a part 
 we cannot do, there is a part we can do ; and 
 if this be neglected, God will do nothing. 
 We jannot furnish the soil ; but we must 
 manure it. We cannot produce the seed; 
 but we must sow it. We cannot ripen the 
 field; but we must reap it. "What thou 
 givest them, that they gather." 
 
 Let U3 be thankful that another of these 
 pleasing and instructive periods has arrived. 
 And while we see the valleys standing thick 
 with corn, and hear the little hills rejoicing 
 on every side ; let us pray for the appointed 
 weeks of harvest. 
 
 — And, remembering another, and an in- 
 finitely more important opportunity, may we 
 give all diligence, while it continues, to se- 
 cure its blessings; lest, in the anguish of dis- 
 appointment, and the remorse of despair, we 
 are forced to exclaim ; " The harvest is past, 
 the summer is ended, and we are not saved." 
 " Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, 
 now is the day of salvation." — Put ye in the 
 sickle, for the harvest is ripe. 
 
 AUGUST 6. 
 
 " Put ye in the sickle, for the harvett is ripe." 
 Joel iii. 13. 
 
 We have taken these words literally; let 
 us now view them metaphorically. We 
 have heard them addressed to the husband- 
 man. Let us now consider them as address- 
 ed— 
 
 — First, to the ministers of the word. That 
 we are allowed such an application is obvious. 
 Our Lord said, " The harvest truly is plen- 
 teous, but the labourers are few: pray ye 
 thsrefore the Lord of the harvest, that he 
 would send forth labourers into his harvest." 
 Bv harvest, he intends means of usefulness 
 
 and opportunities : by labourers, those whos« 
 office is to endeavour to make use of them. 
 So again : " Say not ye, There are yet four 
 months, and then cometh harvest 1 behold, I 
 say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on 
 the fields; for they are white already to 
 harvest." Here he refers to the season of 
 doing good to the Samaritans, which he was 
 now improving; for, in consequence of the 
 testimony of the woman, many of them were 
 eager to hear, and were coming over the 
 plain. The case is, when the grain is ripe, 
 if it be not gathered in, it is liable to perish. 
 The season for saving it is short and uncer- 
 tain. Men, therefore, forego ease, and en- 
 dure fatigue to secure it. Yet what is the 
 safety of the grain, to the salvation of souls ! 
 How many are destroyed for lack of know- 
 ledge! But the period is favourable for in- 
 forming them. We have religious freedom ; 
 and our exertions are unimpeded. None 
 makes us afraid. We have the Scriptures in 
 full circulation. The rising generation are 
 taught to read. Religious parties excite and 
 emulate each other. Prejudices are wearing 
 away. Persons are willing to hear. And 
 not preachers only, but parents, masters, 
 neighbours, Christians at large — all, in doing 
 good, have the finest opportunities, if they 
 will seize them; and the loudest calls, if 
 they will obey them — But the space for all 
 this will not, cannot continue; — Therefore, 
 " whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it 
 with thy might; for there is no work, nor 
 device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the 
 grave, whither thou goest." 
 
 Secondly, as addressed to public judgments. 
 Thus we are principally to understand the 
 passage before us. The people spoken of, 
 were ripe for ruin: God therefore calls for 
 the executioners of his wrath to cut them 
 down. Thus it was with the people of Ca- 
 naan, when their iniquity was full ; and 
 Joshua and his army were the reapers. Thus 
 it was with the Jews themselves : and Ne- 
 buchadnezzer was called in to punish them , 
 and afterwards the Romans to destroy them. 
 Thus it has been with many nations since. 
 And thus* it has been with many a commu- 
 nity, even in our own times. The work was 
 soon done ; for the reapers were the Lord's ; 
 and the fields were fully ripe. — Are we in 
 danger f We have reason for apprehension, 
 if we estimate our condition by our guilt, and 
 our guilt by our privileges. Let us not be 
 highminded, but fear. God can never be at 
 a loss for instruments. He can mingle a per- 
 verse spirit in the midst of us. He can take 
 wisdom from the prudent, and courage from 
 the brave. Hearts, events, elements, are all 
 his. He has a controversy with us ; and, by 
 menacing dispensations, seems to say aloud 
 Cut it do^vn ; why cumbereth it the ground ' 
 But these threatenings are mercifully condi 
 tional. " At what infant I shall SDeak cna 
 
212 
 
 AUGUST 7. 
 
 cerning a nation, ai.d concerning a kingdom, 
 to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy 
 it; if that nation, against whom I have pro- 
 nounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of 
 the evil that I thought to do unto them." 
 May we hear, and fear, and turn unto the 
 Lord — and he will leave a blessing behind 
 him, that we perish not. 
 
 Thirdly, as addressed to the messengers of 
 death : accidents, diseases, whatever can bring 
 us to the grave. This regards us individually. 
 Whatever be the destiny of the nations, we 
 know our own destiny : old or young, rich or 
 poor, it is appointed unto us once to die — 
 This is the way of all the earth. — But when 
 are people ripe for this removal hence 1 
 
 It is certain that sin ripens the transgressor 
 for hell. But when he is ripe, it is net easy 
 to decide. The most grossly and openly vi- 
 cious are not always the most guilty before 
 God. We see a profligate wretch, and deem 
 him ripe for ruin ; and wonder he is not cut 
 down — when, perhaps, though not immoral, 
 we ourselves are much more criminal in the 
 sight of Him who judgeth righteously. He, 
 perhaps, never had our advantages ; and was 
 pressed by severer temptations than we ever 
 knew. If asked, therefore, when a man is 
 ripe for destruction, we acknowledge we can- 
 not determine. But it must be wise to be- 
 ware ; and to keep from every approximation 
 to such a dreadful state. Surely when a man 
 is insensible under the word ; and incorrigible 
 under the rebukes of Providence; and his 
 conscience ceases to reprove ; and he can turn 
 divine things into ridicule; he must be, as 
 the Apostle says, " nigh unto cursing." 
 
 Holiness ripens the saint for glory. But 
 here, again, when he is matured and made 
 meet for it, we cannot ascertain. Actions 
 strike us; but some have few opportunities 
 for exertions ; and yet they have much of the 
 life of God in their souls. We should think 
 favourably of a man, in proportion as he was 
 dissatisfied with himself; and esteemed the 
 Lord Jesus; and relied upon him; and was 
 anxious to resemble him ; and acknowledge 
 God in all his ways. However, the Lord 
 knoweth them that are his, and them that are 
 not his ; and he chooses the most proper time 
 to remove them ; the wheat for the barn, and 
 tne chaff for the burning. But the end of all 
 things is at hand. And, 
 
 Fourthly, God thus addresses his angels at 
 the last day. When this mandate will be 
 given, is uncertain. But we are as sure of 
 the event, a3 we are ignorant of the period. 
 And then shall the Son of man come in the 
 clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 
 Then cometh the end. Then all will be ripe. 
 His purposes will be accomplished. His 
 promises and threatening^ will be verified. 
 Time itself will be no longer. The earth 
 will be cleared of all the produce ; and the 
 "ery fields in which it grew will be destroyed. 
 
 " The field is the world ; the good seed ar*» 
 the children of the kingdom : but the tarea 
 are the children of the wicked one ; the ene- 
 my that sowed them is the devil ; the harvest 
 is the end of the world, and the reapers are 
 the angels. As therefore the tares are ga- 
 thered and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in 
 the end of this world. The Son of man shall 
 send forth his angels, and they shall gather 
 out of his kingdom all things that oflend, and 
 them which do' iniquity ; and shall cast them 
 into a furnace of fire : there shall be wailing 
 and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the right- 
 eous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of 
 their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let 
 him hear" — 
 
 Let him hear this. How many things are 
 continually said ! And how are we to judge 
 of them 1 One says, this is excellent ; an- 
 other, this is all-important. But if you would 
 know what is the real value of these things, 
 bring them to the standard — bring them to 
 the great day ! How do they abide this 
 trial ! 
 
 " Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look 
 for such things, be diligent that ye may be 
 found of him in peace, without spot, and 
 blameless." If you say, " All this is far off, 
 and many things must be previously accom- 
 plished ; remember, you cannot say this of 
 death — There is but a step between you and 
 death. How soon, therefore, may all the 
 prophecies be fulfilled, and the world be at 
 end, with you ! And as death leaves you, 
 judgment will find you. Many, who once 
 had the warnings, are now in possession of 
 the facts. Could we ask them — now , they 
 have entered the eternal world by death, and 
 are waiting for the judgment to come — la 
 there one of them that would not bear his tes- 
 timony to the importance of every Sabbath, 
 and every sermon, with which you are fa- 
 voured 1 Is there one of them that would 
 say, " While I was living, the preacher was 
 too close, and too alarming ?" Rather would 
 he not say, "Why was he not more in 
 earnest? — And oh ! wretch that I was, to dis- 
 regard his voice — and come into this place of 
 torment !" 
 
 AUGUST 7. 
 
 " For the kingdom of God is not in teo'-d, but 
 in poiverJ' — 1 Cor. iv. 20. 
 
 Let us not abuse, but improve the import- 
 ant decision. It may be abused in two in- 
 stances : 
 
 First. When it leads us to undervalue 
 the outward institutions of piety, and the or 
 dinary means of grace. Some would so re- 
 fine religion as to make it unsuited to human 
 beings. We have bodies as well as souls, 
 and we are required to glorify God in the 
 one as well as in the other. Our devotion i? 
 
AUGUST 7. 
 
 213 
 
 mdeed nothing unless we " lift up our hearts 
 with our hands:" but bodily exercise need 
 not be excluded in order to our worshipping in 
 spirit and in truth. — There may be the form 
 of godliness without the power : but, while 
 we are here, the power cannot be displayed 
 or maintained without the form. Enthusiasts 
 may tell us, they never had so much religion 
 as since they have given up what are called 
 its ordinances ; for now every day is a Sab- 
 bath, and every place a temple, and every 
 voice a preacher. But they are not to be be- 
 lieved. Even all the private and practical 
 duties of life are most fully and regularly 
 discharged by those who wait upon God in 
 his appointments. It is a dangerous delusion 
 that leads people to the neglect of those means 
 of grace which God, who knoweth our frame, 
 has enjoined us to use ; and to the use of which 
 he has promised his blessing. In the New 
 Jerusalem, John saw " no temple there :" but 
 the experience of every Christian leads him, 
 while he is here, to love the habitation of 
 God's house, and to acknowledge that it is 
 good for him to be there. The streams that 
 will be needless when we reach the fountain- 
 head, are valuable in the way. Our present 
 aliments will be unnecessary hereafter; but 
 what pretender would be so ethereal as to 
 dispense with them now ! 
 
 Secondly. When we are heedless of re- 
 gulating the energy of our religion by the 
 rule of the word. It is desirable to enlist the 
 feelings on the side of truth and excellence. 
 Impulse is useful and even necessary to exer- 
 tion and success; but, in proportion to its 
 force, it requires guidance, if not restraint. 
 It is good to be always zealously affected in 
 a good thing ; but without knowledge, zeal 
 may even in a good cause carry us astray ; 
 so that our good may be evil spoken of, and 
 even produce evil. Something must be al- 
 lowed for persons wanting in judgment ; and 
 for young converts, especially if they have 
 been suddenly awakened. The novelty and 
 the vividness of their views and impressions 
 of eternal things may occasion some mistakes 
 and improprieties in harmonizing religion 
 properly with secular and relative life. But 
 what we excuse we are not to commend. If 
 one duty defrauds or kills another, it is a 
 robber or a murderer. The wise man tells 
 us every thing is beautiful in its season ; and 
 Paul enjoins us to do every thing decently 
 and in order. But under the sanction of such 
 a supposed authority as our text, we have 
 known religious servants who have risen 
 above their masters, and lectured and reproved 
 them — We have known men who have left 
 their callings, and rushed into offices for 
 which they were not designed — We have 
 known females, who, instead of being keepers 
 at home, have neglected their husbands and 
 children to gad about after favourite preach- 
 ers — We have known orthodox professors, 
 
 who have broken out into every kind of rude- 
 ness and rancour, under a notion of being 
 faithful, and valiant for the truth. Disputants 
 have contended earnestly for the faith, with 
 pens dipped in gall, and tongues set on fire 
 of hell — Persecutors have killed others to do 
 God service ; and the priest, with the crucifix, 
 has urged the dragoon not to do the work of 
 the Lord deceitfully, or keep back his sword 
 from shedding of blood ! 
 
 The decision may be improved by apply- 
 ing it in two cases. First, in judging our- 
 selves. And here the leaning should be to 
 the side of severity. Let us be satisfied with 
 nothing short of the real power of religion. 
 Whatever we depend upon, while we are 
 strangers to this, will be more than useless — 
 it will issue in the most dreadful disappoint- 
 ment. It is better to err on the side of cau- 
 tion than of self-security. According to our 
 Saviour, the delusion accompanies some to 
 the very door of heaven : they knock, with 
 confidence that they shall be admitted ; and 
 are surprised and confounded when they hear 
 from within, I know you not whence ye are. 
 Do not place your religion in attending on 
 divine ordinances; or in a mere belief of the 
 truth; or in some outward reformation; or in 
 some particular course of duty to which you 
 may have inducements that render it easy 
 Search and try your ways. See whether 
 you have given God your whole heart, and 
 can sacrifice every bosom lust See whether 
 your religion has any thing in it above the 
 efficiency of natural principles — whether it 
 is flesh or Spirit ; whether you are under the 
 law, or under grace. Examine yourselves. 
 If believers — Does your faith work by love 1 
 And do you love in word and in tongue, or 
 in deed and in truth? If penitents — Have 
 you said, with Ephraim, What have I any 
 more to do with idols '! If worshippers — Do 
 you only draw nigh to him with the mouth, 
 and honour him with your lips, while your 
 heart is far from him 7 If hearers — Has the 
 Gospel come to you, not in word only, but in 
 power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much 
 assurance t 
 
 Secondly; in judging others. And here 
 the leaning should be to candour. We should 
 beware how we deny this power to a fellow- 
 professor, without just evidence. It is al- 
 ways a difficult thing to decide the degree 
 of another man's religion. Men differ ex- 
 ceedingly, even in their natural tempera- 
 ment. How sanguine is one ! How phleg- 
 matical is another ! Some are constitution- 
 ally bold and forward ■ others are equally 
 timid and retreating Is it to be supposed 
 that all these will show their piety precisely 
 in the same manner ? We often ascribe to 
 a religious ardour what is the effect of a 
 liveliness and volubility of temper. Hence 
 when we meet with an individual who is 
 always speaking on religious topics, we art 1 
 
214' 
 
 august a 
 
 apt to consider him a zealous soul ; and to 
 suppose that all this talkativeness results 
 from pious principle. Whereas it is more 
 than probable, if we followed him through 
 life we should find him as eager on secular 
 occasions as on religion. On the other hand, 
 when we meet with a man who shrinks 
 from notice, and is backward to speak of 
 divine things, and especially of his own 
 experience ; we frequently set him down as 
 one who is not fervent in spirit, serving the 
 Lord. But may not this man be very much 
 the same in all other cases'? And if so, 
 should we not do him injustice by judging 
 of his state in religion by the slowness of 
 his speech, and the hesitation of his temper, 
 and the tardiness of his conduct, which con- 
 stitute a caret in his whole life? Judge 
 not after the outward appearance ; but judge 
 righteous judgment. 
 
 Again. If you have reason to conclude 
 that a fellow-Christian has this divine 
 reality, let it satisfy you. Love and esteem 
 him, though he differs from your opinions ; 
 and walks not with you in the outward or- 
 der of the Gospel. What is the chaff to the 
 wh?at? I love those Scriptures which in- 
 spire us with a zeal, not to make proselytes 
 to a party, but converts to the Saviour — 
 which tend to unite the truly pious to each 
 other, and embattle them against the com- 
 mon foe — which diminish those inferior 
 things that bigots are always magnifying ; 
 and attach supreme importance to those that 
 infinitely deserve it — " For the kingdom of 
 God is not in word, but in power." " For 
 the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, 
 but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the 
 Holy Ghost." " For in Christ Jesus neither 
 circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncir- 
 cumcision; but a new creature. And as 
 many as walk according to this rule, peace 
 be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel 
 of God." 
 
 AUGUST 8. 
 "Lord, teach us to pray." — Luke xi. 1. 
 
 This was the language of one of his dis- 
 ciples, as soon as he had heard him pray 
 '* in a certain place." He did not interrupt 
 our Lord in the exercise ; but when he had 
 ceased, he said, wishing to resemble him, 
 " Lord, teach us to pray." 
 
 It was well in him, not only to attach im- 
 portance to prayer, and to feel his own 
 ignorance and insufficiency in the perform- 
 ance; but to address one who is always 
 able and willing to hear and help us. None 
 teaches like him. Four ways he teaches to 
 pray. 
 
 First. By his word. A form or model — 
 why not both ? — was immediately given these 
 disciples — "He said unto them, When ye 
 
 pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, 
 Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. 
 Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 
 Give us day by day our daily bread. And 
 forgive us our sins ; for we also forgive every 
 one that is indebted to us. And lead us not 
 into temptation ; but deliver us from evil" — 
 The Scripture at large has many instructions 
 how we are to pray. In one place we are 
 told to pray without ceasing — In another to 
 come boldly to the throne of grace — In ano- 
 ther to let our words be few — In another to 
 ask in faith, nothing wavering — In another 
 to ask in the name of Jesus- -"If ye shall ask 
 any thing in my name, I will do it" 
 
 Secondly. By his example. Whoever lives 
 without prayer, he did not. His example has 
 the force of a law ; and he " that saith he 
 abideth in him, ought himself also to walk 
 even as he walked." As to place — he prayed 
 in the wilderness, and he prayed in the gar- 
 den. As to time — we read of his rising up 
 early in the morning to pray ; and praying in 
 the evening; and continuing all night in 
 prayer. As to observation — he prayed pri- 
 vately, alone, and with his disciples, and in 
 public. As to cases — he prayed when he was 
 baptized; and has taught us to sanctify all 
 ordinances and duties by prayer. When 
 going to send forth his Apostles, he prayed, 
 to teach us to engage in no enterprise, rely- 
 ing on our own wisdom and strength. When 
 he was transfigured, he prayed, to teach us 
 how to escape the snares of glory and great- 
 ness. With strong crying and tears he made 
 supplication, when he was sore amazed and 
 very heavy, to teach us, if afflicted to pray. 
 To teach us to love our enemies, when they 
 pierced his hands and his feet, he prayed — 
 "Father, forgive them, for they know not 
 what they do." And to teach us how to finish 
 our course, he dies praying, — " Into thy hands 
 I commend my spirit.' 
 
 Thirdly. By his providence. Ah ! Chris- 
 tians, this may explain many a dispensation 
 that has made you tremble and grieve. " I will 
 go and return to my place, till they acknow- 
 ledge their offence, and seek my face : in their 
 affliction they will seek me early" — That is, 
 I will teach them to pray. What did Absa- 
 lom, when he wished for an interview with 
 Joab, who, when sent for, refused to come? 
 Go, said he to his servant, and set his corn on 
 fire — and then he will soon come. And so it 
 fell out And speedily and eagerly approaching 
 him, Why hast thou done this ? says Joab. 
 Absalom replies — Not because I designed to 
 injure thee; but I wanted to converse with 
 thee; and my messengers were refused. So, 
 when you are lifeless in prayer, and backward 
 in the exercise, and disregard the invitation, 
 "Seek ye my face;" some fiery trial con- 
 sumes or threatens some of your possess.ons 
 or comforts ; and, alarmed and perplexed, then 
 you anxiously say unto God, " Do not coxv 
 
AUGUST 9. 
 
 215 
 
 tiemn me ; show me wherefore thou contend- 
 est with me." You then also want succour 
 and consolation ; and therefore pray, " Let thy 
 lovingkindness be for my comfort, according 
 to thy word unto thy servant" How many 
 of the prayers of God's people in the Scrip- 
 ture were, both in their reality and excel- 
 lency too, the offspring of those measures by . 
 which the Lord not only chastened, but 
 taught them ! 
 
 Fourthly. By his Spirit. What means 
 " praying in the Holy Ghost," but praying by 
 his influence ] Why is he called " the Spirit 
 of grace and of supplications !" Is it not be- 
 cause he brings us upon our knees, and keeps 
 as instant in prayer ] If any man have not 
 the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his : and this 
 Spirit awakens the conscience, and makes us 
 sensible of our needy and perishing condition : 
 and chows us the glory, as well as the abso- 
 lute importance of divine blessings: and 
 causes us to hunger and thirst after righte- 
 ousness ; and leads us into all the truth con- 
 nected with our relief; and through the blood 
 of the Cross, inspiring hope and confidence, 
 enables us to cry, Abba, Father. 
 
 Nor is it only in the beginning of a devo- 
 tional life that this assistance is required : 
 " Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmi- 
 ties," says the Apostle : for we know not what 
 we should pray for as we ought : but the Spirit 
 itself maketh intercession for us with groan- 
 ings which cannot be uttered. And where is 
 the Christian who would not often have given 
 over the exercise, under a sense of his imper- 
 fections and weaknesses, but for the hope of 
 the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ ; and 
 the promise, " If ye then, being evil, know- 
 how to give good gifts unto your children, 
 how much more shall your heavenly Father 
 give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him !" 
 This has revived him again; and, out of 
 weakness, he has been made strong ; and de- 
 lighted himself in the Almighty. 
 
 Happy they who, by the great Teacher, 
 are thus taught to pray. You may be igno- 
 rant of many things. But you know your 
 way to the throne of grace. You may have 
 little learning; but you can speak the lan- 
 guage of Canaan. You may be unnoticed of 
 your fellow-creatures; but your fellowship is 
 with the Father, and with his Son Jesus 
 Christ. And a life of prayer will soon be 
 followed by an eternity of praise. 
 
 But how awful the condition of those, who 
 never express this desire — Lord, teach us to 
 pray ! Can the love or the fear of the Lord 
 dwell in you] Can you dispense with the 
 blessings of salvation 1 Or do you think that 
 God, who has said, " For all these things will 
 I be inquired of," will deny himself] Well : 
 another instructer will soon teach you to 
 pray — a dying hour — a judgment-day. But 
 you will pray in vain ! " Then shall they 
 call upon me, but I will not answer; they 
 
 shall seek me early, but thev shall not find 
 me." 
 
 AUGUST 9. 
 
 " Give glory to the Lord your God, before he 
 cause darkness'' — Jer. xiii. 16. 
 
 — The removal of the Gospel is darkness. 
 Fhe Gospel will never be removed from the 
 world ; but it may be withdrawn from a par- 
 ticular place or people. And this has been 
 done. The Jews are an eminent example. 
 The kingdom of God was taken from them. 
 And when we consider the miracles, the in- 
 stitutions, the privileges, by which they were 
 distinguished, and see how they were all laid 
 waste ; well may the Apostle say, Behold the 
 severity of God — and if he spared not the na- 
 tural branches, take heed lest he also spare 
 not thee. Where now are the seven churches 
 in Asia] Where is the famous church of 
 Rome, whose faith was spoken of throughout 
 the whole world] At present, you have the 
 inestimable benefit. Be not as the swine, 
 who knows not the value of the pearl, and 
 therefore tramples it under foot. What won- 
 der, if the manna should be taken away, 
 when you despise it as light food] The 
 Scriptures may be continued, and the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel be removed : and thus the 
 word may be precious, because there is no 
 open vision. What a blessing to see our 
 teachers ; and to hear a w >rd behind us, say- 
 ing, This is the way, walk ye in it ! Faith 
 cometh by hearing. And what, if the Lord 
 should send a famine in the land — not a fa- 
 mine of bread, nor a thirst for water ; but of 
 hearing the words of the Lord — and we shall 
 run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, 
 and shall not find it ] Give glory to the Lord 
 your God, before he cause darkness. 
 
 — Impenitence is darkness. A man may 
 be surrounded with food ; yet he dies, if he 
 cannot use and digest it, as much as if the 
 aliment was wanting. The means of grace 
 may remain, and we become incapable of de- 
 riving benefit from them. It is an awful fact, 
 that God punishes one sin by another, and 
 judicially blinds those who provoke him. 
 Because they like not to retain him in their 
 knowledge, he gives them up to a reprobate 
 mind. Because they receive not the love of 
 the truth, that they may be saved, he sends 
 them strong delusion to believe a lie. They 
 are joined to idols ; and he lets them alone. 
 They delight in error ; and they find it They 
 seek objections to the faith once delivered to 
 the saints ; and they are overcome by them. 
 They trifle with the Gospel ; and, at length, 
 they cannot seriously regard it or feel any 
 impression under it Thus is fulfilled the 
 prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing 
 ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and 
 seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceiv*' 
 
216 
 
 AUGUST 10. 
 
 Give glory to the Lord your God, before he 
 jause darkness. 
 
 — Public calamity is darkness. Was not 
 the Babylonish bondage darkness to the Jews; 
 when their country, the glory of all lands, 
 was desolated; and they carried away cap- 
 tives, and oppressed as slaves, and insulted as 
 a proverb and a by word 1 And would not na- 
 tional distress be darkness to us 1 Some ef- 
 fects of this, we have experienced : but how 
 inconsiderable have they yet been, compared 
 with the sufferings of other countries, or with 
 our own deserts ! And is there no danger of 
 greater 1 If God has a controversy with us, it 
 is in vain to argue — we must submit. If he 
 is provoked and determined to punish, vain is 
 the aulhority of rulers, the wisdom of states- 
 men, the courage of warriors. " But he has 
 a people among us." He has — and he will 
 take care of his own: but he can secure 
 them, and destroy others. Or even they 
 themselves may help forward, or even occa- 
 sion the calamity — for no sins offend him like 
 those of his own people. And they may be 
 chastened of the Lord, that they may not be 
 condemned with the world. When the ship 
 sailed from Joppa, there was only one good 
 man on board; and the storm was for his 
 sake ; and the sea could only be calmed by 
 his being cast into it. Give glory to the Lord 
 your God, before he cause darkness. 
 
 — The loss of reason is darkness. And 
 how soon may the understanding be eclipsed ! 
 How easily may the slender and mysterious 
 basis on which intellect rests be destroyed ! 
 See Nebuchadnezzar eating grass like an ox. 
 See the philosopher, moping in drivelling 
 idiocy. Religion can only operate through 
 the medium of thought: and therefore, while 
 you have your mental powers, employ them 
 — lest darkness come upon you. 
 
 — The loss of health is darkness. Is it no- 
 thing to be made to possess months of vanity 1 
 or to have wearisome nights appointed us ? — 
 To be chastened, also, with pain upon our 
 bed, and the multitude of our bones with 
 strong pain ; so that our life abhorreth bread, 
 and our soul dainty meat ; and our bones, that 
 were not seen, stick out ] Yet, on this sea- 
 son, many suspend an attention to the con- 
 cerns of religion. When thought is broken to 
 pieces ; and every avenue to the soul is occu- 
 pied with the anguish of disease, and the 
 anxieties of recovery; surely sufficient for 
 that day is the evil thereof. Use your health 
 while you have it, lest darkness come upon 
 you. — The same applies to age. Then desire 
 fails ; the grasshopper is a burden : sight, and 
 hearing, and memory, and judgment, decline. 
 Remember, therefore, says Solomon, now thy 
 Creator in the days of thy youth, while the 
 avil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, 
 when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in 
 nom. 
 
 Death is darkness. Then you must give 
 
 up your employments, however interesting; 
 your possessions, however valued ; your con- 
 nexions, however endeared; your religious 
 advantages, however important — and, stripped 
 and silent, retire into the gloom of the grave. 
 This darkness is certain. It cannot be re- 
 mote. It may be close at hand. There may 
 be but a step between me and death — " be- 
 fore I go whence I shall not return, even to 
 the land of darkness and the shadow of death ; 
 a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of 
 the shadow of death, without any order, and 
 where the light is as darkness." 
 
 — Hell is darkness — outer darkness ; where 
 there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing 
 of teeth. The dreadfulness of this state, it is 
 impossible either to describe or imagine. But 
 we know that it is possible to escape it. We 
 also know, that the present is the only oppor- 
 tunity. Behold, now is the accepted time; 
 now is the day of salvation. Give glory to 
 the Lord your God, before he cause dark- 
 ness. 
 
 Blessed be God for his longsuffering good- 
 ness, and his warning mercy. He might 
 justly have spared his words, and come in- 
 stantly to blows. But he speaks before he 
 strikes : and he threatens that he may not de- 
 stroy. May the kind alarm awaken our fear ; 
 and may our fear produce flight ; and may we 
 flee for refuge to the hope set before us, 
 even Jesus, who delivers from the wrath to 
 
 AUGUST 10. 
 
 " He must increase, but I must decrease." 
 John Hi. 30. 
 
 This was spoken of the Redeemer, by his 
 forerunner John. And it is not to be consi- 
 dered as the language of complaint, or sullen 
 acquiescence — as if he would say, "I dislike 
 it ; but it is unavoidable. It is my grief; and 
 I must bear it." No. It was as agreeable to 
 his feelings, as it was firm in his belief. And 
 it showed a fine and a noble soul in this man. 
 The spirit that is in us lusteth to envy. We 
 love something distinguishing, and therefore 
 exclusive. We wish to rise, even by the de- 
 pression of others. It is trying, even to a good 
 man, to withdraw, and see a successor filling 
 his place better than himself, and, as the ho- 
 nours he has worn are transferred to another, 
 to say, " He must increase, but I must de- 
 crease." It is not an easy thing to go down 
 well ; or for a setting star to exult in a rising 
 sun. 
 
 But it was thus with John. He knc v his 
 rank, and approved of his place. He was ihe 
 servant, not the master. The friend, not the 
 bridegroom — The Church was not married to 
 him. " He that hath the bride is the bride- 
 groom : but the friend of the bridegroom, 
 
AUGUST 11. 
 
 21/ 
 
 which standeth and hearetii him, rejoiceth 
 greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: 
 this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must 
 increase, but I must decrease." 
 
 What does he mean by this increase 1 Not 
 an increase in his temporal condition. As he 
 had been poor, so he was to continue. Many 
 of his professed followers seek great things to 
 themselves : but we may judge of his estima- 
 tion of them by his choice : for they were all 
 within his reach. But though he had a king- 
 dom, it was not of this world. Nor is it by 
 any kind of earthly distinction and indul- 
 gence that he has characterized Christians, or 
 raised their hope. He has nowhere engaged 
 to make them rich in this world's good, but 
 only rich in faith. He has nowhere told 
 them that they shall be free from trouble, but 
 only that in him they shall have peace. 
 
 The increase partly regards his personal 
 ministry. Both John and Jesus were preach- 
 ers and leaders. John's " course" was ending ; 
 but Jesus was only commencing his public 
 work. John was going to lose his disciples ; 
 and Jesus to gain them ; and to become a 
 much more famous minister, by miracles, and 
 clearness and grandeur of doctrine, and the 
 permanency of his success. Indeed, we have 
 no reason to believe that John ever preached 
 after this. The end of his mission was an- 
 swered. He was a voice ; and, having made 
 his proclamation, he was silenced. He was 
 the morning star ; and, having ushered the 
 Sun of Righteousness in, he disappeared. He 
 was the forerunner to introduce the Messiah ; 
 but the Messiah was now come, and verified, 
 end acknowledged. 
 
 But it was the same as saying, Christianity 
 must increase. Christianity was small at 
 first ; but it was to resemble the shining light, 
 which begins with the dawn, but becomes 
 perfect day. Or to be like the mustard seed, 
 which, however diminutive, grows the great- 
 est among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that 
 the birds of the air come and lodge in the 
 branches thereof. Or the portion of leaven, 
 which, hid in the meal, continues to diffuse 
 itself till the whole be leavened. His doc- 
 trine was possessed only by himself for a time. 
 He then communicated the secret to twelve ; 
 then to seventy. His followers, after this, 
 were not numerous: and they consisted 
 chiefly of the common people : for it was 
 scornfully asked, " Have any of the rulers 
 believed on him V After various trials, the 
 number of disciples in Jerusalem, previously 
 to the descent of the Spirit, were about one 
 hundred and twenty. Then three thousand 
 were added in one day — and the Lord added 
 to the Church daily such as should be saved. 
 Thus mightily grew the word of God, and 
 prevailed. . t soon spread beyond the bounds 
 of Judea, and reached the ends of the Roman 
 world —the heralds thanking God, who al- 
 ways caused them to triumph in Christ, and 
 2E 19 
 
 made manifest the savour of his knowledge 
 by them in every place. How much has his 
 cause done since ! And how is it expanding 
 now ! — But a vaster increase is yet to take 
 place. His glory shall be revealed, and all 
 flesh shall see it together. For now shall he 
 be great to the ends of the earth. Such is the 
 language of the Scripture ; and nothing has 
 yet taken place sufficient to fulfil it. It is 
 therefore before us. We know that Hea- 
 thenism, and Mahomedanism, and " the Man 
 of Sin," shall be destroyed. And we know 
 that the Jews shall look on him whom they 
 have pierced — and if the casting them away 
 was the reconciling of the world, what shall 
 the receiving of them be, but life from the 
 dead ? 
 
 And there is no uncertainty nere — it must 
 be. The mouth of the Lord hatn spoken it 
 His death insures it. He has power over all 
 flesh to accomplish it. Let those who love 
 him, and are labouring to advance his cause, 
 rejoice, and be encouraged — they cannot fail. 
 " His name shall endure for e^er : his name 
 shall be continued as long as the sun : and 
 men shall be blessed in him : all nations shall 
 call him blessed. And blessed be his glorious 
 name for ever : and let the whole earth be 
 filled with his glory ; Amen, and Amen " 
 
 AUGUST 11. 
 
 " Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have alway\ 
 obeyed, not as in my presence only, but iw-a. 
 much more in my absence." — Phil. ii. 12. 
 
 " That which is unsavoury cannot be 
 eaten without salt" And therefore, to ren- 
 der it palatable, we season it. When we art 
 going to reprove a fault, or enforce a duty, 
 we should, as much as possible, commend . 
 for praise opens the mind, and prepares for the 
 reception of rebuke or admonition. This wis- 
 dom the Apostle here displays. There was 
 nothing in him like flattery ; but, to introduce 
 his most solemn charge, that they would 
 work out their own salvation with fear and 
 trembling, he applauds these Philippians 
 with four things. 
 
 First. Their obedience. Belief, knowledge, 
 profession, talk ; every thing is vain without 
 this. The Gospel was made known for the 
 obedience of faith — And these Philippians 
 had " obeyed." 
 
 Secondly. The constancy of their prac- 
 tice. Lot's wife, at the angel's command, 
 left Sodom; but "she looked back." The 
 Galatians " did run well ; but were hindered :" 
 " they began in the spirit, and ended in the 
 flesh." The goodness of Ephraim and Judah 
 was like a morning cloud, and as the early 
 dew that passeth away — But these Philip- 
 pians had " always" obeyed. 
 
 Thirdly. The increase of their diligence 
 and zeal. They had "much more" obeyed, 
 
21b 
 
 AUGUST 12. 
 
 They not only held on their way, hut waxed 
 stronger and stronger: not only continued, 
 but always abounded in the work of the Lord. 
 Nothing is more desirable or pleasing than 
 to see this progression — It is like the shining 
 light that shineth more and more unto the 
 perfect day. It is like the springing of the 
 earth ; first the blade, ihen the ear, and after 
 that the full corn in the ear. 
 
 Fourthly. The progress of their improve- 
 ment under disadvantages. They had much 
 more obeyed " in his absence" than in his 
 presence — When he was no longer with 
 them as a witness to observe ; as an example 
 to excite ; as a preacher to warn and to ani- 
 mate them. Some attend the word and wor- 
 ship of God from the influence of a friend, or 
 the authority of a father or a master. Jeho- 
 ash followed the Lord all the days of Jehoia- 
 da, the high priest, who brought him up; but 
 as soon as this eminent servant of God was 
 dead, the young prince became an idolater, 
 and even slew a prophet of the Lord. There 
 are many who regard the eye of man more 
 than the eye of God. It is'well when our 
 devotion springs from inward principle, and 
 does not depend upon outward excitement : 
 when we not only forsake, but abhor that 
 which is evil ; and not only follow but cleave 
 to that which is good. There is scarcely an 
 individual, perhaps, that does not sometimes 
 pray. But does he delight himself In the Al- 
 mighty] Will he always call upon God] 
 There are few but are afflicted, or alarmed 
 into occasional piety. But are we the same 
 in health, as in sickness] In the house, as 
 in the temple] On the week, as on the 
 Sabbath ] 
 
 What an immense loss must the Philip- 
 pians have sustained in Paul's absence from 
 them ! Yet they obeyed much more in his 
 absence than in his presence. Surely this 
 shows that when he left them, God did not 
 leave them. It teaches us that God does not 
 depend upon instruments, though he is 
 pleased to make use of them. It proves that, 
 by his own Spirit, he can make up for the 
 want of any creature advantage. When, by 
 persecution, the Church has been deprived of 
 her pastors; or, by accident or disease, 
 Christians have been destitute of the public 
 ordinances of religion ; they have seen his 
 power and his glory as they have seen him 
 in the sanctuary. The streams were gone ; 
 but the Fountain was near. And where the 
 providence of God has denied the usual 
 means of grace, we have known the sufferers 
 to prosper in the divine life, even more than 
 those who have enjoyed an affluence of pri- 
 vileges. 
 
 "I cannot bear thine absence. Lord — 
 My life expires, if Thou depart: 
 Be thou, my heart, still near my God, 
 And Thou, my God, be near my heart." 
 
 AUGUST 12. 
 
 " Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, una 
 give thanks at the remembrance of his holi- 
 ness." — Psalm xxx. 4. 
 
 It would be perfectly useless to call upon 
 others to do this, in their present state — 
 
 " None but the soul that feels His grace 
 Can triumph in His holiness." 
 
 Since the Fall, this attribute, which renders 
 God so amiable in himself, and which draws 
 forth the highest praises of heaven, makes 
 him unlovely to an apostate creature. There 
 is nothing the sinner thinks of with so much 
 dislike as a perfection that justifies all his 
 fears, and opposes all his inclinations and' 
 pursuits. What an enemy the world natu- 
 rally is to the holiness of God may be seen in 
 the practice of the heathens. Among all the 
 heroes they deified, they advanced none foi 
 those qualities which approach the most 
 nearly to it ; but frequently for passions the 
 most remote from it ; and, at best, only for 
 some physical power, valued or useful, in the 
 concerns of this life. Esculapius was dei- 
 fied for his skill in curing diseases. Bacchus 
 for the use of the grape. Vulcan for his ope- 
 rations in fire. Hercules for his destroying 
 monsters. But not one of them all was ad- 
 vanced to this honour for the virtue of holi- 
 ness — as if this property was beneath their 
 notice in the formation of a deity ; or they 
 loved a god better that had nothing to do 
 with it. 
 
 It was upon this principle that they, who 
 are now saints, "would" once themselves 
 " have none of him ;" and really said unto God, 
 " Depart from us ; we desire not the know- 
 ledge of thy ways." Hence, if they loved 
 the Sabbath, it was as a day of leisure and 
 recreation ; not as " the holy of the Lord." 
 Hence, they disliked his people, as renewed, 
 because they were images of this pure origi« 
 nal. 
 
 What a blessed evidence is it in their fa- 
 vour, that they can now " glory in his holy 
 name ;" and " sing and give thanks at the re- 
 membrance of his holiness !" But such is 
 the change they have experienced, that they 
 do contemplate him with pleasure as holy in 
 all his ways, and righteous in all his works. 
 It is a relief, a satisfaction to their minds, in 
 every perplexity in nature or providence, that 
 the Judge of all the earth must do right. 
 They delight in the law of God, which is 
 holy, just, and good, after the inward man. 
 The Gospel appears to their minds, glorious, 
 because " therein is the righteousness of God 
 revealed from faith to faith ; that he might be 
 just, and the justifier of him which believeth 
 in Jesus." This attribute now smiles upon 
 them. They have a vast interest and hope in 
 it. As He is holy, they can depend upon hia 
 truth ; and are assured of the fulfilment of hia 
 
AUGUST 13. 
 
 219 
 
 word. They know that He, who has said, I 
 will abundantly pardon ; I will never leave 
 thee nor forsake thee ; is a God that cannot 
 lie. Yes, says the Cliristian, since he who 
 loves me is purity itself, and his influence is 
 almighty, he will sprinkle clean water upon 
 me, and 1 shall be clean. He will destroy in 
 me the sin which he infinitely hates. He 
 will make me a partaker of his holiness, and 
 render me meet for the inheritance of the 
 saints in light 
 
 But without this love to holiness we can- 
 not see the kingdom of God. We are, both 
 by Scripture and by the nature of the case, 
 excluded for ever from his presence ; which 
 could only make us miserable. What fel- 
 lowship hath light with darkness] What 
 communion hath righteousness with unrighte- 
 ousness 1 
 
 Some talk of the less amiable views of the 
 Supreme Being — yea, of the darker side of 
 the Deity. And what side is this] The 
 Scripture tells me ; and — I believe it — I feel 
 it — tiiat " God is light, and in him is no dark- 
 ness at all." 
 
 Therefore, thus saith the Lord : " Let not 
 the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let 
 the mighty man glory in his might, let not the 
 rich man glory in his riches : but let him that 
 glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth 
 and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which 
 exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righte- 
 ousness, in the earth : for in these things I 
 delight, saith the Lord." 
 
 AUGUST 13. 
 
 "• Jlnd David said, Is there yet any that is left 
 of the house of Saul, that I may show him 
 kindness for Jonathan's sake?" — 2 Sam. 
 ix. 1. 
 
 Let me not pass by this without remark. 
 
 — See the low estate of SauPs house ! He 
 had a very numerous family, sufficient to 
 have replenished a country ; and yet it was 
 now so reduced, dispersed, concealed, or un- 
 known, that it was necessary to inquire whe- 
 ther any remains of it were left. So God 
 eetteth the solitary in fam ilies. Some houses, 
 distinguished by their wealth and nobility, 
 fall into indigence and obscurity ; while others 
 are completely terminated, their last branch 
 having withered in the dust " Their inward 
 thought is, that their houses shall continue 
 forever, and their dwelling-places to all gene- 
 rations ; they call their lands after their own 
 names. Nevertheless man being in honour 
 abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish." 
 "Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, 
 when the glory of his house is increased." 
 Vanity of vanities ! saith the preacher — all is 
 vanity ! 
 
 See a fine instance of the forgiveness of 
 injuries. Saul had been David's sworn foe ; 
 
 and had pursued him to the last with remorse 
 less malignity. Yet while he was alive; 
 David never took an advantage to injure him, 
 when he had him completely in his power. 
 And when he died, he mourned over him; 
 and eulogized him, far beyond his desert 
 And, years after, he inquires whether any of 
 his family was left — not to cut them off) lest 
 they should disturb his government — or to 
 punish the sins of the father upon the children. 
 Thus Athaliah arose, and destroyed all the 
 seed royal. Thus Abhnelech would leave 
 none remaining of his father's house, and slew 
 his brethren, the sons pf Jerubbaal, being 
 threescore and ten persons, upon one stone — 
 And the same barbarous exterminations have 
 been always practised in the East — But Da- 
 vid asks if any is left, to " show him kind- 
 ness." Let us learn from hence, not to avenge 
 ourselves; but rather to give place unto 
 wrath. A greater than David has said, 
 " Love your enemies ; bless them that curse 
 you." And he perfectly exemplified his own 
 command ; " When reviled, he reviled not 
 again ; when he suffered, he threatened not ;" 
 but prayed, " Father, forgive them ; for they 
 know not what they do." 
 
 We have here v. proof of real and refined 
 affection — That I may show him kindness " for 
 Jonathan's sake." Jonathan had been his 
 bosom friend ; and his open and generous con- 
 duct had justly endeared him to David. Stea 
 diness of attachment is to be admired. Thy 
 own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake 
 not A friend is born for adversity ; and lov- 
 eth at all times : and his regard will extend 
 beyond the individual, to his connexions and 
 offspring. God himself acts upon this princi- 
 ple ; and tells us that the children of his ser- 
 vant shall continue, and that the generation 
 of the upright shall be blessed. " I have been 
 young," says David, " and now am old ; yet 
 have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor 
 his seed begging bread." And shall not we 
 act upon the same principle in another case ] 
 Who remembered U3 in our low estate ] 
 Who, when rich, for our sakes became poor ] 
 Who died, that we might live] He was 
 received up into glory ; and is no more in the 
 world — But are there none left of his family 
 who stand in need of our assistance ] Let us 
 pity and relieve them. Whatever we do 
 unto one of the least of all these, he will 
 esteem as done unto himself. 
 
 It was honourable in David not to wait to 
 be addressed, but to endeavour to search out 
 the object. We are to devise liberal things ; 
 and not only to seize, but to seek opportuni- 
 ties of doing good. The most needy and de- 
 serving are generally the least clamourous : 
 and, like the stricken deer, retire, and bleed 
 alone. Such we must seek after. We should 
 not wait for the enforcement of claims, if 
 conscience tells us they are due. Some, we 
 fear, would never pay a debt, if they thought 
 
220 
 
 AUGUST 14. 
 
 the creditor had forgotten it. But justice 
 is the rule of our duty. 
 
 — We can go no further in our praise of 
 David. Surely his kindness loses somewhat 
 of its excellency in its lateness. Mephibo- 
 sheth was five years old when David ascend- 
 ed the throne ; and was now married and had 
 a son. Thus a considerable number of years 
 must have elapsed since God had delivered 
 David out of all his adversity — He, therefore, 
 (though better late than never) should have 
 made this inquiry much earlier. What shall 
 we say to this] We ought to make the best 
 of every thing, especially in the conduct of 
 great and good men. But none of them are 
 faultless. And the Sacred Writers always 
 show their impartiality. They always record 
 things just as they occurred, regardless of 
 consequences: their only aim is truth. It has 
 been said, in exculpation of David, that he 
 was so much engaged in war, and pressed 
 with such a multiplicity of engagements! 
 There was a truth in this; but it does not en- 
 tirely excuse him. He had entered into 
 covenant with Jonathan: and should imme- 
 diately have shown his seed " the kindness of 
 God;" that is, the kindness which he had 
 sworn in his presence to exercise. Let us 
 take heed that indulgence does not harden 
 the heart : and when we prosper, let us watch 
 and pray, lest we enter into temptation. The 
 prosperity of fools destroys them; and the 
 prosperity of wise men commonly injures 
 them. As people rise in the world, they lose 
 their recollection. The Chief Butler did not 
 remember Joseph, but forgat him — Lord, what 
 is man ! 
 
 In all things Jesus has the pre-eminence. 
 He remembered us as soon as he came into 
 his kingdom. And, though he passed into the 
 heavens, he is still touched with the feeling 
 of our infirmities. 
 
 AUGUST 14. 
 
 " And David saidunto him, Fear not • for I -will 
 surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy 
 father's sake, and will restore thee all the 
 land of Saul thy father ; and thou shalt eat 
 bread at my table continually. And he bow- 
 ed himself, and said, What is thy servant, 
 that thou shouldest look upon such a dead 
 dog as I am /" — 2 Sam. ix. 7, 8. 
 
 David had inquired whether there was any 
 left of the house of Saul, that he might show 
 him kindness for Jonathan's sake. Upon which 
 Ziba, an old retainer in Saul's family, said 
 unto the king, "Jonathan hath yet a son, 
 which is lame on his feet." This lameness 
 was occasioned by an accident, in consequence 
 of the battle of Gilboa, by which his grand- 
 father and his father were both slain. The 
 nurse, not only from the terror such an event 
 naturally inspires, but also from knowing that 
 Mephibosheth was now the heir apparent to 
 
 the throne, and that the victors wouid eagerly 
 seek to apprehend him ; to secure and conceal 
 her precious charge, took him up and fled : 
 but fell, and crippled him for life. To how 
 many perils are children exposed in their 
 rearing ! and how thankful should we feel to 
 the providence of God, if we have escaped 
 them! 
 
 Yet, instead of pitying Mephibosheth, we 
 ought rather to congratulate him on this af- 
 fliction. In the earlier stages of society cor- 
 poreal accomplishments are much rated ; and 
 had not Mephibosheth been thus disfigured 
 and dismembered, the adherents of Saul's 
 house would probably, as he was the next 
 heir, have proclaimed him, instead of his un- 
 cle Ishbosheth — and then it is most likely he 
 would have been murdered, as he was. Who 
 knows what is good for a man in this vain 
 life 1 And who knows what is evil 1 How 
 often have we deprecated things for which 
 we have afterwards been thankful ! How 
 much do we owe to the disappointments of 
 life ! What dangers have ill health, or re 
 duced substance, prevented ! 
 
 " Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take ! 
 The clouds ye so much dread 
 Are big with mercy, and shall break 
 In blessings on your head." 
 
 — " And the king said, Where is he 1 And 
 Ziba said, Behold, he is in the house of Ma- 
 chir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar." Here, 
 probably, resided in obscurity, his mother's 
 relations : and here he himself was forgotten, 
 like a dead man out of mind. Machir, with 
 whom he dwelt, seems to have been a noble, 
 generous man, who took charge of Mephibo- 
 sheth from pity for one born to honour, and 
 the son of so excellent a father ; and not from 
 any disaffection to David. Yea, we after- 
 ward find him equally kind to David ; and 
 furnishing him with every refreshment when 
 he was driven an exile into his neighbourhood, 
 by the rebellion of Absalom. And may not 
 David's kindness to Mephibosheth at this time 
 have induced Machir the more promptly and 
 extensively to exert himself in favour of Da- 
 vid in his subsequent distress? If so, it says, 
 " Give a portion to seven, and also to eight ; 
 for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon 
 the earth." The aid we impart to-day, we 
 may want to-morrow. Blessed are the mer- 
 ciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 
 
 The king sent and fetched him. And ob- 
 serve his introduction at Court — When he 
 was come unto David, he fell on his face, and 
 did reverence. David had done the very same 
 to this cripple's father a few years before, 
 bowing himself three times to the earth. 
 What changes take place in the conditions 
 of men ! David had too reflective a mind not 
 to think of this. He had probably never seen 
 Mephibosheth before, though he was born 
 about the time of his intimacy with his belov- 
 ed father. The first thing I suppose he would 
 look for in his featuies, wo-ild be the imag* 
 
AUGUST 15. 
 
 aai 
 
 ct Jonathan David had too muofc sensibility 
 not to be impressed with the affecting scene. 
 Feeling is always brief in expression — He 
 utters only one word: but the manner in 
 which he pronounced it said every thing — 
 And David said, Mephibosheth ! It was 
 the language of surprise, tenderness, and en- 
 dearment 
 
 — Why was he afraid of David ? It is not 
 probable that he apprehended any danger from 
 Kim. But he had been living in the country, 
 and in privacy, from a child. And it is no 
 unusual thing for a stranger to be intimidated 
 at the presence of a very superior and extra- 
 ordinary man. Madame de Stael, though 
 accustomed to the highest society, and endued 
 with such powers of address and conversa- 
 tion, says she was breathless in the company 
 of the late Emperor of France; and could 
 never rise above this prostration of mind. 
 " But David was a greater man, and as great 
 a warrior, considering the age in which he 
 lived. Seeing the depression of his counte- 
 nance, and his tremour ; 
 
 — David said to him, " Fear not : for I will 
 surely show thee kindness for Jonathan's 
 sake" — and gave him the assurance of two 
 things. First Upon the suppression of Ish- 
 bosheth's faction, Saul's estate had been con- 
 fiscated to the crown : this he promises to give 
 him, with all its future revenues. And se- 
 condly. He assigns him a residence in his 
 palace, and a constant access to himself. I 
 will restore thee all the land of Saul thy 
 father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table 
 continually. 
 
 And how did Mephibosheth receive these 
 honours ? He was not one of those who take 
 every favour as a debt and imagine their 
 friends are only doing their duty ; and very 
 imperfectly, too, perhaps ; in every kindness 
 they show them — But he exclaims, " What is 
 thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon 
 such a dead dog as I am !" A dog is fitter to 
 be under the table, than at the side of it; and 
 a dead dog is fitter for the ditch, than the 
 palace — It was a strong, proverbial expres- 
 sion, used to signify how mean, and base, and 
 unworthy, and unqualified, he deemed him- 
 self. But if he received these benefits from 
 David with so much thankfulness and humili- 
 ty, how ought we to feel under those bless- 
 ings which God bestows upon us ? And here 
 let me ask three questions. 
 
 And first— not Jo dwell on the ordinary 
 bounties of his providence : Has he not re- 
 membered us in our low estate ? Has he not 
 sought and saved our souls ? Has he not re- 
 stored our forfeited inheritance ? Has he not 
 given us a name and a place in his house, 
 that we may eat and drink at his table in his 
 kingdom ? 
 
 Secondly. And are not the blessings he 
 has conferred upon us infinitely greater than 
 those Mephibosheth received from David ? It 
 19* 
 
 might seem an immense thing .o a worldly 
 mind, to be fetched out of distant obscurity , 
 and enriched with a royal demesne ; and al- 
 lowed to live at a splendid court But Me- 
 phibosheth, perhaps, was not even so happy 
 as before ; and for whatever purposes he 
 valued his elevation, he soon left it , and found 
 that he had set his eyes on that which is not 
 But we are blessed with all spiritual blessings 
 in heavenly places in Christ Our dignities 
 and enjoyments yield the most perfect satis- 
 faction. And they will endure for ever. 
 
 Thirdly. And how much less reasor 
 had we to look for such favours from God, 
 than Mephibosheth had to expect such be 
 stowments from David] He was David's 
 fellow-creature; and he had a claim found- 
 ed in a community of nature. He was 
 the son of an intimate friend, to whom he 
 was under obligation. He was also a rela- 
 tion; being the child of his brother-in-law. 
 Though a sufferer, he was innocent and 
 had always conducted himself properly to- 
 wards David. 
 
 — But, Lord, what is man, that thou art 
 mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou 
 visitest him? We were strangers — ene- 
 mies by wicked works — unworthy of the 
 least of all his mercies— deserving that his 
 wrath should come upon us as the children 
 of disobedience. What then ought to be our 
 self-abasement 1 our gratitude? But where 
 are they? Are they urging us to exclaim, 
 Not unto us, O Lord; not unto us! — By thy 
 grace we are what we are! Are they in- 
 ducing us to utter abundantly the memory 
 of his great goodness; and recommend him 
 all the day long to others? Are they con- 
 straining us, by his mercies, to present our 
 bodies a living sacrifice, holy and accepta- 
 ble, which is our reasonable service 1 
 
 AUGUST 15. 
 
 " Praise -waiteth for thee, God, in Sion: ana 
 
 unto thee shall the void be performed."-Psa.\m 
 
 Ixv. 1. 
 
 Here we have the Church's praise, and 
 the Church's vow: the suspension of the 
 one ; and the fulfilment of the other. 
 
 In general, God waits for our praise. And 
 how slow and reluctant are we in rendering 
 it! And how seldom, at last, do we render 
 according to the benefit done unto us ! Here 
 praise waits in Sion for him. The mean- 
 ing is, that the deliverance or blessing 
 which they were in need of had not ar- 
 rived; but they were looking for it — They 
 had their harp in their hand, ready to strike 
 up a song of thanksgiving; but delay kept 
 them silent. Praise waited, therefore, be- 
 cause the Church waited. 
 
 And this is no unusual thing, First as to 
 their spiritual experience. They wish to be 
 able to view him as the strength of their 
 
222 
 
 AUGUST 16. 
 
 neart and their portion for ever ; and to claim 
 ail the exceeding great and precious promises 
 as their own. But they are doubtful and un- 
 certain ; yea, they often exclude themselves 
 from all part and lot in the matter. Now we 
 cannot praise him for what we think he has 
 not done for us or giver to us; but only for 
 what he has. If, therefore, he has forgiven, 
 and accepted us, the acknowledgment of the 
 blessing requires the knowledge of it. Yet 
 how many are in a state of anxiety, waiting 
 for the Lord more than they that watch for 
 the morning ; and praying, Say unto rriy soul, 
 I am thy salvation ! And, 
 
 Secondly, as to providential dispensations. 
 How long was it, even after David had been 
 anointed by Samuel, before he was establish- 
 ed on the throne! How long did Joseph 
 wait, with every prospect growing darker, 
 before his prophetic dreams were accomplish- 
 ed ! And so Abraham, only " after he had 
 patiently endured, obtained the promise." God 
 keeps back, till self-despair and the failure of 
 creature confidence have spread a dark ground 
 on which his glory must be seen. He loves 
 to astonish as well as succour. He will con- 
 vince us in future difficulties that he is able 
 to do for us exceeding abundantly above all 
 we can ask or think. Therefore, at evening 
 time it is light : and he turneth the shadow 
 of death into the morning. 
 
 Here, however, let it be observed, that 
 Christians cannot be ever entirely silent. 
 They have always much to praise God for. 
 Whatever be their present condition — it might 
 have been much worse — yea, in every thing 
 they are to give thanks. Nor will they be silent 
 long. The vision is only for an appointed 
 time. Yet a little while, and he that shall 
 come will come, and will not tarry. And 
 they need not be silent at all if they have faith 
 in God : for faith can see the certainty of the 
 thing before it takes place ; and cause us al- 
 ways to triumph in Christ, while yet the war- 
 fare is not actually accomplished. 
 
 If hope deferred maketh the heart sick, 
 when it cometh it is a tree of life. There- 
 fore says the Church, " Unto thee shall the 
 vow be performed." The vow means, their 
 solemn engagement to praise him when the 
 deliverance or blessing arrived. " If he ap- 
 pears to my joy, I will give him the glory 
 that is due unto his Name — witness my vow." 
 We do not always admire vows. They often 
 ensnare the soul, and give the enemy an ad- 
 vantage over us. And Christians, as they 
 advance in self-knowledge, are commonly 
 morci disposed to pray to God, than to stipu- 
 late with him. It is a useful hint which 
 Cowper gives us — 
 
 ' Beware of Peter's word : 
 Nor confidently say, 
 I never will deny thee, Lord : 
 But, grant I never may." 
 
 Vet vows, in some cases, may be useful. They 
 
 may prove as a kind of fence to the fieid, or 
 hem to the garment. They may serve to 
 remind us when we forget ; and to humble up 
 when we fail. But two things should be al- 
 ways observed. The first is, that they be 
 formed in an entire dependence upon divine 
 grace. " By thee only will we make men- 
 tion of thy name." " Throug> God we shall 
 do valiantly." 
 
 The second is, that when we have mad? 
 them, we should be concerned to fulfil them. 
 " When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer 
 not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure ir 
 fools : pay that which thou hast vowed. Bet- 
 ter is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that 
 thou shouldest vow and not pay." Yet how 
 often have men bound themselves when they 
 were in danger, sickness, and affliction ; and 
 forgetting, or violating their vow, have turn- 
 ed again to folly ! Even Jacob, after all his 
 solemn covenanting with God, in the prospect 
 of his journey, was awfully remiss upon his 
 return ; till, divinely rebuked, he said — " Let 
 us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will 
 make there an altar unto God, who answered 
 me in the day of my distress, and was with 
 me in the way which I went. Hannah was 
 more exemplary. She had vowed, that if her 
 prayer was answered, she would give her son 
 to the Lord as long as he lived. The sur- 
 render was painful : but as soon as she had 
 weaned him, she took him to Shiloh, and 
 brought him to Eli : " And she said, Oh my 
 lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the 
 woman that stood by thee here, praying unto 
 the Lord. For this child I prayed ; and the 
 Lord hath given me my petition which I 
 asked of him : therefore also I have lent hiin 
 to the Lord ; as long as he liveth he shall be 
 lent to the Lord." — " Well done, thou good 
 and faithful servant." 
 
 AUGUST 16. 
 
 " Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, 
 go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and 
 take up the Jish that first cometh up ; and 
 ■when thou hast opened his mouth, thoxi shalt 
 find a piece of money : that take, and give 
 unto them for me and thee." — Matt. xvii. 27. 
 
 How well was i* foretold that his name 
 should be called, Wonderful ! 
 
 What a surprising combination of attributes 
 was displayed in him! Observe the case be- 
 fore us. Here, while we behold his penury 
 and dependence — so that lie did not possess 
 wherewithal to pay the temple-tribute; we 
 perceive his omniscience — so that in Peter's 
 house he could pierce the waters of the sea, 
 and discern a particular fish, and see what 
 was in its body, and announce a piece oi mo- 
 ney there, and the very -name of the coin. 
 Surely the darkness hideth no*, from him ; but 
 the night shineth as the day. "Neither is 
 there any creature thar, is not manifest in hie 
 
AUGUST 17. 
 
 223 
 
 signt; Dut alj things are naked and opened 
 unto the eyes of him with whom we have to 
 do." 
 
 He who saw the stater in this fish sees 
 what money we are in possession of — and 
 how we acquired it — and the way in which 
 we are using it He sees whether we are 
 needlessly hoarding, or wastefully expending 
 it He sees whether we are making it our 
 hope and confidence, or valuing it only as an 
 instrument of lawful enjoyment and of pious 
 and benevolent use. He sees the responsibi- 
 lities of the owner; and knows how he will 
 feel when he shall be called to leave it; and 
 when he will be required to give an account 
 of it at the last day. 
 
 Here we also behold his power and domi- 
 nion. He is Lord of all. The beasts of the 
 field obey him. At his bidding, not a dog 
 moves his tongue in the departure of the Is- 
 raelites. At his command, the dumb ass 
 speaks with man's voice, and rebukes the 
 madness of the Prophet. The fowls of the air 
 obey him — At hi3 order, the ravens bring Eli- 
 jah bread and meat in the morning and the 
 evening. The fishes of the sea obey him — At 
 his command, a great fish swallows the dis- 
 obedient and disembarks the penitent Jonah 
 — And here, a fish, at his requirement goes 
 and takes up from the bottom of the sea a 
 stater, and then goes and bites at Peter's 
 hook, with this in his maw! " All things are 
 put under his feet : all sheep and oxen, yea, 
 and the beasts of the field ; the fowl of the air, 
 and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever pass- 
 rth through the paths of the sea." 
 
 Could any thing be better adapted to en- 
 tourage the confidence of the disciples in the 
 kindness and all-sufficiency of his providence, 
 when he was sending them forth as sheep 
 among wolves, and without any known sup- 
 plies to live upon ? He commissioned the se- 
 venty to go in pairs through the whole coun- 
 try. But he sent them forth without purse, or 
 scrip, or shoes. And they had, it would seem, 
 many uneasy and distracting thoughts at the 
 time. They did not indeed express them; but 
 our Lord was aware of them, and remember- 
 ed them. And when they came back, he 
 brings them to their own recollection—" How 
 came you to think that I, who employed you, 
 should not provide for you ? — Why did you 
 doubt my inclination or my ability f When T 
 sent you forth without purse and scrip, lacked 
 ye any thing] And they said, Nothing, Lord." 
 
 Are you called to leave behind you those 
 who seem to hang on your care ! Hear this 
 Saviour at your dying bed saying — " Leave 
 thy fatherless children, I will preserve them 
 alive ; and let thy widow trust in me." " O 
 fear the Lord, all ye his saints ; for there is no 
 want to them that fear him. The young lions 
 do lack and suffer hunger; but they that seek 
 the Lord shall not want any good thing." 
 
 AUGUST 17. 
 
 " Ye know all thing»"—\ John ii. 20 
 
 The reason or the cause is previously given 
 — "We have an unction from the Holy One." 
 This unction means the Spirit of grace and 
 truth. This the Saviour possessed personally : 
 he " was anointed with the Holy Ghost and 
 with power;" and had the Spirit without mea- 
 sure. And as Mediator for the suffering of 
 death, he recoivc-d all the fulness of it for the 
 supply of his people. They therefore derive 
 it from him: and it is not only sanctifying, but 
 illuminating : it leads them " into all truth ;" 
 and "they know all things." This is a bold 
 expression. But the extensiveness of it must 
 be taken with four distinctions. 
 
 First. It means only things religious. It 
 does not intend to intimate that every Chris- 
 tian is familiar with the secrets of nature; the 
 resources of trade ; the mysteries of govern- 
 ment ; the structure of language ; and a thou- 
 sand other things. With regard to these, he 
 may be far surpassed by the people of the 
 world. Not that religion stultifies its possess- 
 or: it is favourable to the acquisition of know- 
 ledge generally, by rousing and employing 
 the mind, and thereby improving it. But it it 
 distinguishable from learning and science; 
 and makes us acquainted with "the things 
 which accompany salvation." 
 
 Secondly. It means not only things reli- 
 gious, but revealed. " The secret things be- 
 long unto the Lord our God ; but those things 
 which are revealed belong unto us, and to 
 our children for ever, that we may do all the 
 words of this law." This passage should ne- 
 ver be forgotten. It would draw some per- 
 sons a little further from the decrees of God, 
 and a little nearer to his commands. The sa- 
 cred writers prophesy but in part. Had every 
 thing been made known in the Scripture, the 
 world could not have contained the books that 
 would have been written ; and our attention 
 would have been so divided and diffused, that 
 the one thing needful would have been for- 
 gotten. There are numberless subjects, upon 
 which a busy and curious mind would specu 
 late, concerning which the Word is silent 
 But where God says nothing, we are not to 
 be wise above what is written. If men will 
 conjecture, let them conjecture without de- 
 vouring much of their time, or injuring their 
 temper; and without censoriousness, self-con- 
 ceit, and positiveness. He that hath a dream, 
 let him tell a dream. What is the chaff to the 
 wheat ! When our Saviour had foretold the 
 duty and destination of Peter; and Peter, not 
 satisfied with this, inquired concerning John 
 —"Lord, and what shall this man do - !" in- 
 stead of answering him, he reproved his im- 
 patient and presumptuous curiosity: " If 1 
 will that he tarry till I come, what is that to 
 thee? follow thou me." 
 
824 
 
 AUGUST 18. 
 
 Thirdly. It not only means things reveal- 
 «d ; but re\ ealed things of importance. Every 
 thing, even in the Scripture, is not equally 
 momentous and interesting. Some things are 
 hard to be understood ; but then it is not ne- 
 cessary to be able to understand them. Yet 
 auch things as these are not without their 
 use, if they make us humble, by showing us 
 the limits of the human understanding ; and 
 lead us, while we adore here — to study else- 
 where. How many things are there in the 
 geography, the chronology, the natural phi- 
 losophy of the Scriptures, in which we may 
 be safely unversed ! A man may be able to 
 number his days, 60 as to apply his heart unto 
 wisdom, without knowing when Antichrist 
 will be destroyed. He may not know what 
 creature Behemoth was, or where Ophir was ; 
 and yet he may know what is life eternal ; 
 and the way to it he may know. The Jews* 
 had the fiery cloudy pillar, not to examine, 
 but to follow. They knew no more of its es- 
 sence at the end of forty years than at the 
 beginning : but it had led them by a right 
 Jvay to the city of habitation. There are 
 things which concern the Lord Jesus : and to 
 know these is the excellency of knowledge. 
 These will make us wise unto salvation. 
 There are things that are ornamental to a 
 Christian — and these are not to be underva- 
 lued ; but others are essential to his very be- 
 ing. Some things conduce to our comfort ; 
 but others involve even our safety. It is de- 
 sirable, but not equally necessary, that a 
 Cnristian should be informed in all these 
 truths. 
 
 Fourthly. With regard to things of import- 
 ance, it only means a comparative knowledge 
 of these in our present state. Of the God of 
 grace, as well as of the God of nature, we are 
 compelled to say — " How small a portion is 
 known of Him !" What one truth is there 
 that we can trace back completely to its rise, 
 or follow on to its last outfall] We read of 
 things which angels desire to look into ; of a 
 peace which passeth all understanding ; of a 
 joy unspeakable. The love of Christ passeth 
 knowledge. 
 
 "The cross, the manger, and the throne, 
 Are big with glories yet unknown." 
 
 More we cannot concede. If Christians 
 are comparatively ignorant, they are compa- 
 "atively wise. They are children of the light 
 tnd of the day. They have an understanding 
 given them to know him that is true. Not 
 that they are endued with a new physical 
 faculty ; but they have another kind of know- 
 ledge ; and it is as superior as it is peculiar. 
 There is as much difference between their 
 present and their former knowledge as be- 
 tween the shining of the glow-worm and the 
 vital lustre of the sun. They have a heart to 
 know. They see divine things, not only in 
 ! heir reality, but in their beauty and excel- 
 
 | lency ; and while this gives tnem a firmer 
 conviction of their certainty than they had 
 I before, so it ga ins their affection to them, and 
 I brings their souls under their influence. Thus 
 with them the darkness is past, and the true 
 light now shineth. They walk in the light, 
 as he is in the light The secret of the Lord 
 is with them, and he shows them his cove- 
 nant. " The natural man receiveth not the 
 things of the Spirit of God : for they are fool- 
 ishness unto him ; neither can he know them, 
 because they are spiritually discerned. But 
 he that is spiritual judgeth all things .'" 
 
 Thus another reproach is rolled away. 
 Christians are not only considered as slaves ; 
 as cowards; as the victims of gloom and me- 
 lancholy ; but are often despised or pitied a? 
 fools. Vet are they the wisest people in the 
 world. Their religion, from first to last, is 
 wisdom And it is justified of all her children 
 
 AUGUST 18. 
 
 "J\fy voice shalt thou hear in the morning, (J 
 Lord."— Psalm v. 3. 
 
 Authors have found the morning the bese 
 time for study and composition. Hence it has 
 been called the friend of the muses. It would 
 be easy to prove that it is equally a friend to 
 the graces and the duties. It is the finest 
 season for reflection and devotion. David 
 found it so; and therefore resolves: "My 
 voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O 
 Lord." What voice? The voice of praise; 
 and the voice of prayer : the one excited by 
 looking back ; the other, by looking forward. 
 
 How much is there in the morning to call 
 forth the voice of thanksgiving ! Let us think 
 of the season we have just passed through. 
 How many houseless creatures this night 
 have had no place where to lay their head ! 
 How many victims of accident and disease 
 have been full of tossing to and fro, until the 
 dawning of the day; their beds have not com- 
 forted them, nor their couch eased their com 
 plaint! How many have been deprived of 
 repose while attending their neighbours, 
 friends, and relations, in sickness and sorrow ! 
 How many, since the last setting sun, have 
 entered an awful eternity ! How many, this 
 night, have been cut off in their sins ! Many 
 have been terrified, robbed, injured, murdered, 
 by wicked and unreasonable men! How 
 many have been consumed by fire, or drown- 
 ed with water ! How many, this night, have 
 been engaged in works of darkness; and wl o. 
 if any knew them, would be in the terrors of 
 the shadow of death ! How many have risen 
 this morning to pass the day in anguish ! How 
 many to suffer want ! How many, who have 
 all things richly to enjoy, have risen only to 
 live another day without God in the world '. 
 They lie down and rise up like the beasts that 
 perish : God is not in all their thoughts. And 
 
AUGUST lvt. 
 
 22b 
 
 is it otherwise with us? What shall we ren- 
 der unto the Lord for all his benefits towards 
 us? Bless the I,ord, O my soul, and all that 
 is within me, bless his holy name. O magnify 
 the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name 
 together. 
 
 And with how many of these merciful 
 nights have we been favoured ! Hence, per- 
 haps, we have been so little affected with the 
 goodness of God in them. How strange ! that 
 what increases the greatness of our obligation, 
 should diminish the sense of it ! Yet it is by 
 the interruption, the suspension, the want of 
 our comforts, we are made to learn the value 
 of them. Let us guard against this perverse- 
 ness of ingratitude. Let us remember, that 
 if our mercies are common, they must be nu- 
 merous ; and if numerous, they multiply the 
 claims to our praise. 
 
 And shall our gratitude evaporate in a mere 
 morning acknowledgment? Shall we not, by 
 the mercies of God, dedicate ourselves to his 
 service ; and be in his fear all the day long ? 
 
 And when we think of the day before us, 
 how much is there to awaken concern ! And 
 what is our concern without the attention of 
 God ? He shall therefore in the morning hear, 
 not only the voice of praise, but the voice of 
 prayer. 
 
 Who is to guide me through the day upon 
 which I have entered ? How much depends 
 upon one mistake in my movements ! And 
 how easily may I go astray ! The way of man 
 is not in himself; it is not in man that walk- 
 eth to direct his steps. "Cause me to hear 
 thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in 
 thee do I trust : cause me to know the way 
 wherein I should walk ; for I lift up my soul 
 unto thee." 
 
 Who is to guard me through the day? 
 And I am much more exposed when awake 
 than when asleep. My soul is more exposed 
 —more exposed to sin — and sin is the greatest 
 jvil. And what am I, to resist a corrupt 
 heart, a wicked world, and all the powers of 
 darkness ? " Hold thou me up, and I shall be 
 safe. Be thou my arm every morning ; my 
 salvation also in the time of trouble." 
 
 Who is to help me through the day ? I 
 have many duties to discharge. I am to live 
 soberly, righteously, and godly. I am to walk 
 in wisdom towards those that are without : I 
 am to speak the truth in love : I am to adorn 
 the doctrine of God my Saviour in all things. 
 " Lord, without thee, I can do nothing. Let 
 thy grace be sufficient for me; and thy 
 strength made perfect in weakness." 
 
 Who is to give me success in the business 
 »f the day ? I know I ought not to be idle ; 
 Dut to be diligently and prudently employed 
 in my lawful calling. Means are mine ; but 
 how much more is necessary than my wis- 
 dom and anxiety ! " The blessing of the Lord 
 *t maketh rich ; and he addeth no sorrow with 
 V " Except the I<ord build the hoc se, they 
 2F 
 
 labour in vain that build it: except the Lord 
 keep the city* the watchmen waketh but in 
 vain. It is in vain for me to rise up early, to 
 sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows : for 
 so he giveth Lis beloved sleep." 
 
 Who is to prepare me for the events of the 
 day? And I know not what the day may 
 bring forth. Perhaps I may receive the most 
 unwelcome intelligence. Perhaps I may sus- 
 tain losses in property. Perhaps I may meet 
 with mortifications from my fellow-creatures ; 
 and be tried with disappointments in friends. 
 My child may this day fall sick. The desire 
 of mine eyes may be taken away with a 
 stroke. There may be but a step between 
 me and death. It is wonderful we live a day 
 through. " May I know how to be abased, or 
 how to abound. If in the world I have tribu- 
 lation, in the Saviour may I have peace. So 
 teach me to number my days, that I may ap- 
 ply my heart unto wisdom — That whether 1 
 live, I may live unto the Lord ; or whether 1 
 die, I may die unto the Lord : so that, living 
 and dying, I may be the Lord's." 
 
 AUGUST 19. 
 " I am married unto you" — Jer. iii. 14. 
 
 Marriage is the nearest and the most in- 
 timate of all human relations. It is surpassed 
 only by the union between soul and body. 
 Here are two persons meeting together, 
 who perhaps never saw each other some time 
 before ; yet, coming under the power of this 
 ordinance, are united in a connexion that ex- 
 ceeds the claims of nature, and the wife 
 becomes dearer than the dearest parent. 
 " Therefore shall a man leave his father and 
 his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife ; 
 and they shall be one flesh." 
 
 Thus Christians, though once strangers, 
 and far off, become the people of God, a peo- 
 ple nigh unto him; yea, one with him, in a 
 perpetual covenant that shall not be forgot- 
 ten. — He is not ashamed to own the rela- 
 tion — "I am married unto you." What is 
 supremely and essentially included in this 
 relation, when properly established ? 
 
 In such a marriage, there is mutual love. 
 This love regards the person, and not the en- 
 dowments. And such a love there is between 
 God and his people. It commenced on his 
 side much earlier than on theirs; and his 
 love to them produced their love to him. For 
 love begets love : and we love him, because 
 he first loved us. Yet the love is mutual 
 and he says, "I love them that love me." 
 
 The same may be said of mutual choice. 
 In a proper marriage, the parties freely elect 
 each other. God has chosen his people : and 
 they have chosen him. For, though once 
 averse to him, as their Lord and portion, they 
 are made willing in the day of his power ; 
 end this power is not violence, but influence. 
 
226 
 
 AUGUST 20. 
 
 the infl uence of wisdom and goodness. He 
 works in them to will and to do of his good 
 Dleasure. He craws them, and they run af- 
 jer him ; and they can all say, from the heart, 
 • Whom have I in heaven, but thee 1 and 
 vnere is none upon earth that I desire beside 
 thee." 
 
 In this connexion, there is also confidence 
 and communication. Where this is wanting, 
 the spirit of it is materially injured ; and the 
 relation is very defectively maintained. It is 
 readily allowed, that the woman should not 
 carry on designs concealed from the husband ; 
 but is not every thing here reciprocal'? And 
 is he justified in treating her with reserve 
 and silence 1 Yet there are many wives, who 
 nave had no intimation of the state of their 
 husband's affairs, till they have found them- 
 selves plunged into a condition overwhelming 
 them with surprise, as well as calamity. — 
 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear 
 him; and he will show them his covenant. 
 And they, in all their ways, acknowledge 
 him. They pour out their hearts before him ; 
 they hide nothing from him. 
 
 There is, also, in this alliance, fellowship 
 and community of goods. However poor or 
 mean the wife was before, she is now raised 
 to a participation of the husband's rank and 
 affluence ; and however free and independent 
 he was before, the husband now enters into 
 all the condition of the wife. And thus the 
 believer dedicates himself to God, with all he 
 is and has. He feels his cause his own ; he 
 deplores its reproaches; he rejoices in its 
 success. And God gives himself, with all he 
 is and has, to the believer. In all his afflic- 
 tions he is afflicted: and he that toucheth 
 him, toucheth the apple of his eye. 
 
 Finally. There is complacency and de- 
 light As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the 
 bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. He 
 will rejoice over thee with joy ; he will rest 
 in his love; he will rejoice over thee with 
 singing — 
 
 How wonderful is this! And yet how 
 true ! — 
 
 How blessed are the people who are in 
 such a case ! — 
 
 Art thou in this happy, this glorious con- 
 dition ] All hail ! Thy Maker is thy hus- 
 band. There was joy in the presence of the 
 angels of God the hour thou gavest thy con- 
 sent to the proposals of the Gospel. 
 
 Art thou willing to be united to him] His 
 ministers invite and woo thee. Come — for 
 all things are now ready. Resemble not Is- 
 rael, who would have none of him : and so 
 were given up. Behold, now is the accepted 
 time : behold, now is the day of salvation. 
 
 AUGUST 20. 
 
 ' IK» going forth is prepared as the morning ; 
 and he shall come unto us as the rain, as 
 
 the latter and former rain unto the earln, 
 Hosea vi. 3. 
 
 "His going forth," and "his coming," 
 mean his displays and his communications, 
 on behalf of those who earnestly and per- 
 severingly seek after him ; according to the 
 words immediately preceding — " Then shall 
 we know, if we follow on to know the Lord." 
 That contains the assurance of their success. 
 Here is added the illustration of it. It con- 
 sists of two images, equally beautiful and en- 
 couraging. 
 
 The first derived from the morning — " His 
 going forth is prepared as the morning." 
 When the morning is not yet come, we fully 
 rely upon it. We know it is coming: we 
 know it is secured in the appointment of 
 Providence, and the arrangements of nature. 
 It never yet failed ; and it never will as long 
 as the world endures. And does not the God 
 of all grace express the immutability of his 
 counsel, by the certainty of this very allusion 1 
 "Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my 
 covenant of the day, and my covenant of the 
 night, and that there should not be day and 
 night in their season ; then may also my 
 covenant be broken with David my servant" 
 What can hinder the approacli and the rising 
 of the sun 1 And his going forth is prepared 
 as surely as the morning. 
 
 And as luminously too. The morning 
 drives away the darkness, and shines upon 
 our path ; so that we see where we are ; and 
 how to move. " If a man walk in the day, he 
 stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of 
 this world. But if a man walk in the night 
 he stumbleth, because there is no light in 
 him." The Lord will come, and manifest 
 himself to his people. He will show them 
 his covenant. He will lead them into all 
 truth. And, with regard to doctrine, and ex- 
 perience, and practice ; and also their interest 
 in the Divine favour; he will make darkness 
 light before them, and crooked things straight : 
 these things will he do unto them, and not 
 forsake them. 
 
 It is also as delightsome as the morning. 
 The night is a season of gloom, as it is a 
 period of confinement, and danger, and fear, 
 and anxiety. Paul's mariners, in the storm, 
 cast four anchors, and wished for the day. 
 David refers to travellers and sentinels, who 
 watch for the morning, as the image of his 
 waiting for the Lord. Some nights are less 
 cheerless than others ; but, at best, they have 
 only the moon and stars : the sun is wanting. 
 He alone can make the morning : and when 
 he comes, the birds sing, the lambs play, and 
 man partakes of the cheerfulness that spreads 
 all around. " Truly the light is sweet ; and 
 a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold 
 the sun." Creatures are pleasing; but none 
 of them can supply the place of God. He is 
 our sun, as well as our shield; and the 
 
AUGUST 21. 
 
 227 
 
 language or the gracious heart is — "Oh! 
 when wilt Thou come unto me 1 Thou alone 
 canst put my fears to flight Thou alone 
 canst inspire me with joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory." 
 
 But the morning comes not all at once, hut 
 gradually. What a difference is there be- 
 tween the first glimmerings of the dawn, and 
 the splendour of noon ! So the path of the 
 just is as the shining light, that shineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day. 
 
 The second is derived from the rain — " He 
 •hall come unto us as the rain, as the latter 
 and former rain unto the earth." God asks, 
 " Can any of the vanities of the Gentiles send 
 rain I" He claims the production as his own 
 divine prerogative : and justly wonders that 
 we do not notice it more than we do — " Nei- 
 ther say they in their heart, Let us now fear 
 the Lord our God, that giveth rain ; both the 
 former and the latter in his season." In Judea 
 the rain was less frequent and more periodi- 
 cal, than with us. It peculiarly fell after 
 autumn and spring ; that is, just after seed- 
 time, and just before reaping : the former to 
 soften the ground, and quicken the grain, and 
 aid the springing thereof; the latter, to fill 
 che corn in the ear, and hasten its maturity. 
 
 What would nature be without rain 1 We 
 ire equally dependent on the grace of God. 
 But, under the influences of his Word and 
 Spirit, we revive and grow as the corn. 
 These influences are always needful ; but is 
 it pressing the metaphor to observe, that there 
 are two seasons when they are peculiarly ex- 
 perienced ? The one is connected v/ith the 
 beginning of the divine life — this may be 
 called the former rain. The rther, with the 
 close of it — this may be called *he latter rain. 
 The one is to enliven. The otner to con- 
 firm. To the " former," many can look back, 
 And ask, 
 
 "Where ie the MesKdne's I knew, 
 W.en fi:«t I -raw Ifco Lord? 
 ur herp la tr>"U sod-refreshing view 
 Of jesus and nis Word ?" 
 
 •-Others are lcnging for the " latter." Their 
 .■salvation is nearer than when they believed. 
 But they do not yet feel as they wish. They 
 want more faith, more hope, more consolation 
 — more of all the fulness of God. Let the last 
 showers descend ; and the appointed weeks 
 of harvest come; and the produce be brought 
 home, with "shoutings, Grace, grace unto 
 it!" 
 
 AUGUST 21. 
 
 ■' Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying. 
 Lord, behold he -whom thou lovest is sick." 
 John xi. 3. 
 
 These words furnish several sources of re- 
 anark and instruction. 
 The first regards the love of Jesus. In his 
 
 love to Lazarus, there was something pecu- 
 liar, and something common. He loved him 
 with a partial, and he loved him with a divine 
 affection. To know Christ after the flesh, is 
 a privilege which has long since ceased ; and 
 to be loved by him under the advantage of 
 his humanity, was a favour restricted to few. 
 But there is, however, another sense in which, 
 as he loved Lazarus, so he loves us: and 
 though we share not in the partial regard of 
 the friend, we are the subjects of the divine 
 regard of the Saviour. This love commenced 
 from no excellency in ua, like the love of 
 creatures. It took knowledge of us, as sin- 
 ners. It began before the foundation of the 
 world. It led him to espouse our cause, and 
 brought him under an engagement to suffer 
 and die for us — His people remember this love 
 more than wine. 
 
 The second regards the affliction of La 
 zarus — He " was sick." Sickness is one of 
 the common calamities of life ; and it is one 
 of the most painful and trying. Yet Lazarus 
 was exercised with it, though he was loved 
 of Jesus. This explains the nature of his love, 
 and shows us that it does not exempt its sub- 
 jects from distress. It is not the foolish 
 fondness of a father, who, when correction is 
 necessary, spares the child for his crying. He 
 that thus " spareth the rod, hateth his son : but 
 he that loveth him, chastens him betimes." 
 Could we now see, as we shall hereafter, the 
 principle, the design, the alleviations, the ad- 
 vantages of the afflictions of the righteous, we 
 should perceive that they are not only com- 
 patible with Divine love, but the fruit, the 
 proof of it "Whom the Lord loveth, he 
 chasteneth ; and scourgeth every son whom 
 he receiveth." 
 
 The third regards the mission of the sis- 
 ters — " Therefore the sisters sent unto Jesus." 
 Their affliction led to this application. To 
 induce us to send to him is the design of our 
 trials; for we are too forgetful of him in ease 
 and prosperity — " In their affliction they will 
 seek me early." What can we do without 
 him then 1 Therefore, says the Teacher, as 
 well as the Chastiser, " Call upon me in the 
 day of trouble." And what a solace ! what a 
 relief! what a source of support sanctifica- 
 tion and deliverance, is prayer ! John's dis- 
 ciples therefore, when their master was be- 
 headed, not only took up the body and buried 
 it but " went and told Jesus." " I will say 
 unto God," was the resolve of Job, "do not 
 condemn me ; show me wherefore thou con- 
 tendest with me." And, says David, " From 
 the end of the earth will I cry unto thee when 
 my heart is overwhelmed : lead me to the 
 rock that is higher than I." Thus it has been 
 with all who have heard the rod — They have 
 all said, " A glorious high throne from the 
 beginning has been the place of our sanctu- 
 ary." 
 
 Therefore his sisters sent unto him. It u 
 
228 
 
 AUGUST 22, 
 
 pleasing when, in our natural relations, we 
 have spii itual friends who will carry our cases, 
 and PDread them before the Lord. Many in 
 their sickness have connexions about them, 
 who are kind and attentive ; but they never 
 speak a word to them of their souls ; and never 
 administer to them the cordials of the Gos- 
 pel, though they often apply self-righteous 
 opiates to stupify conscience. They send for 
 the physician and the lawyer, but do not ad- 
 dress the Saviour for them. But some, like 
 Lazarus, have those who will bear them upon 
 their minds, and call in the aid of the Hope 
 of Israel, the Saviour thereof, in the time of 
 trouble. And what an encouragement and 
 comfort is this to those who are scarcely able 
 to lift a thought to God for themselves ; whose 
 broken and distracted petitions seem unworthy 
 of notice ; and who know that the prayer of 
 the righteous avail eth much ! 
 
 The fourth is, the message they conveyed 
 to him — " Saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou 
 lovest is sick." From hence 1 we may learn 
 two things. — First. The Lord's love gives us 
 encouragement in prayer, and furnishes us 
 with our most prevailing plea in dealing with 
 him. They do not say, he whom we love — 
 though this was true. Nor he who loves thee 
 -though this was true : but, he whom thou 
 lovest. How wise, how expressive, was this ! 
 As much as to say, " Hast not thou deigned 
 to regard him already 1 Has not thy kind- 
 ness for hirn raised our confidence in thee, 
 and our expectation from thee'? Will not 
 others turn their eyes towards thee, and see 
 whether thy friendship is like the friendship 
 of the world, which leaves its dependents in 
 the hour of necessity and distress V " A true 
 friend loveth at all times ; but is born for ad- 
 versity." We read of pleading with God ; and 
 filling our mouth with arguments. Our most 
 suitable and successful ones must be derived 
 from himself, and especially from his own 
 goodness. "I plead nothing of my own — not 
 even my love to thee : v 
 
 ' Yet I love thee, and ado/e : 
 O for grace to love thee more !' 
 
 But my love to thee is weak and cold ; and 
 whatever it be, it is the effect of thy love to 
 me. I was once a stranger, and an enemy, 
 and should have remained so still, hadst not 
 thou found a way into my heart. But thou 
 hast redeemed me by thy blood. Thou hast 
 called me by thy grace. Thou hast opened 
 my blind eyes; and turned my feet into the 
 path of peace. And after all this love, wilt 
 thou cast me off"? Couldst thou not have de- 
 stroyed me, without showing me such things 
 as these ?" 
 
 Secondly. It is better for us, when we 
 seek the Lord for temporal things, to refer 
 our suit to his own good pleasure. I admire 
 the manner in which these pious women ad- 
 dressed him. They do not prescribe — they 
 hardly petition — they particularize nothing 
 
 They do not say, Lord, come .o his house- 
 Come immediately — Remove nis malady — 
 What will become of us, if Lazarus should 
 die ! But they state the case — and leave it • 
 " Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.' 
 When, therefore, we have to pray for deli- 
 verance from some trouble, or the acquisi- 
 tion of some outward favour, let us do it 
 with modesty and reserve. For these bless- 
 ings are promised, not absolutely, but condi- 
 tionally; that is, if they are good for us: 
 and in the very same way they are to be im- 
 plored. We must not desire them, if they 
 would be hurtful ; and they may be injuri- 
 ous: and God perfectly knows whether this 
 would be the result of success and indul- 
 gence. Had the Jews prayed in this man- 
 ner, for flesh, he would not have given them 
 their heart's desire ; and sent leanness into 
 their souls. What we extort, as it were, 
 from God, by restless importunity, turns the 
 blessing into a curse. The feverish and in- 
 flamed state of the mind, renders the grati- 
 fication of the craving dangerous. We can- 
 not be too earnest with God about spiritual 
 blessings : but as to every thing of a tempo- 
 ral nature, temperance of mind becomes us , 
 and, in resignation at his feet, we must en- 
 deavour to say — " Here I am ; let him do 
 what seemeth him good. 
 
 ' Assure me of thy wondrous love, 
 
 Immeasurably kind : 
 And, Lord, to thine unerring will 
 Be every wish resigned.' " 
 
 AUGUST 22. 
 " The word of Christ." — Col. iii. 10. 
 
 So the Scriptures are called — because he 
 is the author ; and — because he is the sub- 
 ject of their contents. They are not only 
 derived from the inspiration of his Spirit ; 
 but they are full of his person, and charac- 
 ter, and sufferings, and glory. There is no- 
 thing, perhaps, admitted into them but has 
 some relation to him. We cannot, in many 
 instances, trace this connexion at present : 
 but we shall see more of it when, in the 
 Church, the light of the moon shall be as the 
 light of the sun, and the light of the sun 
 shall be seven fold, as the light of seven 
 days. And, perhaps to explore it perfectly, 
 will be a part of the blessedness and employ- 
 ment of heaven. But when our Lord urged 
 his hearers to search the Scriptures, he said. 
 " They are they that testify of me." And. 
 going to Emmaus with the two disciples. 
 " he expounded unto them, in all the Scrip 
 tures, the things concerning himself." 
 
 We may divide the Scriptures into six 
 parts. 
 
 There is the historical part. He is the 
 substance of this. In Adam, we see him the 
 head and representative of his people. In 
 Noah as the restorer of a new world. In 
 
AUGUST 23. 
 
 229 
 
 l , aac, as a victim lad on the altar. In Jo- 
 «eph, as a sufferer and a saviour. In Moses, 
 as a law-giver. In Aaron, as a high priest 
 In Joshua, as a leader and commander. In 
 Solomon, as the prince of peace. In Jonah, 
 as buried, and rising from the grave. 
 
 There is the ceremonial part. Of this, he 
 is the substance. He is the body of all its 
 shadows, the reality of all its types. He is 
 the rock, a hose streams followed the Israel 
 of Gcd. He is the manna, the true bread that 
 came down from heaven. In the City of Re- 
 fuge, we behold him as our security from 
 avenging justice. And in every bleeding 
 sacrifice, as the atonement of our sins. 
 
 There is the prophetical part. Here he is 
 all in all. " To him gave all the prophets 
 witness." " The testimony of Jesus, is the 
 spirit of prophecy." 
 
 There is the promissory part — And how 
 large and glorious a portion of it is filled 
 with exceeding great and precious promises ! 
 What blessing can we need, that is not fur- 
 nished under the pledge of a God that can- 
 not lie } " But all the promises of God in 
 him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the 
 glory of God by us." 
 
 There is the practical part. To be a 
 Christian, is, to live, not to ourselves, but to 
 him that died for us, and rose again. Of 
 good works, his example is the rule ; his 
 love is the motive ; his Spirit is the author. 
 He is the altar on which, all our sacrifices 
 are to be offered. Prayer is asking in his 
 name. We are to love our wives, even as he 
 loved the Church, and gave himself for it 
 
 There is the doctrinal part. And what is 
 the great mystery of godliness 1 " God was 
 manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, 
 seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, 
 believed on in the world, received up into 
 glory." Every doctrine of the Gospel, as 
 treated by the inspired authors, leads to him. 
 If we are justified, it is by his righteousness. 
 If we are sanctified, it is by his Spirit. If 
 the glory of God shines forth, it is in the face 
 of Jesus Christ. Providence is, all power 
 given unto him in heaven and in earth. The 
 whole of Christianity is called, " The truth 
 as it is in Jesus." 
 
 Take him out of the Bible, and you take 
 the sun out of our world ; and the soul out 
 of the body. 
 
 It is this that so powerfully endears the 
 sacred Volume to every real Christian. It 
 is the word of One he supremely loves ; and 
 of One he feels to be infinitely necessary to 
 all his comfort, and all his hope. Of him he 
 can never read, or hear, enough. 
 
 O my soul ! let this word of Christ dwell 
 in thee richly in all wisdom. Never forget 
 the admonition of kindness, as well as of au- 
 thority; "Bind it continually upon thine 
 heart, and tie it about thy neck. When thou 
 goest it shall lead thee ; when thou sleep- 
 20 
 
 est, it shall keep thee; and when thou 
 awakest, it shall talk with thee." 
 
 AUGUST 23. 
 
 " Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he 
 shall exalt thee to inherit the land : when the 
 wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it" — 
 Psalm xxxvii. 34. 
 
 Here is a twofold admonition. 
 
 First. " Wait on the Lord." « I hope tc 
 do so." But are you sure of this 1 Is there 
 any thing in your religious exercises that 
 really deserves the name of waiting on God 1 
 For persons may read without attention, and 
 hear without faith, and sing without praise, 
 and pray without desire. They may draw 
 nigh to him with the mouth, and honour 
 him with the lip, while the heart is far from 
 him. But God is a Spirit; and they that' 
 worship him, must worship him in spirit and 
 in truth. — " I hope I do thus wait on him." 
 But do you thus wait on him sufficiently ? 
 In the sanctuary 1 In the family J In the 
 closet 1 In all your concerns — like David, 
 who said, " On thee do I wait all the day, 
 Lord !" 
 
 Secondly. " And keep his way." This is 
 beautifully connected with the former. 
 Wait — and work. Wait — and walk. Get 
 grace — and exercise it. Persevere in the 
 use of means, if present comfort be with- 
 holden. Neither give up the course in which 
 you are engaged — nor turn aside — nor 
 stand still — nor look back — nor seem to come 
 short; though superiors frown — and com- 
 panions reproach — and iniquity abounds — 
 and the love of many waxes cold — and num- 
 bers walk no more with you. In all opposi- 
 tion, and through every discouragement, let 
 your soul follow hard after God. Thus did 
 Job ; and therefore he could say, " My foot 
 hath held his steps; his way have I kept, 
 and not declined. Neither have 1 gone back 
 from the commandment of his lips : I have 
 esteemed the words of his mouth more than 
 my necessary food." So it was also with 
 the Church. " Our heart is not turned back, 
 neither have our steps declined from thy 
 way ; though thou hast sore broken us in 
 the place of dragons, and covered us with 
 the shadow of death." We have enough to 
 animate us to hold on — " After two days will 
 he revive us : in the third day will he rais3 
 us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then 
 shall we know if we follow on to know the 
 Lord. His going forth is prepared as the 
 morning ; and he shall come unto us as the 
 rain, as the latter and former rain unto the 
 earth." 
 
 Here is a twofold promise. 
 
 First. "He shall exalt thee to inherit 
 the land." God is the source of all eleva- 
 
230 
 
 AUGUST 24. 
 
 •ion and honour. He raised the Jews to 
 the possession of Canaan, the glory of all 
 lands. He dignifies Christians with a title 
 to a better, even a heavenly country ; where, 
 "with kings, are they upon the throne." 
 He advances them here, as well as here- 
 after. For he is " the glory of their strength, 
 and in his favour their horn is exalted." 
 And he exalts them not only with regard to 
 spiritual, but temporal things. For "the 
 meek shall inherit the earth." Not that all 
 of them are rich and great in the world. 
 So far from it, they are commonly a poor 
 and an afflicted people. Not that every 
 thing is actually in their possession, or that 
 they have a civil right to it. Dominion is 
 not founded in grace : but security is ; peace 
 is ; contentment is ; happiness is. And as 
 to covenant interest, and enjoyment, and 
 improvement, " all things are theirs." 
 
 Secondly. "When the wicked are cut 
 off, thou shalt see it." And they will be 
 cut off* They are often cut off, even in 
 life, from their places, and riches, and pros- 
 pects. At death they are cut off from all 
 their possessions and comforts : for, poor as 
 their portion here is, 
 
 " 'Tis all the happiness they know." 
 
 Ye?., tuey are then cut off from all the means 
 of grace, and the hopes of mercy. In the 
 last day they will be cut off from " the^re- 
 eurrection of life ;" and before the assem- 
 bled world, they will hear the Judge irre- 
 versibly excluding them from himself, the 
 source of all happiness — " Depart, ye cursed, 
 into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil 
 and his angels." 
 
 Dreadful as the ruin is, there is nothing 
 in it to alarm the praying and persevering 
 believer. He will have no share in it. The 
 vengeance that falls and crushes the foe, 
 will not, cannot touch the friend. He will 
 only be a spectator ; and strange as it may 
 now seem, the sight will not affect his 
 happiness. But is it necessary to go further ; 
 and represent it as a source of pleasure and 
 delight ] Surely it is enough that he will 
 see it, and adore the mercy that graciously 
 saved him : and acquiesce in the justice that 
 righteously condemns others. 
 
 As the saint will only see the destruction 
 of the wicked ; so the sinner will see the 
 salvation of the righteous, and not partake 
 of it. But to see such a blessedness ; to see 
 what was once within his own reach, and 
 is now enjoyed by others, must be a source 
 of the keenest anguish. Such was the dis- 
 play of plenty to the interdicted nobleman 
 at the gate of Samaria : " Behold, thou shalt 
 see it witn thine eyes : but thou shalt not 
 eat thereof" And we know who has said, 
 "There shall be weeping and gnashing of 
 teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and 
 Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in 
 
 the kingdom of God, and you yourselves 
 thrust out." 
 
 AUGUST 24. 
 
 " Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be 
 scattered : and I ivill turn mine hand upon 
 the little ones" — Zech. xiii. 7. 
 
 We know who this Shepherd was. God 
 speaks of him in the former part of the 
 verse, as " his fellow ;" and calls him " his 
 shepherd." He was God's shepherd, be- 
 cause he appointed him to take the charge 
 of his Church, and to perform, on their be- 
 half, all the duties implied in the pastoral 
 office. Hence it was foretold of him, " He 
 shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall 
 gather the lambs with his arm, and carry 
 them in his bosom, and shall gently lead 
 those that are with young." This charactei 
 the Saviour applied to himself, with an at- 
 tribute of distinction: "I am the good shep- 
 herd." Paul styles him, " that great shep- 
 herd of the sheep." Peter calls him, " the 
 chief shepherd," and "the Shepherd and 
 Bishop of souls." — Let the language of my 
 heart be — " Tell me, O thou whom my soul 
 loveth, where thou feedest, where thou 
 makest thy flock to rest at noon. 
 
 ' 'Tis there, with the lambs of thy flock, 
 
 There only I covei to rest; 
 To lie at the foot of tns rock, 
 
 Or rise to be hid in thy breast: 
 'Ti3 there I would always abide, 
 
 Nor ever a moment depart ; 
 Preserv'd evermore at thy side, 
 
 Eternally hid in thine heart.' 
 
 He was to be " smitten." Every one thai 
 enters this vale of tears is a sufferer. But 
 he was " a man of sorrows ;" and could say, 
 " Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like 
 unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, 
 wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the 
 day of his fierce anger." For, though he 
 suffered from devils, who had their hour and 
 power of darkness ; and though he suffered 
 from men, for, against him, both Herod and 
 Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the 
 people of Israel, were gathered together— 
 yet it was only to do whatsoever his hand 
 and his counsel determined before to be done. 
 It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He put 
 him to grief. When, therefore, the Jews 
 esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and 
 afflicted, they were right in the fact, but 
 mistaken in the cause. They supposed he 
 suffered for guilt; and he did thus suffer; 
 but the guilt was not his own. " He waa 
 wounded for our transgressions, he was 
 bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement 
 of our peace was upon him : and with his 
 stripes we are healed." Here let me con- 
 template the evil of sin in the sufferings of 
 this divine Victim. And here let me dwell 
 on that love, which passeth knowledge, that 
 
AUGUST 25. 
 
 231 
 
 led hhn, all-innocent as he was, voluntarily 
 to become a sacrifice on our behalf ; and to 
 suffer, the just for the unjust, that he might 
 bring us unto God. The glory of the Gos- 
 pel ; the hope of the sinner ; the triumph of 
 the believer — all lies here — "It is Christ 
 that died." 
 
 It was a sad thing that his own disciples 
 should abandon him, at the very moment he 
 was going to die for them, and after all their 
 professions of determined adherence to him. 
 But when the shepherd was smitten, " the 
 eheep were scattered." In this desertion, 
 he was not taken by surprise ; for he had 
 previously said, " Behold, the hour cometh, 
 yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered 
 every man to his own, and shall leave me 
 alone." Yet how much he felt it, may be 
 inferred from his lamentation and complaint : 
 " I looked for some to take pity, but there 
 was none; and for comforter, but I found 
 none." Let not his people count it a strange 
 thing, if they are betrayed or forsaken. It 
 should remind them of the fellowship of his 
 sufferings. 
 
 Bat behold an instance of forgiving mercy 
 anJ renewing grace — "And I will turn 
 mine hand upon the little ones." His dis- 
 ciples were little in the eyes of the world ; 
 and les3 in their own. They were few in 
 number, and poor in condition. They were 
 weak in faith and fortitude ; and were now 
 dismayed, and desponding. But he did not 
 give them over unto death. He knew their 
 frame ; he remembered that they were dust 
 As soon as he was risen from the dead, he 
 appeared to them — not clothed in terror, but 
 saying, " Peace be unto you." He exerted 
 again the powerful influence of his Holy 
 Spirit He renewed them again unto re- 
 pentance. He established their faith and 
 hope. He gave them enlarged views, and 
 fresh courage : so that they were ready to 
 suffer and die for his name. 
 
 Surely a bruised reed will he not break ; 
 and smoking flax will he not quench, till he 
 send fortli judgment unto victory. And in 
 his name shall the Gentiles trust 
 
 AUGUST 25. 
 
 " O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall 
 alljlesh come." — Psalm lxv. 2. 
 
 We have no claims upon God ; and are not 
 worthy of the least of all his mercies. It is 
 therefore surprising that he should hear 
 prayer at all. But he glories in it ; and by 
 nothing is he so much distinguished. He de- 
 rives his fame, his character, from it — " O 
 thou that hearest prayer !" 
 
 And we need not wonder at this, when we 
 consider— How constantly he has heard 
 orayer ; ever, ever since men began to call 
 apon the fl*.tr.e of che Lord. — And how many 
 
 prayers he has heard. If we are to pray 
 without ceasing, the prayers of one indivi- 
 dual will be very numerous. What then, is 
 the aggregate multitude, that has been offer- 
 ed by all the millions that ever sought his 
 face ! — And how largely he answers prayer. 
 He gives grace and glory, and withholds no 
 good thing pertaining to life and godliness. — 
 And how readily he answers prayer. " Be- 
 fore they call," says he, " I will answer ; and 
 while they are yet speaking, I will hear." — 
 And how certainly he hears prayer. We 
 have his promises, which are firmer than the 
 earth and the heavens. It may not be easy 
 to ascertain when, or how, he answers us, as 
 the God of our salvation : but this we know, 
 that he cannot deny us, without denying him- 
 self. He cannot lie : and he has said, " Ask, 
 and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall 
 find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you : 
 for every one that asketh receiveth ; and he 
 that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that knock- 
 eth, it shall be opened." 
 
 What should be the influence of this glori- 
 ous truth ? " Unto Thee shall all flesh come." 
 If these words had stood separately, we 
 should have taken them as affirming, that all 
 flesh would come to him at the last day to be 
 judged. But the reference is not to God on 
 the judgment-seat but on the mercy-seat: 
 and it is well that we can kneel at the latter, 
 before we can stand at the former. The 
 meaning is, that men shall seek to him in 
 prayer. And not some, but many. Not 
 many, but all. Surely here is nothing less 
 than a prophecy of the calling of the Gen- 
 tiles. Not only shall the seed of Jacob, his 
 chosen, seek unto him; but those also that 
 were strangers to the commonwealth of Is- 
 rael, and without God in the world, crying 
 only unto idols that could not save. The 
 Jews, in latter times, were carnal, and selfish, 
 and averse to the extension of their privi- 
 leges : but the more ancient and spiritual of 
 their nation rejoiced in the prospect of it 
 And they had intimations from the beginning, 
 that the Gentiles, also, should be fellow-heirs, 
 and of the same body, and partakers of the 
 promise of Christ by the Gospel — " All na- 
 tions whom thou hast made shall come and 
 worship before thee." " My house shall be 
 called the house of prayer for all people." 
 
 If the practice here insured is to result 
 from the character here expressed, the charac- 
 ter must be known. " For how can they call 
 upon him, in whom they have not believed 1 
 And how can they believe on him, of whom 
 they have not heard?" Accordingly, it is 
 said, " From the rising of the sun, even unte 
 the going down of the same, my name shall 
 be great = among the Gentiles; and in every 
 place incense shall be offered unto my name, 
 and a pure offering." 
 
 And, to notice this more personally, we see 
 of what importance it is to entertain eneou- 
 
232 
 
 AUGUST 26. 
 
 raging views of God. Confidence in his mer- 
 cy and grace, will alone draw us into his pre- 
 sence. And therefore the ground of this 
 confidence must be firm and obvious. 
 
 Much advantage, also, upon this principle, 
 must result from reviews of our own expe- 
 rience of his goodness. All success is ani- 
 mating, especially in prayer. "Because he 
 hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will 
 I call upon him as long as I live." 
 
 — Let me come to him among all those 
 that are coming. And let me come imme- 
 diately. For there is a time when he will 
 not hear prayer. " Then shall they call upon 
 me, but I will not answer ; they shall seek 
 me early, but they shall not find me." 
 
 AUGUST 26. 
 
 " Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteous- 
 ness, and in judgment, and in lovingkind- 
 nesses, and in mercies." — Hosea ii. 19. 
 
 In the covenant of grace, there is God's 
 part, and there is our part. But God — or it 
 would never be accomplished, undertakes for 
 the latter as well as the former. He engages 
 to do all that is necessary Jbr his people, and 
 — in them. 
 
 Here is the nature of the connexion he 
 will establish with them — " I will betroth 
 thee unto me." And the manner of it — " In 
 righteousness, and in judgment, and in 
 lovinghindnesses, and in mercies." 
 
 First. I will do it, says He — in righteous- 
 ness. He is holy in all his ways, and righte- 
 ous in all his works. But the soul that sin- 
 neth, it shall die. Righteousness, therefore, 
 seems to require that he should punish them, 
 rather than admit them into his favour. And 
 awakened souls want to see a way in which 
 God is just, as well as the justifier. And he has 
 provided for this ; and he tells us in the Gospel, 
 that though sin is pardoned, it is also condemn- 
 ed ; and that though the transgressor escapes, 
 the curse falls upon another, who, by bearing it 
 himself, redeems us from it, and is the end of 
 the law for righteousness to every one that 
 believeth. The law, therefore, instead of be- 
 ing injured, is magnified, and made honoura- 
 ble ; and even more glorified than it would 
 have been by the destruction of the sinner. 
 In the sinner's destruction, justice would have 
 been always satisfying, but never satisfied. 
 Whereas the satisfaction was now completed 
 at once, " by the one offering up of himself." 
 Then also justice would only have been dis- 
 played passively ; but now it is displayed ac- 
 tively too. Then, it would have been displayed 
 only in them; but now, it is also displayed 
 by them. Then, they would have hated, and 
 cursed it for ever ; now, they love it, and de- 
 light tc extol it For righteousness here is 
 lot to be taken only for the way in which he 
 
 makes the guilty just, but the way in whicli 
 he makes the depraved holy. This comes 
 from the same gracious agency ; and is equally 
 necessary with the former ; as he could not 
 admit them to communion with himself 
 while in a state of sin — For " how can two 
 walk together except they be agreed ?" And 
 "what fellowship hath righteousness with 
 unrighteousness !" 
 
 Secondly. In judgment. The heathens 
 placed Mercury, the god of wisdom, by the 
 side of Venus, the goddess of marriage : and 
 for good reason; since there is nothing in 
 which judgment is so needful. Yet few 
 things are entered upon with so little discre- 
 tion and reflection. Hence the wretched con- 
 sequences that ensue. What can be expect- 
 ed from those hasty and thoughtless matches, 
 in which adaptation, age, temper, and even 
 piety, are all overlooked 1 — But the Lord is a 
 God of knowledge : he knows what he does ; 
 and why he does it. He has reasons, which 
 justify the measure to his own infinite under- 
 standing. Hence salvation is called hia 
 counsel ; in, which also he is said to abound 
 towards us in all wisdom and prudence. And 
 this is true, not only as to the contriving and 
 procuring of it ; but also as to the applying. 
 The place, the time, the manner, the means 
 of their conversion, will all evince, when 
 known that his work is perfect, and his ways 
 judgment. We see but little of this now. 
 Yet there are openings into it which carry 
 the mind away in contemplation and surprise ; 
 and which assure us much more remains for 
 our discovery and rapture in the world of 
 light. This applies also to his people, as 
 well as to God. Their choosing him, and 
 consenting to his gracious proposals, will bear 
 examination. It is wisdom: and wisdom 
 which is justified of all her children. The 
 world may censure ; but they are able to give 
 a reason of the hope that is in them. The 
 spiritual judgeth all things, though he him- 
 self is judged of no man. 
 
 Thirdly. In lovingkindness. Without 
 this, it were better for persons never to come 
 together. The parties mutually need it ; and 
 need it daily. They should be filled with 
 tenderness, to bear and sympathize with each 
 other ; and the law of kindness should rule in 
 all their looks, words, and actions. This ia 
 seldom wanting on the female side. Their 
 love is not only more pure and disinterested ; 
 but more fervent and undeclining ; and better 
 prepared to endure privations and sacrifices. 
 Men are fond of power and authority ; and 
 therefore they are commanded, not to govern 
 them — this they will do readily enough ; but 
 to love their wives, and not to be bitter against 
 them. God says to his Church ; " You shall 
 find me full of tenderness and compassion. I 
 know your frame, and remember that you are 
 dust. I will pity your infirmities, and spare 
 vou. If I afflict, it shall not he willingly. Ii 
 
AUGUST 27. 
 
 I chide, 1 will not contend for ever. I will 
 look to the heart, and judge you according to 
 your meaning, and your desires." — It would 
 seem strange to apply the exercise of this 
 quality to them, as well as to Him. Kind- 
 ness towards God seems too low an expres- 
 sion ; but he himself has sanctioned it; "I 
 remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, 
 and the love of thine espousals, when thou 
 wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land 
 that was not sown." Every thing they do 
 for him, he takes kind at their hand : and 
 their ingenuous disposition will make them 
 fearful of grieving his holy Spirit; and anxious 
 to walk "worthy of him unto all pleasing." 
 
 Fourthly. In mercies. This is distinguish- 
 able from the former. That was the effect ; 
 this shows the cause ; and it is mentioned, in 
 addition to lovingkindness, to remind us that 
 all we possess, or expect, springs solely from 
 the free and undeserved grace of God ; and 
 also to meet those discouragements to which 
 we are always liable, from a sense of our un- 
 worthiness and ill-deservings. There is not 
 a just man on earth that liveth and sinneth 
 not. In many things we offend all. What 
 humiliations must a Christian feel, when he 
 reviews even his Sabbaths, and holy commu- 
 nions ! and when he compares his proficiency 
 with his obligations and advantages ! But 
 God will not cast away his people ; but have 
 mercy upon tham according to the multitude 
 of his tender mercies. This is children's 
 bread; and the children cf God will not, cannot 
 abuse it. Yea, the more they are persuaded 
 of this truth, the more holy, and cheerful, and 
 vigorous they will be in the performance of 
 duty. Grass that grows in orchards, and 
 under trees, is of a sour quality : it wants the 
 sun. Fruits that grow in the sun are richer 
 and riper than those which grow in the 
 shade. The best frame we can be in, is to be 
 upholden by a free spirit, and to act under a 
 full sense of our divine privileges. Let us 
 therefore sing of the mercy of the Lord for 
 ever, and if he ever seems to have forgotten 
 to be gracious, let us plead with him, and say, 
 " Where is thy zeal, and thy strength, the 
 sounding of thy bowels, and of thy mercies 
 towards me 1 Are they restrained 1" — Here 
 again the import includes, not only that we 
 receive mercy s but exercise it, not towards 
 Him personal. 1 v — this is impossible, and he 
 needs it not But his creatures need it ; his 
 peopie need it. And what is done to them, 
 he will consider as done to himself. And 
 what bo just and proper, as that they who are 
 forgiven, shoulu lorgive ? And that they who 
 live by mercy, should be merciful'! 
 
 AUGUST 27. 
 
 '—Heirs."— Titus iiL 7. 
 
 I» we properly observe those who art} 
 2G 20* 
 
 Christians indeed, we shall find in them a 
 peculiarity that distinguishes them from, and 
 an importance that ranks them above, all 
 other creatures. What an assemblage of 
 qualities, excellences, and advantages, must 
 they possess, to do any thing like justice to 
 the various and numberless representations, 
 by which they are held forth to our view and 
 admiration in the Scriptures of Truth ! Let 
 me contemplate them under the character of 
 heirs. 
 
 As such, we may consider them in the 
 grandeur of their estate. A man may be an 
 heir to a cottage, or a large domain, or even 
 a throne. But what is the inheritance ot 
 Christians! In one place they are called 
 "heirs, according to promise." In another, 
 " heirs of the grace of life." In another, 
 "heirs, according to the hope of eternal life." 
 In another, " heirs of salvation." In another, 
 " heirs of the kingdom, which the Lord hath 
 promised to them that love him." Paul prays 
 that the Ephesians may be enlightened to 
 know it ; and speaks of " the hope of their 
 calling;" and "the riches of the glory of his 
 inheritance in the saints." The inheritance 
 of the worldling, who has his portion in this 
 life ; the inheritance of the Jew, in Canaan ; 
 the inheritance of Adam, in Paradise ; the 
 inheritance of angels, in heaven ; all come 
 far short of the believer's expectation. At 
 present, it cannot be fully either described 
 or conceived — It doth not yet appear what 
 we shall be. 
 
 We may consider them in the solidity of 
 their title. No person ever had a claim to 
 an estate so clear and decisive as the Chris- 
 tian has to his inheritance. He may not, 
 indeed, be certain of it in his own mind. 
 There is a difference between a right, and 
 the perception of it. An heir, by reason of 
 his tender age, or infirmity, or disorder, may 
 be unconscious of what awaits him. And 
 Christians may be ignorant and fearful. They 
 may condemn themselves, when God has 
 justified them freely from all things: and 
 they may conclude that they have no part 
 nor lot in the matter, while yet their title is 
 as valid as the word and oath of God can 
 make it It is also perfectly inseparable from 
 the birth that makes them new creatures ; for 
 they are born of God; and, " if children, then 
 heirs; and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ;" 
 and, being one with him, their heirship is as 
 undeniable as his. 
 
 We may view them, also, in the certainty 
 of their possession. An heir who has had 
 the clearest and fullest title to an estate, has 
 yet never enjoyed it To take possession of 
 it perhaps he had to cross the sea, and was 
 wrecked. Or he travelled by land, and was 
 murdered. Or, in reaching maturity, he fell 
 a prey to one of the many diseases to which 
 humanity is liable. Or, if he was preserved, 
 the estate v as destroyed : for there is no 
 
234 
 
 AUGUST 28. 
 
 place of security on earth. Or, if the es- 
 tate was not destroyed, it was usurped, and, 
 by fraud and villany, alienated from its law- 
 ful owner. How many figure away, only in 
 the rights of others ! But what shall hinder 
 the Christian from realizing his hope 1 His 
 inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled, and 
 fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for him, 
 where danger never comes. And the heir is 
 as safe as the estate ; being " kept by the 
 power of God, through faith, unto salvation." 
 
 But observe these heirs in the circum- 
 stances of their minority. For there is a 
 period of nonage : and " the heir, as long as 
 he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, 
 though he be lord of all ; but is under tutors 
 and governors until the time appointed of the 
 father." Before this season arrives, he must 
 submit to many restraints, not pleasant to his 
 feelings, and the reasons of which he cannot 
 fully appreciate. Yea, there may be cases in 
 which he may even be constrained to borrow 
 from a domestic or neighbour, who has none 
 of his expectancy. And Christians must not 
 reckon that their present indulgences will 
 equal their future reversions. They are now 
 under a course of discipline, in which they 
 must exercise self-denial, and appear less fa- 
 voured than many around them. But they 
 rejoice in hope — and not only so — but, as the 
 heir has something more from his estate than 
 the prospect of it; as he has education and 
 attendance becoming his rank; and remit- 
 tances, to enable him to live answerable to 
 his destination : so Christians have now sup- 
 plies from their riches in glory ; and are train- 
 ing up, under a divine teacher, for the sublime 
 spheres they are to fill ; and their ministering 
 spirits do always behold the face of our hea- 
 venly Father. 
 
 And what is the deportment that becomes 
 these heirs? It ought to be ennobled. Holi- 
 ness is the true dignity of the soul ; and sin, 
 its vilest degradation. They are, therefore, 
 to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful 
 works of darkness; but rather reprove them" 
 — And, oh ! the infinite delicacy of the Gospel ! 
 They are to " abstain from the very appear- 
 ance of evil." It ought to be humble and 
 grateful. They were, by nature, only child- 
 ren of wrath. If their relation is glorious, it 
 is derived entirely from grace. There were 
 difficulties in the way of their adoption, which 
 God alone could remove — " I said, How shall 
 I put thee among the children, and give thee 
 a pleasant land, a goodly heritage' 1 " But he 
 removed these obstacles by the sacrifice of 
 his own Son, and the renovation of his own 
 Spirit ; and, poor and vile as they were, he 
 raised up the poor out of the dust, and lifted 
 the needy from the dunghill, to set them with 
 princes, even the princes of his people. It 
 nuafht to be very cheerful and happy — 
 
 " A hope so much divine. 
 May trials well endure." 
 
 But so inferior are natural things to spi- 
 ritual, that, when the one are applied to the 
 illustration of the other, they teach us as 
 much by contrast as by comparison. What, 
 then, is the difference between these and 
 earthly heirs ! In other cases, the inheritance 
 is diminished by the numbers of co-heirs. 
 Here, the multitude of partakers, instead of 
 injuring, increases the blessedness of each 
 possessor. In other cases, the father dies be- 
 fore the child inherits. Here, the Father never 
 dies. In other cases, the heir by dying loses 
 his inheritance. Here, by dying, he gains it ; 
 it is then he comes of age. In other cases, 
 an estate passes from hand to hand. Here, 
 is no succession : it is our heritage for ever. 
 " This is the heritage of the servants of the 
 Lord ; and their righteousness is of me, saith 
 the Lord." 
 
 AUGUST 28. 
 
 " Iniquities prevail against me: as Jor our 
 transgressions, thou shall purge them away? 
 Psalm lxv. 3. 
 
 This is the language of complaint and of 
 triumph. It was uttered by a Jew ; but every 
 Christian can make it his own. For as, in 
 water, face answereth to face, so the heart 
 of man to man, in every age, and under every 
 dispensation. 
 
 As to the complaint, there are two ways 
 in which iniquities may prevail against the 
 Christian. The first is in the growing sense 
 of his guilt. This may be occasioned by af- 
 flictions, which bring our sins to remem- 
 brance ; or by any thing that increases self- 
 knowledge; for this must always show us 
 more of our unworthiness and depravity. 
 Suppose a man in a dungeon, abounding with 
 noxious reptiles. While all is dark there, he 
 sees none of them ; but as the light dawns, 
 he begins to see them ; and, as the light in- 
 creases, he sees more of them. The light 
 seems to bring them, and to multiply them ; 
 but it only discovers what was there before. 
 Some pray that God would show them all 
 the corruptions of their heart; but this would 
 probably drive them into distraction or des- 
 pair. They could not bear the whole disclo- 
 sure, especially at first; and therefore they 
 are made sensible of them by little and little. 
 
 The second is in the power of their acting. 
 This prevalence cannot be entire ; for sin 
 shall not have dominion over them: b'X it 
 may be occasional and partial. An enemy 
 may make a temporary irruption, and do in- 
 jury, though he may soon be expelled again. 
 In a war, checks and discomfitures are not 
 incompatible with general and final success ; 
 as we see in the history of the Romans. The 
 Israelites were repulsed at Ai ; but they re- 
 turned to the assault, with more caution ana 
 wisdom, and succeeded. And thus, whatever 
 advantages the foe may gain against Chria* 
 
AUGUST 29. 
 
 tians, the God of peace will bruise Satan un- 
 der their feet, shortly. David does not say, 
 Iniquities prevail with me ; but against me. 
 As to many, they prevail with them. They 
 drink in iniquity, as the ox drinketh in water. 
 They draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and 
 sin as it were with a cart rope. But a Chris- 
 tian is made willing in the day of God's 
 power; and therefore can say, "To will is 
 present with me: but how to perform that 
 which is good, I find not When I would do 
 good, evil is present with me." Ahab is said 
 to have sold himself to work wickedness. 
 But it is otherwise with a poor slave in Africa. 
 He is kidnapped or taken by force, and dis- 
 posed of to some demon-trafficker in flesh and 
 blood. He resists, and weeps; but they pre- 
 vail against him. And, says Paul, I do not 
 sell myself, but I am sold under sin — So then 
 it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwell- 
 eth in me — O wretched man that I am, who 
 shall deliver me 1 Poison in a serpent never 
 produces sickness ; but it does in a man : it is 
 natural to the one, but not to the other. Sin 
 does not distress the sinner; but it offends, 
 beyond every thing else, the renewed mind.' 
 The words are broken and abrupt: but 
 when the Church adds—" As for our trans- 
 gressions, thou shalt purge them away ;" they 
 are, assuredly, the triumph of faith, after a 
 plunge of distress, and a pause of thoughtrul- 
 ness. There are two ways, according to the 
 Scripture, in which God purges our trans- 
 gressions ; and they always go together. The 
 one is, by pardoning mercy. Thus David 
 prays, " Purge me with hyssop, and I shall 
 be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter 
 than snow. Hide thy face from my sins, and 
 blot out all mine iniquities." Thus the blood 
 of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. 
 And they that believe on him are justified 
 from all things. 
 
 The other i3, by sanctifying grace. "I 
 will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye 
 shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and 
 from all your idols, will I cleanse you." And 
 this is as much the work of God as the former. 
 He subdues our iniquities, as well as forgives 
 them. He not only ordains peace for us, but 
 works all our works in us. 
 
 The Christian is persuaded of his gracious 
 deliverance ; and therefore expresses himself 
 vvith confidence. And a foundation is laid for 
 this confidence ; and such a firm and scrip- 
 tural foundation, as that he may feel himself 
 perfectly safe in the midst of danger. Under 
 the deepest sense of his desert, he°may joy in 
 God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 
 he has now received the atonement, and, 
 with regard to all the conflicts of indwell- 
 ing sin, he may take courage, and sing "I 
 
 shall not die, but live ; and declare the works 
 w f the Lord. 
 
 235 
 
 But views t'je nappr moment near 
 That shal. dissolve its chains. 
 
 Cheerful in death I close my eyes, 
 
 To part with every lust ; 
 And chargt my flesh, whene'er it rise, 
 
 To leave them in the dust.' " 
 
 My spirit holds perpetual war, 
 And wrestles and complains; 
 
 AUGUST 29. 
 
 " So then they -which be of faith are blessed 
 with faithful Abraham" — Gal. iii. 9. 
 
 The outward distinctions of life awaken 
 the envy of some, and gender discontents in 
 others. And yet how little depends upon 
 them! All that is essential to the real wel- 
 fare, and chief happiness of man, lies open to 
 all who choose to avail themselves of it AH 
 cannot become scholars; but all maybe made 
 wise unto salvation. All cannot acquire 
 wealth; but all may gain the unsearchable 
 riches of Christ. All cannot walk upon the 
 high places of the earth ; but all may be great 
 in the sight of the Lord. Abraham, the 
 founder of the Jewish nation, was considered 
 the most dignified and indulged of the human 
 race : yet every Christian, however poor and 
 despised, stands related to this extraordinary 
 character, and is blessed with him — "If ye 
 be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and 
 heirs according to the promise." "They 
 which are of faith, the same are the children 
 of Abraham." " So then they which be of 
 faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." 
 And how was he blessed 1 
 
 He was justified. And blessed are they 
 whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins 
 are covered : blessed is the man to whom the 
 Lord will not impute sin. For him there is 
 no wrath to come; no sting in death; no 
 curse in affliction. But came this blessed- 
 ness upon Abraham only 1 " What saith the 
 Scripture] Abraham believed God, and it 
 was counted unto him for righteousness. 
 Now it was not written for his sake alone, 
 that it was imputed to him ; but for us also, 
 to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on 
 him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the 
 dead ; who was delivered for our offences, and 
 was raised again for our justification." So 
 then they that be of faith are blessed with 
 faithful Abraham — And are all authorized to 
 say, " Therefore being justified by faith, we 
 have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 Abraham was called the friend of God; 
 and was called so by God himself: " Thou, 
 Israel, art my servant Jacob whom I have 
 chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend." If 
 Eusebius held it such a privilege to be ;he 
 friend of Pamphilius : if Lord Brookes so glo- 
 ried in the distinction as to have it inscribed 
 upon his tomb — 
 
 " Here lies the friend of Sir Philip Sidney"— 
 
 What was the honour of Abraham in being 
 acknowledged the friend of God 1 Yet such 
 
SK> 
 
 AUGUST 30. 
 
 honour have all the saints. They are not 
 only pardoned, but admitted to intimacy. 
 They walk with God. His secret is with 
 them ; and he shows them his covenant. In 
 all tneir afflictions he is afflicted. He loveth 
 at all times : and will never leave nor forsake 
 them. " So then they which be of faith are 
 blessed with faithful Abraham." 
 
 Abraham also was blessed with usefulness. 
 "I will bless thee," says God, "and make 
 thee a blessing." This was done not only in 
 the descent of the Messiah from him in whom 
 all the families of the earth were to be blessed 
 eventually ; but by his prayers, and instruc- 
 tions, and example, and exertions, and influ- 
 ence, wherever he came. Thus also are all 
 believers blessed. Not one of them is useless. 
 They are disposed to do good ; and their- de- 
 sire is gratified. They are qualified to do 
 gool ; and as stewards of the manifold grace 
 of God, they serve their generation by his 
 will. They are the salt of the earth, to pre- 
 serve ; the light of the world, to inform ; and 
 a dew from the Lord, and as showers upon 
 the grass, to cool, and refresh, and revive, 
 and fertilize — " I will save you, and ye shall 
 be a blessing." 
 
 Abraham was divinely protected: and God 
 said to him, " I am thy shield." " I will bless 
 him that blesseth thee ; and I will curse him 
 that curseth thee." He preserved him in his 
 going out and coming in. He covered his 
 head in the day of battle, when he rescued his 
 kinsman Lot. He suffered no man to do him 
 wrong; yea, he reproved kings for his sake, 
 saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my 
 prophet no harm. And thus, though many 
 rise up against believers, and they feel them- 
 selves to be perfect weakness ; their defence 
 is of God, who saveth the uprigbt in heart. He 
 is their refuge and strength ; a very present 
 and all-sufficient help in trouble. They are 
 kept by the power of God through faith unto 
 salvation : therefore they need not fear what 
 their enemies can do unto them. 
 
 Abraham had not only a divine protection, 
 but an infinite portion : "I am," says God, 
 " not only ' thy shield,' but ' thy exceeding 
 great reward ! " This necessarily includes 
 what God was to do for him beyond the grave. 
 It could not have been fulfilled in this life. 
 When we find him, a few years only after 
 this assurance, sickening and dying, and laid 
 in the cave of Machpelah ; we are constrained 
 to ask, Is this the reward, the great, the ex- 
 ceeding great reward, consisting, so to speak, 
 of God himself? Ages after this God said to 
 Moses at the bush, I am — not I was — but I 
 am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Ja- 
 cob. The relation, therefore, remained ; for 
 " he is not the God of the dead, but of the 
 living." They were then living, as to their 
 spirits ; and would as certainly live as to their 
 bodies in the resurrection, as if it had already 
 taken plnee. Hence the reasoning of the 
 
 Apostle ; " By faith he sojourned in the land of 
 promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in 
 tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs 
 with him of the same promise: for he looked 
 for a city which hath foundations, whose 
 builder and maker is God." " And truly, if 
 they had been mindful of that country from 
 whence they came out, they might have had 
 opportunity to have returned. But now they 
 desire a better country, that is, an heavenly : 
 wherefore God is not ashamed to be called 
 their God : for he hath prepared for them a 
 city." Our Saviour also allowed him to be 
 in glory ; and even represented heaven by a 
 union and intimacy with him : " The beggar 
 died, and was carried by angels into Abra- 
 ham's bosom." And nothing less than this is 
 the glad and glorious destination of every be- 
 liever. For they that be of faith are blessed 
 with faithful Abraham. 
 
 The grand inquiry therefore is — "Dost 
 thou believe on the Son of God?" For we 
 have access only by faith into this grace 
 wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the 
 glory of God. 
 
 For they that are not of faith are cursed 
 with — the faithless nobleman, to whom it was 
 denounced, "Thou shalt see it with thine 
 eyes, but thou shalt not taste of it" — And with 
 the faithless Jews, whose carcasses fell in the 
 wilderness ; and who " could not enter in be- 
 cause of unbelief" — And "with hypocrites 
 and unbelievers, where there is weeping, and 
 wailing, and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 AUGUST 30. 
 
 " Pass the time of your sojourning here in 
 fear."— I Peter i. 17. 
 
 From these words, I might consider the 
 nature of the Christian life — which is a so- 
 journing here : and also — the time appoint- 
 ed for it. But let me rather reflect upon the 
 manner in which I am to pass the one, in ac- 
 complishing the other— "Pass the time of 
 your sojourning here in fear." This cannot 
 intend every kind of fear, without making the 
 Scripture inconsistent with itself: for how 
 often does it forbid fear ! 
 
 We must not, therefore, give way to ap- 
 prehensions of any thing we may suffer from 
 our fellow-creatures, in following the path of 
 duty. Here we should boldly say, "The 
 Lord is my helper ; I will not fear what man 
 can do unto me." " Fear not," says the 
 Saviour — mentioning the extremest case, 
 " Fear not them that kill the body, and after 
 that have no more that they can do." And 
 this Paul exemplified : " None of these things 
 move me : neither count I my life dear unto 
 myself, so that I might finish my course with 
 joy." ' When Peter and John were threat 
 ened if they spake any more in the nt <ne of 
 Jesus, they replied, We have nothing <c (It 
 
AUGUST 30. 
 
 237 
 
 with consequences : we cannot but speak the 
 things which we have seen and heard : we 
 ought to obey God rather than man : and he 
 has commanded us to preach the Gospel to 
 every creature. So should it be with us. 
 We are not, indeed, to run into sufferings for 
 our religion ; but we can never go on well in 
 divine things till we are delivered from the 
 fear of man that bringeth a snare. What is 
 it but this that produces so many conceal- 
 ments, and defections, and inconsistencies in 
 those who know what is right, and are excited 
 oy their convictions; but have not courage 
 enough to resolve and proceed ? Perfect love 
 casteth out this fear. 
 
 We' are equally to shun a distrustfulness 
 of God's word. This fear is at once the 
 most dishonourable to God, and injurious to 
 our own souls. It robs us of comfort, and 
 lays open the mind to temptation ; as we see 
 in Abraham, who, in a moment of unbelief, 
 prevaricated, and debased and exposed him- 
 self in Gerar. Having the assurance of 
 God in any case, we should feel no uncer- 
 tainty as to the result ; it must be accom- 
 plished ; we have something firmer than the 
 earth and the heavens to rely upon. But 
 we may fear, not — whether we shall perish 
 ui the way everlasting ; but whether we are 
 in it Not — whether the promise will fail ; 
 but whether we are the heirs of promise. 
 This the Apostle even admonishes — " Let 
 os therefore fear, lest, a promise being left 
 us of entering into his rest, any of us should 
 seem to come short of it." This is a case 
 too important to be taken for granted. The 
 consequences of mistake are remediless ; and 
 the possibility, yea, the probability of it is 
 great It will, therefore, be better to err 
 rather on the side of, solicitude, than of 
 security. 
 
 A servile fear, too, is not to be cherished. 
 This may, indeed, precede something better : 
 but if our fear of God begins with the judge, 
 it must end with the father. It argues a 
 very low degree of religion when a man can 
 only be held to duty, like the slave, by the 
 dread of the lash. We have not says the 
 Apostle, received the spirit of bondage again 
 to fear, but the Spirit of adoption. The 
 slave is converted into the child : and God 
 spares him as a man spareth his own son 
 that serveth him. 
 
 But there is a propel and all-important 
 fear, which God has engaged to put into the 
 hearts of his people, that they may not de- 
 part from him — It is a fear of respect and 
 esteem, and gratitude. It regards not only 
 God's greatness, but his goodness. There 
 is, therefore, nothing irksome in it. [t is 
 compatible with consolation and joy; and 
 the first Christians walked in the fear of the 
 Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. 
 It is, in reality, the same with affection : it 
 «» the love which an inferior bears to a 
 
 superior; the love of a dutiful child to a 
 parent ; or of a good servant to a master ; or 
 of » thankful dependent to a benefactor. 
 Thjs shows itself much in a way of reve- 
 rence, and obedience, and attention. Hence, 
 the more I love God, the more I shall fear 
 him ; the more I shall dread to offend him , 
 the more I shall study to please him ; the 
 more I shall ask, Lord, what wilt thou have 
 me to do ? the more I shall pray, " Let the 
 words of my mouth, and the meditation of 
 my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, 
 my strength, and my redeemer." 
 
 There is, also, a fear of caution, in which 
 it becomes us to live. This regards sin. 
 Sin is the greatest evil to which we can be 
 exposed. And we may see enough in the 
 case of David to make even a good man 
 stand in dread of it For though God put 
 away his sin, as to its future penalty, yet 
 it was ever before him in the sufferings it 
 occasioned. The sword never departed from 
 his house. He was filled with dread of 
 divine abandonment He was deprived of 
 his peace and joy. His bones were broken ; 
 and his tongue was struck dumb. And a 
 holy God will always cause the backslidings 
 even of his own people to reprove them, and 
 make them know that it is an evil and a 
 bitter thing to sin against him. He will 
 becloud their hope, and destroy their comfort, 
 and perhaps quarter troubles upon them for 
 life. Reputation, which is the produce of 
 years, may be ruined in a moment ; and the 
 effect of a thousand good actions may be lost 
 by one evil deed. He who has befriended 
 religion may cause the way of truth to be 
 evil spoken of, and become a judgment on 
 the whole neighbourhood in which he 
 dwells. 
 
 And are we in no danger of this? Read 
 the Scriptures. See the falls of good men ; 
 and men eminently good. Have not we a 
 subtle and active enemy always at hand] 
 Have we nq£ a wicked world without us ? 
 Have we not an evil heart within us? 
 Owing to our remaining depravity, are we 
 not liable to be ensnared by every thing we 
 come in contact with, however harmless in 
 itself? If we think caution unnecessary, 
 we have the greatest need of it ; for " pride 
 goeth before destruction, and a haughty 
 spirit before a fall." Be not highminded, 
 but fear. 
 
 If we would maintain this frame of mind, 
 let us walk circumspectly ; not as fools, but 
 as wise. Let us not be anxious to rise in 
 the world, and gain the affluence which will 
 require a moral miracle to preserve us 
 " He that makes haste to be rich, shall nol 
 be innocent" " They that will be rich fall 
 into temptation, and a snare, and into many 
 foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men 
 in destruction and perdition. For the love 
 of money is the root of all evil , which while 
 
238 
 
 AUGUST 31. SEPTEMBER 1. 
 
 some coveted after, they have erred from 
 the faith, and pierced themselves through 
 with many sorrows." 
 
 — Let us keep our mouth with a bridle. 
 In a multitude of words there wanteth not 
 sin. 
 
 — Let us not run into perils, uncalled of 
 God — We are only authorized to look for 
 his protection when we are brought into 
 them in the discharge of duty. And, while 
 we watch, let us also constantly pray — 
 " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." 
 "Blessed is the man that feareth al- 
 
 AUGUST 31. 
 
 "I will betroth thee unto me for ever." 
 Hosea ii. 19. 
 
 How well is it said of Christians, "Ye 
 who sometimes were afar off, are made nigh 
 by the blood of Christ." They are not only 
 pardoned, but employed in his service. 
 They are not only reconciled, but admitted 
 into friendship and intimacy. Yea, they are 
 not only friends and favourites, but they are 
 his bride — " I will betroth thee unto me." 
 And observe the permanency of the rela- 
 tion : " I will betroth thee unto me for 
 ever." 
 
 " Permanency," says the Poet, " adds bliss 
 to bliss." How is every possession and en- 
 joyment without it impaired in value ! Yea, 
 the more important any acquisition be, and 
 the more necessary we feel it to our happi- 
 ness, the more alive are we to apprehension 
 of danger; the more averse are we to ab- 
 sence ; the more painful is separation ; the 
 more intolerable is the thought of loss. 
 
 Yet to whatever we are attached here, do 
 we not set our "hearts on that which is 
 not ?" It is said the Jews, in their nuptial 
 ceremony, always threw a glass upon the 
 ground, to signify that the union then form- 
 ing was as frail as the emblem was brittle. 
 Without the figure there is enough, if we 
 are wise, to remind us of the fact : and well 
 does the Apostle reason, when he says, 
 " Brethren, the time is short ; it remains, 
 therefore, that they who have wives be as 
 though they had none." 
 
 We take each other — " till death us do 
 part." And the relation is terminated by 
 death — not the death of both — but the death 
 of either. What then is the tenure of the 
 treasure 1 What is our life 1 It is even as 
 a vapour that appearethfor a little time, and 
 then vanisheth away. Has God given you 
 a companion in the days of your vanity ] 
 Rejoice ; but rejoice with trembling. Per- 
 haps already the wife has been called to 
 give up " the guide of her youth ;" or the 
 husband, "the desire of his eyes;" with 
 whom they once took sweet counsel together, 
 
 and walked to the house of God in com 
 pany ! 
 
 But Christians can never be in a widowed 
 state. They can never lose their defence, 
 their glory, their joy. There is nothing pre- 
 carious in the transactions of God with his 
 people. " I know that whatsoever God doeth, 
 it shall be for ever; nothing can be put to it, 
 and nothing can be taken from it." How de- 
 lightful in a world of changes to know that 
 He changeth not, and therefore that we shall 
 not be consumed. Every thing seems reeling 
 around me, and sinking beneath my feet: but 
 I have hold of something firmer than the hea- 
 vens and the earth. It is the word, the oath 
 of eternal Faithfulness and Truth. " For the 
 mountains shall depart, and the hills be re- 
 moved: but my kindness shall not depart 
 from thee, neither shall the covenant of my 
 peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath 
 mercy on thee." " I will make an everlast- 
 ing covenant with them, that I will not turn 
 away from them, to do them good ; but I will 
 put my fear in their hearts, that they shall 
 not depart from me." I have had many a 
 persuasion which has failed me, because, 
 though the confidence was strong, the founda- 
 tion was weak. But here the full assurance 
 of faith can never do justice to the certainty 
 of the event. " I am persuaded that neither 
 death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
 nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 
 come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
 creature, shall be able to separate us from the 
 love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our 
 Lord." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 1. 
 " The word of life."— Phil. ii. lb. 
 This is a representation of the Gospel; and 
 it well deserves our notice. All life is valu- 
 able ; but there are several kinds of it, rising 
 above each other. There is vegetable life. 
 This is superior to mere matter; as a tree is 
 more excellent than a stone. There is animal 
 life. This is superior to vegetable ; as a 
 bird excels a tree. There is rational life. 
 This is superior to animal ; as a man excels a 
 bird : for man was made a little lower only 
 than the angels ; there is a spirit in man, and 
 the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him un- 
 derstanding. Yet there is a life superior to 
 rational. It is called the life of God; a life 
 from which we are naturally alienated ; but 
 to which all the subjects of divine grace are 
 restored by the Saviour, who came, not only 
 that we might have life, but have it more 
 abundantly. It will be completed in heaven 
 but it is begun here. The case is this. Man, 
 by transgression, is dead in stale ; for cursed 
 is every one that continueth not in all things 
 written in the book of the law to do them. He 
 is also dead in disposition — or, as the Apostle 
 expresses it, dead in trespasses and sins. Bu* 
 
SEPTEMBER 2. 
 
 the Christian is passed froir. leath unto life — 
 He is no longer exposed to condemnation ; for 
 he is justified by faith, and has peace with 
 God. And he is no longer under the power 
 of moral death ; for he is quickened, and made 
 to walk in newness of life. " I compare," 
 says he, " my present with my former expe- 
 rience. I was once dead to divine things ; 
 for they no more impressed me than sensible 
 things affect a dead corpse. But now, for the 
 very same reason, I hope 1 am alive ; for these 
 very things do affect me ; do interest me ; do 
 excite in me hope and fear. I am susceptible 
 of spiritual joy and sorrow. I live, for I breathe 
 the breath of prayer. I feel the pulse of sa- 
 cred passions ; I love, and I hate. I have ap- 
 petite ; for I hunger and thirst after righteous- 
 ness. I walk, and I work ; and though all 
 my efforts betray weakness, they evince life." 
 
 But what will this life be, when there shall 
 be no more death — when the body shall par- 
 take of the immortality of the soul — when 
 both shall be glorified together — in a perpe- 
 tual duration of knowledge, purity, friendship, 
 riches, and glory — This is life eternal ! 
 
 Now the Gospel is called the word of this 
 life; and it has four relations to it. A rela- 
 tion of discovery — for it reveals the reality 
 and excellency of this life ; the way in which 
 it is obtained ; the source from which it flows ; 
 and every particle of information we have con- 
 cerning it. A relation of conveyance — for it 
 communicates and produces this life. A re- 
 lation of support — for it is the means not only 
 of begetting this life, but of maintaining and 
 increasing it. Therefore it is considered as 
 its food ; adapted to all stages of its being ; 
 milk if we are babes ; strong meat if we are 
 men. A relation of order — it is the rule by 
 which this life is governed as to doctrine, 
 worship, experience, exertion. To this rule 
 all our religion must be brought: and as many 
 as walk according to this rule, peace be on 
 them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 2. 
 « Holding forth the toord of life"— Phil. ii. 16. 
 
 The Apostles did this supernaturally. They 
 received their commission immediately from 
 God ; and were preserved from .all mistakes 
 in delivering his counsel; and could work 
 miracles in confirmation and in defence of it. 
 Ministers do this officially. They pretend to 
 no original communications from God, no new 
 discoveries; they derive what they publish 
 from the Scriptures ; and they call upon you 
 to prove whether these things are so. Yet 
 their preaching is a divine ordinance — a work 
 which an angel might covet ; the simple de- 
 sign of which is to hold forth the word of 
 ife. 
 
 But there are many ways of doing this, com- 
 iion to all Christians. And they are the per- 
 
 sons the Apostle here addresses. They may 
 hold it fortli by their profession. This is not 
 to be considered as a substitute for experience, 
 but as flowing from it. Experience is a se- 
 cret thing between God and their own souls : 
 but their religion is to be visible as well as 
 real. They that are in darkness are to show 
 themselves : and we are to confess with the 
 mouth as well as to believe with the heart, 
 unto salvation. They may hold it forth bv 
 example. This must evince the sincerity, 
 and conduce co the efficacy of your profession. 
 You are required to walk worthy of the vo- 
 cation wherewith you are called ; and to con- 
 strain others, by your good works' which they 
 behold, to glorify God in the day of visitation. 
 Nothing is so eloquent as the silence of a holy, 
 consistent, and lovely life. Actions speak 
 louder than words; and by these you can 
 cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of, or 
 adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all 
 things. It is thus all can be " holders forth," 
 whatever be their condition, and without 
 leaving their place and station. This is the 
 way in which servants are to preach to their 
 masters and mistresses, and children to their 
 parents — Indeed, with regard to all of us, 
 
 " Thus shall we best proclaim aloud 
 The honours of our Saviour God ; 
 When the salvation reigns within, _ 
 And grace subdues the power of sin. 
 
 This is not however to hinder express exer- 
 tions. By these, when the life is in accord- 
 ance with them, much may be often done. 
 There are few so situated and limited, as not 
 to have some opportunities and influences by 
 which they may be useful, and in a much 
 greater degree than they are aware of, if they 
 will seize them with simplicity, and diligence, 
 and prayer. The talents of men are various ; 
 but the servant who has only one talent will 
 be condemned if he wraps it up in a napkin. 
 When we cannot do much individually, we 
 can do something by joining with others, and 
 recommending and aiding those institutions 
 which aim at the diffusion of the cause of 
 Christ. We cannot translate the Scriptures 
 into other tongues; but we can circulate 
 them. We are not at liberty to go abroad 
 ourselves; but we can be fellow-helpers to the 
 truth, by contributing to missions. Silver and 
 gold we have none; but we can apply to 
 those who have. We are not donors ; but 
 we can be collectors. 
 
 What should induce us to hold forth the 
 word of life? Interest. The regard we pay 
 to the Gospel will bless ourselves ; for, like 
 its Author, it says, Them that honour me ] 
 will honour. We seldom labour in vain in 
 this work ; but if our efforts should prove suc- 
 cessless, in some way or other they will re- 
 turn into our own bosom. The most respect- 
 ed and the most happy Christians are the un- 
 selfish, the acfcve, the fervent in spirit, serving 
 the Lord. 
 
IS40 
 
 SEPTEMBER 3. 
 
 Benevolence. The Gospel is not only won- 
 derful but all-important It is the Gospel of 
 our salvation. It is the bread, the water of 
 life. For dying souls it is the only remedy. 
 It has done more already for even the public 
 welfare of nations than all the civil institu- 
 tions of men: and by this alone will the wil- 
 derness and solitary place be made glad, and 
 the desert rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 
 
 Piety. It is thus God's perfections are dis- 
 played. It is thus his enemies are to be 
 diminished, and his subjects increased. It is 
 thus his kingdom comes. — And what claims 
 has he not upon us for our service 1 Whose 
 are we 7 Who bought us with a price ? 
 
 Our relation in the Church. Why have 
 we joined ourselves to a religious society, 
 and placed ourselves under the ministry of 
 the word 1 Is it only to commune together 
 in privilege 1 Is it not also to co-operate to- 
 gether in usefulness" 1 . 
 
 SEPTEMBER 3. 
 
 " Speak, Lord ; for thy servant heareth." 
 1 Samuel iii. 9. 
 
 This shows a temper of mind which we 
 should feel on every occasion. But what does 
 He say to us now we are leaving home for a 
 Beason ; and shall in a peculiar sense be for 
 awhile strangers and pilgrims on earth ] 
 
 He requires us in this excursion to look to 
 our motives. Surely sin is out of the question. 
 What a dreadful thing would it be to go from 
 home to get opportunities to commit iniquity, 
 without danger of observation and discovery ! 
 To such it might well be said, This journey 
 shall not be for thine honour. But the object 
 is lawful if it be business ; if it be friendship ; 
 if it be relative affection ; if it be health ; if it 
 be recreation within proper bounds, and with 
 a view to prepare for future application. 
 
 He requires us to move in a dependence on 
 his providence. The way of man is not in 
 himself; it is not in man that walketh to di- 
 rect his steps. In his hand our breath is ; and 
 his are all our ways. There are many who 
 live without God in the world. James de- 
 scribes the presumption of such an individual 
 in the thought of a journey, and a project — 
 " Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow 
 we will go into such a city, and continue 
 there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain : 
 whereas ye know not what shall be on the 
 morrow. For what is your life 1 It is even 
 a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and 
 then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to 
 say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do 
 this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your 
 boastings : all such rejoicing is evil." Paul 
 speaks of a prosperous journey, by the will of 
 God. Nothing can be done without his permis- 
 sion and blessing. He can set every thing 
 against us ; or make every thing conduce to our 
 
 profit. He can spread a gloom over the fairest 
 scenes of nature ; or he can comfort us on every 
 side. The elements are his. He preserveth 
 man and beast Let us remember our entire 
 rel.ance upon him ; and hear him at this mo- 
 ment saying, "Commit thy way unto the 
 Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall bring 
 it to pass." 
 
 He requires that, wherever we go, we 
 should maintain the consistency of our cha- 
 racter. This does not forbid the exercise of 
 prudence. We are even commanded to be 
 wise as serpents, as well as harmless as doves ; 
 and to walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as 
 wise ; and especially to walk in wisdom to- 
 wards them that are without. But this does 
 not require the surrender of principle, nor 
 even the concealment of it We are not to 
 be ashamed of the Saviour, and of his words ; 
 but confess him before men. If we become 
 all things to all men, it must be in things sin- 
 less and indifferent If we please our neigh- 
 bour, it>must be for his good to edification. 
 If we yield, and " trim our way," and act un- 
 becoming our profession, we shall not only 
 lose the benefit of reproving, convincing, and 
 impressing others, by a practical testimony, 
 but procure for ourselves contempt, instead 
 of esteem. For those who understand not 
 our experience, can comprehend our duty ; 
 and those who do not admire piety, despise 
 inconsistency. 
 
 He therefore requires us to seize and to 
 seek opportunities of usefulness. All cannot 
 act in the the same way. Our stations and 
 abilities differ : and we are not to suffer our 
 good to be evil spoken of. But let us beware 
 of indecision and excuse. " He that observeth 
 the wind, shall not sow ; and he that regard- 
 eth the clouds, shall not reap." Who may 
 not be a blessing in every place in which he 
 is found? Who can tell the influence, im- 
 mediate or remote, of a proper and lovely ex- 
 ample 1 of a word fitly spoken ? of a book lent, 
 or a tract given 1 of a wise and moral distri- 
 bution of alms ? — " In the morning sow thy 
 seed, and in the evening withhold not thine 
 hand: for thou knowest not whether shall 
 prosper, either this or that or whether they 
 both shall be alike good." Let us never think 
 any of our possessions or endowments our own. 
 They are tajents ; and, " as every man hath 
 received the gift, even so let us minister the 
 same one to another, as good stewards of the 
 manifold grace of God." Many of our oppor- 
 tunities are already gone ; and they are gone 
 for ever. How many remain we know not , 
 but they are few and uncertain. Let us 
 awake, and resemble him who went aboul 
 doing good ; and who said, ' I must work the 
 works of him that sent me while it is day : 
 the night cometh, when no Man can work. 
 
 He requires that we should not be careless 
 and inattentive observers of his works. The 
 woiksof the Lord are great in number and in 
 
SEPTEMBER 4. 
 
 241 
 
 quality ; and are sought out of all them that 
 have pleasure therein. And I will, says God, 
 that thou magnify his works which men be- 
 hold. We can see them every where ; but, 
 as we move from one place to another, we 
 perceive them in greater variety. And when, 
 from an inland situation, we reach the watery 
 world, we behold his wonders in the deep. 
 The sea is his ; and he made it ; and, with 
 all its immensity, holds it in the hollow of 
 his hand. What wisdom do we recognise in 
 the salineness of the fluid ; and in the ebbing 
 and flowing of the tide! What power ap- 
 pears in raising, and in calming the billows ; 
 and in giving to the sea his decree, that the 
 waters should not pass his commandment; 
 saying, Hitherto shalt thou come, and no fur- 
 ther; and here shall thy proud waves be 
 stayed ! — And we should observe his works 
 not only as objects of curiosity and wonder, 
 but as excitements to admiration and praise. 
 We should regard them not as naturalists and 
 philosophers, but with the views and feelings 
 of Christians. 
 
 He requires that we should find in all we 
 see confirmations of our faith in his word. 
 The Scripture tells us of the Flood by which 
 the ungodly world was destroyed, and the 
 earth convulsed and torn — And what indica- 
 tions of this awful catastrophe do we often 
 meet with! The Scripture tells us, that 
 though God made man upright, he sought out 
 many inventions : and that we are gone astray ; 
 there is none righteous, no not one — And 
 where can we go and not discern this ? 
 " While the earth remaineth, seed-time and 
 harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and 
 winter, and day and night, shall not cease." 
 And in the succession of the seasons we see 
 this pledge redeemed. He is good to all, and 
 his tender mercies are over all his works — • 
 and we have but to open our eyes, and we 
 see him opening his hand, and satisfying the 
 desires of every living thing. 
 
 He requires that, in our progress and our 
 return, we should be thankful. And how 
 much is there to awaken our gratitude! 
 That we have not only been supplied and 
 supported, but have had so many agreeable 
 prospects, and entertainments, and changes — 
 that we have been preserved in our going 
 out, and our coming in — that we have been 
 Becured from wicked and unreasonable men — 
 that no accident has spilt our life upon the 
 ground, or bruised a limb of our body — that 
 our property has been secured, as well as our 
 persons and health — that no plague has come 
 nigh our dwelling — and that we know also 
 that our tabernacle is in peace! Bless the 
 Lord, O our souls ; and all that is within us, 
 bless his holy name ! 
 
 He requires that we should realize life it- 
 self as only a journey, and think of getting 
 home. We are but strangers and sojourners 
 here, a? were all our fathers. There is nono 
 ^>H 2 
 
 abiding. " Lord, make me to know mme 
 end, and the measure of my days, what it is; 
 that I may know how frail I am." " So teach 
 us to number our days, that we may apply 
 our hearts unto wisdom." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 4. 
 
 " Peace I leave with you." — John xiv. 27 
 
 We know whose words these are — And who 
 was ever so qualified and authorized to speak 
 of peace as he 1 He is called the Prince of 
 Peace. His ministers are the messengers of 
 peace. His word is the Gospel of peace. His 
 way is the path of peace. An angel an- 
 nounced peace at his birth ; and he h imself 
 bequeathed peace at his death — "Peace 1 
 leave with you." 
 
 For we may consider the words, so to 
 speak, as a part of his last will and testament 
 Lands, and houses, and goods, and silver, and 
 gold, he had none to leave. But such as he 
 had he disposed of in the form and manner 
 following. That is to say ; his soul to God 
 Father, into thy hand I commit my spirit 
 His body, to the envy and malice of his ene- 
 mies — to be buffeted, and scourged, and cru- 
 cified. His wearing-apparel, to the soldiers — 
 who divided his garments among them, and 
 for his vesture cast lots. His widowed mo- 
 ther, to the care of John — who, from that 
 hour, took her unto his own home. But what 
 had his disciples all this time ] Has he for- 
 gotten them? No — "Peace I leave with 
 you." 
 
 But why does he i/estow it upon them in a 
 way of legacy 1 First ; to make it the dearer. 
 They would thus prize this boon — Tt was the 
 remembrance of their dying Lord and Sa- 
 viour. Any thing left us by a dying friend, 
 if it be only a book, or a ring, is esteemed 
 and valued. Secondly ; to render it the surer. 
 If it be but a man's testament yet if it be 
 confirmed, no man can disannul it But here 
 every thing concurs to establish confidence. 
 The will is written, witnessed, and sealed. 
 And the testator dies : for a testament is of 
 no force while the testator liveth. And the 
 executor is true and honest afi d will see all 
 punctually fulfilled — this is the Holy Ghost 
 which is to glorify him, by taking of his, and 
 showing it unto them. 
 
 This bestowment was much more than 
 they deserved. They had always been dull 
 scholars; and sadly repaid the labours he had 
 expended upon them. They had been very 
 defective servants ; and only a few hours be 
 fore had been disputing among themselves 
 which of them should be the greatest And 
 now, as his suffering drew near, instead of 
 showing themselves his sympathizing friends, 
 they were all going to forsake him, and flee — 
 yet loving his own who were in the wend, 
 he loved tnem unto tb#» - 
 
242 
 
 SEPTEMBER 5, 6. 
 
 " Happy disciples, to be thus remembered, 
 honoured, and enriched !" you are ready to 
 exclaim — "how we envy you!" But these 
 words were not to be confined to them. They 
 were peisonally to enjoy the privilege; and 
 *Jiey were immediately addressed. But, in 
 receiving this assurance, they stood as the 
 representative of all his people, to the end of 
 time. And you, even you, if you love and 
 follow him, are as much included in the be 
 queathment, as if you were mentioned by 
 name. Witness his following intercession — 
 " Neither pray I for these alone, but for them 
 also which shall believe on me through their 
 word, that they all may be one; as thou, 
 Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they 
 also may be one in us : that the world may 
 believe that thou hast sent me. And the 
 glory which thou gavest me I have given 
 them ; that they may be one, even as we are 
 one." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 5. 
 
 " 1 -will i trengthen them in the Lord." 
 TZech. x. 12. 
 
 This is the very assurance our hearts 
 want, as we think of ourselves, and survey 
 the duties and trials of the Christian life. 
 And we cannot too confidently rely on the 
 accomplishment of it ; for it comes from the 
 lips of Faithfulness and Truth. But we may 
 err, as to the manner in which it is to be ful- 
 filled ; and therefore our expectation is to be 
 regulated and qualified accordingly. 
 
 Let me observe, then, that the fulfilment 
 of the promise, as long as we are here, will 
 not exempt us from all ground of complaint. 
 It will keep us in our work ; but not cause 
 | us to cease from our labour. It secures us as- 
 sistance in our conflict ; but the war lasts for 
 life. However strong our faith, and firm our 
 hope, and long-suffering unto all joyfulness 
 our patience ; we shall still be sensible, and 
 the more sensible too, of resistance, de- 
 ficiency, defilement; and still acknowledge 
 that, when we would do good, evil is present 
 with us, and groan, " O wretciied man that 
 I am ! who shall deliver me from the body 
 of this death?" 
 
 This impartation of strength will also be sea- 
 sonable, and proportioned to the exigences 
 of our condition — " As thy days, so shall thy 
 strength be." What we are to look to for is, 
 not grace for imaginary purposes, but for real ; 
 not grace for future difficulties, but present ; 
 or, as the Apistle has it, grace to "help in 
 time of need." It does not, therefore, follow, 
 that what is formidable in the prospect, may 
 be so in the event. You may fear death while 
 living, and rejoice in it at last. "Is this," 
 said Dr. Goodwin, "Is this dying 1 Is this 
 the enemy that dismayed me so long — now 
 appearing so harmless — and even pleasant ?" 
 
 These supplies of strength are to be sought 
 after and expected in God's own way ; that 
 is, in the use of the means which he has or 
 dained. So his word deals with our hope 
 " Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh 
 to you." " Blessed is the man that hearetr 
 me, watching daily at my gates, and waiting 
 at the posts of my doors." " He giveth pow- 
 er to the faint; and to them that have no 
 might he increaseth strength. Even the 
 youths shall faint and be weary, and the 
 young men shall utterly fall : but they that 
 wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; 
 they shall mount up with wings as eagles; 
 they shall run, and not be weary ; and they 
 shall walk, and not faint." 
 
 And have I not found it so ? In the day 
 when I cried, has he not answered me, and 
 strengthened me with strength in my soul 7 
 Have I not kneeled down with a contracted, 
 and risen up with an enlarged heart ? When 
 I have read his word, hath he not thereby 
 quickened me ? Have I not found him, in 
 his palaces, for a refuge ] Has he not sent 
 me help from the sanctuary, and strengthen- 
 ed me out of Zion 1 
 
 How foolish, then, to avoid religious exer- 
 cises, when I am not in a proper, and spiritual, 
 and lively frame ! The means of grace ars 
 surely, then, the most necessary : as fire iy 
 the most needful when we are cold ; and ex- 
 citement when we are most dull. 
 
 It is only a part of the truth, that wt are 
 to pray with the Spirit — we are also to p.ay 
 for it. Witness the language of the Saviour 
 — " If ye, then, being evil, know how to give 
 good gifts unto your children ; how much 
 more shall your heavenly Father give the 
 holy Spirit to them that ask him !" Witness 
 the example of the Church — "Awake, O 
 north wind j and come, thou south : blow 
 upon my garden, that the spices thereof may 
 flow out." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 6. 
 
 " He found him in a desert land, and in the 
 ■waste ho-juling -wilderness ; he led him about, 
 he instructed him, he kept him as the apple 
 of his eye." — Deut. xxxii. 10. 
 
 And will not this apply, O Christian ! to 
 thee, as well as to Israel 1 
 
 Will not the finding ? " He found them 
 in a desert land, in a waste howling wilder- 
 ness." And where did he find you 1 What 
 was your natural state 1 What was the world 
 lying in wickedness ? What was the earth, 
 as filled, from the effects of sin, with vanity 
 and vexation of spirit 1 There, not you found 
 Him, but He found you — To his name givt 
 glory, for the mercy and the truth's sake. 
 You did indeed find him : but how 1 " I am 
 found of them that sought me not; I am 
 sought of them that asked not for me." Yo* 
 
SEPTEMBER 7. 
 
 243 
 
 did choose him : but as the cause or conse- 
 quence of his choice ? " Ye have not chosen 
 me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, 
 that you should go and bring forth fruit, and 
 that your fruit should remain." Who can re- 
 fuse to acknowledge, We love him, because 
 he first loved us ? 
 
 — Will not the leading ? " He led them 
 ibout" There was no road, and much de- 
 pended upon their movements. He therefore 
 became their conductor. And we know how 
 he did this. It was by a fiery cloudy pillar. 
 As this advanced, they removed. As this 
 turned to the right or the left, they turned 
 also. As this paused, they remained. Thus 
 they were freed from all anxiety. The dis- 
 tance they had to go was not great in itself. 
 Jacob's sons, with their asses, soon passed 
 and repassed between Egypt and Canaan. 
 And the Israelites quickly reached Kadesh- 
 barnea, which was not far from Jordan ; but 
 they were turned back. And if you consult 
 a map, and observe their winding marches, 
 .you will see the propriety of the expression, 
 He led them about And has he not thus led 
 you ? You knew that the way of man is not 
 in himself. You cried unto the Lord, and 
 said. Lead me in thy truth, and guide me, for 
 thou art the God of my salvation, on thee do 
 1 wait all the day. And he said, I will lead 
 thee and guide thee, and instruct thee with 
 mine eye. And has he ever abandoned you ? 
 What mistakes has he prevented ! How often 
 has he hedged up your path, to keep you 
 from going astray ! From how many embar- 
 rassments, the effect of your acting without 
 nim, has he extricated you ! He has always 
 led you in the right way ; but it has often 
 Deen a trying one ; and such as you could 
 not have foreseen or conjectured. In your 
 temporal affairs he has perhaps checked you, 
 and turned you back : you have had life to 
 begin again : and to seek other openings and 
 labours. And as to your spiritual experience, 
 instead of gaining more of the assurance of 
 hope, doubts and fears have invaded you ; and 
 instead of victory over your enemies, you 
 have been led to see and feel more of the 
 evil of your hearts; while you have often 
 asked, If I am his, why am I thus! Yet 
 all this has fulfilled the promise, " I will 
 bring the blind by a way that they knew not ; 
 I will lead them in paths that they have not 
 known : I will make darkness light before 
 them, and crooked things straight These 
 things will I do unto them, and not forsake 
 them." 
 
 — Will not the teaching ? " He instruct- 
 ed them." They had the finest opportuni- 
 ties in the world to learn, cut off as they 
 were from intercourse with the surrounding 
 nations, and being alone, with God as their 
 preceptor. When at Horeb, they sat down 
 at his feef, and received of his words. He 
 gave them laws and ordinances. He sent 
 
 them Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam. He 
 taught them much by events, pleasing and 
 painful. He showed them in example the 
 evil of sin, the happiness of obedience. Yea, 
 he gave them his good spirit says Nehe- 
 miah, to instruct them. And has he not in- 
 structed you ? If you have been unprofitable 
 learners, the fault has been your own. Yor 
 have had every thing favourable in your si- 
 tuation. A thousand resources of informa 
 tion have opened around you. You have the 
 Scriptures, the preaching of the Word, Chris- 
 tian interrourse, and the unction from the Holy 
 One, which is to teach you all things. Every 
 thing that has befallen you has read you les- 
 sons. Some things you must have learned — 
 that this is not your rest — the folly of trust- 
 ing in your own hearts — the greatness of 
 your unworthiness — and that it is of the 
 Lord's mercies that you are not consumed. 
 
 — Will not the protection ? " He kept 
 them as the apple of his eye" — the tenderest 
 part of the tenderest member. Did the ser- 
 pents bite them? He provided a remedy, 
 and healed them. Did enemies assail them ? 
 It was not with impunity. He reproved 
 kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not mine 
 anointed, and do my prophets no harm. Ama- 
 lek ; Sihon, king of the Amorites ; and Og, 
 king of Bashan ; found, to their peril, that he 
 made their cause his own. Did Balaam use 
 divination and enchantment? He owned 
 there was no enchantment against Jacob, nor 
 divination against Israel. He cursed them, 
 but the curse was turned into a blessing. In 
 travelling, were they exposed to the sun? 
 The Lord was their shade on their right 
 hand. He preserved them in their going out 
 and in their coming in — they were a people 
 saved of the Lord. And who has kindly, ten- 
 derly, constantly, kept you ? Have you had 
 no enemies ? Why have you not been a prey 
 to their teeth? Why has not your heart 
 turned back ? Why have not your steps de- 
 clined from his ways ? He has holden you 
 up. You have been kept by the power of 
 God, through faith, unto salvation. 
 
 This is what he has done for you 
 
 — What have you done for him ' 
 
 — What are you doing ? 
 
 — What do you resolve to do ? 
 
 SEPTEMBER 7. 
 
 " The -word of the Lord that came unto Hoseu, 
 the son ofBeeri, in the days of Uzztah, Jo- 
 tham, Ji'haz, and Hezekiah, kings of Juilah, 
 and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Jo- 
 ash, king of Israel"— Hosea i. 1. 
 We are not informed whether he had been 
 trained up for the holy office, or been called 
 in a manner sudden and unlooked for. Some 
 of the prophets were taken at once from fol- 
 lowing their ,»mmon occupations; as we see 
 
244 
 
 SEPTEMBER 7. 
 
 in the instances of Elisha and Amos. Others 
 were taken, and this was more generally the 
 case, from the schools of the prophets ; 
 where, by retirement, and prayer, and medi- 
 tation, and instruction, they were gradually 
 prepared to minister in holy things. Thus 
 God both sanctified the use of means, and 
 Bhowed that he was not confined to them. It 
 is the same now. Some of the most pious, 
 eminent, and useful ministers the Churches 
 ever possessed, have been educated for the 
 purpose ; and we ought to be thankful for 
 such institutions ; and on these, for our spiri- 
 tual supplies, we must principally depend — 
 But we must not limit the Holy One of Is- 
 rael. He will sometimes take a man out of 
 our rules, and give him acceptance and suc- 
 cess. And we must receive a Bunyan, as 
 well as an Owen. When will persons allow 
 God to work in his own way 1 and learn that, 
 because one thing is right, another need not 
 be wrong? But Hosea was divinely com- 
 missioned — " The word of the Lord came 
 unto him." " For the prophecy came not in 
 old time by the will of man : but holy men of 
 God spake as they were moved by the Holy 
 Ghost." And they could demand attention, 
 in the name of him, who sent them — " Thus 
 eaith the Lord." 
 
 — His descent is also remarked — He was 
 " the son of Beeri." The Jews have a rule, 
 that the prophet whose father is named, was 
 the son of a prophet But this does not al- 
 ways hold. Nothing is recorded of Beeri. 
 Yet it is reasonably concluded, that unless he 
 had been a man of some distinction^ and from 
 whom Hosea derived honour, he would not 
 c&e been mentioned. And this he might 
 nave been, without possessing worldly rank 
 and riches. The righteous is more excellent 
 than his neighbour. He is happily and nobly 
 descended, who springs from those who are 
 great in the sight of the Lord — He may well 
 exult, and say — 
 
 " My boast is not that I deduce my birth 
 From loins enthron'd, and rulers of the earth ; 
 But higher far my proud pretensions rise — 
 The sons of parents pass'd into the skies !" 
 
 j_.et us live, as that our children may derive 
 from us advantage and respect. 
 
 But the principal thing is, the time of his 
 ministrations — " In the days of Uzziah, Jo- 
 tham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah ; 
 and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, 
 king of Israel." Now if he prophesied only 
 from the end of Jeroboam's reign, the son 
 of Joash, to the beginning of Hezekiah's, it 
 would have been near seventy years. But he 
 prophesied in the reign of both. And if we 
 allow him a few years in each of these, and 
 reckon up the length of the reigns between, 
 his ministry must have been little short of 
 eighty years ; and it was probably even more. 
 And five things may be observed from hence. 
 
 First How very little we have of his 
 
 prophesyings. Fourteen short chapters, read 
 in much less time than a modern sermon, in 
 elude all that has been perpetuated of far the 
 longest ministry on record. Some labour for 
 posterity ; and leave behind them works 
 which will render them a blessing to future 
 ages. Others are called more to serve their 
 own generation, by the will of God ; and are 
 preachers rather than writers. How useful 
 was Whitfield as a preacher ! while his few 
 writings have had little circulation, and rathei 
 serve to excite wonder that he was so power- 
 ful in another capacity. How useful has 
 Hervey been as a writer ! while his preach- 
 ing was without excitement, and scarcely 
 distinguished by any effect. Some, like Dod- 
 dridge, have excelled, both in the pulpit and 
 from the press. Every servant of God has 
 his peculiar gifts, and his appropriate sphere 
 — " Even so, Father ; for so it seemeth good 
 in thy sight." 
 
 Secondly. He must have begun his minis- 
 try very young. Paul forbids the ordination 
 of a novice, lest he should be lifted up with 
 pride. Talent is not all that isViecessary fof 
 the sacred office. How necessary is the 
 knowledge that is derived from experience ' 
 and the confidence that grows out of the tria 
 of character ! Thirty was the age for enter 
 ing on the Levitical service. And not ear 
 lier than this period did John and Jesus com- 
 mence their public ministry. But " the word 
 of God is not bound." Timothy was young ; 
 so young, that Paul was obliged to say, " Let 
 no man despise thy youth.' Samuel was 
 employed, while yet a child. Jeremiah was 
 consecrated from the womb. And this was 
 nearly the case ( with Hosea. What a privi- 
 lege, what an honour, to be early dedicated 
 to the service of God ! " I remember thee^ 
 the kindness of thy youth." 
 
 Thirdly. He must have been very old be- 
 fore he retired from labour. Some do not 
 resign early enough, but stand about as a hin- 
 derance in the way of usefulness. The ex- 
 cellent Cornelius Winter often prayed to be 
 preserved from this error. Indeed, few can 
 set well, and say of a successor with proper 
 feelings, " I must decrease, but he must in- 
 crease." Others resign too soon. They 
 would retire upon a pension, before they arc 
 disabled in the holy war. A minister may 
 want the sprightliness and vigour of youth 
 and yet have the ripeness and richness of 
 age ; and the fruit may drop without much 
 hard shaking. Some nobly fall at their post 
 — sword in hand — faithful unto death — and, 
 with the crown of life, obtain the commenda- 
 tion, " Thou hast laboured, and hast not 
 fainted." 
 
 Fourthly. He must have passed through 
 a vast variety of condition. He lived in the 
 reign of one good king, and of four bad ones. 
 He saw peace, and much war. He saw plenty, 
 and more than once, scarceness and famine. 
 
SEPTEMBER 8. 
 
 '245 
 
 lie saw a few partial revivals of religion ; but 
 witnessed general and constant wickedness. 
 How many of his relations, friends, and pious 
 connexions, had fallen ! How lonely must he 
 have felt ! How changed his views ! How 
 convinced must he have been, that all below 
 is vanity and vexation of spirit ! — while, yet, 
 God wes the strength of his heart, and his 
 portion for ever. How much he knew of 
 what was doing in other countries, we cannot 
 determine. But ' within the compass of his 
 ministry lived Lycurgus, the famous Lacedae- 
 monian legislator ; and Hesiod, the Greek 
 poet; and Rome also was now begun. 
 
 Finally. A man of God may labour long, 
 and do very little good. The people he ad- 
 dressed not only continued wicked, but waxed 
 worse and worse: and the captivity he had 
 threatened, he lived to see commenced. He 
 certainly saw a part of Israel carried away 
 captive, by Tiglath-Pileser; and probably the 
 entire destruction of the kingdom of the ten 
 tribes, by Salmanezer. This must have been 
 very painful. But it did not slacken his ef- 
 forts. We are not answerable for our success. 
 If we lose our labour, we shall not lose our 
 reward. A greater than all said, " I have la- 
 boured in vain, I have spent my strength for 
 nought, and in vain ; yet surely my judgment 
 is with the Lord, and my work with my God." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 8. 
 
 u Desjnsest thou the riches of his goodness and 
 forbearance and long suffering ?" — Romans 
 
 ii. 4. 
 
 One of the ways in which God addresses 
 us, in his Word, is expostulation. To expos- 
 tulate is to accuse before an open rupture. It 
 is the lingering of friendship, offended indeed, 
 but unwilling to abandon its object without 
 further trial. It is anger blended with kind- 
 ness : it is chiding, accompanied with entreaty. 
 — This is a very pleasing view of the Su- 
 preme Being, and induces us to exclaim, 
 Lord, what is man, that thou are mindful of 
 him; or the son of man, that thou visitest 
 him ? By the transgression of his law we 
 reduced ourselves to ruin. He remembered 
 us in our low estate ; and provided for our de- 
 liverance. The blessing is placed before us, 
 and within our reach. But we disregard it ; 
 and contemn the Saviour, as well as the 
 Ruler. Thus we deserve that his wrath 
 should come upon us. Yet, before he pro- 
 nounces sentence, he sends for us into his 
 presence ; and reasons with us ; that, being 
 unable to defend our conduct, we may ac- 
 knowledge, by our silence, that we have 
 acted a part that leaves us without excuse, 
 and without hope — " Despisest thou the 
 riches of his goodness and forbearance and 
 lono'suffering?" 
 
 The Apostle speaks of " the riches of nis 
 goodness." These riches appear in number- 
 21* 
 
 less displays. — But he adds — " and forbear- 
 ance and longsuffering ;" to induce us to con- 
 sider the latter, as the proof of the former. 
 
 To see, then, the riches of his goodness, let 
 us contemplate his forbearance and longsuf- 
 fering. Every thing in God enhances his pa- 
 tience. — His greatness enhances it. We are 
 more affected with an affront from an equal 
 than from a superior ; and more from an infe- 
 rior than from an equal. How does the mas- 
 ter resent an offence from his slave? or a King 
 from a subject ? All comparison fails between 
 God and us. He is the maker of all things ; 
 and all nations before him are as nothing. 
 This is the Being insulted. And who is the 
 offender? A groveling worm upon a dung- 
 hill. And yet he bears with us. — His wisdom 
 enhances it. We cannot be affected with af- 
 fronts of which we are ignorant How would 
 some be enraged if they knew only what is 
 said of them by some of their " dear five hun- 
 dred friends ; how they turn them into ridi- 
 cule before they have well left their house; 
 and what freedoms they take with their cha- 
 racter, and their conduct, in almost every 
 company ! None of our offences are secret 
 from God. He hears all ; sees all ; and knows 
 perfectly every imagination of the thoughts 
 of our heart. And yet he bears with us. — His 
 holiness enhances it. If we do not think and 
 feel a thing to be an affront, there is no vir- 
 tue ; for there is no difficulty in enduring it. 
 The trial is when it touches us to the quick 
 in some most valued interest Sin is exceed- 
 ing sinful. By nothing does God deem hinV 
 self so dishonoured. He is of purer eyes than 
 to behold iniquity. It is the abominable thing 
 which his soul hates. And yet he bears with 
 us. — His power enhances it Why do we put 
 up with a thousand wrongs? We know them, 
 and feel them; but we reluctantly submit, be- 
 cause we have no way to punish them. Why 
 are not sinners destroyed? Moses, when he 
 had provoked the Egyptians, saved himself by 
 flight But whither can we go from God's 
 presence, or flee from his spirit? Some, when 
 they have provoked resentment, have defied 
 it, and successfully too. But who ever hard- 
 ened himself against God, and prospered? His 
 look is death. And yet he bears with us. — 
 His bounty enhances it We complain pecu- 
 liarly of an injury or an insult from one who 
 is much indebted to us. From another, we 
 say, we could have borne it ; but he is viler 
 than the brute . for the ox knoweth his owner, 
 and the ass his master's crib. We are under 
 infinite obligations to the God we provoke. In 
 him we have lived, and moved, and had our 
 being. His table has fed us ; his wardrobe has 
 clothed us ; his sun has warmed us. And this 
 is not all. His kindness continues, notwith- 
 standing all our ingratitude. And he not only 
 spares us, but in every way indulges us. He 
 waits to be gracious, and is exalted to have 
 mercy upon us. 
 
246 
 
 SEPTEMBER 9. 
 
 Yet are these riches of his goodness " des- 
 pised." — Despised by inconsideration. We 
 treat them as unworthy of our notice. They 
 do not occupy our thoughts, or our speech. — 
 Despised by disobedience. We resist their 
 design, which is, to lead us to repentance. 
 God calls, but we will not answer. He 
 knocks, but we refuse to open — Who is the 
 Lord, that we should obey his voice ? — Des- 
 pised by perversion. We turn them into in- 
 struments of rebellion; and make them the 
 very means of increasing our impenitency. If 
 we thought God would strike us into hell the 
 next sin we committed, it would not be com- 
 mitted: but since he is too kind to do this, we 
 are induced to offend him. We are evil, be- 
 cause he is good. 
 
 How unreasonable is this! How vile is 
 this contempt ! How shameful ! If an indivi- 
 dual was to behave towards a fellow-creature 
 as men are continually acting towards the 
 blessed God, no one could notice him but 
 with astonishment arid contempt. Yet we 
 talk of the dignity of human nature ! or con- 
 tend that it is but slightly injured by the Fall ! 
 
 — And how dangerous ! How ruinous is 
 this contempt ! It is true, God is merciful and 
 gracious. But he will by no means spare the 
 guilty. Nothing equals the penalty of the 
 Gospel — it is the savour of death unto death. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 9. 
 
 " They joy before Thee according to the joy in 
 harvest" — Isaiah ix. 3. 
 
 Three circumstances are here mentioned. 
 They joy. They joy before Thee. They joy 
 before Thee according to the joy in harvest. 
 Each of these will supply an interesting and 
 useful meditation. 
 
 They joy. 
 
 Among the many mistakes entertained con- 
 cerning religion, no one is more common than 
 the notion that it prescribes a forced, gloomy, 
 melancholy course; engaged in which, we 
 must bid adieu to every thing like pleasure. 
 And nothing can be more injurious than this 
 notion : for men will naturally turn from reli- 
 gion while they view it as the enemy of their 
 happiness. But nothing is so unfounded and 
 false as this opinion. Let us take it to three 
 tribunals. 
 
 Let us bring it to the bar of reason. It 
 must be allowed that God is able to make us 
 happy or miserable. And if so — Is it likely 
 that he will suffer those who hate and oppose 
 him to be happy ? and those who love and try 
 to please him to be miserable ? What a notion 
 of the Supreme Being would this imply ! And 
 what could equally blaspheme his character ? 
 —And has a hope, that my sins are pardoned; 
 that God is my Father ; that Providence is 
 
 my guide ; that Death is my friend ; and thai 
 heaven is my portion ; a tendency to inspire 
 me with sadness, or with joy ? And which is 
 most adapted to make me wretched or com- 
 fortable within 1 Malice, or benevolence? 
 Passion, or meekness'! Pride, or humility? 
 Envy, or complacency? Anxiety, or confi- 
 dence? — Distant things do not sufficiently 
 impress us. We need something immediate. 
 Our propensity to present gratification 'm 
 powerful. And must not religion meet this 
 state of feeling, and provide for it? Thirsty 
 as man is, if there be no pure stream at hand, 
 will he not kneel down to the filthy puddle ? 
 What is to preserve us from being drawn 
 away by the allurements and dissipations of 
 the world, but our having something better to 
 satisfy our hearts at home, and to keep us 
 from roving? — What can sustain us in our 
 trials, and animate us in our duties, if desti- 
 tute of present consolation ? The joy of the 
 Lord is our strength. We shall soon decline 
 a course in which we feel no interest or de- 
 light. And if we are strangers to holy plea- 
 sure, how can we impress others in favour of 
 religion ? It is by singing at their work that 
 his servants praise their master; and prove 
 that his yoke is easy, and his burden light. 
 
 Let us take it to the bar of Scripture.- 
 Read the Bible all through for this purpose. 
 Take its commands. What are these? "Re- 
 joice in the Lord, and be glad, ye righteous; 
 and shout aloud for joy, all ye that are up- 
 right in heart." " Rejoice evermore." " Re- 
 joice in the Lord alway: and again I say, 
 rejoice." Take its promises. What are these? 
 " Blessed is the people that know the joyful 
 sound : they shall walk, O Lord, in the light 
 of thy countenance. In thy name shall they 
 rejoice all the day : and in thy righteousness 
 shall they be exalted." "The ransomed of thn 
 Lord shall return, and come to Zion with 
 songs." " They shall go out with joy, and he 
 ledtorth with peace: the mountains and the 
 hills shall break forth before them into sing- 
 ing, and all the trees of the field shall clap 
 their hands." Take its representations, What 
 are these ? Go back to the beginning of the 
 Gospel. The first Churches walked not only 
 in the fear of the Lord, but " in the comfort 
 of the Holy Ghost." Peter, addressing Chris- 
 tians at large, says, " In whom, believing, ye 
 rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glo- 
 ry." If we libel Christianity, and cause the 
 way of truth to be evil spoken of, they ho- 
 noured it. What hindered their joy ? Losses 
 did not — " They took joyfully the spoiling of 
 their goods." Persecutions did not — " They 
 received the word in much affliction, with 
 joy of the Holy Ghost." Guilt did not— They 
 joyed in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 by whom they received the atonement. Death 
 did not — They longed to depart, to be with 
 Christ, which was far better. Eternity did 
 
SEPTEMBER 10. 
 
 347 
 
 noi They were looking for that blessed hope, 
 and hasting unto the coming of the day of 
 God. Joy was then considered as an essential 
 part of genuine religion. The circumcision 
 not only worshipped God in the spirit, and 
 tiad no confidence in the flesh ; but also re- 
 joiced in Christ Jesus. And the Apostle 
 would as soon have excluded from it righte- 
 ous conduct, and a peaceable temper, as spi- 
 ritual joy: for, says he, "the kingdom of God 
 is not meat and drink ; but righteousness, and 
 peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" 
 
 Let us bring it to the bar of experience. 
 Experience signifies knowledge derived from 
 experiment, in opposition to theory and hy- 
 pothesis. And experimental philosophy has 
 been, of late years, much extolled. And why 
 should not experimental religion be equally 
 recommended ] Is there no standard in spi- 
 ritual things, to which we can appeal 1 And 
 is there no way of subjecting the truth and 
 importance of their claims to trial 1 Many 
 are, indeed, too careless, and too prejudiced, 
 to pursue the process. But some have exa- 
 mined, and reduced the subjects to decision. 
 And they, and they only, are the persons to 
 whom you should repair in a case of this 
 kind. They have this advantage over you. 
 You have never tried their principles: but 
 they have tried yours. You have never 
 walked in their ways: but they have walked 
 in yours ; and know, as well as you, that they 
 are not pleasantness and peace. And, after 
 trying your resources, and finding them to be 
 vanity and vexation of spirit, they have tried 
 the Saviour's promises, and have found them 
 to be full of grace and truth. At first, they 
 could not be swayed by faith ; but now they 
 have something more: they have the Wit- 
 ness in themselves. They know, for they 
 have applied to him, that he is a suitable, a 
 willing, a mighty Saviour. They know they 
 were strangers to peace, till they were re- 
 conciled to God, by the death of his Son — but 
 they have come to the blood of sprinkling. 
 They know that once they were ignorantly 
 asking, Who will show us any good? — but 
 they have found the fountain of life ; and can 
 say, it is good for me to draw nigh to God. 
 They, therefore, ought to be heard. They 
 can speak with confidence and earnestness ; 
 for they speak from experience — And this is 
 their language : " Lo this, we have searched 
 it, so it is ; hear it, and know thou it for thy 
 good." "That which we have seen and 
 heard declare we unto you, that ye also may 
 have fellowship with us; and truly our fel- 
 lowship is with the Father, and with his Son 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 Let us listen no longer to a report, as false 
 as it is evil. It is a good land which the 
 Lord our God giveth us. Let no man's 
 heart fail him 
 
 SEPTEMBER 10. 
 
 " They joy before Thee according- tt the joy in 
 harvest." — Isaiah ix. 3. 
 
 They joy — before Thee. This shows 
 
 The sincerity of this joy. All men are in 
 view of God ; and they are always before 
 him : but the wicked and the worldly never 
 joy before him. Their joy is all show and 
 profession : it may deceive their fellow-crea- 
 tures ; but it cannot impose on God. He seel 
 through all the hypocrisy of their happiness: 
 he knows, that in the midst of their sufficien- 
 cy, they are in straits ; and that they sigh and 
 groan, though others do not hear them, over 
 all their successes and indulgences. Their 
 joj is for company, not retirement They 
 cannot partake of it till they forget God. 
 One thought of him damps all their pleasure 
 — Therefore they say unto God, Depart from 
 us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. 
 And hence, they dislike conscience, God's de- 
 puty and secretary. They cannot relish their 
 enjoyments till they have sent him out of the 
 way ; or lulled him to sleep ; or stupified him 
 with an opiate : or silenced him with a bribe : 
 one look, one word from conscience, will be 
 enough to spoil all their delights. They never 
 taste one drop of real joy. There is no peace, 
 saith God, to the wicked. 
 
 But the Christian's joy will bear the gaze 
 of God. It lives and flourishes in his pre- 
 sence. And so far is he from shrinking back 
 from the eye of his heavenly Father, that the 
 thought of being near him, with him, before 
 him, affords him relief and satisfaction. He 
 can say, with Asaph, "Nevertheless I am 
 continually with thee : thou hast holden me 
 up by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me 
 with thy counsel, and afterward receive me 
 to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee ! 
 and there is none upon earth that I desire be- 
 side thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: 
 but God is the strength of my heart and my 
 portion for ever." 
 
 This reminds us of the secrecy of this joy. 
 It is before him ; and often he alone discerns 
 it Strangers intermeddle not with it The 
 world knows it not Seeing Christians often 
 poor, and afflicted, and despised, they are at a 
 loss to conceive how they can be joyful. 
 They are therefore men wondered at. Their 
 fellow-creatures can see their burdens ; these 
 are often plain enough: but they see not 
 their supports ; they see not how, underneath 
 them, are the everlasting arms; or they 
 would not wonder that they do not sink. 
 They see their losses and trials; but their 
 communion with God, and the comforts of the 
 Holy Ghost are invisible. Neither are the 
 subjects of this joy disposed to divulge it to 
 all. They are, indeed, ready to say to them 
 that fear God, Ccme, and I will tell you what 
 
2-18 
 
 SEPTEMBER 11. 
 
 he hath done for my soul : but, were they to 
 communicate their feelings to others, they 
 would no be understood by them. It would 
 be worse than speaking of the pleasure of 
 literature to a clown ; or of the pleasure of 
 melody and harmony to a man who has no 
 ear for music. The joy also does not operate 
 and discover itself like common mirth. It is 
 not the froth that swims and shows on the 
 surface. It lies deep. It is not noise, but 
 composure. It is the calm of the mind : the 
 content of the heart: the sunshine of the 
 soul : a peace that passeth all understanding. 
 A man, if joyful, does not joy like a child. 
 " True joy is a serious thing." 
 
 But God sees his people, even when sor- 
 rowful, yet always rejoicing either in posses- 
 sion, hope, or desire. He sees them turning 
 aside from the world, to refresh and exhila- 
 rate their spirits alone with himself: and 
 hears them (when no other ear hears them) 
 saying, " How precious are thy thoughts un- 
 to me, O God ! how great is the sum of them ! 
 If I should count them, they are more in 
 number than the sand : when I awake, I am 
 ■till with thee." 
 
 " Be earth with all her scenes withdrawn ; 
 Let noise and vanity be gone : 
 In secret silence of the mind, 
 
 My heaven, and there my God, I find." 
 
 They joy before Him. This also reminds 
 us of the medium of this joy ; not indeed ex- 
 clusively, but pre-eminently so — It is con- 
 nected with the worship and ordinances of 
 God. And the allusion is to the three annual 
 solemnities of the Jews when they went to 
 appear before the Lord in Zion. For there 
 he was considered as residing. There was 
 his house, his table, his attendants. This, 
 said he, is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, 
 for I have desired it. Hence, says David, 
 when shall I come, and appear before God 1 — 
 These services were called feasts. There 
 were songs to be sung in the way to them. 
 The people went with the voice of joy and 
 gladness to keep holy day. And when they 
 arrived, they were required " to rejoice be- 
 fore him." Is God less present in our assem- 
 blies, than in those of the Jews'? Has he not 
 said, " In all places where I record my name I 
 will come unto thee, and I will bless thee 1" 
 And many can set to their seal that God is 
 true. They know he is there, waiting to be 
 gracious, and exalted to have mercy. They 
 have found him there, and conversed with 
 him, as a man talketh with his friend. They 
 have seen his power, and his glory, in the 
 sanctuary, and have there tasted that the 
 Lord is gracious. Hence they hail the Sab- 
 bath, as the day of holy convocation, with de- 
 Jight. They are glad when the summons 
 comes to go into the house of the Lord. 
 They come before his presence with thanks- 
 givings : and show themselves glad in him 
 with psalms. 
 
 Yes, they who mourn ; and are there com- 
 forted — They who come burdened with 
 guilt ; and are there set free — They who 
 come in the midst of trouble, and find him 
 in his palaces for a refuge — They who come 
 cold and languid, and are quickened accord- 
 ing to his word : these verify the promise, 
 " I will bring them to my holy mountain 
 and make them joyful in my house of pray- 
 er." And they know the meaning of" the 
 declaration — " They joy before Thef " 
 
 SEPTEMBER 11. 
 
 * They joy before Thee according- to the joy m 
 harvest." — Isaiah ix. 3. 
 
 They joy before Him — according to the 
 joy of harvest. And what is this joy 1 
 
 It is a joy connected with exertion. — Reap- 
 ing is no easy thing. But this is not all 
 that is required. There is manuring, and 
 ploughing, and sowing, and harrowing, and 
 weeding. All these are previously neces- 
 sary to the joy of harvest. The husband- 
 man does not eat the bread of idleness. His 
 labour fills his hands. Every season ha.« 
 demands upon him : and the end of one work 
 is the beginning of another. Indeed, no- 
 thing valuable is to be obtained without 
 diligence and difficulty : yea, it would not 
 be valuable, or prized, if it were acquired 
 priceless and painless. And are not we to 
 exercise ourselves unto godliness 1 And is 
 it nothing to worship God in spirit and in 
 truth 7 And to watch in all things ! And 
 to pray without ceasing 1 And to keep the 
 heart with all diligence 1 " But the grace 
 of God does all this for us." It does. But 
 it is equally true, that it does all this by us 
 too. God does not believe and repent ; but 
 enables us to believe and repent. We run 
 the race that is set before us, we fight the 
 good fight of faith — though in him is all our 
 help found. 
 
 This joy requires patience. The husband- 
 man soweth in hope; but the accomplish- 
 ment of his hope is future. Weeks and 
 months, and many dreary weeks and months, 
 intervene, before his wishes can be fulfilled 
 Yet he is not foolish enough to suppose, that 
 he has laboured in vain, because he cannot 
 reap as soon as he has sown ; or childishly 
 eager enough to cut down the grain green, 
 to hasten the harvest. B M t what does he 1 
 " The husbandman waiteth or the precious 
 fruit of the earth, and hath long patience 
 for it, until he receive the early and latter 
 rain." And so Abraham, after he had pa- 
 tiently endured, received the promise. Chris- 
 tians also, are required to wait. And let them 
 remember, that in due time they shall reap, 
 if they faint not. And they have not long to 
 wait. Their salvation is nearer than when 
 they believed. Yet a few more rising ana 
 
SEPTEMBER 12. 
 
 249 
 
 descending suns ; and it shall be said, " Put 
 ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe." — In 
 the mean time the process is hourly advancing 
 to maturity ; and the end shall prove, that 
 every thing is most beautiful and most pro- 
 fitable in its season. " It is good that a man 
 -should both hope and quietly wait for the sal- 
 vation of the Lord." 
 
 This joy is not free from anxieties. When 
 the seed is first thrown into the ground,, it 
 seems lost ; and when it revives from a kind 
 of death, and springs up, it has to encounter 
 the frosts of winter, the changings and blights 
 of spring, the lengthened dryness or wetness 
 of summer. And when the period is arrived 
 for securing the precious treasure, solicitude 
 is more alive and alert. The husbandman 
 often rises, and looks at the sky. Ten times 
 in the day he examines the glass. He goes 
 about with a heavy heart, and a depressed 
 countenance ; and often forebodes the worst : 
 and it is not till he has safely housed the 
 whole, that he can give up himself to satis- 
 faction and delight. But how will this apply 
 to Christians ' Is there any thing precarious 
 in the purpose and promise of God! No. But 
 it is otherwise with their apprehensions. 
 Their eternal prospects awaken all their con- 
 cern ; and they have a thousand doubts and 
 fears concerning their safety and success. Am 
 I an heir! Is this repentance towards God ! 
 Is this faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ! 
 Can these wandering thoughts and imperfect 
 desires be prayer! What if, after all, I 
 ■hould fail of the grace of God, and come 
 short of the glory to be revealed ! 
 
 But this joy is great. When the harvest 
 is come, every face betrays pleasure. The 
 very toil seems delight. They that pass by 
 say, " We bless you in the name of the 
 Lord." " He that soweth, and he that reap- 
 eth, now rejoice together." Pennant tells 
 us, in his Travels, that in parts of Scotland he 
 sometimes saw large numbers reaping, to the 
 sound of a musician behind them, playing on 
 the bagpipe ; and thus enlivening the scene, 
 and softening the work. And David says, 
 "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy," 
 or, as it is in the margin, reap singing. And 
 he adds, " He that goeth forth and weepeth, 
 bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come 
 again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves 
 with him." And who has not heard the shout- 
 ings c£ the rustics, as the last loaded wain 
 returned from the field, covered with green 
 boughs! And who has not witnessed the 
 rude mirth of harvest-home 1 But if " the 
 poor labourers sing;" think of the owner! 
 Now his anxieties are dispelled ! Now his 
 patience is rewarded ! Now his exertion and 
 expense are abundantly repaid — his garner is 
 full, affording all manner of store ; and he 
 hails, in his possession, the means of irdul- 
 gence, improvement, and wealth ! Yet, what 
 is this joy, compared with the Christian's" 
 21 
 
 The one is for the oody ; the other for the 
 soul. One is for time ; the other is for eternity. 
 One is common to the wicked and the righte- 
 ous ; the other is peculiar to the subjects of 
 divine grace. The one may gender intern 
 perance, and sin ; the other sanctifies, while 
 it contents. 
 
 Let me learn, then, to improve the works 
 of creation to pious purposes ; and make nature 
 a handmaid to grace. 
 
 And let me be thankful for the harvest with 
 which we have so recently been favoured. 
 He has again " prepared of his goodness for 
 the poor." All, indeed, are concerned. " The 
 king is served by the labour of the field." 
 But kings have many ways of livinar. that 
 poor people have not We do not tninK of 
 palaces or mansions, so much as of the dwell- 
 ings of the poor, when we view the waviug 
 fields. He has not only given us plenty, but 
 afforded us the appointed weeks of haivesL 
 " Oh that men would praise the Lord for his 
 goodness, and for his wonderful works to the 
 children of men ! For he satisfieth the long- 
 ing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with 
 goodness." 
 
 Yet man liveth not by bread alone, but by 
 every word that proceedeth out of the mouth 
 of God. Let me therefore labour, not for the 
 meat that perisheth, but for that meat which 
 endureth unto everlasting life. All spiritual 
 blessings in heavenly places are provided and 
 represented. Yet the season for securing 
 them is limited, short, and uncertain. Now 
 is the accepted time ; now is the dfty of salva- 
 tion. And how many, in consequence of neg- 
 lect, have exclaimed, at a dying hour — Thb 
 
 HARVEST IS PAST ; THE SUMMER IS ENDED 
 AND WE ARE NOT SAVED. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 12. 
 " Tea, he loved the people.^-^-Dent. xxxiii. J 
 
 There can be no doubt of the truth of this 
 assertion with regard to Israel. They were 
 often reminded of it : and they were as often 
 told why he set his love upon them. The rea- 
 son was not their greatness ; for they were the 
 fewest of all people : not their goodness ; for 
 they were a stifmecked people : but because 
 the Lord had a favour towards them. Hence 
 he chose them, and redeemed them, and pro- 
 vided for them, and distinguished them by 
 miracles and privileges. "To them pertained 
 the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, 
 and the giving of the law, and the service of 
 God, and the promises." " He dealt not so 
 with any land." 
 
 But has he less appeared to thee, O Chris- 
 tian ! saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an 
 everlasting love, and with lovingkindness 
 have I drawn thee ? Here is the source of 
 your salvation. However wide, and howevei 
 far it flows, here the river rises; Mid take 
 
250 
 
 SEPTEMBER 13. 
 
 what stream of it you please, it will lead you 
 up to this spring-h«ad, the free and unde- 
 served favour of God — " Yea, he loved the 
 people." 
 
 But his love to his people, so to speak, is ot 
 three kinds. 
 
 A love of benevolence. This consists in 
 wishing and designing them good. 
 
 A love of beneficence. This consists in do- 
 ing them good. It appears in a thousand in- 
 stances. The principal one of all is, his re- 
 membering them in their low estate, and 
 sending his only begotten Son into the world, 
 that they might live through him. Herein, 
 therefore, says the Apostle John, is lope ; not 
 that we loved God, but that he loved us, and 
 sent his Son to be the propitiation for our 
 sins. It was necessary to find a way in 
 which his goodness could reach us, consist- 
 ently with his nature as a holy being, his 
 claims as a lawgiver, and his honour as a go- 
 vernor. And this medium of our salvation 
 does not therefore detract from the author of 
 it : for if he required a sacrifice, he furnished 
 one, and it was the Lamb of God. And there- 
 fore the Apostle says, being justified freely 
 by his grace, through the redemption which 
 is in Christ Jesus. 
 
 A love of complacency. The love of bene- 
 volence, and the love of beneficence, regard- 
 ed them as unworthy and as miserable : but 
 the love of complacency regards them as new 
 creatures. He cannot take pleasure in them 
 while they are destitute of his image, and 
 enemies to*him by wicked works. Wha* fel- 
 lowship hath righteousness with unrighteous- 
 ness 1 And what communion hath light with 
 darkness 1 But he prepares them for his de- 
 lighting in them, and holding intercourse 
 with them. He saves them by the washing 
 of regeneration, and the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost. Then he takes pleasure in them 
 that fear him, in them that hope in his mer- 
 cy. Does a man take pleasure in his inhe- 
 ritance ? In the wife of his bosom 1 ! In the 
 children of his affection 1 In the work of his 
 hands ? They are all this, and more than 
 all, to the God of all grace. He puts their 
 tears into his bottle — Are they not in his 
 book ? Their prayer is his delight. Their 
 alms are the odour of a sweet smell. He cor- 
 responds with them. Visits them. Takes 
 up his abode with them. He rejoices over 
 them with joy. He rests in his love. He 
 joys over them with singing. 
 
 What can I wish for more ? Suppose men 
 reproach! Since I have been precious in 
 thy sight I have been honourable ; and thou 
 hast loved me. Let them curse ; but bless 
 thou. One smile of thine is better than life ; 
 and wil. more than balance a universe of 
 frowns. 
 
 Let my portion, and the portion of mine, be 
 — "The good will of him that dwelt in the 
 bush." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 13. 
 
 " And he said, Lord God, -whereby shall 1 
 know that I shall inherit it ?" — Gen. xv. 8. 
 
 — Why, nad not Uod tnat very moment 
 promised it! And was not his word suffi- 
 cient \ 
 
 They surely have never made the trial, 
 who imagine that it is an easy thing to be- 
 lieve. To confide in a being invisible, and 
 whom we have so deeply offended, and to hang 
 our everlasting hope upon his naked truth, re- 
 quires the exertion of the power that raised up 
 Christ from the dead. Who never feels in 
 him the working of an evil heart of unbelief i 
 Our Lord upbraided his own Apostles with 
 their want of faith. And even the father of 
 the faithful desires something more than 
 God's engagement to give him the land of 
 Canaan — VVhereby shall I know that I shall 
 inherit if? 
 
 Yet God pardoned his servant in this 
 thing; and stooped to his weakness; and 
 yielded him what he required. And Abra- 
 ham was satisfied with the sign and the seal. 
 
 There is a better country, even a heaven 
 ly. The possession of it is an object worthy 
 of all our concern. And they who love it 
 and seek it supremely cannot leave their 
 claim undecided and uncertain : and there- 
 fore their language will be, " Say unto my 
 soul, I am thy salvation" — " Give me a token 
 for good" — " Whereby shall I know that 1 
 shall inherit it J" 
 
 " Why you have the promise of God, who 
 cannot lie !" Yes : and this infallibly insures 
 it, to all those to whom it belongs — But who 
 are the heirs of promise'? Away with 
 dreams, and visions, and sounds in the air, 
 and impulses, and accidental occurrences of 
 passages of Scripture. We have surer evi- 
 dence. We have unerring proofs, furnished 
 by God himself. Search his word with dili- 
 gence and prayer. There you will find, not 
 the names indeed of the heirs of eternal life; 
 but their characters — their qualities — their 
 taste — their choice — their way — their aim. 
 
 Let me fix on one of these vouchers only 
 — It is a preparation for the blessedness. 
 Where this is found, the title can never be 
 absent. The Apostle therefore gives "thanks 
 to the Father, who hath made us meet to be 
 partakers of the inheritance of the saints in 
 light." In another place he says, " He hath 
 wrought us for the selfsame thing." And he 
 does nothing in vain. If he has, by the 
 agency of his Holy Spirit, fitted you in the 
 temper of your soul for the world of glory, 
 you may be assured that he designs you for 
 it. If you bear the image of the heavenly, 
 you will partake of their condition. If you 
 have the dawn of that blessed state, you will 
 have the day. Grace is of the same nature 
 with glory : they differ only in the degree. 
 Is heaven not only the high but the hdj 
 
SEPTEMBER 14. 
 
 251 
 
 place into which entereth nothing that defil- 
 eth ? And oo you hunger and thirst after 
 righteousness? — Does the blessedness con- 
 sist in adoring the Lamb that was slain ; and 
 in being like him ; and in seeing him as he 
 isl And are you now glorying only in his 
 Cross; and following him in the regenera- 
 tion ; and praying that you may know him 
 in the power of hie resurrection, and the fel- 
 lowship of his sufferings? — Will the distinc- 
 tions in life, now allowable and necessary, be 
 done away; and only those remain which 
 arise from character ? And are you valuing 
 oersons, not according to their outward cir- 
 cumstances, but their real, their moral, their 
 spiritual worth ? — As no inquiry will be 
 made there, where we have worshipped ; but 
 how : nor to what denomination we pertain- 
 ed ; but whether we were Jews inwardly — 
 can you now pray from the heart, " Grace be 
 with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ 
 in sincerity ?" Can you now say, " Whoso- 
 ever shall do the will of my Father who is in 
 heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, 
 and mother]" Then heaven is already be- 
 %un ; and therefore insured : for we are con- 
 fident of this very thing, that he which hath 
 begun a good work in you will perform it 
 until the day of Jesus Christ. If you can 
 take the representations of the employments 
 and enjoyments of heaven given us in the 
 Scripture ; and can desire these things ; and 
 hope for these things ; and find your liberty 
 and happiness in them ; you have the earnest 
 of the inheritance, and are sealed by the Ho- 
 ly Spirit of God unto the day of redemption. 
 Let me not then, O my soul ! be faithless, but 
 believing ; and rejoice in hope of the glory of 
 God. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 14. 
 
 " Jjean not unto thine oxvn understanding." 
 Prov. iii. 5. 
 
 The understanding is a natural faculty, by 
 which man is distinguished from inanimate 
 creatures, and also from the animal world. 
 The sun, and moon, and sea, and rivers, are 
 impressed by laws, of which they know no- 
 thing; and follow their destiny, wholly un- 
 conscious of the operations they perform. 
 The beasts of the field, and the fowls of the 
 air, have an instinct which often surprises us. 
 But, while it is exact as far as it goes, it is 
 exceedingly limited : it admits of no variety 
 or prcgression. These beings are no wiser 
 now than when they went to Noah for shel- 
 ter, and to Adam for names — But there is a 
 spirit in man ; and the inspiration of the Al- 
 mighty giveth him understanding. By means 
 of this endowment he can look backward and 
 forward. He can examine and judge. He 
 can survey principles in their abstraction; 
 and duties in their circumstances; and ac- 
 
 tions in their moral bearings. He can refuse 
 the evil, and choose the good, against present 
 feelings and imposing appearances. 
 
 This faculty, from the lowest degree of 
 reason to the highest reach of intellect, is the 
 gift of God, the Father of lights ; and should 
 be cultivated by us as men and as Christians. 
 We should rejoice that we live in a country 
 and in an age so favourable to all kinds of 
 information. It is a sad reproach to many, 
 that in the midst of knowledge they are found 
 so ignorant as they are ; it must be the result 
 of dissipation or sloth. 
 
 But though we are to prize, and improve, 
 and make use of our understanding, we are 
 not to linn to it. Yet, if we were not prone 
 to this, the caution would be needless. There 
 is nothing of which men are so proud as their 
 knowledge. There are more than a few who 
 would rather be charged with a want of prin- 
 ciple than a want of cleverness ; and would 
 rather pass for knaves than fools. This re- 
 gard seems, indeed, to be a kind of equalizer 
 of the human race : and the only thing with 
 which all are satisfied, and in which they 
 feel an ineffable complacency, is their own 
 understanding. They lean to their own un- 
 derstanding, in preference to the understand- 
 ing of others ; whom yet, if asked, they would 
 consider as very superior to themselves, both 
 in capacity and experience. They may, in- 
 deed, consult with an adviser; but it is in 
 hope of finding a confirmation of their own 
 opinion : and should his judgment differ from 
 their conclusion, they would feel little diffi- 
 culty in resolving by which to abide. We 
 frequently see this in those who are just en- 
 tering the world, and so much need a guide, 
 to escape those early mistakes that may affect 
 the whole of their future life. Whatever 
 quickness of perception they may possess, they 
 must surely be destitute of that practical wis- 
 dom that grows out of observation and trial. 
 Yet how little do " the younger submit them- 
 selves to the elder !" 
 
 — Men carry this disposition even into the 
 things of God. They regard their own rea- 
 son more than his word ; and are reluctant to 
 believe what they cannot comprehend. We 
 are told that Alphonsus, the royal astronomer, 
 having apprehended some seeming irregula- 
 rities among the heavenly bodies, was daring 
 enough to say, " Had I been by the Creator, 
 when he made the world, I could have given 
 him some good advice." We justly shudder 
 at his profaneness : and yet who has not fallen 
 into a similar error ? Who has not found fault 
 with God in his manner of governing the 
 world, the Church, the family, the individual ? 
 Who has not been ready to direct the Spirit 
 of the Lord; and, being his counsellor, to 
 teach him ? 
 
 To preserve us from this tendency, Let U3 
 remember how limited our own understand- 
 ing is ; how many subjects there are entirely 
 
252 
 
 SEPTEMBER 15. 
 
 oeyond its reach ; arii- that thoro is nothing 
 with which it i3 perfectly acquainted. Let 
 us also reflect how much we are impressed 
 by appearances ; and how different these often 
 are from the realities of things. " Who 
 knoweth what is good for a man in this life ; 
 all the days of his vain life, which he spend- 
 eth as a shadow !" What should we have 
 been at this hour if things had always ac- 
 corded with our mind and wishes 7 Let us 
 look back, and see how frequently we have 
 erred, both in our hopes and fears. We now 
 clearly see, that what we so eagerly desired 
 would have proved our injury or ruin; and 
 that what we were so anxious to escape has 
 conduced to our best welfare : so that we can 
 say, " It is good for me that I have been af- 
 flicted." 
 
 We are very incompetent to judge for our- 
 selves, because we know not the influence 
 other and untried events will exert upon us. 
 To these we go forward with our present 
 views and feelings ; not aware that new 
 scenes will produce new views and feelings; 
 and may unfold secrets in our character of 
 which we have no conceptions, and which 
 may fill us not only with surprise, but dis- 
 may. Thus, when Elisha predicted, with 
 tears, the atrocities and cruelties he would 
 commit, Hazael shuddered at the thought, 
 and sincerely exclaimed, " What ! is thy ser- 
 vant a dog, that he should do this thing 1" 
 the man of God only answered, " The liOrd 
 hath showed me that thou shalt be king over 
 Syria." And his elevation transformed him 
 from the man into the monster which he had 
 execrated ! 
 
 And if, by leaning to our own understand- 
 ing, we take one wrong step, what conse- 
 quences, immediate or remote, personal or 
 relative, may arise from it! See this in 
 David. I shall now perish, said he, one day, 
 by the hand of Saul : " there is nothing better 
 for mo than that I should speedily escape into 
 the land of the Philistines." The oracle, had 
 he consulted it, would not have told him so. 
 In truth it was the worst measure he could 
 * have devised. It tended to alienate the affec- 
 tions of his countrymen; to justify the re- 
 proaches of his enemies ; to deprive himself 
 of the means of grace; to put himself out of 
 the Divine protection ; and to lay him under 
 obligations to a benefactor he could not oblige, 
 without betraying the cause of God. Accord- 
 ingly he was soon drawn into a scandalous 
 equivocation with Achish. Then he was 
 ordered to go and fight against his own peo- 
 ple Israel. And when he was released from 
 this embarrassment, and went back, he found 
 that, in his absence, his residence and pro- 
 perty had been destroyed, and his family 
 carried away captives. "O Lord, I know 
 that the way of man is not in himself: it is 
 not in man that walketh to direct his steps." 
 Ijot leanod to his own understanding; and 
 
 chose the vale of Sodom wnich was well 
 vvatered, like the garden of the Lord. By 
 this movement he separated himself from in- 
 tercourse with his pious uncle. He was taken 
 captive by the confederate kings. He was 
 strangely induced to reside in the town itself; 
 and dwelling among them, in seeing and 
 hearing, vexed his righteous soul, from day 
 to day, with their unlawful deeds. At length 
 he was burnt out of house and home. His 
 wife, for looking back, became a pillar of salt ; 
 so that he never after could go or gaze that 
 way. His daughters contaminated by the 
 vices of the place — But we dare not go on. 
 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart — Lean 
 not to thy own understanding — In all thy 
 ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct 
 thy paths. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 15. 
 
 " Lord, -what -wilt thou have me to do?' 
 Acts ix. 6. 
 
 This is a very marvellous question, con- 
 sidering from whom it came. For the in- 
 quirer, till now, had hated the name of Jesus; 
 and was at this very time actually engaged in 
 the persecution of his followers. What would 
 he have thought, if some one could have told 
 him previously, that in a few hours, in a few 
 moments, he would be a worshipper at the 
 feet of the Nazarene ! But so it was : and 
 he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do 7 
 
 Let us never despair. The chief of sinners 
 are within his reach. He has a mighty arm ; 
 strong is his hand, and high is his right hand. 
 What changes has his grace already accom- 
 plished: and what changes must it accom- 
 plish still, if the promise be fulfilled, " Instead 
 of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and 
 instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle 
 tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a name, 
 for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut 
 off!" But let us make this inquiry our own. 
 It is every way worthy of our adoption. 
 
 It is personal in its aim — Lord, what wilt 
 thou have me to do 1 Many seem more anxious 
 to reprove others, than to know their own 
 faults; and are busily employed in pulling 
 the mote out of their brother's eye, while a 
 beam is in their own. Some are always read 
 ing and hearing for others. And we have 
 known persons applying, in a sermon, to some 
 fellow-worshipper, things which every one 
 else in the assembly would have deemed most 
 proper for their own use. We should think 
 of ourselves in divine things; and bring home 
 every truth to our own business and bosoms, 
 whether it encourages or censures. We 
 should pray, Search me, O God, and know 
 my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, 
 and see if there be any evil way in me, and 
 lead me in the way everlasting. When oui 
 
SEPTEMBER 16. 
 
 253 
 
 Lord had informed Peter of his duty and des- 
 tiny, Peter saw John coming towards him, 
 and asked, Lord, and what shall this man do] 
 But our Saviour said, What is that to thee ? 
 follow thou me. 
 
 It is practical in its subject — What wilt 
 thou have me to do ? — Not to know, to hear, 
 to believe, to talk of. Religion, indeed, ex- 
 tends to every thing : but every thing is not 
 essential to it But practice is. If ye know 
 these things, happy are ye if ye do them. 
 Faith, without works, is dead, being alone. 
 Though a man say he hath faith and hath not 
 works, can faith save him ! Every part of 
 the truth, as it is in Jesus, has a bearing upon 
 the heart and the life of the receiver ; and is 
 according to godliness. 
 
 It is impartial in its desire — Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do ] I do not prescribe. 
 I do not select I do not prefer — Thy plea- 
 sure alone I ask to know, and am resolved to 
 5>llow — Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. 
 True obedience is compatible with defects; 
 but not with partialities. If a man regards 
 some things and not others in religion ; those 
 he regards he regards from some other motive 
 than the wdl of God : for this would lead him 
 "o regard the one as well as the other ; seeing 
 they are all enjoined by the very same au- 
 thority. He that offends in one point is guilty 
 of all ; not in the act but in the principle : 
 he violates the authority of the whole. For 
 he that said, Forsake not the assembling of 
 yourselves together, said also, Enter into thy 
 closet If therefore you engage in public 
 worship, and never retire for devotion, you 
 are an offender. He that said, Do not com- 
 mit adultery, said also, Do not kill : now if 
 thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou 
 art become a transgressor of the law. We 
 never can truly obey, therefore, unless we 
 can say, with David, I esteem all thy com- 
 mandments concerning all things to be right ; 
 nnd I hate every false way. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 16. 
 
 " Lord, -what -wilt thou have me to do .?" 
 Acts ix. 6. 
 
 Before we yield ourselves to any one, we 
 should have full confidence in him ; and the 
 confidence should be founded on knowledge. 
 To no fellow-creature can we wholly resign 
 ourselves, either of right or with safety ; for 
 as he has no title to us, so we know not what 
 his depravity may require of us. We owe 
 duties to our fellow-creatures ; and to many 
 of them we may say, What wilt thou have 
 me to do ] Yet we must obey them only " in 
 the Lord." But his authority is supreme. 
 He has infinite claims to my implicit homage. 
 
 Five principles demand and more than jus- 
 tify the absolute surrender of myself to him, 
 saying, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? 
 22 
 
 First The righteousness and excellency 
 of his requirements. Each of his prohibitions 
 only says, Do thyself no harm. Each of his 
 injunctions is an order to be wise, and rich, 
 and noble, and happy. While following him 
 my understanding never blushes; my eon- 
 science never reproaches me. I can give a 
 reason for my obedience as well as my hope. 
 His will is always a reasonable service — His 
 work is honourable and glorious. 
 
 Secondly. The relations in which he stands 
 to his people. He is then* husband — He u 
 their father — He is their master — He is their 
 sovereign — He is their maker — from whom 
 they have derived all they have and are. And 
 surely in each of these it becomes them to 
 ask, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ]" 
 
 Thirdly. His greatness. This is unsearch- 
 able. He is Lord of all. All the angels of 
 God worship him. All things were created 
 by him, and for him : and he is before all 
 things ; and by him all things consist Hia 
 greatness is necessary to the illustration of 
 his goodness ; and crowns it with glory and 
 honour. What condescension is there where 
 there is no dignity 1 But he was in the form 
 of God, and took upon him the form of a ser- 
 vant — There was the stoop ! He was rich ; 
 and for our sakes became poor — There was 
 the grace ! Greatness alone produces not 
 attachment, but dread and aversion. But 
 while he has all power in heaven and in 
 earth, he is full of grace and truth. 
 
 Therefore, Fourthly, the obligations he has 
 laid us under by his kindness. What are the 
 obligations any of our fellow-creatures have 
 laid us under 1 What have they done for us 1 
 What have they suffered for us 1 How few, 
 how inconsiderable, how unexpensive, how 
 unattended with any thing like sacrifice and 
 self-denial, have their acts of favour been! 
 But he, without our desert and against the 
 greatest demerit remembered us in our low 
 estate ; and, in his love and pity, redeemed 
 us. And how 1 He was made a curse for 
 us. He bore our sins in his own body on the 
 tree. By his stripes we are healed. Where 
 does he stand 1 how does he appear 1 when 
 he says, My son, give me thy heart 1 — 
 
 " See, from his head, his hands, his feet, 
 Sorrow and love flow mingled down ; 
 Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, 
 Or thorns compose so rich a crown V 
 
 And can we wonder at the result ? 
 
 " Were the whole realm of Nature mine, 
 That were a present far too small : 
 Love so amazing, so divine, 
 Demands my sou], my life, my all." 
 
 No legal process ever produced this sur- 
 render. The display of terror and mere au- 
 thority never made one cordial convert to any 
 cause. Would you be induced to love another 
 by his commanding you to do so; or by his 
 threatening you if you did not ? No ; but by 
 a display of love. Ijove begets Jove. Ant' 
 

 SEPTEMBER 17. 
 
 we love him, because he first loved us. At 
 the Cross we are effectually wooed and won. 
 There we are drawn, and there we are bound 
 with cords of a man and the bands of love. 
 
 Lastly. His engagement to reward our 
 devotedness to him. Christians are not mer- 
 cenary ; but they cannot serve him for nought. 
 The recompence must be of grace, and not 
 of works : and so much the better is it for the 
 largeness of their hope , for it is to be mea- 
 sured and judged of, not according to their 
 doings, but his own abundant mercy, which 
 is to be displayed therein. Hence will he say 
 at last, with regard to those poor performances 
 over which they have blushed and wept, 
 " Well done, good and faithful servant ; en- 
 ter thou into the joy of thy Lord." But he is 
 not unrighteous to forget their work of faith 
 and labour of love, even now. In keeping 
 his commandments, there is great reward. 
 Great peace have they that love his law ; and 
 nothing shall offend them. He is the best of 
 masters. He furnishes them with ability for 
 -heir work. He lays no more upon his ser- 
 vants than he enables them to bear. He will 
 comfort them in affliction. He will not cast 
 them off in old age. He will remember the 
 kindness of their youth. When heart and 
 flesh fail, he will be the strength of their 
 heart and their portion for ever. And at 
 death, receive them to himself; that where 
 he is there they may be also. 
 
 Sinners talk of the pleasures of sin ; but 
 they never commend them at last. The peo- 
 ple of the world boast of its amusements and 
 delights; but they never speak well of the 
 world at parting. In every season, in every 
 condition, however trying, the Christian can 
 say — Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, 
 O Lord. 
 
 " Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, 
 and followed thee. And he said unto them, 
 Verily I say unto you, There is no man that 
 hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or 
 wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's 
 sake, who shall not receive manifold more in 
 this present time, and in the world to come 
 life everlasting." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 17. 
 
 •' Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, 
 go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and 
 take up the Jish that first cometh up ; 
 and -when thou hast opened his mouth, thou 
 s halt find a piece of money : that take, and 
 give unto them for me and thee." — Matt. 
 
 xvii. 27. 
 
 i 
 
 In the midst of this supernatural scene, a 
 sanction is thus given by our Saviour to the 
 use of means. The supply was, in its source, 
 preparation, and announcement, miraculous ; 
 vet Peter, who is to receive it as a favour, is 
 •o procure it by his instrumentality. The pe- 
 
 culiar nature of the instance only renders u 
 the more conclusive : for if our Lord would 
 not dispense with the use of means in an 
 extraordinary case, surely he will not dis- 
 pense with it in an ordinary one. Some good 4 
 but not very wise people, seem to think that 
 instrumentality detracts from the Divine 
 glory; and that God is honoured more by 
 acting tm-mediately. But instrumentality 
 supposes and requires agency : and the means 
 themselves are always the Lord's own ; and 
 he gives them their success. His producing 
 an effect by various concurrences and co- 
 operations displays more of his perfections, 
 and gives more opportunity to observe them, 
 than his causing a result by an instant voli- 
 tion. 
 
 Here was something which Peter could 
 do, and something which he could not do. 
 He could not replenish the fish with the mo- 
 ney, or make it to swim in the direction of his 
 bait : but he could procure the bait, and throw 
 in the hook; and in the most likely place; 
 and stand ; and watch. Why does not the 
 Lord dispense with all this 1 Why does he 
 not cause the fish to spring on shore 1 and ap- 
 pear at once upon Peter's table? Because 
 he would not sanction indolence. Because 
 he would render even his miracles moral, 
 as well as marvellous. Because his exertions 
 were not a mere parade of power ; but a dis- 
 play of wisdom and goodness, meeting in- 
 digence, relieving weakness, confirming faith : 
 but not encouraging folly and presumption; 
 teaching us to trust, but forbidding us to tempt 
 him. 
 
 In like manner, there is always something 
 which we cannot do ; and something which 
 we can do. But. the evil is, that we com- 
 monly derive from the former, excuses for 
 our neglect of the latter : and so God's agency 
 becomes a reason for our inactivity, instead 
 of exciting our diligence. But this is per- 
 fectly contrary to the meaning of the Apostle, 
 when he says, "Work out your salvation 
 with fear and trembling ; for it is God which 
 worketh in you to will and to do of his good 
 pleasure." In natural things we are wiser. 
 Can the husbandman produce an ear of corn ? 
 He knows it is perfectly impossible. But he 
 can manure, and plough, and sow ; and in the 
 use of these he expects the Divine efficiency— 
 but never in the neglect of them. No man 
 can quicken his own soul. Yet there are 
 means which are designed and adapted to 
 save us ; and we can pray, " Come, thou 
 north wind, and blow, thou south." It is thus 
 that religion possesses the evidence of analo- 
 gy ; and in the God of grace, we see the God 
 of nature. He feeds the fowls of the air, not 
 by putting it into their mouths ; but by furnish- 
 ing provision ; and giving them wings, ana 
 eyes, and feet, and beaks, to find and make it 
 their own. " That thou givest them, they 
 gather" — And thus "he satisfies the desir* 
 
SEPTEMBER 18, 19. 
 
 235 
 
 trf* every living thing." He could warm us 
 without the fire, and sustain us without food ; 
 but we know what would be the consequence 
 were we to disregard these, under a notion 
 of honouring him by a dependence on his 
 agency. 
 
 Though the .effect here was beyond the 
 means, yet there was an adaptation in them. 
 Peter was a fisherman ; and he is employed 
 in his own line : and his fishing was not only 
 the condition of the result, but the medium, 
 and conduced to it And, in general, we may 
 observe, that while the insufficiency of the 
 means serves to display the power of God, 
 the suitableness of them shows his wisdom. 
 And such a suitableness there is. A pen can- 
 not write without a hand to use it ; yet there 
 is an adaptation in the instrument to the work 
 Some seem to use the means of grace only as 
 tests of their submission to the Divine ap- 
 pointment — not as things which have a real 
 tendency even in themselves to do them good. 
 They expect the Divine blessing in them, 
 but not by them — that is, not as an effect re- 
 sulting from them under the Divine influence 
 — as if in the use of them they were planting 
 and watering pebbles, which, by an Almighty 
 exertion, could be made to yield produce — 
 instead of using them as a man sows wheat, 
 and looks for wheat to arise from it Faith 
 cometh by hearing; and hearing tends to 
 produce it, by informing and convincing the 
 mind. The same may be said of a religious 
 education, in forming the moral and pious 
 character of the child. 
 
 Peter did well not to disobey, or reason ; 
 but to follow implicitly the Divine order ; 
 fully expecting success. And he was not, 
 and could not be disappointed. And thus let 
 us act without murmuring, or disputing. Let 
 us use the means which he has prescribed, 
 not only swayed by his authority, but relying 
 on his promise, that none of those that wait 
 for him shall be ashamed. 
 
 SEPTEMBER la 
 
 " J have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit 
 ■wherein is no -water." — Zech. ix. 1 1. 
 
 Persons may be prisoners, as felons, as 
 robbers, as debtors, as captives taken in war. 
 The character of the subjects of Divine grace, 
 by nature, involved all these. 
 
 A pit wherein there is no water is a situ- 
 ation expressive of destitution, wretchedness, 
 and danger. There the victim has nothing to 
 relieve his wants ; nothing to quench his 
 raging thirst He cannot live in it He can- 
 not escape from it. He is ready to perish. 
 Such was Joseph's pit, and Jeremiah's dun- 
 geon. In such a condition the Lord finds his 
 people. 
 
 But he does not leave them there. He al- 
 ways produce* a change in their favour. If 
 
 they are in darkness, he calls them into hia 
 marvellous light If they are far off, he 
 brings them nigh. If they are prisoners in a 
 pit wherein there is no water, he sends them 
 out of it In his love and pity he redeems 
 them, and makes them free indeed. 
 
 The work is entirely his own ; and the 
 principle cannot be mistaken. How unwor- 
 thy were they of his notice ! How great the 
 evil from which tboy have been rescued ! How 
 infinite the blesfccdness resulting from it And 
 after such a deliverence as this, shall they 
 again break his commandments'! A soul re- 
 deemed, demands a life of praise. Let my 
 people go, that they may serve me. What 
 has he sent them out of their bondage to do 1 
 but to go and tell sinners, such as they them- 
 selves once were, that with the Lord there is 
 mercy, and with him plenteous redemption ? 
 but to show forth his praise 1 but to acknow- 
 ledge, that by the grace of God they are what 
 they are ] but to walk in newness of life 1 to 
 run in the way of his commandments 1 to re 
 turn and come to Zion with songs and ever 
 lasting joy upon their head 1 
 
 And can this * be a task 1 Did Zachanas 
 think so when he sung and prayed — " That 
 we being delivered out of the hand of our 
 enemies, might serve him without fear ; in 
 holiness, and righteousness before him, all the 
 days of our lives 1" His service is perfect 
 freedom. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 19. 
 
 " Then shall -we kno-w, if -we folloia on to know 
 the Lord." — Hosea vi. 3. 
 
 Whether we consider these words as an 
 excitation and an encouragement addressed by 
 the godly to each other, or to their own souls ; 
 they remind us of an important aim ; a ne- 
 cessary duty; and an assured privilege. 
 
 The aim is, " to know the Lord." For the 
 soul to be without knowledge it is not good. 
 All the operations of the Spirit are begun and 
 carried on in the renewing of the mind. 
 Nothing can be moral or religious in our dis 
 positions and actions, that is not founded in 
 knowledge , because it must be destitute of 
 principle and motive ; and the Lord looketh 
 at the heart Real repentance must arise 
 from proper views of the evil of sin, in con- 
 nexion with the Cross of Christ — "They 
 shall look upon him whom they have pierced, 
 and shall mourn for him." Even faith is im- 
 possible, without knowledge — " For how can 
 they believe in him of whom they have not 
 heard V " This," says the Saviour, " is life 
 eternal, that they might know thee, the only 
 true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast 
 sent" This declaration not only decides the 
 importance of this knowledge, but also the 
 nature of it — It is not a philosophical know- 
 ledge of God, as an almighty being, the maker 
 and upholder of all things ; or even a know- 
 
256 
 
 SEPTEMBER 20. 
 
 ledge of him as holy in all his ways, and 
 righteous in all his works. Such views of 
 him, alone, must, on the mind of a sinner, 
 gender dread and aversion. The grand thing 
 in the restoration of a fallen and guilty crea- 
 ture, is to know that He is reconcilable ; that 
 He is willing, even now, to become our friend ; 
 and has already given undeniable proof that 
 He is willing to be gracious, and is exalted 
 to have mercy upon him. And all this is 
 only to be seen in the Only Begotten of the 
 Father, who has declared him. God in na- 
 ture, is God above me ; God in providence, is 
 God beyond me ; God in law, is God against 
 me : but God in Christ, is God for me, and 
 with me. Neither is this knowledge of him 
 a merely speculative acquaintance with him ; 
 such as men may possess, who behold, and 
 wonder, and perish. There is a great differ- 
 ence between the decisions of the judgment, 
 and the bias of the will ; between the convic- 
 tions of the conscience, and the submission 
 and acquiescence of the heart. " With the 
 heart man believeth unto righteousness." "I 
 will give them a heart to know me." " He 
 hath shined in our heart, to-give us the light 
 of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the 
 face of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Connected with this, there is a necessary 
 duty. It is " to follow on" to know the 
 Lord. 
 
 This takes in the practice of what we al- 
 ready know. To what purpose would it be 
 for God to afford the light they have not, to 
 those who neglect the Tight they have ? It 
 would only increase their sin and their con- 
 demnation. " Whosoever hath, to him shall 
 be given, and he shall have more abundance ; 
 but whosoever hath not, from him shall be 
 taken away even that he hath." And we see 
 this constantly exemplified. When men love 
 not to retain God in their knowledge, it is 
 their interest to see things less clearly ; and 
 so they part with one truth after another, as 
 it becomes troublesome : till God gives them 
 up to strong delusion to believe a lie. While 
 those who do his will, know of the doctrine ; 
 advancing towards the light, they get more 
 into its shining ; and as far as they have al- 
 ready attained, walking by the same rule, 
 and minding the same thing, if in any thing 
 else they be otherwise minded, God reveals 
 even this unto them. 
 
 It also includes diligence in the use of ap- 
 pointed means: such as reading the Scrip- 
 tures ; and hearing the word preached ; and 
 meditation ; and " walking with wise men ;" 
 and, above all, prayer to the Father of lights, 
 according to the promise, " If any of you 
 lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth 
 to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and 
 it shall be given him." If thou criest after 
 knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for un- 
 derstanding ; if thou seekest her as silver, 
 i.nd searchest for her as for hid treasures; 
 
 then shalt thou understand the fear of the 
 Lord, and find the knowledge of God." 
 
 It must also mean perseverance in this 
 course. "Blessed is the man that heaieth 
 me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at 
 the posts of my doors." Here is not only 
 watching, but waiting. Some run well ; and 
 are hindered. But we are to run with patience 
 the race that is set before us ; and, by patient 
 continuance in well doing, to seek for glory, 
 honour, and immortality." 
 
 Nor shall this be in vain. " Then shall 
 we know, if we follow on to know the Lord." 
 The privilege is as sure as the word of God, 
 confirmed by his faithfulness, and all history, 
 and all experience, can make it. And if pro- 
 bability will actuate a man to engage in an 
 enterprise, and continue in a series of exer- 
 tions and sacrifices; how muuh more should 
 actual certainty ! Let therefore this full as- 
 surance of hope excite and influence us in 
 two cases. 
 
 The first is with regard to ourselves. The 
 way of the Lord is strength to the upright 
 Keep his way ; and your path ihall be as the 
 shining light, that shineth mere and more 
 unto the perfect day. Your perplexities shall 
 be solved. Your doubts removed. Your 
 fears subdued. Crooked things shall he made 
 straight ; and rough places plain. You shall 
 know more of him in his word, providence, 
 and grace ; and more of him as the strength 
 of your heart, and your portion for ever. 
 
 The second regards others. Be not impa- 
 tient if they cannot embrace all your religious 
 views at once ; and are amazed at some parta 
 of your experience. In grace, as well as in 
 nature, there must be infancy before manhood. 
 Though now their acquaintance with divine 
 things be small, and they only see men as 
 trees walking, the Enlightener will put his 
 hand a second time to the work, and they 
 shall see every thing plainly. If their heart 
 be broken off from sin and the world ; and they 
 are asking the way to Zion with their faces 
 thitherward, they shall not err therein. " Who 
 hath despised the day of small things '*' 
 
 SEPTEMBER 20. 
 " In him is no sin." — 1 John iii. 5. 
 No sin original. David said, I was shapen 
 in iniquity, and in sin did my mother con- 
 ceive me. The same may be said by every 
 individual of the human race. Our Saviour 
 was truly a man ; but to secure him in the 
 participation of our nature, from pollution, 
 behold a new thing in the earth' He is 
 made only of a woman : a virgin conceives 
 and bears a son ; and that holy thing which is 
 born of her, is called the Son of God. His 
 people are holy by renovation : he was so by 
 nature. Even when sanctified, they feel 
 within them a conflict : the flesh and the 
 Spirit oppose each other, and they cannot do 
 
SEPTEMBER 21. 
 
 257 
 
 the things that they would. But he had no 
 warfare of this kind. He could not say, I find 
 then a law, that, when I would do good, evil 
 is present with me. AJ his senses, and ap- 
 petites, and passions, moved in obedience to 
 reason, and in unison with the will of God. 
 
 Hence there was in him no sin actual. In 
 proof of this, the testimony of his friends may 
 be deemed partial — though they had the best 
 opportunities of knowing him ; and they all 
 gloried in the avowal, that he did no sin, nei- 
 ther was guile found in ^is mouth. But hear 
 the multitude — He hath done all things well. 
 Hear the dying thief — This man hath done 
 nothing amiss. Hear Pilate, who judicially 
 examined him — I find no fault in this man : 
 I am pure from the blood of that just man. 
 Hear Judas, the domestic spy, after three 
 years of intimacy with him — I have betrayed 
 innocent blood. No one ever had more keen 
 or malicious observers, especially in the Pha- 
 risees, whom he had exasperated to fury, by 
 laying open their pious wickedness to the 
 people. But he challenged every adversary 
 — Which of you convinceth me of sin ? If 
 there be any thing in us susceptible of evil 
 influence, Satan will be sure to find it; for 
 he has a bait to suit every disposition — but 
 the Prince of this world came and had no- 
 thing in him. He struck the sparks, but 
 there was no tinder. Events, whether pros- 
 perous or painful, are severe trials. If there 
 be mud at the bottom, the waves will cast up 
 mire and dirt — But he was in all points 
 tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He 
 was made under the law ; and this law is so 
 spiritual, that tiie holiest of men, when they 
 have compared themselves with it, have al- 
 ways prayed, Enter not into judgment with 
 thy servant, O Lord ; for in thy sight shall no 
 flesh living be justified — But even this law 
 had nothing to complain of in him ; it found, in 
 principle and in practice, all the obedience it 
 required. And how was he viewed by him, 
 who is greater than the heart, and knoweth 
 all things'! He always did the things that 
 pleased the Father. 
 
 The fact, therefore, is undeniable. But 
 whence this exception 1 How came this one 
 man alone to have no sin in him, while, as to 
 the myriads of the human race beside, they 
 are all gone out of the way ; there is none 
 righteous, no, not one ! It can only be ac- 
 counted for upon the admission that he was 
 the Lord from heaven ; the Holy One of God ; 
 the Word made flesh ; the Only Begotten of 
 the Father, full of grace and truth ; who re- 
 ceived not the Spirit by measure ; in whom 
 dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 
 
 This is not an unimportant decision. The 
 innocency of his character affects the credi- 
 bility of his mission and his doctrine. A being 
 in whom was no sin, could not have been a 
 deceiver : but he constantly declared that he 
 came forth from God ; that he came to seek 
 2K 22 
 
 and to save that which was lost; that he 
 would cast out none that came to him. 
 
 It serves to evince the nature of his suffer- 
 ing and death. He had no sin of his own , 
 and therefore if he died not for the sins of 
 others, he died without any reference to sin 
 at all. And where is the God of judgment 1 
 That be far from him, to slay the righteous 
 with the wicked. No one ever suffered under 
 his government absolutely innocent ; but ei- 
 ther as personally or relatively guilty : bear- 
 ing his own desert, or the desert of others. 
 But in him was no sin : yet he was esteemed 
 stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. And 
 so he was — "But he was woundeu for our 
 transgressions, he was bruised for our iniqui- 
 ties : the chastisement of our peace was upon 
 him : and with his stripes we are healed." 
 
 Without this, he could not have been quali- 
 fied for his work. He had immediately te 
 approach Infinite Purity. His sacrifice would 
 not have been accepted, unless he had offered 
 himself without spot to God. Such an High 
 Priest became us, who was harmless, holy 
 undefiled, and separate from sinners ; and whc 
 needed not to suffer for his own sins, dying 
 only for those of others. 
 
 What a character is here! Others are 
 lovely ; but he is altogether lovely. See what 
 humanity can become — and will become, in 
 all his followers. For they are predestinated 
 to be conformed to him. The spirits of just 
 men will be made perfect ; and though they 
 will be re-embodied, their bodies will have no 
 seed of corruption in them ; for they also will 
 be not derived, but produced. They could 
 not have full communion with him, without 
 complete likeness to him — But this we know, 
 that, when he shall appear, we shall be like 
 him, for we shall see him as he is. " And 
 every man that hath this hope in him purifietb 
 himself, even as he is pure." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 21. 
 
 *' jyfy presence shall go with thee, and 1 -will 
 give thee rest." — Exod. xxxiii. 14. 
 
 This exceeding great and precious promise 
 belongs to the Christian, as well as to Moses. 
 What is he authorized to expect from it ? 
 
 My presence shall go with thee to guide 
 thee, and I will give thee rest from perplex- 
 ity. How miserable would a man be in tra- 
 velling, if his journey were important, and 
 yet he was ignorant of the way, and every 
 moment liable to err ! In this case nothing 
 could relieve him so much as a guide who 
 was willing to go with him, and able to show 
 him the course he should always take. And 
 his satisfaction would be in proportion to the 
 confidence he reposed in the disposition and 
 capacity of his leader. Nothing can equal 
 the importance of the journey we are taking ; 
 life or death, salvation or perdition, depends 
 upon the issue : and " the way of man is no* 
 
2&S 
 
 SEPTEMBER 22. 
 
 m himself; it is not in man that walketh to 
 direct his steps." If left to himself, he will 
 err at every step, and in the greatness of his 
 folly for ever go astray. The Christian feels 
 this, and therefore prays, "Lead me in thy 
 truth, and guide me ; for thou art the God of 
 my salvation, on thee do I wait all the day." 
 And does God disregard his cry ? " I am the 
 Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit ; 
 which leadeth thee by the way that thou 
 shouldest go." This extends to doctrine ; to 
 experience ; to all his temporal concerns. He 
 is not indeed to look for miracles: but he is 
 under the conduct of God ; and he has given 
 no promise but shall be fulfilled. When the 
 Jews were marching to Canaan, they had a 
 pathless desert to go through : but they were 
 free from all perplexity, because they had a 
 fiery cloudy pillar, to regulate all their move- 
 ments. We have the same. For " this God 
 is our God for ever and ever : he will be our 
 guide even unto death." 
 
 My presence shall go with thee to guard 
 thee, and I will give thee rest from appre- 
 hension. A Christian has not only a pilgrim- 
 age, but a warfare to accomplish. No sooner 
 has he set his face Zion-ward, than lie has 
 reason to exclaim, "Many there be which 
 rise up against me ; and many there be that 
 say of my soul, there is no help for him in 
 God.?' And what wonder if, while without 
 axe fightings, within are fears] And how is 
 he to prevail over them ? He knows, that if 
 left to himself, he must perish, long before he 
 reaches that better country. But he is not 
 alone. There is One at his right hand, who 
 says, " Abide with me ; for he that seeketh 
 thy life, seeketh my life ; but with me thou 
 shalt be in safeguard." At the sound of this, 
 his mind is relieved, his confidence rises, and 
 he sings, " The Lord is my light and my sal- 
 vation, whom shall I fear? the Lord is the 
 strength of my life, of whom shall I be 
 afraid?" * 
 
 My presence shall go with thee to provide 
 for thee, and I will give thee rest from anx- 
 iety. The manna was not to be hoarded, but. 
 gathered daily ; and we are to feel our con- 
 stant dependence upon God for the supply of 
 the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And is this try- 
 ing? Could we wish it to be otherwise? 
 
 " They that wait upon the Lord shall re- 
 new their strength." " My grace is suffi- 
 cient for thee." What more can we desire ? 
 When we have trusted in God for the soul, it 
 might be imagined that it would be easy to 
 trust in him for the body. But temporal 
 things are sensible, and near, and pressing : 
 and some cases would be enough to awaken 
 all their forebodings : but he has said, " I will 
 never leave thee nor forsake thee." " Fear 
 the Lord, ye his saints ; for there is no want 
 o them that fear him. The young lions do 
 »ck and suffer hunger; but they that seek 
 
 the Lord, shall not want any good thing 
 Jehovah-jireh ! The Lord will provide. 
 
 My presence shall go with thee to comfor' 
 thee, and I will give thee rest from sorrow. 
 However you may be stripped, you shall not 
 be destitute of consolation. Though the fig- 
 tree shall not blossom, nor fruit be in the vine; 
 you shall rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the 
 God of your salvation. His presence is a 
 substitute for any creature ; it can more than 
 repair every loss. Some leave us from rot- 
 tenness of principle , some from infirmity 
 rather than depravity. Death abridges our 
 circles. Who can look back over a few years, 
 and not exclaim, " Lover and friend hast thou 
 put far from me, and mine aquaintance into 
 darkness?" Yet if the lamps be extinguish- 
 ed, the sun continues. If the streams fail, 
 we have the fountain. Are the consolations 
 of God small with thee ? In the multitude 
 of thy thoughts within thee, do not his com- 
 forts delight thy soul ? 
 
 But Oh ! when I shall gather up my feet 
 into the bed, and turn my face to the wall — 
 then, all creatures withdrawn — and flesh and 
 heart failing — oh ! what can support me in 
 the prospect, and, above all, in the expe- 
 rience of that event ? Be of good courage. 
 He who is with thee in the wilderness, will 
 be with thee at the swellings of Jordan, and 
 open a way through the flood, and give thee 
 a dry-shod passage over, into the land flow- 
 ing with milk and honey. He who has been 
 with thee in life, will be still more with thee 
 in death. And therefore you may boldly 
 say, with one before you, "Yea, though I 
 walk through the valley of the shadow of 
 death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with 
 me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." 
 
 From this hour, let me never forget this 
 blessed promise — "My presence shall go 
 with thee, and I will give thee rest." Let 
 me believe it with a faith unfeigned. Let 
 me ascertain my title to it. Let me plead 
 it before the Throne of Grace. Let me ap- 
 ply it in my perplexities, my apprehensions, 
 my anxieties, my sorrows. Let me bind it 
 about my neck, and write it upon the table 
 of my heart — that when I go, it may lead 
 me; when I sleep, it may keep me; and 
 when I awake, it may talk with me. Amen. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 22. 
 " Thy Maker is thine husband." — Isaiah liv. 5. 
 
 The relation in which God stands to ua 
 must be all-important. If we are his people, 
 he is related to us not only as the God of na- 
 ture and providence, but as the God of grace. 
 This spiritual connexion is held forth under 
 various forms ; none of which is more com- 
 mon, simple, or well-known, than the mar- 
 riage union. 
 
SEPTEMBER 23. 
 
 259 
 
 The marriage union is honourable in all. 
 tt is exemplified in the larger part of the 
 numan race. It was established in Paradise, 
 where it was not good for man to be alone : 
 and in commendation of it oui Saviour 
 wrought his first miracle at a wedding. But, 
 applied to God and us, it is a metaphor ; and 
 therefore it is to be soberly explained. For 
 while we are not to overlook the wisdom 
 and kindness of the Holy Ghost in meeting 
 our weakness, we are not to press every 
 circumstance of the comparison into an arti- 
 cle of allusion. The relation into which 
 God enters with his people is analogous to 
 that which subsists between the husband ana 
 the wife. This could be easily explained 
 and understood. 
 
 But let us take the reality of the connex- 
 ion itself to show us three things. First 
 The condescension and goodness of God. 
 Nothing will bear a comparison with it. Con- 
 sider what He is; his independence, his 
 greatness, his glory. And view them in 
 their unworthiness, lowness, vileness. How 
 wonderful that He should thus magnify them ; 
 and set his heart upon them ! They had 
 neither birth, nor relations, nor wealth, nor 
 wisdom, to recommend them. It cannot, in- 
 deed, be denied that they are distinguished 
 by all these attributes now : but this is the 
 consequence of the relation, and not the 
 cause of it — " Since thou hast been precious 
 in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I 
 have loved thee." 
 
 Secondly. The privilege of believers. 
 Blessed are the people who are in such a 
 case; yea, happy is the people whose God 
 is the Lord. They have One, in the nearest 
 of all relations to them, who is love itself; 
 and will bear with their infirmities, and in all 
 their afflictions be afHicted ; who is infinitely 
 wise, and knows their frame, and will never 
 mistake their welfare ; who is almighty, and 
 able to defend them from every danger, and 
 to make all things work together for their 
 good : who is faithfulness and truth, and will 
 never leave them nor forsake them; who 
 lives for ever, and renders the union eternal 
 and indissolvable. 
 
 Thirdly. Their duty. They must mind 
 their husband's concerns. They must regard 
 properly his relations. They must obey him. 
 The wife promises this in marriage ; and the 
 Apostle enjoins it : Wives submit yourselves 
 unto your own husbands. He extends it to 
 every thing: but this must be qualified with 
 one condition — every thing reasonable and 
 righteous. Vashti refused Ahasuerus, when 
 he sent for her to come and exhibit herself 
 before a company of intoxicated lords and 
 officers, in violation of all decency, and the 
 laws of veiled concealment in which women 
 then lived : and we justify her disobedience. 
 But, with regard to us, the will of God is ab- 
 
 solute, not only because he has a propriety in 
 us which one creature can never have in ano- 
 ther, but because all his commandments are 
 right The wife is required to reverence her 
 husband. This must be a hard saying in 
 some cases, seeing there are sometimes so 
 very few materials to excite veneration in 
 the head of the wife. — But this should have 
 been thought of before : and persons should 
 not voluntarily contract relations, the duties 
 of which they cannot perform, and dare not 
 neglect. God's excellences are infinite : and 
 it is delightful to give him the glory that is 
 due to his holy name. The wife, also, must 
 be faithful to her husband: "she is for him, 
 and not for another." And we are only the 
 Lord's. There is such a thing as spiritual 
 adultery : to avoid which we are to keep our- 
 selves from idols. Milton's wife returned 
 home again ; but she came back and humbled 
 herself, and was re-admitted to favour. Here 
 is the duty of the Church — " Hearken, O 
 daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear , 
 forget also thine own people, and thy father's 
 house ; so shall the King greatly desire thy 
 beauty : for he is thy Lord ; and worship thou 
 him." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 23. 
 
 " I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche 
 
 that they be of the same mind in the Lord 
 
 And I entreat thee also, triie yokefellow, help 
 
 those -women -which laboured -with me in the 
 
 Gospel, -with Clement also, and -with other 
 
 my fello-w-labourers, -whose names are in the 
 
 book of life. Rejoice in the Lord al-way ; 
 
 and again I say, Rejoice." — Phil. iv. 2 — 4. 
 
 The Apostle much valued and commended 
 
 the Philippian converts. He here calls them — ■ 
 
 his "brethren;" his "dearly beloved;" and 
 
 "longed for;" his "joy and crown." Many 
 
 people distress and disgrace their ministers ; 
 
 but these yielded Paul both comfort and 
 
 honour. He does not, however, deem them 
 
 above the need of exhortation. Yet th >ugh 
 
 he might have been bold to enjoin what was 
 
 convenient for love's sake he beseeches and 
 
 entreats. The subject is threefold. 
 
 First. Unanimity and concord. This re- 
 gards a particular instance of disagreement 
 in the Church. " I beseech Euodias, and be- 
 seech Syntyche, that they be of the same 
 mind in the Lord." Here were two women, 
 obviously of some note, who were at variance 
 We are not informed whether the ground of 
 difference was civil or religious. Perhaps it 
 was owing to a talebearer; for a talebearei 
 separateth true friends. Perhaps it was a 
 mere trifle in the outset In our mistakes, 
 prejudices, passions, and infirmities, the ene- 
 my of souls always finds materials for excit- 
 ing dislike and contention. Perhaps they 
 were both to blame. This is commonly the 
 
26<» 
 
 SEPTEMBER 23. 
 
 case ; and therefore the Scripture says, for- 
 giving one another. The feelings of females 
 are quick; and their imaginations too often 
 give importance to a real or supposed offence. 
 And two such individuals at variance may 
 draw in others, form parties, and embroil a 
 whole Church. When this is the case, their 
 own edification is at an end ; and from others 
 is driven that union of soul which is necessa- 
 ry to give efficacy to social prayer, when we 
 meet together in one place, with one accord, 
 waiting for the promise of the Father. The 
 Apostle, therefore, would not that Euodias 
 and Syntyche should oppose, or keep shy of 
 each other ; but, composing their difference, 
 keep the peace, and live in love. The Sa- 
 viour is the Lamb of God ; and if we have the 
 mind that was in him, we shall display " the 
 meekness and gentleness of Jesus Christ." 
 The Holy Ghost descended upon the Head, 
 and enters his followers, as a dove : and 
 
 " The Spirit, like a peaceful dove, 
 
 Flies from the realms of noise and strife : 
 Why should we vex and grieve his love, 
 Who seals our souls to heav'nly life J" 
 
 -We read in ecclesiastical history of two 
 Christians who had quarrelled in the morn- 
 ing; but in the evening one of them sent a 
 note to the other — " Brother, the sun is going 
 down." He referred to the Apostle's words, 
 " Let not the sun go down upon your wrath :" 
 and the hint produced reconciliation. When 
 President Edwards had preached one of his 
 first sermons, after the remarkable outpouring 
 of the Spirit upon his labours, he observed 
 two families, when the congregation had 
 withdrawn, remaining, as if by joint consent. 
 Upon approaching them, he found they had, 
 to that day, been in a state of variance ; but 
 owing to the influence they were now under, 
 they could not depart from the house of God 
 till they were reconciled. 
 
 Secondly. Mutual assistance. " I entreat 
 thee also, true yokefellow, help those women 
 which laboured with me in the Gospel, with 
 Clement also, and with other my fellowla- 
 bourers, whose names are in the book of life." 
 Some have imagined that those women here 
 alluded to were Euodias and Syntyche. If it 
 were so, we should learn that persons who 
 have been betrayed into improper temper and 
 conduct, in a partial instance, may yet have 
 been worthy and useful characters ; and they 
 are not to be rejected, but restored, in the 
 spirit of meekness. But whoever these fe- 
 males were, they had co-operated with Paul 
 and his associates in the ministry — not in 
 public preaching; for this our Apostle had 
 expressly forbidden; but in various offices 
 suited to their sex and condition; by their 
 devotion, and example, and conversation; by 
 their privately instructing the ignorant ; by 
 their bringing up children; washing the 
 
 saints' feet; attending benevolent instit* 
 tions ; ministering to the wants of the ape* 
 ties. All w\u wish to be useful may be 
 employed without violating any of the deco- 
 rums of life, or quitting their proper stations. 
 
 On their behalf Paul addresses hie " trut 
 yokefellow." It is absurd to suppose this 
 means, as some have thought, Paul's wife. 
 For it seems more than probable Jhat he 
 never was married : and the gender of the 
 adjective here used is masculine. Was it the 
 jailer ? He had been one of the Apostle's 
 first converts at Philippi ; and had much as- 
 sisted him in the Gospel. Or was it Epaphro- 
 ditus? But he was not at this time at 
 Philippi. Perhaps it was some one of the 
 bishops or deacons, mentioned in the begin- 
 ning of the Epistle ; with whom Paul had been 
 peculiarly connected in travelling and preach- 
 ing. Whoever he was, he was to help those 
 females who had been so serviceable to Paul, 
 and Clement, and their comrades: by his 
 prayers, and consolations, and every kind of 
 attention their personal or relative, temporal 
 or spiritual, circumstances would require. 
 How honourable was it to be thus distin- 
 guished and recommended by the Apostle ! 
 Who was ever a loser by any thing he did 
 for the cause of the Redeemer? He that 
 watereth shall be watered also. God is not 
 unrighteous to forget the work of faith and 
 labour of love. Wheresoever the Gospel is 
 preached that which these women did shall 
 be told for a memorial of them. 
 
 Thirdly. Constant joy — "Rejoice in the 
 Lord alway : and again I say, Rejoice." Re- 
 joicing is a pleasing exercise ; but it is not 
 always an easy one. In a vale of tears ; in 
 an enemy's country ; without, fightings 
 within, fears; pressed down with a sense ol 
 unworthiness ; burdened with infirmities . 
 wearied with a body of sin and death : what 
 wonder if we often hang our harp on the 
 willows ? or, at least, that we cannot always 
 sing the Lord's song ? — Yet we are enjoined 
 to rejoice " always." But how ? In what? 
 In whom? In the world? In creatures 1 
 In ourselves ? Then would it indeed be im- 
 practicable. No — But " in the Lord." And 
 in him there is enough at all times, and in 
 every condition, to encourage and delight us. 
 We are empty ; but in him all fulness dwells. 
 In him is all the wisdom, pardon, righteous- 
 ness, strength, and hope we need. His grace 
 is sufficient for us — He is an infinite re- 
 source. 
 
 — Therefore, says the Apostle, I have not 
 spoken thoughtlessly, I know what I have 
 said, and why I have said it ; I know that the 
 thing is possible. And I know, also, that it 
 is proper. Nothing becomes a Christian more 
 than joy ; and by nothing can he be more use- 
 ful. I therefore repeat it — And again I sat 
 Rejoice 
 
SEPTEMBER 24, 25. 
 
 261 
 
 SEPTEMBER 24. 
 
 '■* He that saith he abideih in him ought himself 
 also to to -walk, even at he -walked" — 1 John 
 ii. 6. 
 
 The state here spoken of is abiding in 
 Christ. A man's saying he is thus in him is 
 done two ways. The one is to himself— and 
 so it- is belief. The other is to his fellow- 
 creatures — and so it is profession. The 
 rule of such a man's life is the example of 
 Christ — walking as he walked. And to this 
 he is under an obligation to conform — He 
 ought to walk even as he walked. The obli- 
 gation is fourfold. 
 
 First. He ought to walk, even as he walked, 
 from a principle of evidence. Deception, in 
 religious concerns, is not only possible, but 
 common ; and the consequences, if the delu- 
 sion continues, will be dreadful. Hence we 
 should be anxious to know whether our hope 
 is any thing better than presumption ; or our 
 safety is any thing more than self-security. 
 If from self-confidence we contemn such soli- 
 citude, let us remember that the sacred wri- 
 ters command us not to be high minded, but 
 fear ; and to examine and prove whether we 
 be in the faith. There are, indeed, many 
 proofs of a gracious state ; and there are some 
 of a more experimental nature, to which we 
 do well to take heed : but none of them can 
 afford us relief, if they are unaccompanied by 
 an imitation of Christ " Why call ye me, 
 Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I 
 say f " If any man have not the Spirit of 
 Christ, he is none of his." " If any man be 
 in Christ, he is a new creature." 
 
 Secondly. He ought to walk even as he 
 walked from a principle of consistency. The 
 relations and conditions in which we are found 
 determine the propriety of our conduct. When 
 we know what a man is, we conclude what it 
 becomes him to do. A steward is expected 
 to be found faithful; and dishonesty draws 
 upon him censure and condemnation from all. 
 Every one is sensible that a priest and a king 
 should not act like common men ; but that a 
 dignified and sacred line of conduct is requir- 
 ed by their rank and office. Christians are 
 kings and priests unto God ; and therefore 
 they must walk worthy of the vocation where- 
 with they are called. The man who advances 
 peculiar and superior claims to any thing has 
 no reason, no right to complain, if he be 
 judged by his pretensions. He who wishes 
 to pass as a Christian avows himself related 
 to Christ ; and by his doctrine and character 
 ne must be tried : he ranks himself above all 
 the wor.d ; and challenges the inquiry, What 
 do ye more than others 1 
 
 Thirdly. He ought to walk even as he 
 walked, from a principle of usefulness. He 
 will thus put to silence the ignorance of fool- 
 ish men. He will wipe off the reproach at- 
 tacl\jd to the Gospel. He will adorn the doc- 
 
 trine of God our Saviour in all things. He 
 will be the means, by his good works which 
 they behold, of inducing those that are with- 
 out to enter the way everlasting. No one 
 can imagine the influence and efficiency of a 
 life entirely Christian. It is a blessing to the 
 whole neighbourhood in which it is displayed. 
 It is like a dew from the Lord, and as show- 
 ers upon the grass. But by an unworthy and 
 unbecoming conduct a professor of religion 
 can destroy much good. He causes the way 
 of truth to be evil spoken of. • He hardens 
 transgressors. He perplexes the weak. He 
 grieves the strong. He opposes and discour 
 ages all those who are labouring to win souls 
 Wo to the world, because of offences! And 
 wo to that man by whom the offence cometh ! 
 
 Fourthly. He ought to walk even as he 
 walked, from a principle of gratitude. We 
 feel and acknowledge the kindness shown us 
 by our fellow-creatures'! and in consequence 
 of it we endeavour to meet their wishes, and 
 to avoid whatever pains or displeases them : 
 for actions speak louder than words. What 
 has not Christ done for us 1 See his conde- 
 scension, when, in the form of God, he took 
 upon him the form of a servant See his 
 grace when he was rich, and for our sakes he 
 became poor. See him in the manger, and 
 in the garden. See him upon the cross 
 dying; and upon the throne reigning for us. 
 See him making all things work together for 
 our good. And surely we shall feel that a 
 peculiar, a supreme love to him becomes us. 
 And how are we to show it * Shall we ever 
 grieve his Holy Spirit? Shall we not ask, 
 Lord, what wilt thou have me to do 1 Shall 
 we not pray, " Let the words of my mouth, 
 and the meditation of my heart be acceptable 
 in thy sight O Lord, my strength and my 
 redeemer 1" He that hath my command- 
 ments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth 
 me. He that offereth praise glorifieth me ; 
 and to him that ordereth his conversation 
 aright will I show the salvation of God — 
 Upon which Philip Henry observes, Thanks- 
 giving is well, but thanksliving is better. 
 
 If we walk like him now, we shall walk 
 with him hereafter. It is his own promise— 
 "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, 
 which have not defiled their garments ; and 
 they shall walk with me in white ; for thev 
 are worthy." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 25. 
 " J would hasten my escape from the toinag 
 storm and tempest"— Psalm lv. 8. 
 Scch was the language of David— And it 
 may be the language of any other good man, 
 in the depth of distress. But it is allowable 
 and proper 1 There is no perfection here ; 
 and there is nothing concerning which we 
 should indulge more tenderness of censure 
 
262 
 
 SEPTEMBER 25. 
 
 than hasty expressions, uttered under the 
 pressure of pain or grief. Perhaps it was to 
 prevent our severity here that the cases of 
 Job and Jeremiah are recorded, both of whom, 
 though eminent in piety, cursed the day of 
 their birth. The Scripture is not harsh upon 
 them ; and it is observable, that when James 
 refers to one of these bitterly-complaining 
 BufFer?rs, he only says, " Ye have heard of 
 the patitnce of Job." They who have never 
 been in a state of peculiar distress, know little 
 of the feelings of human nature under it But 
 there are others who can respond to the in- 
 vitation of sympathy, " Pity me, pity me, O 
 ye my friends, for the hand of God hath 
 touched me !" And the Father of mercies 
 knows our frame, and remembers that we are 
 dust We are not required to choose suffer- 
 ing for its own sake ; or to be indifferent to 
 ease and deliverance. Our Saviour himself 
 had not that fortitude which mocks at pain ; 
 but that which felt deeply ; and yet submitted. 
 With strong cryings and tears he prayed, 
 " Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass 
 from me : nevertheless not my will, but thine 
 be done." 
 
 But what allows of excuse truth does not re- 
 quire us to commend. It was his infirmity that 
 induced David to long for death, to hasten his 
 escape from the stormy wind and tempest: 
 and an old writer tells us it would have been 
 jpore honourable for him to have asked for 
 the strength of an ox to bear his trials ; than 
 for the wings of a dove to flee from them. Is 
 not such language unworthy and ungrateful ! 
 Should we overlook and forget all our com- 
 forts] Have not these been great and nu- 
 merous ! And did we I hen long to flee away ! 
 — Yea, are they not many and various even 
 now ? And shall we only dwell on the dark 
 side ! Let us examine again ; and let truth 
 and thankfulness stand by. And may they 
 not yet be many and great ! Afflictions are 
 not immutable dispensations. What changes 
 often take place to the surprise as well as joy 
 of desponding sufferers ! 
 
 " The Lord can change the darkest skies ; 
 
 Can give us day for night *. 
 Make drops of sacred sorrow rise 
 To rivers of delight." 
 
 And is there not unbelief in the case ! You 
 are afraid of all your sorrows ; and not only 
 of their continuance and increase; but of 
 their influence and effects. You dread lest 
 you should not bear them properly, so as to 
 glorify God ; but sink in the day of adversity. 
 Yet, O thou of little filth ! wherefore dost 
 thou doubt ! Is not he able to preserve, and 
 support, and comfort thee! And has he not 
 engaged to do it! Has he not said, I will 
 never leave thee nor forsake thee ! " When 
 thou passest through the waters, I will be 
 with ihee; and through the rivers, they shall 
 not overflow thee : when thou walkest through 
 the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither 
 
 shall the fla.Tie kindle upon thee." And hat 
 not his conduct always accorded with thia 
 assurance; both with regard to others and 
 with regard to thyself! 
 
 " Did ever trouble yet befall, 
 And he refuse to hear thy call ? 
 And has he not his promise past, 
 That thou shalt overcome at last V 
 
 More than once you have been appal ed in 
 the prospect of a trial ; but when the evil day 
 came there came with it mercy and grace to 
 help. Perhaps you even gloried in tribula- 
 tion. Perhaps you would not refuse to pass 
 through some of those distressing exercises 
 again, to enjoy the same peace and comfort 
 
 Is there not much ignorance and inconsi- 
 deration in this impatience ! How do you 
 know that it is better to escape from these 
 troubles than to bear them! Not one of 
 them has befallen you by chance. May you 
 not infer the righteousness of them all from 
 their very author ! Is not his work perfect! 
 Are not his ways judgment! He doth all 
 things well. Does he detain you in distress 
 because he does not love you ! Yea he loved 
 you with an everlasting love ; and withheld 
 not his own Son from you. You may there 
 fore entirely confide in him, assured that if 
 he does not release you it is because he waits 
 to be gracious; and also equally assured, 
 that blessed are all they that wait for him , 
 for it is good for a man, not only to hope, but 
 quietly wail for the salvation of the Lord. 
 
 First. Your own welfare may require the 
 process. The Saviour was made perfect 
 through suffering; and the character of 
 every Christian is more formed and'improved 
 from his afflictions than his enjoyments. 
 What would some of you have lost, had you 
 fled away before such a trying dispensation 
 enriched your faith and hope ! How much 
 of your happiness in heaven will arise from a 
 review of your present conflicts on earth ! 
 The very trial of your faith is precious : and 
 the crown of life is promised, not to him that 
 escapes, but to him that endureth temptation. 
 Afflictions are heavenly agents, and work out 
 for you a far more exceeding and eternal 
 weight of glory. 
 
 Secondly. The welfare of others may re- 
 quire it also. We are detained here to be 
 useful ; and we are often most useful in our 
 trials. Nothing strikes like facts. The pas- 
 sive graces are the most impressive. They 
 are better than a thousand sermons ; better to 
 arrest the careless, to instruct the ignorant, 
 to encourage the timid, to comfort the de- 
 sponding. It was well Bunyan did not escape 
 from the prison at Bedford, or we should not 
 have had his Pilgrim's Progress, and his Ho- 
 ly War. Paul was a prisoner, and knew that 
 to depart and be with Christ was far better 
 nevertheless, because it was more needful for 
 the Philippians, he was willing to abide in 
 the flesh, and acquiesced in the adjournment 
 
SEPTEMBER 26. 
 
 263 
 
 <jf his deliverance and bliss. And here you 
 also may be wanted. Perhaps you have a ve- 
 nerable mother, and are required to rock the 
 cradle of her age who rocked the cradle of 
 your infancy. Per nans you are a parent, and 
 a rising family is dependent on your care, in- 
 structed by your wisdom, edified by your ex- 
 ample. We are all placed in circumstances 
 where we may prove a blessing : and this is 
 our only opportunity. We may glorify God 
 in heaven ; but not in the same way as now, 
 by submission, patience, and self-denial. This 
 is an advantage* we have above the glorified. 
 They cannot exercise candour, and forgive 
 injuries, and relieve distress, and save souls. 
 Life is ours as well as death. Therefore all 
 the days of our appointed time let us wait, till 
 our change comes. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 26. 
 
 ** And he brought him to Jesus." — John i. 42. 
 
 These are few words ; but they are very 
 instructive and improving. We may ask 
 three questions. 
 
 To whom was he brought 1 " He brought 
 him to Jesus." To whom should he have 
 been brought but unto him! He had the 
 words of eternal life. In vain would he have 
 been brought to the princes of the world ; to 
 the philosophers of antiquity ; to the moral- 
 ists of the age ; to the Scribes and Pharisees ; 
 to Moses ; to the law — Moses wrote of him ; 
 and the law was a schoolmaster, to bring 
 men to Christ, that they might be justified by 
 the faith of Christ, and not by the deeds of 
 the law. To him, says Isaiah, shall men 
 come. To him, said the dying Jacob, shall 
 the gathering of the people be. There alone 
 they can find the wisdom they need ; the par- 
 don they need ; the peace they need ; the 
 strength they need. In him they are blessed 
 with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places 
 —Neither is there salvation in any other. 
 
 Who was brought? It was Simon Peter — 
 « He brought him to Jesus." He is a charac- 
 ter frequently and largely noticed in the Sa- 
 cred History. For, in consequence of this in- 
 troduction, he became not only a disciple of 
 Jesus, but a preacher of the Gospel, and an 
 Apostle ; and from the low occupation of a 
 fisherman he was made a fisher of men ; and 
 oy one cast of his net he gained three thou- 
 sand souls. Let us endeavour to bring men 
 to the Saviour, remembering that we know 
 not what he will do, not only in them, but for 
 them, and by them. While he saves them 
 he may also employ and dignify them. How- 
 ever unlikely at present they appear, we may 
 by-andby observe them, with joyful surprise, 
 and adoring gratitude, not only as Christians, 
 but as ministers in his Church ; and exten- 
 sively serving their generation, according to 
 the will of God. Whatever condition they 
 
 may fill, or office they may discharge, they 
 will be, must be, useful. Like their father 
 Abraham, they will be not only blessed, but 
 blessings. In converting one we do good to 
 many — Who ever went to heaven alone 7 
 
 We may also ask — Who brought him 1 It 
 was Andrew — " He brought him to Jesus." 
 Andrew had been for some little time with 
 Jesus himself; and he immediately evinces 
 the influence of the intercourse on his own 
 mind, by his concern to bring others to the 
 same Saviour. And there is nothing peculiar 
 in this They who have seen his glory will 
 be su.e to proclaim his worth. They tnai 
 have tasted that the Lord is gracious them- 
 selves will be always constrained to invite 
 others — O taste and see that the Lord is 
 good: blessed is the man that trusteth in 
 him. And they always speak of him best 
 who speak from experience. 
 
 Andrew was not only acquainted with Je- 
 sus, but he was also related to Peter. He 
 first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith 
 unto him — We have found the Messias. The 
 expression intimates that he also prevailed 
 upon others, but that he began with him. His 
 finding him first might have been accidental; 
 but it is much more probable that it was by de- 
 sign. He thought, and he thought justly, that 
 his own brother had, though not an exclusive, 
 yet a prior claim to his attention. And there- 
 fore, while many lead their friends and rela- 
 tions, their own flesh and blood, into the 
 haunts of dissipation, the counsel of the un- 
 godly, the way of sinners, the seat of the 
 scornful, and so bring them to the devil ; An- 
 drew instantly performed towards Simon, his 
 own brother, a brother's part — And he brought 
 him to Jesus. 
 
 I,et us not forget this. We are to disregard 
 none of our fellow-creatures ; but surely those 
 who are connected with us by the ties of 
 friendship and of nature have the first right 
 to our solicitude. How is it possible for us to 
 think of them, and not exclaim, with Esther, 
 in the dread of a more tremendous perdition 
 — How can I bear to see the destruction of 
 my kindred ? In endeavouring to do good to 
 these, we have also greater opportunities and 
 advantages, by reason of our influence and 
 easiness of access. Let then grace sanctify 
 and engage in her service all the force and 
 endearment of natural affection. Let the pi- 
 ous sister pray for, and plead with, an irreli- 
 gious brother. Let the godly wife strive to 
 save her own husband. Let the husband al- 
 lure to accompany him the desire of his eyes. 
 And oh ! let parents awaken and blend their 
 anxieties and efforts to bring to Jesus their 
 children. When Moses lifted up the serpent 
 in the wilderness, all the wounded were to 
 obtain cure by looking. But children were 
 bitten as well as men and women. Had we 
 been there, we should have seen many a fa- 
 ther leading along his little daughter to a 
 
264 
 
 SEPTEMBER 27. 
 
 place of vision ; and many a mother pressing 
 near with her infant son in her arm, and 
 pointing his eyes to catch the shining reme- 
 dy. So has the Son of man been lifted up, 
 that whosoever believeth on him should not 
 perish, but have everlasting life. The young 
 need him; and the sooner they are brought to 
 him the better. The sooner will they be pre- 
 vented from injuring society : the sooner will 
 they enter on a course of usefulness, during 
 which they will scatter a thousand blessings. 
 If we do good to an old man, it is all-import- 
 ant to himself; but then it goes off with him. 
 Whereas the good communicated to a child 
 is not only valuable personally, but relatively. 
 It descends from him, and is spread by him, 
 as he rises up and multiplies in life : and the 
 result of the whole cannot be estimated. 
 
 And if we bring them to him, will he re- 
 ject or despise them ? Let his command de- 
 termine this — " Feed my lambs." Let his 
 conduct decide it — "They brought young 
 children to him that he should touch them. 
 And his disciples rebuked those that brought 
 them. But when Jesus saw it he was much 
 displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the lit- 
 tle children to come unto me, and forbid them 
 not ; for of such is the kingdom of God. And 
 he took them up in his arms, put his hands 
 upon them, and blessed them." 
 
 Let those that have children, and let those 
 that are children, think of this, and be encou- 
 raged. 
 
 " A flower when offered in the bud, 
 Is no vain sacrifice." 
 
 Another flower thus offered can never arrive 
 at perfection. It must wither and die. But 
 this flower shall live and blossom as a rose. 
 The Redeemer will put it into his bosom: 
 and the fragrance shall spread through the 
 church belcw and the temple above. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 27. 
 ' And he brought him to Jesus." — John i. 42. 
 
 What Andrew here did with Simon, we are 
 to do with our fellow-creatures — We are to 
 bring them to Jesus. 
 
 But can men be brought to him now ? Did 
 he not say, I am no more in the world ? How 
 happy were they who lived when he was on 
 earth ! They could repair to him in every 
 trouble, and tell him every distress. Ye be- 
 nevolent neighbours! you could carry the 
 paralytic, and place him beneath the very eye 
 of mercy. You anxious father ! you could go 
 to him, and say, " Sir, come down ere my 
 ^hild die." You Martha and Mary, as soon 
 as Lazarus was afflicted, you could send to 
 him, saying, "Lord, behold he whom thou 
 lovest is sick." And cannot you, my dear 
 readers, apprize him of your desire or your 
 grief? Have not you at your disposal a mes- 
 senger that you can despatch to him in a mo- 
 
 ment, in *he twinkling of an eye T " While 
 they call, I will answer; and when tney 
 speak, I will hear." And has he not said, Lo: 
 I am with you always, even unto the end ot 
 the world ? and wherever two or three are 
 gathered together in my name," there am I in 
 the midst of you? If these words be true, he 
 is with hi3 ministers and people now. Though 
 no longer visible, he is accessible. We may 
 apprehend him as to his essential presence, 
 by which he fills heaven and earth. We may 
 apprehend .him also as to his peculiar pre- 
 sence, by which he is nigh to»them that are 
 of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a 
 contrite spirit. He is to be found in the Scrip- 
 tures. In his house. At his table. On his 
 throne. In the garden and the field — 
 
 " Where'er we seek him he is found, 
 And ev'ry place is holy ground." 
 
 But can we bring souls to him ? Not em- 
 ciently. This is the work of God only. " No 
 man can come to me except the Father which 
 hath sent me draw him." And the sooner we 
 are convinced of this the better. We shall 
 then make all our attempts in dependence on 
 the agency of his Spirit ; and thus honouring 
 him, he will honour us. But we may do this 
 instrumentally. For God makes use of means: 
 and he employs men. And employs them not 
 only to do good to their fellow-creatures tem- 
 porally, but spiritually; not only to relieve 
 their bodies, but to save their souls. And va- 
 rious and many are the ways in which we 
 may thus bring men to Jesus. We may do it 
 by intercession; for he hears prayer for others 
 as well as for ourselves. We may do it by the 
 influence of example. Nothing speaks so loud 
 as the silent eloquence of a holy, consistent, 
 and lovely life. By this wives may win their 
 husbands without the word ; and servants may 
 adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all 
 things. By this all may be useful. All cannot 
 be learned ; all cannot be rich : but all may be 
 exemplary. We may do it by instruction. 
 Thus Andrew brought Peter — We have 
 found, says he, the Messias. And thus the 
 woman of Samaria brought her neighbours, 
 saying, Come, see a man that told me all that 
 ever I did : Is not this the Christ ? By a word 
 fitly spoken — a letter — an invitation to hear 
 the Gospel — the commendation of a good 
 book — the diffusion of the Bible — the sending 
 forth missionaries — the supporting of minis- 
 ters, whose office it is to turn men from dark- 
 ness to light — By all these, and many more, 
 we may be the means of introducing souls to 
 Jesus. 
 
 But why should we be concerned to bring 
 them ? Four things should make us alive to 
 this work. First To feel a concern for it ia 
 an evidence of grace ; and an evidence the 
 most decisive. Indeed every other evidence 
 is fallacious without this: and this is always 
 to be found in a real Christian. For however 
 
SEPTEMBER 28. 
 
 265 
 
 ne may walk in darkness, as to a knowledge 
 of his own interest in divine things, and draw 
 the conclusion that he has no part nor lot in 
 the matter ; he never is insensible and indif- 
 ferent to the success of the Gospel and the 
 salvation of souls. Secondly. To attempt it 
 is a duty. A duty that cannot be declined, 
 without the greatest guilt. A duty arising 
 from the relation in which we stand to our 
 fellow-men, as bone of our bone, and flesh of 
 our flesh. A duty enforced by the will of 
 God, clearly made known in the injunction, 
 As We have opportunity, let us do good unto 
 all men; and what good can equal this! 
 Thirdly. To accomplish it is the most glori- 
 ous enterprise. What is the rescue of a whole 
 nation from civil bondage compared with the 
 deliverance of one soul from the power of 
 darkness, and translating it into the kingdom 
 of God's dear Son ! Can a trifle throw heaven 
 into ecstacy ! Yet there is joy in the presence 
 of the angels of God over one sinner that re- 
 penteth. The work, therefore, is its own mo- 
 tive : its success is its own recompence. And 
 30 the Apostle deemed it — " If a man err from 
 the truth, and one convert him, let him know, 
 that he which converteth a sinner from the 
 error of his way, shall save a soul from death, 
 and shall hide a multitude of sins." Fourthly. 
 To fail in it is no disgrace. Yea, failure here 
 is infinitely more honourable than success in 
 any other enterprise. But wise and good ef- 
 forts are never in vain. If they are useless as 
 to the direct object, they do good collaterally. 
 If they relieve not the beneficiary, they bless 
 the benefactor. His prayers and endeavours 
 return not void into his own bosom. We are 
 a sweet savour of Christ, not only in them 
 that are saved, but in them also that perish. 
 The promise is not made to success — for this 
 does not belong to us; but to exertion — "Be 
 thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee 
 a crown of life." 
 
 But while we endeavour to bring others 
 to Jesus, let us see to it that we have come 
 to him ourselves. It is awful to think of 
 being the instruments of his grace, while 
 we are not the subjects — 
 
 "Great King of grace! my heart subdue; 
 I would be led in triumph too : 
 A willing captive to my Lord, 
 And sing the victories of his word." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 28. 
 
 " The precious tons of Zion, comparable to 
 fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen 
 pitchers, the work of the hands of the pot- 
 ter .'" — Lam. iv. 2. 
 
 Such is the difference between the judg- 
 ment of God and the spirit of the world, con- 
 cerning the precious sons of Zion. In the 
 eatimation of God, (and his judgment is al- 
 ways according to truth,) they are comparable 
 2L 23 
 
 to gold, yea, fine gold. And they are so foi 
 their rareness, and their purity, and then 
 value, and their uurability, and for their 
 bearing the severest probation, and, instead 
 of being injured by the trial, deriving im- 
 provement, and lustre, and usefulness from it 
 
 But as that which is highly esteemed among 
 men is abomination in the sight of God ; so 
 that which is approved and commended of 
 God is undervalued and despised by men. 
 The world, therefore, knoweth them not II 
 knew him not. Their Lord and Saviour was 
 despised and rejected by them. And they, as 
 his followers, are esteemed as earthen pitch- 
 ers, the work of the hands of the potter. 
 Natural men judge only from sense and out- 
 ward appearances; and Christians are often 
 poor and afflicted. They see the outside of 
 the tabernacle; and this is covered with 
 goats' skins and badgers' skins, dyed red: 
 but they never enter the holy place, nor ap- 
 proach him who sitteth between the cheru- 
 bims. They are sensual, not having the 
 Spirit; and spiritual things are spiritually 
 discerned. They do not feel their need of the 
 blessings which constitute the happiness and 
 glory of the children of God, and therefore 
 prize not the possessors of them. Yea, the 
 carnal mind is enmity against God, and 
 causes them to dislike every thing that bears 
 his impression and likeness. 
 
 Yet even these despisers shall behold, and 
 wonder, and perish. When the delusions of 
 time shall give place to the unveiled realities 
 of eternity, they will be compelled to ex- 
 claim, we fools counted their lives madness, 
 and their end to be without honour. How 
 are they numbered with the saints, and their 
 lot is among the children of God ! Yea, even 
 now there are moments, when, if we could 
 witness the workings of conviction, we should 
 hear many a Balaam admiring, and praying ; 
 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob ! and thy 
 tabernacles, O Israel ! Let me die the death 
 of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
 his! 
 
 Christians should not be uneasy and im 
 patient under the mistakes and reproaches ot 
 their adversaries. It is a light thing to be 
 judged of man's judgment. He that judgeth 
 them is the Lord. Their praise is not of man, 
 but of God. They should know that this is 
 not their day. Their day is coming. It will 
 be the manifestation of the sons of God. Yea, 
 conscious of what by the grace of God, the) 
 are, they should learn in whatsoever state 
 they are therewith to be content. In every 
 thing they should give thanks. Their souls 
 should make their boast in the Lord. They 
 should never scruple to extol and recom- 
 mend their privileges and excellences. That 
 which we have heard and seen, says the 
 Apostle John, declare we unto you, that ye 
 also may have fellowship with us. And is 
 this desirable "! And truly our fellowship is 
 
266 
 
 SEPTEMBER 29. 
 
 with the Father and with his Son Jesus 
 Christ 
 
 Who is on the Lord's side ] O my soul ! 
 art thou 1 Dost thou love and admire those 
 whom God approves and honours'? Canst 
 thou call the saints that are in the earth, 
 The excellent] and say, In them is all my 
 delight? Moses chose rather to suffer afflic- 
 tion with the people of God, than to enjoy 
 the pleasures of sin for a season ; and esteem- 
 ed the reproach of Christ greater riches than 
 the treasures of Egypt 
 
 SEPTEMBER 29. 
 
 "Arise ye, and depart ; for this is not your 
 rest." — Micah ii. 10. 
 
 One of the old Divines, in his pastoral ad- 
 monitions to his people, exhorts them — not to 
 look for that in the law, which can only be 
 found in the gospel — not to look for that in 
 themselves, which is only to he found in 
 Christ — not to look for that in the creature, 
 which is only to be found in the Creator — 
 and not to look for that on earth, which is 
 only to be found in heaven. 
 
 The present is not our rest It was not 
 designed to be our rest. It is not Jit to be 
 our rest. And if we are Christians, we have 
 relinquished it as our rest afi d have chosen 
 another. 
 
 Yet who does not need this exhortation J 
 Our souls naturally cleave unto the dust. 
 Many, like Reuben and Gad, prefer an in- 
 heritance on this side Jordan. And even the 
 godly themselves, who have not their portion 
 in this life; but have said, As for me, 1 will 
 behold thy face in righteousness, I shall be 
 satisfied when I awake with thy likeness; 
 even these need to have their pure minds 
 stirred up, by way of remembrance. " My 
 people," says God, "have forgotten their 
 resting-place." 
 
 He therefore, who takes pleasure in the 
 prosperity of his servants, sends them this 
 message, " Arise ye, and depart ; for this is 
 not your rest" And there are five messen- 
 gers by which he sends it. 
 
 The first, is his Word. And we should 
 read, and hear it for this very purpose. It 
 meets us in our complaint and inquiry, 
 " Who will show us any good ]" and says, 
 " Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at 
 peace ; thereby good shall come unto thee." 
 It forbids us to lay up treasures on earth. It 
 commands us to seek those things that are 
 above. It denounces the curse and misery 
 of making flesh our arm. It proclaims the 
 grandeur of the soul; and sets before us what 
 alone is worthy of its ardour. It leads us into 
 all truth; and places us at the foot of the 
 Cross, by which the world is crucified unto 
 us, and we unto the world. 
 
 The second, is affliction. God speaks by 
 
 the rod, as well as by the word. While ne 
 chastens us with his hand, he teaches us out 
 of his law. Has he not by events, plainly 
 addressed us, " Ye nave dwelt long enough 
 in this mountain; turn ye, and take youi 
 journey .'" Has he not, by repeated frustra- 
 tions of our hope, plainly said to us, " Let it 
 suffice thee: speak no more to me of this 
 matter ]" Perhaps our purposes have been 
 broken off, even the thoughts of our hearts. 
 Perhaps we have been made to possess 
 months of canity by sickness. Perhaps by 
 death lover and friend has been removed far 
 from us. And, amidst the wreck of every 
 thing dear to us, a voice, though we knew 
 not at first that it came from Heaven, said, 
 " What hast thou here 1 and what dost thou 
 here]" — And if we are so much attached to 
 the world, with all our losses and distresses, 
 what should we have been without them ] If 
 the pilgrim be ever seduced from his way, it 
 is by flowers and prospects; if ever he sits 
 down, and sings himself asleep, it is in a 
 pleasant scene, and in fine weather, not when 
 the sky is dark and stormy, and the road is 
 rough and miry ; for then, by contrast, the 
 thought of home becomes dearer; and he feels 
 an excitement to quicken his pace. 
 
 The third, is worldly success. This, in 
 some respects, may convince us more of the 
 insufficiency and emptiness of every thing 
 here, than even our deprivations. When a 
 man is unable to attain his object he may 
 still imagine that there is happiness in what 
 he misses ; and that he is miserable because 
 he misses it But when he has gained the 
 prize, he is convinced that the dissatisfaction 
 he feels arises from the nature of the thing it- 
 self. We long for certain acquisitions, with 
 all the fondness of hope ; and feel no appre- 
 hension, unless on the side of failure. We 
 cannot believe, from the acknowledgments 
 of others, that these things will belie expect- 
 ation, and still leave a void within. But 
 when we have made the trial ourselves; 
 when we have formed the connexion, filled 
 the office, gained the fortune, we desired- 
 and, in the midst of our sufficiency, we are 
 in straits ; sigh over our indulgences them- 
 selves ; and enjoyment, as well as afflicticm, 
 cries, All is vanity and vexation of spirit- 
 Arise, and depart ; for this is not your rest. 
 
 The fourth, is the earnests and foretastes 
 of a better world. And such Christians are 
 favoured with, in the comforts of the Holy 
 Ghost ; in accesses to the Throne of Grace ; 
 in the power and glory of God, which they 
 see in the Sanctuary; and in those sacred 
 moments of divine communion, alone, when 
 they can say, 
 
 " While such a scene of sacred joys 
 Our raptur'd eyes and souls employs 
 Here we could sit and gaze away 
 A long, an everlasting day"— 
 
 And these not only call, but allure and win 
 
SEPTEMBER 30. 
 
 267 
 
 Uw heart, awa_, . When the clusters of grapes 
 were brought to the Israel of God in the Wil- 
 derness, they said, in very intelligible lan- 
 guage — What does your present condition 
 supply like this] — See what grows in the 
 land that is before you. Taste ; and go up 
 and possess it. 
 
 The last, is death. Every apprehension 
 and approach of this, cries — " It is high time 
 to awake out of sleep ; for now is your salva- 
 tion nearer than when you believed." But 
 this orders us to depart really, as well as 
 morally. God sends, by it, not only to his 
 people, but for them. And it seems surprising 
 that they should ever be ready to turn away 
 from the messenger. A child at school wel- 
 comes every messenger from home to him ; 
 but he desires most the messenger that comes 
 for him. Joseph sends to Jacob, and for him, 
 at once ; and his father not only heard his 
 words, but saw his wagons — " Oh ! these 
 are really to carry me to him — 1 shall soon 
 see my son — and die in peace." 
 
 Such a messenger, Christian, is death to 
 you. Come, says God ; you have toiled long 
 enough — You have feared long enough — You 
 have groaned long enough — Your warfare is 
 accomplished — Enter the rest which the Lord 
 your God giveth you — Come ; for all things 
 are now ready. 
 
 Yes ; you will soon hear the voice saying — 
 O Israel ! you must this day go over Jor- 
 dan. And why should you be unwilling to 
 exchange the desert for the land flowing with 
 milk and honey ] Is not this the purpose of 
 your travels? The end of your desires ] The 
 completion of your hopes] 
 
 "But the swelling river roll3 between." 
 Fear not. The ark of the covenant will go 
 before you, and divide the waves: and you 
 shall pass over dry-shod. And then let the 
 streams re-unite, and continue to flow on — 
 you will not wish them to re-open for your 
 return. What is misery to others, is joy to 
 you — " I shall go the way whence I shall not 
 r eturn." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 30. 
 
 " If then I be a father, -where is mine honour ?" 
 Mai. i. 6. 
 
 We admire the Scripture mode of allusion 
 and comparison. Its images are taken from 
 the most obvious and simple things : and while 
 they illustrate the spiritual subjects to which 
 they are applied, they also import moral les- 
 sons. While they enjoin the duties we owe 
 to God, they remind us of those we owe to our 
 fellow-creatures. Thus the child is instructed 
 and reproved, by the address which informs 
 and admonishes the Christian. 
 
 In the words before us, here is, first, a 
 principle supposed — Indeed it is expressed in 
 the foregoing sentence : " A son honoureth 
 
 his father." It is a dictate of nature, of cus- 
 tom, of observance in all ages and countries. 
 The child, as soon as he can reason, finds 
 himself under the control of a superior, at 
 once dear and venerable ; to whom he is 
 obliged, and on whom he is dependent : he 
 asks of him information ; he looks to him for 
 provision: he confides in his care and wis- 
 dom : he obeys his orders, and submits to his 
 discipline. If stricken, he does not reproach, 
 or think of striking again. " The eye," says 
 Solomon, "that mocketh at his father, and 
 despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of 
 the valley shall pluck it out, and the young 
 eagles shall eat it." A modern writer has 
 made free to turn these words into ridicule, by 
 ranking them with those senseless bugbears 
 by which nurses often terrify children. But 
 if the ignorance of infidels, with regard to 
 every thing scriptural, was not extreme ; he 
 might have known, that, under the Jewish 
 law, filial disobedience was a capital offence. 
 " Every one that curseth his father or his mo- 
 ther shall be surely put to death: he hath 
 cursed his father or his mother; his blood 
 shall be upon him." And Moses mentions 
 also the mode. " If a man have a stubborn 
 and rebellious son, which will not obey the 
 voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, 
 and that, when they have chastened him, will 
 not hearken unto them : then shall his fatliei 
 and his mother lay hold on him, and bring 
 him out unto the elders of his city, and unto 
 the gate of his place ; and they shall say unto 
 the elders of his city, This our son is stub- 
 born and rebellious, he will not obey our voice ; 
 he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the 
 men of his city shall stone him with stones, 
 that he die : so shalt thou put evil away from 
 among you; and all Israel shall hear and 
 fear." Hence, what is threatened, might have 
 been literally accomplished. But when we 
 consider how figuratively the Easterns ex- 
 pressed themselves ; we may admit the reali- 
 ty of an awful penalty on the transgressor 
 without pleading for the literal execution. 
 We have a remarkable instance of filial ho- 
 nour in the regard the Rechabites paid to the 
 authority of their father. " They said, we 
 will drink no wine : for Jonadab the son of 
 Rechab our father commanded us, saying, 
 Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your 
 sons for ever : neither shall ye build house, 
 nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have 
 any: but all your days ye shall dwell in 
 tents ; that ye may live many days in the 
 land where ye be strangers. Thus have 
 we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of 
 Rechab our father in all that he hath charged 
 us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our 
 wives, our sons, nor our daughters ; nor to 
 build houses for us to dwell in: neither have 
 we vineyard, nor field, nor seed : but we have 
 dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done 
 according to all that Jonadab our father 
 
268 
 
 OCTOBER 1. 
 
 commanded us." It is lamentable to think 
 now little of this obedience is to be found in 
 children now. Yet there is far less piety in 
 the world, than morality. 
 
 Here is, secondly, an obligation inferred — 
 It is, that if other fathers are to be honoured, 
 we are much more bound to honour God. 
 For he is a Father far above the truth of the 
 relation in all other cases. We have had 
 fathers ; but they were fathers of our flesh — 
 but he is the Father of our spirits. They were 
 fathers only subordinately, and neither the 
 sex, or the form, or the talents of the child 
 resulted from their choice — but he is su- 
 premely, efficiently, absolutely our Father — 
 he made us, and endued us with all our powers 
 — and from him must spring all our hopes. 
 
 And, therefore, not only is the reality of 
 the relation found in him, but the perfection 
 too. He always acts the part of — a wise and 
 good Father — and always acts it completely 
 — divinely. Other fathers often chastise their 
 children for their own pleasure ; but he for 
 our profit. They may be implacable ; but he 
 is ready to forgive. They may neglect to 
 educate or provide; but he teaches us to 
 profit, and suffers us to want no good thing. 
 
 The duty also is enforced by the eminence 
 of his character, and the grandeur of his con- 
 dition. His understanding is infinite. His 
 [lower is almighty. His dominion is ever- 
 asting. He is Lord of all. " It is he that 
 sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the 
 inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that 
 stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and 
 spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in ; that 
 bringeth the princes to nothing : he maketh 
 the judges of the earth as vanity." To this 
 consideration he himself appeals, in the close 
 of this chapter. " Cursed be the deceiver, 
 which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, 
 and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing : 
 for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, 
 and my name is dreadful among the heathen." 
 
 Thirdly. Here is a complaint alleged. "If 
 I am a Father, where is mine honour ?" And 
 has he no ground for this inquiry ? Men often 
 complain without cause. They are unrea- 
 sonable in their demands and expectations. 
 They may be mistaken with regard to the 
 nature and design of many actions, because 
 they judge after outward appearance. But 
 God's claims are unlimited. He sees mo- 
 tives. He looketh to the heart He takes 
 our meaning. And passing by our mistakes 
 and infirmities, accepts and commends our 
 aims and endeavours. And yet even he com- 
 plains. And how deeply deserved ! and how 
 extensively applicable is the charge he 
 brings ! See the generality of mankind — Have 
 tney any concern to please him ? Take the 
 professors of his religion — What do thoy more 
 than others ? Take even the subjects of his 
 grace — even in them, Where is his honour? Is 
 it here ? in constantly asking, Lord, what wilt 
 
 thou have me to do? Is it here ? in metkly 
 submitting to his rebukes? Is it here? in 
 speaking well of his name, and recommend- 
 ing him to others ; 
 
 Let us make the deficiencies and sins of 
 others a mirror in which to behold our own. 
 Do I meet with ingratitude in a fellow-crea- 
 ture, that I have relieved ? Let it soften my 
 resentment, and keep me from resolving to 
 do no more for him. Let me inquire how I 
 have behaved towards my heavenly benefac- 
 tor. Do I reflect on an undutiful child, and 
 perhaps justly too? Yet let me ask whether 
 my heavenly Father has not much more rea- 
 son to condemn me — If thou, Lord, shouldest 
 mark iniquity, O Lord, who should stand ! 
 
 How necessary is it for us to fall down at 
 his footstool ; and pray, Enter not into judg- 
 ment with thy servant, O Lord ; for in thy 
 sight shall no flesh living be justified ! 
 
 What a blessing is the Gospel, that assures 
 us, with the Lord there is mercy, and that hia 
 grace is sufficient for us ! 
 
 Yet let this make us the more concerned 
 to honour him — and to be harmless and blame- 
 less — the children of God — without rebuke ! 
 
 OCTOBER 1. 
 
 " Wo unto you that desire the day of the Lord ! 
 
 To what end is it for you? The day oft\e 
 
 Lord is darkness, and not light." — Amos ▼ 
 
 18. 
 
 We may apply this to the day of death. 
 How often do men, when in trouble and dis- 
 appointment, express a wish, that God would 
 now take away their life from them, suppos- 
 ing that it is better for them to die than to 
 live ! We cannot, indeed, be always sure of 
 the sincerity of their desire ; and they may 
 not be sure of it themsel ves. Under the pres- 
 sure of present feeling, they may imagine 
 that death would be welcome : when, perhaps, 
 if it actually appeared, they would decline 
 his aid. And if they would not, they ought 
 For their fleeing from trouble, is as if a mar 
 did flee from a lion, and a bear met him ; oi 
 went into the house, and leaned his hand on 
 the wall, and a serpent bit him. 
 
 Let me, then, beg these sons of sorrow to 
 inquire — Whether the event they long for 
 will be a real remedy for their complaints. 
 Are they sure that death will be annihilation? 
 — perfectly sure that there is nothing beyond 
 the grave ? — Can they prove that there is no 
 future state? and that in this state there is no 
 misery but happiness only ? Judas hanged 
 himself! But he went to his own place. 
 This was far worse than his former condition, 
 even under all the horrors of remorse. 
 
 If the Scripture be true, all are not happy 
 at death. Yea, none are then happy without 
 a title to heaven, and a meetness for it. And 
 have you this title ? What is it ? " He that 
 believeth on the Son hath everlasting life . 
 
OCTOBER 2. 
 
 260 
 
 and he that believeth not the Son shall not 
 see life; but the wrath of God abideth on 
 him." Have you this meetness 1 What is 
 it? Do you love holiness? Without this 
 could you be happy in a holy place 1 in a 
 noly state ? in holy company 1 in holy engage- 
 ments ? in holy enjoyments 1 Is the Redeemer 
 precious to your souls 1 and do you delight in 
 , him ] Without this could you be happy, to 
 • be for ever in his presence, and hearing for 
 ever his praise 1 Could a man, without an 
 ear or taste for music, be happy by being re- 
 moved into a world of melody and harmony 1 
 Need you be told that happiness does not 
 arise from the excellency of the object, but 
 from its adaptation to our disposition 1 That 
 nothing can make us happy but what relieves 
 our wants ? fulfils our desires ? and satisfies 
 our hope? Without holiness, therefore, no 
 man can see the Lord. 
 
 How absurd, then, is it to wish to leave 
 this world for another before you are sure the 
 exchange will be for your advantage ! For 
 your advantage it cannot be, if you die un- 
 pardoned and unrenewed. Blessed are the 
 dead that die in the Lord. But out of Him, 
 you are out of the city of refuge, and the 
 avenger of blood is upon you. Out of Him, 
 you are out of the Ark, and in the midst of 
 the Deluge. No ; the day of your death is 
 not better than the day of your birth. — What- 
 ever your privations, and losses, and distresses, 
 here may be, they are only the beginnings 
 of sorrow ; and all you suffer from them is 
 only as a drop to the ocean, compared with 
 the damnation of hell. — And, once gone from 
 time, there is no return. As the tree falleth 
 so it lies. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of wishing this only and 
 all-important season ended, you should be 
 thankful that it is prolonged, if it L 9 continued, 
 even in a vale of tears ; and account that the 
 longsuffering of God is your salvation : for he 
 is not willing that any should perish. 
 
 Remember, also, that these disappointments 
 and sorrows, which make you so impatient, 
 may prove the greatest blessing ; and the val- 
 ley of Achor be given you for a door of hope. 
 For God does not afHict willingly, nor grieve 
 the children of men. He renders earth deso- 
 late to induce you to seek a better country. 
 He strikes away every human prop, and puts 
 failure and vexation into every worldly 
 scheme, that you may turn from idols to the 
 Supreme God, and say 
 
 " What should 1 wait or wish for, then, 
 From creatures— earth and dust ? 
 They make our expectations vain. 
 And disappoint our trust. 
 
 " Now I forbid my carnal hope, 
 My fond desires recall ; 
 I give my mortal interest up. 
 And make my God my all." 
 
 Away, then, with every thought of despera- 
 tion. Say, " I will arise, and go unto my 
 Father" — He is in sight, waiting to receive 
 23=* 
 
 thee graciously, and to love thee freely. Re« 
 pair to the throne of the heavenly grace — 
 You cannot spread your sorrows there in vain. 
 If tempted to despair, try his word. No one 
 ever trusted, and w r as confounded. Cry, 
 " Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake for me." 
 " Come," says the Reliever of every burden 
 — " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are 
 heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" 
 
 The Athenian said, " I should have been 
 lost, if I had not been lost." What made the 
 prodigal think of home but want 1 Where 
 did Manasseh find his father's God but in 
 affliction 1 We often feel for those who have 
 been reduced ; and say, they have seen better 
 days — But if in their prosperity they forgot 
 God that made them, and lightly esteemed 
 the Rock of their salvation ; and in their ad- 
 versity have thrown themselves irto his arms 
 — these, these are the best days ihey ever 
 saw ; and they will draw forth their praise for 
 ever. This, my suffering friend, may be your 
 case — and will be, if you seek unto God, and 
 unto God commit your cause. He can, he 
 will turn the shadow of death into the morn- 
 ing — and you shall join the multitude who 
 are saying, It is good foe me that I have 
 
 BEEN AFFLICTED. 
 
 OCTOBER 2. 
 
 " I will hear what God the Lord will speak." 
 Psalm Ixxxv. 8. 
 
 And surely if He speaks, in whatever way 
 he expresses himself, it becomes us to hear ; 
 and to hear immediately. Let us not there- 
 fore " be unwise, but understanding what the 
 will of the Lord is." There are four cases 
 in which we should adopt this resolution. 
 
 First. I will hear what God the Lord will 
 speak as to doctrinal truth. If error were 
 harmless, we should not be commanded to 
 " buy the truth, and sell it not :" to " prove all 
 things, and to hold fast that which is good." 
 It is of unspeakable importance to have proper 
 sentiments on all religious subjects. But 
 concerning all these subjects different opin- 
 ions prevail ; and it is certain that all these 
 opinions cannot be true. Hence persons are 
 often perplexed, especially at the beginning 
 of the Christian life. And what in this case 
 are we to do 1 One cries, Lo ! here is Chrig 
 and another, Lo ! there. Be it so, ,We are 
 not left without witness. It would be sad 
 and dangerous had we no rule to go by ; no 
 standard to which we could appeal. But we 
 have such an advantage. And in things of 
 moment it is plain and obvious. And it ia 
 accessible ; it is in our possession ; it is the 
 testimony of God, recorded in the Scriptures. 
 I will therefore make no system of divinity, 
 drawn up by fallible creatures like myself, my 
 oracle ; but enter at once the temple of Reve- 
 lation, and inquire there. I will call no man 
 master upon earth — one is my master, even 
 
270 
 
 OCTOBER 3. 
 
 Christ ; and all besides are only brethren. I 
 need not ask what Arminius, or Calvin, speaks 
 — they themselves are to be judged out of 
 this Book ; and \ nat they deliver is no further 
 binding upon me than as they can say, " Thus 
 saith the Lord." " To the law and to the tes- 
 timony : if they ^peak not according to this 
 word, it is because there is no light in them." 
 " I will hear what God the Lord will speak." 
 In this inspired Volume I have the judgment 
 of God himself upon every subject with which 
 it is necessary for me to be acquainted. And 
 I will go to it ; not with a previous bias, but 
 open to conviction: not to dictate, but to 
 learn. I will not be influenced to embrace a 
 doctrine, because it is easy of comprehension ; 
 or to reject it, because it is mysterious — It is 
 infinitely reasonable to believe whatever God 
 speaks ; and my only concern is to ascertain 
 what he has spoken. 
 
 Secondly. I will hear what God the Lord 
 will speak, as to my movements in life. How 
 ignorant and short-sighted are we ! How 
 liable to mistake ! How incapable of dis- 
 tinguishing between appearances and reali- 
 ties ; and of deciding what will be good or 
 evil for us ! Surely we have erred and suf- 
 fered enough already, to convince us that 
 " the way of man is not in himself." How 
 much depends on one wrong step, as it re- 
 gards our comfort, usefulness, and reputation ! 
 Even when the iniquity is pardoned, the na- 
 tural consequences may be long left to operate. 
 They often cannot be remedied ; and so re- 
 pentance is quartered upon the offender all 
 his days. How frequently has this been ex- 
 emplified in irreligious marriages ; and changes 
 of residence and business, through fancy, 
 pride, or avarice ; or even good, but mistaken 
 motives ! A Christian, therefore, should take 
 every step of importance — and what step 
 may not be important] — feeling a responsi- 
 bility that makes him tremble ! and an anxiety 
 that urges him to seek counsel from above — 
 " I will hear what God the Lord will speak" 
 
 -and regulate my marches by the cloud. 
 But while I wait upon God, I must also wait 
 for him : and integrity and uprightness are to 
 preserve me while I do so. For He tells me, 
 that if a man sets up idols in his heart, and 
 comes to inquire of him ; he will answer him, 
 "but according to his idols." And this is 
 done, not only by a penal influence ; but by 
 a natural effect : for every thing will be co- 
 loured according to the passion through which 
 I view it. If therefore I do not consult God 
 sincerely, it would be better for me not to do 
 it at all : for it can only dishonour him, and 
 delude myself. But if I go in simplicity, and 
 say, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do V 
 I come witbin reach of the promise, " In all 
 thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall di- 
 rect thy paths." 
 
 Thirdly. I will hear what God the Lord 
 will &Deak, as to the dispensations of his pro- 
 
 vidence. Nothing is more trying than wn&t 
 an old Divine calls, " a dumb affliction :" sc 
 that when we put our ear to it, we can seem 
 to hear nothing, as lo what it implies, or in- 
 tends. Varying the metaphor a little, Job 
 was in such a state of ignorance and perplex- 
 ity : " Behold, I go forward, but he is not 
 there : and backward, but I cannot perceive 
 him : on the left hand, where he doth work, 
 but I cannot behold him : he hideth himself 
 on the right hand, that I cannot see him." In 
 such a condition, it affords relief to be able to 
 add : " but he knoweth the way that I take." 
 Yet duty requires that we should have some 
 knowledge of it ourselves. A natural man is 
 only concerned to escape from trouble : but 
 the Christian is anxious to have it sanctified 
 and improved. He is commanded to hear the 
 rod. While God chastens, he teaches. I 
 must therefore be in a learning frame of mind. 
 I must say unto God, " Show me wherefore 
 thou contendest with me" — "I will hear 
 what, by this event, God the Lord will 
 speak." 
 
 Fourthly. 1 will hear what He will say, 
 also, in answer to prayer. Here is a thing, 
 I fear, generally disregarded. How many 
 petitions are never thought of after they have 
 been delivered ! We knock at the door, and 
 go away, and never even look back to see 
 whether it be opened unto us. Can we ex- 
 pect that God will attend to those prayers 
 which we contemn ourselves ] Are such ad- 
 dresses any thing better than a mockery of 
 the Supreme Being 1 
 
 Let us therefore hear what he says in reply 
 to our requests. Is it not pleasing to know 
 that we are not forsaken nor forgotten of our 
 best Friend ? To be able to rectify a gloomy 
 conclusion ? To reason from the past to the 
 future 1 And, like a beggar, to derive en- 
 couragement from success ? " For I said in 
 my haste, I am cut off from before thine f yes : 
 nevertheless thou heardest the voice o' my 
 supplications when I cried unto thee." " I 
 cried unto him with my mouth, and he was 
 extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity 
 in my heart, the Lord will not hear me : but 
 verily God hath heard me ; he hath attended 
 to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, 
 which hath not turned away my prayer, nor 
 his mercy from me." " I love the Lord, be 
 cause he hath heard my voice, and my sup- 
 plications. Because he hath inclined his ear 
 unto me, therefore will I call upon him a* 
 long as I live." 
 
 OCTOBER 3. 
 
 " Let your moderation be known, unto ull men. 
 The Lord is at hand" — Phil. iv. 5. 
 — What moderation 1 Moderation with 
 regard to your appetites. Some make a god 
 of their belly, and glory in their shame. Many 
 indulge in eating and drinking, beyond trip 
 
OCTOBER 4. 
 
 271 
 
 demands of jodily refreshment, or the allow- 
 ances of health. — Your moderation, with re- 
 gard to your passions. You are to be angry, 
 and sin not The sun must not go down upon 
 your wrath. The fear, the joy, the love, the 
 grief, allowable in themselves, may become 
 3xcessive in the degree. — Your moderation, 
 with regard to the c.istinctions of life. These 
 are to differ from "the pride of life" — in ap- 
 parel, in furniture, in servants. — Your moder- 
 ation in professional pursuits, and the cares 
 of trade— diligent in business, but not " en- 
 tangling yourselves in the affairs of this life ;" 
 content with sober and solid gain ; and not, 
 by hazard and speculations, making haste to 
 Be rich. — Your moderation in the exaction of 
 rights ; whether pecuniary — in declining the 
 rigour of law, for debt ; or personal — in waiv- 
 ing the claims of authority and preference, as 
 Abraham did in the case of Lot — Your moder- 
 ation, in your opinions and zeal. Many things 
 in religion are of far less importance than 
 others, even if true — But even the truth of 
 them is not easily ascertained ; and we see 
 men of equal talent and piety on each side<)f 
 the question. The truth generally lies in the 
 middle ; and he is commonly nearest to it who 
 is abused by both the opposite parties. 
 
 And what a reason is there to enforce this 
 admonition ! — " The Lord is at hand." The 
 word signifies nigh, either as to place or time. 
 If we take it as to place — it refers to his pre- 
 sence — I am a God at hand, and not afar off! 
 He is about our path and our lying down, and 
 is acquainted with all our ways. Thus he is 
 always nigh to see and observe, to aid or op- 
 pose, to bless or to punish. 
 
 — If we take it as to time — it refers to his 
 coming — " The coming of the Lord drawing 
 near." This is true, not only as to the cer- 
 tainty of the event and the confidence of 
 faith ; but as to his real approach. If the 
 Iiord was at hand when Paul wrote this Epis- 
 tle, how much more since near two thousand 
 years have rolled away! But he comes by 
 death — And this, as to consequence, is the 
 same to us, as his coming to judgment. And 
 •here is but a step between us and death. 
 
 If a multitude of people were assembled to- 
 gether, and behaved tumultuously, and the 
 king was coming along the road — " The king 
 is at hand," would instantly reduce them to 
 order and silence ; and every eye would be 
 turned towards him. If a number of criminals, 
 forgetful of their condition, were improperly 
 amusing themselves, or striving together; 
 and a signal told them, the judge was enter- 
 ing the town to try them — what an effect 
 would this instantly have upon their mind and 
 their conduct ! But what is your case 1 He is 
 not only your Sovereign, but your Judge — 
 And "behold, the Judge standeth before 
 the door!" 
 
 How lamentable is it, that to enforce what 
 19 wise, and just, and good in itself, we 
 
 should need such motives. And how sad is 
 it that these motives, after all, should have 
 so little influence over us ! That we should 
 be constantly reminded of such a Being — 
 led back to the grace of his first coming — 
 and forward, to the glory of his second 
 coming — and think, and feel, and speak, 
 and act, and live as we do ! "So teach us 
 to number our days, that we may apply our 
 hearts unto wisdom." 
 
 OCTOBER 4. 
 
 " The path of the just is as the shining tight, 
 
 that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
 
 day."— Prov. iv. 18. 
 
 What does this fine image imply 1 What 
 does it express? Solomon traces the re- 
 semblance between the path of the just and 
 the rising light in three articles. Each 
 shines. Each shines more and more. Each 
 shines more and more unto the perfect day. 
 
 The rising light shines. It is the very 
 nature of it to do so. It thus shows itself, 
 and renders other things visible : for whatso- 
 ever doth make manifest is light. Without 
 this, the works of the field, and the human 
 face divine, would be all a blank. But the 
 shining of the light lays open their beauties, 
 and fills us with admiration and praise. 
 Thus the Christian's path breaks out of ob- 
 scurity ; the darkness is past ; and the true 
 light shineth. His religion is not only real, 
 but apparent And as it need not, and should 
 not be hid ; so it will not, and cannot be hid. 
 Its operation will evince its existence. Its 
 principles will display themselves in its 
 practice. There will be the work of faith, 
 and the labour of love, and the patience of 
 hope, and the fruit of the Spirit. Pity will 
 get into the eye. Meekness will smile in 
 the features. The law of kindness will 
 dwell upon the tongue. The hand, ready 
 to communicate, will unawares slide into 
 the pocket — They that were in darkness 
 will show themselves; and, in a thousand 
 ways, their light will shine before men. 
 
 But the shining of the rising light is noble 
 and glorious. It is one of the most splendid 
 appearances in nature. The rising sun is a 
 bridegroom coming out of his chamber. We 
 hardly wonder the poor Heathen, in the 
 absence of Revelation, should worship it 
 The lustre is often too powerful for the 
 naked eye. And how was it with Moses, 
 after communion with God 1 His face shone 
 so that the Israelites could not steadfastly be- 
 hold the glory of his countenance. He was 
 not aware of it himself, till, seeing the peo- 
 ple dazzled, he was obliged to take a veil. 
 And the humility of the Christian may keep 
 him from perceiving his own excellences; 
 but others will take knowledge of them: 
 and his profiting will appear unto all men 
 And nothing is so impressive and influentia 
 
272 
 
 OCTOBER 5, 
 
 as the life of a Christian, when he walks 
 worthy of the vocation wherewith he is 
 called. It was not necessary for the first 
 believers at Jerusalem to lay down rules, to 
 exclude improper characters from their com- 
 munion — Their purity, their dignity, their 
 majesty, repelled them — " And of the rest 
 durst no man join himself to them ; but all 
 the people magnified them." 
 
 Yet the shining of the rising light is not 
 mere lustre. It is a source of usefulness, as 
 well as of admiration. It warms and en- 
 livens. It fertilizes the gardens and the 
 fields. It makes the valleys to stand thick 
 with corn, and the little hills to rejoice on 
 every side. And so Jesus went about doing 
 good. And so Christians are blessings in 
 all the places wherein they move. Let us 
 make this image our model in our endea- 
 vours to serve our generation. The sun 
 says nothing — It does good without noise — 
 It shines unasked, constantly, impartially — 
 It rises on the evil, as well as on the good — 
 So may we be merciful. 
 
 But the shining light shines more and 
 more. So does the path of the just His 
 religion is a gradual and progressive thing-. 
 We therefore read of growing in grace, and 
 in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. 
 Of the Tnessalonians, it is said, Their faith 
 grew exceedingly; and the love of every 
 one of them towards each other abounded. 
 As far as we are stationary in our attain- 
 ments, we are censured and condemned by 
 the image. But to derive comfort from it, 
 it is not necessary that we should be every 
 thing at once. Nothing in nature reaches 
 its perfection suddenly. The babe proceeds, 
 by slow degrees, into the man. The blade 
 precedes the full corn in the ear. Let us 
 not despise the day of small things. What 
 was the oak once, but an acorn ? What is 
 the dawn, to the noon 1 
 
 But the shining light shines more and 
 more unto the perfect day. The allusion is 
 not taken /rom a meteor, that blazes for a 
 moment, and then disappears. Nor from 
 the morning cloud and early dew, that soon 
 passeth away : but from the rising sun, that 
 always attains its end, and completes what 
 it begins — rising upwards — and shining — 
 onwards — till it is day — perfect day. 
 
 When did the sun ever make a dawn, and 
 not carry it into full day 1 Who can drive 
 him back, or stop his course'! If it had 
 enemies, and they cursed its beams, the rage 
 would be as vain as it would be unreason- 
 able — " He rejoiceth as a strong man to run 
 a race. His going forth is from the end of 
 the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of 
 it : and there is nothing hid from the heat 
 thereof." So shall it be with all those who 
 are set in motion for eternity by divine 
 grace. "They that love him shall be as 
 Jie sun when he goeth forth in his might." 
 
 There is no enchantment or divination 
 against them. In all opposition they shaL 
 be more than conquerors. He who is the 
 author, shall also be the finisher of then 
 faith. They shall soon loose all their in- 
 firmities. They shall emerge into perfect 
 knowledge, holiness, and joy — And " then 
 shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in 
 the kingdom of their Father. He that 
 
 HATH EARS TO HEAR LET HIM HEAR." 
 
 Who can help recalling the beautiful line* 
 of Dr. Watts, which, though written for the 
 infant mind, are worthy the perusal of 
 angels ] 
 
 " How fine has the day been, how bright was the sun, 
 How lovely and joyful the course that he run ; 
 Though he rose in a mist when his race he begun 
 
 And there follow'd some droppings of rain ! 
 But now the fair traveller 's come to the west, 
 His rays are all gold, and his beauties are best ; 
 He paints the sky gay, as he sinks to his rest, 
 
 And foretels a bright rising again. 
 
 " Just such is the Christian — his course he begins, 
 Like the sun in a mist, while he mourns for his sun, 
 And melts into tears; then he breaks out and shines. 
 
 And travels his heavenly way : 
 But when he comes nearer to finish his race, 
 Li ke a fine setti ng sun, he looks richer in grace, 
 And gives a sure hope, at the end of his days, 
 Of rising in brighter array." 
 
 OCTOBER 5. 
 
 " Who is gone into heaven." — 1 Peter iii. 22. 
 
 Many had gone there before. Abel was 
 the first that entered ; and 'tis encouraging 
 to think, that the first victim of death was a 
 partaker of glory. Human nature was found 
 in heaven, before it was seen in hell. How 
 long he was alone there we know not. But 
 others soon followed : and our Saviour must 
 have found there, a multitude which no man 
 could number. 
 
 But though many had gone into heaven bo- 
 fore, none of them had gone in the same way 
 and manner with himself. Others had enter- 
 ed without their bodies ; hut he had entered 
 incamately. Two had indeed entered embo- 
 died ; but they did not take their bodies from 
 the grave. Enoch and Elias died not, but 
 were only changed. Jesus died, and was bu- 
 ried ; and passed to glory from the tomb. 
 Others entered heaven by mere favour, pre- 
 senting no claim from their worthiness anc 
 obedience : but he entered by merit — He de- 
 served all the glory he obtained — It was ne 
 more than the reward of his doing and suffer- 
 ing. Others entered as private individuals 
 and their entering did not injure the entrance 
 of others — not even of their friends and rela- 
 tions. Religion is a personal thing ; and it 
 could not be inferred, that because the hus- 
 band or the father was glorified the wife oi 
 child would follow. But he entered as a pub- 
 lie character, as the head and representative 
 of his people : anjl because he lives, they 
 shall live also. Hence says the Apostle, " Ho 
 hath quickened us together with Christ and 
 
OCTOBER 6. 
 
 273 
 
 raised us up, and made us sit together with 
 him in the heavenly places." 
 
 It is expedient for us, therefore, that he 
 went away : and as Joseph's going from the 
 prison to the palace was not only his own ad- 
 vancement, but the salvation of his father's 
 house ; so Jesus is gone into heaven, not only 
 to be crowned with glory and honour, but to 
 execute the remainder of his mediatorial 
 work, on behalf of the redeemed. " For if, 
 when we were enemies, we were reconciled 
 to God by the death of his Son ; much more, 
 being reconciled, we shall be saved by his 
 life." But did he not say, when he expired, 
 " It is finished 1" He did — and it was finish- 
 ed — and nothing could be added to it. But 
 what was finished 7 The procuring of salva- 
 tion only — not the application of it The for- 
 mer was done upon the cross : the latter is 
 done upon the throne. What he suffered to 
 acquire, he is exalted to bestow. He is ex- 
 alted to be a Prince and a Saviour ; to give 
 repentance unto Israel, and forgiveness of 
 sins. 
 
 Even in his priestly character it behoved 
 him not only to suffer, but to enter into his 
 glory. The Apostle therefore says, If he 
 were on earth, he could not be a priest ; be- 
 cause he could then only have fulfilled one 
 part of the office. For the high priest not 
 only offered the sacrifice, but entered the 
 holy place — and sprinkled the blood upon the 
 mercy-seat — and burned incense — and made 
 intercession for the people. Jesus, therefore, 
 after dying for us, entered into heaven itself, 
 there to appear in the presence of God for us. 
 By his own blood he entered in once into the 
 holy place, having obtained eternal redemp- 
 tion for us — " 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." 
 
 Here he fought, and overcome. But the 
 Conqueror must have his triumph. He must 
 display his spoils, and enrich the multitude. 
 He therefore ascended on high, leading cap- 
 tivity captive, and received gifts for men, 
 even for the rebellious also, that the Lord 
 God might dwell among them. "And he 
 gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and 
 some, evangelists; and some, pastors and 
 teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for 
 the work of the ministry, for the edifying of 
 the body of Christ" 
 
 He was a prophet by his own preaching. 
 But how local, how confined, and successless 
 was his personal ministry ! The work was 
 to be done by another ministry. Corporeal- 
 ly, he was to withdraw ; " But" said he, 
 "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost 
 whom the Father will send in my name, he 
 shall teach you all things, and bring all things 
 to your remembrance, whatsoever I have 
 said unto you." " I have yet many things to 
 say unto you ; but ye cannot bear them now. 
 2M 
 
 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is 
 come, he will guide you into ail truth : for he 
 shall net speak of him ielf ; bi t whatsoever he 
 shall hear, that shal' he speak: and he will 
 show you things to come." Thus he consi- 
 dered his personal presence and agency far 
 inferior to the dispensation of the Spirit. And 
 yet some are looking for his bodily advent 
 again, as if this was to effect what the Holy 
 Ghost could not accomplish. What purpose 
 is to be executed in the spread of the Gospel 1 
 or the conversion of souls ] or the glorifica- 
 tion of the Church 1 to which the energy of 
 the Spirit is not adequate ? Not by might nor 
 by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord. — 
 Were he here in his body he would be con- 
 fined to one place at a time, and many would 
 envy the honour of seeing him in vain. But 
 in his Spirit he can be everywhere, and en- 
 joyed of all, at once. 
 
 OCTOBER 6. 
 " I am a stranger -with thee, and a sojourner, 
 as all my fathers were.'' — Psalm xxxix. 12. 
 So life was viewed and felt by David. He 
 was very superior to many of his ancestors. 
 He had wealth, and power, and honour, and 
 reigned the greatest monarch of the East 
 But no condition can make the heir of immor- 
 tality a citizen here. Others are strangers 
 and sojourners, as to the transitoriness of 
 their continuance in this world, and the cer 
 tainty of their removal from it ; but not as to 
 their disposition. They mind earthly things : 
 and would be glad to live here always. But 
 the child of God is, in principle, what he is 
 in fact; and in experience, what he is in des- 
 tination. He is also born from above, and 
 bound for glory. And though he is detained 
 here in a foreign land for awhile, for the dis- 
 charge and the management of certain duties 
 and interests, yet he thinks, even while thus 
 engaged, of leaving it in due time, for his 
 own country — where his best relations reside 
 — where lies his inheritance — and where he 
 is to dwell for ever. 
 
 " There is my house, my portion fair; 
 My kindred and my fiiends are there 
 
 And my abiding home: 
 For me my elder brethren stay, 
 And angels beckon me away, 
 
 And Jesus bids me come." 
 
 Am J a stranger and a sojourner with God 1 
 Let me realize, let me exemplify, the condi- 
 tion. Let me look for the treatment such 
 characters commonly meet with. Like wi- 
 dows and orphans, they are often imposed 
 upon, and wronged, and injured. They are 
 turned into ridicule and reproach, because of 
 their speech, their dress, their manner, their 
 usages. And Christians are a peculiar peo- 
 ple. They are men wondered at The Sa- 
 viour tells them not to marvel if the world 
 hates them ; for they are not of the world 
 even as he is not of the world. This treat- 
 
274 
 
 OCTOBER 7. 
 
 ment is in reality a privilege rather than a 
 matter of complaint. It is when I am ad- 
 mired and caressed, and I find every thing- 
 agreeable in my circumstances ; it is then I 
 feel something of the settler. But the disad- 
 vantages of my state make me think of 
 home. These induce me to arise, and depart 
 hence, because this is not my rest. 
 
 And surely if any of my own nation be 
 near me, I shall be intimate with them. We 
 all know the heart of strangers. We all feel 
 the same preferences. The same hope in- 
 spires us. The same end unites us. We 
 shall speak often one to another. We shall 
 contrast our present with our future condi- 
 tion. We shall inquire when we heard from 
 home, and when we think of departing for it, 
 and thus beguile the hours, and relieve the 
 absence. 
 
 And let me not be entangled in the affairs 
 of this life. Let me keep myself as detached 
 as possible from things which do not concern 
 me. Let me not embarrass myself as an in- 
 termeddler and busy-body in other men's mat- 
 ters. But let me study to be quiet, and to do 
 my own business. Let me pray for the peace 
 of the country through which I am passing. 
 And be thankful for every advantage I enjoy 
 in my temporary exile. 
 
 And .et my affection be set on things that 
 are above, and my conversation be always in 
 heaven. Let me be — not impatient for home ; 
 but prizing it; and longing for it; and judg- 
 ing of myself by my relation to it. Who has 
 not joined in the proverbial sentiment, " Home 
 is home, however homely f We read of some 
 Swiss soldiers on foreign service, who were 
 so affected with a song that vividly recalled 
 to mind their native valleys, and the houses 
 in which they were born, that the officers 
 were obliged to forbid the use of it. But oh ! 
 my Father's house ! Here toil ; there rest. 
 Here trouble ; there joy and gladness. Here 
 darkness ; there light. Here sin ; there spot- 
 less purity. Here the tents of Mesech and 
 Kedar ; there the spirits of just men made 
 perfect, and the innumerable company of an- 
 gels, and the Lord of all. " With such views," 
 says Dr. Goodwin, " let who will be misera- 
 ble, I will not — I cannot." 
 
 OCTOBER 7. 
 
 u I will feed my flock, and I -will cause them to lie 
 down, saith the L6rd God." — Ezek. xxxiv. 15. 
 
 This is spoken of the subjects of divine 
 grace. 
 
 Individually considered, they are called 
 sheep, to remind us of their personal quali- 
 ties ; their weakness, meekness, gentleness, 
 harmlessness, patience, and submission. Some 
 in their afflictions toss like a wild bull in a 
 net. Lay hold of a swine, and the neighbour- 
 hood is alarmed. But observe the fleecy suf- 
 ferer. She indeed palpitates. And the Chris- 
 
 tian may palpitate — and tremble — and bf 
 ready to faint; but his very manner silently 
 says, I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are 
 right, and that thou in faithfulness hast af- 
 flicted me — Let thy loving-kindness be for 
 my comfort, according to thy word unto thy 
 servant. 
 
 Distinctively considered, they are not all 
 sheep. Many of them are lambs. But these 
 are sheep in nature and degree; and are 
 equally dear to the Shepherd, with the older 
 parts of his charge — Yea, he gathers the 
 lambs with his arm, and carries them in his 
 bosom ; and gently leads those that are with 
 young. The margin is, those that have young. 
 Lowth renders it, " The nursing ewes he will 
 gently lead." And we are persuaded that the 
 force of this tender image applies to the 
 lambs, and not to the mothers. If the latter 
 were driven on fast, the former could not 
 keep up with them, especially in rough 
 ground ; and thus losing their maternal sup- 
 plies, would droop and perish. 
 
 Collectively they are a flock. And one 
 flock only : according to our Saviour's words, 
 "One fold, and one shepherd." Whatever 
 differences there are among them they are 
 only the differences of sheep and of lambs. 
 What difficulty is there in believing this? 
 Essential sameness is not destroyed by cir 
 cumstantial distinction. Unity is not incom 
 patible with variety. Many branches make 
 but one tree ; many members but one body 
 Bigots would banish harmony from the church 
 of God ; for there can be no harmony where 
 all the sounds are the same. God promised 
 that he would give his people one heart and 
 one way. And our Lord prayed that his fol- 
 lowers might be one. Have this prayer and 
 this promise been fulfilled ? We dare not 
 suppose the contrary : but if they have been 
 accomplished we may see what kind of one- 
 ness was intended — Not a oneness of opinion ; 
 not a sameness in forms of worship, and modes 
 of discipline ; for these never have been found : 
 but a oneness, a sameness consistent with the 
 variations that have obtained among them. 
 A unity of spirit. A community of principles. 
 A fellowship of privileges — all being redeem- 
 ed by the same blood ; justified by the same 
 righteousness ; renewed by the same grace ; 
 and joint heirs of the same glory. " There 
 is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither 
 bond nor free, there is neither male nor fe 
 male ; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." 
 
 And is this flock ever forsaken or forgotten 
 by him? "I will feed my flock, and I will 
 cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God." 
 But tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, 
 where thou feedest ; where thou makest thy 
 flock to rest at noon. For why should 1 be as 
 one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy 
 companions ? 
 
 " Pain would I feed among thy t heep; 
 Among them rest among them sleep." 
 
OCTOBER 8. 
 
 275 
 
 What says David 1 " The Lord is my shep- 
 herd ; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie 
 down in green pastures; he leadeth me be- 
 side the still waters." 
 
 This is grace. What is glory ? Hear the 
 angel to John. " They shall hunger no more, 
 neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun 
 light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb 
 which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
 them, and shall lead them unto living foun- 
 tains of waters : and God shall wipe away all 
 tears from their eyes." 
 
 There is another flock in the world. This 
 consists of goats. They also have a shepherd. 
 It is the devil : and they are taken captive by 
 him at his will. He also has under shepherds 
 to do his work ; and to him they are amena- 
 ble ; and what a reward will he render them ! 
 But his flock, his direful flock — what food ! 
 what repose have they ! What in time ! 
 What in eternity ! The way of transgressors 
 is hard. The end of these things is death — 
 the second death. And if any of them should 
 be intermixed with the flock of Christ, and 
 escape detection here — " before him shall be 
 gathered all nations: and he shall separate 
 them one from another, as a shepherd divideth 
 his sheep from the goats : and he shall set the 
 sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the 
 left." " And these shall go away into ever- 
 lasting punishment: but the righteous into 
 life eternal." 
 
 OCTOBER 8. 
 
 f But in every thing by prayer and suppli- 
 cation ivith thanksgiving 1 let your requests 
 be made knoion unto God" — Phil. iv. 6. 
 
 This is a simple and pleasing account of 
 prayer — It is the making of our requests 
 known unto God. He indeed knows them 
 perfectly before we express them. But he 
 will know them from us, that we may be 
 properly affected with our own wants, and 
 prepared for the displays of his goodness and 
 grace. And the Apostle reminds us of three 
 things very worthy of our attention with re- 
 gard to prayer. 
 
 First. It is the prevention and cure of 
 care. " Be careful for nothing — but in every 
 thing by prayer and supplication with thanks- 
 giving let your requests be made known unto 
 God." All feel anxiety to be a galling load. 
 But the question is, how are we to disencumber 
 ourselves of the burden? — All acknowledge 
 the disorder : and many remedies have been 
 prescribed for the cure. But if some of them 
 touch the paroxysm of the complaint, none of 
 them reach the root of the malady. The 
 commonness of the case; the brevity of time; 
 the uselessness of giving way to solicitude ; 
 and the injurious effects of it : all these are 
 true and proper — but they do not go far 
 enough. The fact is, if we are not to be 
 
 careful, some one must care for us. And the 
 thing is, and nothing less than this can tran- 
 quillize the mind, to be under the manage- 
 ment of Him who loves us better than we 
 love ourselves, knows unerringly what is 
 good for us, and is able to make every thing 
 conduce to our welfare — " casting all our care 
 on him ; for he careth for us." And this is 
 done by prayer. Hezekiah took the letter, 
 and went and spread it before the Lord. 
 Hannah poured out her heart before God, and 
 her countenance was no more sad. In what- 
 ever has befallen or foreboded him, every 
 believer has made the trial, and is able to 
 say, with Asaph — " But it is good for me to 
 draw near to God." 
 
 Secondly. It is to be very extensively, 
 yea, universally performed. Not in some 
 things, or in many things — but in every thing, 
 by prayer and supplication, we are to make 
 known our requests unto God. Some only 
 pray when God's chastening hand is upon 
 them. In their affliction they seek him early. 
 And this, as far as it goes, is not to be cen- 
 sured. Many, like M anasseh, have first sought 
 God in trouble. Prayer is peculiarly season- 
 able in distress. But though prayer may com- 
 mence in affliction, it is not to cease with it. 
 It is not to be confined to it. Prayer is equally 
 needful to preserve and sanctify us in pros- 
 perity. It is not praying on extraordinary 
 occasions, but on common ones, that evinces 
 a pious frame of mind. Do we delight our- 
 selves in the Almighty 1 Do we always call 
 upon God 1 ! In all thy ways, says Solomon, 
 acknowledge him. It is thus alone we give 
 God the glory of his universal providence: 
 not thinking, with the Assyrians, that he is 
 the God of the hills only, but also of the val- 
 leys ; and that a sparrow falleth not to the 
 ground without our heavenly Father ; and 
 that the very hairs of our head are all num- 
 bered. Some imagine that many things are 
 too little to be the subjects of prayer. A dis- 
 tinction is indeed to be made between the 
 particularity and minuteness of private and 
 public prayer — But let us remember that we 
 are not to consider any thing too little to bring 
 before God that God does not deem beneath 
 his notice. And also that it is difficult, if not 
 impossible for us, in many cases, to ascertain 
 what is little. Events "the most important 
 often hinge on circumstances apparently the 
 most trivial. Joseph's going to inquire after 
 the welfare of his brethren on the plain 
 seemed a slight thing. Yet he that morning 
 took leave of his father for more than twenty- 
 one years ; and went a way by which he never 
 returned. Saul sought his father's asses — a 
 thing that seemed devoid of consequence ; bu* 
 perhaps he is now in hell owing to it — for 
 then began his prosperity, which destroyed 
 him — then Samuel met him, and anointea 
 him king over Israel. You go out, not know 
 ing what a dav may bring forth, as to you» 
 
270 
 
 OCTOBER 9 
 
 happiness or misery — Before the evening you 
 may meet accidentally with a connexion that 
 shall prove a source of joy or suffering through 
 life. " Why this is enough to make one live 
 and move in constant trembling." This is 
 not the design of it : but it is designed to in- 
 duce you — in every thing to commit your 
 way and your works unto the Lord. 
 
 Thirdly. It is to be always attended with 
 a pleasing companion — But in every thing, 
 by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiv- 
 ing, let your requests be made known unto 
 God. And does not this imply that we can 
 never approach God without having cause for 
 gratitude 1 Hence it is said, in every thing 
 give thanks. Whatever be our condition, we 
 have much more to be grateful for than to 
 complain of — Complain! What can ever jus- 
 tify complaint 1 Why should a living man 
 complain, a man for the punishment of his 
 sin ? Let our losses and afflictions be what 
 tney may, he has not dealt with us after our 
 desert, nor rewarded us according to our ini- 
 quity. Yea, the trials themselves are the 
 effects of love, and designed to work together 
 for our highest welfare. 
 
 And does it not teach us that whenever we 
 go to God to ask for fresh favours, we should 
 be sure to acknowledge the reception of for- 
 mer ones'! How seldom is this the case! 
 How much selfishness is there, even in our 
 devotions ! How much more of our worship 
 is occupied in petition than in praise ! Urged 
 by our necessities we go and call upon God 
 in prayer ; but when we have succeeded, we 
 forget to return to give him the glory that is 
 Av°, unto his holy name. Were there not ten 
 Oeansed ] But where are the nine 1 Where 
 is even Hezekiahl He rendered not accord- 
 ing to the benefit done him. 
 
 OCTOBER 9. 
 
 * / did know thee in the wilderness, in the la?id 
 of great drought." — Hosea xiii. 5. 
 
 This " Wilderness" means the vast desert 
 in which the Jews wandered for forty years, 
 between Egypt and Canaan. It is charac- 
 terized by one attribute — " A land of great 
 drought." And this was enough to render it 
 trying. But it was in every respect formida- 
 ble and repulsive. Witness the language of 
 Jeremiah : " Neither said they, Where is the 
 Lord that brought us up out the land of 
 Egypt, that led us through the wilderness : 
 through a land of deserts, and of pits ; through 
 a land of drought, and of the shadow of death ; 
 through a land that no man passed through, 
 and where no man dwelt." 
 
 But here God says, " I knew thee." It can- 
 not mean a mere acquaintance with their con- 
 dition and circumstances : for what can be hid 
 from Him 1 But it intends two things. 
 
 First He knew them there, so as to pro- 
 fide for them. Thus it marks his goodness ; 
 
 and forms a contrast with the cond ictof many 
 of our fellow-creatures. A friend is born foi 
 adversity ; and to him that is afflicted, pity 
 should be showed from his friend. But, alas . 
 this is rarely exemplified. They who were 
 intimate enough with their connexions be- 
 fore, scarcely know them when they are in 
 distress. The flower which, when fresh and 
 fragrant, was put into the bosom, is, when 
 withered and dry, thrown away. The gar- 
 den which, while yielding every kind of grati 
 fication, is constantly visited, is deserted in 
 winter. But it is otherwise with God. 
 Though he never leaves his people, he has 
 peculiarly promised to be with them in trou 
 ble. David acknowledged this : " Thou hast 
 known my soul in adversities." And has he, 
 not known our souls in the same state -1 Hat. 
 he not been better to us than our fears 1 Has 
 he not proved himself "a very present help in 
 trouble !" So it was with Israel — He found 
 them in a desert land, in a waste howling 
 wilderness. The situation afforded them no 
 supplies, but he allowed them to want no 
 good thing. He led them by a pillar of cloud 
 by day, and a pillar of fire by night — healed 
 the bitter waters of Marah — fetched them 
 honey out of a rock, and oil out of the flinty 
 rock — rained down manna upon them — suf- 
 fered not their raiment to wax old upon them, 
 nor their foot to swell in travelling — van- 
 quished their enemies — gave them ordinances 
 — and sent his Holy Spirit to instruct them — 
 so that Moses well said, " Happy art thou, O 
 Israel ; who is like unto thee, O people saved 
 of the I-ord !" 
 
 Secondly. He knew them there, so as to 
 approve of them, and acknowledge them. Il 
 is undeniable that the word know has this 
 meaning, when it is said, " The Lord know- 
 eth the way of the righteous." "If any man 
 love God, the same is known of him." " Know 
 them that labour among you." But did God 
 thus know them in the wilderness 1 Not ab- 
 solutely, but comparatively. They followed 
 him out of Egypt, and not one lingered be- 
 hind. At the Red Sea they sang his praise. 
 At Sinai they cheerfully and unreservedly 
 acceded to his covenant. And though they 
 were guilty of many pcrversenesses and re- 
 bellions, yet they never wholly relinquished 
 his worship, and established idolatry and wick- 
 edness by a law, as they afterwards did in 
 Canaan. While we dwell on imperfections, 
 God loves to make the best of things. Sarah 
 spake unadvisedly with her lips : but she ut- 
 tered one good thing — she called Abraham, 
 Lord ; and this only is mentioned to hei 
 praise. Job cursed the day of his birth : bul 
 when iames refers to him, we hear only of 
 the patience of Job. And observe God's gra- 
 cious testimony concerning Israel at this oe- 
 riod : " Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, 
 saying, Thus saith the Lord, I remember 
 thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of 
 
OCTOBER 10. 
 
 277 
 
 thme esp<ir.sals, when thou wentest after me 
 in the wilderness, in a land that was not 
 sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, 
 and the first-fruits of his increase : all that 
 devour him shall offend ; evil shall come 
 upon tliem, saith the Lord." 
 
 Adversity will not of itself secure godli- 
 ness. Persons may be reduced, and not hum- 
 bled. They may be afflicted, and God not 
 know them in their distress. Yet, in general, 
 if you observe others, and review your own 
 experience, you will find times of affliction 
 have been more friendly to religion, than sea- 
 sons of ease and prosperity. 
 
 When has God known your conscience 
 most wakeful, and your heart most watchful 
 against sin 1 Before I was afflicted, says Da- 
 vid, I went astray ; but now have I kept thy 
 word. 
 
 When has God known your souls most 
 weaned from the world, and willing to leave 
 it 1 When all was agreeable and inviting! 
 Or when every thing conspired to tell you, 
 that this is not your rest 1 
 
 When has He known you value most the 
 communion of saints; the means of grace; 
 the preaching of the Word 1 When did your 
 eye bedew your Bible 1 When, pressing the 
 Sacred Volume to your bosom, did you say, 
 Unless thy ^aws had been my delight, I 
 should have perished in mine affliction 1 
 
 When has he known you most frequently 
 and earnestly addressing the Throne of his 
 Grace ? In their affliction they will seek me 
 early In the day of my trouble I sought the 
 Lord. Even the Saviour himself, being in 
 an agony, prayed more earnestly. "O my 
 people," says he here — " you and I were bet- 
 ter acquainted in the wilderness, when you 
 were in a low condition. You were then left 
 to my immediate care ; and you lived daily 
 by faith. Then you made me many a visit 
 — But now we seldom meet" 
 
 Such is the effect of indulgence, and of 
 fulness. He therefore immediately adds, 
 " According to their pasture, so were they 
 filled ; they were filled, and their heart was 
 exalted ; therefore have they forgotten me." 
 
 OCTOBER 10. 
 
 " And the cluldren of Israel took their journey* 
 out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the 
 cloud rested in the -wilderness of Paran." 
 Numb. x. 12. 
 
 If the Jews, as the Apostle assures us, 
 were our ensamples, in nothing do they more 
 represent the experience of Christians, than 
 in their progress from Egypt to Canaan. 
 
 They had now continued many months in 
 the wilderness of Sinai, where the law was 
 given, and all the ordinances of divine wor- 
 ship were established. There they had com- 
 mitted idolatry, and provoked the Most High 
 to anger : and there he proved himself the 
 24 
 
 just God and the Saviour. He forgave their 
 iniquities, but took vengeance on their inven- 
 tions. They were now to enter the wilder- 
 ness of Paran, a vast desert of nine days' 
 journey ; and where the greater part of their 
 subsequent stations were fixed. " And the 
 children of Israel took their journeys out of 
 the wdderness of Sinai ; and the cloud rested 
 in the wilderness of Paran." Thus they on- 
 ly marched from one wilderness into another. 
 And is not this the case with all our changes 
 in this world ? Let us look at a few of them ; 
 and we shall see, that whatever they may 
 promise — as to satisfaction and happiness — 
 they leave us much the same as they find us. 
 
 Is it not so when we pass from one period 
 to another 1 Every age has been full of com- 
 plaints ; and here it is remarkable, instead of 
 supposed improvement, the inquiry has al- 
 ways been, " what is the cause that the for- 
 mer days were better than these V 1 We end 
 one year with a kind of gloom, and hail the 
 arrival of another: but the months are found 
 the same with those which had previously 
 passed away. The winter is not without 
 cold, nor the summer without heat We feel 
 in our early days the confinement of school, 
 and the restraints of a father's house; we 
 long to be at our own disposal, and to enter 
 life for ourselves. But where is the man that 
 has not exclaimed, " O that I was as in the 
 days of my youth !" Much is said of* an 
 agreeable and peaceable old age. Who 
 does not desire many days, that he may see 
 good? yet is their strength labour and sor- 
 row. Another girds, and leads us whither 
 we would not In vain we look around for 
 our early and endeared connexions — Lover 
 and friend is put far from us, and our ac- 
 quaintance into darkness. The days are 
 come, in which we say, " I have no pleasure 
 in them." " All that cometh is vanity." 
 
 Is it not the same when we pass from one 
 residence to another? There are few but 
 have known local changes ; and some by a 
 train of events, have been led to pitch their 
 tents in situations the most remote from all 
 their former expectations. Sometimes a re- 
 moval is not at our own option. In other 
 cases it seems very inviting and desirable. It 
 may have preferable claims. But still it is 
 a removal in the wilderness, not out of it 
 To Abraham, God said, "Get thee out of thy 
 country, and from thy father's house, into a 
 land that I will tell thee of;" and this was 
 the Land of Promise— Yet even there he 
 shared in the troubles of his nephew, Lot — 
 went for years without an heir to his wealth — 
 was tried in offering up his son Isaac — and 
 buried his Sarah out of his sight in the cave 
 of Machpelah. There, by faith, he sojourned 
 as in a strange country, dwelling in taberna- 
 cles — not at home — but looking for a city 
 which had foundations, whose builder and 
 maker is God 
 
27B 
 
 OCTOBER 11. 
 
 Is it not the same when we go from one 
 condition to another 1 Many deem it a fine 
 thing to pass from obscurity to splendour, for- 
 getful that distinction and fame will draw 
 forth envy, and excite evil speaking, and de- 
 prive us of the sweets of retirement and lei- 
 sure. David rose from a shepherd's cottage, 
 to the grandeur of a palace, and then sighed, 
 " O that I had wings like a dove ; for then 
 would I fly away, and be at rest." How wise 
 was the Shunamite ! When Elisha offered to 
 speak for her to the king : " I dwell," said she, 
 " among mine own people." Some deem it 
 a great thing to rise from indigence to wealth. 
 By their eagerness to acquire it, all seem to 
 think, if they could have affluence they should 
 want nothing. But does a man's life consist 
 in the abundance of the things which he pos- 
 sesseth 1 His desires increase with his means ; 
 and in the midst of his sufficiency he is in 
 straits. The same may be said in passing 
 from activity to leisure. " Oh !" says one, 
 "when I have acquired so much, and can 
 withdraw from the world where I have been 
 so tried, I shall be happy." But to withdraw 
 from the world is not so easy. Habits form 
 a second nature. Few are qualified either to 
 improve, or to enjoy solitude. No kind or 
 degree of exertion is so much at variance with 
 happiness, as having nothing to do. Ennui 
 is an insect that preys upon all bodies at rest. 
 Satan found David alone; and Eve alone. It 
 is the will of Nature and Providence that we 
 should pass from individual into social life; 
 and Solomon says, He that findeth a wife, 
 findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of 
 the Lord. And the conjugal condition, wisely 
 and piously entered, in a general way, admits 
 of more happiness than any other. But it 
 may produce the keenest anguish. At best, 
 it cannot yield pure and unalloyed felicity — 
 our affections become sources of anxiety and 
 fear — we share the pains, as well as the plea- 
 sures, of those who are one with us — and 
 every delightful tie is mortal. How impa- 
 tient are some to enter the parental relation ! 
 Lo ! children are an heritage of the Lord : 
 and the fruit of the womb is his reward. But 
 the proverb truly calls them, certain cares, 
 and uncertain comforts. How often do the 
 father and mother mourn over undutifulness ! 
 depravity ! an early grave ! Childhood and 
 youth are vanity. 
 
 " This is a very gloomy view of things" 
 — But is it not a true one 1 a Scriptural one? 
 And if so, should it not check presumption 
 and vain confidence'! Should it not inspire 
 sober and moderate expectation, with regard 
 to every earthly scene — in those who are just 
 entering life 1 — and in those who are on the 
 verge of any change .in it! 
 
 Is there, however, nothing to encourage 
 %nd comfort under such a dispensation 1 M uch 
 every wr-y. Such a state of things is not 
 iaxii.nl — *• The children of Israel took their i 
 
 journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai ; and 
 the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran,' ! 
 Therefore, though they removed from one 
 desert into another, it was under the Lord's 
 guidance and conduct. He determines the 
 bounds of our habitation, and administers aL 
 our comforts and our crosses. Such a state 
 of things we are not unapprized of: and 
 therefore, if we go on, buoyed up with hopes, 
 which must issue in disappointment, the fault 
 is our own. All history, observation, expe 
 rience, and Scripture, tell us enough to pre 
 vent it. — Such a state, too, is not peculiar t& 
 us — It has been known by all our brethren 
 who were before us in the world, and will be 
 realized by all those who come after us. — Nor 
 is it our final state. Another is discovered 
 and promised. There remaineth a rest for 
 the people of God : a better, even a heavenly 
 country. A few more stages, and we shall 
 remove to the glory of all lands. No thorns 
 there ; no dangers there. After all our move- 
 ments in the wilderness, we shall move out 
 of it ; and the days of our mourning will be 
 ended. Neither is it an unmixed state. If 
 we are not in Canaan, the desert we are in is 
 not like Egypt, from whence we came out. 
 Like the Jews, we have many advantages 
 and comforts, though the place itself yields 
 us nothing. We have the fiery cloudy pil- 
 lar ; and water from the rock ; and the manna ; 
 and Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; and the 
 grapes from Eshcol ; and God himself, " even 
 our own God," who is nigh unto us in all that 
 we call upon him for. — Yea, the very diffi- 
 culties, mortifications, and distresses of the 
 state are useful. They try us, and humble 
 us, and do us good with regard to our latter 
 end. But for these, how unwilling should we 
 be to go. How vain would the admonition be, 
 " Arise and depart;" unless it were enforced 
 with the conviction — " This is not your rest." 
 Let this, therefore, keep us from the mur 
 murings of discontent, and the forebodings of 
 despondency. Though serious, let us not be 
 gloomy. And while free from delusive hopes, 
 let us not yield to unbelieving fears, but thank 
 God, and take courage. 
 
 OCTOBER 11. 
 
 " And he led them out as far s to Bethany, and , 
 he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 
 And it came to pass while he blessed them, he 
 ivas parted from them, and carried up into 
 heaven" — Luke xxiv. 50, 51. 
 
 From another Scripture, it would seem 
 that he ascended from Mount Olivet. But 
 there is no contradiction here. The same 
 eminence is intended — On the one side of it, 
 in the Garden of Gethsemane, he suffered ; on 
 the opposite side, stretching down to Bethany, 
 he was received up into glory. And we se« 
 
OCTOBER 11. 
 
 279 
 
 tue latter was some considerable distance 
 from the former : for, of the attendants at his 
 ascent it is said, " Then returned they unto 
 Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, 
 which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath-day's 
 journey." 
 
 Thither he seems to have led his disciples 
 for the sake of abstraction and privacy. He 
 had said before his death, " The world seeth 
 me no more." They had seen him, and be- 
 lieved not. T>> what purpose should other 
 proofs be displayed before those on whose 
 minds all his miracles had made no impres- 
 sion ? And here was a sufficient number to 
 attest the fact : and reason cannot question 
 the competency of these witnesses, either as 
 to capacity or sincerity. 
 
 But how wonderful and pleasing is the 
 manner in which he took his leave ! His 
 disciples had often tried him. They had 
 always betrayed great imperfections; and 
 after all their professions of attachment to 
 him, as soon as he was apprehended, they all 
 forsook him, and fled. He might well have 
 cast them off: but he loved them unto the 
 end. He might have forgiven them ; and yet 
 have left them unseen — or silently — or with 
 a frown — or with a rebuke — and this would 
 almost have broken their hearts: but, "he 
 lifted up his hands, and blessed them !" Thus 
 proclaiming the most cordial forgiveness; 
 thus assuring them, that they might rely on 
 his remembering them when he was come 
 into his k.ngdom. 
 
 Dr. Priestly is much perplexed about his 
 present residence and employment It would 
 appear, he says, from some intimations in the 
 Epistles, as if he still had occasionally some- 
 thing to do with the Church ; but what this 
 is we cannot conjecture. And there is no 
 doubt, says he, but he is now somewhere on 
 earth : for what relation can he have to any 
 other planet ? — But we are assured that while 
 he blessed his disciples, he was parted from 
 them, " and carried up into heaven." Where 
 this is we are not informed. But it is ob- 
 viously a place: for he was clothed in a 
 body like our own; and, corporeally, he 
 cannot be every where. But wherever he 
 thus is, there is heaven. And this accords 
 with his own language — " I go to prepare a 
 place for you." And though heaven is to be 
 considered more as a state than a place, and 
 though even now our happiness does not de- 
 pend essentially upon local situations, yet 
 these have their importance — And what beau- 
 tiful and enchanting places have we seen, and 
 heard of, and imagined ? But " 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." What a 
 residence was Eden before the fall of the first 
 Adam ! But this fell infinitely short of the 
 excellency of the abode of the second Adam, 
 the Lord from heaven — 
 
 " Oh ! the delights, the heavenly joys, 
 The glories of the place, 
 Where Jesus sheds the brightest beams 
 Of his o'erflowing grace 1" 
 
 Well, let U3 think of him where he now 
 is ; and let us inquire what is our duty with 
 regard to him. Hear Paul — " Seeing, then, 
 that we have a great high priest, that is pass- 
 ed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, 
 let us hold fast our profession." We need 
 not be afraid to own him — for he is able to 
 take care of us however we may be exposed. 
 We need not be ashamed to avow him — for 
 he has every thing to induce us to glory in 
 him. Some comparative excuse might be 
 made for Peter. When he denied him he 
 was a prisoner at the bar, and going to be 
 crucified as a malefactor. But where is he 
 when we deny him 1 In the midst of the 
 throne — crowned with glory and honour — 
 the Lord of all. 
 
 Let us follow him in our thoughts and af- 
 fections. Why seek we the living among 
 the dead 1 He is not here. He is in heaven : 
 and where our treasure is, there should our 
 hearts be also. Let us therefore have our 
 conversation in heaven ; and seek those things 
 that are above, where Christ sitteth at the 
 right hand of God. There some of us have 
 much to interest us now — We seem more re- 
 lated to another world than this — and, re- 
 flecting upon our losses, we sigh, and say, 
 " What do I here ? and what have I here Tr 
 How many among the blessed can we reckon 
 up, who we feel are drawing us after them ! 
 But here is the principal attraction — 
 
 " Jesus, my all, to heav'n is gone ; 
 He whom I fix my hopes upon ; 
 His track I see, and I'll pursue 
 The narrow path, till him I view." 
 
 And let us rejoice in the expectation of be- 
 ing for ever with him. " Which hope we have 
 as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stead- 
 fast, and which entereth into that within the 
 veil ; whither the forerunner is for us entered, 
 even Jesns." The anchor that holds the ship 
 is cast out of it : and our hope must go out of 
 ourselves. The anchor lays hold of something 
 invisible : and our hope enters heaven. Yet 
 it would find nothing as the ground of its 
 grasp there if he was not there — But he is 
 there — and there for us — and his being there 
 insures our arrival. He is the forerunner of 
 the whole company. He said, as he entered. 
 " I am come ; and all my people are coming." 
 Unless we are there also he would be disap- 
 pointed ; for he prayed, " Father, I will that 
 they whom thou hast given me be with me 
 where I am, to behold my glory." He would 
 be unfaithful; for he said, "Where I am 
 there shall also my servants be." He would 
 be imperfect; for he is the bridegroom, and 
 they are the bride; he is the head, and they 
 are the members of his body. 
 
 O blessed confidence ! let me feel thy in- 
 fluence in every duty and in everv trial. 
 
280 
 
 OCTOBER 12, 13. 
 
 Henry, after a sweet representation of the 
 place, exclaims, " If this be heaven, O that I 
 was there!" How matchlessly simple and 
 affecting does Bunyan end his story of Chris- 
 tian and Hopeful, after they had passed the 
 river and approached the shining city, the ob- 
 ject of all their solicitude ! — " Now just as the 
 gates were TJpened to let in the men, I looked 
 in after them. And, behold, the city shone 
 like the sun. The streets, also were paved 
 with gold. And in them walked many men, 
 with crowns on their heads, palms in their 
 hands, and golden harps, to sing praises with- 
 al. There were also of them that had wings, 
 and they answered one to another, without 
 Intermission, saying, ' Holy, holy, holy, is the 
 Lord.' And after that, they shut up the 
 
 gates — WHICH WHEN I HAD SEEN, I WISHED 
 MYSELF AMONG THEM." 
 
 OCTOBER 12. 
 
 "I am the good Shepherd." — John x. 14. 
 To prove, or rather to exemplify his good- 
 ness, let us consider his sheep in three pe- 
 riods and conditions ; and observe his conduct 
 towards them in each. 
 
 First. See them in their natural state. 
 Thus they were fallen and guilty creatures; 
 in want and danger ; and ready to perish. 
 Here his goodness appeared in undertaking 
 their cause, and engaging to be their shep- 
 herd. For nothing but goodness could have 
 induced him to do this. He was under no 
 power or authority to constrain him — He 
 was influenced by no application or desire in 
 the subjects of his pity — And he was not ig- 
 norant of what the interposition would cost 
 him. He knew that if he would be their 
 shepherd, he must bleed and die. What says 
 the Church] "All we, like sheep, have gone 
 astray : we have turned every one to his 
 own way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the 
 iniquity of us all." What says he himself] 
 " The good shepherd giveth his life for the 
 sheep." And all this he suffered, not com- 
 plainingly, but with inexpressible alacrity and 
 pleasure — I delight to do thy will — How am 
 I straitened till it be accomplished ! — Nor 
 was this all. After he had redeemed them 
 by his blood, he had to search, and find them ; 
 and bring them from their wanderings into 
 his fold. Hear his own representation — He 
 goeth after that which is lost in the wilder- 
 ness until he find it And when he has tra- 
 versed the desert, weary, and wounded by the 
 thorns and briers, and has found it, what does 
 he ] Does he complain of his privations, fa- 
 .igues, and sufferings'! No: he layeth it on 
 his shoulder, rejoicing : and when he cometh 
 home, he calleth together his friends and 
 neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice toith 
 me ; for I have found the sheep which was 
 lost. 
 
 Secondly. View them in their restored es- 
 tate. Here his goodness appears in making 
 such ample and rich provisions for them. For 
 he does not bring them into barrenness. They 
 shall not want. I will feed them in a good 
 pasture. — It appears in affording them repose, 
 as well as food. For they want rc-st, as well 
 as supplies, especially at noon. And, says 
 he, I will not only feed my flock, but cause 
 them to lie down. He maketh them to lie 
 down in green pastures. — It appears in re- 
 calling them when wandering. He restoreth 
 my soul, says David. — It appears in defending 
 them. They shall never perish, says the 
 Shepherd, neither shall any pluck them out 
 of his hand. — It appears in accommodating 
 himself so kindly and tenderly to their age 
 and weakness. " He shall feed his flock like 
 a shepherd ; he shall gather the lambs with 
 his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and 
 shall gently lead those that are with young." 
 Thirdly. See them in their final state. 
 Here he does much for them ; and they are 
 often deeply affected with it, especially when 
 they consider where he found them, and 
 what they once were. But when they look 
 into his promises, they see that he intends to 
 do infinitely more. How great is the good- 
 ness which he has laid up for them that fear 
 him! Earth is too narrow tc ccntain it. Time 
 is too short to display it It doth not yet ap- 
 pear what they shall be. There is a land of 
 pure delight ; a better, a heavenly country, 
 prepared to receive them. There is, indeed s 
 a dark valley to pass, before they can enter 
 it. But it is safe, and short, and their shep- 
 herd is with them there ; and his rod and his 
 staff will comfort them. And when they 
 have passed it " they shall hunger no more, 
 neither thirst any more ; neither shall the 
 sun light on them, nor any heat. For the 
 Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, 
 shall feed them, and shall lead them unto liv- 
 ing fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe 
 away all tears from their eyes." Blessed 
 Jesus ! how well hast thou said, " I am the 
 good Shepherd." 
 
 Let those that belong to him, love him, and 
 honour him with their confidence. Trust in 
 him at all times, ye people. Resign to him 
 all your interests. It is enough that he careth 
 for you. You know his aim. You know tha 
 all his ways are mercy and truth. 
 
 But are we a part of his charge? Are we 
 sheep] Are we lambs] How may we 
 know this] They are marked — marked its 
 the ear — and marked in the foot. My sheen 
 hear my voice — and they follow me. 
 
 OCTOBER 13. 
 
 " I -will spare them, as a man spareth his ovm 
 ion that serveth him." — Mai. iii. 17. 
 If a man spares any one, it will sureto bi 
 
OCTOBER 13. 
 
 281 
 
 his own son. The very relation pleads for 
 him. Even a faulty child is a child still ; and 
 is not easily turned out of doors, like a ser- 
 vant Absalom had risen in rebellion against 
 his father ; and David was compelled to fight 
 with his own son — But said he, on the eve of 
 the battle, deal gently for my sake with the 
 young man, even with Absalom ! Who can 
 imagine his feelings, while thinking of the 
 action ! With what hope and fear was his 
 parental bosom fluttering, when the messen- 
 ger arrived with the result ! Who does not 
 seem to hear his very heartstrings break, as 
 he goes up into the chamber, weeping, " O 
 my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! 
 would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my 
 son, my son !" — But when a son is dutiful ; 
 and the father sees that he desires, and aims, 
 and endeavours to please him ! Now this is 
 the image God here employs, to raise our 
 confidence the more. I will spare them, as a 
 man spareth his own son that serveth him. 
 In the same strain is our Saviour's tender ap- 
 peal : " If ye then, being evil, know how to 
 give good gifts unto your children, how much 
 more shall your Father which is in heaven 
 give good things to them that ask him !" 
 God's own children, who serve him, need 
 sparing mercy. It is exercised towards them 
 four ways. 
 
 First. He spares them as to exemption. 
 This has often been seen in times of public 
 an 1 general calamity. Does the flood come 
 and sweep away the world of the ungodly ? 
 % An ark is provided for the saving of Noah and 
 his house. Are the Cities of the Plain de- 
 stroyed ] Lot is sent forth out of the over- 
 throw. Darkness that might be felt enve- 
 loped the Egyptians ; but the Israelites had 
 light in all their dwellings. When the exe- 
 cutioners were approaching Jerusalem, Set a 
 mark, said God, upon the foreheads of the 
 men that sigh, and that cry for the abomina- 
 tions that are done in the midst of the land. 
 Some of his servants are taken away from 
 the evil to come. Pious connexions removed 
 by death, are often spared the sight of relative 
 troubles, under which perhaps they would 
 have sunk. Many a pious youth, like Abi- 
 jah, has come to an early grave in peace, and 
 been housed from after-storms. The hea- 
 thens said, They whom the gods love, die 
 young. How often has he spared us ; spared 
 our lives, our senses, our limbs, our substance, 
 our relations and friends ; with regard to all 
 of which, we must gratefully acknowledge, 
 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not 
 consumed. 
 
 Secondly. He spares them as to correc- 
 tion. As his word tells us, " He that spareth 
 the rod hateth his son ;" He will not himself 
 refuse to strike, when it is needful. Whom 
 the Lord loveth, he therefore chasteneth — 
 But how 1 What is the prayer of his people 1 
 O Lord, correct me, but with judgment : not 
 5>N 24* ' 
 
 in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. 
 And he hears them ; and spares them as to 
 the degree of the affliction. "In measure, 
 when it 6hooteth forth, thou wilt debate witfc 
 it : he stayeth his rough wind in the day of 
 the east wind." They are afflicted ; but they 
 have alleviations. It might have been much 
 worse. Others are more distressed. One 
 comfort is gone ; but many remain. Cast 
 down, but not destroyed. " Like as a father 
 pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them 
 that fear him. He knoweth our frame ; he 
 remembereth that we are dust" For the 
 same holds with regard to continuance ; he 
 will not always chide, neither will he keep 
 his anger for ever. " I will not contend for 
 ever, neither will I be always wroth : for the 
 spirit should fail before me, and the souls 
 which I have made." See an instance of 
 this sparing goodness expressed with incom- 
 parable tenderness, with regard to Ephraim : 
 " Is Ephraim my dear son ] is he a pleasant 
 child 1 for since I spake against him, I do 
 earnestly remember him still : therefore my 
 bowels are troubled for him; I will surely 
 have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." 
 
 Thirdly. He spares them as to exertion. 
 He considers their strength, and will not re- 
 quire of some, what he ordains for others. 
 A father, in his family, would not impose 
 upon an infant the service he would lay upon a 
 young man. To some, in Thyatira, the Lord 
 said, I will put upon you none other burden. 
 The children are tender, says Jacob: and the 
 flocks and herds with young are with me ; 
 and if men should over-drive them one day, 
 all the flock would die. How much does 
 this remind us of another, of whom it is said, 
 " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he 
 shall gather the lambs with his arm, and 
 carry them in his bosom, and shall gently 
 lead those that are with young." When our 
 Saviour was blamed for not enjoining fastings 
 on his disciples, he replied; "No man putteth 
 a piece of new cloth unto an old garment ; 
 for that which is put in to fill it up taketh 
 from the garment, and the rent is made 
 worse. Neither do men put new wine into 
 old bottles ; else the bottles break, and the 
 wine runneth out and the bottles perish : but 
 they put new wine into new bottles, and both 
 are preserved." There is, says Henry, in 
 well-doing, an over-doing; and such over- 
 doing, as may prove undoing. Many reli- 
 gious people are blameable here. They ex- 
 pect too much to be given up before persona 
 have realized the comforts of the Holy Ghost. 
 They want to effect every thing at a stroke 
 They forget their own ignorance and slowness 
 when God began to deal with them— They 
 forget Him who does not despise the day of 
 small things. They forget him who said to 
 his followers, I have yet many things to say 
 unto you ; but ye cannot bear them now 
 
 Fourthlv. He spares them as to accept 
 
25? 
 
 OCTOBER 14. 
 
 once. Their best actions are imperfect. 
 Their holiest duties are defiled. Their obe- 
 dience needs pardon. To whom does not 
 this apply ! Nehemiah had done much for 
 the cause D^God : but does he appeal to jus- 
 tice, to reward him 1 No ; but to mercy, to 
 forgive him : " Remember me, O my God, 
 concerning this also, and spare me according 
 to the greatness of thy mercy." Paul, after 
 extolling Onesiphorus so highly, prays that 
 even he may find mercy of the Lord in that 
 day. I am looking, says the great John Howe 
 dying, for eternal life ; not as a profitable ser- 
 vant, but as a pardoned sinner. Where is 
 the Christian, however distinguished his at- 
 tainments, who, even in looking over his Sab- 
 baths, and his communions at the Lord's 
 table, and every alms-deed he ever performed, 
 is not constrained to pray, " Enter not into 
 judgment with thy servant, O Lord ; for in 
 thy sight shall no flesh living be justified]" 
 — Well ; he will spare you, as to your de- 
 ficiencies in duty. He takes the design. He 
 regards the motive. He looketh at the heart. 
 He will pardon what is yours; and reward 
 what is his own. He views you and your 
 services through the mediation of his dear 
 Son, in whom he is well pleased. Ah ! he 
 spared not him that he might spare you. If 
 we sin, we have an Advocate with the Fa- 
 ther, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the 
 propitiation for our sins. And as God said to 
 Job's friends, so he says to us — " My servant 
 shall pray for you, and him will I accept ; 
 lest I deal with you according to your folly." 
 
 Never forget the goodness and kindness 
 of God. He is your father — and he will 
 spare you — 
 
 But spare not yourselves. Mind no labour. 
 Regard no expense in his cause. Deny your- 
 selves. Take up your cross, and follow him 
 fully — follow him whithersoever he goeth. 
 
 OCTOBER 14. 
 
 " According to their pas hire, so -were they filled; 
 
 they -were filled, and their heart was exalted; 
 
 therefore have they forgotten me." — Hosea 
 
 xiii. 6. 
 
 In this and the former verse, God places 
 Israel before us in two situations and condi- 
 tions — The Wilderness, and Canaan. He 
 reminds us of his knowledge of them in the 
 former ; and of their disregarding him in the 
 latter. He commended them in their low 
 estate ; but had to complain of them in their 
 prosperity — " I did know thee in the wilder- 
 ness, in the land of great drought" But, de- 
 livered from the privations and hardships of 
 the desert, they entered the Land of Promise : 
 the glory of all lands ; a land of wheat and 
 barley ; a land of vineyards, and fig-trees, and 
 pomegranates ; a land wherein there was no 
 scarceness; a land flowing with milk and 
 honey. And what was the ;onsequence 1 
 
 First. Selfish indulgence — " According 
 to their pasture, so were they filled." And 
 was this sinful ] We plead for no monkish 
 austerities. " Every creature of God is good, 
 and nothing to be refused, if it be received 
 with thanksgiving ; for it is sanctified by the 
 word of God and prayer." He " giveth us 
 richly all things to enjoy." But the en- 
 joyment of Christians differs from the excess 
 of the sensual. We are not to feast our- 
 selves without fear. We are not to make 
 provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts there 
 of. We are not to throw the reins on the 
 neck of appetite ; and feed ourselves to the 
 full. The mistake of many is, that they sup- 
 pose every thing is their own; whereas no- 
 thing is their own. They are only stewards 
 of the manifold grace of God. Tney think 
 they may sleep as much as they like ; dress as 
 much as they like ; consume as much as they 
 like ; but the Scripture is our rule, and not 
 our own inclination. There is the cause of 
 God, and of the poor, to be thought of, as well 
 as our own gratification. The first lesson in 
 the school of Christ is self-denial — Where, in 
 the lives of some, does this ever appear? 
 Temperance is one of the graces of the Spi- 
 rit — And does this consist only in avoiding 
 the grossness of drunkenness and gluttony 1 
 No ; but in not "filling ourselves according 
 to our pasture." 
 
 Secondly. Pride — " They were filled, and 
 their heart was exalted." This was the case 
 even with Hezekiah : even he rendered not 
 according to the benefits done him; for "hia 
 heart was lifted up." And, by charging them 
 that are rich in this world not to be " high- 
 minded," nor to " trust in uncertain riches," 
 the Apostle shows the tendency there always 
 is in worldly success to gender vanity and 
 false confidence. Hence it is said, "Pride 
 compasseth them about as a chain ; violence 
 covereth them as a garment." They even 
 think more highly of their understanding — 
 as if their wisdom grew with their wealth. 
 They speak with authority; and answer 
 roughly. 
 
 Thirdly. Unmindfulness of God — " There- 
 fore have they forgotten me." And how com- 
 mon is it for men, in the midst of their suf- 
 ficiency, to lose the sense of their obligations 
 to God, and dependence upon him, and need 
 of him. Hence Agar prayed against being 
 rich ; " lest I should be full, and deny thee, 
 and say, Who is the Lord ? Hence the cau- 
 tion of the Jews, at their taking possession of 
 all the good things in Canaan: "Then be- 
 ware lest thou forget the Lord which brorght 
 thee forth out of the land-of Egypt, from the 
 house of bondage." The admonition was 
 unavailable. " Jeshurun waxed fat, and kick- 
 ed. Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown 
 thick, thou art covered with fatness ; then he 
 forsook God which made him, and lightly es- 
 teemed the rock of his salvation' 
 
OCTOBER 15. 
 
 283 
 
 This gives us a very humbling view of 
 human nature. Is it possible for us to con- 
 sider it as so innocent, so amiable, so noble, 
 as some would represent it to be ? View it, I 
 not as it appears in the dregs of society ; but 
 as it is seen in common and reputable life. 
 See men able to bear nothing without abuse — 
 evil, because God is good— -drawn from him, i 
 by the very things which should lead to him 
 — ungrateful, in proportion as they should love ! 
 and praise him — and even converting his i 
 gifts into weapons of rebellion against him ! 
 Lord, what is man ! 
 
 Let the fact arouse us to caution and circum- 
 spection, if Providence smiles upon us, and 
 we are placed in easy and agreeable circum- 
 stances. Yea, let us not only watch, but pray, 
 lest we enter into temptation. Let us seek 
 that grace which can alone enable us to 
 manage a full estate properly, so as to elude 
 its snares, and discharge its duties. Then 
 we shall see, that what is impossible to men, 
 is possible to God. It was said of Vespasian, 
 that he was even the better man for being an 
 emperor. So there are some, whose pros- 
 perity, instead of destroying them, displays 
 and increases their excellency ; and they are 
 not only rich in temporal things, but rich in 
 faith, and rich in good works. These in- 
 stances, however, are rare. 
 
 The perils of the condition should check 
 jur eagerness after worldly affluence and 
 ease. Why do we envy those that rise ] Be- 
 cause we attach an undue value and import- 
 ance to their acquisitions. Yet these posses- 
 sions are not only transient ; but unsatisfying; 
 and vexatious ; and corrupting. Yet, regard- 
 less of the testimony of Scripture, and all 
 history and (.experience, how many, and even 
 professors of religion, crave and pursue them 
 as if they were the supreme good. But seek- 
 est thou great things unto thyself! seek them 
 not. Bring your mind to your condition ; for 
 you never will be able to bring your con- 
 dition to your mind. Your desires will en- 
 large with your indulgence ; as fuel adds to 
 the fierceness of the flame — Therefore let 
 your conversation be without covetousness, 
 and be content with such things as ye have ; 
 for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor 
 forsake thee. 
 
 Learn also resignation under afflictive dis- 
 pensations, either in crossing your schemes, 
 or in reducing your resources. "Because 
 they have no changes, therefore they fear not 
 God." It was said of Moab, "Moab hath 
 been at ease from his youth, and he hath 
 settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied 
 from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone 
 into captivity; therefore his taste remained 
 in him, and his scent is not changed." The 
 Prodigal was more favoured — a famine drove 
 him home. Manasseh was mercifully ruin- 
 ed—in his affliction he sought the Lord God 
 of his father, and he was found of him. And 
 
 he gives you the valley of Achor for a dooi 
 of hope. Do not think hardly of Him, under 
 whose discipline you now are. He knew 
 your danger and interposed to prevent it 
 He has hedged up your way with thorns ; but 
 it is to keep you from following lying vani- 
 ties, and forsaking your own mercies. He 
 tries you ; but it is for your profit. He sees 
 what you can bear. And He who loved you, 
 so as to give his own Son for you, will suffer 
 you to want no good thing. 
 
 OCTOBER 15. 
 
 " And the Lord said unto me, I have heard 
 the voice of the words of this people, -which 
 they have spoken unto thee : they have -well 
 said all that they have spoken." — Deut. v. 28. 
 
 Thus he expressly mentions his having 
 heard what they had said to Moses. It is 
 equally true that he hears all we say; and 
 has heard all we have ever said. This is a 
 solemn thought ; especially as he has heard 
 all our words, not as an unconcerned auditor, 
 but as a witness and a judge. How many 
 of them have we forgotten ! But they are all 
 in the book of his remembrance. " For every 
 idle word that men shall speak, they shall 
 give account thereof in the day of judgment. 
 For by thy words thou sbait be justified, and 
 by thy words thou shalt be condemned." 
 
 Here, the words which God had heard, 
 were the words of religious avowal — "Speak 
 thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall 
 speak unto thee ; and we will hear it, and 
 do it." And he has heard all our religious 
 resolutions and engagements. First. Our 
 more private ones ; when we have been im- 
 pressed alone — with regard to such a temper, 
 that we would watch against it — with regard 
 to such a temptation, that we would pray for 
 grace to resist it — with regard to our time, 
 that we would redeem it — with regard to our 
 substance, that we would honour the Lord 
 with it. And, secondly, with regard to our 
 more public and solemn ones : when we join- 
 ed ourselves to his people; and went to his 
 table ; and, over the memorials of dying love, 
 said, " Henceforth by Thee only will I makfl 
 mention of thy Name — 
 
 ' Here, in thy house, I leave my vow. 
 
 And thy rich grace record ; 
 Witness, ye saints, who hear me now. 
 If I forsake the Lord.' " 
 
 I have heard, says he, the voice of the worda 
 of this people. And adds, with approbation, 
 containing in it complaint — " They have well 
 said all that they have spoken." But talking 
 and doing are two things. Even with re- 
 gard to ourselves, one of them goes a very 
 little way without the other — Yea, it rather 
 offends — it adds insult to injury. We scorn 
 a flattering profession, contradicted by ac- 
 tions — Actions, we sav. sneak louder than 
 
284 
 
 OCTOBER 16. 
 
 -wds. What is lip-service in religion ! Ju- 
 ias gave our Lord the lip- called him Mas- } 
 er — and kissed hirn — and betrayed. Ezekiel's 
 hearers extolled his preaching, and brought 
 others to admire him : but their hearts went 
 after their covetousness — They heard his 
 words, but did them not. So David testifies 
 of these Jews — " When he slew them, then 
 they sought him ; and they returned, and in- 
 quired early after God — Nevertheless, they 
 did flatter him with their mouth, and they 
 lied unto him with their tongues. For their 
 heart was not right with him, neither were 
 they steadfast in his covenant" And so here. 
 They spoke well in expressing their readiness 
 to hear and to do. But God, who knew them 
 better than they knew themselves, imme- 
 diately exclaimed — " O that there was such 
 a heart in them !" 
 
 — Speech is one of the most uncertain cri- 
 terions by which we can judge of character, 
 either as to the reality or degree of religion. 
 From education, reading, and hearing, per- 
 sons may easily learn to talk well. They may 
 even surpass others, who are far better than 
 themselves : as an empty vessel, when touch- 
 ed, sounds louder than a full one ; and as a 
 shallow brook is more noisy than a deep river. 
 Some spsak little, especially concerning them- 
 selves, from a fear of deception ; and a con- 
 cern, lest they should appear to others above 
 what they really are. Baxter, in his life of 
 Judge Hale, says, For a time, I feared he was 
 wanting in experimental religion, as he sel- 
 dom spoke of his own spiritual views and 
 feelings. But upon better acquaintance, I 
 found I was mistaken. He had heard, from 
 many in his times, so much hypocrisy and fa- 
 naticism, that he was urged towards the ex- 
 treme of silence. And it is the better extreme 
 of the two. Christians feed on the hidden 
 manna : and have a white stone, with a new 
 name in it, which no one readeth save he that 
 receiveth it. Would it not be better for some 
 to talk less of their high confidence, and their 
 wonderful ecstacies, before those who are 
 weak in faith and comfort ? and who are in 
 danger of being depressed by comparison? 
 How assuredly do some speak of the time 
 when they were " enlightened," or " convert- 
 ed ;" as if they could ascertain the period of 
 the spcond birth, as exactly as that of the 
 first! Might it not, sometimes at least, be 
 better to speak of the fact with less decision ? 
 and always to consider the work, not so much 
 done as doing ? or to pray that it might be 
 done] So did David — " Create in me a clean 
 heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within 
 me." 
 
 To how many individuals will the words 
 before us apply ? Here is a champion for the 
 truth. He has defended its purity and import- 
 ance. He has contended earnestly, and, as 
 far as argument or evidence goes, wisely, for 
 the faith once delh ered to the saints. He has 
 
 well said all that he has spoken. But where 
 is the Spirit of Truth ? the meekness of wis- 
 dom? the mind of Christ? Every page of 
 controversy ought to have at the top, " The 
 wrath of man worketh not the righteousness 
 of God;" and at the bottom, " If any man have 
 not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." 
 Another has entered the sanctuary of God, 
 and, in language equally beautiful and true, 
 has acknowledged, We have erred and stray- 
 ed from thy ways like lost sheep — we have 
 followed too much the devices and desires of 
 our own hearts — there is no health in us. 
 And he has well said all that he has spoken. 
 But where is the broken heart, and the con- 
 trite spirit? How often, after these confes- 
 sions, is the sermon, founded upon them, dis- 
 liked, and the preacher of it condemned! 
 Here is a third. He has gone to his brethreli 
 in distress, and justified the ways of God to 
 man. But does he justify God's dealings with 
 himself in trouble ? He has well said all that 
 he has spoken — But he reminds us of the lan- 
 guage of Eliphaz to Job — " Behold, thou hast 
 instructed many, and thou hast strengthened 
 the weak hands. Thy works have upholden 
 him that was fall ng. and thou hast strength- 
 ened the feeble wees. But now it is come 
 upon thee, and thoi. ointcst; it toucheth thee, 
 and thou art troubled 
 
 Men may mistake themselves, when they 
 do not mean to deceive others. They are of- 
 ten, at the time, as sincere as they are ear- 
 nest. The young ; the afflicted in the hour 
 of distress; the sick, and the dying; express 
 many things which are as true as they are 
 good, according to their present feelings. But 
 they do not distinguish between impulse and 
 disposition ; between outward excitement and 
 inward principle. Hazael, at the prediction 
 of his cruelties, ignorant of the change that 
 power would produce in him, really execrated 
 the character he became. Peter was presum 
 ing, but not false, when he said, Though all 
 shall be offended because of thee, yet will I 
 never be offended. The disciples supposed 
 themselves established in the faith, beyond 
 the danger of temptation to forsake him, when 
 they said, " Now we believe." But Jesus an- 
 swered them — O that there was such a heart 
 in you ! — " Do ye now believe ? Behold, the 
 hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall 
 be scattered, every man to his own, and shall 
 leave me alone : and yet I am not alone, he- 
 cause the Father is with me." 
 
 OCTOBER 16. 
 
 " And there are also many other things -which 
 Jesus did, the which, if they should be torit- 
 ten every one, I suppose that even the world 
 itself could not contain the books that should 
 be written. Amen." — John xxi. 25. 
 
 This is the language of the writer of this 
 Gospel, in concluding his narrative. After 
 
OCTOBER 17. 
 
 285 
 
 an that ne had brought forward, much more 
 remained behind. He had composed a me- 
 moir, rather than a history: and only furnish- 
 ed a few specimens of a subject, boundless in 
 itself. 
 
 Yet the expression he employs in asserting 
 this may seem to many surprising, if not con- 
 founding. There are two ways of solving the 
 difficulty. 
 
 First The language is a figure ; a strong 
 hyptrbole. This was very common in the 
 East. Indeed, it is frequent with writers and 
 speakers in all countries. Even in our fami- 
 liar discourse we often, without being aware 
 of it, express ourselves as remotely from truth, 
 if absolutely considered — " I am tired to 
 death." " I have no strength left," " Every 
 body knows it" Such a thing is — " provided 
 at the shortest notice" — which would be a 
 moment. But no deception is intended : and 
 no danger of mistake follows. 
 
 YeVsecondly, though this meets the diffi- 
 culty, some have also a little altered the ren- 
 dering, and read — not the world would not 
 contain ; but would not receive, the books that 
 would be written. So Doddridge and others. 
 This is allowable in criticism : but let us ob- 
 serve the justness of the inference. If all the 
 particulars of his birth and infancy, and youth, 
 and manhood; if all the occurrences of his 
 private and public life ; if all his actions, his 
 miracles, his speeches, his prayers, with all 
 their relative circumstances ; if all these had 
 been recorded — instead of a book, we must 
 have had books; and books so — large, and — 
 many, that the design must have been coun- 
 teracted. For then — there were no books but 
 were in manuscript And who would have 
 had leisure to transcribe them 1 Who would 
 have taken the trouble ! — If they were pur- 
 chased from transcribers, who would have en- 
 dured the expense 1 They could only have 
 been the property of the very rich — And when 
 they had become their own, who could have 
 had time to read them 1 Who could have re- 
 membered them all 7 How multiplied would 
 have been the difficulties requiring explana- 
 tion ! All these would have been, with men, 
 reasons or excuses for not procuring; or not 
 perusing ; or not understanding them. 
 
 Therefore each of the inspired lives of our 
 Saviour himself, is not so long as many a 
 sermon. The four put together are far 
 shorter than the published account of many 
 a modern, insignificant character. But le't 
 ;s not complain, or lament, that the whole 
 is so compendious and brief. It is not a 
 defect but an excellency. The wisdom and 
 goodness of God appear in it It meets the 
 more, our situations; engagements; and 
 capacities. More would only have perplex- 
 ed us, or multiplied our diversions. 
 
 And let us remember also, that we do not 
 want the aid of traditional supplement or 
 human additions, to the Scriptures of truth. 
 
 Though short, they are sufficient They 
 leave nothing obscure as to our duty, or 
 welfare — They are able to make us wise 
 unto salvation, through faith that is in Chris* 
 Jesus. 
 
 And may we not suppose that it will be a 
 part of our engagement and blessedness in 
 heaven to derive from those acquainted with 
 them, or from the Saviour himself, the know- 
 ledge of a thousand things concerning his 
 eventful history, of which we are now igno- 
 rant] 
 
 Above all, let us rejoice in what has been 
 furnished. Let us rejoice that it is so di- 
 vinely proved — and that it has been preserv- 
 ed uncorrupted down to our own time — and 
 that we have it in our own language — and 
 are allowed — and able to read it And let 
 us keep the end of the whole in view, and 
 never be satisfied till it be accomplished in 
 our experience. " Many other signs truly 
 did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, 
 which are not written in this book : but these 
 are written, that ye might believe that Jesus 
 is the Christ the Son of God; and that 
 believing, ye might have life through his 
 name." 
 
 OCTOBER 17. 
 
 "It is high time to awake out of sleep " 
 
 Rom. xiii. 11. 
 
 These words regard Christians tnemselves. 
 This is undeniable, from the motive subjoin- 
 ed : " For now is our salvation nearer than 
 when we believed." Are believers, then, 
 asleep 1 Not in the sense they once were 
 — this would be impossible. But there are 
 found, even in them, some remains of their 
 former depravity. Though the good work 
 is begun in them, it is far from being accom- 
 plished. While the bridegroom tarried, even 
 the wise virgins slumbered and slept Yes, 
 Christians, alas ! are often in a drowsy state ; 
 and oftener in a drowsy frame. This is 
 sadly reproachful. What! drowsy, in ex- 
 amining themselves whether they be in the 
 faith 7 Drowsy, in praising the God of their 
 salvation 1 Drowsy, in seeking mercy and 
 grace to help them in time of need I Drowsy, 
 in serving their generation by the will of 
 God ! Are they not the disciples of Jesus 7 
 Did he ever speak an idle word 1 Did he 
 ever lose a useful moment! "I must 
 work," said he, " the works of Him that senl 
 me while it is day ; the night cometh wherein 
 no man can work." 
 
 Yet if the address be proper for Chris 
 tians, how much more necessary is it for 
 those who are entirely regardless of the 
 things that belong to their peace ! Surely, 
 for them " it is high time to awake out of 
 sleep" — 
 
 — If we consider how long they have been 
 sleeping. We ought to lament that we ha-c 
 
280 
 
 OCTOBER 18. 
 
 iosc any of our precious h )urs and opportuni- 
 ties. However short it may have been, the 
 time past of our life should more than suf- 
 fice, wherein we have lived to the will of 
 man. What, then, should those feel who 
 have sacrificed the whole of their youth? 
 Perhaps the vigour of mature age ? What 
 should those feel, who, perhaps, have grown 
 gray in the service of sin and the world I 
 The later we begin, the more zealous should 
 ive be to redeem the advantages we have 
 ost; and to overtake those who were wise 
 enough to set off early. When Csesar, in 
 Spain, met with a statue of Alexander, he 
 wept at the thought, that this illustrious 
 conqueror had achieved so much before he 
 had even begun his career. High time, 
 
 — If we consider that the day is arrived, 
 and the sun is risen so high. " The night 
 is far spent, the day is at hand : let us there- 
 fore cast off the works of darkness, and let 
 us put en the armour of light." We can 
 say more than the Apostle. The night is 
 spent. The day is fully come. And we are 
 all the children of the light, and the children 
 of the day : we are not of the night, nor of 
 darkness— Therefore let us not sleep as do 
 others. They that sleep, sleep in the night. 
 Look into Nature. The sun ariseth, and 
 man goeth, forth unto his work and to his 
 labour until the evening. The sun shines, 
 not for us to sleep, but discharge the duties 
 of our stations by its lustre. And why is 
 the Gospel given us ? Why is our duty so 
 plainly made known, but that we may fol- 
 low it? And why are the blessings of 
 divine grace so clearly set before us, but that 
 we may seek them? Our obligations al- 
 ways increase with our advantages. To 
 him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it 
 not, to him it is sin. And the servant that 
 knew his lord's will, and prepared not him- 
 self, shall be beaten with many stripes ; for 
 where much is given, much will be re- 
 quired. High time, 
 
 — If we consider the business they have 
 to do. I am doing, said Nehemiah to some 
 who would have interrupted him — I cannot 
 come down to you : I am doing a great work. 
 How much more may a Christian say this ! 
 He has an enterprize connected with the 
 soul ! and God ! and eternity ! Some things 
 are desirable, and some are useful ; but this 
 is absolutely indispensable — 
 
 " Sufficient in itself alone; 
 And needful, were the world our own." 
 
 Neglect, in many a concern, is injurious: 
 but here it is ruinous — ruinous of every 
 thing — and ruinous for ever. High time, 
 
 — If we consider the nature of the season 
 in which this difficult and all-important work 
 is to be accomplished. It is short : and there 
 is but a step between us and death. It is 
 anceriain in its continuance ; and may be 
 
 terminated every moment, by some of those 
 numberless dangers, internal and external, 
 to which we are exposed. And, once gone, 
 it can never be renewed. No place will be 
 found for repentance, though we seek it 
 carefully with tears. High time, 
 
 — If we consider the danger they are in. 
 If a man was sleeping in a house, and the 
 fire was seen, not only to be kindled, but 
 raging over his apartment ; or approaching 
 rapidly his door ; or ready to catch the very 
 curtains of his bed ; who would not think it 
 high time for him to awake, and escape for 
 his life ? This is but a weak representation 
 of the danger of sinners. They are condemn- 
 ed already. The wrath of God abideth on 
 them. They are nigh unto cursing. Their 
 end is to be burned. Their destruction is not 
 only insured, but begun. And we are re- 
 quired to save with fear, pulling them out 
 of the fire. High time to awake out of 
 sleep, 
 
 — If we consider that all besides are awake. 
 God is awake — Angels are awake — Glorified 
 saints are awake — Brutes are awake — Thfe 
 children of this generation are awake — Devils 
 are awake — Death is awake — Damnation is 
 awake — Their damnation slumbereth not. — 
 It is high time to awake out of sleep ! 
 
 Is it not too late ? Have I not reason to 
 fear, that I have passed the bounds of Divine 
 patience ? that the Lord hath shut to the door ? 
 that, in resentment of my neglects and pro- 
 vocations, he hath given me over to a repro- 
 bate mind ? that he hath poured upon me the 
 spirit of slumber ? — And hence it is that I 
 hear so often with indifference, and tnat 
 nothing affects me now as it once did ! 
 
 But may I not hope, that his longsuffering 
 will yet be my salvation ? that he has spared 
 me so long to afford space for repentance? 
 that the seriousness of this retirement is 
 another call of mercy ? that the uneasiness, 
 the dread, the desire I now feel, are a token 
 for good? — that the lingering of pity still 
 cries, How shall I give thee up? — Lord, 
 save — I perish ! 
 
 OCTOBER 18. 
 
 " He -will speak peace unto his people, and to his 
 saints : but let them not turn again to folly " 
 Psalm Ixxxv. 8. 
 
 How encouraging is this expectation .'— 
 " He will speak peace unto his people and to 
 his saints." 
 
 Mark the blessing itself— Peace. It does 
 not mean outward ease and prospeuty. He 
 nowhere engages to speak this : but spiritual 
 comfort; the composure of the conscience; 
 the satisfaction of the heart; by which the 
 " soul shall dwell at ease :" the effect of con- 
 fidence in God: "Thou wilt keep him m 
 perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee 
 
OCTOBER 19. 
 
 287 
 
 because he trust2th in thee." How relieving 
 is it, under a sense of guilt, to believe in 
 the blood that cleanseth from all sin ! How 
 soothing is it, in the various changes of life, 
 to be assured that all things shall work toge- 
 ther for our good ! How confirming is it, in 
 the prospect of every duty, to know that his 
 strength shall be made perfect in weakness ! 
 This is the rest wherewith we are to cause 
 the weary to rest ; and this is the refreshing. 
 
 Observe the •author of the communication 
 — He will speak peace. And unless He 
 speaks it, it will be spoken in vain. Friends 
 may address us — but they will be found mise- 
 rable comforters. Ministers may attempt to 
 bind up the broken heart— but they will 
 prove physicians of no value. Ordinances 
 may be regarded — but they will be wells 
 without water, and clouds without rain. But 
 «' when He giveth quietness, then who can 
 make trouble V — We can only implore, or 
 announce peace: but his word produces, con- 
 veys it. He commandeth the blessing, even 
 life for evermore. Nothing is beyond the 
 reach of Him who turneth the shadow of 
 death into the morning. 
 
 Observe the heirs of the privilege — He 
 will speak peace to his people, and to his 
 taints. These are not different characters, 
 but different representations of the same per- 
 sons : and the one is explanatory of the other. 
 He has a people for his name : and if we ask, 
 who they are, we are told they are saints ; 
 that is, they are holy ones. They are not 
 perfectly holy : but they are really so. The 
 principles of sanctification, of which they are 
 the partakers, will soon gain the entire pos- 
 session of them ; but even now they have the 
 ascendency in them. Their love of holiness 
 is evinced, even with regard to their remain- 
 ing corruptions. These are their burden and 
 distress : and for these, they abhor themselves. 
 They long, above all things, to walk so as to 
 please God ; and constantly pray, Create in 
 me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right 
 spirit within me. — And what have others to 
 do with peace 1" « There is no peace, saith 
 my God, unto the wicked." 
 
 Mark also the certainty of the assurance 
 —He will speak peace unto his people, 
 and to his saints. Every thing tends to con- 
 firm it. His name— He is the God of peace. 
 His thoughts— they are thoughts of peace. 
 The mediation of the Son of his love — He 
 made peace by the blood of his Cross. His 
 dealings with us— Had he a mind to kill us, 
 he would not have shown us such things as 
 these. The truth of his Word— The Scrip- 
 ture cannot be broken. 
 
 And how reasonable is the caution — " But 
 let them not turn again unto folly." 
 
 — Here we see the character of sin : it is 
 folly. Such the God of truth pronounces it 
 to be now. Such every transgressor will ac- 
 knowledge it to be at last. Should not this 
 
 be enough to deter js from it — that it per- 
 fectly befools us 1 and will fill us with ever- 
 lasting shame and contempt ] 
 
 — Here we are reminded that the people 
 of God, though saints now, were once charge- 
 able with it — The command not to turn 
 again to folly proves this. Their being made 
 to differ, supposes former sameness. They 
 were by nature children of wrath, even as 
 others : and they ere willing to own it : and 
 often look to trie rock whence they were 
 hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence they 
 were digged. 
 
 — We are also taught that they are still in 
 danger; and need warning. Let him that 
 thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall 
 We are always exposed to a subtle and invi 
 sible enemy : wo live in a wicked world ; and 
 carry within us an evil heart. The best, in 
 an hour of temptation, have turned again to 
 folly. 
 
 — But against this we should feel ourselves 
 peculiarly concerned to guard, when God has 
 appeared for us, and spoken peace to our 
 souls. Were we not, we should be alike un- 
 grateful and infatuated. Ungrateful; for 
 the more He does for us, the more anxious 
 should we be, lest we offend and grieve hid 
 Holy Spirit Infatuated ; for having known 
 the evil of sin, and the bitterness of repent • 
 ance, and the joy of God's salvation ; shall we 
 again cause him to hide his face from us? 
 and wrong our own souls 1 For the backsli' 
 der in heart shall be filled with his owe 
 ways. 
 
 OCTOBER 19. 
 
 " Seeing many things, but thou observest not. n 
 Isaiah xlii. 20. 
 
 This charge is as applicable to us, as it was 
 to the Jews. Nothing is more common than 
 the want of wise and proper observation. 
 The objects and events adapted to excite it, 
 and which would also reward it, are various 
 and numberless. And some of them daily 
 and hourly strike our senses ; yet they en- 
 gage none of our notice and attention, as ra- 
 tional and moral beings. From an immense 
 multitude, let us select two of these occur- 
 rences, by way of example — The birth, and 
 the death, of our fellow-creatures. 
 
 How little attention is excited by the birth 
 of a child. It may perhaps, if it takes place 
 in respectable life, be announced in the paper 
 — inquiries may be made concerning its sex 
 and form — it may be viewed and embraced by 
 the friends who call ceremoniously on the 
 mother who has been delivered. But what mo- 
 ral or religious reflection is ever indulged by 
 those who are informed of the event } or even 
 by the parents themselves ] The interesting 
 sufferer herself may be pleased with the con- 
 gratulations paid her ; and forget her anguish 
 
288 
 
 OCTOBER 19. 
 
 for joy that a man is born into the world ; and 
 feel a lively gratitude for the mercy she has 
 experienced : but no one thought may arise 
 in the mind respecting the all-important re- 
 sult, in the production of a new being — and 
 such a being too ! — Yet the birth of a child 
 can scarcely be deemed less than a miracle of 
 Nature and Providence. That child is a piece 
 of Divine workmanship, fearfully and won- 
 derfully made ; and as fearfully and wonder- 
 fully preserved and endowed. When the 
 Creator made it, he did a far greater thing 
 than when he made the sun. The sun is a 
 mass of unintelligent matter. It sees not its 
 own light. It feels not its own heat ; and is 
 not destined to shine and burn for ever. But 
 there is a spirit in that child ; and the inspi- 
 ration of the Almighty giveth him under- 
 standing. He is a moral being. He is the 
 subject of reason and conscience. These prin- 
 ciples are not yet developed ; but they are 
 lodged in him. They are in him, as the 
 flower is in the seed ; and the oak in the 
 acorn. He is an heir of immortality ; and 
 though his existence began yesterday, it will 
 never, never end. He will hear the heavens 
 pass away with a great noise, and see the 
 elements melt with fervent heat. He will 
 stand before the judgment-seat of Christ ; and 
 go away into everlasting punishment, or into 
 fife eternal. 
 
 He is also to be viewed relatively, a3 well 
 as personally. And what an awful interest 
 does he acquire from the ev/ 7 he may occa- 
 sion, as well as suffer ! and from the good he 
 may produce, as well as experience! He 
 maj prove a viper in the bosom that feeds 
 him ; a disgrace to his family ; a curse to the 
 nation. Many may be vitiated by his exam- 
 ple, and led into hell by his influence. One 
 sinner destroyeth much good. Or he may 
 make a glad father ; and prove a blessing to 
 the neighbourhood ; and serve his generation 
 by the will of God ; and levy a tax of grati- 
 tude on future ages. Who that had seen 
 Isaac Watts in the arms of his mother, sitting 
 at the door of the prison in which his father 
 was suffering for conscience' sake, could have 
 divined that this precious babe was the sweet 
 Psalmist of the Christian Israel ; and that the 
 little hand that stroked her cheek, was or- 
 dained to hold the pen that should instruct 
 and edify the world to the end of time ! Had 
 we heard when the babe wept, and looked 
 into the ark of bulrushes, we should have 
 seen the scholar, learned in all the wisdom 
 of Egypt ; the scourge of Pharaoh ; the de- 
 liverer of the Hebrews ; the king in Jeshu- 
 run; the lawgiver and the prophet of the 
 Loid, with whom he spake face to face. What 
 says the Lord of all 1 " Despise not one of 
 these little ones ; for I say unto you, that in 
 heaven their angels do always behold the face 
 of my heavenly Father." 
 
 Let us pass to the second article — Death. 
 
 This is perpetually taking place around us : 
 yet how little it is noticed was long ago re- 
 marked by Eliphaz: "They are destroyed 
 from morning to evening: they perish for 
 ever, without any regarding it." This indif- 
 ference is one of the most astonishing things 
 in a world of wonders ; especially when taken 
 in connexion with those consequences, that, 
 in general belief, are supposed to result from 
 it If a tower fell ; if a mountain was swal- 
 lowed up by an earthquake-; we should no- 
 tice, and make it the subject of conversation 
 for days and weeks — Yet, what is this com- 
 pared with the removal of a fellow-creature ; 
 detached from all union with visible nature ; 
 excluded from every thing that once pleased 
 or engaged him below the sun ; severed 
 from all his endeared connexions ; his flesh 
 seeing corruption; while his soul has en- 
 tered into an entirely new state of existence, 
 in immediate and perceptible communion 
 with the Lord of all ! Death is the most s&- 
 rious and momentous event that can befall 
 the children of men. For it is not the ex- 
 tinction of being, but only the termination 
 of one mode of it, and the commencement 
 of another : the transition from time to eter- 
 nity ; from a course of action to the sentence 
 of retribution. When the dust returns to 
 the dust, whence it was, the spirit returns 
 to God, who gave it: and then the Divine 
 fiat runs, " He that is unjust, let him be un- 
 just still : and he that is filthy, let him be fil- 
 thy still : and he that is righteous, let him be 
 righteous still : and he that is holy, let hire 
 be holy still." 
 
 And yet who considers if? When the 
 bell tolls we hardly ask whose doom it an- 
 nounces. When we see a funeral in the 
 street we scarcely look towards it, unless it 
 be accompanied with pomp of mortality. We 
 see new names on the doors of the houses ; 
 but we pass without thinking that the places 
 which once knew the owners know them no 
 more for ever. A neighbour dies, and, from 
 civility, we attend the burial, and lend him 
 our last assistance ; but return into the busy 
 or trifling concerns of life as careless as be- 
 fore. Death enljers our own dwelling — we 
 feel deeply; but we reflect slightly. We 
 mourn our loss ; but the heart is not made 
 better : we miss them for a time ; but we soon 
 furnish substitutes, or grow insensible to the 
 want of them. When every duty the ut- 
 most decorum can exact, or the most perfect 
 affection dictates, is discharged towards the 
 deceased ; where is the concern of the living 
 to derive from the decease itself the spiritual 
 profit which it is designed to yield 1 Where 
 is the earnestness of the prayer, " So teach 
 us to number our days, that we may apply 
 our heart unto wisdom !" 
 
 Every death ; the death of the young, and 
 the death of the old ; the death of the rich, 
 and the death of the poor ; the death of the 
 
OCT03ER 20. 
 
 aft* 
 
 ■amt, and the death of the sinner ; has some- 
 thing, not only serious, but appropriate, to 
 impart. But to the generality of mankind, 
 each of them says nothing — or speaks in vain. 
 
 Much of this disregard is from the fre- 
 quency of the occurrence. Nothing seems 
 to affect us strongly, but what is sudden or 
 rare. The most important object, and the 
 most interesting events, when they become 
 ftuniliar, awaken neither wonder nor atten- 
 tion. Yet, if we cannot regulate our impres- 
 sions, we can govern our ideas ; we can apply 
 our thoughts to any subject we please : and 
 we should not suffer what is so full of instruc- 
 tion to pass without just reflection. We can- 
 not be always thinking of death; but we 
 should never be so absent from a proper con- 
 dition of mind as not to be easily recalled to 
 the improvement of an event which must 
 soon happen to all ; and for which we may 
 prepare, though we cannot prevent 
 
 It is not only the commonness of the sub- 
 ject, but our aversion to it, that keeps us 
 from attending to it It is, above all things, 
 irksome to flesh and blood: we, therefore, 
 are always endeavouring to put the evil day 
 far away. But since we cannot put it off"; 
 let us pray for that grace which will turn 
 the enemy into a friend, and the curse into a 
 Dlessing. Then to die will be gain : and we 
 may live rejoicing in hope of the glory of 
 God. 
 
 " If there be any virtue, and if there be 
 any praise, think on these things." 
 
 OCTOBER 20. 
 
 " Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty." 
 Isaiah xxxiii. 17. 
 
 What was the sight of Hezekiah, re- 
 leased from his affliction, and appearing 
 cheerfully in his royal robes to his subjects, 
 after the destruction of the Assyrian army ; 
 compared with another sight! "We see 
 Jesus, who, for the suffering of death, was 
 crowned with glory and honour." Some, in 
 the days of his flues, with their bodily eyes, 
 beheld his glory. And perhaps we are ready 
 to envy them the privilege. But this sight 
 of him was not accompanied with salvation — 
 '« Ye also," said he, " have seen me, and be- 
 lieved not:" and to those who were then be- 
 fore him he complained, "Ye will not come 
 unto me, that ye might have life." 
 
 On the other hand, there is a substitute 
 for this sight of him ; and it is infinitely more 
 available — And he is the subject of it who 
 sees him, not with the eye of the body, but 
 with the eye of the mind ; not with the eye 
 of sense, but with the eye of faith — "He that 
 seeth the Son, and believeth on him, hath 
 everlasting life." There is a spiritual per- 
 ception of him, as much distinguished from 
 common knowledge as the taste of a thing is 
 from the report of it Thus the Apostle 
 2 25 
 
 says, " It pleased God to reveal his Son in 
 me. and, speaking of all Christians, as well 
 as of himself, he adds, " He hath shined in 
 our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge 
 of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
 Christ" 
 
 This sight of the Saviour will be evinced 
 by certain effects. Self will be lowered. 
 What can he* think of his own excellences 
 who has been at the court above, and seen 
 the king in his beauty ! Self-admiration and 
 self-dependence will then be at an end. 
 " The proud looks shall be humbled, and the 
 lofty looks shall be laid low ; and the Lord 
 alone shall be exalted in that day." So it 
 was with Job — " Now mine eye seeth thee ; 
 wherefore I abhor myself, repenting in dust 
 and ashes." So it was with Isaiah — " Wo is 
 me, for I am undone ; for I am a man of unclean 
 lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean 
 lips ; for mine eyes have seen the King, the 
 Lord of Hosts." The world will fade away, 
 and lose its charms. The Sun of righteous- 
 ness will shine it out ; as the luminaries of 
 the night disappear in the effulgence of day. 
 Attachment will result from it. Love enters 
 by the eye. And faith is the same to the 
 soul as this sense is to the body : therefore, to 
 them "that believe, he is precious." He 
 " dwells in the heart by faith." There will also 
 necessarily arise a desire after more acquaint- 
 ance and intercourse with him. Thus Paul, 
 not because he was ignorant of him, but be- 
 cause he knew him, said, " That I may know 
 him." There will also be an earnest desire 
 to recommend him to others. As soon a3 
 Andrew knew him, he found his brother Si- 
 mon, and brought him to Jesus. So did Philip 
 his friend Nathanael. And so did the woman 
 of Samaria her fellow-citizens. 
 
 This sight of him is a very distinguished 
 privilege. As it is said of his immediate 
 followers, "Then were the disciples glad 
 when they saw the Lord ;" so we believing, 
 rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of 
 glory. There is enough in him, percepti- 
 ble to the view of faith, to induce us to re- 
 joice in the Lord alvmys. But how delight- 
 ful is the sight of him in the hour of convic- 
 tion 1 A drowning man, seeing a deliverer 
 in a boat, hastening to his assistance : a 
 debtor, on his way to prison, seeing a surety 
 at hand to undertake for him : a man, dying 
 of hunger, seeing the most delicious food— 
 never saw what I saw, when, sensible of my 
 state and danger, and feeling myself ready 
 to perish, my heart revived at the view of 
 such a Saviour, in his suitableness to my con 
 dition, in his all-sufficiency for my relief— 
 and I was enabled to hope in his mercy. 
 
 How delightful is the sight of him in the 
 hour of desertion ! If he withdraws from 
 me, it is not to show his sovereignty, but to 
 correct for sin : and when he hides his face 
 I am troubled. Then creatures are all mi 
 
29U 
 
 OCTOBER 21. 
 
 serable comforters. Then I sigh, O that it 
 was with me as in months past ! Then I 
 pray, Restore unto me the joy of thy salva- 
 tion — But when he appears and smiles 
 again, it is more than the joy of morning, 
 after a darksome night; or of spring, after 
 the dreariness of wiirter. 
 
 How delightful is the sight of him in the 
 hour of trouble ! It is then, when our pur- 
 poses are broken off, even the thoughts of 
 our hearts ; when enemies oppose ; when 
 friends fail or betray ; when health declines 
 — It is then we look towards him who is the 
 consolation of Israel, and say, " This same 
 shall comfort us :" " This man shall be the 
 
 {>eace when the Assyrian cometh into the 
 and." 
 
 How delightful is the sight of him in the 
 hour of death ! It loosened Simon from all 
 below, and made him more than willing to 
 depart; wishing, now he had seen him, to 
 defile, to vex his eyes with nothing else. 
 And how many have since said, 
 " Jesus, the vision of thy face 
 Hath overpowering charms : 
 Scarce shall I feel death's cold embrace, 
 If Christ be in my arms." 
 
 Such are the influence and the blessedness 
 of a sight of him, by faith, here. What 
 then is heaven *! " His servants shall serve 
 him ; and they shall see his face." " Father, 
 I will that they whom thou hast given me 
 be with me where I am, to behold my glory." 
 How superior will that sight be to all our 
 present apprehensions of him ! It will be 
 clear. It will be ceaseless. It will be un- 
 interrupted. It will be perfect. It will be 
 immediate. Whatever we have read or 
 heard of him before, we shall then exclaim, 
 with the Queen of Sheba, at the sight of 
 Solomon, " The half was not told me !" 
 
 ■ 'Tis pleasant to believe thy grace, 
 But we would rather see ; 
 We would be absent from the flesh, 
 And present, Lord, with thee." 
 
 OCTOBER 21. 
 
 U that there were such an heart in them, that 
 they would fear me, and keep all my com- 
 mandments always, that it might be well 
 with them, and with their children for ever I" 
 Deut v. 29. 
 
 Here we see the character of real reli- 
 gion. The seat of it is the heart — The 
 principle of it is the fear of God — The ex- 
 pression of it is keeping his commandments ; 
 all of them ; and always. 
 
 We have also the benefit resulting from 
 it. The good is personal — that it might be 
 well with them. And relative — and with 
 their children. And durable — for ever. 
 
 But how lovely does God appear in the 
 concern he here expresses ! " that there 
 were such an heart in them, that they would 
 fear me, and keep all my commandments al- 
 ways, that it might be well with them, and 
 
 with the.'r children for ever !" — It is ihe 
 language of complaint. It is as much as to 
 say, " But I do not find it so." Is he then 
 disappointed 1 Not as to fact, for he knows 
 all things. But he is as to right. Surely 
 he may justly expect from us an attention 
 to his voice, and the improvement of the 
 means and advantages with which we are 
 favoured. And when he meets with nothing 
 of this, he has reason to complain — And 
 this is his meaning, when he says, " What 
 more could have been done for my vine- 
 yard, and I have not done it 7 Wherefore, 
 when I looked that it should bring forth 
 grapes, brought it forth wild grapes'!" 
 "These three years I came seeking fruit, 
 and finding none.'' 
 
 It is the expressifn of desire. We are 
 aware that when the Scripture ascribes hu- 
 man attributes and feelings to God, they 
 must be understood according to th« perfec- 
 tion of his nature. They cannot mean pre- 
 cisely the same in him as they do in us 
 Yet there is always a truth whicn is the ba 
 sis of all such metaphorical representations 
 And a slpvish adherence to systematic di 
 vinity has much injured some of the finea 
 passages of Revelation ; and which were in 
 tended to be felt rather than criticised. Le< 
 it not therefore be objected, that M our God 
 is in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever 
 he pleaseth ;" and asked, " Who hath resist- 
 ed his will '!" — This is his own language, 
 " O that there was such a heart in them !" 
 " O that thou hadst hearkened to my com- 
 mandments ; then had thy peace been as a 
 river, and thy righteousness like the waves 
 of the sea! "How often would I have 
 gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chick- 
 ens under her wings, and ye would not !" 
 Yes, these are his own words — the expres- 
 sions of a God that cannot lie. This affords 
 me every encouragement I want. Unwor- 
 thy as I am, I see that he does not abandon 
 me. He is willing to save me. He is wait- 
 ing to be gracious. He is exalted to have 
 mercy upon me. What is the inability of 
 men to harmonize such declarations with 
 some other parts of their creed, to the oath 
 of the living God! — "As I live, saith the 
 Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of 
 him that dieth : wherefore turn and live ye." 
 
 It is the dictate of parental solicitude. It 
 is the voice, not of a severe legislator or 
 judge, but of a Father ; a Father who spared 
 not his own Son, but delivered him up for 
 us all ; a Father who does not afflict wil- 
 lingly, nor grieve the children of men ; a 
 Father who says, of the refractory child, 
 " How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ? how 
 shall I deliver thee, Israel 1 how shall I 
 make thee as Admah 1 how shall I set thee 
 as Zeboim ? mine heart is turned within me, 
 my repentings are kindled together;" a 
 Father who says of the relenting, self-be 
 
OCTOBER 22. 
 
 291 
 
 Tioaning child, " Is Ephraim my dear son ? 
 is ne a pleasant child ? for since I spake 
 against him I do earnestly remember him 
 still : therefore my bowels are troubled for 
 him; I will surely have mercy upon him, 
 saith the Lord." How often does he assume 
 this relation, in order to deprive his great- 
 ness of terror ; and to render it our encour- 
 agement and our confidence ! And not only 
 has he said, "Like as a father pitieth his 
 children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear 
 him :" but he has taken for an image of his 
 tenderness the heart of a mother — and 
 surely all that is parental indwells there: 
 " As one whom his mother comforteth, so 
 will I comfort you." " Can a woman for- 
 get her sucking child, that she should not 
 have compassion on the son of her womb ? 
 She may." Ah ! ye mothers, your affection 
 is ice, your heart is iron compared with his 
 — " yet will I not forget thee." 
 
 Surely " he that loveth not, knoweth not 
 God — for God is love." Can this encourage 
 us to sin ? Can we grieve his Holy Spirit ? 
 Can we hear him saying in vain, " O do not 
 that abominable thing which I hate ?" " Or 
 despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and 
 forbearance, and longsuffering ; not knowing 
 that the goodness of God leadeth thee to re- 
 pentance: but, after thy hardness and im- 
 penitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself 
 wrath against the day of wrath, and revela- 
 tion of the righteous judgment of God ?" 
 
 OCTOBER 22. 
 
 " I am come that they might have life" 
 John x. 10. 
 
 Though men have differed in their defini- 
 tions of life, they have all agreed in their es- 
 timation of it Even the father of lies spake 
 truth, when he said, Skin for skin, yea, all 
 that a man hath will he give for his life. Yet 
 what is this life which we so highly prize ? 
 nourish with so much care ? and to preserve 
 which, we are ready to make every kind of 
 sacrifice] What is it in duration 1 ! "A va- 
 pour that appeareth for a little time, and 
 then vanisheth away." What is it in dig- 
 nity ? " We spend our years as a tale that 
 is told." What is it in enjoyment? Hear 
 Jacob — " Few, and full of evil, have been the 
 days of the years of my pilgrimage." " But 
 his was, perhaps, a peculiar case." What 
 says Job'? " Man that is born of a woman is 
 oi few days, and full of trouble." "But 
 he expressed himself under depression and 
 gloom." What then says Solomon, who 
 withheld his heart from no joy! "All is 
 vanity and vexation of spirit" But here is a 
 life that deserves the name : a life, spiritual 
 in its nature; endless in its continuance; 
 consisting, not of an immortality of being 
 only, but of blessedness; commencing in 
 
 grace; completed in glory; and emphatica!ij 
 called, The Life of God. Of this life the 
 Lord Jesus here speaks — " I am come that 
 they might have life." 
 
 He came to procure it for us. The bless- 
 ing comes every way free to us ; but it cost 
 him dear. If we live, he must die. " The 
 bread," said he, "which I give, is my flesh, 
 which I shall give for the life of the world." 
 Princes have often sacrificed the lives of their 
 subjects to their own : yea, and where their 
 own have not been in danger, they have of- 
 fered thousands of victims on the altar of 
 their vanity or revenge. But the Prince of 
 Peace gave his life a ransom for many. He 
 was poor. He was a man of sorrows. Y'ou 
 see him agonizing in the garden ; and hear 
 him exclaiming on the cross, " My God ! my 
 God ! why hast thou forsaken me?" Why is 
 all this ? Is he guilty ? " In him was no 
 sin." Yet he was esteemed stricken, smitten 
 of God, and afflicted. But " he was wounded 
 for our transgressions ; he was bruised for our 
 iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was 
 upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." 
 " One died for all." 
 
 He came to announce it to us. We can 
 derive no benefit from him without a depend- 
 ence upon him ; an application to him ; a con- 
 nexion with him. But all this requires the 
 knowledge of him : and therefore says God, 
 "By his knowledge shall my righteous ser- 
 vant justify many; for he shall bear their 
 iniquities." It is true we are justified by 
 faith — but " how can we believe in him of 
 whom we have not heard ? and how can we 
 hear without a preacher? He therefore 
 " came and preached peace." "I am come," 
 said he, "a light into the world, that whoso- 
 ever believeth on me should not walk in dark- 
 ness, but have the light of life." He pro- 
 claimed the nature of this life ; the source of 
 it; the medium of it; the certainty of it; the 
 present enjoyment of it. His disciples, there- 
 fore, well said, To whom should we go, but 
 unto thee? thou hast the words of eternal 
 life. And these words he dispensed, not only 
 by his personal ministry, but by the instru- 
 mentality of others. What the Apostles did, 
 he did ; because he sent them, and qualified 
 them: he inspired them, and commanded 
 them to preach the Gospel to every creature, 
 and also to record it, for the use of all future 
 ages ; so that we can read what they delivered. 
 
 He came to produce it in us. " The Son 
 quickeneth whom he will." He received, in 
 consequence of his death, the whole dispen- 
 sation of the Holy Ghost; and hence it is 
 called, "The Spirit of Christ." And this 
 Spirit is, as the Apostle calls it, the Spirit of 
 life in Christ Jesus, which makes us free from 
 the law of sin and death. Nothing less than 
 this can insure the result It is above the 
 efficiency of education; of example; of mora 
 suasion ; and of all the means of grace — with 
 
292 
 
 OCTOBER 23. 
 
 out the grace of the leans. The Gospel 
 cannot accomplish it, if it comes in word only 
 
 -It is the Spirit that giveth life. The ser- 
 vant of the Lord is like Gehazi. He went and 
 laid the staff upon the child, hut no life ap- 
 peared till his master himself came. Who 
 then is Paul 1 and who is A polios 1 but minis- 
 ters by whom ye believed, even as the Lord 
 gave to every man? And they who were 
 once dead in trespasses and sins, but are now 
 walking in newness of life, will acknowledge 
 that he quickened them ; and will readily give 
 him the glory that is due to his holy Name. 
 
 in this b'essed business, therefore, he is all 
 in all. He came that we might have life — 
 Came to procure it for us as our Priest — To 
 announce it, as our Prophet — To produce it, 
 as our King. To obtain it, by his blood — To 
 publish it, by his Gospel. To bestow it, by his 
 Spirit He is therefore called, this life itself 
 in the abstract-r-When he who is our life 
 shall appear, we shall also appear with him 
 in glory. 
 
 But how many neglect him, and compel 
 mm to complain, Ye will not come unto me 
 that ye might have life ! Hence the heihous- 
 ness of their guilt, and the dreadfulness of 
 their condemnation. Whatever difficulties 
 attend this truth, in connexion with any 
 other ; they attach only to the explanation ; 
 not to the fact itself. Nothing can be clearer, 
 from the Scripture, than that they who thus 
 perish, will destroy themselves ; and be treated 
 as spiritual suicides. 
 
 But if we desire this life, can we suppose 
 the Saviour will refuse us, when we go to 
 him for the very purpose for which he came 1 
 Did he ever refuse any 1 Can he refuse any 1 
 He cannot — He has bound himself— * Him 
 
 THAT COMETH UNTO ME, I WILL IN NO WISE 
 CAST OUT." 
 
 OCTOBER 23. 
 
 " And that they might have it more abundant- 
 ly." — John x. 10. 
 
 Thus he not only informs us of the design 
 of his advent: " I am come that they might 
 have life ;" but, like himself, adds the exten- 
 siveness of it — " and that they might have it 
 more abundantly." This may be exemplified 
 in three comparisons. 
 
 We have life more abundantly than Adam. 
 His life, before the Fall, was a noble life ; but 
 it is surpassed by the life of the Christian. — 
 This is firmer as to its tenure. The life of 
 innocency was precarious. It was suspended 
 on the fallible will of man. The stock was 
 in Adam's own hands; and he failed, and 
 ruined all his posterity. But this life can 
 never be destroyed. The Head of the New 
 Covenant ever liveth ; and because he lives, 
 his people shall live also : I give unto them 
 eternal life, and they shall never perish. — It 
 
 is richer as to its quality. The first man is 
 of the earth, earthy ; the second man is the 
 Lord, from heaven. As is the earthy, such 
 are they also that are earthy ; and as is the 
 heavenly, such are they als: that are hea» 
 venly. It is not the prirneva. cody cf Adam 
 which is to be the model in our resurrection, 
 but the glorious body of the Saviour. We are 
 to bear the image of the heavenly. Had 
 Adam remained innocent, though he would 
 never have died, yet must he have expe- 
 rienced a change before he could have been 
 capable of enjoying the blessedness which the 
 poorest Christian expects ; for flesh and blood 
 cannot inherit the kingdom of God. After a 
 proper trial of his obedience, he would have 
 been removed to a higher state; but even 
 then he must have been a stranger to many 
 interesting feelings and delightful enjoyments, 
 arising from all the operations of divine grace 
 in our recovery from the depths of the Fall to 
 the glories of heaven. Eden was not equal to 
 the Paradise above. The creation of man is 
 excelled by his redemption. The righteous- 
 ness of a perfect creature is far below the 
 righteousness of God, in which we are not 
 justified, but " exalted." 
 
 We have life more abundantly than, the 
 Jewish Church. They derive their life from 
 the same source with us ; and it was essen- 
 tially the same with ours. But we have it 
 more plenteously as to knowledge, liberty, 
 and enjoyment. We are fully justified in 
 considering our spiritual advantages as very 
 superior to their privileges, by our Saviour 
 himself, who said to his disciples, " Blessed 
 are your eyes, for they see ; and your ears, for 
 they hear. For verily I say unto you, That 
 many prophets and righteous men have de 
 sired to see those things which ye see, and 
 have not seen them ; and to hear those things 
 which ye hear, and have not heard them." 
 They had the types and shadows ; we have the 
 very image of the thing. They saw the Mes- 
 siah afar off, and under a veil ; he is with us, 
 and we behold him with open face. They 
 had the first-fruits ; we have the whole vintage. 
 They had the dawn ; we have the full day — God 
 having provided some better thing for us, that 
 they without us should not be made perfect 
 They, from their comparative darkness, were 
 inspired with more disquiet and terror ; they 
 received the spirit of bondage to fear: we re- 
 ceive the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 
 Abba, Father. The way into the holiest was 
 not then made manifest: the people never 
 entered where God dwelt between the Che- 
 rubim : the High Priest only went in ; and he 
 only once a year. But we have all boldness? 
 to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus . 
 and may draw near in full assurance of faith. 
 They came to a material mountain, and that 
 burned with fire, and unto blackness and 
 darkness, and the sound of a trumpet, and the 
 voice of words ; which voice they that heard 
 
OCTOBER 24 
 
 293 
 
 eulreated that the word should not be spoken 
 to them any more. " But we are come unto 
 Mount Sion. and unto the city of the living 
 God, tlie heavenly Jerusalem, and to an in- 
 numerable company of angels, to the general 
 assembly and Church of the firstborn, which 
 are written in heaven, and to God the. Judge 
 of all, and to the spirits of just men made 
 perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new 
 covenant, and t'i the blood of sprinkling, that 
 speaketh better things than that of Abel." 
 
 We have life more abundantly than we had 
 it ourselves before. Vital religion, though 
 im perfect, is growing and progressive. Un- 
 der the influences of the Holy Spirit, we go 
 from strength to strength in our course ; and 
 are renewed day by day in our experience. 
 There is life in an acorn ; but the oak has it 
 more abundantly. There is wheat in the 
 blade ; but how much more in the full corn 
 in the ear ! What a difference between Sir 
 Isaac INewton when a babe on his mother's 
 knee, and a philosopher measuring the dis- 
 tances of the planets ! " Why a man can but 
 live." Indeed ! Do you not sometimes say, I 
 am all languor ; I have no life in me ? At 
 othur times you are all vigour and alacrity — 
 How you live then ! What a difference be- 
 tween a man confined in a hospital ; and a 
 man at large, able to fill and enjoy his station ! 
 A man may be alive, and be blind, and deaf, 
 and lame, and able to eat nothing with a 
 relish. Some real Christians are little better 
 than this — they are — just alive! But they 
 are to be suspected who are only anxious to 
 know that th^y have the reality of divine 
 grace, while they are regardless of increase 
 in the divine life. More is desirable. More 
 is attainable. He came not only that we 
 might have life — but have it more abun- 
 dantly. 
 
 Wherefore pray, "that he would grant 
 you, according to the riches of his glory, to be 
 strengthened with might by his Spirit in the 
 inner man ; that Christ may dwell in your 
 hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and 
 grounded in love, may be able to comprehend 
 with all saints what is the breadth, and length, 
 and depth, and height ; and to know the love 
 of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye 
 might be filled with all the fulness of God." 
 
 OCTOBER 24 
 
 - And I will give him the morning »tar." 
 Rev. ii. 28. 
 
 If we found any difficulty in determining 
 the subject of this promise, we could refer to 
 the speaker's own declaration in another part 
 of this Book — " I am the root and offspring 
 of David, the bright and the morning star." 
 Here we see the advantage of comparing 
 one passage of Scripture with anothi >r. What 
 is general in one is particularized in another : 
 2ft* 
 
 and what is darker in one, is clearer in an- 
 other. 
 
 Does he then promise himself— I will give 
 him the morning star ! Yes — He is the guide 
 and the way ; the teacher and the lesson : the 
 priest and the sacrifice: the giver and the 
 gift, He is all in all. By promising himself, 
 he would teach us to look for happiness in 
 himself, and not in the creature. He also 
 knew that nothing else could satisfy the minds 
 of his people, who would be sure to say, 
 
 " Without thy graces and thyself, 
 I were a wretch undone." 
 
 "Give what thou canst — without thee we are poor : 
 And, with thee, rich, take what thou wilt away." 
 
 And thus also he would encourage their ex- 
 pectations : for what will he withhold, if he 
 gives himself] Therefore, because he could 
 promise no greater, he promised himself. The 
 bestowment of himself would have been 
 greater than the bestowment of heaven : for 
 heaven is, so to speak, but a part of him. He 
 that buildeth the house hath more honour 
 than the house. 
 
 But has he not already given himself to his 
 people ? And yet he speaks as if the donation 
 was future — I trill give him the morning star. 
 Yes ; as soon as they believed on him they re- 
 ceived him, and had the privilege of becoming 
 the sons of God. But as to their knowledge, 
 experience, and enjoyment ; he communicates 
 himself to them by degrees. The apostle 
 therefore says, after many years of commu- 
 nion with him, That I may win Christ, and 
 be found in him : that I may know him. The 
 promise must be principally accomplished 
 hereafter. We could not receive him in all 
 his fulness now. Our place, our condition, 
 our powers forbid. Flesh and blood cannot 
 inherit the kingdom of God. 
 
 But let me survey the image — I will give 
 him the morning star. The morning star, 
 to our view, is the most beautiful and lumi- 
 nous. It is distinguished by its sparkling 
 brightness. Many resemble Christ; but in 
 all things he has the pre-eminence. Pro- 
 phets, priests, and kings, have been anointed, 
 as well as he ; but he was anointed with the 
 oil of gladness above his fellows. O how 
 great is his beauty ! He is fairer than the 
 children of men; fairer than the children of 
 God , fairer than the sons of God who shouted 
 for joy at the creation — Yea, he is altogether 
 lovely. 
 
 But the thing is, that this luminary is the 
 harDinger of day. Therefore it is called the 
 day star ; and the morning star. The truth 
 of the image, therefore, is to assure us— that 
 to those who believe on him, there is a glo- 
 rious season drawing on. The night of ig- 
 norance, and error, and sin, and sorrow, with 
 them is rapidly terminating — Weeping may 
 endure for the night ; but joy cometh in the 
 morning. Look — Look, Christians! Ther* 
 
294 
 
 OCTOBER 25. 
 
 is the shining pledge. It never failed yet It 
 cannot deceive. Now is your salvation nearer 
 than when you believed. The night is far 
 spent. The day is at hand. And then your 
 sun shall no more go down. 
 
 Let this promise place me, and keep me in 
 a proper frame of mind. Let it raise me 
 above the world. Let it teach me, in what- 
 soever state I am, therewith to be content. 
 Let it induce me to rejoice evermore ; yea, 
 and in every thing to give thanks. To the 
 upright there ariseth light in the darkness. 
 If in the world I have tribulation in him, I 
 have peace. Many things are denied me ; 
 but I can dispense with them, since he is 
 mine. Why should I envy others'] They 
 succeed ; they gain ; they possess — But /have 
 the morning star. 
 
 41 What others value, I resign ; 
 Lord, tis enough that thou art mine: 
 I shall behold thy blissful face ; 
 And stand complete in righteousness!'' 
 
 OCTOBER 25. 
 
 " / am the door : by me if any man enter in, 
 he shall be saved, and shall sfo in and out, 
 and find pasture." — John x. 9. 
 
 A door is a very familiar and striking 
 representation of the Lord Jesus. It seems 
 hardly necessary to remark, that it must be 
 a metaphor. Yet the Papists, from taking 
 literally, what is spoken in a similar instance, 
 have introduced the monstrous doctrine of 
 transubstantiation. Because when he took 
 the bread, and the wine, our Saviour said, 
 "This is my body, and this is my blood !" 
 they believe that the disciples received his 
 real body and blood; and that every com- 
 municant does the same now, when the priest 
 has consecrated the elements : and, say they, 
 we only take him at his word — nothing can 
 be plainer. Upon the same principle, we 
 may say, he is timber and nails : for he says — 
 what can be clearer? I am the door. But 
 can any man of common sense — can a child 
 suppose that he means any thing more than 
 that a door is an image of him 1 
 
 The design of the allusion is obvious. A 
 door is the medium of passage — and Jesus 
 stands between God and us. He is the 
 mediator of the new covenant. God comes 
 to us through him: and conveys all his 
 blessings to us by him. And we approach 
 God through him. I am the way, said he — 
 No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 
 And as, with regard to our persons, we come 
 unto God by him ; so it is witli regard to our 
 services: we offer up spiritual sacrifices, ac- 
 ceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And, with 
 regard to both, we have boldness and access, 
 with confidence, only by the faith of him. 
 
 But how is the person described who de- 
 rives benefit from him ? He makes use of 
 
 him for this purpose — " By me if any man 
 enter in." This supposes a spiritual concern. 
 Many are careless about their souls. They 
 have never been convinced of sin : never in- 
 duced, from an apprehension of their danger, 
 to cry, What must I do to be saved ' They 
 are men of the world : and all their anxieties 
 are confined within the narrow bound of time 
 and sense. Others, if in a degree awakened, 
 are not enlightened. Their concern is er- 
 roneously directed ; for there is a way which 
 seemeth right unto a man; but it ends in 
 death. There is a refuge that cannot abide 
 the storm. There is a hope that is like the 
 spider's web; as curiously wrought, and as 
 easily destroyed. The case is this. There is 
 salvation in none other than in him, who was 
 delivered for our offences, and was raised 
 again for our justification. In the Lord 
 alone have we righteousness and strength. 
 To him, therefore, must men come. And to 
 him the Christian does come. He knows, 
 not only that there is no salvation for him out 
 of Christ, but that there is no salvation for 
 him in Christ, without a dependence upon 
 him, and an application to him. He knows 
 that, as a medicine never taken, can never 
 cure; and as food never eaten, can never 
 nourish: so an unapplied Saviour is no Sa- 
 viour to him. He therefore makes use of 
 Christ for every end he is revealed to an- 
 swer. He builds upon him, as a foundation. 
 As a way, he walks in him. As a door, by 
 him he enters in. 
 
 And what are the advantages he obtains 
 when admitted] Safety — "He shall be 
 saved." Saved from the curse of the law, 
 and the wrath to come — Saved from the 
 roaring lion, who goeth about seeking whore 
 he may devour — Saved from the king of ter- 
 rors — Saved from a world lying in wicked- 
 ness — Saved from an evil heart of unbelief 
 in departing from the living God — Saved ii 
 the Lord, with an everlasting salvation.— 
 Liberty — " He shall go in and out." A mar. 
 is free in his own house. He goes in and out 
 at his pleasure — and when he goes out, he if 
 not shut out, like a stranger ; and when he 
 goes in, he is not shut in, like a criminal 
 This too, is the privilege of sheep, under tht 
 care of a good shepherd. They go in ; but 
 if they could not go out, the fold would be s 
 prison. They therefore, at night, go in foi 
 protection; and in the morning, go out foi 
 food. The expression, therefore, is used ir 
 the Scripture as significant of freedom : and 
 the meaning is, that what is done for tht 
 Christian's safety, does not compromise his 
 liberty. He knows the truth ; and the truth 
 makes him free : and he is free indeed — free 
 to go wherever he pleases in Immanuel's 
 land — free, to partake of all the privileges 
 of the sons of God. — Plenty — "And find 
 pasture." Ah ! said one of them, realizing 
 this, " The Lord is my shepherd ; 1 shall not 
 
OCTOBER 26. 
 
 296 
 
 want He maketh me to lie down in green 
 pastures; he leadeth me beside the still 
 waters." So Isaiah — " They shall feed in the 
 ways" — the ways of his commandments* 
 ordinances, and dispensations — "and their 
 pastures shall be in all high places" — where 
 they cannot be hid; but where they may 
 seem unlikely to find supplies ; as elevations, 
 especially in warm countries, are commonly 
 barren — but he feeds them, while he lifts 
 them up, for ever. Religion raises them; 
 but not into regions of barren speculation — 
 for it is added, " They shall not hunger nor 
 thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite 
 them ; for he that hath mercy on them shall 
 lead them, even by the springs of water shall 
 he guide them." 
 
 OCTOBER 26. 
 
 ' Jerutalem, -wash thine heart from -wick- 
 edness, that thou mayest be saved." — Jer. 
 iv. 14. 
 
 Though these words are addressed to Je- 
 i isalem ; by a principle of the fairest reason- 
 ing, they extend to every individual who 
 needs the same purification and deliverance. 
 And who does not? Yea, the circumstance 
 strengthens the argument. Jerusalem was 
 called the Holy City ; the City of the living 
 God. There stood his temple; there were 
 his servants to make known his will ; they 
 had Moses and the prophets. If they needed 
 such an address ; is it needless for us 1 With 
 all their unbelief and ingratitude, disobe- 
 dience, and perverseness, they were fair spe- 
 cimens of the human race. In Adam, all 
 died; and from him we derive a mortal, 
 and therefore a depraved nature — " What 
 is man, that he should be clean ; or he that is 
 born of a woman, that he should be righ- 
 teous ]"- All, therefore, need pardoning mer- 
 cy, and sanctifying grace — All need to be 
 saved by the washing of regeneration, and 
 the renewing of the Holy Ghost. But here 
 are two difficulties. 
 
 First. God himself is represented as con- 
 cerned for lAe success of the measure. " 
 Jerusalem* wash thine heart from wicked- 
 ness, that thou mayest be saved." This inter- 
 jection with us, often implies weakness and 
 grief, as well as desire. We must therefore 
 take care how we apply these expressions to 
 God, lest we degrade the perfections of his 
 nature. He speaks to us after the manner of 
 men ; but his condescension must not rob 
 him of his glory. Yet his language is not 
 devoid of truth However metaphorical it 
 may be, there is in it a reality that more than 
 justifies it. To which we may add, that even 
 grief and weakness had better be ascribed to 
 God, than insincerity. Let us be assured of 
 ♦Jiis, that he means what he says. While he 
 hates our sins, he loves our souls; and is not 
 
 willing that any should perish, but that all 
 should come to repentance. He is not only 
 the righteous Governor, but the kind Father. 
 This is the lovely character under which he de 
 lights to display himself. Hence his expostula- 
 tion with- himself— " How shall I give thee up, 
 Ephraim 1 how shall I deliver thee, Israel ? how 
 shall I make thee as Admah ? how shall I set 
 thee as Zeboiml Mine heart is turned within 
 me, my repentings are kindled together." 
 Hence the oath he has taken — " As I live, 
 saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in tlifc 
 death of him that dieth;-. wherefore turn, and 
 live ye." Hence the sacrifice of the Cross — 
 " He that spared not his own Son, but de- 
 livered him up for us all, how shall he not 
 with him also freely give us all things!" 
 Hence all the means he is incessantly em- 
 ploying to awaken and engage our attention 
 to the things that belong to our peace. Hence 
 he has established the ministry of reconcilia- 
 tion, and sends forth his servants to beseech 
 us, in his name, to be reconciled unto God. 
 
 Secondly. The work is considered as of 
 our own achieving ; and we are called upon 
 to cleanse our hearts from wickedness. It 
 would be a contradiction of the whole Bible 
 were we to be regarded as the authors. But 
 we are the instruments. God not only work- 
 eth in us, but by us. And hence, though all 
 is of grace, yet we — " will and do." We be- 
 lieve and repent, and hold on our way, and 
 wax stronger and stronger. It would be an 
 abuse of the language to infer from it, that we 
 have power to do this naturally, or of our- 
 selves — yet the address would be absurd had 
 we not the ability in some other way. God 
 has the right to command, though we have 
 lost the power to obey ; but this is not the 
 ground of the injunction. If in him our help 
 was not found, he would not thus speak to us. 
 But it is. His grace is sufficient for us. Every 
 thing necessary for our deliverance from sin 
 is provided, and presented in the Gospel : and 
 we must have recourse to it in the use of 
 the means which he has ordained. The 
 address, therefore, is not like a command to a 
 man to flee — a thing unnatural ; and which 
 he cannot enable himself to do : but like a 
 command to a man, who was ready to perish 
 for want, to take and eat Though he has 
 nothing of his own, he has in view and at 
 hand evervkind of supply, and he is welcome 
 to partake" of it Or, like a command to a 
 sick man to be cured : he cannot indeed heal 
 himself, but he has one near him who is able 
 and willing to heal him ; and asks, Wilt thou 
 be made whole? And to this remedy he is 
 to submit All such commands are designed 
 to make us sensible of our wants and weak- 
 ness ; and to bring us upon our knees. Then 
 everv thing is possible. Forgiveness and sane 
 tification are attainable — are certain. And 
 having this hope in us, we purify ourselves 
 even as he is pure. Having these promises, 
 
296 
 
 OCTOBER 27, 23. 
 
 we cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of 
 flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear 
 of God. 
 
 OCTOBER 27. 
 
 ¥ O Jerusalem, wr,«A thine heart from -wicked- 
 ness, that thou mayest be saved." — Jer. iv. 14. 
 The words remind us, that sin is of a de- 
 filing nature. It is therefore held forth by 
 every kind of uncleanness ; by wounds, and 
 bruises, and putrifyiag sores ; by leprosy and 
 he plague; by mire and dirt; by the rotten- 
 ness and corruption of the grave. It defiles 
 every thing it touches. In consequence of 
 it the whole creation groaneth ; and all our 
 eyes behold is doomed to perish like the house 
 of the leper, under the law, because of the in- 
 fection of the inhabitant. " O do not," says 
 God, "the abominable thing that I hate." 
 " My soul loathed them." How great must 
 that evil be, which can induce the Creator to 
 loathe the work of his own hands 1 The 
 Father of all, to loathe his very offspring ! 
 And even the God of love, the very essence 
 of mercy, to say to them at last, " Depart, ye 
 cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
 devil and his angels ! O my soul ! does sin 
 appear to thee as it does to Him — exceeding 
 sinful? 
 
 Secondly. That the purification we need 
 extends to the heart — "Wash thine heart 
 from wickedness." The reason is, because this 
 is the very seat of the pollution. Some, who 
 know their lives are open to censure, will yet 
 plead for the goodness of their hearts. But a 
 good heart will always produce a good life, as 
 naturally as a good tree yieldeth good fruit. 
 Others contend that our corruption is not in- 
 nate, but acquired; derived, not from within, 
 but from witbout — Yet, says the faithful and 
 true Witness, " From within, out of the heart 
 of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, for- 
 nications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wick- 
 edness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, 
 blasphemy, pride, foolishness : all these evil 
 things come from within, and defile the man." 
 Hence, 
 
 No outward forms can make us clean — 
 The leprosy lies deep within." 
 
 And we must be pure in heart. How is this 
 to be ascertained ? By our deliverance from 
 the love of sin. The love of sin defiles even 
 more than the practice. But every man that 
 is renewed in the spirit of his mind not only 
 avoids sin, but hates it He feels it to be his 
 burden and his grief. And, while any of the 
 abomination continues adherent to him, he 
 exclaims, O wretched man that I am ! who 
 thall deliver me from the body of this death? 
 Thirdly. This purification is connected 
 with salvation — " Wash thine heart from 
 wickedness, that thou mayest be saved." It 
 n necess irv to salvation. Without holiness 
 
 no man shall see the Lord. The unnghteoui 
 shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Indeed, 
 in such a state, and with such a disposition, 
 NJie enjoyment of heaven is as impossible ap 
 the attainment. The exclusion, therefore, L 
 not arbitrary, but unavoidable. — It will cer- 
 tainly terminate in salvation. This is not 
 only fully implied in the declaration, but it 
 is made the matter of express promise — " Let 
 the wicked forsake his way, and the unright- 
 eous man his thoughts, and let him return 
 unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon 
 him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly 
 pardon." — It is a part of salvation. The 
 man who has experienced it is not only an 
 heir, but a subject of the blessedness. He 
 has not, indeed, the perfection of the thing, 
 but he has more than the title and the pledge 
 — he has the beginning. Being made free 
 from sin, and become the servant of God, he 
 has his fruit unto holiness, and the end ever- 
 lasting life. 
 
 OCTOBER 28. 
 
 " If any man love God, the same is known of 
 him." — 1 Cor. viii. 3. 
 
 There is nothing so mortifying to men as 
 inattention and neglect. Many would rather 
 be hated than neglected. The one implies, 
 that they are deemed something ; the othc r 
 shows, that they are considered as beneath 
 notice. Hence we are anxious to be known 
 of our fellow-creatures ; especially of those 
 who are placed above us — and can take us 
 by -the hand — and raise us up — and put us 
 forward in life. Yet, as men of low degree 
 are vanity, so men of high degree are a lie. 
 After all our servile attentions and compli- 
 ances, we are never sure of gaining their re- 
 gard — And if gained, what could even their 
 zeal do for us in our roost important inter- 
 ests? Let us turn our anxiety another way. 
 Let us sanctify it. Let us make it the me- 
 dium of our happiness. Let us be concern- 
 ed to please God. Then we shall be sure tc 
 succeed ; and success will be every thing 
 For in his favour is life — " If any man lovfl 
 God, the same is known of him." 
 
 This knowledge being spoken of as the 
 highest privilege, it must intend much more 
 than a mere acquaintance with the subjects 
 of it : for, thus, all are known of him. 
 
 The least thing intended is discernment. 
 The Lord knows their condition. Knows all 
 their walking through this great wilderness. 
 Knows all their trials. Knows the pressure 
 of every burden they bear. Knows their 
 frame, and remembers that they are dust 
 He perceives all their dangers. Their ene- 
 mies may plot against them ; but they do it 
 in the sight of their Father and Friend. And, 
 as to their persons, the Lord knoweth them 
 that are his. He never overlooks them in the 
 
OCTOBER 29. 
 
 297 
 
 crowd. If there was only one of them in a 
 village, or city, or nation; he would have his 
 eye upon him. However misrepresented and 
 reproached, he recognizes them as upright 
 Defore him. However obscure their condi- 
 tion, he views them as the excellent of the 
 earth. However iittle their faith, he watches 
 the tears with which they cry, Lord, I be- 
 lieve; help thou mine unbelief. However 
 encompassed with infirmities, which some- 
 times perplex others, He, who knows what 
 is the mind of the spirit, knoweth that they 
 love him. Wo can only judge of motives by 
 actions. But God judges of actions by mo- 
 tives. He seeth the heart; inconsequence 
 of which, in estimating the services of his 
 people, he admits into the amount not only 
 all they do, but all they design to do, and 
 wish to do, when they are hindered ; and ac- 
 cepts them according to what they have, and 
 not according to what they have not Even 
 this is a source of satisfaction to the Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 But this knowledge, also, takes in appro- 
 bation. The Lord knoweth the way of the 
 righteous. — So he does the way of the un- 
 godly. But the meaning is, he approves it; 
 he commends it. The Lord taketh pleasure 
 in them that fear him ; in them that hope in 
 his mercy. He regards them, with compla- 
 cency, as the work of his own hands. He 
 esteems them as his jewels; his bride, his 
 offspring. Their prayer is his delight ; their 
 alms, the odour of a sweet smell. Approba- 
 tion must be valued according to the condi- 
 tion and character of the being from whom it 
 comes. It would be a reproach to pass for the 
 favourite of Satan. The first Christians would 
 also have deemed the friendship of the world 
 no recommendation : for they were satisfied 
 to say, "The world knoweth us not; because 
 it knew him not." A great personage reflects 
 a lustre upon a near object : a person would 
 be ambitious to be seen intimate with the 
 king. And to live in the affections of the wise 
 and good, says a fine writer, is like breathing 
 in an eastern spice grove. What a dignity is 
 it, then, to walk with God 1 What a blessed- 
 ness to hear Him say, " Since thou wast pre- 
 cious in my sight, thou hast been honour- 
 able, and I have loved thee !" And what shall 
 be done for the man whom the King of kings 
 delighteth to honour 1 
 
 For this knowledge is acknowledgment. 
 The Apostle, admonishing the Thessalonians, 
 says, " Know them that labour among you, 
 and are over you in the Lord" — that is, own 
 them with respect ; and verbally and practi- 
 cally treat them as their office requires. Thus 
 God claims his people. He owns them in the 
 dispensations of his providence, and in the 
 agency of his grace. He signalizes them in 
 life. He does it often more peculiarly in 
 death : so that his saints are joyful in glory, 
 and shout aloud upon their beds ; and induce 
 •2P 
 
 their very enemies to exclaim, Let me die 
 the death of the righteous, and let my last 
 end be like his ! But, above all, they shall be 
 mine, saith the Lord, in that day, when 1 
 make up my jewels. He will confess them 
 before the assembled earth and heavens ; and 
 place them nearer the throne than angels. 
 
 Of what importance, then, is the love of 
 God ! And how carefully should we inquire, 
 whether it be shed abroad in our hearts! No- 
 thing can be a substitute for this affection. 
 Without it, our knowledge, our gifts, our 
 faith itself, are vain. If we have any thing 
 like devotion, it is formality. If we have 
 peace, it is delusion. If we have safety, it is 
 a refuge of lies. And though we may go to 
 the very door of heaven, and knock, and say, 
 Lord, Lord, open unto us — he will profess, 
 " I never knew you — Depart." 
 
 OCTOBER 29. 
 
 " In the day of my trouble, I -will call upon 
 tliee." — Psalm lxxxvi. 7. 
 
 This was the language of David. David 
 was a king, and a saint He was pre-emi- 
 nently great and good. Yet neither does his 
 rank or his godliness exempt him from trou 
 ble. 
 
 But it is well to see what such a man doe? 
 when trouble cometh upon him. And here 
 we have* his resolution : " In the day of mj 
 trouble I will call upon thee." 
 
 This was the wisest thing he could do; ano 
 it is the best thing we can do. For, first 
 Prayer is enjoined upon us in trouble. The 
 will of God is our rule. And who can be ig- 
 norant of his command ? Who has not read, 
 " Is any afflicted 1 Let him pray V 
 
 Secondly. Prayer is the design of trouble. 
 He does not afflict willingly, or grieve the 
 children of men. He has an end, worthy his 
 wisdom and his goodness, to answer by every 
 trial. It is to bring us to himself; and to 
 bring us nearer to himself. It is to quicken 
 us to pray more frequently, more earnestly — 
 " I will go and return to my place, till they 
 acknowledge their offence and seek my face 
 — In their affliction they will seek me early." 
 
 Thirdly. Prayer is the evidence that trou- 
 ble is sanctified. It is a great thing not to 
 lose a trial. A trial is never neutral in its 
 effect It always injures, or improves. It is 
 worse t!)an nothing when it sends us to the 
 creature, either in a way of accusation or re- 
 lief But when we turn to him that smiteth 
 us ; and acknowledge that his judgments are 
 right; and cast ourselves at his feet resolved, 
 if we perish, there to die; we need not pay, 
 with Job, " I am afraid of all my sorrows ;" 
 but confess, with David, " It is good for me 
 that I have been afflicted." 
 
 Fourthly. Prayer is the solace of trouble. 
 There is some relief in tears, and therefore 
 
258 
 
 OCTOBER 30. 
 
 nature is provided with them. It eases and 
 soothes the bursting heart, to pour our grief 
 into the ear of a friend ; who having rejoiced 
 when we rejoiced, will weep when we weep. 
 But how good is it to draw near to God ! How 
 delightful is it, like Job, to pour out our tears 
 unto him : and resemble the child that sobs 
 himself asleep in his mother's arms, and on 
 his mother's breast ! " A glorious high throne 
 from the beginning," says the Church, " has 
 been the place of our sanctuary." A temple 
 that no evil enters ; an asylum that no enemy 
 invades — There the wicked cease from trou- 
 bling ; and there the weary are at rest. 
 
 Fifthly. Prayer is the medium of our deli- 
 verance from trouble. For this release, we 
 are allowed to be concerned. But we must 
 seek it from God. And in doing this, we have 
 not only his power to encourage us — and no- 
 thing is too hard for him ; but his goodness 
 and love ; and like as a father pitieth his chil- 
 dren, so the I^ord pitieth them that fear him. 
 Yea, more: we have his faithfulness and 
 truth ; that we shall not seek him in vain. 
 He has engaged to appear to our joy ; in his 
 own time and way. He has bound himself; 
 and put the bond into our hand : and we can 
 produce it ; and plead it ; and be surer of the 
 fulfilment, than we are of the continuance of 
 heaven and earth — For heaven and earth 
 shall pass away, but his word shall not pass. 
 Here it is — "Call upon me in the day of 
 trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt 
 glorify me." " Because he hath set his love 
 upon me, therefore will I deliver him ; I will 
 set him on high, because he hath known my 
 name. He shall call upon me, and I will an- 
 swer him : I will be with him in trouble ; I 
 will deliver him, and honour him." 
 
 OCTOBER 30. 
 
 " Messiah the Prince." — Dan. ix. 25. 
 
 This is not the only character of the Mes- 
 siah. But we must connect it with every re- 
 presentation we have of him ; that his glory 
 may not be injured by his condescension; nor 
 his authority diminished by his kindness. Is 
 he exalted at the right hand of God 1 It is, 
 to be " a Prince," as well as " a Saviour." 
 Is he a Priest 1 He is " a Priest upon his 
 throne." 
 
 How is this Prince designated 1 
 He is " the Prince of the kings of the 
 earth." They often think little of him ; and, 
 imagining themselves their own, say, Who is 
 Lord over us? But wherein they deal 
 proudly, he is above them. They are all 
 raised by his power.; they are all controlable 
 by his will ; they are all subservient to his 
 designs ; they are all amenable to his tribu- 
 nal. Hence his avowal — "By me kings 
 reign ; and princes decree justice. By me 
 princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges 
 
 of the earth." Hence the admonition — " Be 
 wise now therefore, O ye kings : be instruct- 
 ed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord 
 with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss 
 the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from 
 the way, when his wrath is kindled but a lit- 
 tle. Blessed are all they that put their trust 
 in him." 
 
 He is " the Prince of Peace." He came 
 to mediate between heaven and earth : and 
 we are reconciled unto God by the death of 
 his Son. Men talk of making their peace 
 with God. If our tears, or works, or alms, 
 could have availed for this purpose, the world 
 would never have witnessed the sufferings of 
 Christ But he made peace by the blood of 
 his Cross. One died for all — And he was 
 more than all. The value of his sacrifice was 
 infinite : and every end that could have been 
 answered by the destruction of a world of 
 sinners, has been equally and better answer- 
 ed by the death of the Saviour. Nothing 
 will effectually satisfy an awakened con- 
 science, but what satisfied the justice of God. 
 Yet, surely this will suffice ! When, there- 
 fore, it is apprehended and applied by faith, 
 we enter into rest ; and feel a peace within 
 which passeth all understanding. By his 
 grace, too, he reconciles us to our duty and 
 to our condition. He frees us from those 
 anxieties and fears which an idolatrous re- 
 gard to creatures excites : and enables us to 
 be careful for nothing, by casting all our care 
 upon him, who careth for us. Also, by sub- 
 duing our pride and selfishness, by which 
 alone corne contention ; and inspiring us with 
 love, the bond of perfectness, we live in har- 
 mony with our fellow-creatures. Yea, we 
 are in league with the stones of the field ; 
 and the beasts of the field are at peace with 
 us. 
 
 He is "the Prince of Life." Other 
 princes, however powerful, are mortal : and 
 this is a reason why we should not put our 
 trust in them : their breath goeth forth, they 
 return to their dust : in that very day their 
 thoughts perish. But Jesus liveth for ever : 
 and because he lives, his people live also. 
 Other princes, while they are living them- 
 selves, cannot impart life to others — though, 
 alas ! they often take it away ; and sacrifice 
 thousands of their subjects to their own lusts. 
 But Jesus had not only life in himself, but 
 came that wp might have lijfe : and have it • 
 more abundantly. He procured, and he com- 
 municates, and sustains a life superior to that 
 of Adam in Paradise, and to that of angels in 
 glory. This is the promise that God hath 
 promised us, even eternal life. And this life 
 is in his Son. He therefore that hath the 
 Son hath life ; and he that hath not the Son 
 hath not life. 
 
 He has other designations ; and all come 
 short of his praise. But these are sufficient 
 to show how safe and how happy all they are 
 
OCTOBER 31. 
 
 299 
 
 Who have become his subjects. It was a fine 
 compliment that Hiram paid Solomon, when 
 he said, " Surely, because the Lord loved 
 Israel, therefore made he thee king over 
 them." How much more has God shown his 
 goodness to his people, in setting this King 
 upon his holy hill of Zion i Let the cnildren 
 of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them 
 make their boast in the Lord; and in his 
 righteousness be exalted. 
 
 Let them also be concerned to approve 
 themselves wise, and good, and loyal sub- 
 jects, to the best of Princes : so that, instead 
 of disgracing him, they may be to him for a 
 name and a praise among all those who shall 
 hear of so great a people. 
 
 But wo to those who reject his sceptre. 
 As for these mine enemies who would not 
 that I should reign over them, bring them 
 forth and slay them before me. 
 
 OCTOBER 31. 
 
 " Prayer shall be made for him continually" 
 Psalm lxxii. 15. 
 
 We are not only to pray ; but to pray with- 
 out ceasing. We are not only to pray for 
 ourselves ; but for others. We are to pray 
 for kings, and all that are in authority ; for 
 ministers; for all saints; for even our ene- 
 mies, who despitefully use us and persecute 
 us ; and, what may seem strange — we are to 
 pray for Jesus Christ " Prayer also shall be 
 made for him continually." 
 
 Is prayer then necessary for him ? Is he 
 not above the reach of danger, pain, and 
 want ? Yes. He who once had not where to 
 lay his head, has all power in heaven and in 
 earth : he dieth no more; death hath no more 
 dominion over him. The meaning, therefore, 
 cannot be, that prayer should be continually 
 made for him personally ; but relatively. Ow- 
 ing U> the interest he has in certain objects ; 
 what is done for them is~3one for himself; 
 and so he esteems it We therefore pray for 
 him, when we pray for his ministers; his or- 
 dinances; his Gospel; his Church — in a 
 word,— his cause. David, therefore, exem- 
 plifying what he had foretold, immediately 
 breaks forth and says—" And blessed be his 
 glorious Name for ever: and let the whole 
 earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and 
 amen. The prayers of David "the son of Jesse 
 are ended." 
 
 But what should we pray for on his behalf J 
 Our prayers should vary with the state of his 
 cause : but we should always bear four things 
 upon our minds. First The degree of its 
 resources ; that there be always a sufficiency 
 of suitable and able instruments to carry on 
 the work — To this the Saviour himself di- 
 rects us : " The harvest truly is great ; but 
 the labourers are few : pray ye therefore the 
 Lord of the harvest that he would send forth 
 
 labourers into his harvest" — Secondly. The 
 freedom of his administration ; that whatever 
 opposes or hinders its progress may be re- 
 moved. "Pray for us," says the Apostle, 
 " that the word of the Lord may have free 
 course and be glorified." Thirdly. The diffu- 
 sion of its principles ; that they may become 
 general and universal; spreading through 
 every family, neighbourhood, and province anr 
 realm. So prayed of old even the pious Jew : 
 " That thy way may be known on earth ; thy 
 saving health among all nations. Let the peo- 
 ple praise thee, O God ; yea, let all the people 
 praise thee." — Fourthly. The increase of its 
 glory, as well as its extent ; that it may abound 
 more in wisdom, purity, spirituality, charity, 
 and zeal : that the light of the moon may be as 
 the light of the sun ; and the light of the sun 
 be seven-fold as the light of seven days ; that 
 for brass, he would bring gold ; and for iron, 
 silver; and for wood, brass; and for stones, 
 iron. Thus, they that make mention of the 
 Lord are to " give him no rest" — not only 
 until he " establish" — but " make Jerusalem 
 upraise in the whole earth." 
 
 But why should we be concerned to pray 
 for Him ? — Consistency requires it We are 
 the professors of Christ. We profess to be 
 his servants — but can we be wise and good 
 servants, if we are neglectful of our Master's 
 affairs ? We profess to be his subjects — but 
 can we be loyal subjects, if we are indiffer- 
 ent to the glory of our Sovereign? We 
 profess to be his friends — but can we be true 
 and faithful friends, unless we make his inter- 
 ests our own ; mourn over his dishonour, and 
 rejoice in his prosperity? — Benevolence re- 
 quires it. The Gospel is the greatest of all 
 blessings to the children of men. Wherever 
 it enters, the wilderness and the solitary 
 place is made glad, and the desert rejoices 
 and blossoms as the rose. It is the power of 
 God to salvation to every one that believeth ; 
 and where it does not save the soul, it yields 
 a thousand advantages to the community. 
 Who would not wish him success ? His 
 career is the march of truth, and righteous- 
 ness and peace. He makes the widow's 
 heart to sing for joy. In him the fatherless 
 findeth mercy. 
 
 "Blessings abound where'er He reigns : 
 The pris'ner leaps to lose his chains ; 
 The weary find eternal rest; 
 And all the sons of want are blest." 
 
 — Gratitude requires it How much do we owe 
 him ! When we consider what he has done, 
 is doing, and will do, for us ; all we are, and 
 all we have, appear to be his, by a thousand 
 claims ; and nothing can equal our vileness, 
 if we are not led hourly to ask, What shall 1 
 render unto the Lord for all his benefits? 
 Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? 
 
 But what reason have w e to conclude that 
 these prayers for him will be heard ? Much 
 every way. The prayers indeed even of jrood 
 
300 
 
 NOVEMBER 1. 
 
 men, are not always answered. Sometimes 
 they know not what they ask. And when 
 they implore what would prove evil, God's 
 wisdom and kindness lead him to refuse. But 
 whatsoever we ask according to his wdl, he 
 heareth us. And has he not commanded us 
 to pray, that his kingdom may come ? Has 
 he not promised it ? Is not the grand condi- 
 tion fulfilled — " When thou shalt make his 
 soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed ; 
 he shall prolong his days ; and the pleasure of 
 the Lord shall prosper in his hands'!" Can 
 his death be unavailable 1 Can the engage- 
 ments of the everlasting covenant be made 
 void ? We cannot pray for him in vain. 
 
 But what is necessary to evince that our 
 praying for him is sincere? For there is 
 much prayer that is a mere mockery of God. 
 Out of their own mouths many will be con- 
 demned hereafter : and they would feel them- 
 selves condemned already, were it not that 
 the heart is deceitful above all things, as well 
 ss desperately wicked. A man prays to re- 
 deem his time, and to have his conversation 
 in heaven ; and goes and sits in a place of 
 dissipation for the answer. A father prays 
 for the salvation of his child ; and does all in 
 his power to leave him affluent; and sur- 
 rounded with temptations that render his con- 
 version a miracle. A third prays to be — 
 condemned; for he prays, Forgive us our 
 trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass 
 against us: and he is implacable. — When a 
 man sincerely desires a thing, in proportion 
 as he desires it, he will seek after it; and use 
 all the means placed within his reach to ob- 
 tain it. When, therefore, a person professes 
 a great concern for a thing, and neglects 
 whatever is necessary to it, we make no 
 scruple to tax him with folly or falsehood. 
 Let us do, in religious matters, what we do 
 in other cases — Let us judge of our faith, by 
 our practice ; and of our hearts, by our lives. 
 
 What then, you say, must we do to prove 
 that our prayers in the cause of Christianity 
 are sincere 1 Do ! Some of you should come 
 forward and offer go to forth as missionaries. 
 What hinders 1 Nothing in your condition : 
 nothing in your connexions. Nothing but 
 the love of ease ; and the fear of suffering ; 
 and the want of the spirit of the prayer — 
 Arise, O Lord, and plead thine own cause. 
 Do ! Live for him. All cannot go abroad. 
 But al! have a sphere in which they may be 
 useful. They may hold forth the word of 
 life, by their temper and conversation. — Do ! 
 Employ all your influence with others; pro- 
 voking them to love and to do good works. — 
 Do ! Give according to your opportunity and 
 ability — exercising self-denial, to enlarge your 
 a'fility. Read the whole verse of our text — 
 ' And he shall live, and to him shall be given 
 of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be 
 made for him continually ; and daily shall he 
 bepiaised." 
 
 NOVEMBER 1. 
 " Ho-w readest thou." — Luke x. 2C. 
 
 It is well to be able to read. Thousanda 
 are not ; and so cannot thus agreeably fill up 
 their leisure moments ; nor improve their 
 minds by the written communications of 
 others. But whatever a thing be in itself, 
 the use we are to make of it, is to determine, 
 whether it be to us, good or evil ; a blessing 
 or a curse. 
 
 Some will lament for ever, that they were 
 taught to read. They never improved sc 
 great a talent. Yea, they perverted and 
 abused it. They read books which under- 
 mined their principles, defiled their imagina- 
 tions, and demoralized their lives. But others 
 are thankful for such an attainment. It has 
 afforded them not only gratification, and profit; 
 but spiritual improvement, and consolation. 
 One, in reading, has been converted from the 
 error of his ways. Another, has been guided 
 in his experimental and practical doubts and 
 difficulties. A third, has been revived while 
 walking in the midst of trouble. 
 
 And if this has been the case while reading 
 other books, how much more while reading 
 the Scriptures of truth. This volume you 
 are bound, above all other books, to read. It 
 is your duty. It is your privilege — But how 
 readest thou 7 How ought you to read it? 
 
 First. You ought to read it as the dictates 
 of Inspiration. You do not, perhaps, deny, or 
 question this ; but you ought actually and fre- 
 quently to impress the mind with it; that 
 when you open these pages, you may say, " I 
 will hear what God the Lord will speak." 
 " Speak, Lord ; for thy servant heareth." The 
 Apostle admonishes the Hebrews not to turn 
 away from him that speaketh from heaven. 
 He does not say, who spake — but who speak- 
 eth. The address is to be considered as im- 
 mediate. It is so to us, as well as to those 
 who originally heard it. Had it been just 
 written, it could have had no more authority, 
 and have been no more deserving of atten- 
 tion than now. How much depends upon 
 this advice ! For as we receive the. word, so 
 shall we be affected by it. If we regard it as 
 false, it will produce no result. If as human, 
 it will influence as human. But if divine, it 
 will operate divinely. Hence says the Apos- 
 tle to the Thessalonians ; "For this cause 
 also thank we God without ceasing, because, 
 when ye received the word of God which ye 
 heard of us, ye received it not as the word of 
 men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, 
 which effectually worketh also in you that 
 believe." 
 
 Secondly. Let him that readeth, under- 
 stand. The Eunuch, returning from Jerusa- 
 lem in his chariot, was reading ; and reading 
 even the prophecies of Isaiah ; but Philip said 
 to him, " Understandest thou what thou 
 readest ?" To know the meaning of the Scrip- 
 
NOVEMBER 2. 
 
 301 
 
 lines, it is a good thing to read on, till we 
 come to the end of a paragraph or subject, 
 regardless of the divisions in chapters and 
 /erses. These breaks are useful, and they 
 are generally made in their proper places; 
 but not always: in consequence of which, the 
 sense is injured or darkened, by the writer's 
 closing before he has finished ; or commenc- 
 ing something in the middle of the argument 
 — Neither should we lay too much stress on 
 a particular word or phrase ; but be guided by 
 the natural current of the passage ; and endea- 
 vour always to apprehend what is the present 
 design of the sacred writer. Here good com- 
 mon sense will often do more than the learned 
 affectations of expositors, who frequently elude 
 the solution of a difficult text; and throw 
 doubts into a clear one. While we ought to 
 avail ourselves of every assistance from the 
 labours of others ; and, above all, to exercise 
 our own minds; we must be humble in our 
 inquiries, and feel and acknowledge our need 
 of divine guidance, to lead us into all truth. 
 " Open thou mine eyes, that I may see won- 
 drous things out of thy law." So prayed 
 David — and so must we — " If any of you lack 
 wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all 
 men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall 
 be given him." Thus, the wayfaring man, 
 though a fool, shall not err : and without this, 
 the scholar and the genius will for ever go 
 astray. The great impediment to divine 
 knowledge is the state of the heart : and as 
 soon as we are made deeply sensible of our 
 need of what the Gospel is designed to afford : 
 and willing to be saved in the Lord's own 
 way ; and to walk so as to please him : every 
 thing opens easily and delightfully ; and the 
 path of the just is as the shining light, that 
 shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 
 But this can only be obtained from " the Spi- 
 rit of truth." 
 
 Thirdly. We should read with a view to 
 self-application. Instead of thinking of others 
 — which is too frequently the case — we 
 should think of ourselves ; inquiring how it 
 bears upon our own character and condition ; 
 and how, as Lord Bacon says, it comes home 
 to our own businesses and bosoms. If I read 
 a threatening — " O my soul, do I stand ex- 
 posed to this danger !" If I read a promise 
 — " May I claim this blessing]" If I read a 
 reproof or a commendation — " Am I censur- 
 ed by the one 1 or encouraged by the other?" 
 " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do]" 
 
 Fourthly. We should read with a deter- 
 mination to reduce what we read to experi- 
 ence and practice. The design of all the 
 instruction contained in the Scripture is to 
 sear upon the conscience and the life. The 
 doctrine is not only according to grace, but 
 according to godliness. If ye know these 
 things, happy are ye if ye do them. This is 
 the way to increase with all the increase of 
 God. To him that hath shall be given, and 
 2ti 
 
 he shall have more abundantly. If a man 
 do his will, he shall know of his doctrine, 
 We may apply to reading, what the apostle 
 James has said of hearing : " But be ye 
 doers of the word, and not readers only, de- 
 ceiving your ownselves. For if any be a 
 reader of the word, and not a doer, he is like 
 unto a man beholding his natural face in e 
 glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth 
 his way, and straightway forgetteth what 
 manner of man he was. But whoso looketh 
 into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth 
 therein, he being not a forgetful reader, but 
 a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed 
 in his deed." 
 
 NOVEMBER 2. 
 
 " His time nj the flesh." — 1 Peter iv. X. 
 
 " Flesh" is not to be taken, here, moral 
 ly ; but physically. It is not here used to 
 signify our corruption, but our present exist 
 ence — as when Paul says, The life that I 
 now live " in the flesh," I live by the faith 
 of the Son of God. It intends, therefore, our 
 life while in the body. For we shall not be 
 in it always — a period is approaching when 
 the dust shall return to the earth as it was, 
 and the spirit shall return unto God who 
 gave it. 
 
 Our " time" in the flesh varies in circum- 
 stances with regard to individuals. But it 
 has four general characters applicable to all 
 the human race. 
 
 First It is chequered. The young may 
 look forward and view life in the fascina- 
 tions of hope ; and the aged may look back, 
 and more congenially dwell on the gloomy, 
 than on the cheerful : and the same man, in 
 the hour of present impression, may feel 
 himself too much elated, or too much depress- 
 ed with his condition — but the truth is the 
 same. It is neither a paradisaical, nor a 
 wilderness scene. It is neither entirely dark, 
 or light ; but intermingled sunshine and shade. 
 Who ever found life so smooth as to ha\e no 
 roughness] And who ever had sickness 
 without ease] or sorrow without comfort 1 
 And who is now authorized to say, To-mor 
 row shall be as this day, and much more 
 abundant] or, Mine eye shall no more see 
 good] 
 
 Secondly. It is short And short not 
 only as to eternity, and the ages of men be- 
 fore the Flood; but absolutely short The 
 general duration is threescore years and ten. 
 But much of this is nothing, as to the superioi 
 purposes of our being. We do not mean 
 business : this may not only be rendered con- 
 sistent with religion, but is made by a Chris- 
 tian who abides with God in his calling, a 
 part of it — But there is the weakness of in- 
 fancy, and the childhood of age. There aie 
 the deductions of needful sleep, and allowed 
 
302 
 
 NOVEMBER 3, 4. 
 
 recreation, and unavoidable intercourse. It 
 is often also cut short. How few reach 
 seventy ! And these who do, commonly look 
 in vain to find any of the associates of their 
 youth or maturity. Every thing expressive 
 of brevity is seized by the sacred writers to 
 hold forth the brevity of our time in the flesh 
 — a flower ; a flood ; a tale ; a dream ; a 
 vapour; a ship before the wind; an eagle 
 pouncing on his prey — There is but a step 
 between us and death. 
 
 Thirdly. It is uncertain. How can it be 
 otherwise, when we consider the diseases 
 and accidents to which we are continually 
 exposed 1 and the feebleness of our frame 1 
 and the number and delicacy of the organs 
 of which the body is composed ] Sixty times 
 every minute, as our pulse tells us, the ques- 
 tion is asked, whether we shall live or die. 
 The fool in the Gospel said, I have much 
 goods laid up for many years; soul, take 
 thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry : but 
 that very night his soul was required of him. 
 Persons just ready to enter connected life, 
 have been called from marriage rites to at- 
 tend funeral solemnities. The owners have 
 been just ready to take possession of a new 
 mansion, but have been carried to their long 
 home. And the traveller, starting for his 
 journey, has gone the way of all the 
 earth. 
 
 But. fourthly. It is important. Yea, all- 
 important, by reason of its relation to another, 
 and an eternal state. It is not only an intro- 
 duction to this state — but a preparation for it. 
 It is influentially connected with it, as the 
 sowing with the harvest. Our thoughts, 
 words, and actions, are the seed ; and whatso- 
 ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 
 The present is the only season of obtaining 
 justification and renovation : a title to heaven, 
 and a meetness for it. Noto is the accepted 
 time, now is the day of salvation. 
 
 The same will apply to our doing good, as 
 well as to our gaining good. Our time in 
 the flesh is the only season in which we can 
 glorify God, and serve our generation ! What 
 a treasure then is life ! And how concerned 
 should we be to work while it is day, seeing 
 the night cometh wherein no man can work ! 
 In this one article the saints below are more 
 privileged than the saints above : and we are 
 persuaded, that those who have entered their 
 rest would be willing, were it the pleasure 
 of God, to come down and re-enter this vale 
 of tears, to have the opportunities of useful- 
 ness we enjoy — who can be candid towards 
 those who differ from us; forgive injuries; 
 visit and relieve the afflicted; spread the 
 Gospel; teach the ignorant; save souls from 
 death, and hide a multitude of sins. " What- 
 soever thy hand findcth to do, do it with thy 
 might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor 
 knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither 
 thou jjoest." 
 
 NOVEMBER 3. 
 
 " As orroivful, yet al-way rejoicing. 
 2 Cor. vi. 10. 
 
 This is the duty ; this is the privilege of 
 the Christian. Whether he considers and 
 feels himself in a state of exile — or warfare — 
 or perplexity— or penury — or varying expe- 
 rience — or misapprehension from others ; if 
 "sorrowful," he may, and he ought to be 
 able to say — " Yet alway rejoicing." 
 
 Though dwelling with strangers around, 
 
 And foreign and weary the land, 
 I homeward to Zion am bound — 
 
 The day of release is at hand. 
 Then, Mesech and Kedar, farewell, 
 
 To enter my welcome abode : 
 With friends and with angels to dwell, 
 
 With Jesus, my Saviour and God! 
 Though hourly summon'd to arms, 
 
 And legions against me combine, 
 I'm calm in the midst of alarms, 
 
 My weapons and cause are divine. 
 A Captain almighty I own; 
 
 And banner'd by faith in his Name, 
 I shout, ere the battle is won — 
 
 I more than a conqueror am! 
 
 Perplexings though often I feel, 
 
 And mazy the paths that I tread, 
 My God has been leading me still, 
 
 And still he has promised to lead. 
 The crooked shall all be made straight, 
 
 The darkness shall beam into light ; 
 I have but a moment to wait, 
 
 And faith shall be turned to sight 
 If small my allotment below, 
 
 I will not at others repine ; 
 Their joy is the gilding of wo, 
 
 Their wealth they must quickly rpsifii. 
 Though poor, how much richer am I! 
 
 In want 1 have all I desire; 
 My treasures, the soul can supply, 
 
 And last when the stars shall expire 
 
 If, weeping and fearing, I pass 
 
 Through changes, in state and in frame, 
 Yet, constant in power and grace, 
 
 My Saviour is always the same. 
 No shadow of turning he knows, 
 
 Whose bliss is the fountain of mine : 
 And while his eternity flows, 
 
 My happiness cannot decline. 
 
 How little the multitude know, 
 
 Or, knowing, how little they prize, 
 The spring whence my joys ever flow, 
 
 Or source of my bitterest sighs ! 
 But both the dear secret reveal, 
 
 That Jesus hath soften'd this heart , 
 And soon all my joys will fulfil, 
 
 And bid all my sighing depart. 
 
 NOVEMBER 4. 
 
 "Jesus 8aith unto him, I -will come and tin., 
 him" — Mat. viii. 7. 
 
 We may consider these words as 
 — An answer to prayer. And let us observe 
 whose prayer it was. He never said to the 
 seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. But this 
 centurion was an alien from the common- 
 wealth of Israel ; a Roman ; a Gentile. Yet 
 he is immediately heard. Whosoever shall 
 call upon the name of the Lord shall be 
 saved. For there is no difference between 
 the Jew and the Greek ; for the same Lord 
 over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 
 Whoever I am, let me therefore applv to 
 
NOVEMBER 5. 
 
 303 
 
 •Urn, animated by the assurance, him that 
 cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. 
 Let us observe, also, what prayer it was. It 
 was not a prayer for the petitioner himself; 
 but for another. As he never refused any 
 who addressed him on their own behalf ; so 
 he never refused any that addressed him on 
 the account of others. I^et this teach and en- 
 courage us to pray for others. Let friends 
 pray for friends ; and parents for their chil- 
 dren; and masters and mistresses for their 
 servants — We are commanded to pray for all 
 men. 
 
 We may consider the words as an instance 
 of condescension. He was fairer than the 
 children of men ; higher than the kings of 
 the earth. All the angels of God worshipped 
 him. Yet no sooner is his goodness im- 
 plored, than, in a moment, he is ready to go 
 and stand by the side of the pallet of a poor 
 sick slave ! — I will come and heal him. The 
 master was very humane and compassionate, 
 or he would not have taken the trouble to 
 send to our Lord, on the behalf of one consi- 
 dered so much below him. What is a slave, 
 to many an owner 1 No more than a beast 
 cf burden. David found an Egyptian in the 
 Seld, who had eaten no bread nor drunk any 
 water for three days and three nights : " And 
 David said unto him, To whom belongest 
 thou 1 and whence art thou ? And he said, 
 I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an 
 Amalekite ; and my master left me, because 
 three days agone I fell sick." A wretch ! 
 How unlike him was this Centurion ! But 
 he, even he, is surprised, and scarcely knows 
 how to accept of the Saviour's offer — Yea, he 
 even deems it condescension to himself— I 
 am not worthy that thou shouldest come under 
 my roof. And shall not we condescend to 
 men of low estate 1 ¥ Did not he that made 
 me in the womb make him ! and did not one 
 fashion us in the womb V 
 
 We may consider the words as a display of 
 power. I will come and attend him, would 
 be the language of a friend. I will come and 
 pray with him, would be the language of a mi- 
 nister. I will come and examine his case, and 
 see if I can afford him relief, would be the 
 language of the physician. But Jesus speaks 
 like himself— I will come and heal him. He 
 knew his own sufficiency. And the Centu- 
 rion knew it. It was the principle of his rea- 
 soning—" Though I am not the commander- 
 in-chief, but a subordinate officer, yet it is not 
 necessary even for me to go to a place, in or- 
 der to act. My word is enough — I say to 
 one of my soldiers, Go, and he goeth ; to ano- 
 ther, Come, and he cometh ; and to my ser- 
 vant, Do this, and he doeth it How much 
 more, O Lord ! are all creatures and events 
 under thy control ! Thy word runneth very 
 swiftly. Neither disease nor death can with- 
 stand it" So our Saviour understood him. 
 He therefore admired him and said, I have 
 
 not found so great faith; no, not in Israel. 
 And we should have the same strong confi- 
 dence in his ability — That he is mighty to 
 save — able to save to the uttermost them that 
 come unto God by him. For- 
 
 We may consider the words as affording 
 an emblem of the salvation of the sinner- 
 Whatever some may think of human nature, 
 we are fallen creatures ; we are spiritually 
 diseased ; and there is no Jiealth in us ; and 
 we are ready to perish ; |^V re incapable of 
 recovering ourselves; bonne says, Lo! I 
 come — I will come and heal him. It was the 
 design of his coming in the flesh — The Son 
 of man is come to seek and to save that 
 which was lost. It is the purpose of his 
 coming now in the agency of his grace — I 
 will bring them, says he, health and cure. He 
 heals them meritoriously, by his stripes ; effi- 
 ciently, by his Spirit ; instrumentally, by his 
 word, ordinances, and providences. The re 
 covery indeed, he is pleased to carry on by 
 degrees. He could, by one application, yea, 
 by one volition, remove all their complaints . 
 but it does not comport with his wisdom. His 
 people, therefore, continue his patients ; and 
 are no more than convalescents all through 
 life. But if slow, the recovery is sure — No- 
 thing can elude his skill, or baffle his remedy. 
 When dying, they may say, with Baxter, 
 "Almost well" — And when they enter In> 
 manuel's land, the inhabitants shall no more 
 say, I am sick. 
 
 NOVEMBER 5. 
 
 " This God is our God for ever and ever." 
 Psalm xlviii. 14. 
 
 This is the language of a proprietary in 
 God. And it is founded in truth. In the co- 
 venant of grace established, not with them, 
 but with the surety, he has, so to speak, made 
 over himself to his people, saying — I will be 
 thy God. I am thine, and all that I have ; my 
 perfections; my relations; my works; my 
 word ; my ordinances ; my dispensations. 1 
 am thy salvation ; to thee I am all and in all. 
 Hence there is no propriety like this, not only 
 for the value of it, but the reality itself! Just- 
 ly speaking, nothing else is our own. Oui 
 time is not our own. Our wealth is not our own. 
 Our children are not our own. Our bodies, our 
 souls are not our own — But God is our own- 
 And God, even our own God, shall bless us. 
 
 It is the language of an assured proprietary. 
 This God is our God. The relation may be 
 known and claimed. And with what a repe- 
 tition does David express it! — "I will love 
 thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my 
 rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer ; my 
 God, my strength, in whom 1 will trust ; my 
 buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and 
 my high tower." Here are no less, in a few 
 words, than eight appropriations. And how 
 
304 
 
 NOVEMBER 6. 
 
 desirable is it to be able to ascertain and ex- 
 press our own interest in all his engage 
 ments ! 
 
 " When I can say, my God is mine, 
 And I can feel- thy glories shine, 
 I tread the world beneath my feet, 
 And all that earth calls good and great"— 
 
 Then I am satisfied with his goodness. But 
 can the thing be made out? — and how? They 
 mistake wno suppose this relation results from 
 our choosing hJpK,and giving ourselves to 
 him. We do this indeed ; but it is by his 
 grace. And, in us, this is the effect, and not 
 the cause. But as it is the effect, it is there- 
 fore the evidence. And in this way we are 
 to trace back the stream to the fountain; 
 making our calling, and thereby our election, 
 sure. If we have chosen him, we may be as- 
 sured he has chosen us ; and if we love him, 
 we may be assured he loves us: for one is the 
 consequence of the other — We love him, be- 
 cause he first loved us. , 
 
 It is the language of a permanent proprie- 
 tary. This God is our God for ever and ever. 
 Without this, the blessedness would make us 
 miserable. The dearer and greater a treasure 
 be, the more alive we are to anxiety and 
 fear; and nothing but the assurance of its 
 safety can enable us cordially to enjoy it. No 
 confidence is so well founded as the Chris- 
 tian's. Every other possession is precarious. 
 Every other relation is breaking up. But he 
 may, he can say, " I am persuaded that nei- 
 ther death nor life, nor angels, nor principali- 
 ties, nor powers, nor things present, nor things 
 to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
 creature, shall be able to separate us from the 
 love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our 
 Lord." 
 
 It is the language of an exulting proprie- 
 tary. Boasting is excluded by the law of 
 faith. But what boasting? All glorying in 
 ourselves; but not in God. "My soul," says 
 David, " shall make her boast in the Ijord : 
 the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad." 
 " This is my beloved, and this is my friend, 
 O ye daughters of Jerusalem — What is 
 yours ?" So here. This God is our God for 
 ever and ever — What is yours, O ye sons of 
 men? Their rock is not as our Rock; our 
 enemies themselves being judges. 
 
 NOVEMBER 6. 
 
 " There is a God in heaven that revealeth se- 
 crets." — Dan. ii. 28. 
 
 Daniel was perhaps the most blameless 
 character recorded in the Scriptures. Of 
 course He is excepted from the comparison, 
 who was " fairer than the children of men." 
 Neither do we mean to intimate that he was 
 sinless. He had an evil heart to lament be- 
 fore God ; but, with regard to his conduct be- 
 fore men, as a professor of religion— nothing 
 
 is laid to his charge. And wh?t an honoui 
 was>it to be spoken of, while living — and 
 while young, too — by a prophet — in companv 
 with Noah and Job — as one of those whe 
 were most likely to have power with God, ah 
 intercessors ! 
 
 Here we see his humility. The king said 
 unto him, " Art thou able to make known 
 unto me the dream which I have seen, and 
 the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered 
 in the presence of the king, and said, The 
 secret which the king hath demanded, cannot 
 the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, 
 the soothsayers, show unto the king; but 
 there is a God in heaven that revealeth se- 
 crets." Why does he mention this, but be- 
 cause he would prevent the commendation of 
 himself? and that the only wise God should 
 have the glory that was due unto his holy 
 name ? And thus another fine character, jea- 
 lous of the Divine honour, said to his sove- 
 reign, " It is not in me. God shall give Pha- 
 raoh an answer of peace." The most eminent 
 of all characters in the Christian Church also 
 said, " By the grace of God 1 am what I am : 
 and his grace which was bestowed upon me 
 was not in vain; but I laboured more abun- 
 dantly than they all : yet not I, but the grace 
 of God which was with me." Contrast with 
 these, two of the most famous of the Heathen 
 philosophers and moralists : one of whom said 
 — "That we have riches, is of the gods; but 
 that we have wisdom, is of ourselves." And 
 the other—" A good man is, in one respect, 
 above the gods themselves: for they are good 
 by the necessity of nature; but he is good by 
 choice!" . 
 
 But what is the praise that Daniel trans- 
 fers from himself to God? The revelation of 
 secrets. Men are fond of secrets. With re- 
 gard to themselves, they are always wishful 
 to pry into futurity. Almanacks must there- 
 fore have something to feed this humour, or 
 half their number would not be sold. Mis- 
 tresses as well as servant-maids ; the old as 
 well as the young; would show their palms 
 to the fortune-teller, were it not for the fear 
 of ridicule. Were the Witch of Endor alive, 
 many would repair to her ; and, like Saul, 
 consult the Devil himself at second-hand. 
 Envy makes us inquisitive, with regard to ri- 
 vals; fear, with regard to enemies; and love 
 with regard to friends. It was curiosity, ope 
 rating in a way of attachment, that led Peter 
 to inquire after the destination of John — 
 " Lord, and what shall this man do?" But 
 the Lord did not even encourage this— 
 "What is that to thee? follow thou me." 
 
 The secret things belong unto God ; but 
 things that are revealed are for us, and for 
 our children. Concerning many tilings, he is 
 silent: and, where he says nothing, we are 
 not to be wise above what is written. 
 
 But He can reveal secrets. His under- 
 standing is infinite. Hell is naked before him. 
 
NOVEMBER 7. 
 
 30.') 
 
 and destruction hath no covering. " Neither 
 is there any creature that is not manifest in 
 his sight: but all things are naked and opened 
 unto the eyes of him with whom we have to 
 do." 
 
 He has revealed secrets. He enabled 
 Daniel to explain the import of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's dream, and foretell the succession 
 of the four monarchies. He showed Moses 
 what the Jews would be, at this very hour. 
 What a divine prerogative was prophecy ! 
 We may conjecture; but we really know 
 not what a day may bring forth. We may 
 argue from causes to effects ; but the exist- 
 ence and operation of the causes themselves 
 depend upon the will of another. We may 
 infer from probabilities: but the natural 
 tendencies of things are liable to accidental 
 derangements ; and the race is not always to 
 the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Be- 
 sides, as to the predictions of Scripture, many 
 of them regarded things so remote, that what 
 immediately preceded them, could not possi- 
 bly be discerned. And others regarded events 
 the most unlikely to take place of all oc- 
 currences in the world — And yet, when we 
 look into history, we see how it accords with 
 these announcements. How can we account 
 for this, but by admitting, that prophecy came 
 not in old time by the will of man, but holy 
 men of God spake as they were moved by the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 He does reveal secrets. How many now 
 living has he called out of darkness into his 
 marvellous light! Not that he has commu- 
 nicated to their minds things new in them- 
 selves; but they were new to them. The 
 sun had been shining ; but they had been in 
 the dark, because they were blind. All the 
 doctrine was in the Bible before : but he now 
 leads them into all truth; and shows them 
 not only the reality of divine things, but their 
 importance and glory. Give a man a taste 
 for a book of music, or science of any kind ; 
 and he will see a thousand things entirely 
 new to him, though he possessed the work 
 before. So " the natural man receiveth not 
 the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are 
 foolishness unto him; neither can he know 
 them, because they are spiritually discerned : 
 but the spiritual judgeth all things." So the 
 secret of the Lord is with them that fear him ; 
 and he shows them his covenant, as to their 
 interest in its engagements and provisions. 
 And what a discovery is this ! How anxious 
 will every awakened mind be to possess it ! 
 
 " Oh ! tell me that my worthless namo 
 
 Is graven on thy hands ; 
 Show me some promise in thy book 
 Where my salvation stands!" 
 
 Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. And 
 what is the promise 1 "I will give him to 
 eat of the hidden manna, and I will give nim 
 a white stone, and in the stone a new name 
 written, which no man knoweth saving he 
 2Q 26 
 
 that receiveth it." — He also shows them the 
 secrets of his providence, as well of his 
 grace. They know what he is doing, and 
 what he will do. They know that he is ful 
 filling his own word, and making all things 
 to work together for their good. They know, 
 that "behind a frowning providence, he hides 
 a smiling face ;" and that even when he slays 
 them, they have reason to trust in him. " Who 
 is wise, and he shall understand these things 1 
 prudent, and he shall knqjv them] for the 
 ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall 
 walk in them : but the transgressors shall fall 
 therein." 
 
 He will reveal secrets. Yes ; there is " a 
 day, in the which," says the Apostle, " God 
 will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, 
 according to my Gospel." Then will be 
 developed— dreadful secrets. Then many, 
 who had a name here, will be disowned. 
 They had honoured him with their lips, and 
 gained the notice of their fellow-creatures ; 
 but their hearts had been far from him. And 
 what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he 
 hath gained, when God taketh away his 
 soul? — Pleasing secrets. Then, they who 
 are now deemed the enemies of the Cross 
 of Christ, will be found to have been its 
 friends. Then, they who are now considered 
 as indifferent to holiness and good works, will 
 appear to have mourned for sin, and prayed 
 for purity. Then, the tear dropped upon the 
 Bible in the closet; the private act of charity ; 
 the frequent intercession for others; will be 
 displayed and commended — He will bring to 
 light the hidden things of darkness, and make 
 manifest the counsels of the hearts : and then 
 shall every man have praise of God. — Divine 
 secrets. He will show, why he permitted 
 the entrance of moral evil ; delayed so long 
 the coming of his Son ; suffered his Gospel to 
 be so impeded, and his Church to be so afflict- 
 ed ; and more than justify all his ways to 
 men. What is now perplexing, will be made 
 plain. What now seems disorderly, will be 
 arranged. What now seems jarring, will be 
 harmonized. What now seems defective, 
 will be complete. And then, not as now, 
 from faith, but from sight, the acknowledg- 
 ment will be made, "He is the Rock, his 
 work is perfect ; for all his ways are judg- 
 ment: a God of truth, and without iniquity: 
 just and right is he." To many these mys- 
 teries are already explained — When shall we 
 have an inheritance with the saints in lipht * 
 
 NOVEMBER 7. 
 
 " For neither did his brethren believe him" 
 John vii. 5. 
 
 How is this charge to be understood? Two 
 distinctions or limitations are necessary. First 
 It cannot be taken literally as to the name — 
 " his brethren." Even those who very pro- 
 
306 
 
 NOVEMBER 8. 
 
 Derly reject the notion of her perpetual vir- 
 ginity, do not suppose that these were really 
 the children of Mary, our Lord's mother. The 
 question which divides the ancients and the 
 moderns turns upon this — whether they were 
 the offspring of Joseph, by a former marriage ; 
 or whether they were born of Salome, Mary's 
 sister, and so were our Lord's cousins-german. 
 The latter is the more probable conclusion. 
 Among the Jews, kinsmen in various degrees 
 were called brethren. Abraham and Lot were 
 uncle and nepheV; yet, says the former to 
 the latter, " We are brethren." The mean- 
 ing therefore is, that our Lord's more near 
 and remote kindred did not believe on him. 
 But, secondly ; this cannot be taken uni- 
 versally, as to the fact. For three of his 
 brethren, at least, were found in the number 
 of his apostles — Simon, and Jude, and James 
 the less, .who is expressly called the Lord's 
 brother. The Scripture does not gratify our 
 curiosity; we know but little of Mary's or 
 Joseph's relations : they seem to have been 
 numerous : and the language before us must 
 intimate that not only some, but comparative- 
 ly many of them, had no real faith in him. 
 
 This is a very surprising announcement. 
 But it is very instructive. Does it not favour 
 the truth of Christianity 1 Had all our Lord's 
 relations recommended and followed him, his 
 cause might have looked human and sus- 
 picious. We know what advantage Mahomet 
 derived from the attachment and employment 
 of his kindred. But here every appearance 
 of family contrivance is excluded; and we 
 see that our Lord did not act by rules of 
 carnal policy : his kingdom was not of this 
 world ; his Gospel was left to its own evi- 
 dence and energy ; and derived no assistance 
 from the auxiliaries of error, superstition, or 
 idolatry. 
 
 We see also what evidence may be resist- 
 ed, and what means may be rendered in- 
 effectual, by the depravity of human nature. 
 These men had attended his preaching, and 
 he spake as never man spake. They had 
 often heard his conversation. They had re- 
 ceived many instructions, reproofs, and en- 
 couragements from him, in a manner the 
 most adapted to insure success. They had 
 gone up with him to the festivals, and had 
 seen his devotion. Some of them were present 
 when he turned the water into wine. They 
 had seen him open the eyes of the blind. 
 Yes ; these very men, " his brethren, there- 
 fore, said unto him, Depart hence, and go into 
 Judea, that thy disciples also may see the 
 works that thou doest For there is no man 
 that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself 
 seeketh to bo known openly. If thou do these 
 things, show thyself to the world." As his 
 relations, they must have known the circum- 
 stances of his birth ; the appearance of the 
 angel to the shepherds ; the journey of the 
 wise men ; the prophesying of Simeon and 
 
 Anna; the testimony of John; the descent ot 
 the Holy Ghost in his baptism ; his holy and 
 heavenly life — Nevertheless, such were their 
 prejudices and worldly dispositions, that they 
 did not believe on him. It was not evidence 
 they wanted ; nor is it a want of evidence 
 that induces persons to reject him now. The 
 source of infidelity is not intellectual, but 
 moral. Were it not criminal, it would not 
 be punishable. But this is the condemnation, 
 that light is come into the world ; but men 
 love darkness rather than light, because 
 their deeds are evil. We think some means 
 must be irresistible — but we forget that the 
 heart is deceitful above all things, and des- 
 perately wicked — Neither will they be per- 
 suaded, though one rose from the dead. 
 
 And from hence, we need not wonder if 
 inferior characters are unsuccessful in their 
 pious attempts. Ministers may be faithful 
 and zealous, and yet be constrained to com- 
 plain, " Who hath believed our report ?" 
 Masters may be wise and good : yet what a 
 servant had Elisha, in Gehazi ! Parents 
 should do every thing in their power for the 
 spiritual welfare of their children ; and, in a 
 general way, they may hope for success : but 
 let them not wonder if, in some instances, 
 even their tears, and examples, and entrea- 
 ties, are in vain ! 
 
 Let those who have irreligious relatives 
 think of Jesus. He was in this point tempt- 
 ed as they are. He can sympathize with 
 them. He remembers the feelings of hie 
 heart, when even his own kindred turned 
 away from him. 
 
 Hence none will be saved by mere rela- 
 tionship. Let none say, therefore, within 
 themselves, we have Abraham to our father. 
 The parable tells us of one in hell, who called 
 Abraham father ; and was refused by him the 
 least gratification. It is a mercy to have 
 pious connexions : but religion is a personal 
 thing ; and if we refuse to tread in their steps, 
 the blessing will be turned into a curse : and 
 there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, 
 when we shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
 in the kingdom of God ; and we ourselves 
 shut out. 
 
 Finally. It is better to be of the spiritual 
 kindred of Jesus, than of his family according 
 to the flesh. When, therefore, the woman 
 exclaimed, " Blessed is the womb that bare 
 thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked ;" 
 he himself replied, " Yea, rather, blessed are 
 they that hear the word of God, and keep it." 
 The spiritual relation to him can never be 
 dissolved : and it will insure every thing es 
 sential to our safety, honour, wealth, power, 
 and happiness for ever. As the natural rela- 
 tion to him was not saving, so it was neces- 
 sarily confined to few. But this lies open to 
 all. " Then one said unto him, Behold, thy 
 mother and thy brethren stand without, de« 
 siring to speak with thee. But he answereo 
 
NOVEMBER 8. 
 
 307 
 
 and said unto him that told him, Who is my 
 mother? and who are my brethren"! And he 
 stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, 
 and said, Behold my mother and my brethren ! 
 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father 
 which is in heaven, the same is my brother, 
 and sister, and mother." 
 
 NOVEMBER 8. 
 
 * And when the Pharisees saw it, they said un- 
 to his disciples, Why eateth your Master 
 with publicans and sinners /" — Matt. ix. 11. 
 This is connected with a concise narrative 
 of the conversion of the writer of this Gospel. 
 For the account of himself, is furnished by 
 himself. — It is a delicate thing for a man to 
 write concerning himself: but the sacred 
 authors are above all suspicion. They are 
 always faithful and impartial ; and their only 
 aim is truth. Though Matthew here speaks 
 of himself, the reference was unavoidable ; 
 and he only introduces the servant, for the 
 sake of the Master. 
 
 The case was this. After leaving the 
 privacy of Nazareth, our Lord came and 
 dwelt in Capernaum. This town, as it was 
 situated on the lake of Galilee, gave him an 
 opportunity to pass easily in the fishing boats 
 of his followers to any parts of the adjoining 
 country — " And as Jesus passed forth from 
 thence, he saw a man sitting at the receipt 
 of custom :" that is, he was receiving the 
 tolls from the goods landed, and embarked on 
 the quay. As Luke tells us, that he made a 
 great feast, and bade many, it is probable he 
 was possessed of considerable property; and, 
 from the common character of publicans, we 
 might be tempted to conclude, that it was 
 the produce of illegal exaction. But it would 
 be invidious to draw such an inference. Even 
 a publican was not necessarily wicked : and 
 the consciousness Zaccheus had, of freedom 
 from extortion, is obvious from his appeal ; 
 " If I have taken any thing from any man by 
 false accusation, I restore him fourfold." It 
 is even the duty of official agents to be exact 
 and full in lawful demands. We will there- 
 fore take it for granted, that Matthew was 
 rightfully engaged when our Saviour took 
 knowledge of him; and, as Divine favour has 
 been shown towards many others recorded 
 in the Scriptures, while filling up the duties 
 of their station, we learn that diligence in 
 our calling is acceptable to God, as well as 
 approved of men. The angel of the Lord ap- 
 peared to the shepherds while keeping their 
 flocks by night, and announced the birth of 
 the Messiah. Saul was seeking his father's 
 asses when Samuel met him, and anointed 
 him king over Israel. While drawing water 
 at the well, Rebecca, and Rachel, and Zip- 
 porah, found each a husband — The woman 
 of Samaria found the Saviour of the world. 
 
 Here it may be asked, Was our Lord's 
 thus meeting with Matthew the effect of 
 chance, or of design ? To this question we 
 boldly answer, Of design. There is nothing 
 accidental in the conversion of a sinner. It 
 a man be saved, and called with a holy call- 
 ing ip time, it is according to God's purpose 
 and grace given him in Christ Jesus before 
 the world began. 
 
 — " And he saith to him, Follow me. And 
 he arose and followed him." He hath a 
 mighty voice. He upholds all things by the 
 word of his power. By the same word he 
 made them all. He spake, and it was done ; 
 he commanded, and it stood fast. He said, 
 Let there be light, and there was light. So 
 it was in the old creation ; and in the new, 
 he calleth things which are not, and they ap- 
 pear. As the address was instantaneous, so 
 the obedience was immediate. What a 
 change did the call produce in the soul of 
 this man ! How did it enlighten his mind, 
 and inflame his heart! Doubtless his head 
 was filled with worldly cares ; but this voice, 
 like a charm, dispossesses him. The mean- 
 ness of our Saviour's appearance, and the 
 lowness of his attendants, weigh nothing with 
 him. He was now in prosperity ; he was to 
 leave a gainful office ; and perhaps" saw be- 
 fore him only reproach and persecution : but 
 he is satisfied ; and would rather be a poor 
 minister of Christ, than a rich officer of 
 Caesar. In a case of such magnitude, it 
 might be supposed that he would have re- 
 quired some time to consider and examine 
 matters. But, like Paul, he confers not with 
 flesh and blood. The King's business re- 
 quires haste. True obedience is always 
 prompt and unreserved. — He immediately 
 followed him. O blessed Jesus, may thy call 
 to us be so effectual, that when thou say est, 
 " Seek ye my face ;" our hearts may answer, 
 "Thy face, Lord, will we seek." And, at 
 thy bidding, may we arise, and forsaking 
 every carnal pursuit and worldly attachment, 
 follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth ! 
 
 Though Matthew formally surrendered his 
 office, and all its concerns, we have no rea- 
 son to believe that he sacrificed his effects. 
 Rather, we are persuaded, that he carefully 
 secured them, to be properly used and applied. 
 Whatever we possess at the time of our call- 
 ing may be consecrated to the Redeemer, 
 and advantageously employed in his service, 
 and the cause of benevolence. And when 
 the heart is open, the hand and the house 
 cannot be shut Matthew therefore makes 
 an entertainment for our Lord : and, " be- 
 hold, many publicans and sinners came and 
 sat down with him and his disciples." These 
 persons had formerly visited Matthew ; partly 
 for business, and partly for pleasure : now 
 they came, invited by him with the hope of 
 their deriving benefit from our Saviour' 
 conversation. " Who knows," savs he, " bu? 
 
308 
 
 NOVEMBER 9. 
 
 the voice that has reached my heart, may 
 also call them by his grace?" How invari- 
 ably is such a disposition found in every sub- 
 ject of divine grace ! Come with us, said 
 Moses to Hobab, and we will do thee good ; 
 for the Lord hath spoken good concerning 
 Israel. O taste and see, says David, that the 
 Lord is good : blessed is the man that trusteth 
 in him. Come, and see him, said the woman 
 of Samaria to her neighbours. In the same 
 spirit Matthew makes a feast, to which he 
 calls his old friends and companions. And 
 our Saviour gave them the cheerful, though 
 not the sinful meeting : teaching us thereby 
 not to be repulsive in our manners — nor to 
 refuse social intercourse. Of two things, 
 however, we should be careful — To design 
 good, as our Saviour did, when we enter 
 company — and also to remember the differ- 
 ence there is between him and us. He had 
 no corruption within for temptation to operate 
 upon ; while we are easily receptive of cor- 
 rupt impressions; and must always watch 
 and pray, lest we enter into temptation. 
 
 — But the Pharisees, pious souls! when 
 they saw this, were scandalized. Yet, as Sa- 
 tan always loves to get over the hedge where 
 the fence is lowest, and as he assailed Eve apart 
 from her husband, so they, from fear, do not 
 express their dissatisfaction to our Lord him- 
 self, but " said unto his disciples, Why eateth 
 your Master with publicans and sinners]" 
 What did they mean 1 It was the tradition 
 of the Elders, that the sanctified and devout 
 should never be seen in company with the 
 wicked. Affecting superior sanctity, they 
 acted upon this principle themselves; and 
 said, "Stand by thyself; come not near to 
 me ; I am holier than thou." And they here 
 insinuate, that if Jesus was what he professed 
 to be, he would shun such characters as he 
 was now with. And they seem even to feel 
 a concern for his honour. All this was mere 
 pretence, supported by malice and envy. 
 They were strangers to every feeling of piety 
 or benevolence. They strained at a gnat, 
 and swallowed a camel. They made long 
 prayers for a pretence, and devoured widows' 
 houses. They were wolves in sheep's cloth- 
 ing: sepulchres painted without, and full of 
 rottenness within. 
 
 If we are Israelites indeed, in whom is no 
 guile, we shall be severe towards ourselves, 
 and candid towards others. We shall see 
 more evil in our own hearts than we can 
 aver see in the conduct of our fellow-crea- 
 tures. And though, in proportion as we are 
 pure and heavenly, we must feel whatever is 
 contrary thereto — we shall bewail it before 
 God, rather than complain of it to men. And 
 never shall we, when the character is fair, 
 and the life blameless, go a motive-hunting, 
 and indulge in the vileness of suspicion. Let 
 us not jo'lge, that we be not judged. Let us 
 remember, that he who knows what is in 
 
 man, represents censoriousness as the off 
 spring and proof of hypocrisy. " Why be- 
 holdest thou the mote that is in thy brother'* 
 eye, but considerest not the beam that is in 
 thine own eye 1 Or how wilt thou say to thy 
 brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine 
 eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own 
 eye ! Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam 
 out of thine own eye ; and then shalt thou see 
 clearly to cast out the mote out of thy bro- 
 ther's eye." O for more of that charity thai 
 " thinketh no evil ; that rejoiceth not in ini- 
 quity, but rejoiceth in the truth — beareth all 
 things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, 
 endureth all thing's !" 
 
 NOVEMBER 9. 
 
 " But -when Jesus heard that, he said untv 
 them, They that be -whole need not a physi- 
 cian, but they that are sick." — Matt. ix. 12. 
 
 To perceive the force of these words, we 
 must remember the design of them. They 
 are in justification of our Lord's conduct 
 Matthew, having been called by his grace tc 
 follow him, made an entertainment, to which 
 he invited his former friends and companions , 
 hoping that they might derive advantage from 
 the intercourse. But when the Pharisees saw 
 it, they were offended, and said to his disci- 
 ples, " Why eateth your Master with publi- 
 cans and sinners ]" Though the murmur was 
 not addressed to himself, it concerned him 
 self; and he was acquainted with it : and 
 though the complainers were undeserving of 
 his notice — and he was under no obligation 
 to vindicate what he was doing — he said, " ] 
 am about my proper business. I have not 
 mistaken the objects of my attention. I came 
 to seek and to save that which was lost. I 
 could now have been enjoying the company 
 of angels in heaven. My mixing, on such 
 an occasion, with publicans and sinners, is not 
 agreeable in itself- — but I entered the world 
 as a physician. Where should a physician 
 be, but among the disordered and dying] 
 They that be whole need not a physician, 
 but they that are sick." 
 
 The vindication insinuates the real condi- 
 tion of mankind. They are diseased. We 
 refer to their moral maladies. The soul has 
 its disorders, as well as the body ; and the 
 disorders of the soul are worse than those of 
 the body. They vitiate a nobler part ; they 
 expose to a greater danger. The conse- 
 quence of the one is only temporal death ; the 
 result of the other is death eternal. These 
 maladies are the effects of the Fall ; and they 
 may be seen in the errors of the judgment— 
 the rebellion of the will — the pollution of the 
 conscience — the sensuality of the affections— 
 the debasement and violence of the passions. 
 We are sometimes blamed for degrading hi 
 man nature. But we do not undervaiie i 
 
NOVEMBER 10. 
 
 309 
 
 as the workmanship of God ; or as to its phy- 
 sical and intellectual powers : but only as to 
 its moral state and propensities. And here, 
 not only the language of the Liturgy, but all 
 Scripture, and history, and observation, and 
 experience, proclaim that "there is no health 
 in us." 
 
 It also gives an implied character of himself. 
 He is every thing that fallen, perishing crea- 
 tures can need : and he stands in the same 
 relation to them as a physician to his patients. 
 " I am the Lord that healeth thee," is a pro- 
 clamation that well becomes his lips. Job 
 disclaimed his friends as " physicians of no 
 value." But this can never be applied to the 
 Lord Jesus. ■ In all things, in this office, he 
 has the pre-eminence. Yea, he not only 
 stands without comparison, but alone — there 
 is salvation in none other. But he heals every 
 complaint. No case, however difficult, baffles 
 his skill. No case, however desperate, resists 
 the power of his applications. He is always 
 at home. Always accessible. Always de- 
 lighted to attend. He only requires our sub- 
 mission to his management He cures with- 
 out money and without price. 
 
 It also describes those who disregard, and 
 those who vulue him. They who reject him, 
 are " the whole." None are really whole : 
 for there is none righteous ; no, not one. But 
 they are so as to apprehension and expe- 
 rience. And such have always been awfully 
 numerous. Such was Paul, "while alive 
 without the law once." Such was the Pha- 
 risee that went up into the temple to pray. 
 Such were all the Pharisees, who trusted in 
 themselves that they were righteous, and 
 despised others. Such were the Laodiceans, 
 who said, We are rich and increased with 
 goods, and have need of nothing. Such were 
 Solomon's generation, who were pure in 
 their own eyes, and not washed from their 
 filthiness. Such, also, are they who, though 
 they make no pretensions to self-righteous- 
 ness, are satisfied with themselves ; the care- 
 less; the worldly, who live without one 
 serious thought of their souls and eternity. 
 Yea, such, too, are they who receive the 
 charge in theory, and acknowledge it, as 
 they do any o f her Bible sentiment ; but there 
 rest — not impressed with the truth so as to 
 urge them to the Saviour — and so he will 
 profit them nothing. 
 
 They who value him are " the sick." They 
 are sensible of their malady. They have a 
 clear and deep conviction of their guilt, and 
 depravity, and helplessness. They are thrown 
 into the consternation persons would feel if 
 they discovered they had taken the plague. 
 They feel pain. They forebode death. They 
 exclaim, What must I do to be saved ! They 
 no longer relish their former pursuits and 
 pleasures. They loathe sin, and can never 
 be reconciled o it again. Their cure en- 
 frames k\1 their solicitude. And, finding that 
 
 there is a Saviour, and a great one, they are 
 soon at his feet, crying, " Heal my soul ; for 
 I have sinned against thee." How infinitely 
 desirable and delightful does the Physician 
 now appear '. Who but He 1 They cheerfully 
 put themselves under his care. They im- 
 plicitly follow his orders. Their motto is, 
 " If by any means." Their inquiry, " Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do 1" With what 
 eagerness do they inquire after symptoms of 
 cure ! With what pleasure do they perceive 
 and feel signs of returning health ! " I bless 
 God I have a little appetite for the bread of 
 life — I have a little strength for spiritual ex- 
 ercises — Perfect that which concerneth me. 
 Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever — 
 Forsake not the work of thine own hands." 
 
 NOVEMBER 10. 
 
 " J am the resurrection, and the life." 
 John xi. 25. 
 
 There is a spiritual resurrection and life, 
 which all the subjects of divine grace derived 
 from him. But here the sense is determined 
 by the connexion. " Thy brother," said he 
 to Martha, " shall rise again." But as he did 
 not specify the time, she feared to apply the 
 assurance to her present distress, or supposed 
 that the consolation was to be drawn from 
 the general resurrection. " Martha said unto 
 him, I know that he shall rise again in the 
 resurrection at the last day." To excite her 
 immediate hope, he reminds her of his own 
 character and resources ; and says, " I am 
 the resurrection and the life." There must 
 be a very peculiar relation between him and 
 the resurrection of life, to justify the strength 
 of this language. It may be exemplified in 
 various illustrations. 
 
 He is the resurrection and the life, as he 
 is the announcer of the doctrine. For it is 
 a truth of pure revelation. Reason could 
 never have discovered it. The men of wisdom 
 at Athens, the Stoical and the Epicurean 
 philosophers, however widely they differed 
 from each other, agreed in deriding this 
 sentiment; and deemed Paul a babbler foi 
 preaching it. How inexplicable the re-union, 
 and re-animation of our scattered dust! — 
 Where now are the bodies that trod the earth 
 before the Flood! But even these bodies, 
 through whatever changes they have passed, 
 shall be restored and revived ! Even Adam 
 and Eve in their flesh shall see God, and be 
 clothed in higher perfection than Eden ever 
 knew ! But who abolished death, and brought 
 life and immortality to light through the Gos 
 pell It is true that David, and even Job, 
 rejoiced in the expectation of this glorious 
 event ; and many allusions and expressions in 
 the Old Testament show, that the Jewish 
 Church not only believed in a future state, 
 but in the redemption of the body from the 
 
 
310 
 
 NOVEMBER 11. 
 
 grave. But the Book in which they are con- 
 tained, is called, " the Word of Christ ;" and 
 the Spirit that testifieth these things, is call- 
 ed, " the Spirit of Christ." For as the sun 
 scatters some light before his rising ; so the 
 Saviour commenced his discoveries before his 
 incarnation : he rejoiced in the habitable 
 parts of the earth, and his delights were with 
 the sons of men. But by-and-by he came in 
 person and preached the kingdom of heaven. 
 How simple and divine were his discourses ! 
 And with what an awful motive did he com- 
 mend his doctrine to every man's conscience 
 in the sight of God. He drew back the veil 
 that hid the future, and presented the ele- 
 ments on fire, the opening tombs, and the dead 
 rising to meet their Judge — " Marvel not at 
 this : for the hour is coming, in the which all 
 that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 
 and shall come forth : they that have done 
 good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they 
 that have done evil, unto the resurrection of 
 damnation." He also ordered his apostles to 
 go forth and publish, and also record it ; and 
 they did so, the Lord working with them, 
 and confirming their word with signs, follow- 
 ing. 
 
 He is the resurrection and the life, as he 
 affords the pledge. Under each of the three 
 distinguished periods of the world, the body 
 as well as the soul had been received up into 
 glory. Before the Flood, Enoch was trans- 
 lated that he should not see death ; and he 
 was not, for God took him. The Law beheld 
 Elijah elevated to heaven in a chariot of fire. 
 In the days of the Gospel, Jesus Christ passed 
 through the regions of the dead, and reached 
 the crov/n that he now wears. And there is 
 a union between him and his people. He is 
 the head, and they are the members ; and 
 because he lives, they shall live also. Yea, 
 says the Apostle, " God who is rich in mercy, 
 for his great love wherewith he loved us, 
 even when we were dead in sins hath quick- 
 ened us together with Christ, (by grace ye 
 are saved ;) and hath raised us up together, 
 and made us sit together in heavenly places 
 in Christ Jesus." 
 
 He is the resurrection and the life, as he 
 procures the privilege. To him we merit- 
 oriously owe all the blessings we possess. 
 Are we justified and sanctified 1 In the Lord 
 we have righteousness and strength. And 
 are we raised from the dead ? " Since by 
 man came death, by man came also the re- 
 surrection of the dead. As in Adam all die, 
 even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But 
 every man in his own order : Christ the first- 
 fruits; afterward they thai are Christ's at 
 his coming." He has redeemed our whole 
 nature ; and the body being ransomed, as well 
 as the spirit, by no less a price than his own 
 blood, shall be equally claimed, and renewed, 
 and glorified. 
 
 He is the resurrection and the life, as he is 
 
 the pattern. For we shall rise, not like Adam, 
 but like Him. " The first man is of the earth, 
 earthy; the second man is the Lord from 
 heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also 
 that are earthy ; and as is the heavenly, such 
 are they also that are heavenly. And as we 
 have borne the image of the earthy, we shall 
 also bear the image of the heavenly;" In his 
 rising from the dead, we see the model of our 
 own resurrection ; and the grandeur of our 
 own destiny. We imagine, says Paul, what- 
 ever is admirable and splendid in his glorified 
 humanity ; and we look for nothing less in 
 ourselves — "We look for the Saviour, the 
 Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall change our vile 
 body, that it may be fashioned like unto his 
 glorious body, according to the working 
 whereby he is able even to subdue all things 
 unto himself." At present the body is vile : 
 not as the workmanship of God ; but as de- 
 filed by sin, as degraded by disease, and es- 
 pecially as the spoil of worms, in the corrup- 
 tion of the grave. What a hinderance! 
 what a burden ! what a loathsomeness is the 
 body of this death ! But then, by a change 
 the most marvellous, it will have the same 
 excellences as the body of God. " So also is 
 the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in 
 corruption ; it is raised in incorruption : it is 
 sown in dishonour ; it is raised in glory : it is 
 sown in weakness ; it is raised in power : it is 
 sown in a natural body ; it is raised in a spirit- 
 ual body. There is a natural body, and there 
 is a spiritual body." 
 
 He is the resurrection and the life, as he 
 achieves the work. Hence he said to bis 
 hearers. " This is the will of him that sent 
 me, that every one which seeth the Son, and 
 believeth on him, may have everlasting life : 
 and I will raise him up at the last day." 
 What a power will this require ! But nothing 
 is too hard for him. His almighty fiat will, 
 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, per- 
 vade the depths of the sea ; penetrate the re- 
 cesses of the earth ; and gather the remnants 
 of death, and give them organization, and 
 life, and sight, and voice — for ever ! 
 
 Happy they who are the children of the 
 resurrection : and who will be able to welcome 
 the Restorer of all things — Lo ! this is our 
 God, we have waited for him; we will be 
 glad and rejoice in his salvation. 
 
 For though, as an event, the resurrection 
 will be universal; as a privilege, it will be 
 limited. Every eye will see him. But how 
 many will wail because of him ! 
 
 NOVEMBER 11. 
 
 " / rejoice in thy salvation."— 1 Sam. ii. 1 
 
 These are the words of Hannah, a very 
 pious and highly accomplished female, to 
 whom the Jews were so much indebted for 
 one of their best public characters For Sa- 
 
NOVEMBER 12. 
 
 311 
 
 tnuel wus given in answer to her prayers ; 
 ne was trained and formed by her instructions ; 
 and he was early dedicated to God, at the 
 expense of her self-denial. She also edified 
 her own generation, and she continues to 
 edify ours, by her composition — " Hannah 
 prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the 
 Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord ; my 
 mouth is enlarged over mine enemies ; be- 
 cause I REJOICE IN THY SALVATION." Let US 
 
 notice this part of her song, and let us take 
 the subject in the highest sense of which it is 
 susceptible. There are many salvations 
 which God accomplishes. But there is one 
 that excelleth in glory, and to which the 
 term is pre-eminently, if not exclusively ap- 
 plied. In this salvation every believer rejoices. 
 
 He rejoices in the discovery of it. He is 
 pained indeed to think that as yet multitudes 
 of his fellow-creatures have never heard of it ; 
 and he prays that his way may be made known 
 on earth, his saving health among all nations. 
 But he is grateful that to him is the word of 
 this salvation sent There was a time, in- 
 deed, when he treated it with indifference ; 
 but when he began to see and feel his perish- 
 ing condition ; and to exclaim with the jailer, 
 What must I do to be saved? he received 
 this intelligence as Hagar did the angel's 
 kindness, when he opened her eyes, and 
 showed her a well : or as the Grecians heard 
 the Roman Consul's proclamation of liberty ; 
 when they cried for hours, Soter, Soter — 
 Saviour, Saviour ! 
 
 He rejoices in the properties of this salva- 
 tion. In the freeness of it — that it requires 
 no qualifications, no conditions ; and is with- 
 out money, and without price. In the purity 
 of it — that it not only contains pardoning 
 mercy, but sanctifying grace ; and is designed 
 to save him from his sins, which he now 
 feels to be his worst enemies. In the per- 
 petuity of it — that he who begins a good 
 work will perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ ; that he who believes hath everlasting 
 life, and shall never come into condemnation. 
 In the extensiveness of it — that Jesus gave 
 himself a ransom for all, to be testified in 
 due time ; and that this salvation is prepared 
 before the face of all people : a light to lighten 
 the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Is- 
 rael. 
 
 He rejoices in the hope of it This hope 
 admits of various degrees, and the joy will be 
 influenced by them. The lowest degree of 
 it may serve to keep the mind from despair : as 
 a weak bough will sustain a man drowning, 
 till a firmer support comes to his relief. But 
 there is a lively hope; there is an abounding- 
 in hope; there is the full assurance of hop^— 
 this will fill us with joy unspeakable, and iu'.l 
 of glory. In other cases thousands rejoice in 
 hope, who will never obtain possession of the 
 object of it. But the hope of Christians 
 maketh not ashamed, because the love of God 
 
 is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghcet 
 which is given unto them. 
 
 He rejoices in the experience of it For 
 he not only apprehends it as a desirable and 
 future good ; but he has a present actual par- 
 ticipation of it. He feels the influence of it 
 in his conscience, in his heart, in his life. 
 And if a man be not saved on this side the 
 grave, he will never be saved on the other. 
 " We," says the Apostle, " who have believed, 
 do enter into rest." And "Blessed," says 
 David, " is the people that know the joyful 
 sound : they shall walk, O Lord, in the light 
 of thy countenance ; in thy name shall they 
 rejoice all the day : and in thy righteousness 
 shall they be exalted." 
 
 He rejoices in the completion of it. For 
 though now he is enlightened, yet it is with 
 the illumination of the dawn, not of the day. 
 Though now he is sanctified, he is renewed 
 but in part Though justified and adopted, 
 he does not always know his condition, and 
 never enjoys all the privileges of it He has 
 the earnests, but not the inheritance. He has 
 a few of the grapes of Eshcol, but does not 
 yet command the vineyards of Canaan. But 
 when that which is perfect shall come, then 
 that which is in part shall be done away. In 
 pursuit of which, he can say, with David, 
 " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; nei- 
 ther wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see 
 corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of 
 life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy 
 right hand there are pleasures for evermore." 
 " As for me, I will behold thy face in righte- 
 ousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake 
 with thy likeness." 
 
 And yet the enemy of souls tells the young 
 that religion is an utter enemy to enjoyment ! 
 Yet the world supposes that Zion is the me- 
 tropolis of gloom and sadness. But " as well 
 the singers as the players on instruments are 
 there." And they who have made the trial 
 know that her ways are ways of pleasantness, 
 and all her paths are peace. And the God of 
 truth has said — " Behold, my servants shall 
 sing for joy of heart; but ye shall cry for sor- 
 row of heart, and shall howl for vexation of 
 spirit." Christians have a thousand things to 
 rejoice in ; but this is the chief, the salvation 
 of God. And there is enough in this to in- 
 spire joy in the midst of every loss and trial. 
 "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, 
 neitner shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour 
 of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield 
 no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the 
 fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 
 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in 
 the God of my salvation." 
 
 NOVEMBER 12. 
 
 " So the Lord alone did lead him, and there toot 
 no *t-ange God -with him" — Deut. xxxii. 12. 
 Consistency is a quality which a write? 
 
«J12 
 
 NOVEMBER 12. 
 
 finds it no easy Ihing to maintain, when he 
 brings forward a character. The higher, and 
 the more peculiar, and the more original the 
 character be, the more is the difficulty in- 
 creased. But when God is introduced, the 
 difficulty becomes supreme. For, " to whom 
 will ye liken me, or shall I be equal 1 saith the 
 Holy One." From their knowledge of the 
 general principles of their nature, which are 
 the same in all, men may, with tolerable ac- 
 curacy, speak of men ; and describe how an 
 individual would act in a given relation or 
 condition. But' for men to speak of God ; and 
 bo represent him in all his attributes and ac- 
 tions, as that nothing shall fall short of an in- 
 finitely perfect Being : is what never would 
 have been accomplished without inspiration. 
 But we find this in the Scriptures; because 
 holy men of God wrote as they were moved 
 by the Holy Ghost And hence, though the 
 sacred writers bring God forth in every page ; 
 we may almost say, in every sentence; he 
 always appears in character ; that is, in cha- 
 racter with himself. 
 
 One thing however must be admitted — and 
 it is by no means inconsistent with this — that, 
 in the revelation with which we have been 
 favoured, God has conformed himself to our 
 modes of apprehension and expression. This 
 was necessary, to render him at once intelli- 
 gible an3 impressive. This therefore shows 
 us not only his wisdom, but condescension ; 
 and dignity is never degraded by condescen- 
 sion. Thus he speaks unto us, as unto chil- 
 dren, with whom imitation is every thing; 
 and levies a tax upon all the world of nature, 
 to furnish images of himself. 
 
 There is no relation he so commonly as- 
 sumes as the parental. Nor need we wonder 
 at this, when we consider that there is com- 
 bined in it every thing at once venerable and 
 endearing — that it appeals to the present sym- 
 pathies of the heart — and aids our devotion by 
 means even of our very instincts. And ob- 
 serve how he assumes it. Sometimes he 
 takes the affection of the father : and we read 
 — " Like as a father pitieth his children, so 
 the Lord pitieth them that fear him" — " I will 
 spare them as a man spareth his own son that 
 serveth him." Sometimes he appropriates 
 the tenderness of the mother : and we read — 
 " As one whom his mother comforteth, so will 
 I comfort you." At other times he descends 
 lower ; and borrows from the animal, and 
 especially the feathered tribes : and we read 
 " He shall cover thee with his feathers ; and 
 under his wings shalt thou trust" — "How 
 often would I have gathered thee, as a hen 
 gathereth her chickens under her wings ; and 
 ye would not" — " As an eagle stirreth up her 
 nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth 
 abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them 
 on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead 
 aim, and there was no strange god with him." 
 Observe a Divine agency — *'ie Lord led 
 
 him. The allusion is to the Jews: and tne 
 meaning is, that God conducted them in their 
 journeyings to Canaan. They were very 
 numerous: but the aggregate of them all was 
 to Him like an infant. " I took them by the 
 hand to lead them out of Egypt." " He led 
 them by the right way, that they might go to 
 a city of habitation." " He led them about, 
 he instructed them, he kept them as the apple 
 of his eye." 
 
 " See also the exclusive application of this 
 work — " The Lord alone did lead him, and 
 there was no strange god with him." The 
 idols of the heathen were acknowledged to 
 be limited in their powers. None of them 
 could do every thing : there were therefore 
 lords many, and gods many. There was a 
 god for every exigency : a god for the sea — 
 a god for the winds — a god for the field — a 
 god for the garden — a god for marriage — and 
 a god for war. But, said the Church, " Our 
 God is in the heavens ; he hath done what- 
 soever he pleased." And he himself said, "O 
 Israel ! the Lord thy God is one Lord." He 
 wrought out every deliverance for them. He 
 conferred every blessing upon them — and, 
 having done the work without any helper, he 
 deserved all the praise ; and assigns this as a 
 reason why they should not divide their re- 
 gards between him and any other. " J re- 
 moved his shoulder from the burden: his 
 hands were delivered from the pots. Thou 
 calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee ; J 
 answered thee in the secret place of thunder : 
 /proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Hear, 
 O my people, and I will testify unto thee : O 
 Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me ; there 
 shall no strange god be in thee ; neither shalt 
 thou worship any strange god." 
 
 He is also a resemblance of the manner in 
 which it was performed — " So the Lord alone 
 did lead him, and there was no strange god 
 with him." Howl "As an eagle stirreth 
 up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spread- 
 eth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth 
 them on her wings." 
 
 All this is not to be confined to the Jews. 
 There is also a spiritual Israel, whom they 
 were intended to prefigure; the circumcision, 
 who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in 
 Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the 
 flesh. And such a people he now has for his 
 name ; and he is leading them ; leading them 
 alone, without any one to divide with him the 
 work, or share with him the glory. And how 
 does he this 1 Let us not torture the image ; 
 but let us improve it. Three things are here 
 ascribed to the mother-eagle — not in providing 
 for her young ; for this is not the subject in 
 question — but in educating them ; in teaching 
 them to fly. She stirreth up her nest. She 
 fluttereth over her young. She spreadeth 
 abroad her wings, and taketh them, and bear- 
 eth them on her wings. And all this is ap- 
 plicable to God, in his dealings with us, and 
 
NOVEMBER 13. 
 
 aia 
 
 preoaring us to seek those things that are 
 above. 
 
 NOVEMBER 13. 
 
 " As an eagle stirreth up her nest." 
 Deut. xxxii. 1 1. 
 
 — She sees the eaglets nestling, blinking, 
 and dozing; and she wishes them to fly — 
 Arise, says she — but they refuse — She then 
 stirs up the nest — shakes it ; turns out the in- 
 side ; separates, scatters the parts. That is, 
 she either destroys the nest, or makes it so 
 uncomfortable that the young ones move out 
 upon the neighbouring boughs, where they are 
 in a posture for flight. God does the same 
 with us — He stirs up our nest. 
 
 First. As to our outward condition in the 
 world. This was the case with the Jews. 
 Egypt had been their abode; where, in the 
 infancy of their state, they were lodged like 
 birds in a nest ; and though it was an impure 
 one, and much straitened and confined them, 
 they evinced no care to leave it. And it is 
 easy to see, that if they had been well treated, 
 and enjoyed the smiles of the government 
 and the former advantages of Goshen, Moses 
 might have called long enough before they 
 would have come out But there arose ano- 
 ther king, that knew not Joseph, who evil en- 
 treated them, and made their lives bitter by 
 reason of cruel bondage. Their burdens were 
 intolerable; their tasks impracticable; their 
 complaints were turned into insults ; their 
 daughters were for slaves ; and their sons for 
 slaughter — And now they sigh for deliver- 
 ance ; and are willing to go forth, even into a 
 wilderness, at the Divine call — Thus God 
 stirred up their nest. Manasseh was the son 
 of good Hezekiah : but every pious principle 
 of his education was corrupted by power, 
 wealth, and pleasure. He became proverbial 
 for wickedness ; and would have gone on till 
 he had filled up the measure of his iniquity — 
 But God stirred up his nest " When he was 
 in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, 
 and humbled himself greatly before the God 
 of his fathers, and prayed unto him : and he 
 was intreated of him, and heard his supplica- 
 tion, and brought him again to Jerusalem into 
 nis kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the 
 Lord he was God." What brought the Pro- 
 digal to his senses, and made him think of 
 home? A mighty famine in the land — he 
 began to be in want How many, now living, 
 can say, " It is good for me that I have been 
 afflicted : before I was afflicted I went astray, 
 but now have I kept thy word !" You had 
 health: but sickness invaded your frame; and 
 you have been made to possess months of 
 vanity, and have had wearisome nights ap- 
 pointed for you. You prospered in business : 
 but your purposes were broken off; your 
 schemes failed ; you were put back in life, and 
 2R 27 
 
 compelled to begin the world afresh. You 
 had a wife of your bosom : but the Lord took 
 away the desire of your eyes with a stroke. 
 You had a favourite child, on whom you 
 placed many a flattering expectation : but at 
 an early grave you sighed, " Thou destroyest 
 the hope of man" — and now, at your meals, 
 you see David's seat is empty — and you oflen 
 retire, and sigh, " Childhood and youth are 
 vanity." And what is all this but his stirring 
 up your nest 1 and, by a sad, but salutary ne- 
 cessity, constraining you to turn from time to 
 eternity ; from the creature to Himself, the 
 supreme good 1 And what a mercy, if you 
 can now say — 
 
 " JVojo to the shining realms above, 
 
 1 stretch my hands, and glance mine eyes : 
 Oh for the pinions of a dove, 
 To bear me to the upper skies ! 
 "There, from the bosom of my God, 
 Oceans of endless pleasure roll : 
 There would I fix my last abode, 
 And drown the sorrows of the soul." 
 
 Secondly. As to our self-righteous confi- 
 dence and security. We have naturally a 
 good opinion of ourselves; and the enemy of 
 souls loves to cherish it He therefore keeps 
 his palace and his goods in peace. He dreads 
 a stir in the conscience. He knows that we 
 must be humbled before we are exalted ; 
 wounded before we can be healed ; and be 
 emptied of self, before we can be filled with 
 all the fulness of God. This state of mind 
 must therefore be disturbed and destroyed be- 
 fore any thing like genuine religion can com- 
 mence. And what does Godl By the conviction 
 of sin, like a general at the head of an army, he 
 enters the soul — and the man no more says, 
 Peace, peace — his hopes are fled — he is re- 
 duced to self-despair — and his only cry is, 
 " What must I do to be saved !" His world- 
 ly friends are alarmed for him: but they 
 who know what is the way of the Spirit re- 
 joice, not that he is made sorry, but that he 
 now sorrows after a godly sort And the sub- 
 ject of the change himself may mistake the 
 nature and design of the operation ; and con- 
 clude that he is going to be destroyed. But 
 if the Lord had a mind to kill him he would not 
 have shown him such things as these. Thus 
 it was with Paul. See how his nest was fea- 
 thered with self-righteousness ; and see how 
 it was stirred up — " I was alive without the 
 law once : but when the commandment came, 
 sin revived, and I died." " For I through the 
 law am dead to the law, that I might live 
 unto God." 
 
 Thirdly. As to our departure from life. 
 We are not to remain here always ; and it is 
 no little difficulty to break up our attachment 
 to the present state.; and to make us willing 
 to leave it But see how this is done. — After 
 a number of years we have a feeling persua- 
 sion that this is not our rest ; that creatures 
 are broken reeds ; that the earth is a vale of 
 tear' ; that the world is vanity and vexation 
 
314 
 
 NOVEMBER 14. 
 
 of spirit ; and having looked through every 
 scene here, we wish for another and a nobler 
 region of existence. Then, too, our powers 
 begin to fail us. Pains and infirmities grow 
 upon us. Our decaying senses shut us out 
 by degrees from former objects and pursuits. 
 The days are come wherein we have no plea- 
 sure. Hearing fails. They that look out of 
 the window are darkened. Fear is in the 
 way. The grasshopper is a burden. And 
 when we look around, where now are the re- 
 lations and friends that once rendered life de- 
 lightful 1 Lover and friend God has put far 
 from us, and our acquaintance into darkness. 
 We seem more and better related to another 
 world than this — We feel the drawings of 
 those who are gone — " What have I here 1 
 and what do I here f — And now the hope of 
 usefulness ceases to detain us. How can I 
 glorify God 1 or serve my generation 1 Why 
 should I remain a cumberer of the ground, 
 when so many fine and fruitful trees are cut 
 down] And now we become better acquaint- 
 ed with the heavenly world we have more 
 nearly approached — O what darkness here ! 
 and what sunshine there P What bondage 
 here ! and what liberty there ! — There no 
 law in the members warring against the law 
 of the mind — There no complaint, when I 
 would do good evil is present with me — Is 
 not this worth dying for 1 — Then the earnests 
 and foretastes of the glory to which we are 
 going render every thing else comparatively 
 insipid ; and the grapes of Eshcol make us 
 long for the vineyards of Canaan — And thus 
 the Lord stirs up the nest of life itself; and 
 gets the heir of immortality upon the perch 
 for his departure — where he is able to say, 
 
 " There is a house not made with hands, 
 Eternal and on high; 
 And here my spirit, waiting, stands 
 Till God shall bid it fly." 
 
 NOVEMBER 14. 
 
 " Fluttereth over her young." — Deut. xxxii. 11. 
 
 — This she does to excite and teach them 
 by her own example. And God does the 
 same with regard to us. The eye does much 
 more than the ear. The advantage derivable 
 from example is universally allowed. It not 
 only aids. in the illustration of a subject, but 
 also in the impression and influence of it ; as 
 it helps the memory, strikes the fancy, re- 
 proves indolence, encourages hope, and fires 
 zeal. Wise teachers will therefore always 
 teach as much as possible by example. 
 
 How sad is the state of those who are des- 
 titute of this advantage in religion ! And 
 there are those to be found who have scarce- 
 ly an instance of godliness within their reach. 
 Wc pity the son who has indeed a father who 
 instructs him, and by his own example too — 
 but it is to swear ; to profane the Sabbatf i ; to 
 despise the house of God. We pity the 
 
 daughter who has indeed a mother who leada 
 her, and by her own example too — but it is 
 to idolize her person ; to read novels and ro- 
 mances — not the words of eternal life; to re- 
 pair to places of dissipation — not to the throne 
 of the heavenly grace. Is there an individual 
 perusing this page, who is stationed in a 
 neighbourhood, or a family, where he can find 
 no one with whom he can unite in any reli- 
 gious exercise ; who mov^s on alone ; and 
 even, perhaps, through reproach and opposi 
 tion 1 Let him remember that this may not 
 be the case always. If he walks in wisdom 
 towards them that are without, his endea- 
 vours, in time, may be available; and his 
 prayers be heard: and though he has been 
 denied the advantage of having an example, 
 he may have the honour of becoming one, 
 and of leading others into the way everlast- 
 ing. 
 
 But there are few places now in which 
 there are not some instances of divine grace, 
 sufficient to condemn the world, and to en- 
 courage those whose faces are Zionward. 
 Some, perhaps, have many godly persons 
 around them, and they see how superior these 
 are to other men. How content ! How grate- 
 ful ! How supported in trouble! How hope- 
 ful in death ! Some have pious friends and 
 relations. You have, perhaps, a sister, who 
 often entreats you. Or a wife, who endea- 
 vours to win you. Or a father, who says, 
 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart 
 shall rejoice, even mine. Or a mother, who 
 weeps over you, and exclaims, What, my 
 son ! and the son of my womb ! and the son 
 of my vows ! And what is all this but God 
 teaching and exciting you 1 And if you can 
 read, you have an additional advantage. How 
 many excellent lives have been published ? 
 How many fine characters are pourtrayed in 
 the Scriptures ! And, by the perusal of all 
 these, you bring a cloud of witnesses and ex- 
 amples before you. And when you see them 
 in the exercise and display of whatsoever is 
 lovely and of good report, do you not see God 
 in all this, like the eagle, fluttering over her 
 young 1 ? 
 
 But look at him in his more personal con 
 duct. See how he not only teaches and ex- 
 cites by his word, but by his own example. 
 Does he command us to be merciful 1 He is 
 merciful ; rich in mercy ; he delighteth in 
 mercy. Does he enjoin us to give 1 He daily 
 Joadeth us with his benefits. He gives ua 
 richly all things to enjoy. He spared not his 
 own Son. Does he require us to forgive! He 
 is ready to pardon. He abundantly pardons. 
 " Love your enemies," says he ; " bless them 
 that curse you, do good to them that hate you, 
 and pray for them which despitefully use 
 you and persecute you ; that ye may be the 
 children of your Father which is in heaven : 
 for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and 
 on the £ocd, and sendeth rain on the lust and 
 
NOVEMBER 15. 
 
 315 
 
 oil the unjust" " Be ye therefore perfect, 
 even as your Father which is in heaven is 
 perfect" This is not an optional thing 1 with 
 us ; we must resemble him ; and are only re- 
 ligious, in proportion as we are like him, and 
 are one spirit with him. 
 
 To render his example the more enga- 
 ging, we were going to say — he human- 
 ized it. God was manifest in the flesh. And 
 this rendered his example, not only the more 
 attractive, but even the more complete. For 
 it is obvious that he could not have been our 
 example, and have gone before us in the ex- 
 ercise of any of those graces, or the perform- 
 ance of any of those duties, which imply de- 
 pendence, submission, and suffering, unless 
 he had become incarnate. The Word, there- 
 fore, was made flesh, and dwelt among us. 
 Divine goodness walked up and down the 
 earth for three-and-thirty years, in human 
 form. Here was visible the image of the in- 
 visible God. The Sovereign comes down and 
 goes before his subjects, to excite and allure 
 them. See, says he ; I obey, to teach you to 
 obey — I suffer, to teach you how to suffer — 
 I die, to make you fearless of death — " Be ye 
 therefore followers of God, as dear children ; 
 and walk in love, as Christ hath also loved 
 us, and hath given himself for us an offering 
 and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling sa- 
 vour." 
 
 Let ministers learn from hence to be pa- 
 rental rather than magisterial; and to do 
 more by influence than authority — " Neither 
 as being lords over God's heritage ; but being 
 ensamples to the flock." This is what Paul 
 enjoined on his son Timothy : " Be thou an 
 example to the believers, in word, in conver- 
 sation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in pu- 
 rity." And what was his own practice 1 " As 
 ye know how we exhorted, and comforted, 
 and charged every one of you, as a father 
 doth his children." " We were gentle among 
 you, even as a nurse cherisheth her chil- 
 dren. So, being affectionately desirous of 
 you, we were willing to have imparted unto 
 you, not the Gospel of God only, but also our 
 own souls, because ye were dear unto us." 
 
 And let parents remember this image. 
 Do as well as teach. Be amiable. Render 
 your religion inviting. Let your children 
 see it. Come near them — attach them — 
 draw them. 
 
 " And as the bird each fond endearment tries, 
 To tempt her new-fledged offspring to the skies ; 
 Employ each art ; reprove each dull delay ; 
 Allure to brighter worlds, and lead the way." 
 
 NOVEMBER 15. 
 
 ' — Spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, 
 beareth them on her -wings." — Deut. xxxii. 11. 
 
 This is to aid, and also to secure them. 
 When they mount her back, they are little 
 aware of her design ; but she sails away with 
 
 them — and sometimes, shakes them off. Then 
 they must fly themselves — But she follows 
 after -She hovers near them : and when 
 their pinions flag, and they are unable to keep 
 longer on the wing, with surprising speed 
 and skill, she darts and places herself under- 
 neath them ; and thus receiving their whole 
 weight she prevents their fall, succours their 
 weakness, and refreshes them for anothei 
 flight The Lord never entirely leaves his 
 people — and it is well he does not : for with- 
 out him they can do nothing. He does, how- 
 ever, in a degree withdraw from them, to 
 make them more sensible of their weakness, 
 and induce them to rely more upon himself: 
 but not so as to hazard their safety — Thus 
 the mother, when her infant, beginning to 
 walk, is too venturesome, leaves him alone — 
 not to go over a plank across a river ; but in 
 the room with her; and upon the carpet; 
 where the fall will alarm and caution — not 
 kill, or fracture him — And # she soon takes 
 him up, and presses him to her bosom and 
 her lips again. God has himself (how much 
 we need to teach and effect us !) employed 
 another tender image. When young and 
 feeble, the day perhaps warm, and the ground 
 rough, the little lambs are unable to keep 
 pace with the flock, and would be left pant- 
 ing and bleating behind : but the Shepherd 
 of Israel gathers them with his arm, and car- 
 ries them in his bosom. 
 
 Many are not convinced of their weak- 
 ness, because they have never made, in earn- 
 est a trial of their strength. But when a 
 man begins to apply himself to the purposes 
 of the divine life, he feels how unable he is 
 to do any thing as of himself : and he would 
 never be induced to take one step, effect- 
 ually, in a religious course, without such an 
 assurance as the Gospel presents. Possi- 
 bility, probability, is not enough : he must 
 hear the voice that cries, " My grace is suf- 
 ficient for thee ; for my strength is made per- 
 fect in weakness." And he does hear this. 
 And, though much is required and expected 
 of him, he sees all the means necessary to 
 the end. He sees a cause more than ade- 
 quate to the effect It is a great thing to be 
 a Christian : but " our sufficiency is of 
 God." 
 
 He has said, " I will strengthen them in 
 the Lord :" and, " As thy day, so shall thy 
 strength be." He aids them by his provi- 
 dence. And by communion with each other. 
 And in the ordinances of religion. Minis- 
 ters are "helpers of their joy. His word 
 quickens them. His statutes help tnem. 
 In the holy assemblies, and at the table of 
 their dying Lord, while they wait upon him, 
 he renews their strength ; and they mount 
 up with wings, as eagles ; and they run, and 
 are not weary ; and they walk, and are not 
 faint But all these are only the means — the 
 Holy Spirit is the agent- -Not by might nor 
 
316 
 
 .NOVEMBER 16. 
 
 by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. 
 Our dependence upon ^'m is entire. We 
 pray in the Spirit. We live in the Spirit. 
 We walk in the Spirit. He leads us into all 
 truth. He seals us unto the day of redemp- 
 tion. But for his influence, who would not 
 every moment despond and sink 1 
 
 But the eagle, by taking and bearing her 
 young on her wings, not only sustains and 
 supports them, but protects and secures them. 
 Is an enemy in sight 1 She soars with them 
 above his reach. Does the archer discharge 
 his arrows from below 1 They must pierce 
 through her body before they can touch 
 them. " The path of life is above, to the 
 wise, to depart from hell beneath." And 
 God is the refuge, as well as the strength, 
 of his people. And to each of them he says, 
 what David said to Abiathar, when he fled 
 to him from the slaughter of Saul- — " Abide 
 with me ; fear not ; for he that seeketh thy 
 life, seeketh my life : but with me thou shalt 
 be in safeguard." When they can realize 
 this, their soul dwells at ease. This is 
 sometimes their privilege : it ought to be al- 
 ways their experience. Their security is al- 
 ways the same : but Paul was persuaded of 
 it — " I am persuaded" says he, " that nei- 
 ther death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
 powers, nor things present, nor things to 
 come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
 creature shall be able to separate us from the 
 love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our 
 lord." 
 
 NOVEMBER 16. 
 
 ' Thy hidden ones" — Psalm Ixxxiii. 3. 
 
 This representation cf God's people is 
 worthy our notice. It may be taken two 
 ways. 
 
 First. As referring to their safety. We 
 often hide, only to preserve. This is the 
 meaning of the word in the parable, with re- 
 gard to the discovery of the treasure in the 
 field ; " which, when a man hath found, he 
 hideth it." His aim is not to conceal, but to 
 secure : and the cause is put for the effect. 
 Thus God's people are hidden. He hid Noah 
 in the Ark, and the waters that drowned the 
 world, could not find him. When his judg- 
 ments were coming over the land, " Come, 
 my people," said He, " enter thou into thy 
 chamber, and shut thy doors about thee : 
 hide thee also for a little season, until the in- 
 dignation be overpast." Hence the promise, 
 " Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy 
 presence from the pride of man : thou shalt 
 keep them secretly in a pavilion from the 
 strife of tongues." Hence the confidence ex- 
 pressed by David, " In the time of trouble he 
 Bhall hide me in his pavilion : in the secret of 
 nis tabernacle shall he hide me ; he shall set 
 
 me upon a rock." The Saviour could say, 
 " In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me." 
 And, " All the saints are in his hand." They 
 are kept by the power of God, through faith, 
 unto salvation. — For He himself is their "re- 
 fuge ;" their " hiding-place" — They are his ' 
 hidden ones. 
 
 Secondly. As intimating their conceal- 
 ment This is not absolute. But it holds in 
 various respects and degrees. It is true with 
 regard to the nature of their spiritual life. 
 Our life, says the Apostle, is hid with Christ 
 in God,: and that he refers to its invisibleness, 
 rather than to its safety, is obvious from the 
 words following : "Wnen he who is our life 
 shall appear, toe also shall appear with him 
 in glory." The source, principles, and act- 
 ings, of this life, are unintelligible to natural 
 men ; neither can they know them, because 
 they are spiritually discerned. The heart of 
 the believer only feels his own bitterness: 
 and a stranger intermeddieth not with his 
 joy. The manna upon which he feeds, is hid- 
 den manna. And no one knoweth the new 
 name in the white stone given him, but the 
 receiver. His grief is too deep to be noisy. 
 He sitteth alone and keeps silence. The 
 stricken deer leaves the herd. Other war- 
 riors appeal to the senses, and get fame : but 
 his conflicts are carried on within, visible to 
 God only; and his laurels are all future. 
 Others may give alms, to be seen of men : 
 but his left, hand is not to know what his right 
 hand doeth. 
 
 They are sometimes hidden by persecution. 
 For though this does not prevent their being 
 Christians, it hinders them from appearing as 
 such ; especially by secluding them from their 
 social and public assemblies. This is not our 
 case. Our teachers are not put into a cor- 
 ner. We can go to the house of God in com- 
 pany. We can feed in the ways; and our 
 pasture is in all high places. But call to re- 
 membrance the former times, when they wan- 
 dered in deserts, and in mountains, and dens, 
 and caves of the earth ; or were confined in 
 prisons; or prayed and preached under the 
 cover of night. But they were dear to God , 
 they were his hidden ones. 
 
 They are sometimes hidden hy the obscu- 
 rity of their stations. Not many of the wise, 
 and mighty, and noble, are called : but when 
 they are called, they are also exhibited. 
 They are like cities set on hills, which can- 
 not be hid. A little religion in high life goes 
 a great way, and is much talked of, because 
 it is so often a strange thing. But God hath 
 chosen the poor of this world ; and they are 
 often rich in faith. Yet how is their moral 
 wealth to be known ! How few opportunities 
 have they for religious display or exertion ! 
 There may be the principle of benevolence, 
 where there is no ability to give. And the 
 Lord seetb the heart ; but men can only judge 
 
NOVEMBER 17. 
 
 317 
 
 from action?. Many who are great in the 
 sight of the Lord are living in cottages and 
 hovels ; and are scarcely known, unless to a 
 ew neighbours equally obscure. 
 
 They are sometimes hidden by their dis- 
 position. They are reserved; and shrink 
 oack from notice. They are timid and self- 
 diffident. This restrains them in religious 
 conversation, especially as it regards their 
 own experience. This keeps them from 
 making a profession of religion, and joining a 
 Christian Ch urch. Joseph of Ar imathsea was 
 a disciple of Jesus; but secretly, for fear of 
 the Jews. And Nicodemus, from the same 
 cause, came to Jesus by night They had 
 difficulties in their situations, from which 
 others were free. They ought to have over- 
 come them ; and so they did at last : but it 
 was a day of small things with them at first. 
 Others are circumstanced and tried in a simi- 
 lar way ; and we must be patient towards all 
 men. 
 
 They are sometimes hidden by their infir- 
 mities. We would not plead for sin ; but 
 g^race may be found along with many imper- 
 fections. The possessors have what is essen- 
 tial to religion in them ; but not every thing 
 that is ornamental, and lovely, and of good 
 report. 
 
 The same also will apply to errors. Here, 
 again, we are far from undervaluing divine 
 truth. It is a good thing that the heart be 
 established with grace. But it is impossible 
 for us to say how much ignorance, and how 
 many mistakes, may be found, even in the 
 Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. 
 How little did Peter know of the most im- 
 portant of all subjects, when our Saviour pro- 
 nounced him blessed ; and said he was a par- 
 taker of divine illumination ! We extend 
 this even to congregations and communities. 
 There may be individuals in them, wiser 
 than their teachers, and no strangers to com- 
 munion with the God of all grace. Who can 
 entertain too bad an opinion of Popery 1 Yet 
 we find a Nicol, a Pascal, a Fenelon, in that 
 most corrupt church— Where may not God 
 have his hidden ones'? Let us not judge of 
 the real number of his people, by things that 
 do appear. While we ought to pray always 
 — " The Lord add to his people, how many 
 soever they be, a hundredfold." It is not 
 only candour, but truth, that tells us we may 
 enlarge our hopes : while we ought to pray 
 always. " Wot ye not what the Scripture 
 saith of Eliasl how he maketh interces- 
 sion to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they 
 have killed thy prophets, and digged down 
 thine altars ; and I am left alone, and they 
 seek my life. But what saith the answer of 
 God unto him ? I have reserved to myself 
 seven thousand men, who have not bowed the 
 knee to the image of Baal" 
 27* 
 
 NOVEMBER 17. 
 
 " Hi* seed shall endure for ezer." 
 Psalin lxxxix. 36. 
 
 David was peculiarly related to the Mes« 
 siah. He wrote much concerning him. He 
 yielded the most varied and complete type of 
 him ever exhibited. He was at once his Lord 
 and his son. Hence the name of the formei 
 is often applied to the latter; and what is 
 spoken of the one, is often to be extended to 
 the other. It must be so applied, to do any thing 
 like justice to the force of the language. And 
 in this case we are more than justified, by 
 numerous appropriations of men in the New 
 Testament, who spake as they were moved 
 by the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Upon this principle, the words before us in- 
 sure the perpetuation of his people — " His 
 seed shall continue for ever." We shall say 
 nothing of their number ; though, if we were 
 asked the question, " Are there few that shall % 
 be saved 1" we could boldly answer, No ': 
 Ignorance and bigotry have always dimin- 
 ished them ; but they shall be found, when 
 gathered together, a countless multitude. 
 
 But why are *hey called his seed? Be 
 cause they derive their being, as new crea- 
 tures, from him. "Every one that doeth 
 righteousness, is born of Him." In such a 
 relation, we look for resemblance. This, in- 
 deed, is not invariably the case, with regard 
 to children. Some of them have little of the 
 father's likeness, either in features or in tem- 
 per. But all Christians resemble Christ. They 
 bear the image of the heavenly. If any man 
 have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of 
 his. The relation infers duty. It does away, 
 indeed, with all servileness ; but not with ser- 
 vice. "A seed shall serve him." "And I 
 will spare them," says he, " as a man spareth 
 his own son that serveth him." " A son ho- 
 noureth his father." Every Christian, there- 
 fore, will ask, " Lord, what wilt thou have 
 me to do?" The relation confers honour. 
 His seed are descended from One who is 
 higher than the kings of the earth ; in whom 
 are hid all the treasures of wisdom and know- 
 ledge ; and whose holiness and goodness are 
 infinite. Such honour have all his saints. 
 
 But what a privilege does it bespeak ! There 
 is an amazing instinct in brute-creatures to- 
 wards their offspring. It seems to transform 
 the very nature of some of them. The timid 
 sheep, and the fearful bird, become bold and 
 daring on behalf of their young. As to man, 
 if he were not to provide for his own, he 
 would be contemned by all around him : and 
 were he a pretender to religion, he would be 
 considered as denying the faith, and be deem- 
 ed worse than an infidel. Will the Lord Je- 
 sus neglect his offspring 1 Will he suffer them 
 to want any good thing] Will he not educate 
 
318 
 
 NOVEMBER 18. 
 
 ihem ! Chastise them ! Resent every injury 
 that is done them? Acknowledge them! De- 
 fend them! 
 
 Observe, not only their relation to him, but 
 their perpetuity — "They shall continue for 
 ever." They die, as well as others: they often 
 die earlier : yet, consistently with this obvious 
 and undeniable fact, they shall continue for 
 ever, in three senses. First. In the succes- 
 sion of their race to the end of the world. It 
 will never be cut off—" The Church in dan- 
 ger!" What Church! "Upon this rock," 
 says he, "I will build my Church; and the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 
 Yea, his people shall continue to increase in 
 number and excellency — We shall leave the 
 world better than we entered it : and so will 
 our children — till Jerusalem shall be esta- 
 blished, and be made a praise in the whole 
 earth. Secondly. In their religious charac- 
 ter to the end of life. If left to themselves, 
 we could not be sure of their persevering to 
 the end of a day, or an hour. But they are 
 kept by the power of God, through faith, unto 
 salvation. He upholdeth them witli his hand. 
 They shall hold on their way. In all their 
 dangers they shall be more than conquerors. 
 — Thirdly. In their glorified state, through 
 eternal ages. The world passeth away, and 
 the lusts thereof; but he that doeth the will 
 of God, abideth for ever. All other greatness 
 is only for life : it is frequently less durable — 
 at death, it ends. But then, the Christian's 
 greatness — I will not say begins; for it began 
 the moment he prayed — but then it continues 
 — increases — but is perfected. Death only af- 
 fects one part of him : the body is dead be- 
 cause of sm; but the Spirit is life because of 
 righteousness. And even the body shall be 
 revived and improved — and made like the 
 Saviour's own glorious body — and be as im- 
 mortal as the soul. Every thing here is vari- 
 able, fading, perishing — 
 
 ' AH, all on earth, is shadow ; all beyond, 
 Is substance— the reverse, is Folly's creed — 
 How solid all, where change shall be no more!" 
 
 — Where we shall have, not only endless 
 existence, but endless existence beatified. 
 Where, if we have treasure, moth and rust 
 will not corrupt, nor thieves break through 
 and steal. Where, if we have a house, it will 
 not be a house made with hands, but eternal 
 in the heavens. Where, if we have a crown 
 of glory, it fadeth not away. Where, if we 
 have friendships, we shall part no more. 
 Where we shall be for ever with the 
 Lord. 
 
 NOVEMBER 18. 
 
 " Open thy mouth vide." — Psalm lxxxi. 10. 
 
 Though we cannot,find out God, perfectly, 
 in his essence or his works, we are not left 
 •n total isrnorance concerning him. We have 
 
 all the information our duty and our consola 
 tion can require. Though he be a God that 
 hideth himself, yet he is the God of Israel, 
 the Saviour. He has been pleased to reveal 
 himself as the hearer of prayer — Yea more — 
 as exciting it — as encouraging it — as con- 
 cerned for the enlargement of our desires in 
 the performance of it — " Open thy mouth 
 wide." 
 
 To aid us herein, Let us consider his great- 
 ness and all-sufficiency. We should expect 
 more from a prince than from a pauper. Ma- 
 ny have benevolence without resources ; and 
 in vain we address them : they may grieve to 
 deny us, but they cannot relieve. When the 
 woman cried, " Help, O king !" he said, 
 " Whence should I help thee!" But we 
 kneel before One, whose greatness is un- 
 searchable; who is Lord of all. His giving a 
 world, would be less than our giving a crumb 
 of bread. When Alexander had bestowed a 
 very valuable present on a poor man, his mo- 
 desty would have declined it: "It is too 
 much," said he, " for me to receive" — " But," 
 said the conqueror, " it is not too much for 
 me to give." God gives like himself; and he 
 is to be addressed in character with himself. 
 We believe in God, the Father Almighty, 
 Maker of heaven and earth. Is it comfort we 
 want! He is the God of all comfort. Is it 
 deliverance! Nothing is too hard for the 
 Lord. Is it renovation! He can make all 
 things new — He is able to do for us exceed- 
 ing abundantly above all we ask or think, ac- 
 cording to the power that worketh in us. 
 
 Let us consider his goodness. Nothing 
 tends to contract us more than a sense of our 
 unworthiness. We ought to feel this : but we 
 ought not to be discouraged by it : since he is 
 the God of all grace, the Father of mercies ; 
 since he is rich in mercy, and delighteth in 
 mercy. We are not to judge of him by a hu- 
 man standard. It is an injury to us, when we 
 are applying to him, to think of the benevo- 
 lence of the most generous of our fellow-crea- 
 tures. They all come inconceivably short 
 of his glory. "My thoughts are not your 
 thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, 
 saith the Lord. For as the heavens are high- 
 er than the earth, so are my ways higher than 
 your ways, and my thoughts than your 
 thoughts." And the reference here, is to his 
 thoughts and ways of mercy ; and especially 
 pardoning mercy. 
 
 Let us remember, also, the medium through 
 which we implore his favours. We have bold- 
 ness and access with confidence, by the faith 
 of him : we have boldness to enter into the 
 holiest, by the blood of Jesus ; having such an 
 High Priest over the house of God, we draw 
 near in full assurance of faith. In saving and 
 glorifying us, through the Son of his love, we 
 do not ask God to deny his truth ; or dishonour 
 his name ; or trample upon his law — Yea, he 
 magnifies his law in doing it He declares 
 
NOVEMBER 19. 
 
 319 
 
 his righteousness. While he redeems Jacob, 
 he glorifies himself in Israel: and glory to 
 God in the highest, is combined with peace 
 on earth, and good-will towards men. Let us 
 think of this ; and ask, and receive, that our 
 joy may be full — Whatsoever, said he, ye 
 shall ask the Father, in my Name, he will 
 do it 
 
 Review, also, the manner in which he has 
 answered the prayers of his people. Has he 
 ever refused them 1 Has he ever given spar- 
 ingly 1 ? Jacob asked for bread to eat, and rai- 
 ment to put on, and a return in peace to his 
 father's house: and, lo! he becomes two 
 bands ! Solomon asked for a wise and under- 
 standing heart: and he obtained, not only 
 wisdom, but life, and riches, and honour! 
 Abraham left off asking, with regard to So- 
 dom, before God left off giving. Why did he 
 stop at ten! Had not God complied with eve- 
 ry preceding proposal, without the least re- 
 luctance'! But Abraham was ashamed — he 
 had not courage to go on. 
 
 But is it not sufficient that he has com- 
 manded it] Having his authority, you cannot 
 be chargeable with presumption, if you ask 
 much. Yea, you will be guilty of rebellion, 
 if you refuse. How did he punish the guests 
 who refused the invitation to the feast, 
 " Come, for all things are now ready !" 
 
 Here is also an express assurance, a pro- 
 mise not only that we shall receive, but be 
 filled — Open thy mouth wide, and "I will Jill 
 it." He will supply all our need from his 
 riches in glory — He will bless us with all 
 ppiritual blessings in heavenly places in 
 Christ. 
 
 Where is the Christian who lives up to 
 his duty ! or to his privilege ? For God not 
 only answers prayer really, but proportion- 
 ally — He says, "Be it unto thee, even as 
 thou wilt" 
 
 Let not him, therefore, who prays rarely 
 and coldly, think to succeed like the frequent 
 and fervent petitioner. Honour God, and God 
 will honour you. He does not despise the 
 day of small things. But " the hand of the 
 diligent maketh rich." 
 
 NOVEMBER 19. 
 
 ' Dost thou betieve on the Son of God .?" 
 John ix. 35. 
 
 This question was addressed to a man that 
 had been blind. Some are blind by accident, 
 and some by disease ; but this man was born 
 blind. He had never seen even the face of 
 her who bore him, and who, as she fed him 
 at her breast would often look upon him, and 
 weep over her orbless boy. Blindness is al- 
 ways a sufficient affliction in itself: but here, 
 penury was added to it. Like others of the 
 same class of sufferers, mentioned in the 
 Gospels, he sat by the way-side, begging. 
 
 Many had passed him, without notice : but 
 Jesus had compassion on him. Some ha*l 
 given him alms — which was all he implored . 
 but Jesus gave him eyes ; and did for him 
 beyond all that he could ask or think. Tin; 
 cure was notorious. The common people 
 acknowledge it; and they brought the man 
 to the Pharisees, supposing that they would 
 be equally ready to confess it too. But see 
 how the plainest truth can be perplexed or 
 doubted, when it comes before those whose 
 interest it is to deny or conceal it. First, 
 they admit the fact ; but turn it against our 
 Saviour, because he had done it on the Sab- 
 bath-day. This did not satisfy the people, 
 who justly remarked, that, had he violated 
 the Sabbath, he would have been a trans- 
 gressor; and God would not have thus ho- 
 noured a sinner. Then they pretend to ques- 
 tion the fact itself. They set aside the man's 
 own testimony, and call in his parents. His 
 parents affirm, that he was their son, and that 
 he had been born blind ; but, fearing lest they 
 shoud be put out of the synagogue, they affect 
 to be ignorant of the mode of his cure ! How 
 stubborn is truth ! How hard is it to suppress 
 evidence ! The attempt is like trying to keep 
 fire under ashes out in the wind. Again they 
 call in the man himself; and, after an artless 
 relation, which they could not resist ; and an 
 involuntary address, which they could not 
 endure ; " they cast him out" — that is, they 
 drove him from their presence, and excom- 
 municated him as a member of the Jewish 
 synagogue. Informed of this, Jesus sought 
 and found him — and said unto him, " Dost 
 thou believe on the Son of God '!" 
 
 There are many foolish and useless ques- 
 tions asked by every individual. In the com- 
 pany of some persons we are in a perfect 
 inquisition: we are tortured with inquiries 
 concerning every body, and every thing. It 
 would be well if many professors of religion 
 were aware, that they are accountable, not 
 only for their time, but their tongues; and 
 would remember the language of our Saviour 
 — "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and 
 by thy words thou shalt be condemned." 
 Many of the inquiries in the theological 
 world, which have engrossed so much atten- 
 tion, and injured so much temper, have turned 
 on subjects too deep to be fathomed, or too tri 
 fling to merit regard. When Peter, wishing 
 to know his designs concerning John, asked, 
 " Lord, and what shall this man do ?" he re- 
 plied, " What is that to thee? Follow thou 
 me." A man, in the road, asked, " Lord, are 
 there few that shall be saved V* But Jesus 
 " answered and said unto them," for he would 
 not notice the trifler himself; but said unto 
 them that were about him — " Strive tc enter 
 in at the strait gate ; for I say unto yoi, that 
 many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be 
 able." If it be said, This was no answer to 
 the question itself, we reply, That it was av 
 
320 
 
 NOVEMBER 20, 21. 
 
 answer; and the only proper answer — an an- 
 swer, by way of rebuke — an answer, inform- 
 ing them, and informing us — That "the se- 
 cret things belong unto God ; but things that 
 are revealed are for us, and for our children" 
 — and, That whatever be the number of the 
 saved, we may be included in it, if we earn- 
 estly and immediately seek it. 
 
 But the question before us is founded in 
 importance. We may infer this from the cha- 
 racter of the inquirer: he never trifled, never 
 spoke an idle word. And we may infer it, 
 also, from the nature of the case itself. For 
 what can be so important as faith in Christ I 
 It is the principle of all religion. It is the 
 only medium through which we can enjoy 
 the blessings of the Gospel. Do we live 1 
 We "live by the faith of the Son of God." 
 Do we walk 1 " We walk by faith." Do we 
 stand ] " By faith we stand." Do we con- 
 quer'! " This is the victory that overcometh 
 the world, even our faith." There is no jus- 
 tification without it — "Being justified by 
 faith." There is no sanctification without it 
 — «* Sanctified by faith that is in me." There 
 is no consolation without it — " In whom, be- 
 lieving, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory." In a word, there is no salva- 
 tion without it — " Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and thou shalt be saved." The same 
 things, therefore, in the Scripture, which are 
 ascribed to Christ, are also ascribed to faith. 
 The reason is, because it is only by faith we 
 can make use of Christ, for all the purposes 
 which he is appointed to accomplish. It is 
 only by faith we can receive him as the gift 
 of God ; enter him as a refuge ; apply him as 
 the balm of Gilead ; and feed upon him as the 
 bread of life. 
 
 And unless we believe on him, we not only 
 Incur the greatest loss we can incur, but we 
 contract the greatest guilt we can contract. 
 We disobey the express command of God — 
 his dearest command; the command which 
 involves all his glory in the highest degree — 
 For "this is his commandment, That we 
 should believe on the name of his Son Jesus 
 Christ." We make him a liar. We throw 
 unspeakable contempt upon his wisdom and 
 goodness. He has, at an infinite expense, 
 provided a Saviour, and brought him near, 
 and pressed us to avail ourselves of him. And 
 how can we contemn God so much as by 
 making light of it, and rejecting it ? " He 
 that believeth not shall be damned." " He 
 that despised Moses' law died without mercy 
 under two or three witnesses : of how much 
 sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be 
 thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot 
 die Son of God, and hath counted the blood 
 of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, 
 an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto 
 the Spirit of grace 1" 
 
 What, then, can be so momentous as this 
 cwestion, "D^st thou belie\3 on the Son of 
 
 God?" And yet many never give it a st«noua 
 thought They can live on, year after year, 
 without ever once inquiring, "Am I a be- 
 liever, or an unbeliever?" — though theii 
 everlasting all depends upon it — though now 
 is the accepted time, now is the day of salva 
 tion — though their breath is in their nostrils 
 — and they know that their only opportunity 
 is as uncertain as it is short. Oh ! the deceit- 
 fulness of sin ! Oh ! the madness of sinners ! 
 Oh ! the influence of the god of this world, 
 who blindeth the minds of them that believe 
 not! 
 
 NOVEMBER 20. 
 
 " Did I not see thee in the garden -with htm. 
 John xviii. 26. 
 
 While within my garden roving, 
 
 And my senses all are fed ; 
 Rising from these Iov'd attractions, 
 
 I'm to nobler subjects led : 
 Other gardens 
 Here, in musings, oft I tread 
 
 First, I enter Eden's garden, 
 Yielding pain, and profit, too ; 
 
 Adam, here, while sinless standing, 
 Nought of fear, or sorrow knew : 
 But what changes 
 
 Did from his offence ensue! 
 
 Then, with hope and joy reviving, 
 
 To Oethsemane I go ; 
 And approach, in that dread garden, 
 
 Jesus bearing all my wo: 
 
 From his anguish 
 
 AH my ease and safety flow. 
 
 In the Garden where they laid him. 
 With the Marys there I sit ; 
 
 Weeping, till I see him rising, 
 And embrace his pierced feet 
 King of Terrors, 
 
 Now I can thy frownings meet ! 
 
 In the Church, the Saviour's garden — 
 Trees, and plants, and flowers, I see ; 
 
 Guarded, water'd, train'd, and cheiish'd 
 Blooming immortality: 
 All transplanted 
 
 From thy soil, O Calvary ! 
 
 But, above all gardens precious, 
 See the Heavenly Paradise: 
 
 There the Tree of Life is bearing ; 
 There the springs of glory rise ■ 
 And the richness 
 
 Every want and wish supplies. 
 
 There, the foot no thorn e'er pierces ; 
 
 There, the heart ne'er heaves a sigh ; 
 There, in white, we walk with Jesus ; 
 
 All our lov'd connexions by : 
 And, to reach it, 
 Tis a privilege to die! 
 
 NOVEMBER 21. 
 
 " JVow Elisha was fallen sick of his sicknett 
 ■whereof he died. And Joash the king ofls' 
 rael came down unto him, and -wept over hit 
 face, and said, my father, my father, the 
 chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof '" 
 2 Kings xiii. 14. 
 Elijah was spared the common doom of 
 
 mortality, and was taken to heaven, in a 
 
 chariot and horses of fire, without dying. 
 
 But Elisha, who had honoured God so much 
 
NOVEMBER 22 
 
 3^1 
 
 enger, goes the way of all the earth. Why 
 was this difference 7 Even so, Father ; for so 
 .t seemed good in thy sight 
 
 But he does not die of natural infirmity. 
 Neither does he die suddenly — He had fallen 
 sick. This mode of dissolution was less de- 
 sirable, with regard to comfort; but it was 
 more favourable to usefulness. It afforded 
 him opportunity for glorifying God, and in- 
 structing and impressing his attendants. And 
 " the chamber where the good man meets his 
 fate," has often been to others, as well as to 
 the dying individual himself, the house of 
 God, and the gate of heaven. We are there- 
 fore glad to find Joash, the king of Israel, 
 with Elisha in this situation. Such a scene 
 is generally very uninviting to persons in the 
 upper ranks of life. They love not, in the 
 midst of flattery and dissipation, to be re- 
 minded of the days of darkness. Yet " it is 
 better to go to the house of mourning than to 
 go to the house of feasting ; for that is the 
 end of all men; and the living will lay it to 
 his heart. The heart of the wise is in the 
 house of mourning : but the heart of fools is 
 in the house of mirth. Sorrow is better than 
 laughter ; for by the sadness of the counte- 
 nance the heart is made better." It is more 
 serious, and more soft. 
 
 But who was this Joash 1 " He did that 
 which was evil in the sight of the Lord. He 
 departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam 
 the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin : but 
 he walked therein." Who would have looked 
 .or such a man here 1 Yet see the trouble 
 he takes. He does not send to inquire after 
 the dying prophet, but personally visits him. 
 See his condescension and humility in enter- 
 ing "a little chamber on the wall, with a 
 Ded, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick." 
 See his tenderness, in hanging over the ex- 
 piring saint, and weeping. See his know- 
 ledge of the value and importance of Elisha — 
 " Ah ! what shall I do, and what will my peo- 
 ple do, when thou art gone 1 — My father ! my 
 father ! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen 
 thereof!" How much like a pious man does 
 Joash now appear ! How little can we judge 
 of men by particular conditions, events, and 
 feelings! Who has not had powerful convic- 
 tions? Who has not often exclaimed, "Let 
 me die the death of the righteous, and let my 
 'ast end be like hisl Who has not, like Fe- 
 .ix, trembled under the preaching of righte- 
 ousness, temperance, and judgment to come 1 
 Of whom has it not, in some period, been said, 
 as it was of the young man in the Gospel, 
 Thou art not far from the kingdom of God 1 
 
 — What brings Joash here now 7 He had 
 disregarded and despised Elisha before. But 
 Elisha is now going. " How mercies brighten, 
 as they take their flight?" How an unduti- 
 ful child prizes a parent when he is following 
 him to the grave ! How many would listen 
 to the voice of the preacher when they can 
 2S 
 
 hear him no more ! Even the Jews, who sa 
 often would have stoned Moses, mourned foi 
 him many days. — Who would have thought 
 that all these fine impressions would have 
 worn off? But Joash leaves the dying room, 
 and the honoured prophet, and enters ordinary 
 life, and straightway forgetteth what manner 
 of man he was. The tempting scenes of 
 greatness again seduce him ; and his iniqui- 
 ties, like the wind, take him away ! And who 
 would have thought, that, after the wreck of 
 all his worldly substance ; or the loss of Jo- 
 seph and Benjamin ; or the taking away of 
 the wife of his bosom with a stroke ; or the 
 awfulness of a disease that led him down tc 
 the gates of death, and induced him to cry, 
 Oh ! spare me a little longer ! — who would 
 have imagined, that — after such lessons — any 
 man could turn again to folly, and walk more 
 eagerly according to the course of this world! 
 " O Ephraim !" says God, " what shall I dc 
 unto thee ? O Judah ! what shall I do untc 
 thee ? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, 
 and as the early dew it goeth away." 
 
 The devotion of natural men depends upon 
 external excitement. They pour out a prayer 
 when God's chastening hand is upon them : 
 but they do not delight themselves in the Al- 
 mighty ; they do not always call upon God. 
 The summer brook may by a storm be swelled 
 into a flood ; but, having no permanent source, 
 it soon rolls off, and the bed is dry. A Chris- 
 tian's devotion may be aided by outward helps ; 
 but it does not depend upon them. His prac- 
 tice flows from principle : and he exemplifies 
 the promise — " The water that I will give 
 him shall be in him a well of water, springing 
 up into everlasting life." And "he only 
 that endureth to the end, the same shall be 
 saved." 
 
 NOVEMBER 22. 
 
 " And the man of God -was -wroth with him, and 
 
 said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six 
 
 times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou 
 
 hadst consumed it : -whereas now thou shalt 
 
 smite Syria but thrice." — 2 Kings xiii. 19. 
 
 Elisha was now on his dying bed; and 
 
 being visited by Joash, the king of Israel, who 
 
 was deeply affected with the interview ; he 
 
 gave him two orders, the one to shoot, and 
 
 the other to smite. Both these were doubts 
 
 less delivered under a prophetical impulse ; 
 
 and though they may seem strange to us, they 
 
 were well understood by the parties. 
 
 — " And Elisha said unto him. Take bow 
 and arrows. And he took unto him bow and 
 arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, 
 Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put 
 his hand upon it : and Elisha put his hands 
 upon the king's hands. And he said, Open 
 the window eastward. And he opened it 
 Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot And 
 he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, 
 
822 
 
 NOVEMBER 22. 
 
 and the arrow of deliverance from Syria : for 
 thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till 
 thou have consumed them." The Romans 
 were accustomed to declare war against an 
 enemy by shooting an arrow into their terri- 
 tory. Alexander also did this when he en- 
 tered Persia. This order, therefore, was an 
 intimation of war. Accordingly, it was dis- 
 charged " eastward ;" that is, towards Syria. 
 But the man of God arose while he held the 
 bow, and put his left hand upon the king's 
 .eft hand, and his right hand upon the king's 
 right hand. Fcr what purpose ] Elisha was 
 the representative of God, in whose name he 
 now spake ; and he thus teaches the king — 
 that though he should use means, he should 
 not depend upon them — that the excellency 
 }f the power was not of the weapons, but of 
 God — and that, if his bow abode in strength, 
 the arms of his hands were made strong by 
 the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. It is 
 therefore called the arrow of the Lord's de- 
 liverance ; and by which the Syrians were to 
 be vanquished in Aphek. 
 
 And is it not so with us 1 When we work, 
 God must work with us. If his hand be not 
 with us for good ; what is our prudence, our 
 resolution, our energy ] " Not by might, nor 
 by power ; but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." 
 Thus the apostles went forth, preaching; and 
 he " hand of the Lord was with them ; and 
 many believed and turned unto the Lord." 
 
 Again, he said, " Take the arrows. And 
 he took them. And he said unto the king of 
 Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote 
 thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was 
 wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest 
 have smitten five or six times; thenhadstthou 
 smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: 
 whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but 
 thrice." Joash was conscious that the action 
 was a sign, or he could not have been blame- 
 able. The action, therefore, betrayed remiss- 
 ness, and lukewarmness : it was expressive 
 of his disposition ; and it indicated the event. 
 He therefore showed that he was not willing 
 to push the war to a complete issue ; he was 
 only for injuring and enfeebling the enemy 
 he might, and ought to have destroyed. 
 And so the prophet viewed it. He saw that 
 he was half-hearted, and would not improve 
 his advantages. He should have resembled 
 David, who could say, " I have pursued mine 
 enemies, and overtaken them : neither did I 
 turn again till they were consumed. I have 
 wounded them that they were not able to 
 rise : they are fallen under my feet. Then 
 did I beat them small as the dust before the 
 wind ; I did cast them out as the dirt in the 
 streets." But Joash was more disposed to 
 imitate Ahab, who, when Benhadad was de- 
 livered into his hand, suffered him to escape, 
 and to recover his power and means of an- 
 noying again, in consequence of which, God 
 *aid. " Because thou hast let go out of thy 
 
 hand a man whom I appointed to utter de- 
 struction, therefore thy life shall go for his 
 life, and thy people for his people." 
 
 Elisha, therefore, was offended with Joash. 
 And was it not enough in such a case to 
 grieve a man of God, burning with holy zeal 
 for his cause ! And is it not grievous to God's 
 ministers now, when we are not strong in the 
 grace that is in Christ Jesus'! We have his 
 promises and invitations; and we have the 
 experience of his people, living and dying — 
 all showing us how willing he is to help ; and 
 to make us more than conquerors. But, alas ! 
 we are satisfied with little — not in temporal 
 things — where contentment is a virtue ; but 
 in spiritual things — where moderation is a 
 crime. 
 
 Say not, Why, O why did not Joash con- 
 tinue smiting till the prophet said — "It is 
 enough." Are not you chargeable with the 
 very same offence 1 Are not you satisfied with 
 slightly wounding your spiritual enemies, in- 
 stead of breathing after an entire victory over 
 them ] Are not you disposed to live on a lit- 
 tle corner of your estate, when there remains 
 yet very much land to he possessed ] 
 
 Look at your desires ! Are they not formal 
 and few] Do you hunger and thirst after 
 righteousness? Do your souls break for the 
 longings they have unto God's judgments at 
 all times 1 Do you open your mouth wide, 
 that God may fill it ] Do you pray, that ac- 
 cord ing to the riches of his glory, he would 
 strengthen you with might by his Spirit in 
 the inner man ] that you may know the love 
 of Christ, which passeth knowledge] that 
 you may be filled with all the fulness of God ' 
 
 Look at your expectations ! Are they not 
 few and faint] Is your hope a lively hope] 
 Is it vigorous enough to counteract the im- 
 pressions of the world ] Do you abound in 
 hope ] Does it bear any proportion to the ex- 
 ceeding great and precious promises 1 
 
 Look at your exertions ! Are they not few 
 and languid ] An occasional retirement — a 
 hasty performance of private devotion — a 
 formal service at the family altar — a forgetful 
 hearing of the Word — without early rising — 
 without self-denial — without taking up youi 
 cross — without labouring for the meat thai 
 endureth unto everlasting life — without striv- 
 ing to enter in at the strait gate — withoutjight 
 ing the good fight of faith — and taking the 
 kingdom of heaven by force — O this vile 
 moderation! This guilty relaxation! This 
 smiting thrice only, instead of going forward, 
 and deeming nothing done while any thing 
 remains to be done ! 
 
 Wherefore, " giving all diligence, add tr. 
 your faith, virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; 
 and to knowledge, temperance ; and to tem- 
 perance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; 
 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to 
 brotherly kindness, charity. For if these 
 things be in you, and abound, thev make v« u 
 
NOVEMBER 23. 
 
 328 
 
 thai ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful 
 in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and 
 cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he 
 was purged from his old sins. Wherefore 
 the rather, brethren, give diligence to make 
 your calling and election sure : for if ye do 
 these things ye shall never fall : for so an en- 
 trance shall be ministered unto you abundant- 
 ly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ" 
 
 NOVEMBER 2a 
 
 " And ElUha died, and they buried him. And 
 the bands of the .Moabites invaded the land 
 at the coming in of the year. And it came 
 to pass, as they were burying a man, that, 
 behold, they spied a band of men ; and they 
 cast the man into the sepulchre of E lis ha : 
 and -when the man -mas let down, and touch- 
 ed the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood 
 up on his feet." — 2 Kings xiii. 20, 21. 
 
 Here we see the Moabites did not come 
 in a large army, but in particular bands, to 
 pillage and alarm. It shows us in how un- 
 defended a state, at this period, the country 
 must have been. But what has this to do 
 with the death and burial of Elisha 1 The 
 me is mentioned in connexion with the other; 
 uid has a reference to the exclamation the 
 king made in his dying chamber, "O my 
 tother ! my father ! the chariot of Israel, and 
 the horsemen thereof!" And see, would the 
 historian say , see how soon this began to be 
 exemplifieai Does this cause seem inade- 
 quate to the effect ? Who has twt observed 
 the importance of individuality \ When Go- 
 liath came forward challenging, all the army 
 of Israel fled. What a terror was Samson 
 to the Philistines ! They could do nothing till 
 they had got rid of him. There are persons 
 who are the life, the soul of a party or a com- 
 munity. What enterprizes for the glory of 
 God and the spread of the Gospel have ori- 
 ginated from one Christian ! The death of a 
 minister has been the signal for the division 
 and dispersion of a congregation raised by his 
 talents and zeal — " I know," says Paul, " that 
 after my departing shall grievous wolves en- 
 ter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also 
 of your ownselves shall men arise, speaking 
 perverse things, to draw away disciples after 
 them." 
 
 What is there peculiar here's The inti- 
 mation of the historian is constantly and va- 
 riously held forth in the Scripture at large. 
 There we see the regard God pays to his peo- 
 ple. " Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine 
 is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy 
 it not ; for a blessing is in it : so will I do for 
 my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy 
 them all." 
 
 " Oft have our fathers told. 
 Our eyes have often seen. 
 How well our God secures the fold. 
 Where his own sheep have been." 
 
 The ungrateful world despises them. Vet 
 how much do even they owe to the presence 
 and the prayers of the saints ! By them bl ess- 
 ings have been obtained or continued. They 
 have withholden or removed judgments. — 
 They have been the " healers of the breach, 
 the restorers of paths to dwell in." Shall not 
 we love them ? Shall not we pray for their 
 increase 1 
 
 But here was a thing very accidental, as 
 to the persons employed. They were a fu- 
 neral party, and were going to carry the 
 corpse further; but seeing a number of their 
 Invaders, and wishing to make a timely es- 
 cape, they hastily laid it in the grave of Eli- 
 sha, which happened to be at hand. Bui how 
 wonderful was the result ! " When the man 
 was let down, and touched the bones of Eli- 
 sha, he revived, and stood up on his feet!" 
 Here the Papists come (and to what othe: 
 place can they come so well 1) to find some- 
 thing to favour the doctrine of relics. Which 
 of their churches is not furnished with the 
 supposed remains of saints 1 — Some of these 
 saints too, were little better than daemons. 
 But allowing them to have been real saints — 
 what profit is there in their bones when they 
 go down to the grave 1 The virtue here was 
 not in the bones of Elisha, but in the power 
 of God. And what a stupendous miracle was 
 it ! " Surely, had not the people been blind 
 and impenitent they must have been brought 
 to repentance." So we think — but who said, 
 " If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, 
 neither would they be persuaded, though one 
 ro=* from the dead 1" Whether there were 
 as yet any Sadducees in Israel we know not. 
 If there were, they here saw a proof and an 
 instance that the dead can be re-animatttfl — 
 and it matters not, as to the miracle of the 
 fact whether it took place two days after 
 death, or two thousand years. God alone 
 could have done it And why should it be 
 thought a thing incredible that God should 
 raise the dead 1 His power is almighty : and 
 we see what changes and revivals it is con- 
 tinually producing in nature. But with us 
 the subject admits of no doubt — We believe 
 (the Lord prepare us for it !) that " there will 
 be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just 
 and unjust" 
 
 The fathers— where are they 1 and the pro- 
 phets — do they live for ever ! No. The dear- 
 est the greatest the most useful of his ser- 
 vants die. But " precious in the sight of the 
 Lord is the death of his saints. We are lo- 
 sers ; but to them, to die is gain. They are 
 privileged in it They are privileged by it 
 And it is desirable to be near them, liviug 
 dying, and dead; in time, and in eternity 
 " Gather not my soul with sinners." I woulc 
 I " take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew 
 
324 
 
 NOVEMBER 24. 
 
 saying, 1 will go with you, for I have heard 
 that God is with you" — " Entreat me not to 
 leave thee, or to return from following after 
 thee : for whither thou goest I will go; and 
 where thou lodgest, I will lodge : thy people 
 shall be my people, and thy God my God : 
 where thou diest will I die, and there will I 
 be buried : the Lord do so to me, and more 
 also, if aught but death part thee and me." 
 
 God can honour his servants after they are 
 in their graves. The memory of the just is 
 blessed — and useful too. Yes; you may be 
 the means of awakening and enlivening per- 
 sons after your death not by quickening 
 
 their mortal bodies; but their souls, which 
 were dead in trespasses and sins : not by 
 your bones; but by your example, which 
 shall still operate ; by your instructions, which 
 shall still speak ; by the prayers you offered ; 
 by the books you gave ; by the minister you 
 educated ; by the place of worship you built, 
 while you were yet living. 
 
 — Every thing should lead us to the Sa- 
 viour. How much any of the Jews at this 
 time knew of the Messiah we cannot ascer- 
 tain. But we know, that because he died, 
 we shall live. We know, that if we are 
 planted together in the likeness of his death, 
 we shall be also in the likeness of his resur- 
 rection. He made the grave his own, by re- 
 sidence and consecration — Behold the place 
 where the Lord lay ! Into this grave we must 
 descend. But we shall arise from it, not only 
 living, but immortal: not, like this man, to 
 die again, but to die no more ; death having 
 no more dominion over us. " Thy dead men 
 shall live, together with my dead body shall 
 they rise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell 
 in dust ; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, 
 and the earth shall cast out the dead." 
 
 NOVEMBER 24. 
 
 " The righteous shall flourish." — Psalm xcii. 12. 
 
 Prosperity in the divine life is the Chris- 
 tian's duty — and therefore he is commanded 
 to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of 
 our Lord and Saviour. It is his desire — and 
 hence he prays, Strengthen, O God, that 
 which thou hast wrought for us. It is his 
 privilege — and thus it is provided for, and se- 
 cured by, Divine promise — " The righteous 
 shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean 
 hands shall wax stronger and stronger." Da- 
 vid here tells us, that " the righteous shall 
 flourish." And he tells us — 
 
 How he shall flourish — " He shall flourish 
 like the palm tree : he shall grow like a ce- 
 dar in Lebanon." Of the wicked he had said 
 just before, " When the wicked spring as the 
 
 frass, and when all the workers of iniquity 
 o flourish ; it is that they shall be destroyed 
 for «ver." They flourish as the grass, which 
 xxlay is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven. 
 
 What a contrast, with the worthlessness, 
 the weakness, transitoriness, and destiny of 
 grass, in a warm country too — are the palm 
 tree and the cedar in Lebanon ! They are 
 evergreens. How beautifully, how firmly, 
 how largely they grow! How strong and 
 lofty is the cedar ! How upright, and majes- 
 tic, and tall the palm tree — The palm also 
 bears fruit called dates, like bunches of grapes. 
 It sometimes yields a hundred weight at once. 
 
 He tells us where he shall flourish ; " Those 
 that be planted in the house of the Lord shall 
 flourish in the courts of our God." The al- 
 lusion is striking. It compares the house of 
 God to a garden, or fine well-watered soil, fa- 
 vourable to the life, and verdure, and fertility 
 of the trees fixed there. The reason is, that 
 in the sanctuary we have the communion of 
 saints. There our fellowship is with the Fa- 
 ther, and with his Son Jesus Christ There 
 are dispensed the ordinances of religion, and 
 the word of truth. There God commandeth 
 the blessing, even life for evermore. " Blessed 
 is the man that heareth me, watching daily at 
 my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors." 
 They that wait upon the Lord renew their 
 strength. Hence, from their own experience, 
 as well as from the word of promise, they are 
 increasingly induced to say with David — " I 
 will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." 
 
 He also tells us when he shall flourish — 
 " They shall still bring forth fruit in old age." 
 This is to show the permanency of their prin- 
 ciples — and to distinguish them from natural 
 productions — 
 
 " The plants of grace shall ever live ; j 
 Nature decays, but grace must thrive ; 
 Time, that doth all things else impair, 
 Still makes them flourish strong and fair." 
 
 — The believer does not escape all the ef- 
 fects of years. The eye may grow dim ; the 
 ear become dull of hearing. But as the out- 
 ward man perisheth, the inward man is re- 
 newed day by day. The young Christian is 
 lovely, like a tree in the blossoms of spring • 
 the aged Christian is valuable, like a tree in 
 autumn, bending with ripe fruit. We there- 
 fore look for something superior in old dis- 
 ciples. More deadness to the world, the vanity 
 of which they have had more opportunities 
 to see — more, meekness of wisdom — more dis- 
 position to make sacrifices for the sake of 
 peace — more maturity of judgment in divine 
 things — more confidence in God — more rich- 
 ness of experience. 
 
 He also tells us why he shall flourish — 
 " They shall be fat and flourishing, to show 
 that the Lord is upright." We might rather 
 have supposed that it was necessary to show 
 that they were upright. But by the grace of 
 God they are what they are — not they, but 
 the grace of God which is in them. From 
 him is their fruit found. Their preservation 
 and fertility, therefore, are to the praise and 
 glory of God : and as what he does for them 
 
NOVEMBER 25. 
 
 325 
 
 be had engaged to do ; it displays his trutl 
 as well as his mercy ; and proves that he is 
 upright. This cleaving' also to him with 
 purpose of heart, and not turning away from 
 him, whatever temptations the world presents 
 — shows that they have found him to be what 
 he had given himself out to be, and what 
 they had taken him to be. Had he deceived 
 or disappointed them, they would have for- 
 saken him. But he has always dealt well 
 with them — he has surpassed their hopes. 
 They therefore love their Master and his 
 work — and are willing to follow him to pri- 
 son or to death — to show that he is upright. 
 
 David, therefore, attests this from his own 
 experience — " Let every one speak as he 
 finds. I cannot but magnify his name. I 
 cannot but recommend him to those who want 
 a dependence that will not give way. I have 
 tried him, and tried him much, and long. I 
 nevei served him for nought. I never called 
 upon hint in vain. I never trusted in him, 
 and was confounded — He is my rock ; and 
 
 THERE IS NO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IN HIM." 
 
 NOVEMBER 25. 
 
 " Dost thou believe on the Son of God .?" 
 John ix. 35. 
 
 The question concerns us, as well as the 
 man who had been restored to sight. And it 
 admits of solution. Indeed, the inquiry would 
 be absurd if an answer were impossible. 
 Some very mistaken notions are entertained 
 of divine influence. One thing is undeniable. 
 The grace of God, in renewing us, engages 
 and employs us ; so that we are not like wood 
 and stone, under the operation of the saw and 
 the chisel, merely passive, insensible, uncon- 
 scious. God does not work upon us, but in 
 us; and in us, to will and to do of his good 
 pleasure. He is the author of repentance, by 
 enabling us to exercise repentance — And 
 cannot a man know whether he repents of 
 any course or action in which he has been 
 engaged] He is the giver of faith, as he 
 teaches and aids us to believe. The faith, 
 therefore, does not act in us like a charm. It 
 is not a mysterious, unintelligible thing, of 
 which we can give no account— We are al- 
 ways to be ready to give a reason of the hope 
 that is in us. 
 
 How then is an answer to be returned 1 
 Let us away with accidental occurrences, and 
 dreams, and sudden impulses ; and repair to 
 the Scriptures at once ; and, by their deci- 
 sions, examine ourselves, whether we be in 
 the faith, and prove our ownselves. Three 
 evidences may be adduced of our believing on 
 the Son of God. 
 
 First Much anxiousness and uneasiness 
 
 concerning it; in distinction from the temper 
 
 of those who can readily and easily take it for 
 
 granted. This is not the disposition of 
 
 28 
 
 awakened souls. They find hew hard it iff 
 to abound and rejoice in hope. This results 
 from the importance and dearness of the ob- 
 ject. It is not true that it is easy to believe 
 what we wish — Yea, in proportion as we love 
 and value a thing, we become the more ap- 
 prehensive, and require every kind of proof 
 and assurance concerning its safety. And 
 here the case is interesting beyond all com- 
 parison — It is to ascertain my claims to ever- 
 lasting life ! What, if I should be mistaken ! 
 And my heart is deceitful above all things, as 
 well as desperately wicked ! And I learn, 
 from the word of truth, that many are imposed 
 upon to their remediless ruin ! And what, 
 if I am informed, but not enlightened ! — con- 
 vinced, but not converted ! — almost, but not 
 altogether a Christian ! No wonder, in such 
 a case, solicitudes often revive; and the 
 prayer be daily made, " Say unto my soul, I 
 am thy salvation." Let me not be ashamed 
 of my hope. These doubts and fears are a 
 token for good; and may be compared to 
 smoke ; which indeed is not fire, but proves 
 its existence ; and is never found where it is 
 not 
 
 Secondly. The estimation in which we 
 hold the Saviour. Hence says the Apostle, 
 "To you therefore that believe he is pre- 
 cious." He does not say how precious — this 
 would have been impossible. But faith makes 
 him more precious to the soul than sight is to 
 the eye ; or melody to the ear ; or food to the 
 hungry ; or health and life to the sick and the 
 dying. Oh ! says the believer, when I see 
 him as he is revealed in the Word — when 1 
 see him in all I want — when I see how he 
 became my Saviour — that, when he was rich. 
 for my sake he was made poor; and died, 
 that I might live — when I know that he 
 is remembering me still, now he is come 
 into his kingdom; appearing in the presence 
 of God for me ; and making all things tc 
 work together for my good — how can I but 
 exclaim, Thou art fairer than the children of 
 men ! — His name must be as ointment poured 
 forth — His cause must lie near my heart — 1 
 must dedicate myself to his service. I must 
 hourly ask, Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
 do? 
 
 " My God ! and can a humble child, 
 
 That loves thee with a flame so high 
 Be ever from thy face exil'd, 
 Without the pity of thine eye? 
 
 " Impossible!— for thy own hands 
 
 Have tied my heart so fast to thee— 
 And in thy book the promise stands — 
 That where thou art, thy friends must be." 
 
 Thirdly. A life of obedience. Without 
 this, an orthodox creed ; the clearest know- 
 ledge; high confidence; much talking of di- 
 vine things ; great zeai for a party : will all 
 in vain be called in to denominate you be- 
 lievers in Christ. Nothing can be more cer- 
 tain than that as a man is not wise who calls 
 himself so, while all his conduct proclaims 
 
326 
 
 NOVEMBER 26. 
 
 him a fool ; and as he is not a benefactor who 
 never gives — unless, indeed, words : so, he is 
 not a believer who thinks and professes him- 
 self to be such ; but he who acts and lives as 
 such. We read of the work of faith — Where 
 is this operation? By faith Noah built an 
 ark. By faith Abraham left his own country, 
 and his father's house. Read the eleventh 
 chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews ; and 
 see whether faith is a mere notion, or a vital 
 principle. " As the body without the spirit 
 is dead, so faith without works is dead also." 
 " What doth it profit, my brethren, though a 
 man say he hath faith, and have not works 1 
 Can such faith save him]" Therefore says 
 James, " Show me thy faith without thy 
 works." Show me a sun that never shines ; 
 a fire that never burns ; a fountain that never 
 flows — " and I will show thee my faith by my 
 works" — I will show thee the spring in the 
 streams ; the cause in the effects ; the princi- 
 ple in the practice. Though faith can alone 
 justify the soul ; works can alone justify 
 faith, and prove it to be of the operation of 
 God. 
 
 NOVEMBER 26. 
 
 JUy people — have forgotten their resting' 
 place."— Jer. 1. 6. 
 
 God has provided every creature he has 
 made with some convenient good, in the pos- 
 session of which it reposes. Natural bodies 
 have their proper places, towards which they 
 aro carried, and declare, by resting in them, 
 that they are where they ought to be. Sensi- 
 tive beings are led towards sensitive, and 
 animal beings towards animal indulgence, as 
 agreeable to their nature ; and these look no 
 farther. But God himself is the resting-place 
 of man : and it has justly been remarked, that 
 herein lies man's excellency ; that he alone, 
 of all creatures in this lower world, was made 
 capable of communion with his Maker ; and 
 designed for it ; and being designed for it, 
 and made capable of it, he is necessarily un- 
 satisfied and restless without it. For though 
 he has boen turned away from God by sin, he 
 retains the same natural relation to God as 
 his end ; so that he can enjoy no true repose, 
 till he meets with God again. He feels not 
 only sentiments of misery, but of grandeur ; 
 and whatever may be employed to quiet and 
 content him, will be found perfectly inade- 
 quate; and from every fruitless experiment 
 to supply the immense cravings of a fallen, 
 yet immortal mind, he will ever be asking. 
 " Who will show us any good ?" 
 
 There was a time when the "people of 
 God" themselves attempted to live without 
 him in the world. But they were dead while 
 they lived. They were strangers to every 
 thing like satisfaction, till they happily in- 
 quired, "Where is God my maker, who 
 
 giveth songs m the night?" But since they 
 sought and found him, they have been able 
 to make their boast in the Lord — " The Lor<J 
 is my portion, saith my soul ; therefore will J 
 hope in him." " Thou shalt guide me with 
 thy counsel, and afterward receive me to 
 glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? 
 and there is none upon earth that I desire 
 beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth : 
 but God is the strength of my heart, and my 
 portion for ever." He, therefore, is " their 
 resting-place" actually ; and by conviction ; 
 and choice ; and enjoyment. And what a 
 resting-place is he ! There is no repose like 
 that which we possess in him — It is a peace 
 that passeth all understanding. How then 
 can it be described ! Who can express the 
 blessedness of viewing him as our own God, 
 in the covenant of his dear Son — ready to 
 pardon — able to enlighten, to renew, to sup- 
 port, to defend — presiding over all our affairs, 
 and making the most adverse events conduce 
 to our welfare — and promising, on oath, that 
 his grace shall be sufficient for us ; and that 
 he will supply all our need from his riches 
 in glory, by Christ Jesus ! All we can do is 
 to invite others to come, and learn (it is the 
 only way to know) by experience — " O taste 
 and see that the Lord is good ! blessed is the 
 man that trusteth in him." Incomparable as 
 this resting-place i3, it is equally secure and 
 durable. Nothing can destroy it; nothing 
 can injure it ; nothing can invade it. We 
 live in the midst of uncertainty and change ; 
 but the Lord changes not. There is there- 
 fore something sure ; something lasting — It 
 is that very one thing, O Christian ! upon 
 which thou hast laid all thy hope ; and from 
 which thou d rawest all thy comfort — The 
 eternal God is thy refuge ; and underneath 
 are the everlasting arms. 
 
 And yet they are charged with forgetting 
 their resting-place. The charge cannot be 
 taken without limitation. As fainting is not 
 death ; and as backsliding is not apostacy ; so 
 this forgetfulness is not constant and total. 
 But it cannot be denied that it is occasional 
 and partial. Our ingratitude shows it. This 
 is at once the effect and the proof of our for 
 getfulness of God ; and is therefore express- 
 ed by it — " Thou hast forgotten the God that 
 formed thee." It sometimes appears with 
 regard to the means of grace. In proportion 
 as we feel our need of him, we shall value 
 them ; because it is in these that God is to be 
 found and enjoyed — Hence it is said, " Hra ,v 
 nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." 
 But we may read the Scriptures less than we 
 did — and be less alone — and less regardful 
 of the Sabbath — and suffer excuses to keep 
 us from the sanctuary that once would have 
 had no influence over us. It shows itself in 
 our looking to ourselves for what we want: 
 when in the Lord we have righteousness and 
 strength; and from him is our fruit found 
 
NOVEMBER 27. 
 
 We betray it ai our creature dependence. 
 Instead of committing' our way unto the Lord, 
 and waiting patiently for him, we weary our- 
 selves for very vanity, in running from crea- 
 ture to creature for help; and learn, by our 
 folly and suffering, that our strength is to sit 
 still : " In returning and rest shall ye be 
 saved ; in quietness and in confidence shall 
 be your strength." — And do we not forget 
 him when we taint in the day of adversity ? 
 " Oh !" says one, " if such a comfort was re- 
 moved, mine eye would no more see good" 
 " Oh !" says another, " my loss is irrepar- 
 able ; my wound is incurable." We do not 
 wish you to be insensible, or to undervalue 
 your deprivations: but is it a lamp, or the 
 sun, of which you have been deprived? Da- 
 vid, in the desolations of Ziklag, did not for- 
 get his resting-place — "Then David en- 
 couraged himself in the Lord his God." Our 
 regard to the. world will also show our regard 
 jo God. We forget him just in proportion as 
 ihe world strikes and allures us — In sight of 
 nim it can do nothing with us. But where 
 is the spring, when we stoop to the puddle ? 
 Are not the consolations of God small with 
 us when we repair to worldly attractions and 
 delights? 
 
 But the charge is too obvious to require 
 proof— and every Christian will readily con- 
 fess, 
 
 " Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it ; 
 Prone to leave the God I love." 
 
 Yet how humiliating is the fact ! And how 
 wonderful too ! " Can a maid forget her orna- 
 ments? or a bride her attire? Yet my peo- 
 ple have forgotten me days without number," 
 " who am their beauty, their glory ; all then- 
 salvation and all their desire." How little 
 would they themselves have supposed this 
 possible when they first returned to him from 
 darkness to light ; from bondage to liberty ; 
 from a wilderness to the garden of the Lord ! 
 "Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, the 
 kindness of thy youth, the love of thine 
 espousals, when thou wentest after me in the 
 wilderness, in a land that was not sown." 
 And still, after renewed manifestations, and 
 under lively impressions, they are often ready 
 to think they can never be the same dull and 
 ungrateful creatures they have often been — 
 
 ' When my forgetful soul renews 
 The savour of thy grace, 
 My heart presumes, I cannot lose 
 The relish all my days. 
 
 - But, ere one fleeting hour is past, 
 The flattering world employs ' 
 Some sensual bait to seize my taste 
 And to pollute my joys. 
 
 "Wretch that I am, to wander thus, 
 In chase of false delight ! 
 Let me be fasten'd to thy cross, 
 Rather than lose the sight ! 
 
 ** Make haste, my days, to reach the goal, 
 And bring my soul to rest 
 On the dear centre of my soul — 
 MvGod.mv Saviour's breav ' 
 
 NOVEMBER 27. 
 
 " Faith and love -which is in Christ Jeaut." 
 1 Tim. i. 14. 
 
 These two are often spoken of in the 
 Scriptures. And, if we observe the passages 
 in which they occur, and especially the words 
 of the apostle John — " This is his command- 
 ment, that we believe on the name of hie 
 Son — and love one another;" we shall see, 
 that the first regards Christ, and the second, 
 our brethren. 
 
 But let us remark their order. Faith is 
 placed before love — and this is the case with- 
 out any exception, whenever they are coupled 
 together by the sacred writers. And there 
 is reason for it. The order of the words is 
 the order of the tilings. Faith precedes all 
 true obedience. It necessarily goes before 
 repentance — I cannot grieve for what I have 
 done, unless I believe I have done amiss : and 
 I cannot sorrow after a godly sort, unless I 
 look on him whom I have pierced, and mourn 
 for him. Faith is a radical principle. It is 
 the root of the tree ; and all the rest is branch, 
 blossom, and fruit. It is the spring, from 
 which every thing else in religion flows, as 
 a stream. Love does not produce faith ; but 
 faith, love. 
 
 Yet there is a connexion between them ; 
 and their union is also as invariably expressed 
 as their order. In truth they are inseparable. 
 Is it conceivable, that when such a scheme 
 as Christianity gets into the soul, it can lie 
 there dead, or even asleep ? Is it not com- 
 pared to a well of water, springing up into 
 everlasting life ? to a fire, that converts every 
 thing combustible into its own nature? to 
 leaven hid in meal, that leavens the whole 
 lump? Observe all the believers, who, in 
 the Scripture, encompass us as a great cloud 
 of witnesses. Was their faith a notion ? a 
 profession ? a form of godliness without the 
 power ? Could such faith have saved them? 
 True faith overcomes the world. It purifies 
 the heart. And it works by love. It does 
 not indeed work by love exclusively. It 
 works by hatred, when it regards sin ; and 
 by fear, when it regards danger — So Noah, 
 by faith, being warned of God, was moved 
 with fear. But love is the disposition the 
 Gospel peculiarly requires. It is the end of 
 the commandment, out of a pure heart, and 
 a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. It 
 also is pre-eminently suited to produce it 
 What is God? God is love. From what 
 principle did he act in our salvation ? God 
 so loved the world that he gave his only be- 
 gotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
 And if God so loved us, we ought also to love 
 one another. What do we see in 1 lie life 
 and death of the Saviour but divine compas- 
 sion imbodied? a love that passeth know- 
 ledge? And what is the inference 1 "Be 
 
328 
 
 NOVEMBER 28. 
 
 ye tnerefore followers of God, as dear chil- 
 dren ; and walk in we, as Christ also hath 
 loved us, and hath given himself for us, an 
 offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet- 
 smelling savour." 
 
 Let us not pass over this. Some people's 
 faith seems to work by selfishness, censori- 
 ousness, wrath, malice, and all uncharitable- 
 ness. But we have no reason to conclude 
 that we have " the faith of God's elect," un- 
 less, " as the e^ect of God, holy and beloved, 
 we put on boweis ot mercies, kindness, hum- 
 bleness of mmd, longsuffering ; forbearing one 
 another, and forgiving one another, if any 
 man have a quarrel against any: even as 
 Christ forgave you, so also do ye." 
 
 It is lamentable to think, how many of our 
 fellow-creatures are destitute of these graces. 
 Art thou, O my sou. ■ a stranger to the in- 
 fluence of this faith and love ] Let me re- 
 member, that they are infinitely important 
 and indispensable — " He that believeth on 
 the Son hath everlasting life; and he that 
 believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but 
 the wrath of God abideth on him." " We 
 know that we have passed from death unto 
 life, because we love the brethren. He that 
 loveth not his brother abideth in death." 
 
 But shall I be satisfied with the reality of 
 this faith and love, regardless of the degree 1 
 How desirable — how necessary — how attain- 
 able is more of their vital prevalency ! Let 
 me resemble the Thessalonians ; of whom the 
 Apostle could say, " We are bound to thank 
 God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, 
 because that your faith groweth exceedingly, 
 and the charity of every one of you all toward 
 each other aboundeth." 
 
 NOVEMBER 28. 
 
 " Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day 
 
 long." — Prov. xxiii. 17. 
 
 The mistake of many persons is, that they 
 view religion as something separate from 
 common life ; and which can hardly be made 
 to agree with it But we are to render every 
 thing, not only consistent with godliness, but 
 even a part of it. If Gaius was to bring 
 friends on their way, it was to be done so as 
 to render it not only an act of civility, but of 
 piety — It was to be done "after a godly 
 sort." " On Thee," says David, " do I wait 
 all the day." And Solomon enjoins us to be 
 u in the fear of the Lord all the day long." 
 The day, here, is to be taken, not abstracted- 
 ly, as a mere period of duration ; but in refer- 
 ence to its concerns. There are several 
 things, into contact with which we may ex- 
 pect to come every day. Let us see how the 
 fear of the Lord will influence us with regard 
 to each of them. 
 
 First. It will influence us as to the devo- 
 tions of the day. If there be an opportunity 
 
 of repairing to the house of God, and hearing 
 his word, it will dispose us to avail ourselves 
 of it ; and so to regulate our affairs as to be 
 able to attend. It will produce morning and 
 evening worship at the family altar. It will 
 also lead us to enter our closets. The prin- 
 ciple also, will not only excite us to the per 
 formance of devotion, but aid us in it. It 
 will throw off mere formality, or cause us to 
 mourn over our want of spirituality and life. 
 
 Secondly. It will influence us as to the 
 business of the day. It will require us to 
 have some profession or calling in which wo 
 are to be employed ; and in this it will induce 
 us to be diligent. An idle man cannot be 
 under the power of religion ; and he lies open 
 to temptation. It will also make us con- 
 scientious; governing ourselves by the fair 
 rules of trade; not having divers weights and 
 measures ; or different kinds of goods and 
 prices, for friends and strangers, the knowing 
 or the ignorant It will allow us to aim at 
 lawful advantage: but it will regulate and 
 moderate our desire of gain. It will make 
 us content with subsistence and competency, 
 without wealth and independence — " He that 
 maketh haste to be rich, shall not be inno- 
 cent." It will make us feel our reliance 
 upon God for his blessing, without which we 
 may rise early and sit up late, and eat the 
 bread of sorrows. Upon the same principle, 
 v it will make us grateful for success ; and 
 keep us from burning incense to our own net, 
 and sacrificing to our own drag. 
 
 Thirdly. It will influence us as to the 
 relaxations of the day. These we need. 
 Who could bear unceasing, unbending drud- 
 gery'! The machine would soon be worn 
 out by perpetual friction. All indulgences 
 are not innocent We shall therefore avoid 
 those that would stain the mind, and wound 
 the conscience, and unfit us for prayer. We 
 shall shun expensive entertainments. The 
 most agreeable and useful recreations are the 
 cheapest. And who can ever be at a loss 
 for these, if they will follow nature, instead 
 of fashion 1 And we shall indulge in none 
 to excess ; especially excess as to time. Of 
 time we must always be frugal. Like the 
 swallow, we must skim the water as we fly ; 
 or, like Gideon's followers, we must, in our 
 pursuit, lap with the hand, rather than kneel 
 down. The fear of the Lord will make us 
 always watchful, with regard to indulgence 
 — and especially in things lawful; for here 
 we are most liable to be ensnared. God 
 giveth us all things to enjoy : but we are not 
 to feast ourselves without fear. 
 
 Fourthly. It will influence us as to the 
 company of the day. Are we called to inter- 
 mix with the wicked 1 We shall walk in 
 wisdom towards them that are without. We 
 shall endeavour to render our religion, not 
 only impressive, but attractive. We shall 
 keep our mouth as with a bridle ; or, if we 
 
NOVEMBER 29, 30. 
 
 329 
 
 Bpeak, it will be a word in season. Do we 
 meet with pious connexions 7 We shall feel 
 towards them as brethren. We shall speak 
 of the things touching the King. We shall 
 not offend against the generation of the up- 
 right Among our immediate relations, and 
 in our family circle, we shall let the Chris- 
 tian appear, and maintain our consistency. 
 If we rebuke, it will be in the spirit of love. 
 We shall not threaten, but rather entreat. 
 Our religion will be seen much oftener than 
 it is heard : and we shall expect to succeed, 
 not so much by direct effort, as by keeping 
 our charge constantly under the exhibition 
 of whatsoever things are lovely and of good 
 report 
 
 Finally. It will influence us as to the trials 
 of the day. It will not fill us with forebodings, 
 and prevent our enjoying the present com- 
 forts of Providence ; but it will keep us from 
 forgetting that this is a vale of tears, or think- 
 ing it strange if we are called to endure. It 
 will teach us to look beyond instruments — to 
 see and own the hand of God in our afflic- 
 tions — to inquire wherefore he contendeth 
 with us — to implore grace, not only to sup- 
 port but to sanctify ; and to enable us to ho- 
 nour G<id, and edify others, by our sufferings — 
 and, avoiding all improper means to escape 
 from trouble, not only hope, but quietly wait 
 for the salvation of God. 
 
 A concern to exemplify all this, is the best 
 evidence of our religion. It is the way of 
 safety, and honour, and advantage. The eye 
 of God is upon us all the day long. He is 
 doing us good all the day long. We may die 
 all the day long — Let us therefore be in the 
 fear of the Lord all th# day long. 
 
 NOVEMBER 29. 
 
 " This 18 his commandment, That we should 
 believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, 
 and love one another, as he gave us com- 
 mandment." — 1 John iii. 23. 
 
 The injunction of the latter of these, has 
 given rise to no difficulty. But much dispute 
 has been occasioned by the commanding of 
 the former. It is undeniable, however, that 
 the one is enjoined as well as the other — in 
 the same passage, and — by the very same 
 authority. He that commands us to love 
 one another, commands us equally to believe 
 on the name of his Son Jesus Christ 
 
 And if so, then faith is a duty. Indeed, if 
 it be not a duty, we are not bound to obey 
 God. If it be not a duty, unbelief is not a sin. 
 Yet the Holy Ghost convinces us of sin — and 
 of sin, because we believe not on Christ Ac- 
 cordingly, in conviction, with the discovery 
 of this guilt we are principally affected; and 
 look on him whom we have pierced, and 
 mourn for him. Hence, unbelief is punisha- 
 ble, and destroys the soul. Indeed, nothing 
 else destroys the soul, under the GospeL 
 2T 28* 
 
 For provision is there made for our fallen 
 condition, and pressed upon our acceptance : 
 but we neglect so great salvation ; and turn 
 away from him that speaketh from heaven. — 
 It is true, Divine influence is necessary. But 
 why is it not possessed 1 If there be any truth 
 in the Bible — it is sinful to be without it. 
 But why should we seek after, or be thankful 
 for, assistance to enable us to do what we 
 were under no obligation to do? 
 
 This justifies ministers, in calling upon sin- 
 ners to believe. There are some who con 
 demn and ridicule them for this. But Ezekiel, 
 in the name of God, prophesied to the dry 
 bones, and said unto them — "Live." Paul 
 made no scruple to admonish Simon Magus, 
 though in the gall of bitterness and the bond 
 of iniquity, to repent and pray. And to the 
 Jailer he said, Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ and thou shall be saved — for he then 
 was not 
 
 As the love of God renders our duty our 
 privilege; so the authority of God renders our 
 privilege our duty. And is not this an ad- 
 vantage 1 For thus we are not left, to the calls 
 of self-love, and our own interest ; but are 
 bound to pursue our welfare by the command 
 of God, and the peril arising from a neglect 
 of it 
 
 This also meets the state of the conscience, 
 and affords encouragement to awakened sin- 
 ners. These under a sense of their unwor- 
 thiness and guilt will be sure to ask — " But 
 may I go to him, and trust in him 1 What 
 warrant have I ?" Now here is the warrant 
 — the command of God. I may doubt my 
 title to a promise ; but I cannot question my 
 obligation to obey a Divine command. This 
 fully authorizes me — Yea, it not only secures 
 me from presumption if I comply, but renders 
 me chargeable with disobedience if I refuse. 
 I am not afraid to love another. I never 
 inquire, may I do it. I know that I ought to 
 do it; because he has commanded it Why 
 then should I fear to apply to the Saviour 1 — 
 And why ask, May I believe on him to life 
 everlasting 1 — since this also is his command- 
 ment That we should believe on the name 
 of his Son Jesus Christ 1 
 
 Lord, I believe — help thou mine unbelief. 
 
 NOVEMBER 30. 
 
 " Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" 
 John ix. 35. 
 
 Whoever thou art that readest this page, 
 allow the writer to address this question to 
 
 THEE. 
 
 Art thou young — Dost thou believe on the 
 son of God 7 O that you did ! How the Scrip- 
 ture extols and recommends early godliness ' 
 They that seek me early, says the Saviour, 
 shall find me — find me — for there is an em- 
 phasis in the promise; firo me, as othcra 
 
330 
 
 NOVEMBER 30. 
 
 never will, never can, find me — find me, in 
 a thousand peculiar preservations, honours, 
 advantages, and delights. And what a fa- 
 vourable season do you now enjoy ! — the body 
 in health and strength — the mind in vigour — 
 the memory retentive — the affections warm — 
 the heart tender — the cares and troubles of 
 life scarcely begun — the days distant in which 
 you will say, " I have no pleasure in them !" 
 Oh ! redeem the time. Remember thy Creator 
 in the days of thy youth. Enter immediately 
 a course that is profitable unto all things; 
 having promise of the life that now is, and of 
 that which is to come. 
 
 Art thou old — Dost thou believe on the Son 
 of God"? Thy age requires respect; and I 
 readily pay it — But thy state demands all my 
 fidelity. And art thou, at the end of sixty, 
 seventy, eighty years, ignorant of the Re- 
 deemer, whom to know is life eternal] Have 
 all these departed seasons been passed only in 
 vanity and vice 1 Is thy day rapidly closing ; 
 and thy work, thy journey, not even begun 1 
 Does thine eye, in looking back, meet with 
 nothing but guilt; and, in looking forward, 
 nothing but gloom 1 How I pity thy condi- 
 tion ! It is time — it is high time to awake 
 out of sleep. And, blessed be God, it is not 
 too late. I announce a Saviour who is able 
 to save unto the uttermost ; and who convert- 
 ed and pardoned the thief at the eleventh 
 hour — Oh ! seek him while he may be found ; 
 and call upon him while he is near. But if 
 thou art old in grace, as well as in age, thy 
 hoary head, being found in the way of righte- 
 ousness, is a crown of glory. And thy salva- 
 tion is nearer than when thou believedst. 
 The night, with thee, is far spent, and the 
 day is at hand. Yet a little while, and what 
 a blessed deliverance ! What a glorious ele- 
 vation ! Till then, let faith and patience have 
 their perfect work. Recommend his service 
 to others, from your own knowledge of its 
 excellency. Take a fresh and firmer hold of 
 him, from the proofs you have had of his faith- 
 fulness and care : and leaning upon his arm, as 
 you descend, say — 
 
 " By long experience, I have known 
 Thy sovereign power to save ; 
 At thy command I venture down 
 Securely to the grave." 
 
 Art thou indulged by Providence 1 Dost 
 thou believe on the Son of God 1 Perhaps 
 sickness led you down to the very gates of 
 death ; and you looked into eternity ; and, 
 without hope in that world, you trembled, 
 and cried, Take me not off in the midst of 
 my days; spare me, that I may recover 
 strength, before I go hence, and be no more. 
 And he heard your cry; and said, Return 
 again, ye children of men. And have you 
 returned again to folly 1 And have you for- 
 gotten that the vows of God are upon you 1 
 And what is a recovered body while the soul 
 is full of moral disease 1 A reprieve, too, is 
 
 not a pardon. Dust thou art, and unto dust 
 shalt thou return. Is the sentence still sus- 
 pended ; and the delayed execution will be 
 attended with added terror and remorse. 
 Perhaps thy business flourishes ; thy grounds 
 bring forth plentifully ; thy cup runneth over. 
 We do not wish you to despise the bounties 
 of Nature and Providence ; yea, you ought to 
 be thankful for them. As to their use, they 
 are valuable ; but what are they as a portion ? 
 How melancholy is the thought that you must 
 leave them ! And you know not how soon 
 you may be torn from all your treasure. And, 
 even in the midst of your fulness, are you not 
 in straits 1 Do you not sigh over your very 
 enjoyments'? Does not success, as well as 
 disappointment, tell you that this is not your 
 rest 1 Ah ! these failures of hope, these in- 
 ward uneasinesses, are the inspirations of the 
 Almighty, to give you understanding. They 
 are designed to turn you from creatures, 
 which are all vanity and vexation of spirit, to 
 a Saviour, who is full of grace and truth. 
 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be a> 
 peace ; thereby good shall come unto thee. 
 
 Art thou the subject of affliction ? Dost 
 thou believe on the Son of God 1 To be poor 
 in the world, and be destitute of the true 
 riches ; to have no friend below, and no God 
 above ; to pass from the sorrows of time into 
 a more miserable eternity — is a state so dread- 
 ful, that every feeling of benevolence must 
 be concerned to find a resource for its victims. 
 And such we are happy enough to be ab.e 
 to open. There is the hope of Israel ; the 
 Saviour thereof in the time of trouble. His 
 Gospel is sent to bind up the broken-hearted. 
 Perhaps you are at your wits' end — Perhaps 
 you are ready to curse the day of your birth 
 — Perhaps you are tempted to destroy your- 
 self. Beware of Satan's relief Beware of 
 a cure that will be far worse than the dis- 
 ease. And you need it not. There is One 
 near you whom you know not. He is now 
 stretching forth his soft hand ; he is now say- 
 ing, " Come unto me, all ye that labour and 
 are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" 
 This man shall be the peace when the As- 
 syrian cometh into the land. 
 
 Art thou a professor of religion 1 Dost 
 thou believe on the Son of God 1 " Why 
 should you address the inquiry to me? Had 
 not the Church been satisfied with my cha- 
 racter, and deemed me a believer, they would 
 not have admitted me to their communion.'' 
 But they might have been mistaken. The} 
 could only judge from outward appearance : 
 and it became them to be candid. There is 
 no certainty from this quarter. — " But if I had 
 not hoped that I was a real believer in Jesus, I 
 should not have proposed myself as a member 
 of a Christian Church, and have come to the 
 Lord's Table, where I should have eaten and 
 drunken unworthily. Why, then, do you 
 suspect me V My friend — I do not suspec 
 
DECEMBER 1. 
 
 331 
 
 you; but 1 love you: and love, though not 
 suspicious, is cautious. As mistakes are pos- 
 sible, and common, it cannot be improper for 
 you to examine yourself, and prove whether 
 you are in the faith. If the house be upon 
 the sand, it is well to know it before the 
 storm comes. But if it be built on the rock, 
 the discovery will yield fresh satisfaction; 
 and you will be encouraged to say — " I know 
 whom I have believed ; and am persuaded 
 that he is able to keep that which I have com- 
 mitted to him against that day." 
 
 Or art thou a real Christian ? Dost thou 
 believe on the Son of God I " I know that 
 thou believest" Yet, as pride blends with 
 the humility of the most humble ; and impa- 
 tience, with the resignation of the most 
 patient : even so, as an old writer says, how 
 unbelieving are the best believers! When 
 our Saviour had expressed himself more fully 
 and clearly, his disciples exclaimed, " Now 
 are we sure that thou knowest all things, 
 and needest not that any man should ask 
 thee; by this we believe that thou earnest 
 forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do 
 ye now believe?" You think so: but imagin- 
 ation is not reality. I know you better than 
 you know yourselves. And you yourselves, 
 in a little time, will see that you have much 
 less faith than you now profess — "Behold, 
 the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye 
 shall be scattered, every man to his own, and 
 shall leave me alone : and yet I am not alone, 
 because the Father is with me." All — all 
 may cry out, with tears, Lord, I believe ; help 
 thou mine unbelief 
 
 DECEMBER 1. 
 ''Doth Job fear God for nought?" — Job i. 9. 
 
 These are the words of Satan. Some deny 
 the agency, and even the existence of such a 
 being. But the denial renders the language 
 of the Scripture inexplicable and absurd ; and 
 furnishes a proof of the fact itself: for the god 
 of this world blindeth the minds of them that 
 believe not 
 
 These are the words of Satan — And let us 
 not refuse to consider them, because he is the 
 speaker. Truth is the same, whoever utters it 
 
 "Seize upon truth, where'er 'tis found ; 
 Among your friends, among your foes : 
 On Christian or on Heathen ground— 
 The flower 's divine, where'er it grows. 
 Refuse the prickles, and assume the rose." 
 
 Alluding to the Scribes, our Saviour said to 
 his hearers, " Whatsoever they command you 
 to observe, that observe ye : but do not after 
 their works ; for they say, and do not" 
 
 These are the words of Satan — But though 
 we should not refuse the truth, because it 
 comes from him ; yet it surely becomes us to 
 examine whether what he says is truth ; and 
 also for what purpose he says it For even 
 truth may be misapplied and abused. It is 
 
 thus Antinomians are so injurious : by tne 
 most precious doctrines of the Gospel, they 
 turn the grace of our God into lasci viousness, 
 and make Christ the minister of sin. In our 
 Lord's temptation, Satan had a Bible with 
 him, and turned to the passages ; or he showed 
 a good memory for the Scripture; for he 
 quoted it very readily. But it was for the 
 vilest design. 
 
 Now it is easy to learn his meaning here. 
 God had been extolling his servant Job — 
 " The Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou con- 
 sidered my servant Job, that there is none 
 like him in the earth : a perfeet and an up- 
 right man ; one that feareth God, and eschew- 
 eth evil]" Then Satan answered the Lord 
 and said — " He is, I acknowledge, a worship- 
 per of thee ! And no wonder. He has found 
 it the way to grandeur and wealth. It has 
 procured for him seven thousand sheep, and 
 three thousand camels, and five hundred she 
 asses, and a very great household ; so that he 
 is the greatest man in the East He has 
 found godliness gain ; and now makes gain 
 godliness — Doth Job serve God for nought V 
 
 Here we see how well Satan is called, the 
 accuser of the brethren. He accuses them 
 to God ; and, as many of the articles are true, 
 they would have reason to fear : but they have 
 One in court, to nonsuit him : they have an 
 Advocate with the Father. " Who is he tliat 
 condemneth] It is Christ that died; yea, 
 rather, that is risen again, who is even at the 
 right hand of God, who also maketh interces- 
 sion for us." He accuses them before men. 
 We see, from the early defences of Chris- 
 tianity, how much they were defamed. At 
 their private suppers, they devoured their 
 own infants. At their nocturnal meetings, 
 they committed every crime that could dis- 
 grace human nature. If there was a fire or 
 a famine, they caused the one ana occasioned 
 the other. In the Acts of the Apostles, we 
 read, that Christians were a sect every where 
 spoken against It is so still : and some of 
 the brightest characters that have adorned 
 the Church and served their generation, in 
 modern times, have been blacked by every 
 vileness of imputation. 
 
 See the malignant cunning of this ad- 
 versary, who goeth about seeking whom he 
 may devour or distress. He can bring nothing 
 against Job's conduct — this was undeniably 
 fair and righteous : he therefore insinuates a 
 charge against his motive. Are there none 
 that follow his example 1 " He is so and so. 
 He does so and so — and this would be very 
 well — but it is to please his connexions — to 
 aid his business — to gain a name. Ah ! were 
 it real — but it is all outside, all show, all pre- 
 tence." Now nothing can be more devilish 
 than this. There is a great difference be- 
 tween judging ourselves, and judging others. 
 In the one case we cannot be too severe ; ir» 
 the t ther. we cannot be too candid — Yet the 
 
5HB 
 
 DECEMBER 2. 
 
 v Jverse c! this practice commonly prevails. 
 We should not judge ourselves only, or prin- 
 cipally, by our actions ; but by our motives, 
 which enter so essentially into their morality. 
 But we should judge others wholly by their 
 conduct, and not by their motives — for these 
 are cognhable Only to God. it is his prero- 
 gative to search the heart. He will not con- 
 demn us for our ignorance of it. Charity 
 thinketh no evil. It will always be far more 
 honourable to be mistaken in any of our fel- 
 low-creatures, than to be suspicious of them. 
 
 Satan was right in the principle of his in- 
 sinuation — That there was little to admire in 
 Job's excellency, had he been a mere mer- 
 cenary wretch, who, in all he did, had no re- 
 gard tor God, but to his own advantage only. 
 Such actors there have always been. Thus 
 Laban pressed Jacob to continue with him, 
 not from affection or respect; but because, 
 says he, I have learned by experience that 
 the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. In 
 the same way the Shechemites reasoned : 
 " Shall not their cattle, and their substance, 
 and every beast of theirs, be ours ] only let 
 us consent unto them, and they will dwell 
 with us." Jehu said, " See my zeal for the 
 Lord :" but it was to aggrandize himself and 
 his family; and he was even punished for 
 actions which fulfilled the will of God. Our 
 Saviour did not commend those who followed 
 him because they did eat' of the loaves and 
 fishes. lie early applied a test which would 
 evince a regard for himself in those that ad- 
 hered to him, saying, He that forsaketh not 
 all that he hath, cannot be my disciple. And 
 we always, in the conduct of our fellow-crea- 
 tures, value a trifle that is done from pure 
 regard, while we despise the splendid ser- 
 vice that aims at the performer's own ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 But, though there was force in Satan's rea- 
 eoning — yet, First, nothing could be more 
 vile and false than his application of it to Job. 
 And therefore God permitted him to be tried, 
 .hat his rectitude might be found unto praise, 
 md glory, and honour. Satan said, "Put 
 forth thine hand now, and touch all that he 
 hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." 
 Then says God, Behold, all he hath is in thy 
 powei , only upon himself put not forth thine 
 hand. Rut he bears well the destruction of 
 the whole. — Then said Satan, " Skin for 
 skin, yea, all that a man hath, will he give 
 for his life. But put forth thine hand now, 
 and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will 
 curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said 
 unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand ; but 
 save his life." And he is now covered with 
 sore boils, from the crown of his head to the 
 Bole of his foot. But in all this he sinneth not, 
 nor charges God foolishly; and instead of 
 cursing him to his face, he exclaims — " Bless- 
 ed be the Name of the Lord !" 
 
 And, Secondly, we must distinguish be- 
 
 tween unprincipled selfishness, and excite- 
 ments to gratitude and encouragement. The 
 supreme reason, as well as the grand rule of 
 obedience, is the will of God. And the lan- 
 guage of the Christian is, Lord, what wilt 
 thou have me to do ] And the providence of 
 God will often afford him opportunities to 
 evince that the Divine glory is dearer to him 
 than his secular advantage. But it cannot 
 be wrong to think of the promises ; and be 
 animated in our difficulties by the view of 
 what the Scripture has proposed tc our hope. 
 Thus Moses is not censured for having re- 
 spect unto the recompense of the reward. 
 And Jesus, for the joy that was set before 
 him, endured the cross, and despised the 
 shame. 
 
 And, Thirdly, though we ought not to 
 serve God for gain as the motive, we cannot 
 serve God for nought as to the result. He is 
 a good master : and while his work is ho- 
 nourable and glorious, he deals well with his 
 servants. In keeping his commandments 
 there is great reward. " Godliness is profit- 
 able unto all things, having the promise of 
 the life that now is, and of that which is to 
 come." 
 
 DECEMBER 2. 
 
 " Jlnd she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat 
 of the crumbs which fall from their masters' 
 table"— 'Matt. xv. 27. 
 
 To Him, said the dying Jacob, shall the 
 gathering of the people be. To him, said the 
 evangelical Isaiah, shall men come. He is 
 the centre of all attraction, because he is the 
 only source of relief. To whom, in all our 
 ignorance, should we go, but to him who has 
 the words of eternal life 1 To whom, in all 
 our guilt and weakness, but to him in whom 
 we have righteousness and strength? To 
 whom, in all our dangers and misery, but to 
 him who is the hope of Israel, the Saviour 
 thereof in the time of trouble? And, blessed 
 be his name, he is not only mighty to save, 
 but has been pleased to assure us — " him that 
 cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." 
 
 But he may try the confidence; he has 
 bound himself not to disappoint. We have 
 here an application made to him by a woman 
 of Canaan, who cried to him, saying, " Have 
 mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David ; 
 my daughter is grievously vexed with a de- 
 vil." Observe the discouragements she meets 
 with. First, his silence — " He answered her 
 not a word." Secondly, the address of his 
 disciples. It is not certain that they pleaded 
 for her relief at all: but if they did, it was 
 in a spirit that we cannot admire. They be- 
 trayed impatience, and a wish to get rid of' her 
 importunity — " His disciples came and be- 
 sought him, saying, Send her away ; for she 
 crieth after us." Then here is, thirdly, a kind 
 
DECEMBER 2. 
 
 333 
 
 ©t exclusion, which seems to place her beyond 
 the reach of his commission, if not of his 
 pity — " He said, I am not sent but unto the 
 tost sheep of the house of Israel." All this 
 not driving her away ; he, fourthly, speaks 
 as if he would add insult to rejection — " Is a 
 dog to be treated like one of the family ] It is 
 not meet to take the children's bread, and cast 
 it to dogs" — " And she said, Truth, Lord : yet 
 the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from 
 their masters' table." Let us consider this, 
 as the language of a sinner, applying for 
 mercy, in the prayer of faith. 
 
 First He allows the truth of God's word, 
 however it may reflect upon him — " Truth, 
 Lord." He had, in effect, called the woman 
 a dog ; and nothing could have been more 
 reproachful. We see this in the question of 
 Hazael ; and the offer of Abishai, with regard 
 to Shimei — Among the Jews, too, a dog was 
 an animal unclean, and forbidden in sacri- 
 fice :. and God's utmost abhorrence of a vic- 
 tim was expressed by cutting off a dog's neck 
 — Yet he says, " Truth, Lord" — I acquiesce 
 in the censure. — A sinner is called every 
 thing that is vile in the Scripture — a fool; a 
 madman ; a rebel ; a traitor — unworthy of the 
 least of all God's mercies — and deserving that 
 his wrath should come upon him — And, Lord, 
 says he, it is all true. And thou art justified 
 when thou speakest, and clear when thou 
 judgest Here, others stand out ; but the oon- 
 vinced sinner is brought to add his amen, not 
 only to the truth of God's word in general, 
 but the truth of it with regard to his own per- 
 sonal guilt, depravity, and condemnation. And 
 till we are brought to this, the Gospel can 
 have nothing to do with us. It is a remedy : 
 but a remedy is for the sick, and not for the 
 healthful. The way to attain relief and com- 
 fort, is not to deny, conceal, or extenuate our 
 sins ; but to confess them in all their heinous- 
 ness ; and, in dealing with God, to stand where 
 his word places us. 
 
 Secondly. He draws encouragement from 
 seeming repulse — " Yet, Lord." This is an 
 exercise of spiritual understanding : but the 
 absolute importance of the case makes the 
 man alive to every opening of hope ; and he 
 is now under the influence of the Spirit, that 
 is teaching him to be wise unto salvation. — 
 Thus, darkness is made light, and crooked 
 things straight Thus he rises above difficul- 
 ties, which would otherwise be insuperable. 
 He distinguishes between appearances and 
 reality. " I know that behind a frowning pro- 
 vidence, he hides a smiling face." Though 
 he slay me, yet will I trust in him. If he 
 wounds, it is to heal. I hope I am his, be- 
 cause I am thus. As long as he tries me, he 
 is not saying, Let him alone. He would not 
 thus prune the tree, if he had sentenced it to 
 be cut down. I see what once I did not ; and 
 the discovery is painful ; but if he was minded 
 to kill me, he would not have showed me 
 
 i such things as these. That be far from him, 
 to trifle with my misery. In vain the ene- 
 my says, "But thy sins are so numerous 
 and aggravated." They are : but this is the 
 very reason why I should apply for mercy 
 — Pardon mine iniquity ; for it is great — 
 
 Thirdly. He prizes the least communica- 
 tion from the Saviour — "Truth, Lord: yet 
 the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from 
 their masters' table" — and this is all I crave. 
 The very same sentiment is put into the 
 mouth of the Prodigal — There is bread 
 enough in my father's house, and I perish 
 with hunger — he never thought of the fatted 
 calf; or the best robe, or of the ring on his 
 hand, or the shoes on his feet — Oh ! let me 
 return to thy dear abode, and I shall not co- 
 vet the chief room, or the highest seat — Make 
 me as one of thine hired servants. Moses es- 
 teemed the reproach of Christ David wished 
 to be a door-keeper in the house of God. The 
 least grace is infinitely precious. It is con- 
 nected with salvation ; and makes us the heirs 
 of promise. Blessed are the poor in spirit for 
 theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 Fourthly. He perceives the affluenre and 
 all-sufficiency of the Lord Jesus. Though 
 what I implore is much for me to receive, it 
 is nothing for thee to give. It is no more than 
 a crumb from a king's table, and what is this 
 to the viands on his board, and the resources 
 of his wealth ! — What I implore, thou wilt 
 not miss; and I shall not rob thy children of 
 their portion and plenty. 
 
 — Come, therefore, to him, remembering 
 that he is Lord of all; that he is not only rich, 
 but that his riches are unsearchable ; that he 
 has not only fulfilled the law, but magnified 
 it and made it honourable ; that his righte- 
 ousness is the righteousness of God, by faith , 
 that his blood cleanseth from all sin ; that in 
 him all fulness dwells. 
 
 — And he will give you not a dog's place, 
 and a dog's poition; but he will put you 
 among the children. He will seat you at his 
 own table. He will say, Eat O friends, and 
 drink; yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. 
 Was it not so here ! Was he not charmed, 
 instead of being displeased, with her earnest 
 and continued application ? Does he not com- 
 mend her for not taking a denial ; and foi 
 urging him, apparently, against his will ? — 
 " O woman ! great is thy "faith" — not f^eal 
 is thy humility, thy importunity, thy perse- 
 verance ; these were great ; but faith was the 
 root of them all This, therefore, was what 
 he admired in her. And this is the one thing 
 needful for us. This alone will keep us stea- 
 dy to our purpose ; this alone will carry us 
 through all our difficulties. This insures our 
 final success; this crowns us with praise, and 
 glory, and honour, at the appearing of Jesus 
 Christ And he said unto her, " Be it unto 
 thee even as thou wilt" So will he say to 
 you. And yon will be inexcusable indeed. 
 
334 
 
 DECEMBER 3. 
 
 if you do not avail yourselves of the large- 
 ness of the offer; and ask, and receive, that 
 your joy may be full. 
 
 DECEMBER 3. 
 " Behold, I am vile." 1 — Job xl. 4. 
 
 Vile, says Johnson's Dictionary, signifies 
 mean, worthless, base, despicable, impure. 
 There is nothing in the world to which this 
 applies so well as to sin. And it is to sin 
 the exclaimer here refers. He does not call 
 himself vile, because he was reduced, and 
 poor. By this no man of reflection would 
 ever feel himself degraded. A horse is not 
 valued for his trappings, but for his strength, 
 or his speed. Character is a personal thing, 
 and independent of outward circumstances. 
 If poverty, as some fools seem to judge, made 
 a man vile, how vile were the apostles, who 
 could say, " We hunger, and thirst, and are 
 naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain 
 dwelling-place !" And how vile was he who 
 had not where to lay his head ! — Nor does 
 he call himself vile because he was diseased, 
 and full of sore boils from the crown of his 
 nead to the sole of his foot. The Scripture, 
 indeed, calls the body " this vile body ;" and 
 it is truly humbling, not only in the putre- 
 faction of the grave, but frequently also even 
 in life. How low are some of its appetites ! 
 now mortifying some of its infirmities! while 
 some of its diseases are so trying as to require 
 all the force of friendship to discharge the 
 common duties of humanity. But there are 
 no "wounds, bruises, putrefying sores," to 
 be compared with the effects of sin — nothing 
 is so vile as this — This makes us abominable 
 to God himself; and is the only thing that 
 does render us offensive. And how loath- 
 some must that be, that causes the Creator 
 to abhor the work of his own hands; and the 
 Father of mercies to punish it with everlast- 
 ing destruction from his presence; and to 
 refuse to pardon it without the sacrifice of 
 his own Son ! 
 
 But who makes this confession? Is it a 
 profligate wretch, whose iniquity in its ef- 
 fects has been found to be hateful, even to 
 nimselfi Is it a penitent newly awakened, 
 and looking into his own heart that had been 
 concealed from him before] No: but Job, a 
 saint, and a saint of no ordinary magnitude. 
 You have heard of the patience of Job; and 
 know how he is mentioned by Ezekiel, along 
 with Noah and Daniel, as one of three who 
 were pre-eminently righteous ; and how God, 
 the Judge of all, calls him " a perfect and an 
 upright man." Yet this is he who cries, 
 " Behold, I am vile '." And what do we learn 
 from hence, but this — That the most gra- 
 cious characters are the most remote from 
 vain-glory ; and that they are always more 
 affected with their imperfections than with 
 
 their excellences ? The neare! we approacn 
 completeness in any thing, the more easily 
 we shall discern, and the more sensibly we 
 shall feel, our remaining deficiencies. A lit- 
 tle learning puffeth up ; but modesty and dif- 
 fidence attend profound science. The ad- 
 vancing in knowledge is like sailing down a 
 river, which widens as we proceed, til. we 
 find ourselves launched on the sea, and lose 
 sight of the shore. Whoever vaunts himself 
 as sinless, Paul did not. " I have not attain 
 ed," says he, " I am not already perfect :" " I 
 am less than the least of all saints :" " I am 
 the chief of sinners." Not that there is no 
 difference between a saint and a sinner. Job 
 does not mean that he loved sin, or lived in 
 sin. His friends accused him of this ; but he 
 denied it; and, turning to God, could say, 
 " Thou knowest that I am not wicked." But 
 he knew that in many things he offended , 
 and in every thing came short of the glory 
 of God. He was aware of the remains of sin 
 opposing, hindering, vexing, polluting his 
 renewed mind; and though they appeared 
 not to the view of others gross transgressions, 
 they were constantly felt by himself in an 
 evil heart of unbelief, prone to depart from 
 the living God ; and constraining him to sigh, 
 " O wretched man that I am, who shall deli- 
 ver me from the body of his death !" 
 
 And let us observe also when this acknow- 
 ledgment was made. It was immediately af- 
 ter God's interposition, and appearance, and 
 address : " Then the Lord answered Job out 
 of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that 
 darkeneth counsel by words without know- 
 ledge 1 Gird up now thy loins like a man ; 
 for I will demand of thee, and answer thou 
 me." Then he displayed before him some of his 
 works and perfections. " Moreover the Lord 
 answered Job, and said, Shall he that con- 
 tended with the Almighty instruct him 1 He 
 that reproveth God, let him answer it. Then 
 Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I 
 am vile" — Teaching us, that the more we 
 have to do with God, the more we shall see 
 and feel our nothingness and unworthiness. 
 What can make us so sensible of our igno- 
 rance as his wisdom; of our weakness as his 
 power ; of our pollution as his purity — the 
 purity of him in whose sight the very hea- 
 vens are not clean ! Those are struck with, 
 little things who have never been abroad to 
 see greater ones. But travelling enlarges 
 the mind, and fills it with new and superior 
 images; so that, on our leturn, we think 
 nothing of the river, and the hill, and the 
 plain of our native village. The Queen or 
 Sheba prided herself upon her magnificence, 
 till she came to Jerusalem, and had seen 
 Solomon in all his glory. He that has been 
 introduced to the Lord of all, and has had 
 communion with him, will never think highly 
 of himself again. "The loftiness of man 
 shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of 
 
DECEMBER 4 
 
 men shall be made low , and the Lord alone 
 shall be exalted in that day." Ah ! said Job, 
 " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the 
 ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Where- 
 fore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and 
 ashes." 
 
 " The more thy glories strike mine eye, 
 The humbler I shall lie." 
 
 — And I need not be afraid of the effect — my 
 pride is the only prevention of my happiness — 
 
 " Thus while /sink, my joys shall rise 
 l" immeasurably Ugh." 
 
 DECEMBER 4. 
 
 " Make me to kno-to my transgression and my 
 sin." — Job xiii. 23. 
 
 The desire of knowledge seems natural to 
 every man. The eye is not satisfied with 
 Boeing, nor the ear with hearing. But wno 
 wishes to know himself? Yet this is the 
 knowledge we want And there are two 
 things concerning ourselves, which it argues 
 a gracious state of mind to be willing to 
 know — Our mortality, and our depravity. A 
 natural man turns away from both these. 
 But, says David, " Lord, make me to know 
 mine end, and the measure of my days, what 
 it is; that I may know how frail I am." 
 And, says Job, " Make me to know my trans- 
 gression and my sin." 
 
 To explore the offences of others i3 a com- 
 mon wish. The information not only grati- 
 fies curiosity, but feeds malevolence ; and 
 furnishes the salt which seasons the conver- 
 sation of the multitude. But, says Job, 
 " Make me to know my transgression and my 
 sin." 
 
 And what does he wish to know concern- 
 ing them? Their number. Their guilt 
 Their pollution. Their aggravation. 
 
 And this knowledge he seeks from God. 
 He alone can teach us to profit. Conviction 
 is the work of his own Spirit But he uses 
 means ; and shows us our transgression and 
 our sin—by the Law — and by the Gospel — 
 and by friends and enemies — and by the dis- 
 pensations of his providence. But he does it 
 gradually. We could not bear all the dis- 
 closure at once~*-It would drive us into dis- 
 traction or despair. He therefore tells us to 
 turn again into the chamber of imagery, and 
 we shall see greater abominations. And 
 this will serve to explain a case in the Chris- 
 tian's experience. He sometimes supposes 
 himsaf to grow worse, because he grows 
 wiser. He seems more sinful, because he is 
 more enlightened : there is not more evil in 
 nim ; but he sees more. 
 
 The effect of this knowledge, in the first 
 instance, will be wonder. It calls us out of 
 darkness into God's marvellous light We 
 »re astonished that he has borne with us so 
 »ong ; we are astonished that we have acted 
 nuch a foolish, such an ungrateful part ; we 
 
 are astonished that \ie did not see these 
 things before, for they now strike us with all 
 the force of evidence ; and we are astonished 
 that we see them now ; since the thousands 
 around us are blind still ; and we were once 
 blind also. But the result of the discovery 
 will be as important and useful as it is sur- 
 prising. 
 
 Self-knowledge will produce self-annihila- 
 tion. Self-vindication will be at an end ; 
 and we shall condemn ourselves. Self-com- 
 placency will be at an end ; and we shall 
 loathe ourselves. Self-dependence will be 
 at an end ; and we shall have no confidence 
 in the flesh. " The lofty looks of man shall 
 be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall 
 be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be 
 exalted in that day." 
 
 Hence will arise the endearment of the 
 Saviour. How precious is the refuge now 
 the danger is seen ! How inviting the heal- 
 ing fountain appears now we feel cur dis- 
 ease ! For want of this sensibility many 
 read and hear of the Lord Jesus with indif- 
 ference. How can it be otherwise 1 They 
 that are whole need not the physician, but 
 they that are sick. The full soul loathes 
 the honeycomb ; but to the hungry every bit- 
 ter thing is sweet. 
 
 Hence also submission under afflictive 
 dispensations. I will bear the indignation of 
 the Lord, said the Church, because I have 
 sinned against him. Why, says Jeremiah, 
 should a living man complain ? Aaron's re- 
 collection of his making a calf just before, 
 kept him dumb in the loss of his sons. And 
 David felt, from his adultery and murder, 
 how well it became him to say, in Absalom's 
 rebellion, Here I am ; let the Lord do what 
 seemeth him good. If a Christian has nothing 
 criminal in particular to fix upon, he will 
 see enough in his general temper and walk 
 to keep him from thinking that God deals 
 hardly with him. The wonder with him 
 will be — not that his trials are so many, but 
 so few; not that so many of his comforts are 
 taken, but that any are left. 
 
 Another advantage will be habitual grati- 
 tude. The proud are never thankful. Heap 
 whatever favours upon them, and what re- 
 ward have ye ? They think they deserve it 
 You are only doing your duty — You are do- 
 ing justly, rather than loving mercy. But 
 when we are humble, in the same proportion 
 we shall be grateful. When we feel that 
 we are not worthy of the least of all God's 
 mercies, how thankful shall we be for the 
 bread we eat and the water we drink! — 
 What then, shall we feel for the Word of 
 his truth ! and the Son of his love ! 
 
 Finally. As we are sensible of our de- 
 pravity we shall be tender towards others. 
 Faithful dealing with ourselves will always 
 be accompanied with candid dealing with our 
 fellow-creatures. When we are much a. 
 
336 
 
 DECEMBER 5. 
 
 home we cannot live much abroad. . When 
 we are employed in pulling the beams out of 
 our own eyes we shall not have much time 
 for finding motes in those of others. If there 
 be a difference between us and them, we 
 shall ascribe it, when we know ourselves, to 
 the mercy and grace of God — He has made 
 us to differ — and we have nothing but what 
 we have received. If we meet with things 
 which are really wrong, and which we can- 
 not deny, we shall not rejoice, but weep. 
 And if a brother be overtaken in a fault, we 
 shall restore such an one in the spirit of meek- 
 ness ; considering ourselves, lest we also be 
 tempted. 
 
 Maundrell, in his fable of the bees ; and 
 Rochefoucault, in his maxims ; and many in- 
 fidel writers ; have shown great acquaintance 
 with the depravity of human nature. But 
 they learned it from the devil — and the scho- 
 lars felt like the teacher. They delighted in 
 the subject. They loved to expose it. It was 
 their interest to degrade and vilify human 
 nature, to draw from it arguments for hatred, 
 injury, selfishness, and distrust. But God 
 teaches us the depravity of human nature 
 principally through our own depravity. And, 
 with his teaching, he communicates his own 
 Spirit. We therefore pity our common na- 
 ture. We mourn over its dishonour. We 
 pray for our fellow-sinners. We long to save 
 them. 
 
 DECEMBER 5. 
 
 '' JViis man shall be the peace, -when the Aestf 
 rian shall come into our land" — Micah v. 5. 
 That the Messiah is the person here in- 
 tended will not be denied by those who read 
 the verses immediately preceding ; and which 
 speak so expressly of his incarnation and 
 glory. The word man, indeed as the italics 
 apprize us, is not in the original. The sen- 
 tence therefore reads, " And this shall be the 
 peace — This person, of whom the prophet 
 had been just speaking ; he who was born as 
 the ruler in Bethlehem, and whose goings forth 
 were from everlasting — " He shall stand and 
 feed in the strength of the Lord, in the ma- 
 jesty of the name of the Lord his God ; and 
 they shall abide : for now shall he be great 
 unto the ends of the earth." The translators, 
 therefore, should rather have put in the word 
 Ruler or Shepherd. But, whatever be the 
 supplement, it all comes to the same, provided 
 he himself be understood ; who is all our sal- 
 vation, and all our desire — For " this shall be 
 the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into 
 our land." 
 
 But who is this Assyrian ? The word can- 
 not be taken literally. The Assyrians never 
 entered Judea after the birth of Christ It is 
 therefore used, metaphorically, for some ene- 
 my ; nothing being more common than for the 
 sacred writers to express, by the name of 
 
 Egypt, Assyria, or Babylon, any significant 
 adversary ; as those powers had distinguished 
 themselves by their hatred, oppression, and 
 enslaving of the Jews. The intimation, there- 
 fore, is better than if it had been more defi- 
 nite ; as we may now include every thing that 
 annoys and alarms ; every thing that would 
 injure or destroy. Be the case what it may, 
 he is our principal, our only relief. He does 
 not exempt us from trouble and conflict ; but 
 he affords us assistance, comfort, and deliver- 
 ance. Storms may arise ; but he is our strong- 
 hold. Enemies may assail us; but he w2l 
 give us victory at last, and even now keep 
 our minds in perfect peace, being stayed on 
 him. 
 
 Let us think of severa* of these Assyrians , 
 and see how, when they invade us, and would 
 swallow us up, he is our peace. Does the 
 broken law of God threaten us? I say, the 
 broken law of God — A man has nothing to fear 
 from it when.it is perfectly kept; for the man 
 that doeth these things shall live in them. 
 But the soul that sinneth it shall die. The 
 curse enters through every breach of trans- 
 gression. And who is not, therefore, ex- 
 posed 1 Who can be so ignorant as to ima- 
 gine that he has continued in all things 
 written in the book of the law to do them ? 
 Now here is a condition to be in ! The com- 
 mandment coming — sin reviving — hope dy- 
 ing — and nothing expected but a certain 
 fearful looking-for of judgment ! But he ia 
 our peace, who died for our offences, and rose 
 again for our justification — 
 
 " Go, ye that rest upon the Law, 
 
 And toil, and seek salvation there : 
 Look to the flames that Moses saw 
 And fear, and tremble, and despair. 
 
 " But I 'II retire beneath the Cross — 
 Saviour, at thy dear feet I lie ; 
 And the keen sword that justice draws, 
 Flaming and red, shall pass me by." 
 
 Or does our adversary the devil terrify ? 
 Oh ! you say, when I think of his wiles, and 
 strength, and his successes for near six thou- 
 sand years; and when I consider myself— 
 here is enough to fill me, not only with dread, 
 but despair. What am I to the powers of 
 darkness? No more than a "worm to a 
 mountain !" Well, be it so ; the promise is, 
 " Fear not, thou worm Jacob ; for thou shait 
 thresh the mountains, and beat them small 
 as the dust." In the Lord you have not only 
 righteousness, but strength. Think of him, 
 and take courage. In all these things you 
 are more than conquerors, through him the* 
 loved you. 
 
 Or do we complain of the sin that dwelleth 
 in us? A Christian must feel this, and ought 
 to feel it, and be deeply humbled befc re God 
 on the account of it. Paul felt it ; and felt it 
 more than he felt all his sufferings " O 
 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver 
 me from the body of this death !" But where 
 does he find relief? " I thank God, through 
 
DECEMBER (. 
 
 337 
 
 esus Christ our Lord" — " He will save me 
 from my sins ; and not only from their domi- 
 nion — but their very being. He has begun 
 a good work in me, and he will finish it My 
 sanctification will be as complete as my jus- 
 tification now is. He is not only able to keep 
 me from falling, but to present me faultless 
 before the presence of his glory with exceed- 
 ing joy." 
 
 Or do we consider the troubles of life 1 In 
 accordance with this very case, he said to his 
 disciples, In the world ye shall have tribula- 
 tion ; but in me ye shall have peace. And 
 they found it so, and could acknowledge, 
 " As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so 
 our consolation also aboundeth by Christ" 
 Modern Christians may not be called to suffer 
 persecutions as they did ; but they may be the 
 subjects of personal and relative trials, which 
 require the same support and solace; and 
 they equally belong to him ; and are never 
 dearer to his heart than in the hour of afflic- 
 tion : and he will not leave them comfortless. 
 Is it nothing to know that he has removed 
 every thing penal from thy sufferings 1 — that 
 he will never leave thee nor forsake thee] 
 — that his grace shall be sufficient for thee 1 
 — and that all thy sorrows shall yield the 
 peaceable fruits of righteousness T 
 
 — But death ! Death is called the king of 
 terrors. Who can wonder that we should 
 feel at the approach of it 1 And where would 
 be the triumph of faith if we did not ] But 
 it is possible to rise above this enemy. We 
 know it from Scripture. We know it from 
 observation. And whence comes the victory ] 
 Persons may die insensibly; or they may 
 banish the subject from their minds : but, if 
 a man thinks of it, and thinks of it properly, 
 there is only one relief when this Assyrian 
 approaches us. t It is to see him that has 
 " abolished death." It is to hear him saying, 
 " He that believeth in me, though he were 
 dead, yet shall he live ; and he that liveth 
 and believeth in me shall never die." And 
 this is not all. The enemy is not only dis- 
 armed by him, but turned into a friend. The 
 curse is converted into a blessing. To die is 
 gain; and gain too generally in the expe- 
 rience, as well as always in the result Well, 
 therefore, could David say, " Yea, though I 
 walk through the valley of the shadow of 
 death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with 
 me : thy rod and thy staff" they comfort me." 
 
 Behold the Consolation of Israel. Whatever 
 would dismay us, let us look towards him, 
 and say — " This same shall comfort us." 
 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift 
 
 DECEMBER 6. 
 
 * Hail not thou made an hedge about him." 
 
 Job i. 10. 
 This was the question of Satan. The de- 
 sign of it was crafty and cruel : it was to in- 
 2U 29 
 
 sinuate, that Job's religion was all mercenary. 
 Therefore, no sooner had God extolled him 
 (who can stand before envy 1) than " Satan 
 answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear 
 God for nought 1 Hast not thou made an 
 hedge about him 1" But though the motive 
 he ascribes to Job is false, it is otherwise with 
 the condition he represents him to be in. It 
 was true that God had made a hedge about 
 him : and he does the same for all believers. 
 Three things may be inferred from it 
 
 First God's people must be dear and va- 
 luable, otherwise he would not make a hedge 
 about them. Men do not incur expense, and 
 take pains to fence in a wilderness, a common, 
 or a dunghill ; but only what they set a price 
 upon. " Since," says God, " thou hast been 
 precious in my sight, thou hast been honour- 
 able, and I have loved thee." This love 
 " passeth knowledge." His vineyard, his 
 garden, his jewels, his children, his bride, are 
 not so dear and precious to their owner as all 
 the subjects of divine grace are to God — " The 
 Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him : 
 in them that hope hi his mercy." 
 
 Secondly. They must be liable to danger 
 and injury — Why else should he make a 
 hedge about them 1 They are exposed to the 
 same perils with others. But they have 
 many which are peculiar to themselves, be- 
 cause of their new state, and character, and 
 privileges. David admits this; "Thou pre- 
 parest a table before me, in the presence of 
 my enemies." They were all around him, 
 looking on, ready to seize his comfort, and 
 destroy his person. What is the language 
 of every awakened soul T " Lord, how are 
 they increased that trouble me ! Many there 
 be that rise up against me." And as they 
 are numerous, so they are malicious, wise, 
 and powerful ; and would soon overcome him ; 
 but his help cometh from the name of the 
 Lord, who made heaven and earth. 
 
 Thirdly. They must be safe whatever 
 evils encompass them. For they do not lie 
 opened and unguarded — God has made an 
 hedge about them. We have often heard 
 the remark — and it is as true as it is com- 
 mon, " They are well kept whom God keeps." 
 What he does for the safety of his people 
 must be effectual. Therefore the Church 
 says, " Save me, and I shall be saved ; for 
 thou art my praise." His power is almighty ; 
 and he saveth by his right hand them that 
 put their trust in him from them that rise up 
 against them. He keeps them as the apple 
 of the eye. He that keepeth Israel never 
 slumbers nor sleeps. Lest any hurt them, 
 says he, I will keep them night and day. But 
 how far does this hedge extendi It reache* 
 to his estate — his business — his dwelling, 
 place — his family — his reputation— his body 
 — his soul — " Hast not thou made an hedge 
 about him ? and about his house J and about 
 all that he hath on every side t " 
 
33» 
 
 DECEMBER 7. 
 
 But here it may be asked, How does this 
 subject harmonize with observation and expe- 
 rience 1 Do not his people sometimes suffer 
 losses and injuries as well as others? We 
 must distinguish between their spiritual and 
 their temporal condition. With regard to 
 the former their security is absolute : they 
 are kept by the power of God, through faith, 
 .into salvation. But as to the latter, their 
 preservation is conditional. It is never abso- 
 lutely promised : and the reason is, because it 
 is not essential to their welfare. Yea, some- 
 times the removal of a temporal good is a 
 greater blessing than the continuance of it ; 
 and is even indispensable to some higher ad- 
 vantage. But, with regard to every injury 
 or loss in their temporal interests, there are 
 wo things which should always be remem- 
 bered ; and they ought to be sufficient to set 
 their hearts at rest. The one is, that the loss 
 or injury is entirely under the Divine permis- 
 sion. Nothing can touch a hair of their 
 head without leave from their heavenly Fa- 
 ther. Satan could do nothing against Peter 
 till he had "desired to have him, that he 
 might sift him as wheat." And . so here. 
 Satan walked around this hedge; and peeped 
 through; and s,tood tip-toe to look over with 
 envy and malice — but could not reach to 
 touch his body, no, nor even one of his ser- 
 vants or sheep, till God, for the trial of Job, 
 allowed him. The other is — that the permis- 
 sion is always and invariably regulated by the 
 wisdom and goodness of his God, who loves 
 them infinitely better than they love them- 
 selves. He that spared not his own Son, will 
 withhold no good thing from them. He does 
 not afflict willingly : but every trial he em- 
 ploys has a purpose to serve that will evince, 
 in due time, even the kindness of the dispen- 
 sation, and enable the sufferers to acknow- 
 ledge with praise, It is good for me that I 
 have been afflicted. 
 
 Let his people, therefore, hearken unto 
 him, and dwell safely ; and be in quiet from 
 the fear of evil. 
 
 DECEMBER 7. 
 
 " And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw 
 him down, and tare him." — Luke ix. 42. 
 
 — Fearful of losing his prey — hating to 
 have him cured — and wishing to prevent the 
 display of the Saviour's goodness and power, 
 he could not, indeed, hinder the deliverance; 
 but he did what he could. 
 
 There is no coming to our Saviour now, as 
 persons came in the days of his flesh. He is 
 no more in the world, as 1o uis bodily pre- 
 sence. Yet we may come to him spiritually, 
 by faith and prayer. And, in the suffering 
 of this patient, we have an emblem of what 
 we may meet with, as we are approaching. 
 We can never seek him in vain : but our case 
 
 may seem worse before relief arrives. W< 
 may be thrown down, and torn in the way. 
 God saw the affliction of Israel, and resolved 
 to save them: but before they left Egypt, 
 their bondage was more sorely felt; and a»' 
 soon as they had escaped, Pharaoh pursued 
 them, and hemmed them in. As long n» 
 people remain regardless of Christ, the ene 
 my keeps them in peace; but when they 
 begin to inquire in earnest after him, then 
 commences the conflict : and this is the lan- 
 guage of many an applicant, as " he is a com- 
 ing" — " O my God ! my soul is cast down 
 within me." 
 
 Some of his difficulties and discourage- 
 ments may arise from the opposition of 
 friends and relations. Marvel not, said the 
 Saviour, if the world hate you. We have 
 no reason to believe our religion is the re- 
 ligion of the Bible, if it be palatable to the 
 taste of carnal minds. How often, as soon 
 as a man becomes decided, is he had in de- 
 rision of all around him, and like one mocked 
 of his neighbour ! And is it not trying tc 
 proceed in a course that will break up con- 
 nexions otherwise agreeable ? and draw upoi 
 him their sneer or their laugh '? their ridi 
 cule or their menaces? — Yet he must go 
 forth to him without the camp, bearing his 
 reproach. And he ought to rejoice that he 
 is counted worthy to suffer shame for his 
 name But every thing cannot be expected 
 at first. The trial is greater when a man's 
 foes are those of his own house ; when the 
 persecution comes from those he loves; and 
 ought even to obey — only in the Lord. But 
 the trial is greatest — at least to a grateful 
 and ingenuous mind, when the persecution 
 results, not from violence and threaten ings ; 
 but from kindness, and entreaties, and tears. 
 Yet through all this he must press — "He 
 that loveth father or mother more than me. 
 is not worthy of me — and he that forsaketh 
 not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple." 
 
 Sometimes the coming soul has difficulties 
 arising from ignorance of the method of salva- 
 tion. These indeed will not remain long, 
 when the heart is brought into a proper 
 state, and the man cries, What must I do tc 
 be saved 1 But some are alarmed before they 
 are enlightened : as a person may be awaken- 
 ed in the dark, and not know which way to 
 flee from the evil. Or as a patient may be 
 sensible of the danger of his disease, before 
 he knows the physician or the remedy. Some 
 have not had parents who taught them the 
 truth, as it is in Jesus: and they have no ac 
 cess to evangelical preaching ; and they are 
 not blessed with such Christian companions 
 as can guide their feet into the path of peace. 
 What wonder, therefore, if such, for awhile, 
 should betake themselves (for something, in 
 such cases, will be done — they cannot sit still) 
 to improper expedients, and self-righteous 
 means of relief! For all legalists are not of 
 
DECEMBER 8. 
 
 33J> 
 
 tne same kind. Some are such from disposi- 
 tion : and these are the bitterest, adversaries 
 of the Gospel ; and th i presentation of the 
 truth to them only draws forth their enmity. 
 But others are such from want of better in- 
 lbrmation only : and when they find the light, 
 they rejoice in it — "This is what my soul 
 was following hard after — O that I had known 
 it earlier ; and, instead of working like a 
 slave, had believed on him that justifieth the 
 ungodly : and, instead of attempting to build 
 up a wretched shelter of my own, I had only 
 fled for refuge to the hope set before me !" 
 
 Allied to this is another discouragement 
 the coming sinner feels, springing from doubts 
 and fears, when he does perceive the way, and 
 is informed that there is salvation in no other. 
 Pressed down with such a sense of his un- 
 worthiness, and with such views of the num- 
 ber and heinousness of his sins, as he never 
 had before ; he is ready to conclude, that such 
 immense blessings cannot be for him ; and 
 that his claiming them would be no better 
 than presumption. Let not such a despond- 
 ing soul refuse to be comforted. Let him ask 
 — What recommendation had Manasseh 1 
 Where am / excluded from hope 1 Does he 
 not say, Look jmto me, and be ye saved, all 
 the ends of the earth 1 If I have nothing with 
 which to purchase, am I not invited to " buy 
 without money, and without price ?" 
 
 An apprehension, too, of the arduous duties 
 of the Christian life, is frequently very dis- 
 maying. The Scripture tells him that this 
 life is a building and a warfare ; a very ex- 
 pensive building, and a very awful warfare : 
 and enjoins hiin, before he begins, to count 
 the cost of the one, and the resources of the 
 other. He does this ; and feels himself per- 
 fectly inadequate to both. And so he may 
 feel, and ought to feel : for when he is poor, 
 then is he rich ; and when he is weak, then 
 is he strong. But fear not, says the Saviour ; 
 for I am with thee. My grace is sufficient 
 for thee. As thy days, so shall thy strength 
 be. "Even the youths shall faint and be 
 weary, and the young men shall utterly fall ; 
 but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew 
 their strength: they shall mount up with 
 wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be 
 weary ; and they shall walk, and not faint" 
 
 Finally. There are things among the pro- 
 fessors of religion, which often perplex and 
 scandalize young converts. Such are the di- 
 versities of opinion among them. And their 
 alienation from each other, because of their 
 little distinctions. And the falls of some. 
 And the backslidings of others. Older and 
 wiser Christians know how to account for all 
 this, without shaking their faith and hope — 
 though it is always grievous even to them : 
 but the weak find them stumbling-blocks, over 
 which they often fall. For which reason, the 
 Apostle says to the believing Hebrews, " Lift 
 up the hands which hang down, and the feeble 
 
 knees ; and make straight paths for your feet, 
 lest that which is lame be turned out of the 
 way : but let it rather be healed." 
 
 Two things must now be fixed in the mind. 
 The one is — that whatever would impede our 
 coming to Christ, is from Satan ; and should 
 be resisted ace >rdingly The other is — that 
 whatever difficulties we may encounter, come 
 to him we must. It is not a matter of indif- 
 ference — It is the one thing needful — We 
 perish without it " Ye will not come unto 
 me tliat ye might have life." 
 
 DECEMBER 8. 
 
 " If I must needs glory, I -will glory oj tne 
 
 things which concern mine infirmities." 
 
 2 Cor. xi. 30. 
 
 We may consider these infirmities undei 
 two classes. 
 
 First ; as outward and natural. Thus they 
 include bodily weaknesses and indispositions. 
 Some, by reason of a healthful and firm con- 
 stitution, know little of these infirmities, and 
 can scarcely sympathize with those who are 
 the subjects of them. But Paul was no 
 stranger to them. I was with you, says he 
 to the Corinthians, in weakness, in fear, and 
 in much trembling. They also include all 
 other external afflictions; whatever lowers a 
 man's condition, and weakens him in the 
 opinion of the world, who always judge after 
 outward appearances. If it were necessary 
 to prove this, we might refer to the Apostle's 
 sufferings, as recorded in the preceding 
 verses, and to which he obviously alludes: 
 and also to what he immediately subjoins, as 
 an illustration, in his escape from Damascus, 
 by the wall in a basket ; and the thorn in 
 the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet 
 him — ending with his noble avowal ; " There- 
 fore I take pleasure in infirmities, in re- 
 proaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in 
 distresses, for Christ's sake ; for when I am 
 weak, then am I strong." 
 
 There is something wonderful in this. For 
 all these things are viewed as disadvantages, 
 and give rtee to emotions of grief and shame, 
 rather than of joy and glory. People glory 
 in their beauty — not in their deformity : in 
 their strength — not in their weakness: in 
 their dignity — not in their meanness : in their 
 praise — not in their disgrace : in their suc- 
 cesses — not in their disappointments. But 
 Paul says, "If I must needs glory, I will 
 glory of the things which concern mine infir- 
 mities." Let us make a distinctj^i here. 
 Absolutely considered, these things are evils 
 in themselves : and it does not become a 
 Christian to pray for them, or go out <£ his 
 way to meet with them. But when he is called 
 to suffer them- according to the will of Cod, 
 he should remember that there are purposes 
 to be answered bv them, which render them 
 
340 
 
 DECEMBER 9. 
 
 relatively valuable and excellent. If medi- 
 cine be regarded only as to its taste, we say 
 it is offensive, and we should decline it : but 
 when the necessity and usefulness of it are 
 perceived, and we think of the health to be 
 restored, and the life to be prolonged by it ; 
 we not only consent to take it, but even 
 thankfully pay for the otherwise disagreeable 
 remedy. "Now no chastening for the pre- 
 sent seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: 
 nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peace- 
 able fruit of righteousness unto them which 
 are exercised thereby." So it is here : Paul 
 glories in things which concern his infirmi- 
 ties. What are these 1 We may consider 
 them as preservatives or preventions. Thus, 
 when Israel was going astray after her lovers, 
 says God, " I will hedge up her way with 
 thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not be 
 able to find her paths." And as restorers — 
 Thus David says, " Before I was afflicted, I 
 went astray : but now have I kept thy word." 
 I was sick; he bled me; and I recovered. 
 And as probations — to evince and display the 
 reality and degree of our religion : the ten- 
 derness of God's care ; the supports of his 
 grace ; and the truth of his word. Of this 
 quality were Job's sufferings. And as pre- 
 paratives — for usefulness here, and heaven 
 hereafter. How these views of faith are suf- 
 ficient to alter our estimate of the dispensa- 
 tion, and to change our feelings under it ! 
 
 But, secondly ; we may consider these in- 
 firmities as inward and spiritual. Thus they 
 comprise all those weaknesses and deficien- 
 cies of grace under which the best now 
 labour; and which lead them to pray, 
 " Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast 
 wrought for us." Something is wanting in 
 their faith, hope, courage, patience, and spirit- 
 ual understanding. Even Paul could say, I 
 have not attained ; I am not already perfect. 
 But are not these infirmities matter of humili- 
 ation, rather than of glorying ! Yes ; and 
 the believer blushes and groans over them. 
 Nor will an apprehension of his security re- 
 concile him to his remaining imperfections. 
 Yea, a persuasion of God's constant love to- 
 wards him will induce him the more to be- 
 wail them. Yet there are things which con- 
 cern these infirmities, for which he feels 
 thankful, and in which he rejoices. Four of 
 these may be mentioned. 
 
 First The means of grace are things 
 which concern our infirmities. They are 
 rendered necessary by them, and are design- 
 ed to relieve them. In heaven they are laid 
 aside: there they are needless. But the 
 Christiarrnow cries, Send us help from the 
 sanctuary, and strengthen us out of Zion. 
 AndAy waiting upon the Lord, he renews his 
 strength. 
 
 Secorfdly. The promises are things which 
 concern our infirmities. " To him that hath 
 ahall be {riven " 'Ms thy days, so shall thy 
 
 strength be." " The righteous shall hold on 
 his way, and he that hath c.fean hands shall 
 wax stronger and stronger.' When we read 
 all this, let the weak say I am strong. But 
 for these assurances we must despond : but 
 now we read, and go on ; read, and fight on ; 
 read, and suffer on. We rejoice at his word, 
 as one that findeth great spoil. 
 
 Thirdly. The influences of the Spirit are 
 things which concern our infirmities. How 
 is a Christian to live, or walk 1 He lives in 
 the Spirit, and walks in the Spirit. How 
 does he pray ? In the Holy Ghost. " The 
 Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we 
 know not what we should pray for as we 
 ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh interces- 
 sion for us with groanings which cannot be 
 uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts 
 knoweth what is the mind bf the Spirit, be- 
 cause he maketh intercession for the saints 
 according to the will of God." Observe the 
 ground of the Apostle's hope, with regard to 
 himself, in the issue of all his sufferings: " 1 
 know that this shall turn to my salvation 
 through your prayer, and the supply of the 
 Spirit of Jesus Christ." And with him there 
 is a rich abundance : and in him all fulness 
 dwells : and to him we have also a free and 
 invited access. 
 
 Fourthly. The last thing that concerns 
 our infirmities, is the removal of them by 
 death. A certain removal. A removal nigh 
 at hand. An entire removal — Every one of 
 them will be done away with — and for ever { 
 
 DECEMBER 9. 
 
 " I am a burden to myself." — Job vn. '20. 
 
 And perhaps this is not all — perhaps yon 
 are a burden to others also. 
 
 t— But we will leave this; and inquire 
 whether you are a burden to yourself. We 
 may put the complaint into the mouth of four 
 classes. 
 
 It is sometimes the language of the afflict- 
 ed. Thus it was the exclamation of Job. We 
 talk of trouble !„ He could say, " Behold, and 
 see if ever there was- sorrow like unto my 
 sorrow." Read the affecting relation ; dwell 
 on all the dismal items ; and wonder not thai 
 he should say, "I am a burden to myself.' 
 If we cannot approve of the strength of hie 
 complaint, we hardly know how to condemn 
 it; God himself overlooks it ; and only holds 
 him forth as an example of patience. All 
 sufferers cannot, indeed, say, truly, as he did, 
 " My stroke is heavier than my groaning." 
 Yet the heart's bitterness is known only to 
 itself. We cannot determine the pressure 
 of another's mind under suffering : for the 
 feeling of affliction may be actually much 
 greater, than we should have supposed from 
 the degree of it. But afflictions may be efreal 
 in themselves, from their number, and tre- 
 
DECEMBER 9. 
 
 341 
 
 quency, and suddenness, and subject Is this 
 thy case ? Yield not to impatience and des- 
 pondency. Such afflictions have often in- 
 troduced a train of mercies ; and the valley 
 of Achor has been a door of hope. How many 
 in heaven, how many on earth, are now 
 thanking God for their trials ! He knows 
 how to deliver. Say — " Lord, I am oppress- 
 ed ; undertake for me." " Cast thy burden 
 PDon the Lord, and he- shall sustain thee." 
 
 It is sometimes the language of the dis- 
 engaged and idle. None so little enjoy life, 
 and are such burdens to themselves, as those 
 who have nothing to do — for 
 
 " A want of occupation is not rest — 
 A mind quite vacant, is a mind distress'd." 
 
 Such a man is out of God's order ; and op- 
 posing his obvious design in the faculties he 
 has givpn him, and the condition in which 
 he has placed him. Nothing, therefore, is 
 promised in the Scripture to the indolent 
 Take the indolent with regard to exertion — 
 What indecision ! What delay ! What re- 
 luctance ! What apprehension ! " The sloth- 
 ful man saith, There is a lion without ; I 
 shall be slain in the streets." " The way of 
 a slothful man is as an hedge of thorns : but 
 the way of the righteous is made plain." 
 Take him, with regard to health — What 
 sluggishness of circulation ! What depression 
 of spirits! What dulness of appetite ! What 
 enervation of frame ! Take him, with regard 
 to temper and enjoyment — Who is pettish 
 and fretful 1 Who feels wanton and childish 
 cravings ! Who is too soft to bear any of the 
 hardships of life ? Who broods over every lit- 
 tle vexation and inconvenience 1 Who not 
 only increases real, but conjures up imagi- 
 nary evils ? and gets no sympathy from any 
 one in either ! Who feels time wearisome 
 and irksome 1 Who is devoured by ennui and 
 spleen 1 Who oppresses others with their 
 company 1 and their questions, and censo- 
 rious talk] The active only have the true 
 relish of life. He who knows not what it is 
 to labour, knows not what it is to enjoy. Re- 
 creation is only valuable, as it unbends us ; 
 the idle know nothing of it It is exertion 
 that renders rest delightful, and sleep sweet 
 and undisturbed. That the happiness of life 
 depends on the regular prosecution of some 
 laudable purpose or lawful calling, which en- 
 gages, helps, and enlivens, all our powers, 
 let those bear witness who, after spending 
 years in active usefulness, retire, to enjoy 
 themselves. Prayers should be always offered 
 up for their servants and wives — and for 
 themselves too. They are a burden to them- 
 selves. 
 
 It is the language of the wicked. Not al- 
 ways indeed : but much oftener than they are 
 willinar to own. It may not come from them 
 in the circle of their companions ; but it is 
 sighed out in private, when the charm of 
 29* 
 
 amusement has ceased, and conscience tries 
 to be heard. They may pretend (for hypo- 
 crisy is not confined to religion) to be peace- 
 ful ; but they know that one thought of God 
 is sufficient to destroy all the calm. They 
 may profess to admire the world ; but they 
 know it affords them no satisfaction. They 
 know they return jaded from all their excur- 
 sions of avarice, ambition, and sensuality, still 
 asking, Who will show us any good ? They 
 know that in this uncertain state, they are 
 always trembling for the idols of their hearts ; 
 that they look for no support in trouble ; and 
 dread the approach of death, to the fear of 
 which they are all their lifetime subject to 
 bondage. Sin and sorrow are inseparable. 
 God himself has told us that the way of trans- 
 gressors is hard, and that there is no peace 
 to the wicked. Many sins bring their own 
 punishments along with them. Envy is the 
 rottenness of the bones. " Pride is restless as 
 the wind." What a torment is the spirit of 
 revenge ! What must be the apprehension of 
 the thief! and the terror of the murderer! 
 What the remorse of a villain who has se- 
 duced a fellow-creature from the path of vir- 
 tue, and made her ignominious and wretched 
 for life ! What the feelings of a drunkard, who 
 has ruined his business, and covered his wife 
 and children with rags ! How often does the 
 sinner become the contempt of the neighbour- 
 hood ! How often does he contract infirmities 
 and diseases, which lie down with him in the 
 dust ! Yes ! he may well say, I am a burden 
 to myself! and, to get rid of the intolerable 
 load, he not rarely lays violent hands upon 
 himself; saying, with Cain, My punishment 
 is greater than I can bear. 
 
 It may be the language of the godly. We 
 mean, not only or principally as they are af- 
 flicted — then they would coincide with the 
 first class of complainants. Many, indeed, 
 are the afflictions of the righteous, and they 
 are not required to be insensible under them. 
 But there are things which they feel more 
 painfully than outward trouble. The tempta- 
 tions of Satan — A world lying in wickedness 
 — The imperfections of their graces — The 
 remains of corruption within them — Wander- 
 ings in duty — An evil heart of unbelief— 
 Dfstrust of their best Friend — The grievings 
 of his Holy Spirit Another cannot enter 
 into all this ; it requires the feelings of a re- 
 newed mind : but this induces the believer to 
 say, " I loathe it I would not live always." 
 O wretched man that I am ! said Paul ; who 
 shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
 
 Is there any relief? The very experience 
 is a token for good. Your case is not pecu- 
 liar — All your brethren, while in this taber- 
 nacle, groan too, being burdened. You will 
 not be a burden to yourself always. You 
 now say, Behold, I am vile : wherefore I ab- 
 hor myself in dust and ashes. But you will 
 soon be reconciled to yourselves, without 
 
342 
 
 DECEMBER 10. 
 
 pride. Your knowledge will be without 
 obscurity. Your services without imperfec- 
 tion. Your pleasure without pain. And He 
 who is now keeping you from falling, will 
 present you faultless before the presence of 
 his glory with exceeding joy. 
 
 DECEMBER 10. 
 
 " / was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." 
 
 Rev. i. 10. 
 This proves how early, among Christians, 
 one day in the week was distinguished from 
 the rest. And it is obvious, that the day thus 
 distinguished was the first day of the week ; 
 for no other is ever styled " the Lord's day" 
 in the New Testament, or by any of the 
 ancient writers. It is called " the Lord's 
 day," not only by way of distinction, but 
 excellency : being appropriated to his service, 
 and consecrated to his honour, as the day of 
 his resurrection from the dead, and of enter- 
 ing into his rest from the works of redemp- 
 tion. 
 
 To be in the Spirit often signifies to be in- 
 spired, or to receive communications im- 
 mediately from God ; and it is certain that 
 John was thus honoured. But the phrase 
 may be used in reference to a spirituality of 
 mind: and doubtless John experienced this 
 also ; and it prepared him for the sublime dis- 
 coveries he was favoured with. Though 
 miracles have ceased, the Spirit is still given 
 in his ordinary influences ; and if any man 
 have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of 
 his. We are required to pray in the Holy 
 Ghost; to worship God in the Spirit; to live 
 and walk in the Spirit. Hence the common 
 notion of our being in the Spirit on the Lord's 
 day is perfectly scriptural. But we must 
 distinguish between our being in the Spirit, 
 and the Spirit being in us. The latter de- 
 notes the reality of his influence, the former 
 the abundance. Thus we say, a man is in 
 love, or in liquor, or in a passion — to intimate 
 that he is entirely seized and governed by it. 
 We are not only to possess the Spirit, but to 
 be possessed by it — " Be ye filled with the 
 Spirit." It is not enough for us to be in a 
 spiritual state ; we must be also in a spiritual 
 frame. 
 
 We must not, however, confine the import 
 of this expression as some do. They never 
 think of their being in the Spirit on the Lord's 
 day but when they are relieved, comforted, 
 delighted. We love feeling in religion ; but 
 religious feelings are many and various. It 
 is desirable to pass the Sabbath in liveliness, 
 liberty, and joy : and we read of the Spirit of 
 life ; and of a free Spirit; and of the comfort 
 of the Holy Ghost. But a mournful Sabbath 
 may be a very profitable one : and we are 
 never more in the Spirit than when we are 
 deeply sensible of our un worthiness; and ex- 
 
 claim, at the foot of the Cioss, Behold, I am 
 vile ; and hunger and thirst after righteous- 
 ness. For, is he not the Spirit of truth 1 the 
 convincer of sin ] the Spirit of grace and of 
 supplication? And does he not lead us to 
 look upon him whom we have pierced, and 
 to mourn for him 1 
 
 Who does not know by experience that 
 the day and the Spirit are not always thus 
 united 1 Who has not had Sabbaths devoid 
 of all proper religious affections ] This should 
 be a matter of deep humiliation. How pierc- 
 ing should be the thought of a lost Sabbath ! 
 Lost, never to return ! Lost, yet to be ac- 
 counted for ! But what is a dull and formal 
 attendance on the services of the season 
 without those influences which the day re- 
 quires, and is in itself adapted to produce 1 
 
 As the richest Sabbath, with regard to 
 means and ordinances, may be passed with- 
 out the Spirit ; so we may be in the Spirit on 
 the Lord's day when the day is attended with 
 few, or none of these advantages. Was it 
 not thus with the beloved disciple? Oh! 
 there are Sabbaths when every thing is at- 
 tractive : when we go to the house of God in 
 company ; when our eyes see our teachers ; 
 when our ears hear the joyful sound of salva- 
 tion by grace ! But John's Sabbath was a 
 day of suffering, of privation, of exile, of soli- 
 tude, in a desert isle — 
 
 "Where the sound of the church-going bell 
 Those rocks and those valleys ne'er heard 1 
 Never sigh'd at the sound of a knell, 
 Or smiled when a Sabbath appear'd." 
 
 But heaven was opened unto him ; and per- 
 haps he never had such a Sabbath on earth 
 before. A Christian may never be less alone 
 than when alone. His consolations may 
 equal, yea, exceed his sufferings. While his 
 body is fettered, his soul may range in all the 
 glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 
 Yes; you may be in the Spirit on the 
 Lord's day, when denied the privileges of the 
 sanctuary. If you keep away, from indiffer- 
 ence, or indolence, or to save expense, when 
 you have the ability to procure accommoda- 
 tion; or from any of those excuses which 
 would detain you from nothing else; you 
 have no reason to expect the Divine sanction. 
 But sometimes traveling, even on the lord's 
 day, by land or by water, may be unavoid- 
 able. Or accident, or disease, or infirmity, 
 or age, may confine you. In which case, the 
 Lord will not despise his prisoners. And 
 they shall know the blessedness of those 
 whose strength is in him, and in whose hearts 
 are the ways of them. It is better to want 
 opportunity and power than the will, when 
 we serve Him who looketh at the heart. 
 Nothing can be a substitute for him. But he 
 is a substitute for every thing. And he ia 
 always accessible. And " if ye, being evil, 
 know how to give good gifts unto your chil- 
 dren, how much more shall your heavenly 
 
DECEMBER 11, 12. 
 
 343 
 
 Father give the Holy Spirit to then that ask 
 him !" 
 
 DECEMBER 11. 
 
 " And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, 
 ■when he prayed for his friends." — Job xlii. 
 10. 
 
 Job was once the greatest man in the East. 
 But he was stripped of every thing, except 
 life ; and became, as a sufferer, proverbial for 
 ever. How long his calamities continued we 
 cannot determine. At length, however, the 
 shadow of death was turned into the morning. 
 His troubles were all removed ; his losses all 
 repaired; and his latter end blessed more 
 than his beginning. Hence says the apostle 
 James, " Ye have heard of the patience of 
 Job, and have seen the end of the Lord ; that 
 the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender 
 mercy." 
 
 His state of affliction is called " his cap- 
 tivity." Did then the Chaldeans and Sabeans, 
 when they robbed him, make him also a pri- 
 soner 1 The term is metaphorical. Yet there 
 is a striking reality, as the foundation of it 
 By the permission of Providence, Satan, for 
 awhile, had him in his possession, to go as 
 far as he pleased, in destroying his substance, 
 and afflicting his body. In consequence of 
 this, a troop of woes seized him ; and his feet, 
 as he says, were made fast in the stocks. 
 David, also, expresses himself much in the 
 same way : " Bring my soul out of prison." — 
 He despiseth not his prisoners. A state of 
 affliction is not only unpleasant, but confining. 
 Losses in property abridge a man of his form- 
 er excursions of pleasure, and curtail his en- 
 tertainments. Sickness arrests a man, and 
 leads him away from company and business, 
 and confines him to a bed of languishing. It 
 detains a good man from the sanctuary ; and 
 when he thinks of his former freedom and 
 privileges, he pours out his soul in him: for 
 he had gone to the house of God with the 
 voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that 
 kept holy day. 
 
 His deliverance was of the Lord — " The 
 Lord turned again his captivity." " He that 
 is our God, is the God of salvation ; and unto 
 God the Lord belong the issues from death." 
 Some ascribe their deliverances to chance; 
 some to the favour of their fellow-creatures; 
 some to their own wisdom and care : but this 
 is no better than idolatry. Faith will lead us 
 to see and acknowledge the agency of God's 
 hand, whatever means may have been em- 
 ployed. And till God command deliverance 
 vain is the help of man. " Behold, he break- 
 eth down, and it cannot be built again : ne shut- 
 teth up a man, and there can be no openino-." 
 But he knows how to deliver : and when his 
 time is come, he not only can, but he will 
 make a way for our escape. " Therefore," 
 
 says the Church, " I will look unto the Lord ; 
 I will wait for the God of my salvation ; my 
 God will hear me." 
 
 But it is peculiarly worthy of our remark, 
 that the deliverance was accomplisned " when 
 he prayed for his friends." These friends had 
 acted a very unkind part. They had n* t only 
 mistaken his case, but charged him with hy- 
 pocrisy, and loaded him with reproach. This 
 was no easy thing to bear. He labours to 
 convince them, but in vain. Yet he felt no 
 resentment; but even prayed for them! 
 This is the best thing we can do in such 
 cases. It will keep us more than any thing 
 else from the effects of unhallowed passion; 
 and enable us to comply with the command, 
 " Love your enemies." We cannot love 
 them as we dove others ; but if we can sin- 
 cerely pray for them, it is a proof we love 
 them in the sense of the injunction. 
 
 But we here see not only the forgiving 
 temper of Job, but the efficacy of prayer. As 
 it is said, The Lord turned again his captivity 
 when he prayed for his friends; it would 
 seem that the deliverance commenced while 
 he was engaged in the exercise. This is no 
 unusual thing: for, says God, " While they 
 call I will answer." But if it did not take 
 place in the exercise, it followed immediately 
 after. And thus it affords a proof, that he is 
 a God hearing prayer. Thus it encourages 
 us to come to the throne of his grace. And 
 not only for ourselves, but for others also. 
 And not only for their welfare, but our own. 
 Not only because it may avail much for 
 them, but also because it may be beneficial 
 to ourselves. Thus Job's praying not only 
 obtained pardon for his friends, but deliver- 
 ance for himself! And though he had often 
 prayed under his afflictions, the prayer ho- 
 noured with his deliverance was not a per- 
 sonal, but a relative prayer. 
 
 Let us not forget this ; and let us extend it 
 to all other cases of beneficence. If we do 
 no good to those who are the objects, we 
 must do good to those who are the agents. It 
 cannot be in vain, with regard to ourselves. 
 Our prayer, if not successful, will return into 
 our own bosom, and leave a blessing behind 
 it " Into whatsoever house ye enter, first 
 say, Peace be to this house. And if the son 
 of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon 
 it : if not, it shall turn to you again." 
 
 DECEMBER 12. 
 
 "And there teas Mary Magdalene, ar.d tU 
 other Mary, sitting over against the setnti 
 chre" — -Matt, xxvii. 61. 
 
 While upon the Cross He hung, 
 
 The Marys near him stay'd ; 
 And, when from the tree releas'd 
 
 Beheld where he was laid : 
 Fearless to the place they ran ; 
 
 All their hope was buried there; 
 And, with grief, and wonder, «at 
 
 Before the sepulchre 
 
S44 
 
 DECEMBER 13. 
 
 Love it was detain'r. .hem here : 
 
 And sacred was the spot ; 
 Boon the scene revived their faith, 
 
 And mem'ry ne'er forgot, 
 from the crowd /glad withdraw, 
 
 And, with them, to muse I'm come ; 
 And prefer to Eden's bliss, 
 
 One tear at such a tomb. 
 
 Here, within this grave, now sleeps 
 
 The best, the only Friend ; 
 Here, the lips of Truth are seal'd, 
 
 And Mercy's journeys end. 
 Here, the light, the life of men 
 
 Is early quench'd and dead- 
 How deserveless now appear 
 
 All other tears I've shed! 
 
 Ah ! how low his sacred head ! 
 
 Reposes here for me ! 
 And how deep, though once so rich, 
 
 Is now his poverty! — 
 Niught of earth, in life or death, 
 
 His own he ever knew : 
 Borrow'd was his place of birth; 
 
 His grave was borrow'd too 1 
 
 But what terrors seize my frame ' 
 
 A trembling shakes the ground ; 
 And the door, though thrice secur'd, 
 
 Is now wide open found — 
 On the stone the angel sits. 
 
 And frowns the guards to flight ; — 
 Yet his looks and words, to me 
 
 Speak safely and delight. 
 
 ' He thou seekest is not here ; 
 
 Come view his lowly bed ; 
 And, with haste, go tell his friends, 
 He 's risen from the dead.' 
 —As I go, himself I meet— 
 ' All harl !' he greeting cries; 
 I have crush'd sin, death, and hell, 
 And open'd Paradise ! 
 
 I'm alive for evermore : 
 
 And all that mourn with thee, 
 Like myself their Head, shall live, 
 
 For evermore with me.' 
 Tis enough— in every state 
 
 This truth my hope revives— 
 And, should every comfort die, 
 
 I know my Saviour lives. 
 
 DECEMBER 13. 
 
 "And this I pray, That your love may abound 
 yet more and more in knowledge and in all 
 judgment." — Phil. i. 9. 
 
 According to this prayer, there is nothing 
 in which we should abound more than love. 
 It is the fulfilling of the Law. The end of 
 the Gospel-commandment. The bond of per- 
 fectness. Without it, whatever be our at- 
 tainments, professions, or sacrifices, we are 
 
 NOTHING. 
 
 Yet we are to abound in it, wisely. This is 
 not found in all religious characters. In one, 
 we perceive zeal ; in another, discretion. 
 One is clear, but cold. Another is warm, but 
 inconsiderate. If we could meet with an in- 
 dividual who, in his experience and practice, 
 blended these qualities ; who had the heart, as 
 well as the head, and the head, as well as the 
 heart, of the Christian; he would be the 
 prayer of the Apostle fulfilled—" I pray, That 
 your love may abound yet more and more in 
 knowledge and in all judgment." 
 
 Our love does not thus abound, when we 
 <io not iistinguish between what is supreme 
 
 and what is subordinate. There are things 
 in religion which are essential, and things 
 which are only circumstantial. Am I to lay as 
 mu«h stress upon the latter as upon the form- 
 er 1 Is the form of the railing of a bridge to be 
 compared with the foundation of the but- 
 tresses, or the key-stones of the arch '.' Is the 
 finger, though useful, of the same importance 
 to the continuance of life, as the heart and 
 the lungs'! What is an article about Church 
 government, or the mode of administering an 
 ordinance, compared with the doctrine of 
 justification by faith, or redemption by the 
 blood of Christ ! I venerate a man who is al. 
 diligence to convert sinners from the error of 
 their way, and save souls from death : but I 
 cannot feel the same towards the zealot of 
 bigotry, whose aim is to make proselytes to 
 his own peculiarities; and who regards his 
 community, not as a part, but as a party. 
 
 Persons may not be judicious in their de- 
 votional exercises. By the frequency of pub- 
 lic attendances, they may exclude or abridge 
 the duties of the family, or the closet. They 
 may so lengthen out the worship at the do- 
 mestic altar, as to produce in children and 
 servants weariness and aversion. Persona 
 may hazard their health, by going forth undet 
 bodily indisposition : forgetting that God re- 
 quires mercy, and not sacrifice; and that 
 when He deprives us of the ability, he ac- 
 cepts the ready mind. 
 
 Nor does our love abound in knowledge 
 and in all judgment, when it carries us out 
 of our own places and stations to be useful. 
 Grace always gives us the desire to do good , 
 but Providence must furnish the opportuni 
 ties. We are not to be unruly or break the 
 ranks, as the word is ; but to march orderly 
 as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. The Lord 
 puts us where we ought to be ; and enjoins 
 us to abide in our calling. There are, indeed, 
 occasional deviations from this rule ; but they 
 are exceptions ; and must be justified by theii 
 own circumstances. When Saul's courtiers 
 reflected upon the Shepherd of Bethlehem, 
 as a restless, ambitious young man, who wish, 
 ed to struggle out of obscurity into public 
 life ; he was conscious that he followed only 
 the Providence of God ; and could make this 
 appeal — " Lord, my heart is not haughty, noi 
 mine eyes lofty ; neither do I exercise myself 
 in great matters, or in things too high for me." 
 But there is danger, not only of impat «nce, 
 but pride, in all changes attended with the 
 hope of elevation ; and surely it becomes a 
 man to consult some one besides himself con- 
 cerning them. A man, by acting unlawfully, 
 may do good : but the result does no justify 
 the means. Whatever excitements persons 
 may have to act irregularly, they are, upon 
 the whole, far most useful by consistency. 
 Their example, in the latter, must do good > 
 but, in the former, it may lead astray. I have 
 known men who have been stunned for life by 
 
DECEMBER 14. 
 
 345 
 
 striking their head against a pulpit I have 
 known preachers who have neglected their 
 families, and left their children to rove wild 
 in the street or the field, while they were 
 teaching in the villages. I have known fe- 
 males who have disregarded their husbands 
 and household affairs, to run unseasonably 
 after favourite ministers. " The wisdom of 
 the prudent," says Solomon, " is to understand 
 his way" — that is, what becomes him to do : 
 whether as a master, or a servant ; as a father, 
 or a child ; as rich, or as poor ; in every rela- 
 tion and condition of life. Lord, what wilt 
 thou have me to do! 
 
 Manv nrr much in the discharge of the du- 
 ties they owe to others. Reproof may be 
 more than thrown away, owing to the manner 
 in which it is applied. It is done in anger ; 
 but it should flow from the spirit of meekness. 
 It is done in public ; but we should tell our 
 neighbour his fault alone. We should distin- 
 guish, also, between one disposition and ano- 
 ther ; and become all things to all men, if by 
 any means we may gain some. He that 
 winneth souls is wise. We must therefore 
 walk in wisdom towards them that are with- 
 out Wisdom must regulate our discourse. 
 We must know when to speak. What to 
 speak. How to speak — " A word fitly spoken, 
 is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." 
 We shall not talk discouragingly before those 
 that are weak in the faith ; not perplex them 
 with doubtful disputations. We may give 
 strong meat to strong men ; but babes require 
 milk. 
 
 We may also err in cases of charity. Since 
 we cannot relieve all the necessitous, we 
 must endeavour to ascertain the most proper 
 objects. Alms may become immoral by en- 
 couraging vice, or idleness. Religious socie- 
 ties are to be encouraged and supported ; but 
 God abhors robbery, for a burnt-offering. And 
 many an annual printed subscription robs, not 
 only the tradesman, but the poor. Nothing 
 is to incapacitate us to succour the domestic 
 and personal distress which Providence itself 
 brings immediately before us ; and by which 
 some sublimely pass, to attend public meet- 
 ings. " Whoso hath this world's good, and 
 seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up 
 his bowels of compassion from him, how 
 dwelleth the love of God in him 1" 
 
 These are not all the instances in which 
 our love is to abound hi knowledge and in all 
 judgment But these are sufficient to show 
 us, that wisdom is profitable to direct Where- 
 fore let us not be unwise, but understanding 
 what the will of the Lord is. Let us cultf- 
 rate our minds. Let us faithfully review 
 our own conduct; and see where we have 
 been mistaken. Let us keep observation 
 alive and awake. Let us walk with wise 
 men. Let us be familiar with the Holy 
 Scriptures, which can furnish us throughly 
 unto all good works. Let us often read and 
 2X 
 
 study the Proverbs of Soiornon. Let us con- 
 stantly keep in view, the life of Jesus, who 
 dealt prudently ; and so was exalted, and ex- 
 tolled, and was very high. Above all, let us 
 seek the Spirit of Truth--" If any of you Wk 
 wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all 
 men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall 
 be given him." 
 
 DECEMBER 14. 
 " / will say unto God, Do not ccnaemn me. 
 Job x. 2. 
 He could have resolved on nothing better 
 in his affliction, than betaking himself to 
 God. It was turning to him that smote him ; 
 and resembling the child, who, when cor- 
 rected by the mother, always clings to her 
 knee. We are too fond of taking our com- 
 plaints to men — but 
 
 " Were half the breath thus vainly spent. 
 To Heaven in supplication sent ; 
 Our cheerful cry would oftener be— 
 Hear what the Lord hath done for me!" 
 
 If I weep, says Job, " mine eye poureth out 
 tears unto God :" and if I speak, " I will say 
 unto God" — 
 
 But what does he say! "Do not con- 
 demn me." Now there was no real groi nd 
 for this fear. There is no condemnation to 
 them that are in Christ Jesus. Their sins, 
 once pardoned, if sought for, shall never be 
 found. And their afflictions, however dis- 
 tressing, have nothing penal in them ; they 
 are only like the fire to the gold, and pruning 
 to the vine, ana medicine to the patient, and 
 correction to the child. We are chastened 
 of the Lord, that we may not be condemned 
 with the world. 
 
 But the language implies, that he knew 
 God could charge him with guilt enough to 
 condemn him, if he should deal with him af- 
 ter his desert And every child of God feels 
 this. In reviewing even the most innocent 
 periods of his life, and the devoutest ser- 
 vices in which he was ever engaged, he ex- 
 claims, " Enter not into judgment with thy 
 servant O Lord: for in thy sight shall no 
 flesh living be justified." 
 
 It shows us also, that a child of God is 
 prone to fear the displeasure of God in his af- 
 flictions. The people of the world, as we 
 see in the case of the Barbarians, with legard 
 to Paul's viper; and the caution of our Lord, 
 with regard to the men on whom the tower 
 of Siloam fell ; deem their fellow-creatures 
 sinners, because they suffer such things. And 
 though we are much more disposed to judge 
 others by this erroneous rule than ourselves; 
 there is something in calamity, says Madame 
 de Stael, that tends to make all minds su- 
 perstitious. We would rather say, that tends 
 to revive the remembrance of a Moral Provi- 
 dence, and the belief of a connexion be- 
 tween sin and punishment And this is 
 
346 
 
 DECEMBER 15. 
 
 more the case when afflictions are sudden, 
 and unlooked for, and great, and repeated, or 
 have any thing that looks peculiar in the m. 
 And even good minds have not been able al- 
 ways to resist such imprtssions and conclu- 
 sions. Gideon said, " If the Lord be with us, 
 why then is all this evil befallen us 1" And 
 the pious widow of Zarephath, upon the loss 
 of her child, " said unto Elijah, What have I 
 to do with thee, O thou man of God ? art thou 
 come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, 
 and to slay rny son f The poet tells us, and 
 very truly, •' Behind a frowning providence, 
 he hides a smiling face :" but he does hide it 
 The frown is visible enough — sense can see 
 this; but the smile can only be apprehended 
 by faith : — and whose faith is always in exer- 
 cise"? 
 
 We may also remark, that gracious souls 
 deprecate nothing so much as censure from 
 God. Therefore they say unto God, " Do 
 not condemn me. To any thing else I bow. 
 But I cannot bear exclusion from thee. 
 Whom have I in heaven but thee ! and there 
 is none on earth I desire besides thee. Thy 
 lovingkindness is better than life. In thy 
 presence all my happiness is placed. Use 
 the rod of a father ; but let me not feel the 
 sentence of the judge. Correct me; but do 
 not abandon me. Cast me not away from 
 thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit 
 from me." 
 
 Nothing can relieve the gloom of a follower 
 of God, but the light of his countenance. 
 Nothing can make melody in his troubled 
 conscience, but the sound, Go in peace ; thy 
 sins be forgiven thee. O seek such an assur- 
 ance of divine favour before the evil days 
 come, wherein you will say, we have no plea- 
 sure in them ! If trouble — and man is born 
 to it as the sparks fly upward : if trouble — 
 and you are not for a moment secure, should 
 fall upon you before you have a good hope, 
 through grace, that God is pacified towards 
 you ; your condition will be the most pitiable. 
 You must either stupify the mind with Satan's 
 opiates, or faint in the day of adversity. 
 
 And let those who have it, preserve and 
 cherish this sense of divine favour and accept- 
 ance. Beware of grieving the Holy Spirit 
 of God: Beware, not only of sin ; but of the 
 world. Beware of sloth and sleep. Chris- 
 tian slept, and lost his roll out of his bosom. 
 And while Saul slept, he was deprived of his 
 spear and his cruse. When trouble comes, 
 you should not have to seek what, above all 
 things, you want immediately to use. With- 
 out his smiles, even in prosperity, your com- 
 forts will not cheer you ; but in adversity, 
 without his approbation, how heavily will 
 every stroke fall ! and how deeply will every 
 wound be felt ! 
 
 Let me know always that he is near that 
 justifieth me ; that all is well with my soul 
 and for eternity ; that he will support me un- 
 
 der my burden ; that though he afflicts me, 
 he loves me ; and afflicts me because he lovea 
 me. And I will say, " Here I am, let him 
 do what seemeth him good." 
 
 DECEMBER 15. 
 
 " The Lamb -which is in the midst of the throne 
 shall feed them." — Rev. vii. 17. 
 
 The Lamb. This is an appellation given 
 the Lord Jesus, for two reasons — The one al- 
 luding to his personal qualities ; such as pu- 
 rity, innocency, gentleness, meekness, pa- 
 tience ; for he was led as a lamb to the slaugh- 
 ter. The other, in reference to the design 
 of his death. Abel offered to God a firstling 
 of the flock. Familiar with the use of such 
 a victim, Isaac asked, " Where is the lamb 
 for a burnt-offering]" Under the Law, a lamb 
 was offered every morning and every eve- 
 ning ; and on the Sabbath-day, two were of- 
 fered in the morning, and two in the evening. 
 There was also the Paschal lamb, whose 
 blood was sprinkled, and whose flesh was 
 eaten, at the deliverance of the Jews from 
 the destroying angels. And " Christ, our 
 passover," says Paul, " is sacrificed for us." 
 And John cried, " Behold the Lamb of God, 
 that taketh away the sin of the world !" And 
 it is worthy of our observation, that the name 
 is applied to him, not only in his abasement, 
 but in his exaltation ; and that, no less than 
 twenty-eight times, is he called the Lamb, 
 in this Book of the Revelation ! 
 
 His glory is much spoken of in the Scrip- 
 ture, but never in stronger language than 
 here ; " The Lamb which is in the midst of 
 the throne" — a station of dignity, dominion, 
 government, full supremacy. Surely, if the 
 sacred writers intended to intimate, that he 
 was a mere creature only, they have ex- 
 pressed themselves in a manner very un- 
 guarded and ensnaring — Well ; there he is— - 
 not only near the throne — but in it — and in 
 the midst of it ; in spite of all opposition — 
 Let his enemies tremble, and beware. They 
 may make war with the Lamb ; but the Lamb 
 will overcome them : for he is King of kings, 
 and Lord of lords. But let his followers 
 boldly profess him. Why should they be 
 ashamed of a leader that is in the midst of 
 the throne 1 And why do they not rejoice 
 in his salvation ? Surely they must, if they 
 love him, for love always exults in the pros- 
 perity of its object. Surely every feeling of 
 their heart must prompt the desire; "and 
 blessed be his glorious name for ever ; and 
 let the whole earth be filled with his glory." 
 Well ; there he is, in the possession of all 
 power in heaven and in earth, able to save 
 them ; to preserve them ; to make all tilings 
 work together for their good. 
 
 And as is his greatness, so is his condescen- 
 sion and kindness. The Lamb that is in the 
 midst of the throne " shall feed them " The 
 
DECEMBER 16. 
 
 £47 
 
 imagery is pastoral. His people are held forth 
 as sheep ; and he performs the office of a 
 shepherd. His concern with them begins 
 here. He seeks after them when lost; he 
 brings them to his fold; he furnishes them 
 with supplies. They can rely on the exten- 
 siveness of his care, and the com .nuance of 
 it ; and may individually say, " Tne Lord is 
 my shepherd : I shall not want — 
 
 ' While be affords his aid, 
 I cannot yield to fear: 
 Though I should walk through Death's dam shade. 
 My Shepherd 's with me there.' " 
 
 Nor is this all. When they shall come out 
 of great tribulation ; and have washed their 
 robes, and made them white in the blood of 
 the Lamb — when they shall be before the 
 throne, and serve him day arid night in his 
 temple — then — even then, he shall feed them 
 not, as now., by ministers and ordinances; but 
 immediately — not, as now, in the wilderness; 
 but in the heavenly Canaan — not, as now, 
 surrounded with enemies ; but where all shall 
 be quietness and assurance for ever — The 
 Lamb shall feed them. He shall be the dis- 
 penser, and the source of their happiness. It 
 will flow from his presence and communica- 
 tions — Therefore, Paul desired to depart, to 
 be with Christ, which was far better — " He 
 that sitteth on the throne shall dxcell among 
 them. They 6hall hunger no more, neither 
 thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light 
 on them, nor any heat: for the Lamb which 
 is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
 them, and shall lead them unto living foun- 
 tains of waters : and God shall wipe away all 
 tears from their eyes !" 
 
 This is the representation of heaven, which 
 poor Burns says, he could never read, from a 
 child, without tears. Oh ! let me not admire 
 the description only, but seek after the enjoy- 
 ment of the blessedness. The language is 
 pathetic, and the scenery is inviting : but is 
 the subject itself more interesting than 
 either? I must be made meet for the inherit- 
 ance of the saints in light I cannot hope to 
 attain hereafter, what I do not desire and de- 
 light in now. A natural man may long for a 
 heaven of release from toil and pain — Do I, 
 O my soul, prize a heaven of which Christ is 
 all in all? 
 
 DECEMBER 16. 
 
 u And Jonathan, SauTs son, arose, and -went to 
 David into the ioood, and strengthened his 
 hand in God." — 1 Sam. xxiii. 16. 
 
 We here sec, in the experience of David, 
 that the most eminent of God's people may 
 need encouragement He was now dejected 
 and dismayed. And we learn from his com- 
 plaints, in the Book of Psalms, that he was 
 frequently the subject of depression. And to 
 which of the saints recorded in the Scripture 
 can we turn, whose hands never hung down, 
 
 whose knees never trembled? These, we are 
 prone to consider as peculiar in their reli- 
 gious attainments ; but they also were only 
 enlightened and sanctified in part They 
 also had in them nature, as well as grace. 
 They too were men of like passions with us, 
 and compassed with infirmities. All those 
 perfect beings now before the throne, were 
 previously in a vale of tears ; the spirit in- 
 deed willing, but the flesh weak; sometimes 
 rejoicing in God their Saviour; but sometimes 
 saying, "I am cast out of his sight" 
 
 In the conduct of Jonathan, we see the 
 duty of real friendship. A friend is born for 
 adversity : and' " to him that is afflicted, pity 
 should be shown from his friend." This, how- 
 ever, is not always the case. Many pretend- 
 ers fail when the day of trial comes ; and he 
 who relied upon their attendance, and sym- 
 pathy, and succour, in trouble, finds his con- 
 fidence, as Solomon expresses it "like a 
 broken tooth, or a foot out of joint." Yet let 
 us not say, in our haste, all men are liars. 
 See Jonathan, a young prince — surrounded 
 with every indulgence — undertaking, with- 
 out application, to repair to David to see and 
 serve his friend at the hazard of his life. 
 
 In the relief derived from this visit, we 
 learn the advantage of pious intercourse. 
 " Come," said Jonathan, " Come, David, re- 
 member God's promise. Is it not faithful and 
 true? Think of the anointing oil Samuel 
 poured upon thy head — Can this be in vain .' 
 Who enabled thee to conquer Goliath ? Who 
 delivered thee from the paw of the lion and 
 the bear? He can turn the shadow of death 
 into the morning. He saveth, by his right 
 hand, them that put their trust in him, from 
 them that rise up against them. He keeps 
 them as the apple of the eye — Encourage 
 thyself in the Lord thy God."— The address 
 availed — "He strengthened his hand in God." 
 We have a similar instance in the experience 
 of Paul. He had appealed unto Caesar, and 
 was now approaching the scene of his trial ; 
 and his heart was cast down within him : but 
 the brethren from Rome came down as far as 
 Appii-Forum to meet him: "whom when 
 Paul saw, he thanked God, and teok cou- 
 rage." " Two are better than one ; because 
 they have a good reward for their labour. 
 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fel- 
 low : but wo to him that is alone when he 
 falleth ; for he hath not another to lift him 
 up." Who, when dull, has not found a Chris- 
 tian visiter a quickening spirit? "As iron 
 sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of 
 a man his friend." Who, in sadness and 
 gloom, has not found refreshment and delight 
 from godly communion ? Ointment and per- 
 fume rejoice the heart ; so doth a man his 
 friend by hearty counsel. Who, like Hagar, 
 has not sometimes been ready to expire with 
 thirst till some minister has opened his e*es, 
 and shown him a well? 
 
348 
 
 DECEMBER 17. 
 
 And who does not perceive, in the strange 
 circumstances of this consolation, that God 
 can never he at a loss to comfort his follow- 
 ers ? Ho knows, not only how to deliver the 
 godly out of temptation, but to cheer them in 
 it. He is called the God of all comfort. Da- 
 vid was now in a state of concealment. Of 
 the few that were with him, no one perhaps 
 knew the state of his mind ; for good men, 
 from their regard for the honour of religion, 
 are not always at liberty to lay open many 
 of their distressful feelings. But his God 
 knew what he now suffered ; and what his 
 fr;tme of mind required — And what was the 
 instrument he employed? Jonathan: "Saul's 
 son," as it is added — and wisely added. The 
 son of David's bitterest foe. The son, too, that 
 was interested in David's destruction. He 
 was the heir-apparent ; and he comforts the 
 man who was going to fill a throne, which, 
 by the law of succession, belonged to him- 
 self '{ How wonderful was this! How obvi- 
 ously the work of God ! All hearts are in his 
 hand, and he can turn them as he pleases. It 
 is he that gives us favour in the eyes of 
 others; and he can raise us up helpers and 
 friends as unlikely to aid us, as the ravens 
 were to feed Elijah. — Many a situation also, 
 the most improbable, has been made, by his 
 communications, none other but the house of 
 God and the gate of heaven ; and, filled with 
 surprise, we have exclaimed with Jacob, 
 "Surely God is in this place, and I knew it 
 not!" When are we inaccessible to him! 
 "From the end of the earth," said David, 
 " will I cry unto thee when my heart is over- 
 whelmed." And no wonder ; he remembered 
 that Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and came to 
 him into the wood, and strengthened his hand 
 in God. Did he never come to you in a simi- 
 lar condition ? " They shall dwell safely in 
 the wilderness, and sleep in the woods." " I 
 will allure her, and bring her into the wil- 
 derness, and speak comfortably unto her. And 
 I will give her her vineyards from thence ; 
 «.nd the valley of Achor for a door of hope." 
 
 DECEMBER 17. 
 
 " And a certain Scribe came, and said unto 
 him, Master, J -will follow thee -whithersoever 
 thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him. The 
 foxes have holes, and the birds of the air 
 have nests ; but the Son of man hath not 
 •where to lay his head." — Matt. via. 19, 20. 
 
 The God of this world deludes his follow- 
 ers. He conceals from them every difficulty 
 and danger to which they are exposed in his 
 service ; and raises in them expectations 
 which he knows will never be fulfilled. Like 
 ♦Jael, he welcomes in, and spreads the couch, 
 and brings forth butter in a lordly dish — but 
 keeps out of sight the hammer and the nails. 
 Take a man, whose object is to gain a name, 
 
 to become a leader, *ad to draw away disci- 
 ples after him : he courts popularity ; he flat- 
 ters; he employs any means; and he accom- 
 modates himself to every disposition, as far 
 as he can, without risking discovery. But it 
 was far otherwise with the founder of Chris- 
 tianity. His character was as original as it 
 was excellent. His kingdom was not of this 
 world. His professed object was, to instruct, 
 and save, and bless ; and no selfish aim Wto 
 hidden under it. He showed, in his own 
 person, how little his followers were to mind 
 earthly things ; and, in dealing with those 
 who came to him, we see that it was not his 
 concern to draw unprincipled crowds into his 
 train. He would form a peculiar people, 
 who should be actuated by the noblest con- 
 victions and purposes. He, therefore, in 
 order to discriminate, applied a test. He 
 warned them to sit down first and count the 
 cost; and assured them at once, that if any 
 man would be his disciple, he must deny him- 
 self, and take up his cross, and forsake all 
 that he had. r 
 
 — Our Lord now "saw great multitudes 
 about him ;" so that " he gave commandment 
 to depart unto the other side." But as, in 
 the midst of all these, he was stepping to- 
 wards the ship, " a certain Scribe came, and 
 said unto him, Master, I will follow thee 
 whithersoever thou goest." A noble resolu- 
 tion, if it had been from a good motive. But 
 he apprehended our Saviour to be a temporal 
 Messiah, who, as he appeared able, from his 
 miracle, to carry every thing before him, 
 would soon have promotions at his disposal ; 
 and he hoped to gain some of the loaves and 
 fishes. Our Lord well knew his thoughts; 
 and said unto him, " The foxes have holes, 
 and the birds of the air have nvsts ; but the 
 Son of man hath not where to Ly his head — 
 What say you now?" It is easy to deter- 
 mine what would have been his reply, if he 
 had been sincere and earnest in his applica- 
 tion. " O Lord, I come, not to prescribe, but 
 to resign myself entirely to thee. Every 
 thing appears to me less than nothing and 
 vanity, compared with the salvation of my 
 soul ; and, if by any means, I can attain it, I 
 shall be satisfied. Whatever, dear and use- 
 ful as I have deemed it, I cannot retain in 
 following thee, I cheerfully give up. All 1 
 fear is, separation from thyself— Entreat me 
 not to leave thee, nor to return from fol- 
 lowing after thee — Lord, I will follow thee to 
 prison and to death." But, alas! his mean 
 and mercenary temper was now detected. 
 We hear no more of him ; he left him, having 
 loved this present world. 
 
 But the narrative is recorded for our ad- 
 monition : and the fact, which by way of trial 
 our Saviour addressed to this pretender, is 
 worthy of our attention. It is very affecting 
 and instructive —It is the indigence of Jesus 
 appearing in the home'essness of his condi 
 
DECEMBER 18. 
 
 349 
 
 tion. This, as a part, is put for the whole of 
 his abasement: and it is held forth enhanced 
 by contrast. The inferior creatures have 
 dwellings convenient for them, in which they 
 secure themselves, and enjoy repose, and 
 breed up their young 1 . Some of these, man 
 takes as inmates under his own roof: such 
 arc the faithful dog, and the feathered songs- 
 ter in the cage. He furnishes also shelter as 
 well as provender, for his cattle. But ani- 
 mals that live at large have also accommoda- 
 tions suited to their kinds. " Foxes have 
 holes." " The young lions gather themselves 
 together, and lay them down in their dens." 
 " The high hills are a refuge for the goats, 
 and the rocks for the conies." " The spider 
 taketh hold with her hand, and is in kings' 
 palaces." " The birds of the air have nests." 
 " The eagle mounts up, and" in rocks inac- 
 cessible, " maketh her nest on high." " Ab 
 for the stork, the fir-trees are her house." 
 Some build on the ground; some in dense 
 thickets ; some in boughs, depending over the 
 flood ; some in isles, secured by water. Some 
 repair to the habitations of men : there the 
 sparrow finds a house, and the swallow a nest 
 for herself, where she may lay her young. 
 And who, in all this, can help admiring the 
 wisdom and kindness of Providence] His 
 tender mercies are over all his works. As he 
 made all, so he careth for them. He giveth 
 them their meat in due season. He furnishes 
 them with their powers of defence, or flight ; 
 and actuates the skill they display in all their 
 surprising economies. And will he disregard 
 his rational offspring] He teacheth them 
 more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh 
 them wiser than the fowls of the air. There 
 is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the 
 Almighty giveth him understanding. How 
 superior is reason to instinct ! How bound- 
 less in improvement is human ingenuity ! 
 What abodes has it provided for us! And 
 with what conveniences, comforts, pleasures, 
 has it replenished them ! From hence springs 
 me idea of home. We cleave to a place 
 where we received our birth, passed the days 
 of infancy, indulged in the sports of youth ; 
 where sleep has refreshed our wearied bodies ; 
 and where we have smiled at the descending 
 storm, and the piercing cold. 
 
 " Home is 
 
 The loved retreat of peace and plenty ; where, 
 
 Supporting and supported, polish'd friends 
 
 And dear relations meet, and mingle into bliss." 
 
 Well may the same poet represent the man 
 returning at eve, buried in the drifted snow, 
 as " stung with the thoughts of home." 
 
 A homeless condition, therefore, is the 
 most pitiable. And was this the condition of 
 the Lord Jesus] Not absolutely. Durino- 
 his private life he lived with Joseph and 
 Mary, at Nazareth. And after he entered on 
 his public ministry, he had friends, who, 
 like Martha, gladly afforded him the accom- 
 30 
 
 modations of their own dwellings. But these 
 advantages were occasional ; and were of the 
 nature of hospitality. He never possessed a 
 habitation or an apartment he could call his 
 own. He was born in another man's house ; 
 and this was a stable ; and he was laid in n 
 manger. How often, when my children were 
 about me, have I said, while viewing my 
 sleeping babe — 
 
 " How much better thou art attended 
 
 Than the Son of God could be, 
 
 When from heaven he descended, 
 
 And became a child like thee ! 
 
 " Soft and easy is thy cradle — 
 
 Coarse and hard the Saviour lay, 
 When his birth-place was a stable, 
 And his softest bed was hay 1" 
 
 How soon was he driven an infant exile into 
 Egypt! Widows ministered to him of their 
 substance. Wearied with his journey, he sat 
 on the well, and said to the woman, Give me 
 to drink. A fish furnished him with money 
 to pay the temple tribute. One night he 
 slept in a fishing-boat. Another ho continued 
 all night in prayer in a mountain. We read 
 only once of his riding, though he went about 
 doing good ; and this was upon a borrowed 
 ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. He partook 
 of the last passover in a borrowed chamber : 
 he was wrapped, in linen not his own, when 
 taken down from the Cross : and was buried 
 in another man's garden, and another man's 
 tomb ! What does all this teach us 1 
 
 DECEMBER 18. 
 " And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have 
 holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; 
 but the Son of man hath not where to lay hit 
 head"— Matt viii. 20. 
 
 The fact is affecting ; but is it not instruc- 
 tive too] 
 
 We may take from it a standard by which 
 to judge of the age and country in which he 
 appeared. Nothing reflects more upon a peo- 
 ple, than suffering characters, distinguished 
 by the greatest goodness and usefulness, to 
 want It will always be a reproach to the 
 Corinthian converts that they allowed such a 
 man as Paul, while preaching and working 
 miracles among them, to work night and 
 day at tent-making. But we love s»nd com- 
 mend the Philippians, who once and again, 
 when he was in Thessalonica, sent to hia 
 necessity. Surely we should have said, men 
 will reverence God's Son. At his coming 
 nobles and princes will offer their mansions 
 and palaces. What preparations are made to 
 receive a superior ! Yet the honour of the 
 visit is deemed a recompense for the trouble 
 and expense. But he was in the world, and 
 the world was made by him, and the world 
 knew him not He came to his own, and hia 
 own received him not What is man ] Let 
 Judaea furnish an answer. See the Lord ol 
 all: the friend of misery; possessed of ever* 
 
350 
 
 DECEMBER 19. 
 
 moral perfection ; the image of the invisible 
 God ; yet not having " where to lay his head !" 
 But is human nature the same now ] Some 
 censure others, and think well of themselves 
 merely because they have not been tried by 
 the same circumstances. " Oh ! had we been 
 living there, he should not have been desti- 
 tute of any accommodation we could have 
 yielded him." Yet you follow the multitude ; 
 and the reproach of a name will keep you 
 from owning his truth ; and you are backward 
 in giving in the support of his cause. But, 
 by the disposition which you exercise towards 
 his Gospel, and house, and ministers, and 
 members, he judges of his attachment or in- 
 difference to himself — He that receiveth you, 
 receiveth me — Inasmuch as ye did it not to 
 one of the least of these my brethren, ye did 
 it not to me — Depart 
 
 Pause, and admire the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ; how that though he was rich, 
 yet for our sakes he became poor, that we 
 thn ugh his poverty might be rich. Do not 
 imagine that he did not feel his condition. 
 He was really a partaker of flesh and blood ; 
 and knew the sensations of hunger, and wea- 
 riness, and cold, as well as any other man. 
 But the conveniences and comforts which he 
 required, he often found not. Think of his 
 preaching and traveling all the livelong day ; 
 and at night not having where to lay his 
 head ! The sensibility of his condition was 
 enhanced by his former state of dignity and 
 enjoyment. We are therefore more affected 
 when we see a prince reduced, than when we 
 behold an individual suffering who was al- 
 ways indigent Jesus was higher than the 
 kings of the earth, and had given them all 
 their thrones. Heaven had been his dwelling 
 place : and all the angels his attendants ; and 
 adorers too. What condescension was here ! 
 Let us remember that he made himself of no 
 reputation, and took upon him the form of a 
 servant. There was no compulsion : it was 
 all voluntary : not for himself, but for us. And 
 did we deserve such an interposition ; such 
 an expensiveness of sacrifice for our comfort ! 
 We were viler than the earth ; we were ene- 
 mies by wicked works. Yet he never re- 
 pented of his engagement; but said, as he 
 was entering all this abasement, Lo ! I come ! 
 I delight to do thy will ! And as his agony 
 approached, he said, " I have a baptism to be 
 baptized with ; and how am I straitened till 
 it be accomplished !" It was therefore, as the 
 Apostle calls it, Grace ; grace the most free 
 and unparalleled. And shall not this love, 
 which passeth knowledge, fix our minds, and 
 fill our hearts] Where is our gratitude, un- 
 less we are willing to deny ourselves for him, 
 and to walk worthy of such a divine benefac- 
 tor unto all well-pleasing'! The lower he 
 descended- to save me, the higher shall he 
 rise in my esteem for ever. He is alwiys, 
 and altogether lovely ; but never so adorable 
 
 as when his face is marred more than any 
 man's; and he has not where to lay his head. 
 
 Let us also learn not to judge of worth by 
 external advantages. True greatness is per- 
 sonal ; and does not depend on power, titles, 
 or wealth. Is a man the more valued of God 
 because he has a larger field or a longer 
 purse than his neighbour'! Does it give him 
 more virtue or understanding'! A fool, a 
 child of the devil, may be set on the high 
 places of the earth ; while the Apostles were 
 hungry and naked ; and the Son of God had not 
 where to lay his head. While we view him 
 who is higher than the heavens in such an 
 estate, let us learn the vanity of worldly dis- 
 tinctions. Let us see how absurd it is to be 
 vain of a fine house, and splendid furniture, 
 or any of the meanness of the pride of life. 
 Let us despise ourselves, if we have esteemed 
 a man the more for the gold ring and gay 
 clothing ; or regarded the poor the less, be- 
 cause he is poor : and remember, that if we 
 had lived in Judaea, we should have courted 
 Pontius Pilate, and shunned Jesus Christ 
 
 Let the Lord's poor take this truth, and 
 apply it, to produce resignation under the 
 privations of life. You talk of penury ; but he 
 was poor. You have many a comfort you can 
 call your own ; but he had not a place where 
 to lay his head. But allowing that your trials 
 were much greater than they are ; remem- 
 ber, this is not your rest, and you are rich in 
 faith, and have the honour of conformity to 
 the Lord Jesus. You only know. the fellow- 
 ship of his sufferings. Is it not enough tha* 
 the servant be as his Master, and the disci- 
 pie as his Lord 1 Can the common soldier 
 complain when he sees the commander-in- 
 chief sharing the same hsvdships with him- 
 self! 
 
 Let it lead us to rejoice in the Saviour's 
 present condition. He that descended is the 
 same also that ascended. He who was crown- 
 ed with thorns is crowned with glory and 
 honour. He who had not where to lay hi^ 
 head has all power in heaven and in earthr 
 How delightful is this assurance to those who 
 love him ! for love glories in the exaltation of 
 its object. It is also interesting to their 
 hopes. They are one with him. And because 
 he lives they shall live also. 
 
 DECEMBER 19. 
 " / -will make mention of Rahab and Babylon 
 to them that know me : behold Philistia, and 
 Tyre, -with Ethiopia; thin man ivas born 
 there. And of Zion it shall be said, This ana 
 that man was born in her." — Psalm lxxxvii. 
 4, 5. 
 
 The Jews, partly from their ignorance and 
 partly from their aversion to Christianity, 
 strangely pervert this passage. They contend 
 that it is designed to intimate that while other 
 places would produce only now and then • 
 
DECEMBER 20. 
 
 3bl 
 
 man of note, Jerusalem should abound with 
 all kinds of illustrious characters. But the 
 meaning is this. Zion, in whose name the 
 writer speaks, is foretelling the vocation of 
 the Gentiles; and viewing with ecstasy the 
 accessions that should be made to her of such 
 as should be saved. 
 
 Observe to whom she addresses the intel- 
 ligence — " I will make mention to them that 
 know me." That is, to her friends and ac- 
 quaintances. To such it is natural for us to 
 divulge' any thing that is interesting and de- 
 lightful ; as they are likely to receive it with- 
 out envy, and to partake of the pleasure. In 
 the parable, the shepherd having succeeded 
 in his search, not only rejoices himself, but 
 when he cometh home, calls together his 
 neighbours and friends, saying unto them, 
 Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep 
 which was lost. The Church well knew the 
 mind of the godly, that they would not only 
 understand such news, but that it would be 
 to them like cold water to a thirsty soul, or 
 as life from the dead. Thus, in the Acts, 
 when the brethren were informed of the ex- 
 tension of the Gospel to the Gentiles — "they 
 glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to 
 the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." 
 
 Observe the places from which these ad- 
 ditions should come. " I will make mention 
 to them that know me of Rahab and Baby- 
 lon : behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethio- 
 pia." These are parts put for the whole of 
 the Gentile world ; and they are very striking- 
 ly put. For all these had been strangers or 
 enemies. Some of them had been her bitter- 
 est persecutors, and vilest oppressors. They 
 were all at this time lying in wickedness, 
 enveloped in ignorance, and enslaved to 
 idolatry. But they should cast away their 
 idols ; and, beholding the glory of the Church, 
 abandon their enmity, and take hold of the 
 skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will 
 go with you, for we have heard that God is 
 with you. One should say, I am the Lord's ; 
 and another should call himself by the name 
 of Jacob ; and another should subscribe with 
 his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself 
 by the name of Israel. 
 
 Mark the change they should experience. 
 " This man was born there. And of Zion it 
 shall be said, This and that man was born 
 there." They were born, naturally, in 
 Egypt, Philistia, Tyre, and Babylon: but 
 they were to be born, morally, in" Zion; by 
 the Word and Spirit of God. They should 
 become new creatures — They should undergo 
 such a conversion in their minds, and hearts, 
 and lives, as should constitute a new birth. 
 For every subject of divine grace is " born 
 again." And this is properly the date of our 
 existence. We have not lived a moment 
 longer than we have lived " the life of God." 
 * Ye must be born again." 
 By this, therefore, we are to judge whether 
 
 we are children of Zion, and may rejoice in 
 her King. If we have experienced this 
 change, we are written among the living in 
 Jerusalem. We are enrolled; and though 
 once aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, 
 we shall be regarded as citizens, and have 
 all the honour and advantage of natives : 
 "The Lord shall count, when he writeth up 
 the people, that this man was born there." 
 
 It was formerly deemed a most enviable 
 privilege to be free of some royal and dis- 
 tinguished city. But what was a citizen of 
 Babylon, or of Rome, compared with a 
 denizen of Mount Zion, the city of the living 
 God, the heavenly Jerusalem! Yea, were 
 you an apostle, considered only officially, 
 could you prophesy, and work miracles, and 
 raise the dead ; and the Saviour met you, 
 elated with your endowments, he would say 
 — "In this rejoice not, but rather rejoice that 
 your names are written in heaven." 
 
 DECEMBER 20. 
 
 " What think ye, that he will not come to the 
 feast ?" — John xi. 56. 
 This was the language of many of the 
 Jews, who had ascended from the country to 
 Jerusalem, to purify themselves against the 
 Passover. It is not easy, or perhaps possible, 
 to determine the principle from which the 
 words were uttered. Perhaps malice utter- 
 ed them ; and they came from persons who 
 wished to discover and apprehend him: foi 
 " both the Chief Priests and the Pharisees 
 had given a commandment, that, if any man 
 knew where he were, he should show it, that 
 they might take him." Perhaps curiosity 
 uttered therrf^ and they came from persons 
 who were anxious to see whether he had 
 courage enough to appear in public after the 
 threatening of the rulers. Besides this, he 
 was a very extraordinary character, the fame 
 of whose miracles and preaching had spread 
 far and wide ; and they naturally desired to 
 see a personage of whom they had heard so 
 much. Perhaps affection uttered them. For, 
 though he was generally despised and reject- 
 ed of men, there were some who knew his 
 value, and believed him to be the only be- 
 gotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 
 They therefore longed for the pleasure, and 
 honour, and advantage of an interview with 
 him at the approaching solemnity. And this 
 is the principle from which, if partakers of 
 divine grace, we are seeking for Jesus. 
 " Fcr Christ our passover," says the Apostle, 
 " is sacrificed for us — Let us'therefore keep 
 the feast." And it is in reference to the 
 communion of his body and blood, to which 
 we are going to repair, that we issue the in- 
 quiry — "What think ye — that he will not 
 come to the feast V 
 This is above every thing desirable. Ordi 
 
362 
 
 DECEMBER 21. 
 
 nances are not beneficial, necessarily and of 
 themselves. r l ney derive all their excellency 
 and influence from him. A truth we learn, 
 not only from Scripture, but experience. 
 What a difference, as to light, and life, and 
 joy, do we feel in the same ordinance when 
 he is absent or present ! This is nothing to 
 a formalist. He is satisfied with the outward 
 signs, and the service itself. But, as to the 
 Christian, intercourse with Christ is the one 
 thing needful. He feels it pleasing to hold 
 communion with the saints: but what he 
 principally wants is fellowship with the 
 Saviour — He alone can fill them all: and 
 without him they would have nothing for 
 each other, or for themselves. 
 
 But the inquiry implies doubt. Doubt has 
 two aspects and bearings — the unlikely, and 
 the probable — the one exciting fear, and the 
 other encouraging hope. Let us look at 
 each. 
 
 —What is there then to awaken our sus- 
 picion and fear, that he will not be at the 
 feast I And is there not much every way ? 
 Without going back to our unconverted days, 
 how have we lived since we have made a 
 profession of his name ? Have we walked as 
 those who are not of the world 1 Have we 
 borne his corrections without murmuring? 
 Have we been grateful under his mercies ? 
 Has he lived in our warmest thoughts 1 Has 
 he been the chief theme of our conversation ? 
 Have we not frequently been ashamed of his 
 cause ? Have we recommended him earnest- 
 ly to others'? After all this, how can we ex- 
 pect that he will honour U3 with his com- 
 pany ? Should we thus honour any fellow- 
 creature who had treated us as we have 
 ffeated him ? But the cause of alarm is in- 
 creased when we consider not^nly our con- 
 luct at large, but our behaviour towards him 
 with regard to this very feast itself? Have 
 f?e not suffered trifling excuses to keep us 
 away, when he has been there waiting for 
 us ; but waiting in vain ? Have we not ap- 
 proached it with the indifference of custom 
 and formality ; though angels were there 
 intensely desiring to look into these things? 
 Have we not passed through the divine me- 
 morials, mystically eating the flesh and 
 drinking the blood of the Son of God, with 
 the exercise of no more faith in his death, or 
 love to our brethren, than in an ordinary 
 meal? — We need not go on. O blessed 
 Jesus! when we consider all this — and this 
 only — we may well question whether thou 
 wilt — ever meet with us again. 
 
 — But let us look at the other side. Let 
 us see, not only what there is to excite fear, 
 but to encourage hope. Now to induce us 
 to conclude that he will be at the feast — We 
 have his character, his disposition. "His 
 heart is made of tenderness ; his bowels melt 
 with love." " A bruised reed shall he not 
 oreak, and smoking flax shall he not quench, 
 
 till he send forth judgment unto victory.'" 
 We have his past dealings with us — He has 
 tried us, but not forsaken us. We have been 
 often cast down, but never cast off. We 
 have his promise — " Where two or three are 
 gathered together in my Name, there am I 
 in the midst of them." In a word, we are 
 sure of the blessing — if we seek it : " \V hat- 
 soever ye shall ask in my Name, that will I 
 do, that the Father may be glorified in the 
 Son." 
 
 But is it possible to ascertain when he is 
 with us at the feast ? It is. As he is not 
 there corporeally, we cannot apprehend him 
 with our bodily senses : but, as he is there 
 spiritually, we may apprehend him spiritually. 
 They who are new creatures, have new 
 senses, which are exercised to discern both 
 good and evil. They have ears to hear his 
 voice. They have eyes to see his glory. They 
 have a holy taste, and holy feelings. Thus 
 his people can be sensible of his arrival. In- 
 deed, he says, " I am come." He is not inac- 
 tive when there. " While the King sitteth 
 at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the 
 smell thereof." There are impressions and 
 effects which cannot be mistaken, owing to 
 their holy, humbling, heavenly influence. 
 The assurance he has of communion with 
 the Lord in his ordinances, is not evidence 
 for others ; but to the believer himself it af- 
 fords satisfaction ; and he is neither to be ridi- 
 culed or reasoned out of the conviction — He 
 has the witness in himself. 
 
 DECEMBER 21. 
 
 " Show me -wherefore thou contendest -with me 
 Job x. 2. 
 
 A good man perceives and acknowledges 
 the hand of God in his afflictions. Job sees 
 God contending with him. Though his suf- 
 ferings were principally from creatures, he 
 said, " The Lord hath taken away." " Thou 
 hast taken me by my neck, and shaken me to 
 pieces." Whatever may form the twigs of 
 the rod, God is the chastiser — He has a right 
 to correct, and can never err in using it. To 
 realize this, is the way, not only to prevent 
 despondency, but to repress all murmuring 
 passions. This satisfied Eli: "It is the Lord, 
 let him do what seemeth good." " Oh !" saya 
 the gardener, as he passes down the walks, 
 and is priding himself on the beds and bor- 
 ders which he has so carefully cultivated; 
 " who removed that plant? who gathered this 
 flower ?" His fellow-servant says, " The 
 master." And he is dumb, and opens not hii 
 mouth, because he did it. 
 
 Again — God has an end to answer by his 
 contention with us. It is not the display of 
 his sovereignty. There is a distinction be 
 tween bestowing favours, and inflicting pe- 
 nalties. If a judge condemned a man, to show 
 that he was a judge ; or a king imprisoned a 
 
DECEMBER 22. 
 
 353 
 
 man, to show that he was a king , every one 
 would cry out against them : but Vhey would 
 be more than justified in employing such 
 measures for .the display of justice, and for 
 the advantage of ensample. Paul conveys a 
 degree of censure where we should have 
 looked only for tenderness : The fathers of 
 our flesh chastened us for a few days after 
 their own pleasure. But God, says he, always 
 does it for our profit, that we may be par- 
 takers of his holiness. Why is the ship in 
 danger 1 Because Jonah has fled from the 
 presence of the Lord ; and the wind is sent 
 after him. Why does Israel flee before the 
 men of Ai 1 There is an Achan in the camp. 
 Thus God explains the tiling himself: " Be- 
 hold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it 
 cannot save ; neither is his ear heavy, that it 
 cannot hear : but your iniquities have separa- 
 ted between you and your God, and your sins 
 have hid his face from you, that he will not 
 hear." He therefore does not afflict willingly, 
 nor grieve the children of men. There is 
 some sin indulged ; some duty neglected ; 
 some idol adored. But his aim may be, not 
 only to rebuke for actual evil ; but to hedge 
 up our way with thorns, to keep us from the 
 forbidden ground, towards which we are ad- 
 vancing ; or to prune us, as vines, that we 
 may bring forth more fruit 
 
 — God alone can discover his own inten- 
 tions in his rebukes. In doing this, we are 
 not to suppose that he will employ miracles ; 
 or speak in an audible voice from heaven ; 
 or by a sudden impulse. He acts in a way 
 suited to the nature and improvement of a 
 rational and moral being. He may, therefore, 
 in showing us his design, use even an enemy. 
 When Shimei cursed David, David consi- 
 dered him as much sent of God to reprove 
 him, as Nathan had been. The will of God 
 may be made known by the admonitions of a 
 pious friend, who sees what we overlook, 
 from habit, or self-love. We should therefore 
 be thankful when the righteous smite us; 
 and not deem them enemies because they tell 
 us the truth. Sometimes the nature and cir- 
 cumstances of the affliction itself proclaim 
 the secret ; and we can see the cause in the 
 effect ; the sin in the punishment The faith- 
 ful word, read or preached, comes home to 
 our case : and conscience cries, Thou art the 
 man. Sometimes the difficulty of discovery is 
 
 freat But if we address ourselves to tlie 
 ather of lights, sincerely and importunately, 
 to show us wherefore he contendeth with us, 
 we shall not seek in vain. The promise given 
 to Jeremiah shall be fulfilled in us; "Call 
 unto me, and I will answer thee, and show 
 thee great and mighty things, which thou 
 itnowest not" 
 
 — And very desirable it is that we should 
 
 know why He contendeth with us. Indeed 
 
 a good man cannot be satisfied without it 
 
 For while the wicked are only anxious to 
 
 2Y 30* 
 
 escape from trouble, he wishes to profit by 
 it He desires this knowledge, therefore, not 
 to gratify curiosity, but to enable him to jus- 
 tify God in his dispensations — and to know 
 how to pray — and to exercise the graces of 
 the condition he is in — and to apply to pre- 
 sent duty — and that he may confess whate- 
 ver is wrong, and watch against it in future : 
 saying, " Surely it is meet to be said unto 
 God, I have borne chastisement : I will not 
 offend any more. That which I see not, 
 teach thou me : if I have done iniquity, I will 
 do no more." For there is a tenderness in 
 the conscience of a renewed man that readily 
 responds to God. No sooner did our Lord turn 
 and look upon Peter, that he went out and 
 wept bitterly. 
 
 As for an unconverted man to ask God, in 
 his affliction, to show wherefore he contends 
 with him, it is absurd. It would defeat the 
 end of his suffering, which is not to make 
 him leave a particular sin, but all sin ; and 
 to draw him into a new course, and a new 
 state. 
 
 But perhaps, though living in sin, you say, 
 God is not contending with you. So much 
 the worse. He is saying, " They are joined 
 to idols; let them alone." Though he spares 
 you now, he will deal with you hereafter. 
 And the longer the arrear, the severer the 
 reckoning. " And if the righteous scaroe'y 
 be saved, where shall the ungodly and t:e 
 sinner appear 1" 
 
 DECEMBER 22. 
 
 " And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of 
 the Lord, honourable." — Isaiah lviii. 13. 
 This is to characterize the heirs of an ex- 
 ceeding great and precious promise here 
 subjoined. They are to be known, not by 
 their observance of the Lord's day only ; but 
 by their endeared and exalted regard for it — 
 They call the Sabbath a delight ; and the holy 
 of the Lord, honourable. And what reason 
 tbey have for this will appear from its leading 
 aspects and bearings. 
 
 Let us connect it with the brute creation. 
 Any thing that tends to make them happier 
 will be pleasing to a benevolent mind, espe- 
 cially since we know that the whole creation 
 groaneth and travaileth in pain; and was 
 made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by 
 reason of him who hath subjected the same 
 in hope. Though man is the lord of this 
 lower world, and all creatures are put under 
 his dominion, he is not to oppress and en- 
 slave them. If his power over them be abused, 
 and his trader mercies towards them be 
 cruel, God will resent it These helpless 
 beings are his creatures, and his care. I love 
 to hear him telling the fretful prophet, as a 
 reason why he spared Nineveh, that there 
 were in it not only "more than six score 
 thousand persons that could not discern be- 
 
354 
 
 DECEMBER 22. 
 
 tween their right hand and their left," but 
 " also much cattle." I love to hear him for- 
 bidding the Jewish husbandman to muzzle 
 the ox while treading out the corn. I love 
 to read the tenderness of the Fourth Com- 
 mandrdent — "That thine ox and thine ass 
 may rest, as well as thou." If the brutes had 
 reason, they would all bless God for the Sab- 
 bath. 
 
 We may view the Sabbath in reference to 
 the business cf life. In the sweat of thy 
 brow thou shalt eat bread, till thou return to 
 the dust, was the sentence passed upon man 
 for sin: but, in judgment, God remembers 
 mercy. Who could bear incessant applica- 
 tion and toil? Some change is obviously 
 wanting, to- unbend the mind and the body. 
 And man goes forth to his work and to his 
 labour until the evening; when he returns 
 nome and retires to rest; and his sleep is 
 sweet, whether he eats little or much. But 
 this is not all. The Sabbath furnishes a fixed 
 pause ; a needful relaxation. Those who are 
 in easy circumstances, and, like the lilies of 
 the field, toil not, neither do they spin, feel little 
 interest in the Sabbath, on this account. But 
 let them think of thousands of their fellow- 
 creatures. Let them think of those who, by 
 mental pursuits and professional engage- 
 ments, get their bread by the sweat of the 
 brain. Let them think of those who sit at 
 the loom, stand at the forge, work in the 
 field, drudge under ground. What a relief, 
 what a privilege, is one day in seven, felt by 
 them ! How dull would be the monotony of 
 their time, without the break and variety of 
 the Sabbath ! What a drag would their life 
 De, if they were to carry their loads unloosen- 
 ed even to the grave ! But the day of repose 
 returns: the worn labourer lays down his 
 burden; stretches his limbs; refreshes him- 
 self by cleanliness and change of raiment; 
 and after six days, during which he is almost 
 reduced to the brute, on the seventh he feels 
 himself to be a man. And, O ye rigid, if not 
 sanctimonious souls, envy not the sons and 
 daughters of drudgery and confinement a lit- 
 tle of the fresh air of heaven, which you, per- 
 haps, can always breathe ! nor be too severe 
 with those who only once a week can look 
 forth, and glance on the beauties of Nature — 
 the very works, too, of Him, who ordained 
 le Sabbath ! 
 This day also contributes to the harmony 
 of families. The members may be much di- 
 vided and dispersed through the week, and 
 have few or slender opportunities of social 
 intercourse. But the Sabbath brings them 
 more fully together ; and produces and che- 
 rishes those feelings which endear and unite 
 them relatively ; and dispose them, by love, 
 to serve one another. Parsons and familie : 
 are especially among the common peoplr, 
 always unkind, and rude, and savage, both 
 
 in their temper and manners, where the Sab 
 bath is neglected. But they are respectful, 
 and humane, and tender, where it is ob- 
 served ; because they see each other to ad- 
 vantage, and mingle under moral and re- 
 ligious impressions, which, though not always 
 powerful enough to sanctify, contribute to 
 soften and civilize. 
 
 The Sabbath is also a period of devotion 
 and reflection. If we are godly, we shall 
 not go through the week without God. Some 
 pious thoughts and feolings will blend with 
 our busy concerns. But week days are, in a 
 sense, worldly cnes; and even our allowed 
 contact with earthly things tends to impair 
 our heavenly impressions, and to make us 
 forgetful of our highest good. We want a 
 day of retreat from this world, that we may 
 think of another, and have opportunities to 
 compare the claims of the various objects 
 that court our hearts. We want a day of 
 silence from the passions, to consider more 
 deeply the principles and motives of religion; 
 and to have excited, and carried upward, 
 those afftctions which cleave unto the dust 
 To a man concerned to advance in the divine 
 life, how welcome is the return of a day, all 
 for his soul and eternity ! in which, by wait- 
 ing on the Lord, his strength is renewed, and 
 his heart is enlarged; and he obtains fresh 
 preparations to meet the temptations, the du- 
 ties, and the troubles of life. 
 
 Again : without the aid of such a day, how 
 would even the face of religion be maintain- 
 ed in the community at large] We may 
 learn from an enemy. When the French 
 wished to destroy every thing like Chris- 
 tianity, they were wise enough to know how 
 much the Sabbath stood in Iheir way; and 
 therefore abolished it, and established their 
 decades. Let any one imagine the Lord's 
 day given up for a time in our own country. 
 The effect would be a thousand times more 
 injurious to the interests of piety and moral- 
 ity than all the writings and attempts of in- 
 fidelity. Let this fence of every thing sacred 
 and useful be broken down, and what an in- 
 undation of ignorance and vice of every kind 
 would overspread the land ! It is in the ser- 
 vices of this day the rich and the great are 
 reminded of their accountableness; their de- 
 pendence on God ; and their being only on a 
 level with those below them, in their origin 
 and end. This they are too prone to forget : 
 but once in the week the nisster is a ser- 
 vant ; the king a subject ; the judge a crimin- 
 al, crying for mercy. And as to the poor and 
 working classes, how little time have they 
 for religious exercises but the Sabbath ! It 
 id then, principally the Bible is taken down 
 from the shelf; and the child, placed between 
 the knees, is heard to read it. Then the 
 children of our Sunday schools cry Hosannas 
 in our temples. Then the family goes to the 
 
DECEMBER T3. 
 
 icuse of God in company. Then the poor 
 have the Gospel preached unto them; and 
 the common people, unless the preacher mis- 
 represents him by his fineness, again hear 
 the Saviour gladly. How, without these 
 auxiliaries, would a sense of the Divine 
 presence, and the moral providence of God, 
 and of a future state, be kept alive on the 
 minds of the multitude 1 Is not all the know- 
 ledge of religion thousands possess derived 
 from what they read and hear on the Sun- 
 day? 
 
 And how impressive and interesting is the 
 Sabbath as the chief period of divine opera- 
 tions ! How distinguished will it be in the 
 annals of eternity! How many thousands, 
 how many millions, on this day have been 
 awakened, enlightened, converted, made new 
 creatures! What triumphs has the Cross 
 gained over the powers of darkness! What 
 noble schemes and enterprizes, for the glory 
 of God, and the welfare of mankind, have 
 taken their rise from some impression in the 
 closet, or excitement in the church, on this 
 accepted time, this day of salvation ! 
 
 Nor is it less delightful and honourable as 
 an emblem of heaven, and a preparation for 
 it Philip Henry would often say, at the 
 close of his Sabbath devotions — Well: if this 
 be not heaven, it must be the way to it. Yes ; 
 it is then Christians often feel themselves, 
 like Jacob in his vision, at the gate. They 
 hi re earnests and foretastes of the glory to 
 be revealed. Perhaps they are never so 
 willing as then to go. Many of them have 
 wished to be released on this day ; and many 
 have been gratified. But if they do not leave 
 on the earthly Sabbath, they enter on the 
 heavenly one. For there remaineth a rest, a 
 sabbatising, as the word is, to the people of 
 God. And what an exchange for the better ! 
 Here we worship with a few ; and these, like 
 ourselves, are imperfect Here we groan, 
 being burdened ; and if we are not weary of 
 our divine work, we are soon wearied in it 
 And, when— satisfied with favour, and filled 
 with the blessing of the Lord, we can say, 
 
 DECEMBER 23 
 
 "My willing soul would stay 
 In such a frame as this," 
 
 the world calls us down, and leads us out 
 >ntu its cares, and griefs, and dangers, again. 
 '. »h ! why do we not sing — 
 
 "Thy earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we love- 
 But tiiere 's a nobler rest above : ' 
 
 To this our lab'ring souls aspire, 
 With ardent pangs and strong desii .. 
 
 "No more fatigue, no more distress, 
 Nor sin, nor hell, shall reach the place ; 
 No groans to mingle with the songs 
 That warble from immortal tongues. 
 
 "O long-expected day! begin; 
 Dawn on these realms of wo and sin : 
 Fain would we leave this weary load, 
 And sleep in deatn to rest with God !" 
 
 " As ioell the singers as the players on instru- 
 ments shall be there : all my springs are iv 
 thee." — Psalm lxxxvii. 7. 
 This is spoken of Zion ; and shows us the 
 joy, and the attachment, of her inhabitants. 
 The joy is expressed in language accord- 
 ing with the forms of service in the Jewish 
 worship. They had, in addition to the praises 
 of individuals and families, orders of men, 
 established expressly for the performance of 
 psalmody in the Temple : some vocal, and 
 some instrumental — " As well the singers as 
 the players on instruments shall be tiiere." 
 The meaning is — That Zion, which the world 
 considers the metropolis of sadness and gloom, 
 should be the residence of cheerfulness and 
 mirth; or, in other words, that the Church 
 of God should abound with spiritual joy and 
 gladness. This joy may be considered two 
 ways. First as promised : and so it is to be 
 viewed as a privilege; and we are to look 
 after it in the history and experience of his 
 people. And if we turn — and this is the 
 fairest way, to those whom God has himself 
 described in his Word, we shall find them 
 distinguished by nothing more than this ex- 
 perience. They walked in the comfort of 
 the Holy Ghost Though they had losses 
 and afflictions, yet believing, they rejoiced 
 with joy unspeakable and full of glory. — 
 Secondly, as commanded. Thus they are 
 enjoined to shout aloud for joy; to rejoice 
 in the Lord always; to bS filled with the 
 Spirit; speaking to themselves in psalms, 
 and hymns, and spiritual songs ; singing, and 
 making melody in their heart to the Lord. 
 And thus it becomes a duty : and, as such, 
 we are bound to seek and to preserve it ; to 
 study the grounds of it; to guard against 
 every thing that would invade and injure it ; 
 to endeavour, by all means, to increase our 
 joy in the Lord ; and never refuse to be com- 
 forted. All must be singers and players on 
 instruments here. All cannot perform equall} 
 well ; but all must do something, and pray 
 and strive, to show that the religion of Christ 
 is able to make its possessors happy ; that it 
 can set their roving hearts at rest ; that it 
 can enable them to dispense with the dissi- 
 pations of the world ; that it can sustain them 
 under the trials of life, and raise them above 
 the fears of death ; and thus adorn the doc- 
 trine of God their Saviour in all things. 
 
 But here is attachment as well as joy — 
 " All my springs are in thee." No affection 
 was ever more sincere than that which the 
 pious Jews bore to their native land. Jeru- 
 salem was the source of their hope and glory j 
 the circle and the centre of all the endear- 
 ments of life. They breathed out their very 
 soul when they said, " Peace be within thy 
 walls, and prosperity within thy palaces'* 
 
336 
 
 DECEMBER 24. 
 
 They deemed nothing too deai <o be parted 
 with, for its ornament or defence. In its 
 welfare, they forgot their personal and rela- 
 tive sorrows : and when it was taken, and 
 destroyed, they abandoned themselves to 
 grief, hung their harps upon the willows, and 
 felt life a burden. Even in its reduced state, 
 they took "pleasure in her stones, and fa- 
 voured the dust thereof" — Each of them 
 s'ghing, " If 1 forget thee, O Jerusalem, let 
 my right nand forget her cunning ; let my 
 tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I 
 prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." 
 And is there less intenseness of regard in 
 Christians, towards Jerusalem which is above, 
 and free, and the mother of us all ! No — all 
 their springs are there — All that refreshes 
 me — can each of them say ; all that revives, 
 all that enlivens, all that inspires — "all my 
 springs are in thee." 
 
 Where are all the springs of a worldly 
 man 1 In the world. To all his interests 
 there, he is alive : his heart is glad when his 
 corn and wine increase; and his joy fails 
 with them. His losses are the taking away 
 of his gods ; and what has he more ! But 
 what is the experience of the Christian 1 In 
 the word of God, and the ordinances of his 
 house, and communion with his people, and 
 the consolations of his Spirit ; here it is, says 
 he, I find my heaven ! If this cannot touch 
 and animate him, nothing, for the time, can. 
 On the otner hand, this can make him joy- 
 ful, even in tribulation. This seems to in- 
 demnify him under every earthly disappoint- 
 ment. What is it, says he, that my schemes 
 fail, if His flourish ? Yea, in spiritual dark- 
 ness, and when he is ready to conclude that 
 he has no part or lot in the matter, and that 
 his heart cannot be right in the sight of God, 
 his countenance is illumined, and the tear of 
 joy starts into his eye, when he hears that 
 the word of the Lord hath free course and is 
 glorified ; that sinners are fleeing to the Sa- 
 viour, as doves to their windows; that the 
 order to Zion is issued, Enlarge the place of 
 thy tent; lengthen her cords, strengthen her 
 stakes. In this, says he, I rejoice, yea, and 
 will rejoice. And so, when there are apos- 
 tacies and backslidings, and professors cause 
 the way of truth to be evil spoken of, he is 
 " sorrowful for the solemn assembly, and the 
 reproach of it is his burden." And his fear, 
 as well as his hope, and his grief, as well as 
 nis pleasure, show where the attraction of his 
 heart lies. And if any thing is to be done 
 for Zion, he feels a courage that is not natural 
 to him. His tongue is as the pen of a ready 
 writer. His hand gets suddenly into his 
 pocket ; and, to his power, yea, and beyond 
 his power, he is willing to communicate; 
 and his zeal, as well as all his other feelings, 
 justify his saying, " All my springs are in 
 thee." 
 
 DECEMBER 24. 
 
 " Through the tender mercy of our Gtd; -where 
 by the day spring from on high hath visiteu 
 us, to give light to them that sit in darkneu 
 and in the shadow of death, to guide our 
 feet into the way of peace." — Luke i. 78, 79. 
 Well said David, " What is man, that 
 Thou art mindful of him ; and the son of 
 man, that Thou visitest him V He does 1 his» 
 in a thousand w ays ; and each of U3 may ac- 
 knowledge, with Job, "Thou hast granted 
 me life and favour, and thy visitation hath 
 preserved my spirit." But what a /isit is 
 here ! Twice does Zacharias, under different 
 allusions, expressly mention it in his thanks- 
 giving song. " Blessed be the Lord God of 
 Israel ; for he hath visited and redeemed his 
 people, and hath raised up an horn of salva- 
 tion for us in the house of his servant David." 
 " Through the tender mercy of our God ; 
 whereby the dayspring from on high hath 
 visited us, to give light to them that sit in 
 darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide 
 our feet into the way of peace." 
 
 Observe the image under which he views 
 the coming of the Saviour — "The dayspring 
 from on high." The springing of the day is 
 produced, and only can be produced, by the 
 rising of the sun. There is only one sun in 
 nature. And there is only one Sun in grace. 
 And to them that fear my Name, said God, 
 by the prophet Malachi, shall the Sun of 
 righteousness arise with healing in his wings. 
 See the state in which he finds us — " Sit- 
 ting in darkness and the shadow of death.* 
 Darkness is ignorance. Some ignorance is 
 of little importance: but here we are de- 
 stroyed for lack of knowledge. The dark- 
 ness is connected with the shadow of death 
 — a state of terror, and danger, and nearness 
 to perdition; for the shadow cannot be fai 
 from the reality. It is not only vain, but in 
 jurious to deny the truth of this representa- 
 tion. Every thing concurs to prove it. And, 
 without the admission of it, Christianity must 
 be needless and absurd. 
 
 But see the benefit he is designed to com- 
 municate — " To give light" to them that are 
 in darkness and the shadow of death. Ac- 
 cordingly, his coming has shed a lustre upon 
 every subject interesting to our duty and wel- 
 fare. So that every individual under the 
 Gospel knows far more than all the Heathen 
 philosophers united. And also far more than 
 the most illuminated among the Jews. — 
 Hence our Saviour turned unto his disciples, 
 and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes 
 which see the things that ye see : for I tell 
 you that many prophets and kings have de- 
 sired to see those things which ye see, and 
 have not seen them ; and to hear those things 
 which ye hear, and have not heard them." 
 
 It is therefore called, not only " the true 
 light ;" bi t, " a great light" It has two pro- 
 
DECEMBER 25. 
 
 357 
 
 perties. It is practical. It is " to guide our 
 feet" We were " sitting" before ; inactive, 
 like persons in the dark, and afraid to move : 
 but when the light comes, we are set in mo- 
 tion. The doctrine of Christ is not a mere 
 speculation. He that receives it feels an in- 
 fluence resembling that of the orb of day ; 
 which is vital, as well as enlightening — He 
 walks in the Spirit In the fear of the Ix>rd. 
 In the truth. It is also blessed. It is to 
 guide our feet "into the path of peace." 
 There is something very pleasing in the word 
 Peace, as it intends reconciliation; and es- 
 pecially reconciliation with God. And God 
 was in Christ reconciling the world unto him- 
 self, not imputing their trespasses unto them. 
 And being justified by faith, we have peace 
 with God through our Lord Jesus Christ 
 This peace is essential to every other bless- 
 ing : and every pther blessing is sure to fol- 
 low it The word, therefore, is often used 
 for every kind of good and of happiness. It is 
 finely expressed by the Apostle, " We who 
 have believed do enter into rest:" and yet 
 more fully by David, "'Blessed is the people 
 that know the joyful sound : they shall walk, 
 O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In 
 thy Name shall they rejoice all the day : and 
 in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. 
 For thou art the glory of their strength : and 
 in thy favour our horn shall be exalted." 
 
 But what is the source of all this blessed- 
 ness 1 " The tender mercy of our God." As we 
 are guilty and condemned creatures, every 
 gift we enjoy must be from mercy. This 
 is true, of our daily and outward comforts ; 
 ind therefore Jacob calls them all " mercies;" 
 and acknowledges that he is not worthy of 
 the " least" of them. How true is it then, 
 that not by works of righteousness which we 
 have done, but by his mercy he saved us ! — 
 Neither are we to imagine, that God was 
 made merciful by the incarnation and suffer- 
 ings of Christ It is from injudicious repre- 
 sentations of this kind, that the enemies of the 
 atonement are furnished with their strongest 
 objection. In the Scripture, we are told that 
 God so loved the world that he gave his only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on 
 him should not perish, but have everlasting 
 life. What he requires, he provides. He 
 would not pardon Job's friends but through 
 his intercession. But he prescribed his pray- 
 er, with sacrifice, for the very purpose, and 
 accepted it Thus we are "justified freely 
 by his grace, through the redemption that is 
 in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Let us bless God for this tender mercy. — 
 "God is the Lord, which hath showed us 
 light : bind the sacrifice with cords, even un- 
 to the horns of the altar." I,et us improve 
 the advantages it has afforded us ; and walk 
 as children of the light Let us pray that 
 his way be made known on earth, and his 
 aavii g health among all nations. 
 
 DECEMBER 25. 
 
 " And it came to past in those days, that ther 
 vent out a decree from Cxsar Augustus, tha, 
 all the world should be taxed. {And this 
 taxing -was first made when Cyrenius teas 
 governor of Syria.) And all -went to be 
 taxed, every one into his own city. And Jo 
 seph also went up from Galilee, out of the 
 city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the c ity 
 of David, which is called Beth-lehem ; (be- 
 cause he was of the house and lineage of Da- 
 vid:) To be taxed with Mary his espousea 
 wife, being great with child. And so it was, 
 that, while they were there, the days were ac- 
 complished that she should be delivered." — 
 Luke ii. 1 — 6. 
 
 The birth of Christ is so wonderful and 
 important that every circumstance attending 
 it is worthy of our attention, and capable of 
 improvement We are here informed of the 
 time, and the place. 
 
 As to the time, it was under the reign of 
 Augustus. Luke could not have distinguish- 
 ed it by a more illustrious mark, than the 
 name of a man, the greatest prince then in 
 the world; as he governed the Roman em- 
 pire, which had extended itself over the 
 largest and fairest portions of the inhabited 
 earth. What is related indefinitely, is liable 
 to dispute and mistake; whereas, particularity 
 tends to gain credence, and renders falsehood 
 easier of detection. Hence, the Evangelist 
 mentions a remarkable fact attending the pe- 
 riod: "It came to pass in those days, that 
 there went out a decree from Caesar Augus- 
 tus, that all the world should be taxed ;" and 
 adds, " And this taxing was first made when 
 Cyrenius was governor of Syria." Here, 
 however, a difficulty occurs, which Infidelity, 
 always alive to the worst of causes, and feel- 
 ing the paucity and poverty of its resources, 
 has readily laid hold of. 
 
 It must be granted that Cyrenius, as Jose- 
 phus, and all the Greek and Latin historians, 
 agree, was not governor of Syria till eleven 
 years after. But first, it is supposable, that 
 though he was not the actual governor, he 
 presided on this occasion, by a special com- 
 mission from Augustus. This agrees with 
 the history of the Emperor, which shows us, 
 that in several instances, he sent his particu- 
 lar friends to superintend the enrolment with- 
 out leaving it to the care of the ordinary go- 
 vernors of the province. Did not David dc 
 the same when he wished to number the peo- 
 ple ? There were rulers over all the tribes of 
 Israel ; yet he sent Joab, who went through 
 all the land, and brought him the result al 
 the end of nine months and twenty days. 
 Secondly ; Dr. Campbell renders it " And 
 this enrolment first took effect when Cyre- 
 nius was governor of Syria." Though our 
 version reads 'taxing,' it is in the margin 
 * enroling.' There was some difference be- 
 tween these. For though the registering w^ 
 
858 
 
 DECEMBER 2C 
 
 generally with a view to the taxing ; yet the 
 latter did not always immediately follow the 
 former ; it only laid the foundation for it, by 
 showing tho Emperor the number and wealth 
 of his subjects, whenever he chose to de- 
 mand soldiers or money. Now, though the 
 decree for enrolment was issued eleven years 
 before, it was not acted upon till Cyrenius 
 was governor of Syria; and the Roman 
 power, on the expulsion of Archelaus from 
 Judea, first levied the tax on the Jewish peo- 
 ple. We have a similar instance in our own 
 history. William the Conqueror wished to 
 make a survey of the kingdom. This was 
 done in what is called the Doomsday Book, 
 and which is still extant. It was six years 
 in making, in England only t and no pay- 
 ment of taxes was made upon it till twelve 
 years after. Either of these solutions is per- 
 fectly satisfactory: and there is no incon- 
 sistency between them — the one does not in- 
 validate the other. And when to this we add, 
 >.hat the fact itself was notorious ; and that 
 Luke could not be deceived, and must have 
 known that he could not be misunderstood at 
 the time ; we see another instance of the 
 weakness of Infidel objections. But Luke 
 mentions this affair, not only to authenticate 
 the truth of his narrative, but the Messiah- 
 ship of Christ His coming had not only 
 been foretold, but the time of it. We allude 
 to the prophetical declaration of the dying 
 Jacob. When speaking of Judah, he said, 
 " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
 nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until 
 Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gather- 
 ing of the people be." That is — when he 
 should come, the supreme power should be 
 dislodged from their possession. And here 
 we see the accomplishment of it : for the su- 
 preme power had now fallen into the hands of 
 Herod the Idumean, who was exercising his- 
 vile tyranny under the favour of the Roman 
 sovereign, master of Syria and Palestine. 
 
 The place was Bethlehem. It is called the 
 City of David, because there David was born. 
 But the word city, which the Jews used so 
 differently from us, should not mislead us. It 
 was only a small village, in which nothing 
 had occurred to aggrandize it. Here he was 
 brought^ forth, and not in Jerusalem, or Rome, 
 or any other illustrious place. Was this to 
 intimate, that his kingdom was not of this 
 world 1 What cannot ennoble greatness, 
 greatness can ennoble. How has the birth- 
 place of the Mantuan Bard been noticed ! 
 How many cities contended for the honour 
 of Homer's l?irth ! The birth of Jesus in- 
 stantly drew to this village a new star, and 
 sages from the east, and the angel of the 
 Lord, and a multitude of the heavenly host ; 
 and has made it to be remembered in all ge- 
 nerations. Therefore, said the prophet Mi- 
 cah, 'Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though 
 thou be little among the thousands of Judah, 
 
 yet out of thee shall he come for h unto me 
 that is to be Ruler in Israel : whose goings 
 forth have been from of old, from everlasting." 
 That he was to be born here, was known and 
 expected, not only by the Chief Priests and 
 Scribes, as we see in their answer to Herod ; 
 but also by even the common people, who ar- 
 gued against him, when they supposed that 
 he was not born there — " Hath not the Scrip- 
 ture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of 
 David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, 
 where David was 1" 
 
 But let us not forget the occasion of the 
 event. For it was, humanly speaking, the 
 most unlikely thing in the world, that Jesus 
 should be born here. For Bethlehem was not 
 the place of Joseph's residence ; but Naza- 
 reth, in Galilee. But, the decree requiring 
 that every one should repair to his own pa- 
 trimonial city to be enrolled, Joseph being of 
 the house and lineage of David, goes up from 
 Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, in Judea, 
 unto the city of David, which is called Beth- 
 lehem, and Mary with him, being great with 
 child. And so it was, that, while they were 
 there, waiting for his registry, the days were 
 accomplished that she should be delivered! 
 Mary thought of nothing but accompany Jo- 
 seph. Joseph thought of nothing but obeying 
 the order of the Governor. The Governor 
 thought of nothing but the mandate of the 
 Emperor. The Emperor only obeyed his va- 
 nity and pride : and yet all these ignorantly, 
 but unitedly, conduced to fulfil the deter- 
 minate counsel and foreknowledge of God. 
 How freely men can act ! and yet how neces- 
 sarily ! How real, and yet inexplicable, is the 
 concord between human liberty and the cer- 
 tainty of events i What is contingent where 
 Divine veracity is concerned ! How impossi- 
 ble is it that the Scriptures can be broken ! 
 How wonderful is the providence of God ' 
 By what methods does it conduct it# plans \r 
 their completion ! How easily, and yet how 
 uncontrollably, does it bend to its pleasure 
 all the dispositions and movements of crea- 
 tures, who, like men in a boat, look one wiv 
 and row another ! 
 
 DECEMBER 20. 
 
 "And there were in the same country, shep 
 herds abiding in the field, keeping watch 
 over their fiock by night. And, lo, the angel 
 of the Lord came upon them, and the glory 
 of the Lord shone round about them, and 
 they -were sore afraid" — Luke ii. 8, 9. 
 
 Two classes of men were led to Bethle- 
 hem, to witness the new-born Messiah — The 
 wise men from the East, and the shepherds. 
 The former were versed in the works of Na- 
 ture. They were especially astronomers and 
 star-gazers; and God conduits them by a 
 star. The latter were Jews. They had the 
 
DECEMBER 26. 
 
 359 
 
 Scriptures in their hands: and these were 
 directed by an angel. God has various me- 
 thods of manifesting himself to his creatures : 
 but none of them are arbitrary. They all 
 evince his " wisdom and prudence," and are 
 adapted to the state and circumstances of the 
 beings with whom he has to do. 
 
 Angels are all ministering spirits. And if 
 they attend the heirs of salvation, how much 
 more the Author of it ! If they wait on the 
 servants, how much more on the Son, who is 
 Lord of all ! When he bringeth his first-be- 
 gotten into the world, he saith, And let all 
 the angels of God worship him. He was seen 
 of angels. 
 
 — We might have expected that this glo- 
 rious messenger would have been sent to per- 
 sons of rank and authority ; to the rulers ; to 
 the doctors of the law; to the ministers of the 
 sanctuary ; to Herod ; to the High Priest But 
 God's thoughts are not our thoughts. Man 
 judgeth after the outward appearance; but 
 the Lord looketh to the heart. He is no re- 
 specter of persons. The distinctions of life, 
 which, owing to folly, are the sources of so 
 much pride to some, and envy to others, are 
 nothing to Him — He is equally " nigh unto 
 all them that call upon him," whatever be 
 their outward condition : a3 the sun shines in 
 the valley, as well as on the hill. It was to 
 these shepherds the angel of the Lord ap- 
 peared. And may not this be considered an 
 intimation of the persons for whom the Dis- 
 pensation was principally designed, and by 
 whom it would be chiefly received 1 Hence 
 we read, "The poor have the Gospel 
 preached unto them" — " The common people 
 heard him gladly" — " Have any of the rulers 
 believed on him'!" — "Thou hast hid these 
 things from the wise and prudent, and hast 
 revealed them unto babes." Not that the rich 
 and great are excluded. And there always 
 have been a few who have humbled them- 
 selves, to be exalted. But " not many wise 
 men after the flesh, not many mighty, not 
 many noble, are called. God has chosen the 
 foolish things of the world to confound the 
 wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things 
 of the world to confound the things which are 
 mighty ; and base things of the world, and 
 things which are despised, hath God chosen, 
 yea, and things which are not, to bring to 
 nought things that are: that no flesh should 
 glory in his presence." 
 
 We have much reason to conclude, that 
 these shepherds were among the number of 
 those who were looking for redemption in Je- 
 rusalem. While many of their countrymen, 
 in ceiled houses, were seeking their consola- 
 tion in the world, they, like Simeon, were 
 waiting for the Consolation of Israel. Per- 
 haps at this very moment they were silently 
 «using: or perhaps conversing with each 
 
 other (for they were obviously together,; 
 " when the kingdom of God shoi ild come ;" 
 and sighing out the words of David, "O thai 
 the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion ! 
 When God bringeth back the captivity of hip 
 people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall 
 be glad" — When, " lo ! the angel of the Lord 
 came upon them ! and the glory of the Lord 
 shone round about them !" 
 
 And this angel, by his example, teaches 
 us, however much we may be placed above 
 them, not to overlook the poor, nor refuse to 
 visit them : especially God's poor ; for they 
 are rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom 
 which he has promised to them that love him. 
 It is a character of the citizen of Zion, that in 
 his eyes a vile person is contemned, however 
 high : but he honours them that fear the 
 Lord, though they may not have the gold 
 ring and the gay clothing. 
 
 The sacred historian has not failed to tell 
 us how these men were engaged at the time 
 of their being thus distinguished. They were 
 in the field keeping watch over their flock by 
 night. Thus they were abiding in their call- 
 ing, and faithfully and actively discharging 
 the duties of it. Never mind how humble 
 your occupations may be — 
 
 " Honour, and shame, from no condition rise: 
 Act well your part— there all the honour lies. 
 
 Be attentive and diligent, and you are useful 
 and respectable. They ought to blush, who 
 do nothing, or have nothing to do. Their 
 mode of living is as inconsistent with the life 
 of a Christian required in the Gospel, as a 
 life of vice. The tree that bringeth forth nc- 
 good fruit, is hewn down, and €ast into the 
 fire. The servant that hid his Ix>rd's talent 
 in a napkin, did not abuse it ; but because he 
 was an unprofitable servant, he was a wicked 
 one, and therefore punished. The case of 
 these shepherds is not a solitary one. Go 
 through the Scriptures, and make out a list 
 of all those whom Go^ favoured and dignified 
 with his visits; and ^how me one among them 
 all, that was a 'irone in the community, or 
 not properly and usefully employed. Other 
 beings are more likely to appear to the use- 
 less and idle. " Our idle days," says Bishop 
 Hall, "are the Devil's busy ones." And 
 Watts says, 
 
 " For Satan finds some mischief still, 
 * For idle hands to do." 
 
 It was well said by an old Puritan, " I find 
 diligence the best preservative from tempta- 
 tion : for when Satan comes to me with lus 
 proposals, I say to him, I cannot attend to 
 thee now — I am so busy." 
 
 " The labour of the righteous tendeth to 
 life." " The soul of the sluggard desireth, 
 and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent 
 shall be made fat" 
 
DECEMBER 27 
 
 DECEMBER 27. 
 
 " Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see 
 this thing -which is come to pass." — Luke 
 ii. 15. 
 
 This was the language of the shepherds. 
 And it was not a vain curiosity that led them. 
 While keeping their flocks by night, the an- 
 gel of the Lord appeared to them; and said, 
 "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good 
 tidings of great joy, which shall be to all 
 people. For unto you is born this day in the 
 city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the 
 Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you ; ye 
 shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling- 
 clothes, lying in a manger." This they con- 
 sidered, as it really was, an order to repair 
 thither, to ascertain and report the fact. And 
 they would have set off instantly. But there 
 suddenly descended a multitude of the hea- 
 venly host, praising God, and saying, Glory 
 to God in the highest ; on earth peace, good 
 will toward men. We know not how long 
 this melody continued. Yet who can wonder 
 at their staying till it was over] But no 
 sooner were the angels gone away into 
 heaven, than " the shepherds said one to an- 
 other, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, 
 and see this thing which is come to pass." 
 Let us accompany them ; and contemplate a 
 scene which will induce us to exclaim, with 
 Moses, on a very marvellous, but very infe- 
 rior occasion ; " Ask now of the days that are 
 past, which were before thee, since the day 
 that God created man upon the earth, and ask 
 from the one side of heaven unto the other, 
 whether there hath been any such thing as 
 this great thing is, or hath been heard like 
 it?" 
 
 In this thing which is come to pass, we 
 behold a very striking display of divine truth. 
 The coming of the Messiah was called, " The 
 truth of God." Many things evince the 
 Divine veracity : but this was the main pledge. 
 It was the chief promis*. ever given to man. 
 It was also the earliest assurance: it was 
 given as early as the Fail. And what a 
 .ength of time the assurance seemed to hang 
 in suspense ! A year — a hundred years — a 
 thousand years — another thousand, and an- 
 other, and another rolled away before the 
 Seed of the woman appeared ! Hath He 
 forgotten to be gracious ) Doth his promise 
 fail for evermore 1 But at the end of four 
 thousand years, it was proclaimed, His coun- 
 cils of old are faithfulness and truth. How 
 many also were, what we may call the minute 
 parts of the promise. It was foretold that he 
 should descend from a particular nation — the 
 nation of the Jews : a particular tribe — the 
 tribe of Judah : a particular family — the family 
 of David : a particular mother — a virgin. On 
 how many things does the veracity of God 
 now depend, the failure of any one of which 
 vculd prove him a liar. The place of his 
 
 residence was foretold — it was Bethlehem. 
 The prophecy had been recorded for ages, 
 and was acknowledged at the time of his 
 birth. But how many things were necessary 
 to this ; and how accidental seemed the fulfil- 
 ment ! For Joseph and Mary were residing 
 at Nazareth. And had not Judaia been under 
 the Roman dominion; and had not Cassar 
 Augustus proudly wished to know the num- 
 ber and wealth of his subjects ; and had Mary 
 been delivered a few days sooner or later : he 
 would have been born elsewhere, and the 
 word of God would have been of none effect 
 All these occurrences appear casual, and they 
 were so to the parties themselves ; but not to 
 God ; he knows all his works from the begin- 
 ning. All these events seemed loosely con- 
 nected : but they were links making an 
 adamantine chain. The truth of God was 
 the pivot on which all turned : the centre in 
 which all united ; the end to which all re- 
 ferred. Let us see here, not only how wil- 
 ling, but how able he is to accomplish his 
 word ; and be strong in faith, giving glory to 
 God. Let no apparent delay, no opposing 
 difficulties, no interfering interests, affect our 
 minds. His purpose is secretly, yet uncon- 
 trollably, moving on ; and the most unlikely 
 instruments are contributing to its execution. 
 How much depends on our confidence in the 
 truth of God ! 
 
 We see, in the thing which has come tc 
 pass, a wonderful combination. A combina- 
 tion of natures — I admit his humanity ; and 
 why should I question his divinity] I find 
 many things ascribed to him, which cannot 
 belong to him as God; and I find others 
 ascribed to him, which cannot pertain to him 
 as man : and here is the solution of the diffi- 
 culty — " God was manifest in the flesh." A 
 combination of grandeur and abasement. 
 Whose birth could have been more obscure 
 and degrading ] What welcome was given 
 him ] What preparation was made for him ] 
 " The world was made by him, and the world 
 knew him not. He came unto his own, and 
 his own received him not." A poor young 
 female was his mother ; a stable his chamber ; 
 a manger his cradle, because there was no 
 room at the inn. But whose birth was ever 
 so glorious ] Ye gods of the earth, bring forth 
 your first-born ; but no new star sparkles over 
 where the young child is. No wise men 
 come miraculously from the East to worship 
 him. No angel comes down. No heavenly 
 choir sing his birth. No command is given, 
 Let all the angels of God worship him. No 
 spirit of prophecy breathes inspiration. No 
 Simeon waits for him as the Consolation of 
 Israel. No Anna speaks of him to all those 
 who look for redemption. 
 
 We see also a prodigy of benevolence. 
 Eveiy thing says, Behold a love that passeth 
 knowledge. His former condition — he was 
 rich, and became poor. His independence 
 
DECEMBER 28. 
 
 361 
 
 one* uioioi : he was not constrained to enter 
 such a state — Lo ! I come, says he : he gave 
 nis life a ransom for us. The principle that 
 moved him — it was not our desert ; but his 
 own mercy. He came into the world to save 
 sinners : he died for the ungodly : in his love 
 and pity he redeemed us. His not waiting 
 for our application, arising from a sense of our 
 need of him — His engaging, in foresight of 
 all the degree and extent of his sufferings — 
 His going through the whole, without repent- 
 ing of the expensive undertaking — His ac- 
 complishing it with delight. 
 
 Here, also, we see an example for our imi- 
 tation. Did he thus despise worldly distinc- 
 tions 1 and shall we admire them 7 shall we 
 seek great things for ourselves 7 — place such 
 a Christian by the side of the manger ! 
 Having food and raiment, let us be therewith 
 content Shall we find it difficult to conde- 
 scend to men of low estate, and to exercise 
 self-denial in doing good ! " Let this mind 
 be in you which was also in Christ Jesus : 
 who, being in the form of God, thought it not 
 robbery to be equal with God ; but made him- 
 self of no reputation, and took upon him the 
 form of a servant, and was made in the like- 
 ness of men." Did he not only stoop so low, 
 but suffer so much for us ; and shall we not 
 be willing to endure any privations, and incur 
 any sacrifices, for our brethren 7 " Be ye 
 therefore followers of God, as dear children ; 
 and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, 
 and hath given himself for us, an offering and 
 a sacrifice to God, for a sweet-smelling sa- 
 vour." 
 
 Great as this thing is which has come to 
 pass, there are many who will refuse to take 
 a step to see it Even at the very festival, 
 which is the commemoration of it they will 
 be found any where rather than at Bethle- 
 hem. They will be attracted to every thing, 
 rather than to that sight which the shepherds 
 left their flocks, and made haste to see; 
 which the Eastern sages came such a vast 
 distance to behold ; and which drew all hea- 
 ven down to earth. Some, while they observe 
 the day by a freedom from labour, not only 
 neglect but insult the subject of it; and, by 
 intemperance and riot revive the works of 
 the Devil, which the Son of God was mani- 
 fested to destroy. 
 
 But let us call off our attention from the 
 little, debasing, vexing, defiling things of the 
 world, and repair to the Infant of Bethlehem, 
 the desire of all nations. Let us give him the 
 glory which is due unto his holy Name; and 
 say, " Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son 
 is given : and the government shall be upon 
 his shoulder : and his name shall be called 
 Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, 
 The everlasting Father, The Prince of 
 Peace." Let us behold in him provision 
 made for our recovery, the most suitable to 
 our wants, and the most adequate to our re- 
 2Z 31 
 
 lief; and placed entirely within our reach, 
 let us embrace him ; and exclaim, " Lo, this 
 is our God; we have waited for him, and he 
 will save us: this is the Lord; we have wait- 
 ed for him : we will be glad, and rejoice is. 
 his salvation." 
 
 And let our zeal and gratitude be equal to 
 our joy. And let us follow the shepherds not 
 only in our going, but in our return — " And 
 when they had seen it they made known 
 abroad the saying which was told them con- 
 cerning the child"^-"And they returned, 
 glorifying and praising God for all the things 
 that they had heard and seen." 
 
 DECEMBER 28. 
 
 " And they -were both righteous before God, 
 walking in all the commandments and ordi- 
 nances of the Lord blameless." — Luke i. 6. 
 
 This worthy couple are known as the fa- 
 ther and mother of a very illustrious person- 
 age ; of whom the Judge of all said, " Among 
 them that are bom of women, there hath not 
 risen a greater than John the Baptist" But 
 while Zacharias and Elisabeth derive renown 
 from their son, they are worthy of attention, 
 personally considered. Though not distin- 
 guished by worldly grandeur, they were great 
 in the sight of the Lord ; and, though their 
 names are not recorded in the annals of na- 
 tional history, their characters will be had in 
 everlasting remembrance in the Scriptures of 
 truth. Five things are here said of their 
 piety. 
 
 — It was sincere — They we're righteous 
 before God. Many are righteous before men, 
 who only look on the outward appearance : 
 but the Lord, who searcheth the heart, and 
 sees actions in their motives, disowns them. 
 A large assembly may be convened together, 
 and be engaged in the same exercises; but 
 they only worship him, who worship him in 
 spirit and in truth. What are we in his esti- 
 mation 7 He that judgeth us is the Lord. 
 
 — It was practical — They walked in the 
 commandments and ordinances of the Lord. 
 Divine truth is important ; yet if we know 
 these things, happy are we only if we do 
 them. Practice is nothing without principle : 
 and what proof have we of the reality and 
 excellency of principle without practice 7 " I 
 will put my Spirit within you, and cause you 
 to walk in my statutes; and ye shall keep my 
 judgments, and do them." We do not under- 
 value experience ; but the Scripture requires 
 something more than good feelings — "Let 
 your light so shine before men, that they may 
 see your good works, and glorify your Father 
 which is in heaven." A good conscience will 
 always be accompanied with a good conver- 
 sation. He is a vain man who says he has 
 faith and hath not works — Can such faith 
 save him 7 
 
362 
 
 DECEMBER 29. 
 
 • 
 
 — It was impartial — They walked in all 
 the commandments and ordinances of the 
 Lord. None are universally wicked. Vices 
 are often inconsistent with each other. Pro- 
 digality opposes avarice, and covetousness 
 complains of extravagance. All do something, 
 for conscience must be appeased : but they 
 are determined in their selections by the 
 easiness of the thing, or its relation to some 
 one of their interests. They have no regard 
 to the will of God ; for if their observance 
 sprang from a regard to his. pleasure, this 
 would lead them to avoid every thing which 
 he has forbidden, and to inquire after every 
 thing he has enjoined. " Then shall I not be 
 ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy 
 commandments." 
 
 — It was irreproachable — They walked in 
 all the commandments and ordinances of the 
 IiOrd, blameless. It is not said they were sin- 
 less. The subjects of divine grace will al- 
 ways have enough to bewail before God, in- 
 stead of saying, I have attained, I am already 
 perfect. But it is a mercy (and this is possi- 
 ble) to be preserved from those falls which 
 injure our reputation and influence; and also 
 from those imprudences which draw upon a 
 man the reproach of folly or weakness, when 
 he is not taxable with sin ; and from those 
 veerings of opinion, which are yet consistent 
 with some degree of fixed principle in higher 
 things. It is well when our good cannot be 
 evil spoken of; and we are without offence 
 til] the day of Christ 
 
 — It was mutual — They were both, righte- 
 ous before God, walking in all the command- 
 ments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. 
 This is not the case in every family. In some 
 houses there is no fear of God in either mas- 
 ter or mistress, father or mother, husband or 
 wife. In others there is one of these relations 
 godly, and only one. They who are joined 
 together by marriage, are not one in the 
 Lord. This difference may be accounted for 
 three ways. One of the parties may have 
 been called after their affinity— neither of 
 them knowing God at the time of contract- 
 ing it. Or one of the parties may have de- 
 ceived the other — and some are guarded and 
 crafty — and those who are upright them- 
 selves, are generally free from suspicion. Or 
 the religious individual was perhaps (how 
 strange!) careless upon this subject; and did 
 not feel religion, in his choice, the one thing 
 needful ; or was bribed against his conviction, 
 by other things. The two former cases de- 
 serve pity; but the third justifies censure. 
 And his error will correct him. For nothing 
 can be more desirable and important than the 
 godliness of both parties. How near is the re- 
 lation! How constant and influential the 
 intercourse! How lamentable, in a course 
 where we need every assistance, to meet 
 with impediments ! How can two walk to- 
 gether, except they be agreed 1 — And are 
 
 there servants ? are there children? Each of 
 the superiors will have their adherents. And 
 it is not difficult to conclude, from the depra- 
 vity of human nature, which will be more 
 readJy followed — the one who would lead 
 into the world — or the one who would lead 
 out of it. 
 
 But the case would be more awful still, il 
 one of the parties was an official character — 
 Surely a Zacharias should have an Elisabeth. 
 What disgrace and injury may result from 
 the union of a preacher with an irreligious or 
 indiscreet companion ! The Apostle there- 
 fore describes the character of a minister's 
 wife, as well as of his own : and naturally 
 concludes, that he who proclaims his want of 
 piety and judgment in a case so plain and 
 momentous, tells how unqualified he is for 
 other matters — " For if a man know not how 
 to rule his own house, how shall he take care 
 of the Church of God?" 
 
 DECEMBER 29. 
 
 " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him " 
 Job xiii. 15. 
 
 This is a noble resolution. It supposes 
 suffering. Slaying, here, stands for every 
 loss and infliction he could suffer or forebode. 
 Slaying, literally means death : and Job does 
 not exclude this from his supposition. He 
 more than once seems to apprehend it as the 
 consequence of his present malady — I know 
 thou wilt bring me to death — My breath is 
 corrupt — My days are extinct — The graves 
 are ready for me. Indeed there is not much 
 for him to slay — He has slain my cattle, my 
 servants, my children ; he has slain the ten- 
 derness of my wife, and the confidence of my 
 friends ; he has slain my health — and if there 
 be any thing more, let him slay it — I can 
 trust him down to the grave, and through it 
 — for I know that my Redeemer liveth — and 
 that in my flesh I shall see God — though my 
 reins be consumed within me. 
 
 It professes confidence — " Though he slay 
 me, yet will I trust in him." It is obvious, 
 from hence, that he did not think God was 
 really his enemy. If he had, how could he 
 have trusted in him 1 He knew nothing of 
 the language of a mystic — " Though I perish, 
 I shall serve thee still — If thou send me to 
 hell, I shall love thee there." These are 
 the sayings of religious madness — and one 
 hour of the suffering they make so light of 
 would bring them to the use of their senses. 
 By the very law of my nature it is impossible 
 for me to regard a Being that I believe de- 
 termined to make me miserable for ever; 
 and God himself has commanded me to seek 
 after my salvation and happiness — I could 
 not, therefore, acquiesce in my misery with- 
 out violating his will. Such a state of sublime 
 self-annihilation, therefore, is not possible if 
 
DECExMBER 30. 
 
 303 
 
 rt were proper ; and it is not proper if it were 
 possible. But it is both proper and possible 
 to believe that natural evil may be converted 
 Jito moral good ; that bodily pain may conduce 
 to spiritual profit; that though no chastening 
 for the present is joyous, but grievous, it may 
 afterward yield the peaceable fruit of righte- 
 ousness to them that are exercised therewith ; 
 that behind a frowning providence he may 
 hide a smiling face ; that though he ampu- 
 tates a limb, it is to save life ; and that, in 
 ways beyond all my conceptions, he can, he 
 will make all things work together for good 
 to them that love him. And this is what Job 
 means by his confidence. 
 
 But it also intimates difficulty — Though 
 he slay me, yet will I trust in him. For 
 there is much in searching and awful dispen- 
 sations to try and check confidence : much to 
 awaken suspicion and fear. When things are 
 agreeable and prosperous, we feel compara- 
 tively little difficulty. But when the scene 
 is changed ; and the sky overspread ; and the 
 clouds return after the rain : when we are 
 stripped, bereaved, abandoned : then we are 
 cast out of his sight ; our way is perished from 
 the Lord ; and we think our eye will no more 
 see good ! When troubles befall others, we 
 go to them, and strengthen their hands in 
 God. We readily deal out the promises to 
 them, and feel inclined to reprove, if they 
 refuse to be comforted. We tell them God 
 is only waiting to be gracious ; and will ap- 
 pear to their joy. But when we come into 
 the same condition ourselves, we are unable 
 to follow the advice we have given, and to 
 receive the encouragements we have admi- 
 nistered. Thus we incur the censure — 
 " Thou hast instructed many, and thou hast 
 strengthened the weak hand ; thy words have 
 upholden him that was falling, and thou hast 
 strengthened the feeble knees : but now it is 
 come upon thee, and thou faintest ; it touch- 
 eth thee, and thou art troubled." Let us not 
 be too severe with people in affliction. To 
 trust God when we know not what he is 
 doing ; when he seems to oppose us ; when 
 he presents a sword even to our bosom, and 
 we feel its point : it is then, verily, no easy 
 thing to hope in the Lord, and wait patiently 
 for him. But Job did this — Yea, says he, in 
 the midst of every killing providence — though 
 he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Let us 
 therefore seek after this confidence in God. 
 For, first, there is nothing so honourable to 
 God. Secondly ; there is nothing so benefi- 
 cial to ourselves. Thirdly ; there is nothing 
 so reasonable in itself — for whatever view we 
 take of God ; whether we consider his per- 
 fections ; or his relations ; or his promises ; or 
 his past dealings with others and ourselves : 
 the more we shall be induced to say, " What 
 time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." So 
 true is it — They that know his name, wil put 
 their trust in him. 
 
 DECEMBER 30. 
 "Are not my days few ?" — Job. x. SO. 
 
 — Not years : months : weeks : but days. 
 Life is to be reckoned by days. Are not my 
 days few ? They are so in every respect ? 
 relatively] comparatively] absolutely? It 
 will not be necessary to prove this. No one 
 denies it No one can deny it. Yet how 
 much depends upon the proper use of a truth 
 so obvious, and a reflection so simple ! Are 
 not my days few 1 
 
 — But how came they so 1 All men die, but 
 not willingly. Skin for skin, yea, all that a 
 man hath will he give for his life : but he 
 cannot continue it He hates, he dreads 
 death. It is the king of terrors. The thought 
 of it imbitters his comforts, and keeps him 
 always subject to bondage. And could this 
 have been the natural state of man a« he 
 came from the hands of his Maker? The 
 Deist meets with this fact, as well as we : 
 and as he cannot deny it, let him account for 
 it under the empire and agency of a Being 
 who is "omnipotent benevolence." Reve- 
 lation gives us the only rational and convinc- 
 ing account — " The body is dead because of 
 sin." " By one man sm entered into the 
 world, and death by sin; and so death har 
 passed upon all men, because all have sinned." 
 It is not " a debt due to nature." It is tht 
 consequence of a judicial and penal infliction 
 "For all our days are passed away in thy 
 wrath." We are not struck with this, be- 
 cause we are accustomed to the result ; and 
 it gradually takes place. But could we have 
 seen the deluge destroying the whole world 
 at once, we should not have questioned the 
 provocation of God by some mighty cause. 
 But where is the difference, as to punitive 
 justice, whether all the criminals are executed 
 together, or led forth one by one ? Are not 
 my days few ! 
 
 Do not then render them fewer. What ! 
 you are ready to exclaim, are we in danger 
 of turning self-murderers? Yet how many 
 are continually reported as having destroyed 
 themselves ! But violence is not the only 
 mode of shortening life. One of our most 
 eminent physicians has affirmed, that "the 
 board destroys more than the sword." An- 
 other has said, " Though all men are mortal, 
 not one in a thousand dies a purely natura. 
 death." Many enervate themselves by lying 
 late in bed ; and living, if it deserves the 
 name of life, in lazy inactiveness, as injurious 
 to health as to virtue. Envy is the rotten- 
 ness of the bones. Fretfulness and anxiety 
 corrode. Anger and malice consume. It is 
 needless to mention intemperance and sen- 
 suality, the effects of which so often lie down 
 with the sinner in an early grave. Godliness 
 has the promise of the life that now is. By 
 freeing us from the malignant passions, which 
 are always injurious to ourselves, as well as 
 
Jo4 
 
 DECEMBER 81. 
 
 jthers ; and by inducing the affectionate and 
 »ene volent ones, which are always beneficial : 
 bv the peace it sheds abroad in the bosom ; 
 &ud the hope and confidence it authorizes and 
 htspires, as well as by surrounding us with 
 the care of Providence : it is, as David calls 
 't, " the health of the countenance ;" and 
 
 {"ustifies the admonition of his son — " Fear the 
 jord, and depart from evil. It shall be health 
 to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." Are 
 not my days few ! 
 
 — Why then moderate your attachment to 
 every thing that depends upon their brevity, j 
 Who would set their heart on that which is | 
 not 7 Who would load with treasure a vessel 
 rotten or full of holes] All the admired distinc- 
 tions and possessions of the world are very un- 
 certain in themselves, and often leave us : but 
 if they continue with us, we cannot continue 
 with them. We brought nothing with us into 
 the world, and it is certain we can carry 
 nothing out. Yet, stripped and naked as we 
 shall go, go we must; and the time of our 
 departure is at hand. Oh ! what shall we 
 think, a few days hence, of those pursuits 
 which now so much engross us ! " To-mor- 
 row we die ;" and what will it signify, whether 
 we are carried to the grave from a cottage, 
 rr a mansion; or leave behind us much or 
 little 1 . Endeavour to think always, as you 
 will feel soon. " Brethren, the time is short : 
 it remaineth, that both they that have wives 
 be as though they had none ; and they that 
 weep, as though they wept not; and they 
 that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not ; and 
 they that buy, as though they possessed not ; 
 and they that use this world, as not abusing 
 it; for the fashion of this world passeth 
 away." Are not my days few ? 
 
 — Then let us well employ and improve 
 them. This is what Moses prayed for : " So 
 teach us to number our days, that we may 
 apply our hearts unto wisdom." And what 
 is wisdom 1 This must be determined by cir- 
 cumstances. What is wise conduct in one man 
 may be folly in another, because of their dif- 
 ferent relations and circumstances. But it is 
 easy to determine what is wisdom in a man 
 who numbers, his days and finds them to be 
 few : and who has, during their continuance, 
 an all-important interest to secure ; and has 
 30 other opportunity. If he is guilty, it must 
 be wise in him to seek forgiveness. If he is 
 lost, it must be wise in him to seek salvation ; 
 and if he be unable to save himself, it must 
 be wise in him to apply to another, who is 
 appointed for the very purpose. And in our 
 case, such an one there is His name is Jesus. 
 He is mighty to save. He is willing to save. 
 Instead of complaining of your application, he 
 only complains of your neglect — Ye will not 
 come to me that ye might have life. Many 
 have tried his power and his love ; and re- 
 commended him from their own happy expe- 
 rience. He is now on the throne of grace. 
 
 But he will not be always there. He will 
 soon ascend the tribunal of justice. Seek him 
 while "ie may be found, and call upon him 
 while he is near. Behold, now is the accept- 
 ed time. Behold, now is the day of salva- 
 tion. 
 
 This part of our subject branches itself in- 
 to another line of duty. As you ane to gain 
 good, so you are to do good — And this, too, 
 is equally enforced by the fewness of your 
 days. Life is yours ; and it affords you one 
 privilege above the saints in light. It is the 
 opportunity ©f beneficence— of relieving the 
 poor, of instructing the ignorant, of convert- 
 ing the sinner. But remember two things. 
 Their days are few ; and therefore they will 
 soon be gone beyond the possibility of receiv- 
 ing relief. And your days are few ; and you 
 will soon be placed beyond the possibility of 
 affording it. Wing your zeal, therefore, 
 
 with the thought " The night cometh 
 
 wherein no man can work." 
 
 — There is a way of lengthening life. It 
 is — not by duration, but by diligence. It is by 
 " filling our days." It is by doing much busi- 
 ness in a little time. Some live longer in a 
 week than others do in a year. • 
 
 DECEMBER 31. 
 
 " He thanked God, and took courage" 
 Acts xxviii. 15. 
 
 Gratitude and confidence are individually 
 excellent ; but their union is admirable. They 
 adorn, and recommend, and aid each other. 
 There is no one they so well become as the 
 Christian. And when is he without cause 
 for both 1 When has he not, if truth ex- 
 amines his condition, a thousand excitements 
 to praise, arid encouragements to hope 1 
 
 It can never be more proper to exercise 
 these, than at the interesting period of the 
 last day of the year; when we are so natural- 
 ly and unavoidably led to think of the past 
 and the future. Let us therefore follow the 
 example of Paul, when he met the brethren 
 at Appii Forum — Let us thank God and take 
 courage. 
 
 What can be more reasonable than to thank 
 God when we review the past ? While many 
 have been cut off, and not a few in their sins, 
 we have been carried through another year 
 in safety. We have been exposed to acci- 
 dents and diseases, as well as they who are 
 now in the dust ; and our frame has been as 
 delicate and as frail as their frame. But we 
 are the living, the living to praise him, as it 
 is this day ; and all our bones can say, Who 
 is a God like unto thee 1 While he has holden 
 our souls in life, he has also continued our 
 mercies. These mercies have been new 
 every morning. Of the least of all these we 
 have been unworthy. And had we been 
 dealt with according to our desert, we should 
 
DECEMBER 31. 
 
 365 
 
 have been the most wretched beings on earth. 
 But we have been fed at his table : we have 
 been clothed from his wardrobe. We have 
 had not only the necessaries, but the com- 
 forts and indulgences of life. He has given 
 us richly all things to enjoy. He has made 
 the outgoings of our mornings and evenings 
 to rejoice. He has given us the succession 
 of the seasons. He has blessed the springing 
 of the earth. He has charmed us in the 
 held, and in the garden, with melody, and 
 fragrance, and colours, and tastes. What re- 
 lative attachments! What endearments of 
 friendship! What pleasing interchanges of 
 solitude and society ! of labour and of rest, 
 have we enjoyed ! — We have not only to ac- 
 knowledge private, but public mercies. How 
 has he preserved and blessed our country, 
 notwithstanding all our national provocations ! 
 He has not only blessed us personally, but re- 
 latively. He has been the Benefactor of our 
 families, and our friends. Yea, he has bless- 
 ed us not only in the kindnesses of his provi- 
 dence, but in the means of grace. We have 
 had our Sabbaths. Our eyes have seen our 
 teachers. We have been made joyful in his 
 house of prayer. He has fed us with the 
 finest of the wheat, and with oil out of the 
 rock has he satisfied us. Bless the Lord, O 
 my soul, and forget not all his benefits ! 
 
 We have had trials ; but even these, in- 
 stead of checking gratitude, if properly re- 
 viewed, will increase it. They hav/a been 
 few, compared with our comforts. They have 
 been light, compared with the sufferings of 
 others. They have been variously alleviated ; 
 in measure, when they shot forth, he debated 
 with them ; he stayed his rough wind in the 
 day of the east wind. They have all been 
 founded in a regard to our welfare. They 
 have imbittered sin; and endeared the Scrip- 
 tures, and the Throne of Grace, and the sym- 
 pathy of Him who is touched with the reel- 
 ing of our infirmities. They have weaned 
 us from the world. They have told us that 
 this is not our rest They have also assured 
 us that he knows how to support and to de- 
 liver. Aaron tb rod blossomed — so shall ours ; 
 and yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. 
 
 There was honey at the end of Jonathan's 
 rod — and there is sw eetness at the end of 
 ours. Yea, already we can say, It is good for 
 me that I have been afflicted. Surely a gra- 
 titude is required, on this occasion, that will 
 not expire in mere acknowledgments; but 
 induce me to dedicate myself to his service, 
 and walk before him in newness of life. 
 
 And what can be more reasonable than \j 
 take courage when we look forward 1 We 
 enter, indeed, on the year commencing, not 
 knowing what a day may bring forth : and 
 darkness is apt to gender dread. Duties 
 will arise ; and we must meet their claims. 
 Afflictions may arise ; indeed they are almost 
 unavoidable. Does not every path of life 
 lead through a vale of tears 1 Is not every 
 thing here uncertain 7 My health may be as- 
 sailed. My friends may be removed. This 
 year I may die. 
 
 — But I will pore on this no longer. I will 
 not sour my present mercies, by suspicion, or 
 fear, or anxiety. It is my duty, it is my 
 privilege, to be careful for nothing ; but to 
 cast all my care on him who careth for me. — 
 I take courage, from his former dispensations. 
 Has he ever forsaken or forgotten me 1 Be- 
 cause he has been my help, therefore under 
 the shadow of his wings will I rejoice. — I 
 take courage, from his providence. I am not 
 in "a fatherless world." Nothing is left to 
 chance. My ways are continually before 
 him ; and the very hairs of my head are all 
 numbered. — I take courage, from his power. 
 Nothing is too hard for him. He can make 
 even mine enemies to be at peace with me. 
 He can render every loss a gain. He cao 
 make all things work together for my good. — 1 
 take courage, from his promises. They are 
 all faithfulness and truth. And what case do 
 they leave unnoticed, unprovided for, from 
 which despondency can spring 7 I will there- 
 fore trust,"and not be afraid, but go forward, 
 cheerfully with Him who said — I will never 
 leave thee nor forsake thee. 
 
 " Beneath his smiles my heart has liv'd. 
 And part of heaven possess'd; 
 I praise his Name for grace receiv'd. 
 And trust him for the rest." 
 
 31* 
 
 END OF MORNING EXERCISES. 
 
. 
 
 ' 
 
 
EVENING EXERCISES. 
 

EVENING EXERCISES 
 
 FOR 
 
 EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR. 
 
 **N«Ter be without a book in daily reading;, of a direct Scriptural and devotional tendency." — Hit? 
 
 " The testimonies of thy grace, 
 
 I set before mine eyes ; 
 Thence I derive my daily strength, 
 
 And there my comfort lies. 
 Thy word is everlasting truth ; 
 
 How pure is every page ! 
 That Holy Book shall guide our youth, 
 
 And well support our age." — Watts. 
 
 " Not to know at large of things remote 
 From use, obscure, and subtle, but to know 
 That which before us lies in daily life, 
 Is the prime wisdom. What is more is fume, 
 Emptiness, or fond impertinence ; 
 And renders us, in things that most concern, 
 Unpractised, unprepared, and still to seek." — MlLTON. 
 
 "The prophet wio hath a dream, let him tell a dream ; and he that hath nj word, let him speak my 
 faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat ! saith jhe Lord."— Jeremiah 
 

 . 
 
 
 - 
 
K 
 
 ro 
 
 WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, Es*. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I am not certain that my motive was quite pure, when I felt a very power 
 ful desire that, in a way of some little publicity and continuance, I might appeal 
 associated with One so esteemed and illustrious as the Man whose name dignifies 
 this page, and at whose feet I presume to lay these Volumes. 
 
 A writer of judgment and wit has somewhere said, that " there are good per- 
 sons with whom it will be soon enough to be acquainted in heaven." But there 
 are individuals with whom it is no common privilege to have been acquainted on 
 earth. 
 
 It is now more than forty years since the Writer of this Address was indulged 
 and honoured with your notice and friendship. During this period (so long in the 
 brevity of human life !) he has had many opportunities of deriving great pleasure 
 and profit from your private conversation ; and also of observing in your public 
 career, the proofs you displayed of the Orator, the Statesman, the Advocate of 
 enlightened Freedom, and a feeling, fearless, persevering, and successful opponent 
 of a traffic " that is a reproach to any people." But he would be unworthy of 
 the ministry he fills, and be ashamed of the age he has now reached, as a professed 
 follower of your Lord and Saviour, if he could not increasingly say, with Young, 
 
 ■ A Christian is the highest style of man." 
 
 All other greatness is, in the view of faith, seducing and dangerous ; in actual 
 enjoyment, unsatisfactory and vain ; and in duration, fleeting and momentary. 
 ** The world passeth away, and the lusts thereof: but he that doeth the wilj of 
 God abideth for ever." The expectation of the man who has his " portion in 
 this life " is continually deteriorating ; for every hour brings him nearer the loss 
 of all his treasure ; and " as he came forth of his mothers womb, naked shall he 
 return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may 
 carry away in his hand." But the " good hope through grace," which animates 
 the believer, is always approaching its realities ; and therefore grows, with the 
 lapse of time, more valuable and more lively. As it is spiritual in its quality, and 
 heavenly in its object, it does not depend on outward things, and is not affected 
 with the decay of nature. Like the Glastonbury thorn, fabulously planted by 
 Joseph of Arimathaea, it blooms in the depth of winter. It " brings forth fruit 
 in old age." " At evening-tide it is light" — " For which cause we faint not; 
 but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.' 
 And this, my dear Sir, you are now happily experiencing at the close of more 
 than " threescore years and ten." And I hail you, not as descending towards 
 the grave under the applause of nations, but as an heir of immortality, " looking 
 for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Attended with the 
 thanksgivings of the truly wise and good on your behalf, and in the comforts of 
 the Holy Ghost, and with an unsullied religious reputation, you are finishing a 
 course, which you have been enabled to pursue through evil report and through 
 good report ; undeviatingly, unabatingly ; forgetful of none of the claims of per- 
 sonal or relative godliness, amidst all the cares and engagements of a popularity 
 peculiarly varied and extensive , neglecting, in addition to the influence of exam- 
 
 3 
 
iv DEDICATION. 
 
 pie, no means to recommend the one thing needful to others ; and even from the 
 Press, defending the interests of practical Christianity, in a work so widely cir- 
 culated, so justly admired, and so pre-eminently useful, especially among the 
 higher classes in society. 
 
 Nor can I omit the opportunity of acknowledging individually, the obligations* 
 I fee) myself under to your zeal and wisdom, when, in the novitiate of my Minis- 
 try, your correspondence furnished me with hints of admonition, instruction, and 
 encouragement, to which I owe much of any degree of acceptance and usefulness 
 with which I have been favoured. Nor can I forbear also to mention another 
 Benefactor, whose name I know is as dear to every feeling of your heart as it is 
 to every feeling of my own — the Rev. John Newton. With this incomparable 
 man I was brought into an early intimacy, in consequence of his addressing me 
 without solicitation, and when personally unknown to him, in counsels and advice 
 the most seasonable, just as I had emerged into public life, peculiarly young, and 
 inexperienced, and exposed. These opportune advantages, for which I would 
 be daily thankful, recall the exclamation of Solomon, " A word fitly spoken how 
 good is it ! " and lead me to lament that persons so seldom in this way, seek 01 
 even seize opportunities of usefulness. How often do they omit to avail them- 
 selves of the influence which God, by their rank, or wisdom, or piety, or age, 
 has given them over others, for their good ; though it is a talent for which they 
 are responsible ; and the use of which would often be as welcome in the exertion 
 as important in the results. 
 
 The years which have passed over our acquaintance have been no ordinary 
 ones. They have been signalized by some of the most important events that 
 could effect other nations or our own. I am sufficiently aware of your sentiments, 
 and fully accord with them in thinking, that while, as men and citizens, we can- 
 not be indifferent to the state of public affairs, but ought to be alive to the welfare 
 of a country that has such unexampled claims to our attachment and gratitude ; 
 yet that, as Christians, we should judge of things by a rule of our own ; and es- 
 teem those the best days in which the best Cause flourishes most. Now while 
 we have suffered much, and have had much to deplore, yet " the walls of the 
 temple " have been rising " in troublous times," and our political gloom has been 
 relieved by more than gleams of religious glory. Let us not ask with some, 
 " What is the cause that the former days were better than these ?" The fact 
 itself is, at least as to spiritual things, certainly inadmissible. Conceding that 
 eighty or ninety years ago we had fewer taxes, and many of the articles of life 
 were more cheaply purchasable, how much more than counterbalanced was this, 
 by an unconverted ministry, a people perishing for lack of knowledge, a general 
 carelessness with regard to the soul, and an entire unconcern for the enlargement 
 of the Redeemer's kingdom ! 
 
 At our first interview we could refer to none of the many glorious Institutions 
 which are now established. I have not space to enumerate them, nor must I 
 yield myself to enlarge on their claims. But reluctantly to pass by others, one 
 of these has been surpassed by nothing since the days of the Apostles ; and when 
 I refer to the importance of its design, the simplicity and wisdom of its constitu- 
 tion, the rapidity of its growth, the vastness of its success, the number of lan- 
 guages into which it has translated the Scriptures, and the immensity of copies 
 which it has distributed, I need not say, I mean the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, which may God preserve uninjured, and continue to smile upon, till all 
 shall possess the unsearchable riches of Christ! Since then, too, what an exten- 
 sion has there been of Evangelical doctrine in the Establishment and among the 
 Dissenters; and, I fearlessly add, of the genuine influences of Divine grace in the 
 hearts and lives of thousands— Surely no unprejudiced individual can trace these 
 things, comparatively with what preceded them, and not exclaim, M God hath 
 done great things for us, whereof we are glad." 
 
 I rejoice, my dear Sir, that a person of your consideration is in the healthful 
 number of those who, notwithstanding the contemptuous denial of some, and the 
 

 DEDICATION. v 
 
 gloomy forebodings of others, believe that real religion has been advancing, and 
 is spreading, and will continue to spread, till, without any disruption of the 
 present system, ** the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as 
 the waters cover the sea : for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." You do 
 not expect that a country called by his name, and in which he has such a growing 
 multitude of followers, will be given up of God ; and the fountain from which so 
 many streams of health and life are issuing to bless the world, will be destroyed. 
 You justly think, that the way to gain more is not despise or disown what the 
 Spirit of God has graciously done for us already : and that the way to improve- 
 ment is not to run down and condemn every present scheme, attainment, and 
 exertion, because they are not free from those failings which some are too studious 
 to discover, too delighted to expose, and too zealous to enlarge and magnify. If 
 we are not to be weary in well-doing, we need not only exhortation, but hope, 
 which is at once the most active, as well as the most cheerful principle. Nothing 
 so unnerves energy and slackens diligence as despondency. Nothing is equally 
 contagious with fear. Those who feel alarm always love to transfuse it. Awful 
 intimations of approaching evils are not only congenial to the melancholic, but 
 the dissatisfied ; and while they distress the timid, they charm those who are 
 given to change. It is also easy to perceive that when men have committed 
 themselves in woful announcements, they immediately feel a kind of prophetical 
 credit at stake, and are under considerable temptation to welcome disasters as 
 prognostics : for though they may professedly pray against the judgments, they 
 know, and this is a great drawback to their fervency, that their avowed creed re- 
 quires the calamities as vouchers of the wisdom and truth of their interpretations. 
 If, to preserve his reputation from suspicion, after he had cried, Yet forty days 
 and Nineveh shall be destroyed, Jonah himself was sad and sullen, and thought 
 he did well to be angry even unto death, because the city, with all the men, 
 women, children, and cattle, was not demolished, according to his word ! What 
 may not be feared from human nature now, if exercised with similar disappoint' 
 ments ? 
 
 As, owing to the mildness and justice of the laws of the paternal government 
 under which we are privileged to live, there is now no outward persecution ; and 
 yet, as religion always requires to be tried, we must expect that " from among 
 ourselves will men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after 
 them :" for " there must be heresies, that they which are of a contrary part may 
 be made manifest." In such cases many are •* tossed about by every wind of 
 doctrine" till they make " shipwreck of faith and a good conscience." Others, 
 who are not destroyed, suffer loss, especially in the simple, affectionate, devotional 
 frame of their spirit. If good men are injured, they are commonly beguiled : 
 they are drawn aside by something piously specious. Any proposal, directly 
 erroneous or sinful, would excite their alarm as well as aversion. But if the 
 enemy comes transformed into an angel of light, they think they ought not only 
 to receive, but welcome a heavenly visitant: if he enters with the Bible only ii» 
 his hand, and claims to fix their regards to any thing on that holy ground, they 
 feel themselves not only safe, but even following the will of God : — not consider- 
 ing that if, even in the Scriptures, the speculative entices us away from the prac- 
 tical, and the mysterious from the plain ; and something though true and good in 
 itself, but subordinate, engrosses the time and attention whiqh should be supremely 
 absorbed by repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ— 
 his aim may be answered, and " Satan get an advantage over us." Such persons 
 acting conscientiously, become as determined as martyrs ; and continually musing 
 upon one chosen topic, they grow as passionate as lovers, and wonder that all 
 others are not likeminded with them. 
 
 " The worst of madmen is a saint run mad." 
 
 There is not only a pride in dress, and beauty, and riches, and rank, and talent 
 but of opinion also : a kind of mental vanity, that seeks distinction by peculiarity , 
 
vi DEDICATION. 
 
 and would draw notice by separateness : as that which stands alone is more observ 
 able, especially when noise is added to position. In this case the female is easily 
 betrayed beyond some of the decorums of her sex ; the younger will not submit to 
 the elder; the hearer sits in judgment on the preacher; and he that is wise in 
 his own conceit will be wiser than seven men that can render a reason. For 
 
 " Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." 
 
 Mushrooms, and less saleable funguses, are ordinarily found in a certain kind of 
 rich and rank soil. When religion, from being neglected, becomes all at once 
 the subject of general attention, many will not only be impressed, but surprised 
 and perplexed. The light, good in itself, may for the time be too strong for the 
 weakness of the eye, and the suddenness of the glare may dazzle rather than 
 enlighten. It is very possible for the Church, when roused from a state of le- 
 thargy, to be in danger from the opposite extreme. The frost of formality may 
 be followed by the fever of enthusiasm. Whenever, indeed, there is a high degree 
 of religious excitement, it cannot be wonderful, considering human ignorance, 
 prejudice, and depravity, that there should be some visionary and strange ebulli- 
 tions. We have witnessed some of these during the years that are past ; but the 
 day in which we now are is singular for the revival (with some perhaps perfectly 
 new pretensions) of most of the notions that were fermented into being at the 
 time of the Commonwealth, and which were then opposed by Owen, Baxter, and 
 others, who had more divinity in their little finger than is to be found in the body, 
 soul, and spirit, of many of the modern innovaters and improvers, who imagine 
 ihat their light is not only " the light of the sun, but the light of seven days !" 
 
 A review of History will show us that, at the return of less than half a century, 
 some have commonly risen up eager and able to determine the times and the 
 seasons, which the Father hath put into his own power, and which the Jlpostles 
 were told it was not for them to know. And the same confidence has always 
 been attended with the same success. No gain has ever followed the efforts 
 worthy the time and attention expended upon them*; no addition has ever been 
 made to the understanding of the Scriptures ; no fresh data have been established 
 from which preachers could safely argue ; no practical utility has been afforded 
 to Christians in their private walk with God. And as their documents were not 
 capable of demonstration ; as for want of certainty they could not become princi- 
 ples of conduct ; and as no great impression can be long maintained on the public 
 mind that is not based on obvious truth ; the noise of the warfare after a while 
 has always died away, and left us with the conviction that " there is no prophet 
 among us ; nor any that telleth how long." 
 
 Some prove, in their spiritual genealogy, a descent from Reuben, of whom the 
 dying father said, " unstable as water, thou shalt not excel." Yet they may 
 strike, and produce a temporary impression in their favour, especially in a country 
 like this ; a country proverbial for its credulity, and its more than Athenian rage 
 for something new, whatever be the nature of it. In England — 
 
 . 
 
 ("England, with all thy faults I lovo thee still — 
 
 — —^——— —————— — and I can feel 
 
 Thy follies too")— 
 
 ,n England, it has been said by a satirical yet just observer, that " any monste 
 will make a man :" that is, be the means of rendering him renowned or rich 
 Who can question this for a moment, that has patience to mortify himself as a 
 Briton by reflection and review ? Take prodigies. Dwarfs, giants, unnatural 
 births, deformities — the more hideous, the more repelling the spectacles, the more 
 attractive and popular have they always been. Take empiricisms. Their name 
 is Legion ; from animal magnetism and the metallic tractors, down to the last 
 infallible remedy for general or specific complaints ; all attested and recommended 
 by the most unexceptionable authorities, especially in high life ! Take the feats 
 which have been announced for exhibition. Whatever the promiser has engaged 
 
DEDICATION. v« 
 
 to perform, whether to walk upon the water, or draw himself into a bottle, wha 
 large crowds have been drawn together at the time appointed, and with no few 
 of the better sort of people always among thpem ! How has learning been trifled 
 with and degraded ! Two or three insulated facts, and a few doubtful or con- 
 vertible appearances, have been wrought up into a science ; and some very clever 
 men have advocated its claims to zealous belief, and contrived to puzzle the oppo- 
 nents they could not convince. In the article of Preaching, what manoeuvres of 
 popularity have not been successfully tried, till there seems hardly any thing left 
 for an experimenter — unless to vociferate with his heels in the air — This would 
 certainly produce greater congregations than any which have been witnessed — 
 and who could deny that there would be something in the case j9re/er-natural ? 
 
 But what exemplifications, had we leisure to pursue them, should we find in 
 the article of religious absurdity and extravagance ! Has any thing been ever 
 broached with confidence that has not gained considerable attention ? Did not 
 the effusions of a Brothers, who died where only he should have lived, in confine- 
 ment for madness, secure numerous believers and admirers ? Had he not de- 
 fenders from the Press ? Did he not obtain the notice of a very learned Senator 
 in the House of Commons ? And as to the Exeter prophetess, without any one 
 quality to recommend her but ignorance, impudence, and blasphemy ; yet did she 
 not make a multitude of converts, not only among the canaille, but among persons 
 of some distinction ? and had she not followers and defenders even among the 
 Clergy themselves ? — Not to observe that when she reported that she should soon 
 be the mother of the infant Messiah, a medical practitioner of some eminence, 
 and the author of a useful work for families, came forward and staked his credit 
 on her being enceinte ! 
 
 All reasoning and all ridicule for the time only served to contribute to the force 
 and obstinacy of the folly. But how just, here, is the remark of an eminent 
 female writer — " Such preposterous pretensions being obviously out of the power 
 of human nature to accomplish, the very extravagance is believed to be super 
 natural. It is the impossibility which makes the assumed certainty ; as the epi 
 lepsy of Mahomet confirmed his claims to inspiration." And is there nothing 
 now going forward far exceeding in credulous wonder, arrogant pretension, and 
 miraculous boasting, all that.has gone before it, in a country which, in a twofold 
 sense, may well be called " a land of vision ?"* 
 
 One way to become sceptical is, instead of remembering our Lord's words. 
 " If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them," to become critical anc 
 curious in religion. A very fruitful source of error is to trample on the distinc 
 tion of Moses ; " The secret things belong unto the Lord our God : but those 
 things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that w< 
 may do all the words of this law." The sciences and the arts being human in 
 ventions, and therefore not only finite, but imperfect, will allow of new discoveries ; 
 and every innovation is commonly an improvement, or by experiment it is soot 
 rejected : but we make no scruple to say, that novelty in religion is needless, 
 dangerous, delusive. We are to receive the kingdom of God as a little child. 
 The design of the Gospel is to " cast down imaginations and every high thing 
 that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and to bring into captivity every 
 thought to the obedience of Christ." 
 
 The maxim often quoted, of a very great and a very good man, who blesses 
 and adorns our oWn age, and who furnishes another proof that first-rate minds are 
 simple and free from eccentricities — " Though we are not to be wise above what 
 is written, we should be wise up to what is written ;" has been made to justify 
 more than he intended. The Apostle considers it a reproach to be " always 
 learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth :" and it is a matter 
 
 * If a person wishes to see this subject fully treated, he would do well to read a late publication, called 
 1 Modern Fanaticism Unveiled." The work is anonymous, but the Author not only writes with grea 
 ability and spirit, but is a determined advocate for Evangelical religion, and says nothing, (which 
 always to be dreaded in such discussions,) to the disparagement of serious or fervent piety 
 
viii DEDICATION. 
 
 of lamentation when persons, perhaps well disposed, are seized with the imagina- 
 tion that there is something of importance to be yet found out in religion, instead 
 of walking in the light, and having the heart established with grace. And what 
 is the subject of these possible or desirable developements ? And what lack of 
 motive or of consolation did they feel, who have gone before us in every kind of 
 excellency ? And what more perfect characters can we expect than the Leigh- 
 tons and Howes, who, it now seems, were denied illuminations conferred on in* 
 dividuals just entering into the kingdom of God, without a religious education, 
 and from the midst of worldly dissipation or indifference ? And where are the 
 superior effects of discoveries, which we are assured not only possess truth, but 
 are of the greatest efficiency ? We need not be afraid to compare the converts, 
 the benefactors, the sufferers, the martyrs of one school with those of another. 
 " No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new, for he saith, 
 the old is better." 
 
 Here again it is refreshing and delightful, to turn to One distinguished by con- 
 sistency, and who has awakened and retained attention so long, not by strangeness 
 but excellence ; not by crying, Lo, here ; or lo, there ! but by waiting steadfastly 
 in the truth ; and whose path has not been the glare of the meteor, or the " law- 
 less sweep of the comet," but the shining light of the sun, which snineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day. Nothing would be more satisfactory to the De- 
 dicator, now in the evening of life, than to be able to think, that in this particular 
 he had been in some measure the follower of his admired and honoured Friend. 
 And by the grace of God he can say, that it has been his aim and prayer to move 
 straight on, never turning aside to the right hand or to the left,. to avail himself 
 of any temporary and adventitious aids of popular applause ; constantly engaged in 
 pressing only the plain and essential principles of the Gospel, and in matters of 
 inferior importance, if not of disputable truth, having faith, to have it to himself 
 before God. 
 
 There has been perhaps some little shade of difference in our doctrinal views ; 
 but as it has not been sufficient to impair your approbation of my preaching and 
 writings, so I am persuaded you will find nothing in these volumes, should you 
 ever look into them, to offend, even if an occasional reflection does not perfectly 
 suit your own convictions. In one thing it is certain we differ. We are not 
 unwilling respectively to own the Episcopalian and the Dissenter. But in this 
 distinction, we feel conviction without censure, and avow preference without 
 exclusion. And has Providence no concern in such results as these ? Suppose 
 my dear Sir, you had been placed originally in my circumstances, and I had been 
 placed in yours ? Is it impossible or improbable that each of us might have been 
 differently minded from what we now are 1 Yet who determines the bounds of 
 our habitations ? Who administers the events of our birth, and of the days of our 
 earlier and most durable impressions ? Who arranges the contacts into which 
 we are brought with religious connexions and spiritual instructers ? And does 
 not bigotry, that quarrels with every thing else, arraign the agency of the Most 
 High, and indirectly at least censure him ? We do not use this argument with- 
 out qualification, or push it to every extent ; but there are evidently some who 
 not only " judge another man's servant," but another man's master. 
 
 We may in a degree value ourselves as being members of a particular church, 
 but we shall be saved only as members of the church universal : and if we are in 
 a right spirit, we shall prize the name of a Christian a thousand times more than 
 any other name, however extensive 01 esteemed the religious body from which it 
 *'s derived. 
 
 Uniformity of sentiment may be viewed much in the same way with equality 
 ©f property. In each case the thing itself is perfectly impracticable ; and if it 
 could be attained it would be injurious, rather than useful. It would abrogate 
 many divine injunctions, contract the sphere of relative virtue, and exclude various 
 duties which go far into the amiableness and perfection of Christian character. 
 No ; i is better to have the protection of the sovereign, and the obedience of th<» 
 
DEDICATION. « 
 
 mibject; the wages of the master, and the laboui of the servant; the condescen 
 sion of the rich and the respect of the poor ; the charity of the benefactor, and 
 the gratitude of the receiver. " If all were the seeing where were the hearing ?" 
 The hands and the feet could not dispense with each other, or even exchange 
 their place and office. If persons acted from hypocrisy, formality, and education, 
 only, they might present a kind of sameness ; but if they think for themselves, 
 as they are not only allowed, but required to do, it is easj - to see, that with the 
 differences there are in the structure of mind, and in outward opportunities and 
 advantages, they cannot fall precisely into the same views. But let them exer- 
 cise forbearance and candour, let them emulate each other, let the strong bear 
 the infirmities of the weak, and not please themselves ; — and we shall have a sum 
 of moral excellence, far superior to what could be derived from a dull, still, stag 
 nant conformity of opinions. And is it not for this state of things, among those 
 " that hold the head, even Christ," that the Apostle provides ? " Let every one 
 be fully persuaded in his own mind." " Him that is weak in the faith receive 
 ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things : 
 another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that 
 eateth not ; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth : for God hath 
 received him. One man esteemeth one day above another : another esteemoth 
 every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that 
 regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord ; and he that regardeth not the day, 
 to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he 
 giveth God thanks ; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth 
 God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 
 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether we die, we die unto 
 the Lord : whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end 
 Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead 
 and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother ? or why dost thou set at 
 nought thy brother ? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ 
 For it is written, As I live saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every 
 tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account 
 of himself to God." The quotation is long, but I fear the principles of the 
 reasoning and the enforcements are not as yet duly regarded by any religious 
 party, though there are, in our respective communities, individuals who walk by 
 the same rule, and mind the same thing. And I cannot forbear adding a few 
 more of those fine Texts, which do not exclude the number, but diminish the 
 importance of the articles of difference, and press only those in which Christians 
 agree. " The kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; but righteousness, and 
 peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." " We are the circumcision, which worship 
 God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the 
 flesh." " In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircum- 
 cision, but a new creature." " In Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any 
 hing, nor uncircumcision ; but faith which worketh by love." Let us abide in 
 the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. He has set our feet in a large 
 place. There is room enough in the plain around Stonehenge, for persons to 
 walk and commune together very commodiously — Why should they try to get on 
 some old molehills, or barrows over the dead, or hedge banks, where they must 
 press against each other, or jostle each other down ? 
 
 A cordial agreement in the essentials of the Gospel should induce us to put up 
 with minor differences ; and a superior and constant engagement of the soul to 
 the most important objects of religion will draw off, comparatively, the attention 
 from inferior ones, leaving us neither leisure or relish for them. 
 
 When therefore, in reference to the latter day glory, it is said, " they shall see 
 eye to eye," we are persuaded, with Baxter, that there may not be a much more 
 complete uniformity of opinion in many things than there now is. But there 
 will be a more perfect accordance in great things, and a more perfect agreement 
 concerning lesser ones. They will see eye to eye as to the propriety ol one 
 
< DEDICATION. 
 
 measure ;• — Tnat if we cannot be of one mind, we should, like the first converts 
 at Jerusalem, be " of one heart and of one soul." 
 
 " But does not the Scripture speak much of unity among Christians ?" It does 
 — And what that oneness is may be inferred from fact as well as from reasoning. 
 The Saviour prayed that "all" his followers might be "one:" and God had 
 before promised that he would give his, people " one heart and one way." Now 
 it can hardly be supposed that this prayer and this promise have not been accom- 
 plished. But if they nave been fulfilled, it has not been in a sameness of senti- 
 ment with regard to a number of things pertaining to religion, but with regard to 
 the substance of religion itself: — a oneness unaffected by minuter distinctions ; a 
 oneness, which included as servants of the same Lord, and as guests at the same 
 table, a Hopkins and a Bates, a Watts and a Newton, a Porteus and a Hall : a 
 oneness that resembles the identity of human nature, notwithstanding all the 
 varieties of man. 
 
 When will some persons believe or remember, That where there are no parts 
 there can be no union ? That where there is no variety there can be no harmony ? 
 That it does not follow because one thing is right that another is absolutely w#ong ? 
 That others differ no further from us than we differ from others ? That it is 
 meanness and injustice to assume a freedom we refuse to yield ? That children* 
 differing in age, and size, and dress, and schooling, and designation belong to the 
 same family ? And that the grain growing in various fields and distances is 
 wheat still, sown by the same hand, and to be gathered into the same garner ? 
 
 And would it not be well for us often to reflect on the state of things in another 
 world, where it is believed by all, that the differences which now too often keep 
 the true disciples of Christ at a distance from each other, will be done away ? 
 And to ask ourselves whether we are not likely to be the more complete, the more 
 we resemble the spirits of just men made perfect ? And whether we must not 
 have a meetness for glory before we can enjoy it ? — But what preparation in kind, 
 what in degree, for such a communion above, have they who feel only aversion 
 to all those who, however holy and heavenly, walk not with them in the outward 
 order of religious administrations ? How special and circumscribed is what some 
 mean by the communion of saints. It only respects those within their own en- 
 closures. They would inhibit their members from having much intercourse in 
 company, and from all, even occasional intermixture in religious exercises, with 
 those they hope to mingle with for ever. But not to observe that such intercourse 
 and intermixture are perfectly consistent with general and avowed regularity of 
 preference and practice ; and the good influence it has to remove the haughty and 
 offensive repulsion of exclusiveness ; — Is there (as " we are taught of God to 
 love one another ;" and as " every one that loveth him that begat, loveth him 
 also that is begotten of him,") is there no danger of putting a force upon pious 
 tendencies, and of chilling the warmth of holy emotions by the coldness and 
 abstraction of system and rules 1 The remark of Paley on another subject may 
 be well applied here. He is arguing the propriety of refusing every application 
 of common beggars for relief. Some, he observes, have recommended the prac- 
 tice by strong reasonings, and he himself seems much inclined to the same side. 
 But he is too frank not to ask, " Yet, after all, is it not to be feared, lest such 
 invariable refusing should suffocate benevolent feeling ?" 
 
 You, my dear Sir, are a proof that Christian liberality may abound, without 
 laxity and without inconsistency. And other instances of the same lovely cha- 
 racter are increasingly coming forward ; in which we see how rigid contention 
 for minor partialities can yield to the force of Christian charity, and disappear 
 before the grandeur of " the common salvation," and the grace of " one God 
 and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all." " Perhaps," 
 says Robert Hall, " there never was so much unanimity witnessed among the 
 professors of serious piety as at the present. Systems of religion fundamentally 
 erroneous are falling into decay, while the subordinate points of difference, which 
 do not affect the principal verities of Christianity, nor the ground of hope, are 
 
DEDICATION. xi 
 
 either consigned to oblivion, or are the subjects of temperate and amicable con« 
 troversy ; and in consequence of their subsiding to their just level, the former 
 appear in their great and natural magnitude. And if the religion of Christ ever 
 assumes her ancient lustre, and we. are assured by the highest authority she will, 
 it must be by retracing our steps, by reverting to the original principles on which, 
 as a social institution, it was founded ; we must go back to the simplicity of the 
 first ages ; we must learn to quit a subtle and disputatious Theology, for a religion 
 of love, emanating from a few divinely energetic principles, which pervade every 
 page of inspiration, and demand nothing for their adoption and belief besides a 
 humble and contrite heart." 
 
 Bunyan, in his Holy War, says, that Mr. Prejudice fell down and broke his 
 leg : " I wish," adds the honest and (Mr. Southey himself does not refuse him 
 the attribute) the matchless Allegorist — " he had broken his neck." Cordially 
 ioining in this devout wish, and apologizing for the undesigned length and freedom 
 of this desultory Address, allow me, with every sentiment of regard and esteem 
 to subscribe myself, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your much obliged and humble 
 
 Friend and Servant 
 
 Wm. JAY. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT, 
 
 This Advertisement is not in the nature of an apology. If the work 
 be good, it needs none ; if bad* it deserves none. But it is to intimate the 
 reasons of the author's engaging so soon again in a similar publication 
 with the former. They were, the peculiar acceptance " The Morning 
 Exercises for the Closet" have met with ;. the many testimonies of their 
 usefulness he has received ; and the various applications addressed to 
 him by Christians and ministers, exciting him to send forth a companion 
 to them for the evening. He is fully aware that " the importunity of 
 friends," so frequently urged by writers for their appearing before the 
 public, is a justification perhaps never sufficient, and not always very 
 true ; yet it is certain that, but for this provocative, the following reflec- 
 tions had never seen the light. 
 
 The author nopes, however, that this second series of three hundred 
 and sixty-five Exercises to aid the retired Christian " at evening-tide to 
 meditate," will be no less approved and useful than the preceding num- 
 ber He has not paid less attention in the selection and execution of the 
 subjects ; but that attention has been paid amidst the numerous engage- 
 ments of an extensive charge, and through the greatest period of the 
 work also, under the anguish and anxieties of the most trying domestic 
 affliction. He has no doubt but, in seven hundred and thirty Exercises 
 of this kind, the same thought and illustration sometimes, and perhaps 
 nearly in the same words, may occur. But they occur in new positions 
 and connexions ; and the prevention was almost impossible. Many of 
 his readers will perceive marks of that haste which was also inevitable ; 
 and they who are accustomed to composition themselves, will know how 
 hard it is to write on any interesting and fertile topic, under the restraints 
 of a great and prescribed brevity ; and how unfriendly to ornament is 
 perpetual effort at condensation. " If I have done well, and as is fitting 
 the story, it is that which I desired : but if slenderly and meanly, it is 
 that which I could attain unto." 
 
 Percy Place, Bath. Dec. 10th, 1831. 
 

 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 " 
 
 . 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 
 5. 
 
 3. 
 4. 
 5. 
 
 c. 
 
 7. 
 8. 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 11. 
 12. 
 13. 
 14. 
 15 
 1C. 
 17. 
 18. 
 19. 
 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 23. 
 2-1. 
 IS. 
 2(3. 
 
 27. 
 
 2.e. 
 
 29. 
 30. 
 31. 
 
 J AKCAg /. 
 
 Our ignorance and knowledge 
 
 of Futurity Acts xx. 22, 23. 
 
 The importance of Opportunity. 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
 
 Angelic Students 1 Pet. i. 12. 
 
 The Groundless Conclusion Gen. xlii. 36. 
 
 The seasonable Caution Mark xiii. 33. 
 
 The Satisfying Indulgence John xiv. 8. 
 
 Increase of Faith Luke xvii. 5. 
 
 Tenderness of Divine regard.. .Zech. ii. 8. 
 Past Dispensations improved.. .Ps. lxxiv. 14. 
 
 The Nearness of God Acts xvii. 27. 
 
 Christ owning Christians. Heb. ii. 11. 
 
 The awful Night Dan. v. 30. 
 
 Joseph naming bis Sons Gen. xli. 51,% 
 
 Onesiphorus 2 Tim. i. 15—18. 
 
 Gentleness of Christ 2 Cor. x. 1. 
 
 Following after God Psalm, lxiii. 8. 
 
 Genuine Piety Gen. vii. 1. 
 
 God observes bis People Gen. vii. 1. 
 
 The privilege of Godliness. . . . Jen. vii. 1. 
 
 The goodness of the Law 1 Tim. i. 8. 
 
 Religious equality 1 Sam. xxx. 24. 
 
 Loss of a good Servant Gen. xxxv. 8. 
 
 The heavenly High Priest Rev. i. 13. 
 
 Pious Solicitude Ps. xix. 14. 
 
 Christians the Property of ChristRom. xiv. 8. 
 Admonitions concerning the 
 
 Right Way 2 Pet. ii. 15. 
 
 Spiritua Victory 1 John iv. 4. 
 
 Prayer presented by Christ Rev. viii. 3,4. 
 
 Divine Protection Ps. cv. 14, 15. 
 
 Divine Providence Ps. cv. 16 — 21. 
 
 Imperfections acknowledged. ..James iii. 2. 
 
 February. 
 
 Paul deserted 2 Tim. iv. 16. 
 
 Paul assisted 2 Tim. iv. 17. 
 
 Paul encouraged 2 Tim. i v. 18. 
 
 An overruling Providence 1 Sam. xxi. 1. 
 
 Christian weakness 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 
 Christian strength 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 
 Acknowledgment and Depend- 
 
 ance 1 Thess. iii. 11. 
 
 The Mortal Body Rom. viii. 10. 
 
 The real Conflict — ... .1 Cor. ix. 26. 
 
 The invariable Practice Pg. xxxii. 6. 
 
 Grace in the Wilderness Jer. xxxi. 2. 
 
 The child Samuel i ga m . jjj, 15. 
 
 The Value of Christians Matt. x. 31. 
 
 The Trembler Acts xxiv. 25. 
 
 The Force of Truth Acts xxiv 25. 
 
 The True Riches Heb. x. 34. 
 
 The distinguished Church Acts xiii. I. 
 
 Lahan's acknowledgment Gen. xxx. 27. 
 
 John's Character and AssociatesRev. i. 9. 
 
 Our Watchers Ps. xxvii 11. 
 
 Stephen observed Acts vi. 15. 
 
 The Servant of God glonfle-*. ..Acts vi. 15. 
 The Saviour's Promise and Pre- 
 sence Matt, xxviii. 20. 
 
 Submission 1 Sam. iii. 18. 
 
 Unwilling Devotion 1 Sam. xxi. 7. 
 
 26. Review and Expectation Ps. lxiii. 7. 
 
 27. The Strange Estimate James v. 11. 
 
 28. The patience of Job James v. II 
 
 March. 
 
 1. Ephraim's Conversion Hosea xiv. 8. 
 
 2. The Promises 2Cor. i. 20. 
 
 3. The grand Inquiry Acts xvi. 30. 
 
 4. The satisfactory Answer Acts xvi. 31. 
 
 5. The wonderful Change Zech. ix. 7. 
 
 6. The common Receptacle Eccles. vi. 6. 
 
 7. Divine Commendation Luke xxii. 93, X 
 
 8. Disappointment and Envy Gen. xxx. 1. 
 
 9. The sorrowless State Rev. xxi. 4. 
 
 10. The regulated Worshipper Ezek. xlvi. 9. 
 
 11. The General Meeting Prov. xxii. 2. 
 
 12. Equality improved Prov. xxii. 2. 
 
 13. Restraint from Sin Gen. xx. 6. 
 
 14. Christ's concern for his Disciples John xi. 15 
 
 15. Constant respect to God Ps. xvi. 8. 
 
 16. The Precious and Safe Founda- 
 
 tion IPet. ii. 6 
 
 17. Enoch's character Gen. v. 24 
 
 IP What God is to his People Ps. xxxiii 20. 
 
 1% The Name written Rev. xix. 16. 
 
 20. Jacob's dying Address Gen. xlix. 2. 
 
 21. True excellency Gen. xlix. 4. 
 
 22. Stability recommended Gen. xlix. 4. 
 
 23. The Prince and his people Ezek. xlvi. 10 
 
 24. The Devout Resolution Ps. v. 7. 
 
 25 The Blessed Stiait Phil, i 23. 
 
 26. The Willing sacrifice Phil, i 24,25. 
 
 27. No creature a substitute for God.Gen. xxx. 2. 
 
 28. Gentleness Gal. v 22. 
 
 29. Active Resignation 2 Sam. xv. 15. 
 
 30. Faith, Love, and Hope Col. i. 4, 5. 
 
 31. Spiritual engrafting James i. 21 
 
 April. 
 
 1. Christian Joy John xvii. 13 
 
 2. The important Hour John xii. 27, 28. 
 
 3. The Eucharistic Hymn Matt. xxvi. 30. 
 
 4. Simon bearing the cross after 
 
 Christ Luke xxiii. 26. 
 
 5. Christ's Address to the Daughters 
 
 of Jerusalem • Luke xxiii. 27- 
 
 6. Christ pierced John xix. 34. 
 
 7. The double Effusion. John xix. 34. 
 
 8. The Sight of the Great Sufferer. John xix. 37. 
 
 9. Joseph of Arimathtea John xix. 38. 
 
 10. Christ the Life of Christian*.. .John xiv. I> 
 
 11. Nature v:..Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 12. Providence Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 13. Grace Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 14. The Source of Comfort 2 Cor. i. 3. 
 
 15. The Solemn Deprecation Ps. Ii. 11. 
 
 16. The Wanderers 1 Pet. ii. 25. 
 
 17. Sanctification Heb.ii. 11. 
 
 18. Care resigned 1 Pet. v. 7. 
 
 19. Care engaged 1 Pet. v. 7. 
 
 20. The Lilies Matt. vi. 28. 
 
 21. Helpers to the Truth 3 John 8. 
 
 22. The proof of Sonship John viii. 4*. 
 
 15 
 
XTI 
 
 23. Divine Encouragement 1 Tim i. 16. 
 
 84. Abraham's Devotion Gen. xiii. 1—4. 
 
 25. Prudential Advice 1 Tim. v. 23. 
 
 26. Intermediate Existence 2 Cor. v. 8. 
 
 27. Deliverances improved 1 Sam. xvii. 37 
 
 28. The joyful Close Acts xx. 24. 
 
 20. Comfort and Tribulation 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 
 T« Expectation of the Messiah — Haggai ii. 7 
 
 May. 
 
 1. Peculiar Manifestation John xiv. 22. 
 
 2. Sinners a Curse Zech. viii. 13. 
 
 3. Saints a Blessing Zech. viii. 13. 
 
 4. The ascended Saviour Luke xxiv 52, 53. 
 
 5. The Creed of Intemperance. ...1 Cor. xv. 32. 
 
 6. Importunate Prayer Luke xi. 5— 10. 
 
 7. God pacified Ezek. xvi. 63. 
 
 8. The Temple Zech. vi. 13. 
 
 9. The Builder Zech. vi. 13. 
 
 10. The Glory Zech. vi. 13. 
 
 11. Experience Gen. xxx. 27. 
 
 12. Di\ ,ne Upholding Ps. xviir. 5. 
 
 13. The Scars of Honour Luke xxiv. 39. 
 
 14. God's Workmen Zech. i. 20. 
 
 15. Hannah's Address to Eli 1 Sam. i. 26, 27. 
 
 16. Vows fulfilled 1 Sam. i. 28. 
 
 17. The Son of Consolation Acts iv. 36. 
 
 18. Importance of Christ 1 Cor. i. 30. 
 
 19. Walking with God Gen. vi. 9. 
 
 20. Many ignorant of Christ John i. 26. 
 
 21. Arrival at Philippi Acts xvi. 12. 
 
 22. The Divine Pastor Micah v. 4. 
 
 23. The Gospel of Peace Isaiah Ivii. 19. 
 
 21. The free Spirit 2 Cor. Hi. 17. 
 
 25. Divine Liberty 2 Cor. iii. 17. 
 
 86 The awful Caution Heb. xii. 15. 
 
 ?7. Paul's Wish Acts xxvi. 29. 
 
 88. Job's Confession and Inquiry. . .Job vii. 20. 
 
 29. Adoption Gal. iv. 6. 
 
 30. Prayer Gal. iv. 6. 
 
 31. Strong Consolation Heb. vi. 18. 
 
 JUHE. 
 
 ." . God the Home of his People... .Ps. lxxi. 3. 
 
 2. The Shamefulness of Sin Hosea ix. 10. 
 
 3. Displays of Divine Grace Acts xi. 23. 
 
 4. Solace in Trouble Ps. xlii. 6. 
 
 5. Attention to the Scriptures. . . Deut. xxxii. 46. 
 
 6. Jacob's Wrestling Gen. xxxii. 24. 
 
 7. Jacob disjointed , Gen. xxxii. 25, 28. 
 
 8. Determined Piety... Gen. xxxii. 26, 27. 
 
 9. Divine Benediction Gen. xxxii. 28,29. 
 
 10. The Pilgrim going forward Gen. xxxii. 30, 32. 
 
 11. Jewish Phraseology explained.. Zech. xiii. 3. 
 
 IS .VTuiual Consolation 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 
 13 Advantages of Revelation Micah ii. 7. 
 
 14. Adam questioned Gen. iii. 9. 
 
 15. The Strayed restored 1 Pet. ii. 25. 
 
 16. Christ wounded afresh Zech. xiii. 6. 
 
 17. Jacob's Journeying ...Gen. xxviii. 10. 
 
 18. The Gate of Heaven Gen. xxviii. 17. 
 
 19. Alpha and Omega Rev. i. 8. 
 
 20. The Miraculous Supply Exod. xvii. 5, 6. 
 
 21. The Rock Christ 1 Cor. x. 4. 
 
 22. Hezekiah's Danger and Deliver- 
 ance Isaiah xxxvi. 1,2. 
 
 23. Circumstances of Worship Matt, xviii. 20. 
 
 24. Mediation of Christ Matt, xviii. 20. 
 
 25. The present Saviour Matt, xviii. 20. 
 
 26. The Glory of his Promise Matt, xviii. 20. 
 
 27. Psalmody Ephes. v. 19. 
 
 28. Hezekiah's Sickness 2 Kings xx. 1. 
 
 29. Recovery from Disease Isaiah xxxviii. 16. 
 
 30. The Writing of Hezekiah Isaiah xxxviii. 9. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 July 
 
 1. Jacob dying Heb. xi. 21. 
 
 2. Anger and Grief united. Mark iii. 5. 
 
 3. The Fight with Amalek. - Exod. xvii. a 
 
 4. The Tenderness of Christ Matt. xii. 20. 
 
 5. Th« Nature of the Promises. ...2 Pet. i. 4. 
 
 6. Moses a Shepherd Exod. iii. 1,2. 
 
 7. The Burning Bush Exod. iii. 2. 
 
 8. The Solemn Assembly Zeph. iii. 18 
 
 9. Smallness of Comfort...- Job xv. 11 
 
 10. Patient Waiting Heb vi. 15 
 
 11. The Recluse John i. 48- 
 
 12. The Observer John i. 48. 
 
 13. The Glorified Throng Rev. iv. 4. 
 
 14. Divine Longings Psalm Ixiii. 1,3 
 
 15. The true Israelite Zeph. iii. 13. 
 
 16. The Value of Christ Heb. vi. 19. 
 
 17. Elymas the Sorcerer Acts xiii. 6—12. 
 
 18. The Visitation Acts xv. 36. 
 
 19. The Difference Acts xv. 37, 38. 
 
 20. The Contention Acts xv. 39. 
 
 21. The Separation Acts xv. 39 — 41. 
 
 22. Efficacy of Divine Truth John xvii. 17. 
 
 23. The Lord's Vineyard Isaiah xxvii. 2, 3 
 
 24. The Father's Love to the Son. .John iii. 35. 
 
 25. The needful Exhortation Acts xi. 23. 
 
 26. God glorified in Christ John xiii. 31. 
 
 27. Heavenly Treasure Mark x. 2L 
 
 28. The Saviour's Greatness Micah v. 4. 
 
 29. A meek reception of the Word. James i. 21. 
 
 30. The Water of Life free Rev. xxi. 6. 
 
 31. Amalek destroyed Exod. xvii. 14. 
 
 August. 
 
 1. The Inhabitant of Maroth Micah i. 12. 
 
 2. Divine Influence and Refreshinglsaiah xviii. 4 
 
 3. The Teaching Prayer Psalm xii 4. 
 
 4. The Hill Mizar Psalm xlii. 6. 
 
 5. Redemption finished John xvii. 4. 
 
 6. The Divine Appeal Psalm cxxxi. I. 
 
 7. Weanedness to the World Psalm cxxxi. 2. 
 
 8. The Son of David Isaiah xi. 10. 
 
 9. The Child of Providence Psalm xvi. 6. 
 
 10. The favoured Briton Psalm xvi. 6. 
 
 11. The privileged Christian Psalm xvi. 6. 
 
 12. The great Saviour .Isaiah xix. 20 
 
 13. Jehovah Nissi Exod. xvii. 15, 
 
 14. What God is to his People Gen. xv. 1. 
 
 15. The Stability of Faith Isaiah vii. 9. 
 
 16. The blessed Exchange 2 Cor. v. I. 
 
 17. Jesus going up to Jerusalem. ..Mark x. 32. 
 
 18. The sure Anchor Heb. vi. 19, 20. 
 
 19. John beheaded Matt. xiv. 10. 
 
 20. The Blessed Man Psalm i. 1,2. 
 
 21. Little Children 1 John ii. 12. 
 
 22. David serving his Generation.. .Acts xiii. 36. 
 
 23. Moses addressed at the Bush.. .Exod. iii. 5, 6 
 
 24. Renovation of Spirit Psalm li 10. 
 
 25. The Revelation of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. i. 13. 
 
 26. The Grace of Glory 1 Pet. i. 13. 
 
 27. The Duty of Christians 1 Pet. i. 13 
 
 28. The Tree of Righteousness Psalm i. 3. 
 
 29. A little Strength Rev. iii. 8. 
 
 30. Jesus upon his Throne Zech. vi. 13 
 
 31. The Royal Priesthood Zech. vi. 1" 
 
 September. 
 
 1. Jesus at Nazareth Luke iv. 10 
 
 2. Religious Achievements Dan. xi. 32. 
 
 3 A Pardoning God Micah vii. 18. 
 
 4. David's Distress 1 Sam. xxx.* 
 
 5. David's Relief. 1 Sam- xxx. 6 
 
 6. The Incarnation John i 14. 
 
 7 The Glory of the House Haggai ii 7 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xvi 
 
 8. Israel's I cirerts .. — . .. . .Isaia.1 xiv. 1. 
 9 Th'! Sufficiency of the Scriptures Isaiah viii. 20. 
 10 Jesus exalted Psalm ex. 1. 
 
 11. Confidence encouraged Isaiah xli. 10. 
 
 12. Preservation Job vii. 20. 
 
 13. Job's Stratagem 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 14. Views of Death 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 15. Manasseh 2 Chron. xxxiii. 2. 
 
 16 Inspired Friendship Zech. xiii. 6. 
 
 17. Christian Holiness 1 Pet. i. 15. 
 
 18. Obduracy Heb. iii. 13. 
 
 19. Besetting Sin Heb. xii. 1. 
 
 20. The Father of the Lunatic Mark ix. 17. 
 
 21. Gracious Tears Mark ix. 24. 
 
 22. Harvest Psalm lxviii. 10. 
 
 23. The Gospel Feast Isaiah xxv. 6. 
 
 24. The Certain Test John vi. 45. 
 
 25. Sorrows carried to. Christ Matt. xiv. 12. 
 
 26. The Grand Bestowment John iii. 35. 
 
 27. Death disagreeable to Nature. .2 Cor. v. 4. 
 
 28. Application to Christ.. 1 Pet. ii. 4. 
 
 29. The Outcasts Preserved Isaiah xvi. 4. 
 
 30. The Cloud of Witnesses Heb. xii. 1. 
 
 October. 
 
 1. The Beatific Sight Psalm xvii. 15. 
 
 2. Christ's Preaching Luke i v. 21, 22. 
 
 3. Divine Sustentation Heb. i. 3. 
 
 4. The unkindly Friend 2 Sam. xvi. 17. 
 
 5. Herod's Persecution Acts xii. 1—3. 
 
 6. The Christian Race Heb. xii. 1,2. 
 
 7. Manasseh's Prayer 2 Chron. xxxiii. 13. 
 
 8. Pre-eminent Advantages Matt. xiil. 17. 
 
 <•. The Hard Heart Ezek. iii. 7. 
 
 10. Divine Tuition Isaiah liv. 13. 
 
 11. Mortality Job xiv. 10. 
 
 12. Christ's Plenitude John i. 14. 
 
 13. The Church praying for Peter. .Acts xii. 5. 
 
 14. The Wonderful Deliverance... .Acts xii. 6, 7. 
 
 15. The Glorious Rest . ...Isaiah xi. 10. 
 
 16 The Right Hand Matt. xxv. 34. 
 
 17. Christian Salutations Philemon 23— 25. 
 
 18. A sanctifying God Micah vii. 19. 
 
 19. The Ark received by Obed-edom.2 Sam. vi. 10. 
 
 20. The Banished not Expelled 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 21. Whose I am Acts xxvii. 23. 
 
 22. The Seasonable Messenger.... Acts xxvii. 23. 
 93. The Cheering Assurance Acts xxvii. 24—26. 
 
 24. Unbelief bewailed Mark ix. 24. 
 
 25. The Wdrk of God Micah vii. 14. 
 
 26. The Expiation Heb. i. 3. 
 
 27. Following with Fear Mark_x. 32. 
 
 28. The Heavenly Rest 2 Thess. i. 6, 7. 
 
 29. Divine Blessing 1 Chron. xxvi. 5. 
 
 30. Obed-edom's Fame 2Sam.vi. 12. 
 
 31. An Illumination John ix. 30. 
 
 November. 
 
 i. The Reality of Conversion. . . .2 Chron. xxxiii. 13. 
 
 2. The Perfect Likeness Psalm xvii. 15. 
 
 3 The Influence of Prayer Philemon 22. 
 
 4. The Willing Victim John xvii. 19. 
 
 5. The Sanctified Believer John xvii. 19. 
 
 6. The Eternity of God Gen. xxi. 33. 
 
 7. The Burdened Soul 2 Cor. v. 4. 
 
 8. Divine Security and Support.. .Deut. xxxiii. 27, 
 
 9. The Good Shepherd. .1 Luke xv. 5 
 
 10. The Endearer of Christ I Pet. ii. 7 
 
 11. Christ Precious 1 Pet. ii. 7. 
 
 12. The Perplexed and Inquiring 
 
 Christian Job xxiii. 8,9. 
 
 13. The Burden removed Psalm lv. 22. 
 
 14. Vital Participation of Christ. . .John vi. 53. 
 
 15. The Heroism of Faith John xi. 15 
 
 16. The Sufferer the Succourer Heb. ii. 18. 
 
 17. Confession of Christ Matt. x. 32. 
 
 18. Divine Applause Matt. x. 32 
 
 19. Future Glory 1 Pet. v. 1. 
 
 20. The Final Exclusion Matt. xxv. 41 
 
 21. The Devout Traveller Ruth i. 21. 
 
 22. The Gospel Feast Matt. xxii. 4. 
 
 23. The Practical Christian John iii. 21. 
 
 24. The Trial of Uprightness John iii. 21. 
 
 25 Divine Influence proved John iii. 21. 
 
 26. Full Satisfaction Psalm xvii. 15. 
 
 27- Conscious Relief. Job xxiii. 10. 
 
 28. The Twofold Benediction Ephes. i. 3. 
 
 29. Christian Partnership Philemon 17. 
 
 30. The Birth of Noah Gen. v. 29 
 
 December. 
 
 The Saviour's Glory John i. 14. 
 
 Tabernacle Services Numb. vii. 1—9 
 
 The Experience of Christ Heb. v. 8. 
 
 The Precious Trial Job xxiii. 10. 
 
 Jeremiah in the Dungeon Jer. xxxviii. 6- 
 
 The Kind Ethiopian Jer. xxxviii. 11 — 13. 
 
 Kindness Rewarded Jer. xxxviii. 15— 18. 
 
 The Simple Acknowledgment. .John ix. 25. 
 
 The Sufferings of Christ Isaiah liii. 11. 
 
 The Effects of Christ's Death.. .Isaiah liii. 1L 
 
 The Saviour's Satisfaction Isaiah liii. 11. 
 
 Man's Ignorance and Inability.Jer. x. 23. 
 The Offering of the Princes. .. .Numb. vii. 10. 
 
 The Author of Salvation Heb. v. 9. 
 
 The Minstrel 2 Kings iii. 15. 
 
 Nothing too hard for the Lord • Jer. xxxii. 17. 
 
 Paul Preserved Acts ix 23— 25. 
 
 The New Disciple Acts ix. 26,27. 
 
 Divine Condescension 2 Chron. vi. 18. 
 
 The Caution .W...1 Kings xx. 1L 
 
 Acceptable Prayer 1 Tim. ii. 8. 
 
 Safety in Danger 2 Kings vi. 15—1} 
 
 The Mediator .....Jer. xxx. 21. 
 
 The Love of Jesus Ephes. v. 2. 
 
 The Saviour's Birth Micah v. 2. 
 
 The Character of Christ Luke ii. 25. 
 
 The Improvement of the Bless- 
 ing Luke ii. 25. 
 
 The Elder Brother Heb. ii. 17. 
 
 The Presentation of Jacob Gen. xlvii. 7. 
 
 The Question of Pharaoh Gen xlvii. 8 
 
 The Representation of Life... .Gen xlvii. 4 
 

EVENING EXERCISES 
 
 FOR 
 
 THE CLOSET. 
 
 JANUARY 1. 
 
 " .Qnd >»• -», behold, I go bound in the tpirit 
 unto j^.-asalem, not knowing the thing* that 
 thall Lr/all me there: save that the Holy 
 Ghost -witnesseth in every city, taying that 
 bond* and affliction* abide me" — Acts xx. 
 22, 23. 
 
 Paul here speaks of himself as an Apostle. 
 But the facts he expresses with regard to his 
 official destination, will apply to our experi- 
 ence as men, and as Christians. And we may 
 derive from them a reflection peculiarly sea- 
 sonable, at the commencement of another an- 
 nual period of our time — With regard to the 
 future, he was both ignorant and informed ; 
 unacquainted with some things, but well ap- 
 prized of others. 
 
 Though Paul sometimes prophesied, he 
 could not command the attribute of foreknow- 
 ledge when he pleased. The use of it was 
 always a miracle, and limited to a particular 
 subject He was therefore left uninformed 
 of the ordinary course of life ; and had to 
 learn the will of God by events. Hence he 
 says to the Philippians, " I hope presently to 
 send Timothy, as soon as I see how it will go 
 with me." It is the same with us ; and as 
 he was now going up to Jerusalem, not 
 knowing the things that would befall him 
 there, so are we entering into another year, 
 not knowing what a day may bring forth. 
 But is this to be lamented x . " Even so, Fa- 
 ther, for so it seemeth good in thy sight" 
 The concealment is wise, and kind. We°may 
 judge of this by our past feelings. Had we 
 been previously informed of the scenes 
 through which we have passed, our hearts 
 would have failed at the thought : yet when 
 the dispensations came, we were able to bear 
 them, and had been really though uncon- 
 sciously prepared for them. And suppose we 
 were now informed of some of the changes 
 we may be called to endure in the months 
 oefore us, we should be seized perhaps with 
 »n overpowering surprise and oppression, ren- 
 
 dering us dead to all present enjoyments, anu 
 incapable of every present engagement He 
 therefore says, " I will bring the blind by a 
 way that they knew not ; I will lead them in 
 paths that they have not known ; I will make 
 darkness light before them, and crooked 
 things straight : these things will I do unto 
 them, and not forsake them." Let us trust 
 in Him. He claims the full confidence of the 
 heart, not only by his goodness but by his 
 wisdom. Although we go out not knowing 
 whither we go, He knoweth the way that we 
 take. Nothing can deceive or perplex our 
 guide. Especially let us check the workings 
 of a vain curiosity. To this we are natural- 
 ly prone. All pant to draw back the veil, ana 
 peep into futurity. But none are intrusted 
 with its secrets. Even our Lord's own disci- 
 ples were rebujced for wishing to know the 
 times and the seasons which the Father re- 
 served in his own power. This advice will 
 be found to be not only our duty but our pri- 
 vilege — our " strength" here " is to sit still.' 
 We may consider the year before us, as a 
 desk containing three hundred and sixty-five 
 letters, addressed to us, one for every day, an- 
 nouncing its trials, and prescribing its em- 
 ployments — with an order to open daily no 
 letter but the letter for the day. Now 
 we may be strongly tempted to unseal be- 
 forehand some of the remainder; but this 
 would only serve to embarrass us, while we 
 shoidd violate thereby the rule our Owner 
 and Master has laid down for us — "Take, 
 therefore, no thought for the morrow : for the 
 morrow shall take thought for the things of 
 itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil 
 thereof." 
 
 But Paul's ignorance was not entire. 
 Though he knew not what in particular 
 would befall him at Jerusalem, yet the" Holy 
 Ghost testified that in every place bonds and 
 afflictions awaited him : so that he was sure 
 of one thing — sure of being always a sufferer, 
 for the sake of the Lord Jesus. And thus it is 
 with us. Though the future is not laid 
 
 III 
 
20 
 
 JANUARY 2. 
 
 epen to our view, yet it is not concealed from 
 us in every respect and degree. Though we 
 know not what is to come in the detail, we 
 can apprehend much of it in the mass. In- 
 deed without some reliance on the general 
 course of things, we could not properly carry 
 on the system of life. Many of our present 
 duties derive their existence and importance 
 from some future relations. Instinct, in the 
 brute creation, teaches them to look forward : 
 and the turtle and the crane and the swallow 
 observe the time of their coming; and the 
 ant provideth her meat in the summer and 
 gathereth her food in harvest. And is reason 
 given us in vain 1 Or is there nothing for it to 
 operate upon beyond the present hour 1 " The 
 prudent man foreseeth the evil and hidetli him- 
 self," says the Scripture. And the same au- 
 thority adds, " Let thine eyes look right on, 
 and let thine eyelids look straight before 
 thee." 
 
 With regard then to the future, in every 
 period, relation, and condition of life, some 
 things may be reckoned upon. Thus, in the 
 natural world, we know that the seasons will 
 come round in their time and place with little 
 variation. " While the earth remaineth, seed- 
 time and harvest, and cold and heat, and 
 summer and winter, and day and night shall 
 not cease." 
 
 We also know that the general state and 
 usages of society will be what they ever have 
 been. " The thing that hath been, it is that 
 which shall be; and that which is done is 
 that which shall be done; and there is no 
 new thing under the sun. Is there any thing 
 whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It 
 hath been already of old time, # which was be- 
 fore us." 
 
 We are sure no creature-possessions and 
 enjoyments will fully meet our hopes and 
 wishes. They never have produced satisfac- 
 tion. They were never designed to do it — 
 They are incapable of doing it. 
 
 We may certainly expect that trials of one 
 kind or another will be our lot. They grow 
 out of our very state and nature. " Man is 
 born to.trouble as the sparks fly upward." 
 
 We must be infatuated if we are not 
 aware that all our connexions here are pre- 
 carious. Some may abandon us from insin- 
 cerity; some may leave us from infirmity: 
 some may be removed to a distance by events : 
 some may be laid in the grave. Need we 
 be informed that the desire of our eyes is 
 mortal] That childhood and youth are va- 
 nity ] 
 
 Can we be ignorant that with growing 
 years we are to look for growing privations 
 and weaknesses 1 That our senses will de- 
 cay, that desire will fail, that the grasshopper 
 will be a burden! It is the tax of age. " The 
 days of our years are threescore years and 
 ten; and if by reason of strength they be 
 fourscore years, yet is their strength labour 
 
 and sorrow : for * ; . is soon cut off, and we fly 
 away." 
 
 For the living know that they snail die. It 
 is the way of all the earth : and whatever 
 may be doubtful when we look onward, there 
 is not a human being but can say, " I know 
 that Thou wilt bring me to death, and jo the 
 house appointed for all living." He knows 
 also that the event cannot be far off— and may 
 be very near. 
 
 And is this all that we are apprized of] 
 No. We also know that God will be found 
 the same he always has been — We know 
 that he will always prove himself the hearer 
 of prayer — We know that he will never 
 leave us nor forsake us — We know that our 
 shoes shall be iron and brass ; and as our days 
 so shall our strength be — We know that he 
 will guide us with his counsel, and afterward 
 receive us to glory. 
 
 JANUARY 2. 
 
 "Behold, 7ioiv is the accepted time; behold, 
 now is the day of salvation." — 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
 
 The importance of opportunity is readily 
 acknowledged, and generally if not univer- 
 sally acted upon, with regard to temporal 
 things. The seafaring man, with prudence 
 and diligence, avails himself of the winds and 
 the tides. The husbandman, when the pre- 
 cious produce of the field is to be secured, is 
 all anxiety and eagerness, lest he should lose 
 a shining hour — and hence it early became 
 a proverb, " He that gathereth in summer is 
 a wise son, he that sleepeth in harvest is a 
 son that causeth shame." There are interest- 
 ing conjunctures, and peculiar seasons, which 
 never return; but, according as they are 
 seized or neglected, decide the reputation and 
 the condition of a man for life. But here we 
 have an opportunity announced, as superior 
 to every other opportunity, in its relations 
 and consequences, as the soul is superior to 
 the body, and eternity to time — an opportu- 
 nity to gain acceptance with God, and salva- 
 tion through our Lord Jesus Christ — " Behold, 
 now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the 
 day of salvation." 
 
 This " now" takes in the whole period of 
 the gospel dispensation, or the duration of the 
 mediatorial reign of Christ. He is now ex- 
 alted at the right hand of God to be a Prince 
 and a Saviour ; to give repentance unto Is- 
 rael and remission of sins. He is the great 
 High Priest over the house of God, to intro 
 duce our persons and services; and while we 
 are reconciled by his death we are saved by 
 his life. For he is now living a life of office 
 as well as of glory. — But this will not conti- 
 nue always. It is commensurate only with 
 the continuance of the world. " Then cometh 
 the end, when he shall deliver up the king- 
 dom to God, even the Father." This, in tht 
 
JANUARY 2. 
 
 21 
 
 wtiotL of it, is a very extensive period. It 
 has continued long, and will probably conti- 
 nue many ages longer. But this can only en- 
 courage us with regard to mankind succes- 
 oionally. It is delightful to think that what 
 those have found the Saviour to be who went 
 before, those also will find him to be that shall 
 come after us: for he is " the same yesterday, 
 to-day, and for ever." But as individuals, our 
 ■eason is far less lengthened — at death, the 
 angel swears, with regard to us, that " time 
 shall be no longer." 
 
 This " now" therefore is to be considered 
 as the period of life. Patients have been re- 
 covered when they seemed incurable, and 
 have been sent back from the very borders 
 of the grave. Persons have been resuscitated 
 when the functions of nature had ceased, and 
 the principle of life seemed extinguished. So 
 some have been saved at the eleventh hour, 
 and they have adored the long-suffering of 
 God which proved their salvation — But the 
 redemption of the soul is precious, and after 
 our present state, ceaseth for ever. If there 
 be hope to persons then, it is among the re- 
 serves of Divine goodness ; He has not been 
 pleased to reveal it Origen and his brethren 
 of the same sentiment were called the merci- 
 ful doctors : but should their notion be a mis- 
 take, and those that rely upon it be confounded 
 for ever, they ought to be called the merciful 
 doctors who, knowing the terror of the Lord, 
 
 Sersuade men to flee from the wrath to come, 
 lut in this view how precious and all-import- 
 ant is life — 
 
 " Life ia the time to serve the Lord, 
 The time to insure the great reward ; 
 And while the lamp holds out to burn, 
 The vilest sinner may return." 
 
 And how instantly and zealously should we 
 avail ourselves of the only season! Espe- 
 cially when we consider how short and how 
 uncertain the continuance of it is. Another 
 of the threescore years and ten, or of the 
 fifty, or forty, or twenty that measures the 
 whole extent is gone, — 
 
 " And every beating pulse we tell. 
 Leaves but the number less." 
 
 And O my soul ! how many strokes remain. 
 There is but a step between me and death — 
 
 " Great God ! on what a slender thread 
 Hang everlasting things! 
 The eternal slate of all the dead 
 Upon life's feeble strings!" 
 
 juut this " now," takes in, as distinguished 
 from life at large, every period peculiarly fa- 
 vourable to religion. Youth is such a period. 
 The young have fewer of the cares that per- 
 plex and engross us as we plunge deeper 
 into the concerns of this life. Their hearts, 
 though evil, are not yet hardened throuo-h 
 the deceitfulness of sin. Their consciences, 
 though defiled, are not yet seared as with a 
 hot iron. Their memories, though limited, 
 are not yet choked up with the lumber of the 
 
 world: Their affections are warm; theii 
 strength is firm ; their connexions are as yet 
 optional ; life is fresh ; nature is inviting — 
 and amidst all these advantages, Grace says, 
 " Remember now thy Creator in the days of 
 thy youth : while the evil days come not, nor 
 the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I 
 have no pleasure in them." "Now is the ac- 
 cepted time, now is the day of salvation." — 
 Such a period is the Sabbath. The Sabbath 
 was made for man. It befriends his civil com- 
 fort, his bodily health, and his mental im- 
 provement But it chiefly regards his spiritual 
 and eternal welfare. What a gracious ap- 
 pointment to draw us once a week out of the 
 world for a whole day — to afford us leisure 
 to examine our character and condition before 
 God — to remind us, in the midst of all other 
 engagements, that one thing is needful — and 
 to urge us, by a thousand motives, " to choose 
 that good part which shall not be taken away 
 from us." How many have found " the Holy 
 of the Lord," an accepted time, and a day of 
 salvation ! — Affliction is also such a period. 
 It matters not from whence our troubles arise ; 
 they are designed for our profit — " In their 
 affliction they will seek me early." They 
 also naturally tend to impress the mind and 
 soften the heart They show us the evil of 
 sin, and the vanity of the world; and the 
 need we have of a better home than earth, 
 and a better arm than flesh. Many have 
 been chosen in the furnace of affliction 
 beside Manasseh. How foolish to wish tc 
 get our trials removed without their being 
 sanctified ! How lamentable to lose the be- 
 nefit of such a season ! — Such is a period of 
 religious excitement. It is said in the Gos- 
 pel, " The law and the prophets were until 
 John ; since that time the kingdom of God is 
 preached, and every man presseth into it" 
 And when we see others seeking and find- 
 ing; delivered from the stings of a guilty 
 conscience, and the tyranny of their passions; 
 becoming meek and patient and peaceful and 
 happy ; does it not powerfully call upon us 
 to " take hold of the skirt of him that is a 
 Jew ;" and to pray to the God of all grace, 
 " Bless me, even me also, O my Father V — 
 Such is the period in which conscience has 
 been awakened and impressed. Perhaps you 
 have had, more than once, such views and 
 feelings, that it has been said of you, " Thou 
 art not far from the kingdom of God." It was 
 thus with Felix when he trembled. He felt 
 then as he had never felt before, and as he 
 never felt afterwards. But instead of cherish- 
 ing the conviction, he endeavoured to banish 
 it — and succeeded. Go thy way, said he to 
 the Preacher, for this time : when I have e 
 convenient season I will send for thee. That 
 season never came. He saw Paul indeed se- 
 veral times afterwards, but not a word was 
 said concerning the faith in Christ ! Beware ; 
 your impressions may die away, and never 
 
22 
 
 JANUARY 3. 
 
 •■evive. But can you complain 1 Did you 
 not oppose or neglect them? Beware ! All 
 good is from God, but he will not be trifled 
 with. " My Spirit will not always strive 
 with man." " Behold, now is the accepted 
 time : behold, now is the day of salvation." 
 
 JANUARY 3. 
 
 - Which things the angels desire to look into" 
 1 Pet. i. 12. 
 
 Had we only heard of such an order of be- 
 ings as angels, with all the attributes the 
 Scripture ascribes to them ; and then have 
 been told, that there were several subjects 
 with which they were intensely anxious to 
 be acquainted ; how eagerly should we have 
 inquired what these things were ! And had 
 we been left to conjecture, it is probable we 
 should have been led astray — yea, it is cer- 
 tain we should have been led astray, had we 
 conjectured under the influence of the spirit 
 of the world. For what do they study ? 
 What do merchants, princes, statesmen, stu- 
 dy? What do the sons of science and learn- 
 ing study] What are the acquirements, by 
 proficiency in which, men are distinguished 
 among their fellow-creatures, and left on the 
 pinnacle of fame ? — But what do angels de- 
 sire to look into ? The arts of trade ? the se- 
 crets of government 1 the researches of phi- 
 losophy ? the mysteries of nature ? No. But 
 the salvation of sinners ; the grace of God ; 
 the sufferings and glory of Christ — " Of which 
 salvation the prophets have inquired and 
 searched diligently, who prophesied of the 
 grace that should come unto you : searching 
 what, or what manner of time the Spirit of 
 Christ which was in them did signify, when 
 it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, 
 and the glory that should follow. Unto whom 
 it was revealed, that not'unto themselves, but 
 unto us, they did minister the things which 
 are now reported unto you by them that have 
 preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy 
 Ghost sent down from heaven ; which things 
 the angels desire to look into." 
 
 Now this fact is announced, not for our 
 amusement, but profit. It shows us what is 
 the necessary condition of all creatures, how- 
 ever high in the scale of being. It is a state 
 of dependence, deficiency, and progressive 
 improvement Some imagine, as soon as we 
 enter heaven we shall reach an ultimatum 
 beyond which there will be no additions to 
 our knowledge or enjoyment. Such a stag- 
 nation of existence, devoid of prospect, 
 energy, and excitement, would be far from 
 desirable, if it were possible — but it is not 
 possible. The future life is called "that 
 which is perfect ;" and it is perfect, compared 
 with the present : but it is not absolutely so. 
 There is only one Being who is absolutely 
 perfect, whose duration is not lengthened by 
 
 time, and whose knowledge is not increased 
 by discovery. Nothing is past or future with 
 Him. His understanding is infinite. But 
 angels are creatures, and therefore finite in 
 their faculties as well as we. He chargeth 
 his angels with folly. There are many things 
 of which they are ignorant. Our lx>rd as- 
 sures us they know not the day of judgment 
 The book in the Revelations, whatever t| ere 
 the mysteries it contained, was closed tc 
 angels as well as men : for no one in heaven 
 as well as in the earth was able to open the 
 book and to look therein, till it was unsealed 
 by the Lord of all. Angels know much now 
 of which they were formerly unconscious, 
 and fresh springs of knowledge and enjoy- 
 ment are continually opening to them, and 
 calling for a new song of wonder and of 
 praise. 
 
 Does it not also show us the vastness of 
 the Gospel 1 A very inferior master may 
 teach the ignorant ; but the honour is to Be 
 able to instruct the wise and learned. We 
 should think very highly of one who could 
 have improved Handel in music, and Milton 
 in poetry, and Newton in philosophy. But 
 angels are the flower of the Creation ; they 
 are always spoken of in Scripture as prover- 
 bial for their knowledge ; they are the first 
 beings in the universe for intelligence ; and 
 are as much above men in their powers a9 
 the heavens are higher than the earth. If to 
 these principalities and powers in heavenly 
 places is made known by the Church the 
 manifold wisdom of God ; if the Gospel cai 
 teach them — if it can enlighten and enlarge 
 their views — if it draws forth their wonder 
 and astonishment ; how well may it be called 
 " the deep things of God ;" " the wisdom of 
 God in a mystery !" If after having been 
 employed in the works of God, and the ad- 
 ministrations of his providence, from the be- 
 ginning ; if after all the scenes which have 
 passed under their review for so many ages ; 
 if after seeing dispensation succeeding dis- 
 pensation, in the Patriarchal, the Jewish, and 
 the Christian economies ; if after seeing the 
 fulness of time, and the divers miracles and 
 gifts of the Holy Ghost ; if after all this they 
 were still, as Peter asserts, diligently ex- 
 ploring the Gospel, how does it aggrandize 
 the system ! This is the system which some 
 suppose may be readily reduced into a form 
 of words drawn up by a fallible man ! This 
 is the system whose bounds some imagine 
 they can easily reach, and whose depths they 
 can perfectly fathom ! But were they angels, 
 they would exclaim, " O the depths of the 
 riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
 God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, 
 and his ways past finding out !" 
 
 We learn also the excellency as well as 
 the vastness, the value as well as the im- 
 mensity of the Gospel. Would such beings 
 as these trifle? Does not their attention 
 
 
JANUARY 4. 
 
 23 
 
 prove that the subject is worthy of all accept- 
 ation ? Why do they study it, but because 
 it is " the Gospel of our salvation ;" but be- 
 cause it is " the glorious Gospel of the bless- 
 ed God ;" but because, in redeeming Jacob, 
 he has glorified himself in Israel ; but because 
 they find displayed in this scheme more of 
 all his perfections than is to be seen in all 
 his other works'? We cannot justly infer 
 the worth of a thing from the attention paid 
 to it by men. They may be compelled by 
 authority, biased by interest, governed by 
 vanity, or led astray by novelty. Even great 
 men have had their follies. Nothing has 
 been brought forward so absurd as not to 
 have attracted to it some names of distinc- 
 tion. And we have always proof enough 
 that to be learned and knowing is not always 
 to be wise. But no objection can lie against 
 the inference we here draw — If angels desire 
 to look into these things, the things deserve 
 to be looked into. 
 
 And therefore let us learn what is our 
 duty with regard to them. — Is it not to be 
 thankful that we are favoured with the dis- 
 pensation of them ? Blessed are our eyes for 
 they see, and our ears for they hear. — Is it 
 not to study them ourselves ) We are deep- 
 ly, we are infinitely concerned in them. The 
 being to whom they relate is our Saviour. 
 His history is the record of our eternal re- 
 demption. He became poor ; he died for us. 
 Let us therefore turn aside from the little, 
 the vain, the vexing, the debasing, the defil- 
 ing things of the world, and contemplate the 
 great mystery of godliness. Let us never be 
 weary in reading, in hearing of it And let 
 us not rest in a speculative acquaintance with 
 it ; but taste that the Lord is gracious ; and 
 walk in the truth. — Is it not to own them 
 and confess them and glory in them before 
 men 1 I am not ashamed of the Gospel of 
 Christ — angels are my companions. Is it 
 not to pray that the knowledge of them may 
 be extended, and that all the ends of the 
 earth may see the salvation of our God to- 
 gether 1 
 
 JANUARY 4. 
 
 ** Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye -will 
 
 taki Benjamin away : all these things are 
 
 against me."— Gen. xlii. 36. 
 
 This was a very sorrowful conclusion; 
 
 6ut no part of it was founded in truth. 
 
 ■ Josoph is not"— yes he is— and not only 
 
 alive— but riding in the second chariot of 
 
 Egypt. " And Simeon is not"— yes he is— 
 
 and only detained for awhile as an hostage 
 
 for the return of his brethren. "And ye 
 
 wiL take Benjamin away"— yes— but not to 
 
 be destroyed— but to prove a* deliverer — and 
 
 to bring every thing to a favourable isste. 
 
 Let the lad go — and no ev.l shall befall him 
 — and supplies for thyself and family will 
 soon be brought — and the wagons shall ac- 
 company them, sent by Joseph, to carry thee 
 and thy household down into Goshen — where 
 he will nourish thee — and after the storms 
 of the morning and afternoon of life, thou 
 shalt enjoy a calm and clear evening — and 
 rejoice in the developement of a series of dis- 
 pensations beyond all that thou couldest ask 
 or think. And what say you now, Jacob? 
 " I have spoken once, but I will proceed no 
 further. I have heard of thee by the hearing 
 of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee: 
 wherefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust 
 and ashes. So foolish was I, and ignorant. 
 I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless 
 I am continually with thee ; thou hast holden 
 me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me 
 with thy counsel, and afterward receive me 
 to glory. Just and true are all thy ways, O 
 thou King of saints! — He hath done all 
 tilings well." 
 
 The inference here so groundlessly drawn 
 is not peculiar to Jacob. Nothing is more 
 common than to hear the subjects of Divine 
 grace exclaim, " All these things are against 
 me," when yet " all the ways of the Lord 
 are mercy and truth ;" and " we know that 
 all things work together for good to them that 
 love God." Whence does it proceed 1 Some- 
 times they judge under a morbid physical 
 influence. We are not only fearfully, but 
 wonderfully made ; and there are many 
 things which would hardly appear credible 
 were they not confirmed by frequent ex- 
 perience. How will a change of weather, 
 or a redundancy or increase of some secre- 
 tion or fluid, affect not only our feelings, but 
 our views! How tenderly are some to be 
 pitied! How much they constantly suffer 
 from corporeal causes! They see every 
 thing through an injured medium ; and there 
 is no persuading them often but that the 
 discolourations of the glass are the hues of 
 the objects themselves. 
 
 They often err from a deficiency of know- 
 ledge with regard to the subject itself. It is 
 not easy to determine what is against ns, or 
 for us. " Who knoweth what is good for a 
 man in this life !" Can we always distinguish 
 between appearances and realities'! Be- 
 tween the beginning and the end of things T 
 Do we perfectly know ourselves 1 Or what ef- 
 fects untried things will have upon our minds 
 or our condition 1 We go forward into futu- 
 rity with our present views and feelings, not 
 reflecting that other events will produce other 
 views and feelings, and that by circumstances 
 we may become a kind of new creatures, 
 which, could they be presented to us in pros- 
 pect, would occasion more than our wonder. 
 This was the case with Hazael : he abhorred 
 in imagination what I e beoame in reality, by 
 
24 
 
 JANUARY 5. 
 
 k transition from a private to a public station. 
 What miseries did Lot entail upon himself in 
 choosing the vale of Sodom, because it was 
 well watered as the garden of the Lord ! On 
 the other hand, Ruth was early deprived of 
 her husband, and reduced to the lowliness of 
 a gleaner, but met with Boaz in the field, 
 and became the ancestor of the Messiah. A 
 man wished to sail in a particular ship, and 
 to his extreme disappointment, found, when 
 he reached the port, that the vessel had just 
 sailed — the next day it was wrecked ! and 
 his anguish was turned into joy. 
 
 We draw the conclusion also, because we 
 are carnal, and walk as men. We regard 
 our ease and indulgence more than our spi- 
 ritual advantage. If the hedging up of our 
 way with tnox»:s prevents us from going 
 astray, if the sickness of the body secures the 
 health of the soul, if the loss of a creature 
 brings us to God, surely we cannot say these 
 things are against us. They are greatly for 
 us; and we should acknowledge this, if we 
 were wise unto salvation, and had our con- 
 versation in heaven. 
 
 We also err by judging prematurely. " He 
 that believeth maketh not haste." If a man 
 engaged to accomplish a great work in ten 
 years, would it be right to decide concerning 
 it at the end of ten days, or ten weeks 1 God 
 did not pronounce judgment upon his own 
 Creation till it was done : " God saw every 
 thing that he had made, and behold it was 
 very good." The end will not only crown 
 all, but explain all ; and produce not only sa- 
 tisfaction, but praise. Therefore judge nothing 
 before the time, until the Lord come. And 
 the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. And 
 blessed are all they that wait for him. In the 
 mean while, there is a substitute for the ex- 
 planations of heaven. It is, in the absence of 
 sight, to walk by faith. If ye will not be- 
 lieve, surely ye shall not be established. But 
 by believing we enter into rest, and the 
 peace of God, which passeth all understand- 
 ing, keeps our hearts and minds through 
 Christ Jesus. Under the influence of this 
 faith, let us look at his promises ; let us think 
 of his perfections; let us review his wonders 
 of old — above aU, let us keep near the cross. 
 All our discouragements and perplexities 
 originate in our departure from this. God 
 forbid we should glory in any thing else. It 
 not only opens the kingdom of heaven to all 
 believers, but it is the key to unlock the dis- 
 pensations of providence. If God be for us, 
 who can be against us? He that spared not 
 his own Son, but delivered him up for us all ; 
 how shall he not with him also freely give 
 us all things. God of love ! Toou shalt have 
 si. the future confidence of our hearts — 
 Our cares, we give ye to the wind, 
 
 And shake you oft* like dust; 
 Well may we trust our all with Him, 
 With whom our souls we trust." 
 
 JANUARY 5. 
 
 " Take ye heed, -watch and pray ; for ye know 
 not -when the time is"— Mark xiii. 33. 
 
 It is the langaage of Jesus, to whom it 
 behoves us always to say, with Samuel, 
 " Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." The 
 Christian welcomes his voice, not only in his 
 promises, but in his commands ; and not only 
 when he encourages and comforts, but when 
 he reproves and admonishes. 
 
 Here he tells us to take heed. We may 
 consider the caution, First, as to the manner 
 in which it is to be exercised — " Watch and 
 pray." Watchfulness is wakefulness in op- 
 position to sleep ; attentiveness in opposition 
 to neglect ; and perceptiveness in opposition 
 to stupidity. To watchfulness is added prayer. 
 Vigilance will not do alone. We must not 
 only be active, but humble. We must not 
 only use means, but depend upon the influ- 
 ence that is necessary to render them effec- 
 tual ; and seek it of Him who never said to 
 the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me, in vain. 
 
 Secondly, as to the season for which it is 
 to be a preparation, and by which it is to be 
 enforced : " for ye know not when the time 
 is." Watch and pray, for ye know not when 
 the time of duty is. Who can tell, when he 
 leaves his home for a journey, or only for a 
 day, what opportunities, before he returns, 
 may arise to relieve the distressed, to comfort 
 the feeble-minded, to oppose error, or to re- 
 buke vice: opportunities which may never 
 return, and should never be neglected 7 David 
 therefore said, " On Thee do I wait all the 
 day ;" for he knew not what the great Master 
 had for him to do. Watch and pray, for ye 
 know not when the time of danger is. If we 
 consider the enemy of our souls,' the world in 
 which we live, and the sin that dwelleth in 
 us, we may safely conclude that we are never 
 far from temptation. Joseph, in the court of 
 Pharaoh, learned to swear by the life of Pha- 
 raoh. Moses, the meekest man upon earth, 
 under irritation, spake unadvisedly with his 
 lips. Even in old age, Solomon's heart, by 
 outlandish women, was drawn away from 
 God. Peter, immediately after the most so- 
 lemn warnings and professions, denied his 
 Lord with oaths and curses. Barnabas was 
 carried away with the dissimulation of the 
 Jews. Paul was likely tx be exalted above 
 measure, by the abundance of his revelations. 
 We are sure to be in danger, whenever we 
 deem ourselves secure : for pride goeth before 
 destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 
 Blessed is the man that feareth alway. Watch 
 and pray, for ye know not when the time of 
 trouble is". To this we are born ; and there- 
 fore we cannot think our trials strange things. 
 Who can tell what a day may bring forth' 1 
 An accident, a disease, a loss in our circum- 
 stances, a family bereavement may befall ue 
 
JANUARY 6. 
 
 25 
 
 without warning — "For man also knoweth 
 not his time : as the fishes that are taken in 
 an evil net, and as the birds that are caught 
 in the snare ; so are the sons of men snared 
 in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon 
 them." And what, if it finds us unprepared ? 
 Watch and pray, for ye know not when the 
 time of death is. The day of trouble may 
 come, the day of death will come : and it is 
 the most solemn and important of all days. 
 For death is not the termination of our being, 
 but only a change of the mode of it, or a 
 transition from a mortal to an immortal state. 
 Then the dust returns to the dust whence it 
 was, and the spirit returns to God who gave 
 it ; and is disposed of according to our cha- 
 racter here; for after death the judgment 
 The time of our dissolution is not a secret 
 with God ; and we are sure that it cannot be 
 far off"; but each of us must say, with Isaac, 
 " I know not the day of my death." It may be 
 in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cock- 
 crowing, or in the morning. What then is the 
 language of wisdom ? Be ye therefore ready, 
 for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of 
 man cometh. So teach us to number our days, 
 that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom ! 
 
 JANUARY 6. 
 
 *. Philip, saith unto him, Lord, show us the 
 Father, and it sufficeth ws." — John xiv. 8. 
 
 How are we to understand this request 1 ? 
 We can hardly suppose, with some, that he 
 desired a kind of personal representation of 
 the Deity. Surely he could not be so igno- 
 rant as to imagine that God was in his essence 
 visible, or that he could be held forth under 
 any corporeal form or shape; especially as 
 the Jews — and Philip was a Jew — were for- 
 bidden every attempt to make any likeness of 
 the Supreme Being. It is more probable, 
 that he wished for some glorious display of 
 God's presence and perfections, as Moses had 
 done, and which he called God's face. If so, 
 he knew not what he asked. The exhibi- 
 tion might have been fatal. " No man," says 
 God who knows our frame, " can see my face 
 and live." Such a display of himself as he 
 makes to the saints in light, would be insup- 
 portable in this weak state of flesh and blood. 
 It certainly might have been useless. The 
 Jews had such an exhibition of God, in the 
 cloud of glory; but they corrupted them- 
 selves, and went after strange gods. Extra- 
 ordinary and miraculous appearances would 
 lose their impression, yea, by their repetition, 
 they would be extraordinary and miraculous 
 no longer. This is not the way in which 
 God is to be known. Yet let us not revile 
 Philip, concluding that we hwve never been 
 liable to a like mistake. Have we never 
 wanted a kind of immediate and sensible con- 
 viction that would exclude all possibility of 
 doubt! Have we never been ready to ex- 
 
 claim, " Oh ! if, witii an audible voice, He 
 would say, go in peace, thy sins are forgiven 
 thee ! Oh ! if one who has passed the valley 
 of the shadow of death would return ; or 
 some inhabitant of the world of spirits woul^ 
 assure me of a future state !" Ah ! foolish 
 wish. We have Moses and the prophets- 
 Blessed are they who have not seen and yet 
 have believed. 
 
 But some, and among these is Doddridge 
 are disposed to commend rather than censure 
 Philip. They take his meaning to be, " Oh ! 
 bring us to the knowledge of the blessed 
 God, and we resign every other wish as 
 nothing compared with this !" — much in the 
 spirit of David, who had said of him, "Whom 
 have I in heaven but Thee 1 and there is 
 none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. 
 Philip, therefore, only asks for a fuller mani- 
 festation and enjoyment of him — " Lord, 
 show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." 
 
 Yet can he be shown 7 or, in other Avords, 
 can he be known 1 It is true, Zophar asks, 
 " Who by searching can find out God V* But 
 he adds, "who can find out the Almighty 
 -unto perfection 7" He cannot be completely 
 known : but he can be really known, savingly 
 known ; known as the strength of our heart, 
 and our portion for ever. And this know 
 ledge can yield satisfaction to the possessor. 
 It will suffice for our happiness hereafter: 
 and, therefore, the blessedness is expressed 
 by our seeing God; and therefore David 
 says, " I shall behold thy face in righteous- 
 ness ; I shall be satisfied when I awake with 
 thy likeness." Yea, it suffices the Christian 
 at present He can now say, "My soul 
 shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness ; 
 and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful 
 lips : when I remember Thee upon my bed, 
 and meditate on Thee in the night watches " 
 
 " When I can say, my God is mine, 
 When I can feel thy glories shine, 
 I tread the world beneath my feet. 
 And all that earth calls good or great." 
 
 It suffices — to teach him in whatsoever state 
 he is therewith to be content — to embolden 
 him in his work, in the face of all opposition 
 and danger — to sustain him under every tri- 
 al — and to raise him above the fear of death. 
 Moses endured as seeing Him that is invisi- 
 ble. And Simeon was ready to depart in peace 
 because his eyes had seen His salvation. 
 
 But this knowledge is to be derived from 
 the Lord Jesus. " No one knoweth who the 
 Father is but the Son, and he to whom the 
 Son will reveal Him." "No man hath 
 seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son 
 which was in the bosom of the Father, he 
 hath declared Him." Some would rather 
 look for God in the world of nature ; but the 
 Apostle tells us that "He who commanded 
 the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined 
 in our hearts to give us the light of the 
 knowledge of the glory of God in the face of 
 Jesus Christ" He shows us the Father bv 
 
26 
 
 JANUARY 7. 
 
 nis person — He is the image <if the invisible 
 God. By His sacrifice — in which we see so 
 fully and harmoniously displayed his wisdom, 
 •lolmess, righteousness, truth, and love. By 
 His word — the most illiterate Christian, with 
 4 the word of Christ" in his hand, knows more 
 >f God than all the philosophers of Greece 
 md Rome. How much does He teach us 
 eoncerning God as the God of grace by the 
 parable of the prodigal son ! And how much 
 does he teach us concerning God as the God 
 of providence by one saying; "a sparrow 
 falleth not to th, ground without your hea- 
 venly Father, and the very hairs of your 
 head are all numbered." By the Spirit — 
 this Spirit leads us into all truth ; and it is 
 the Spirit of Christ. We have an unction 
 from the Holy One, and know all things. 
 
 Therefore to Him we are to apply, as 
 Philip here did, and pray, " Lord, show us 
 the Father, and it sufiiceth us." He requires 
 it from us : and He assures us our applica- 
 tion shall not be in vain. Ask, and it shall 
 be given you ; seek, and ye shall find. He 
 never has been, never will be, never can 
 be wanting to the promise upon which he 
 causes us to hope. " 1 am the light of the 
 world ; he that followeth me, shall not walk 
 . n darkness, but shall have the light of life." 
 Then shall we know, if we follow on to 
 Know the Lord : His going forth is prepared 
 as the morning ; and He shall come unto us 
 as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto 
 the earth." 
 
 JANUARY 7. 
 
 " Jind the Apostles said unto the Lord, In- 
 crease our faith." — Lukexvii. 5. 
 
 If we consider these words — In reference 
 to the Being to whom they were addressed — 
 "The Lord:" they teach us that He is the 
 source of grace ; and the object of worship. — 
 If in reference to the persons who addressed 
 Him—" The Apostles :" they teach us that 
 even the Lord*s disciples themselves have 
 their imperfections ; but feel them ; and are 
 concerned to be freed from them. — If in 
 'oference to the subject they express — " our 
 faith:" they teach us that faith is not fin- 
 ished at once ; it admits of degrees ; and 
 higher measures of it are attainable. — If 
 in reference to the occasion which excited 
 them — our Saviour's preceding charge: 
 they teach us that an increase of faith is not 
 only always desirable, but sometimes ne- 
 cessary. Ooserve what He had been enfor- 
 cing. "Take heed to yourselves: if thy 
 brother trespass against thee, rebuke him ; 
 and if he repent, forgive him. And if he 
 trespass against thee seven times in a day, 
 and seven times in a day turn again to thee, 
 saying, I repent ; thou shalt forgive him" — 
 4 And the Apostles said unto the Lord, in- 
 crease our faith" — and thus enable us to do 
 
 it. But why faith in particular 1 Why not 
 increase our humility ] love 1 patience 1 Be- 
 cause faith is the root from which they grow, 
 and as faith abounds, they will flourish. Be- 
 cause all things are possible to him that be- 
 lieveth. Forgiveness, so irksome to mere 
 nature, will be practicable and easy as faith 
 is in exercise, and we can believe not only 
 the testimony that if we forgive not, we 
 shall not be forgiven, but the assurance that 
 God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us. Can 
 we, who have had remitted ten thousand 
 talents, seize a fellow servant by the throat, 
 who owes us only a hundred pence ] 
 
 But there are many other cases, the pres 
 sure of which will make us feel that we want 
 more faith than we have at present; and 
 should induce us to pray for an increase of it- 
 Has the Saviour said that He will deny 
 those who are ashamed of Him and of His 
 words 1 And does He require us to own and 
 confess Him before men 1 And will this give 
 offence to our connexions 1 and draw upon 
 ourselves persecution and reproach 1 This is 
 the work of faith ; and will only be practicable 
 and easy as faith increases — "We ought." 
 said Peter and John, "to obey God rather 
 than men." " We cannot but speak the 
 things which we see and hear." " They re- 
 joiced that they were counted worthy to suf- 
 fer shame for His name." " By faith Moses 
 feared not the wrath of the king ; for he en- 
 dured as seeing Him who is invisible." 
 
 Are you called to sacrifice an object, that 
 nature will never let go, without violence 1 
 " By faith Abraham, when he was tried, of 
 fered up Isaac.'''' 
 
 Are you called to confide in God in grea 
 straits and difficulties — when His providence 
 seems to oppose His promise — when means 
 fail — and there seems no way of escape- 
 when He says, " Come, follow me through 
 this dark dispensation. You are ignorant; 
 but I know the way that you take. Here is 
 my arm, feel this; lean on this. The 
 sorrow shall turn to your salvation, the 
 trial shall be your triumph. The end will 
 show that I am very pitiful and of tender 
 mercy, and constrain you to say, « it is good 
 for me that I have been afflicted.' " What is 
 all this without faith 1 " Lord, I believe ; 
 help thou mine unbelief." 
 
 How solemn was the order addressed to 
 Moses, " Go up and die, and be gathered to 
 thy people !" By years, infirmities, and 
 disease, God is calling you to the same ser- 
 vice — The living know that they shall die. 
 And what is it to die 1 We know not, from 
 our own experience, or the experience of 
 others. But to bid farewell to every earthly 
 scene — to be surrounded with weeping 
 friends, whose presence we can neither dis- 
 pense with, or endure — to bear sinking spi- 
 rits and a body full of pain — to feel perhaps 
 our unworthiness and sin more than we ever 
 
JANUARY 8. 
 
 27 
 
 felt them before — to enter into an untried 
 and eternal state — to think of appearing be- 
 fore Purity itself— to be resigned and willing 
 to go — to do well what can never be done 
 again — to glorify God — to edify others — to 
 be an example to the last, and above all at the 
 last — " Lord— Lord ! increase our faith." 
 "Count us worthy of this calling, and fulfil 
 all the good pleasure of Thy goodness, and 
 
 the WORK OF FAITH WITH POWER." 
 
 JANUARY a 
 
 ' He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of 
 His eye." — Zech. ii. 8. 
 
 How admirably adapted to popular in- 
 struction and impression is the imagery of 
 the Scripture ! It is not taken from the learn- 
 ed sciences, or even from the mechanical 
 arts — unless from their most simple and com- 
 mon operations with which all mankind are 
 familiar: but from the aspects of nature, the 
 seasons of the year, the occurrences of life, 
 and the parts, attributes, and functions of the 
 human frame so fearfully and wonderfully 
 made. Who does not in a moment under- 
 stand and feel the allusion before us 1 " He 
 that toucheth you toucheth the apple of 
 His eye." 
 
 It reminds us of union. Sin had separated 
 between God and us, and we were once far 
 off. But we are made nigh by the blood of 
 Christ In Him we are reconciled to God, 
 reunited to God, and become one with God 
 again. And so entire is the connexion, that 
 every kind of intimate union is employed to 
 express it We are one, as the father and the 
 child, as the husband and the wife, as the 
 head and the members are one — yea, as the 
 soul and the body are one — " He that is join- 
 ed to the Lord is one spirit" — no wonder 
 therefore that he that toucheth them toucheth 
 the apple of His eye. 
 
 It shows valuation. Even a man's sel- 
 fishness endears this member. The apple of 
 his eye is a source of too much usefulness 
 and pleasure not to be highly prized by him. 
 He would part with a thousand things rather 
 than lose this, or be injured in any part rather 
 than be hurt in this. How precious to the 
 Lord are his people! He calls them His 
 portion, His jewels, His glory. They who 
 attract and attach Him, are not the great but 
 the gracious — "To that man," says He, 
 " will I look, who is poor, and of a contrite 
 spirit and that trembleth at my word." He 
 " taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in 
 them that hope in His mercy." " He will 
 rejoice over them with joy, He will rest in 
 his love, He wiu iov over them with sing- 
 ng." ' 
 
 It bespeaks attention. As a man values 
 the apple of his eye, so will he assuredly take 
 care of it and endeavour to defend it And 
 
 it is worthy of our notice how the Creator 
 has fenced and guarded this little, but in- 
 estimably precious member from evil by the 
 fluids and the coats, the lashes and the lids ; 
 and with what involuntary quickness nature 
 teaches us to cover and secure it when ex- 
 posed. Yet all this falls short of the care 
 which God exercises over His people. The 
 apple of the eye is not half so liable to injury 
 as they are ; but how superior is their pro- 
 tection ! Lest any hurt them, He will keep 
 them night and day. In two places His 
 vigilance is spoken of under the figure before 
 us. In the one it is implored : " Keep me," 
 says David, " as the apple of the eye, hide 
 me under the shadow of Thy wings." In 
 the other, it is acknowledged : " He found 
 him in a desert land, and in the waste howl- 
 ing wilderness; He led him about He in- 
 structed him, He kept him as the apple of 
 His eye." How well kept are those whom 
 God thus keeps! "Happy art thou, O Is- 
 rael : who is like unto thee, O people saved 
 by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who 
 is the sword of thy excellency! and thine 
 enemies shall be found liars unto thee ; and 
 thou shalt tread upon their high places." 
 
 It expresses sympathy. The pupil of the 
 eye is peculiarly delicate and sensible : and 
 it is not necessary to run the point of a knife 
 into it in order to make the owner shrink. 
 A mote, or, as it is here expressed, a touch, 
 will offend, and instantly affect all his sen 
 sation. And is it not said, " In all their af- 
 fliction He is afflicted T' A friend sympa« 
 thizes in a friend's sorrow : a mother feels a 
 more sensible interest in a child's suffering. 
 Yet Job says, " My friends scorn me :" and 
 Isaiah says, the mother " may forget" her 
 sucking child, and " not have compassion on 
 the son of her womb." But a man's feeling 
 with an injured member of his body, especially 
 the eye, and the apple of the eye, is not only 
 exquisite, but absolutely unavoidable. And 
 not less certain, as well as tender, is the 
 Lord's sympathy with his people — " He that 
 toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye." 
 What a source of consolation is here ! Es- 
 pecially when we remember that His sympa- 
 thy is accompanied with boundless wisdom 
 and almighty power. " He doeth great things 
 and unsearchable ; marvellous things without 
 number — to set up on high those that be low ; 
 that those which mourn may be exalted to 
 safety." "Nothing is too hard for the Lord." 
 
 Let the adversaries of His people learn 
 their danger. They hate the godly, and en 
 deavour to injure them; and though their 
 malice is often restrained, the Lord looketh 
 at the heart and will deal with them accord- 
 ing to their intentions, wishes, and en- 
 deavours. And He considers them as op- 
 posing Himself. "Why," said He to Saul, 
 " why persecutest thou Me ?" He did not 
 persecute Him personally, but he was in- 
 
28 
 
 JANUARY 9. 
 
 luring Hia followers. The head was above 
 his reach, but it felt the wounds he inflicted 
 upon the foot. They who suffer for His sake, 
 may well leave themselves to Him, whose 
 they are, and whom they serve. He will 
 surely plead their cause — " He that toucheth 
 them toucheth the apple of His eye." 
 
 Let this encourage us to do any thing for 
 the people of God — He feels it as done to 
 Himself. He " is not unrighteous to forget 
 your work and labour of love, which ye have 
 showed toward His name, in that ye have 
 ministered to the saints, and do minister." 
 " He," said the Saviour, " he that receiveth 
 you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me 
 receiveth Him that sent me. He that re- 
 ceiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet 
 shall receive a prophet's reward ; and he that 
 receiveth a righteous man in the name of a 
 righteous man, shall receive a righteous 
 man's reward. And whosoever shall give to 
 drink unto one of these little ones a cup of 
 ■cold water only in the name of a disciple, 
 verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise 
 lose his reward." 
 
 Let his people also learn their duty. They 
 see how He regards them, and is concerned 
 for their welfare — How should they regard 
 Him, and be concerned for His glory 1 They 
 should feel His cause to be dear to them. They 
 should be sorrowful for the solemn assembly. 
 The reproaches of them that reproach Him 
 should fall upon them. 
 
 Those that represent strict piety as need- 
 less precision, should remember that nothing 
 less is required of us than to avoid the appear- 
 ance of evil, to walk circumspectly, and to be 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord — 
 We are to regard His word as we keep the 
 tenderest part of the tenderest member of our 
 body. " Keep my commandments, and live ; 
 and my law as the apple of thine eye." 
 
 JANUARY 9. 
 
 " Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, 
 and gavest him to be meat to the people i?i- 
 habiting the -wilderness." — Psalm lxxiv. 14. 
 
 What creature in the animal world is in- 
 tended by leviathan we cannot absolutely de- 
 termine. We have a general description of 
 him in the book of Job ; but even this leaves 
 the learned divided, some pleading for the 
 crocodile and some for the whale. But it is 
 not necesssry to be a naturalist in order to be 
 a Christian ; and it is pleasing to think that 
 though in the Scripture there are things hard 
 to be understood, they do not affect the foun- 
 dation of our faith and hope. The truths con- 
 tained in the sacred volume are plain in pro- 
 portion as they are profitable, and we are at 
 vio loss for an answer to the question, What 
 must I do to be saved 1 Though we know 
 -lot where heaven is, we are clearly informed 
 
 how we may attain it. Though we are uii 
 certain about leviathan, we are sure of the 
 Consolation of Israel — "And we know that 
 the Son of God is come, and hath given us an 
 understanding, that we may know Him that 
 that is true, and we are in Him that is true, 
 even in His Son Jesus Christ.' This is the 
 true God, and eternal life." 
 
 Whatever be the animal intended, his name 
 is here used to represent Pharaoh with all 
 his policy and power, as we see from the verse 
 immediately preceding: "Thou didst divide 
 the sea by Thy strength : Thou brakest the 
 heads of the dragons in the waters." Then 
 it is added : " Thou brakest the heads of levi- 
 athan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat 
 to the people inhabiting the wilderness." 
 Who were the people inhabiting the wilder- 
 ness 1 First, the birds and beasts of the desert. 
 These found a fine feast in the destruction 
 of the king and his army, whose carcasses, 
 thrown on shore and remaining unburied, 
 were greedily devoured by them. Secondly, 
 the Jews themselves. They might very pro- 
 perly be said to inhabit the wilderness, be- 
 cause it was their present residence, and be- 
 cause they were, instead of speedily traveling 
 through it, to sojurn there for forty years. 
 — Now Pharaoh and his host became meat 
 for them, literally and morally. Literally, 
 as they derived from the spoils of the foe a 
 supply of means to sustain them, of attire to 
 clothe them, of weapons to defend them, of 
 silver, and gold, and jewels, to enrich them. 
 Morally, as they derived from the event food 
 for their gratitude, faith, hope, and joy, not 
 only for the time being, when they sang His 
 praise, but in all future perils and exigences. 
 Hence in the days of Isaiah we find the 
 Church pleading with God in allusion to it : 
 " Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of 
 the Lord ; awake, as in the ancient days, in 
 the generations of old. Art thou not it that 
 hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon] 
 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the 
 waters of the great deep ; that hath made the 
 depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to 
 pas3 over 1 Therefore the redeemed of the 
 Lord shall return, and come with singing 
 unto Zion ; and everlasting joy shall be upon 
 their head: they shall obtain gladness and 
 joy ; and sorrow and mourning shall flee 
 away." 
 
 There is a people now, inhabiting the wil- 
 derness. They are Christians. Whatever 
 the world may be to others, and who are 
 called " men of the world," it is no better 
 than a wilderness to those who are k/rn from 
 above, and bound to the land of promise 
 They feel and confess it to be such, not only 
 from the privations and trials they meet with 
 in it, but from the principles *md dispositions 
 of their new nature. 
 
 And is there no leviathan whose heads 
 have been broken in pieces for them, and from 
 
JANUARY 10. 
 
 29 
 
 Which they have been furnished with meat ] 
 Are there no past deliverances, no former 
 mercies, upon which their souls can feed 1 
 Let us think of the redemption of the cross. 
 Here the Lord and Saviour seemed conquer- 
 ed, but he gained a complete victory. He 
 bruised the serpent's ' head ; and through 
 death destroyed him that had the power of 
 death, that is the devil. Now, said He, is 
 the judgment of this world, now is the Prince 
 of this world cast out ; and I if I be lifted up 
 from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 
 Angels are not concerned here, and yet the 
 transaction seems food for their minds, and 
 fills them with admiration, love, and praise ; 
 and therefore they desire to look into these 
 things. What relief and satisfaction then 
 must it yield to those who live thereby ! To 
 see the curse not only defeated, but turned 
 into a blessing; to see where sin abounded 
 grace much more abounding, and the Fall 
 made the occasion of improving their original 
 condition — what wonder if they exclaim, God 
 forbid that I should glory save in the cross of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ ! 
 
 We may also notice their deliverance from 
 their natural state. He hath delivered us, 
 says the Apostle, from the power of darkness, 
 and translated us into the kingdom of His 
 dear Son. And we are to look to the rock 
 whence we were hewn, and to the hole of the 
 pit whence we are digged. The review will 
 be every way useful. What can feed our 
 humility morel or our gratitude more? or 
 our confidence more ] or our rejoicing more ] 
 or our zeal more ] 
 
 There are also Providential interpositions. 
 Who has not some of these to remember ; in 
 which God turned the shadow of death into 
 morning ; and made a way the most strange 
 and gracious for our escape ] Whoso is wise, 
 observes these things; and in looking back 
 upon life, is able to see how many events, 
 which perplexed and alarmed him at the 
 time, afterward ministered to his faith and 
 hope in God. David could say, it is good for 
 me that I have been afflicted. Paul had a 
 thorn in the flesh; but it preserved him from 
 pride, drove him to prayer, and obtained for 
 him the assurance of all-sufficient grace. 
 What pleasure and profit must Joseph have 
 derived from all the difficulties that tried him, 
 yet issued not only in release, but advance- 
 ment and glory ! He can break the heads of 
 any leviathan ; and out of the eater bring 
 forth meat — 
 
 " Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
 But trust Him for His grace ; 
 Behind a frowning providence, 
 He hides a smiling face " 
 
 JANUARY 10. 
 
 " He is not far from every one ofut." 
 Acts xvii. 27. 
 
 is there a God ? This is the first question 
 
 in religion. And the proofs of his Being are 
 so numerous and convincing, that few are 
 foolish and vile enough to deny it The next 
 question is, or at least ought to be, How does 
 He stand related to us ] Is He our friend or 
 our foe ] Is He inaccessible, or can we ap- 
 proach Him] Is He near, or is He far oft] 
 To this inquiry, we have here a full answer 
 — " He is not far from ever one of us." 
 
 He is not far from every one of us, in His 
 essence. " Whither shall I go from Thy 
 Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy pre- 
 sence ] If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art 
 there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, 
 Thou art there." Well might David say, 
 " Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ; 
 it is high, I cannot attain unto it." Yet Deism 
 itself allows that He occupies universal space, 
 and that it is impossible to confine Him. 
 Here is a broad and infinite distinction be- 
 tween creatures and God. No creature, not 
 even an angel, can be ever in two places al 
 once. But God is everywhere, at the same 
 time. And what a thought is it, that wher- 
 ever we are, He is a God at hand, and not a 
 God afar off; about our path and our lying 
 down, and acquainted with all the imagina- 
 tions of our heart ! Do we believe it ] If 
 we reduced our faith to practice, what man- 
 ner of creatures should we be in all holy con- 
 versation and godliness ! Could we ever sin, 
 with God standing by and looking on] 
 
 He is not far from every one of us, in His 
 natural and providential agency — Therefore, 
 adds the Apostle, " For in Him we live, and 
 move, and have our being." And therefore, 
 says he again ; " He never left himself with- 
 out witness, in that He did good, and gave ua 
 rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling 
 our hearts with food and gladness." And 
 says David, " That His Name is near, His 
 wondrous works declare." Can we behold 
 the appearances around us — can we observe 
 the vegetable world with all its variety and 
 beauty — can we think of the myriads possess- 
 ing animal life, visible and invisible, in aii 
 and earth and sea — can we reflect upon the 
 human race so fearfully and wonderfully 
 made and endued — and know that not one of 
 all these beings is self-produced, or self-sus- 
 tained — that the eyes of all wait upon Him, 
 and He giveth them their meat in due season 
 — that He openeth his hand and satisfieth th< 
 desires of every living thing ; and be sense- 
 less enough not to see, to hear, to feel — that 
 God is not far from every one of us ] 
 
 He is not far from every one of us, in reli- 
 gious dispensation. In this sense the Gen- 
 tiles were said to be far off: but the Jews 
 were a people near unto Him — For what 
 nation is there, says Moses, that hath God so 
 nigh unto them ] He resided in the midst of 
 them by His laws and ordinances. They 
 could see His power and glory in His sanc- 
 tuary. They could hear His voice in HU 
 
30 
 
 JANUARY 11. 
 
 Prophets. To them Were committed the 
 oracles of God. In every perplexity they 
 could consult Him ; and He communed with 
 them from off the mercy-seat Thus we are 
 equally, yea, much more eminently privileged. 
 Not that we have the same ceremonial splen- 
 dour, or the same miraculous interpositions ; 
 hut we have all their spiritual advantages 
 improved and completed. We have the day 
 of their dawn. Their prophets and righte- 
 ous men desired to see the things that we 
 see. and did not see them ; and to hear the 
 things that we hear, and did not hear them. 
 But blessed are our eyes for they see, and our 
 ears for they hear. The seventy therefore 
 were to say even to Jews, the possessors of 
 revealed religion, "the kingdom of God is 
 come nigh unto you." We have His word 
 in our hands. We have His sabbaths. We 
 have His house. We have the assemblies of 
 His people, and He is in the midst of them. 
 We have His table spread with more than 
 angels' food, and the King sitteth at His 
 table. We have His servants, and the sound 
 of their Master's feet is behind them. For 
 they come in His name, and he that receiv- 
 eth them receiveth Him. 
 
 He is not tar from every one of us, in His 
 gracious influences. O that you could be 
 made sensible of your fallen condition, and of 
 your need of pardon and renovation ! O that 
 vou were convinced that your understanding 
 must be enlightened, and your hearts changed 
 —and that all this must come from Him who 
 worketh all in all — and that you were dis- 
 posed to apply to Him ! You would scon 
 find that He is able, that He is willing, that 
 He is near. Your cries or groans would in- 
 stantly reach Him. He is nigh unto them 
 that are of a broken heart ; and saveth such 
 as be of a contrite spirit. He is nigh unto 
 them that call upon Him, to all that call upon 
 Him in truth. But in this, He will not be 
 always near. Therefore seek Him while He 
 may be found, and call upon Him while He 
 is near. And learn here also the true cause 
 of your condemnation if you perish. It is 
 notrbecause you are lost creatures and are 
 unable to save yourselves ; but because there 
 is a Saviour within your reach, and you re- 
 fuse to apply to him, and will not take hold 
 of his strength. How came the man with- 
 out the wedding garment to be speechless ? 
 Could he not have said that it was out of his 
 power to weave one, or that he was too poor 
 to purchase one 1 This alone would have 
 been some excuse. But the fact was, that 
 garments were provided in the wardrobe, and 
 he might have had one, as he passed by, for 
 asking. But he neglected the provision, and 
 was punished, not for his indigence, but pre- 
 sumption. 
 
 He is not far from every one of us, as an 
 approaching Judge. People imagine his ad- 
 vent is a great wav off, as A hence they are 
 
 so little impressed by it. But " the coming 
 of the Lord draws nigh." " The Lord is at 
 hand." " The Judge standeth before the 
 door." This was said almost two thousand 
 years ago. What then is the fact now ! Yet 
 say some, it cannot be even now very near 
 for much remains to be previously accom- 
 plished. But God does not act according to 
 our conclusions. He can cut short his work 
 in righteousness. But let us allow the truth 
 contained in the ohjection. Yet his coming 
 by death is the same to you in effect, as his 
 coming at the last day. As soon as you are 
 dead, as to you, the prophecies are all accom- 
 plished, and your state is fixed. There is no 
 pardon, no prayer, after death — after death 
 the judgment. And is death far oft"? The 
 days of our years are threescore years and 
 ten. Many never reach this general average. 
 But allowing the term to be generally true. 
 Take seventy years. Yet what right have 
 many of yon to think your Judge is far off] 
 You are sixty-five, you are sixty-nine ; that is 
 within five, that is within one year of his 
 coming. But take persons at any age — take 
 them in middle life ; take them in youth — 
 yet when you reflect upon the brittleness of 
 your frame, and the countless accidents and 
 diseases to which you are exposed every 
 moment, you must acknowledge that there 
 is but a step between you and death — between 
 you and the Judge of all ! 
 
 JANUARY 11. 
 
 " For which cause he is not ashamed to call 
 them brethren." — Heb. ii. 11. 
 
 What cause 1 Read the former part of 
 the verse. "He that sanctifieth and they 
 who are sanctified are all of one." There is 
 a spiritual union or oneness between Christ 
 and Christians — They are of one God and 
 Father. They are of one spirit. They are 
 of one taste ; one aim ; one pursuit They 
 have one destination ; and will appear with 
 him in glory — " Where lam," says he, "there 
 shall also my servants be." But the meaning 
 is here determined by the context — they are 
 of one nature. " Forasmuch as the children 
 are partakers of flesh and blood, he also him- 
 self likewise took part of the same." " In all 
 things it behoved him to be made like unto 
 his brethren." " He was in all points tempted 
 dike as we are, yet without sin." — This ex- 
 ception was not only necessary, but possible: 
 and as Adam before his fall possessed truly 
 the same nature with us yet sinless, so pro- 
 vision was made for the Saviour's participa- 
 tion of it in the same immaculate way : and 
 from the manner of his conception by the 
 Holy Ghost, his humanity was the "holy 
 thing" born of the Virgin Mary ; and l, e is 
 called the " holy child Jesus;'' and it is «wid, 
 not only that "he did no sin,' but " in b-n 
 
JANUARY 12. 
 
 31 
 
 was no sin." This becoming one with us in 
 nature is without controversy a great mystery, 
 but it is a mystery of godliness. It is the 
 medium of our salvation. It is thus he 
 speaks to us without making us afraid. It is 
 thus he is capable of sympathizing with us, 
 and gains our confidence. It is thus he be- 
 comes our example and goes before us in the 
 path of duty and suffering ; and he can give 
 his life a ransom for us, and put away sin by 
 the sacrifice of himself. Men unconvinced 
 of their state, may treat the doctrine with 
 neglect or contempt; but says Paul, " We have 
 boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood 
 of Jesus, by a new and living way which He 
 hath consecrated for us through the vail, that 
 is to say, His flesh." 
 
 For this cause He is not ashamed to call 
 them brethren — And why should He be 
 ashamed, seeing He is of one nature with 
 them ? It will not be difficult to find a reason. 
 Though He is truly a man, He is more than 
 human. The Word was with God, and the 
 Word was God, and the Word was made 
 flesh. And there is a great difference be- 
 tween Him and us, in the same nature. 
 There are not only degrees among angels, 
 but also among men ; and these distinctions 
 are sanctioned by Scripture, which requires 
 us to render to all their due ; honour to whom 
 honour is due, and fear to whom fear — " I 
 said, ye are gods." A king is of the same 
 nature with the lowest of his subjects; is 
 made of the same clay ; and can no more dis- 
 pense with food and sleep than they — yet 
 does he call them brethren? Do we not 
 deem it almost a miracle to see a prince con- 
 descend to men of low estate? A commander 
 in chief will speak of his brother officers ; 
 but he does not call the common soldiers 
 brethren. The judge in court will call a 
 counsellor brother; but not the prisoner at 
 the bar. Though Christ has our nature, He 
 is so exalted and glorious, that He may well 
 disavow the nearness of our relationship ac- 
 cording to the feelings and usages of the 
 world. Humanity in Him is worthy, but in 
 us undeserving. In Him it is spotless, in us 
 it is defiled. God is angry with us ; in Him, 
 He is well pleased— He always did the things 
 that pleased Him. We are mortal, and crush- 
 ed before the moth ; but He dieth no more, 
 death hath no more dominion over Him — He 
 is at the right hand of the throne of the Ma- 
 jesty on high. 
 
 For we must consider not what He was, 
 but what He now is. While all the members 
 of a family are in obscurity, they all feel the 
 same towards each other; but if one of them 
 be elevated, as David was, to the highest 
 condition in the state, he may be easily 
 tempted to shame, in acknowledging the rest 
 who are left so much below him. But though 
 Jesus is passed into the hoavens, and angels, 
 
 principalities, and powers, are made subject 
 unto Him, and every name that is named not 
 only in this world but that which is to come, 
 He is touched with the feeling of our infirm! 
 ties ; He is not ashamed to call us brethren. 
 It i3 indeed observable that it was after his 
 resurrection He gave his disciples this name : 
 " Go tell my brethren that they go into Gali 
 lee." "Go to my brethren, and say unto 
 them, I ascend to my Father, and your Father ; 
 and to my God, and your God." And when 
 He comes in his glory, and before Him will 
 be gathered all nations, even as the Judge of 
 all, He will not be ashamed to say, " Inas- 
 much as ye did it unto one of the least of 
 these my brethren, ye did it unto me." 
 
 I*t this thought dignify us. The honour 
 will not make us proud, since by the grace 
 of God we are what we are ; and the more 
 we have, the more we owe. 
 
 Let it console and encourage us. If He 
 calls Himself our brother, He will perform 
 all that the relation implies and requires in 
 its most perfect discharge. He will corre- 
 spond with us. He will visit us v He will 
 defend us. He will provide for us. Joseph 
 supported all his father's house ; and because 
 he lives we shall live also. 
 
 And if He is not ashamed to ow*i us — 
 shall we ever be ashamed to acknowledge 
 Him ? " He that is ashamed of me, and my 
 words, in this sinful and adulterous genera- 
 tion, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed 
 when He cometh in the clouds of heaven with 
 the holy angels." But surely terror is not 
 necessary here — surely ingenuousness, af- 
 fected with a sense of our dependence and 
 obligations, will be enough to induce us to 
 say, 
 
 " Ashamed of Jesus! of that Friend 
 On whom my heavenly hopes depend ! 
 It must not be — be this my shame. 
 That I no more revere His name." 
 
 JANUARY 12. 
 
 " In that night teas Belshazzar the king of the 
 Chaldeans slain." — Dan. v. 30. 
 
 Observe the person — the event — and the 
 season. 
 
 The person was Belshazzar. He is not 
 easily identified in profane history, and little 
 is said of him in the Scriptures of Truth. 
 He was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. 
 Merodach Baladin was his father. His mo- 
 ther was Nitocris, a woman of a masculine 
 understanding, and to whose counsel he was 
 much indebted. He appears in the sacred 
 story like a man by the way-side, hung in | 
 irons. The memory of the just is blessed ; 
 but the name of the wicked shall rot, or if 
 preserved, it is perpetuated in disgrace. The 
 noticing of some persons is renown, of others 
 is infamy. Amyot, Bishop of Auxyene, and 
 
32 
 
 JANUARY 12. 
 
 great almoner of France, not long before his 
 death, was urged to write the history of his 
 country , " I love my sovereigns too well," 
 said he, " to write their lives." Let us so 
 Jive, as, when dead, we may yet speak, or be 
 spoken of, to our honour, and the improve- 
 ment of others. 
 
 The event — he "was slain." Though a 
 king, and even called " The King of kings," 
 he yields to " the King of terrors." I said, 
 ye are gods ; but ye shall die like men, and 
 be as one of the princes. Man that is in 
 honour, and understandeth not, is like the 
 beasts that perish." The dwellers in dust, 
 who had once trembled before Him, are re- 
 presented as insulting the king of Babylon. 
 " Art thou also become weak as we ? Art 
 thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is 
 brought down to the grave, and the noise of 
 thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, 
 and the worms cover thee" — What a change ! 
 — But observe, not only his death, but the 
 manner of it. He might have died in a good 
 old age, and gradually, and in a peaceful bed 
 —but he is cut oiF prematurely, suddenly, 
 end violently — he was slain. 
 
 When? "That night." What night? 
 The night of his festivity. He had made a 
 great feast unto a thousand of his lords, and 
 music, and dancing, and every kind of indul- 
 gence filled the palace. How little did he 
 suspect the vicinage of danger ; of death ! 
 Marriage rites have sometimes been prevent- 
 ed, or immediately followed by funeral so- 
 lemnities. A man has built and embellished 
 a mansion, and prepared an entertainment to 
 crown his wishes ; but instead of taking pos- 
 session of it, he has entered the house ap- 
 pointed for all living. Another has planned 
 a favourite journey, but at the very com- 
 mencement of it, he has been turned into the 
 way of all the earth. " Boast not thyself of 
 to-morrow ; for thou knowest not what a day 
 may bring forth." That night was the king 
 of the Chaldeans slain. What night ? 
 
 The night of his wickedness. Festivity, 
 and intemperance, and profkneness, generally 
 go together. Job therefore, though he did 
 not oppose the feasting of his sons in each 
 other's houses, yet feared for them ; and pray- 
 ed and offered sacrifices, lest they should 
 have sinned, and cursed God in their heart 
 But what dreadful excess of riot was here ! 
 " Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, com- 
 manded to bring the golden and silver ves- 
 sels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had 
 taken out of the temple which was in Jeru- 
 salem, that the king and his princes, his 
 wives and his concubines, might drink there- 
 in. Then they brought the golden vessels 
 that were taken out of the temple of the 
 house of God which was at Jerusalem ; and 
 tne king and his pnnces, his wives and his 
 concubines, drank in them. They drank 
 
 wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of 
 silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone." 
 Sentence against an evil work is not always 
 speedily executed ; for God is longsuffering, 
 not willing that any should perish. But 6in 
 ha3 frequently been instantly punished ; as 
 we see in the case of Lot's wife, and Gehazi, 
 and Herod, and Ananias and Sapphira. And 
 are there no instances of this now ? What 
 transgressor can be sure that he shall not die 
 in the very act of iniquity ? His breath is in 
 his nostrils; there is but a step between him 
 and death. A liar has dropped down with a 
 lie on his lips. A swearer has called for 
 damnation upon his soul, and the prayer has 
 no sooner been offered than answered. The 
 drunkard, in the midst of his intoxication, has 
 been brought to soberness in a place where 
 a drop of water cannot be found to cool his 
 tongue. Derangement also may be, in effect, 
 the same as sudden death. " He, that being 
 often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall sud- 
 denly be destroyed, and without remedy." 
 What night? 
 
 The night of his visitation. " In the same 
 hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and 
 wrote over against the candlestick upon the 
 plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and 
 the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 
 Then the king's countenance was changed, 
 and his thoughts troubled him, so that the 
 joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees 
 smote one against another." The effect at 
 first seems remarkable, as the import of the 
 inscription was unknown. Yet what can be 
 more alarming than strangeness and uncer- 
 tainty ? But why does he not suppose that the 
 prodigy is favourable, containing an enco- 
 mium, or a promise ? Conscience forebodes 
 'the meaning. But Daniel explains it clearly ; 
 and admonishes him — but unavailingly. He 
 had been warned before. This was the last 
 address, and not designed for his salvation. 
 Of what use, as to his moral state and dispo- 
 sition, were a few moments of confusion, and 
 terror, and attempted resistance, or flight? 
 And what better, for the purpose of repent- 
 ance, are the hours or moments upon which 
 many are suspending an attention to the 
 things that belong to their peace? Death- 
 bed alarms and prayers, and the exercises 
 which attend them, are most likely, if useful 
 at all, to benefit the living rather than th<» 
 dead. 
 
 Well ! where is he now ? Where he has 
 been ever since that night in which he was 
 slain. What a length of duration ! And yet 
 after two thousand five hundred years he is 
 not yet brought to trial ! Ah ! not the ex- 
 tinction of being, but the intermediate state, 
 and afterwards the Judgment — this, this ren 
 ders death so awful. O that we were wise, 
 that we understood this, tlwit we considered 
 our latter end ! 
 
JANUARY 13. 
 
 33 
 
 JANUARY 13. 
 
 tt .And Joseph called the name of the first-born 
 Jtfanasseli : for God, taid he, hath made me 
 forget all my toil, and all my father s house. 
 And fhe name of the second called he 
 Ephraim : for God hath caused me to be 
 fruitful in the land of my affliction." — Gen. 
 xli. 51, 52. 
 
 There was nothing extraordinary in his 
 thus giving them significant names. It was 
 usual in those early ages to attach names to 
 things, places, and persons, in order to mark 
 any particular occurrence, and to be a me- 
 mento of it Thus, after the victory between 
 Mizpeh and Shen, Samuel took a stone and 
 called it " Ebenezer," saying, Hitherto hath 
 the Lord helped us. Thus, when God had 
 appeared for him, Abraham called the mount 
 "Jehovah Jireh;" the Lord will provide. 
 Thus Pharaoh, upon the promotion of Joseph, 
 called his name " Zaphnath-paaneah," the 
 revealer of secrets. We read also that Moses 
 had two sons ; " the name of the one was 
 Gershom," that is, a stranger there ; " for he 
 said, I have been an alien in a strange land : 
 and the name of the other was Eliezer," that 
 is, my God is a help; "for the God of my 
 father, said he, was mine help, and delivered 
 me from the sword of Pharaoh." 
 
 But what others do from custom, a good 
 man does from principle. In a common observ- 
 ance, he has a motive peculiar to himself And 
 therefore we see Joseph not only thus naming 
 his children, but doing it " after a godly sort" 
 
 We learn from his conduct, first, that it is 
 desirable to secure the remembrance of inte- 
 resting events. " God requireth that which 
 is past;" and our improvement requires it 
 We can only be affected and influenced by 
 things as they are present in the mind — they 
 are absent from it in forgetfulness. Forget- 
 fulness is temporary ignorance or unbelief 
 " By which," says the Apostle, " ye are saved, 
 if ye keep in memory what I preached unto 
 you." He therefore admonishes his hearers 
 to give the more earnest heed to the things 
 which they had heard, lest at any time they 
 Bhould let them slip. God calls upon His 
 people " to remember what Balak consulted" 
 against them : and to " remember all the way 
 the Lord had led them in the wilderness." 
 Let U3 therefore say, with Asaph, "I will 
 remember the years of the right hand of the 
 Most High; surely, I will remember His 
 wonders of old." Was He once powerful, 
 and is He now weak ! once wise, and is He 
 now ignorant ? once true, and now faithless 1 
 once gracious, and now unkind 1 He is the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and Tor ever. How 
 many of our failures, especially in thankful- 
 ness and confidence, are to be traced back to 
 a bad memory ! 
 
 Secondly, what a marvellous change is 
 sometimes produced in the condition of God's 
 3 
 
 • people ! What does Manasseh signify ? " For- 
 getting." Why did Joseph give him this 
 name ] " For God," said he, " hath made 
 me forget all my toil, and all my father's 
 house." That is, the hardships by which he 
 had been exercised, the sufferings he had ne. 
 with from his own brethren, and the anguish 
 he had felt when torn so young from a home 
 so endeared. Did he then banish all this fron: 
 his memory] This would be perfectly »n- 
 consistent with his design in imposing ..he 
 name. The meaning is, that his circum- 
 stances were so changed, that no trace of his 
 former difficulties and distresses remained. 
 We often say, in heaven we shall forget all 
 our sorrows. Shall we then have no remem- 
 brance of the Hand that sustained us under 
 them, and delivered us from them 1 Yes, but 
 all sorrow and sighing will cease ; and all 
 tears will be wiped from our eyes. Few had 
 ever been so tried as Joseph ; and for a num- 
 ber of years the clouds returned after the rain, 
 and fell heavier than before. At length he 
 was not only delivered, but advanced. " And 
 Pharaoh said unto Joseph, see, I have set thee 
 over all the land of Egypt And Pharaoh 
 took off his ring from his hand, and put it 
 upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in ves- 
 tures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about 
 his neck ; and he made, him to ride in the 
 second chariot which he had ; and they cried 
 before him, bow the knee : and he made him 
 ruler over all the land of Egypt And Pha- 
 raoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and 
 without thee shall no man lift up his hand or 
 foot in all the land of Egypt" Thus every 
 thing of his former degradation and misery 
 was effaced as if it had never been — the 
 change proclaiming that nothing is too hard 
 for the Lord. 
 
 Thirdly, the afflictions of the saints do not 
 hinder their fruitfulness. What means Ma- 
 nawoh 1 " Fruitful." Why does Joseph im- 
 pose this name upon him 1 " For God hath 
 caused me to be fruitful in the land of my 
 affliction." His dying father remarks this 
 under a beautiful image : " Joseph is a fruit- 
 ful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well ; 
 whose branches run over the wall." This in- 
 cludes, no doubt a reference to his outward 
 condition. Egypt had been the land, how 
 truly ! the land of his affliction : but he had 
 succeeded in life beyond all example and 
 expectation, and was made to flourish in all 
 his estate. Here is surely an allusion to god- 
 liness, as well as to wealth, and honour, and 
 offspring. What indeed in the eye of a good 
 man is growing in every thing else, without 
 growing in grace 1 What is it to abound in 
 business, unless our soul prospers ] What is 
 it to be blessed with "the blessings of heaven 
 above, the blessings of the deep that lieth 
 under, the blessings of the breasts, and of the 
 womb," if we are not blessed " with all spi- 
 ritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ 1 ' 
 
34 
 
 JANUARY 14. 
 
 Paul prays for the Philippians that they may 
 " be filled with all the fruits of righteousness 
 which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and 
 praise of God." Christian, what is the world 
 to you but " the land of your affliction V You 
 have found it a vale of tears : but has it been 
 a fruitful vale t Your trials need not prevent 
 your fruitfulnes3 ; yea, they are designed to 
 secure and promote it : and though they are 
 not joyous but grievous, they yield the peace- 
 able fruits of righteousness to them that are 
 exercised thereby. What have they done 
 for us ? It is sad that we should need them ; 
 but sadder still that we should lose the benefit 
 of them. Can we say, " It is good for me 
 that I have been afflicted ?" 
 
 Lastly, The hand of God is to be acknow- 
 ledged in all our concerns, especially our 
 mercies. Whether they are temporal or spi- 
 ritual, they have the same source — every 
 good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, 
 and cometh down from the Father of lights. 
 Joseph therefore says, He has done all things 
 for me. If my condition has been changed, 
 He changed it — " God hath made me to for- 
 get all my toil and my father's house." If I 
 have been fruitful, in Him was my fruit 
 found — " God hath caused me to be fruitful 
 in the land of my affliction." It is the office 
 of faith to lead us to God, and to show us His 
 agency where others only see instruments 
 and second causes. It is the business of hu- 
 mility to teach and enable us to say, " Not 
 unto us, O God, not unto us, but to Thy name 
 be glory for the mercy and for the truth's 
 sake" — Both furnish evidence that we are in 
 a course of preparation for that world where 
 " God is all in all." 
 
 JANUARY 14. 
 
 • This thou knoioest, that all they which are in 
 Asia be turned axuay from me: of -whom are 
 Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord give 
 mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus : for he 
 oft refreshed mc, and was not ashamed of my 
 chain: but, when he was in Rome, he sought 
 me out very diligently, and found me. The 
 Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy 
 of the Lord in that day : and in how many 
 things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, 
 thou knowest very well." — 2 Tim. i. 15— 18. 
 
 One of the most painful trials to which we 
 are exposed in this vale of tears, is the failure 
 of those friends, on whose professions of at- 
 tachment we had placed dependence. But it 
 is not a rare exercise. Witness the com- 
 plaints of Job, and David, and especially 
 Paul. Paul was additionally distressed to 
 think that those who had left him, had not 
 only forsaken a man and a friend, but a mi- 
 nister, and an apostle of Christ. Hence their 
 desertion was nothing less tran an abandon- 
 ment of the faith of the Gospel. Defections 
 
 in religion were foretold from the beginning 
 They early took place in the first churches 
 They frequently occur still. Many promise 
 fair, and run well for a time ; but are hinder- 
 ed. The blossoms are pleasing, but they are 
 not certain pledges of fruit. Ministers can 
 only rejoice in the day of the Lord Jesus 
 that they have not laboured in vain — unless 
 they rejoice wiih trembling. The end proves 
 and crowns all. 
 
 The defection here was awfully general : 
 it included " all they which were in Asia." 
 Two of them, Phygellus and Hermogenes, 
 the Apostle mentions by name ; doubtless be- 
 cause they were leaders, and had been very 
 instrumental in the revolt. This is all we 
 know of these men : it would have been bet- 
 ter for them, had we known less. "The 
 name of the wicked shall rot." Only some 
 of these sinners rot, like malefactors in irons 
 and gibbets: they rot above ground, while 
 others rot under it ; known only by infamy ; 
 and suspended for warning and terror. 
 
 But " the memory of the just is blessed." 
 How honourably is Onesiphorus brought for- 
 ward ! What an exception to the general 
 apostacy ! He is one against two — against 
 many — against all in Asia. We are not tc 
 follow a multitude to do evil. Numbers can 
 never turn evil into good, or truth into error. 
 Community in gin is no excuse, and will be 
 no preservf .Lion , though hand join in hand, 
 the wicked shall not go unpunished. Fellow- 
 ship in suffering is no alleviation : it may be 
 a bitter enhancement. There will not only 
 be weeping, but gnashing a teeth, among 
 those who accuse and execrate each other. 
 This will be the case at the meeting of the 
 seducer and the seduced ; Voltaire anc hi? 
 pupils; the faithless minister and his deluded 
 hearers. But to advance without support, in 
 the face of opposition ; to brave the torrent 
 of example, and the influence of the crowd, 
 concerned only to approve ourselves unto 
 God, shows a divine nobleness and purity of 
 principle and motive : and " them that honour 
 me," says God, "I will honour; but they 
 that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." 
 
 He therefore is not unrighteous to forget 
 the work and labour of love which Onesipho- 
 rus had showed to his name, in the relief and 
 assistance he had afforded his servant. Paul 
 records here in the book of life, the tender- 
 ness of his liberality; his courage in owning 
 him though a prisoner; his zealousness in 
 searching him out in Rome ; and the many 
 things wherein he had, before this, ministered 
 to him at Ephesus. — Was he then a man of 
 leisure and wealth .' It is probable he was 
 not. The servants of Christ have seldom been 
 much indebted to the rich. In a general way, 
 the disposition for beneficence diminishes as 
 the capacity increases ; and the greater part 
 of what is done for the Gospel and the poor, 
 J is done by people in common life. But he 
 
JANUARY 15. 
 
 t&a a oublic spirit : his heart was in his work : 
 he did what he could — and whoever does 
 what he can, will do, not only comparatively, 
 but really, much. And was he a loser 1 Was 
 Obed-edom injured by accommodating the 
 ark 1 The ark, says Henry, is a guest that 
 always pays well for its entertainment None 
 ever repented that they had done too much 
 for the cause of the Redeemer. And none 
 ever will, while the promise remains, " The 
 liberal deviseth liberal things, and by libera* 
 things shall he stand." " There is no man 
 that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, 
 or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's 
 sake, who shall not receive manifold more in 
 this present time, and in the world to come 
 life everlasting." 
 
 Thus Onesiphorus obtained a name and a 
 place among the worthies in the Scripture. 
 Wheresoever the Gospel is preached, that 
 which he did, will be told as a memorial of 
 him. Thousands bless him at this hour, for 
 the part he acted. He lived in the affections 
 of Paul ; and constantly shared in his pray- 
 ers. And was this a light thing, to be remem- 
 bered by a man who had such power with 
 God? "The effectual fervent prayer of a 
 righteous man availeth much." 
 
 In this way the Apostle expressed his 
 thankfulness. He had a very humble, and, 
 therefore, a very grateful disposition: and 
 the favours shown him in his straits and dis- 
 tresses always made a deep impression upon 
 him. Hence he prays for "the house" of 
 his benefactor ; that is, for his wife, children, 
 relatives, servants, and outward estate. He 
 prays also for his benefactor himself — " The 
 Lord grant that he may find mercy of the 
 Lord in that day." What ! would such a man 
 a3 he, with all his good works, need mercy 1 
 This would have seemed strange to some ; 
 but it would not be surprising to Onesiphorus 
 himself He knew that when he had done 
 all, he was an unprofitable servant ; and that 
 if God entered into judgment with him, on 
 the ground of his worthiness, he could not 
 stand. It is the conviction of every man who 
 is perfectly acquainted with the law, or the 
 Gospel, or himself. He feels his need of 
 mercy; mercy to the last; and, above all, 
 mercy at the last. When he examines him- 
 self, he sees enough, not only in his sins, but 
 even in his duties, to make him tremble and 
 despair. But he looks for the mercy of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 
 
 And he will find it He will be spared ; 
 absolved; acknowledged; applauded; and 
 glorified. What mercy ! How free ! How 
 rich ! And how will it be prized — in that 
 day ! If we find mercy then, we are made 
 for ever. But wo to those who will be left 
 to the justice of God, without a Mediator ! 
 If we have not fled for refuge, to lay hold on 
 the hope set before us; and have nolo, friend 
 irt the Judge, we are undone for ever. If we 
 
 find not mere} then, it can never be found 
 afterwards. 
 
 JANUARY 15. 
 
 " The gtntlmett of Christ."— 2 Cor. x. 1. 
 
 Does the Apostle mean, by the gentleness 
 of Christ the gentleness He requires, or the 
 gentleness He displayed'! In fact they are 
 the same ; not mdeed in degree, but in qua- 
 lity. As "the precious ointment" poured 
 upon the head of Aaron, ran down to the 
 skirts of his garments, so Christians have an 
 unction from the Holy One. The same mind 
 which was in him, is in them ; and so essen- 
 tial is this oneness, that " if any man have 
 not the "Spirit of Christ he is none of His." 
 But let us attend to this gentleness as it was 
 personally exemplified in Himself 
 
 According to the prophecies going before, 
 there was nothing by which He was to be 
 more distinguished than by this attribute or 
 character. To mention a few instances. It 
 was said of Him — " Behold, thy King cometh 
 unto thee — having salvation; lowly and ri- 
 ding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of 
 an ass — and he shall speak peace unto the 
 heathen." " He shall not cry nor lift up, nor 
 cause His voice to be heard in the street A 
 bruised reed shall He not break, and the smo- 
 king flax shall He not quench : He shall bring 
 forth judgment unto truth." " He shall feed 
 His flock like a shepherd ; He shall gather 
 the lambs with His arm, and carry them in 
 His bosom, and shall gently lead those that 
 are with young." " He shall come down like 
 rain upon the mown grass : as showers that 
 water the earth. He shall spare the poor and 
 needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 
 And if we go forward from prophecy to his- 
 tory, and see Him as He goes about doing 
 good, what so constantly and strikingly shows 
 itself as this lovely distinction ? What was 
 His emblem 1 A Lamb. How did the Holy 
 Ghost descend upon Him ? In the form of a 
 dove. What was the angelical report of His 
 religion ? " Glory to God in the highest and 
 on earth peace, good-will towards men." How 
 does He employ the supernatural energies 
 with which He was invested? It is true, He 
 once cursed a fig-tree, and immediately h 
 withered away. But it u-as a tree, and not 
 a person ; and a tree unowned ; and growing 
 by the way-side ; and a barren one ; and the 
 malediction was intended to be an instructive 
 emblem and warning. It is true also that 
 He destroyed the herd of swine belonging to 
 the Gadarenes. But this was only an animal 
 sacrifice ; and it was in love to their souls ; 
 and it was to bring their sin to remembrance ; 
 and to rebuke them for an unlawful traffic : 
 and what was the loss of their swine, to the 
 benefit He conferred upon them in the resto- 
 ration of two of their neighbours and rela- 
 tions from the most wretched estate, to the 
 
36 
 
 JANUARY 15. 
 
 oossession of reason and the enjoyment and 
 usefulness of life? All the other miracles 
 He performed were entirely an.. 1 , directly acts 
 of kindness and tenderness. Thus He made 
 the hungry multitude to sit down on the grass, 
 and fed them— opened the eyes of a blind beg- 
 gar — raised to life the only son of his mother, 
 and she was a widow. Where shall we end ? 
 Yea, He turned the water into wine at the 
 marriage of Cana in Galilee, to perpetuate 
 the innocent festivity of the scene, to save 
 the new-married pair from mortification, and 
 to crown them with honour. 
 
 It is true, He repeated again and again 
 the exclamation, " Wo unto you Scribes and 
 Pharisees, hypocrites!" But they were hy- 
 pocrites of the vilest complexion. Under a 
 reputation for the strictest godliness they 
 were full of extortion and iniquity. They 
 sinned against knowledge and conviction. 
 They really believed His miracles, yet ascrib- 
 ed them to the devil: made their devotion 
 pander to their depravity; and with their pub- 
 lic and long prayers devoured widows' houses. 
 How could He avoid exposing and condemn- 
 ing these unprincipled wretches ; and disabus- 
 ing the common people of all confidence in 
 such guides'! What should we have thought 
 of Him if He had not ? What esteem could 
 we have felt for him ? Does mercy require 
 the absence of righteousness? Is meekness 
 connivance at crime? Does gentleness re- 
 nounce all the exalted feelings of wisdom, 
 rectitude, and dignity ? 
 
 But observe Him with regard to others. — 
 There was nothing censorious in his disposi- 
 tion; nothing distant and reserved in his 
 manners. He was always easy of access, 
 charitable in his constructions, mild in his 
 rebukes, and tender in his invitations. How 
 did He address the people at large ? " Come 
 unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy la- 
 den, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke 
 upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek 
 and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest 
 unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and 
 my burden is light." What said He to the 
 transgressor, exposed by a number of accu- 
 sers all guilty of the same crime, and wish- 
 ing to have their fellow-sinner stoned? — 
 " Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no 
 more." How did He express Himself towards 
 infants ? " They brought young children to 
 him, that he should touch them; and his dis- 
 ciples rebuked those that brought them. But 
 when Jesus saw it he was much displeased, 
 and said unto them, Suffer the little children 
 to come unto me, and forbid them not : for of 
 such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say 
 unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the 
 kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not 
 enter therein. And he took them up in his 
 arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed 
 jiem." See His conduct towards his friends. 
 At the grave of I>azarus "Jesus wept." See 
 
 his feelings in death towards his mother.— 
 " When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother 
 and the disciple standing by whom he loved, 
 he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy 
 son ! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold 
 thy mother ! And from that hour that disci- 
 ple took her unto his own home." How gen- 
 tle was He in all his dealings with his own 
 disciples, bearing with their mistakes, apolo 
 gizing for their infirmities, loving them unto 
 the end, and blessing them in the very act of 
 departure into heaven ! And was He want- 
 ing in this temper towards his enemies? 
 Did He not weep over the city whose inha- 
 bitants were going to imbrue their hands in 
 his blood ? Did He not heal the ear of the 
 servant of his bitterest foe ? What did He 
 to those who came to apprehend him ? He 
 could have annihilated them with a frown, 
 but He only impressed them with his glory, 
 and caused them to go backward, and fall to 
 the ground, and readily consent to the escape 
 of his followers. He veiled the sun, and 
 shook the earth, and rent the rocks, as he 
 suffered ; but he punished no one. Yea, he 
 prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know 
 not what they do. 
 
 He has the same heart now. Though He 
 is passed into the heavens, He is touched 
 with the feeling of our infirmities. His gen- 
 tleness is now displayed in four things. First 
 — in relieving our wants. How harshly are 
 many treated, when they apply to their fel- 
 low-creatures for succour ! and if they suc- 
 ceed, how ungraciously is the relief afforded. 
 What a difference is there between bounty, 
 and kindness: between giving, and the feel- 
 ing of benevolence ! Here females excel. — 
 There is a tenderness and a delicacy in their 
 doings which men can rarely reach or exem- 
 plify. So would it be with angels if they 
 were incarnate, and lived among us. How 
 gentle would be the manner of their benefi- 
 cence ! They now bear us up in their hands, 
 lest we dash our foot against a stone : but it 
 is so softly, that we are not suffered to be con- 
 scious of it. But the Lord of all ! how He 
 bows down his ear, and hearkens to all our 
 tales of distress, and gives to all liberally, 
 and upbraideth not — 
 
 Secondly — in teaching us. We usualy 
 think only of ability in a teacher ; but temper 
 and patience are equally necessary. With- 
 out gentleness, the pupil, especially if sensi- 
 ble of his defects, will feel either confusion or 
 despondency. But who could ever bear with 
 a scholar as Christ the great Teacher bears 
 with us ? With what long-sufferings does 
 He endure our dulnesses and mistakes ! What 
 various expedients does He employ! How 
 often does He repeat the lesson ; year after 
 year ; line upon line ; precept upon precept ■ 
 Thirdly — in chastising us. He corrects us 
 in measure. He stayeth His rough wind in 
 the day of the east wind. " He will not al 
 
JANUARY 16. 
 
 37 
 
 waj 4 chide ; neither will He keep His anger 
 for ever. Like as a father pitieth his chil- 
 dren, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. 
 For He knoweth oar frame ; He remember- 
 eth that we are dust" Fourthly — in employ- 
 ing us! 
 
 " And will no heavy loads impose 
 Beyond Ihe strength that He bestows." 
 
 He " will spare them as a man spareth his 
 own son that serveth him." 
 
 Let us not abuse his gentleness — nothing 
 would be more vile, and odious, and provok- 
 ing. But let us improve it by losing every 
 thing like dread and slavishness in dealing 
 with Him ; by confiding in Him ; and admi- 
 ring Him; and following Him — till we are 
 changed into the same image, from glory to 
 glory, as Dy the Spirit of the Lord. 
 
 JANUARY 16. 
 
 "My toul follo-weth hard after Thee: thy right 
 hand upholdeth me." — Psaltn Ixiii. 8. 
 
 Here are two acknowledgments, dissimi- 
 lar in their expression; but the second re- 
 lieves the first — and the first is as evidential 
 of godliness as the second. 
 
 There are many that say, Who will show 
 me any good 1 and follow hard after the lusts 
 of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the 
 pride of life. But who says, " Where is God 
 my maker, that giveth songs in the night ?" 
 Who "stirreth up himself to take hold of 
 God V Yet there always have been such, and 
 the number now is increasing, whose souls 
 follow hard after Him. But it may seem 
 strange that this should have been the case 
 with David. Few ever succeeded in life like 
 him. He rose from great obscurity into 
 splendour and affluence, and power ; and was 
 even seated upon a throne, judging the twelve 
 tribes of Israel. What, some might be ready 
 to say, what can the indulged mortal hope and 
 wish for more 1 Yet he prays to be delivered 
 from men of the world, who have their por- 
 tion in this life ; and exclaims, " As for me, I 
 will behold thy face in righteousness : I shall 
 be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." 
 He was also a good man, and had enjoyed 
 much of God. But this, instead contenting 
 him, makes him long for more ; and therefore 
 he says, " to see thy power and thy glory, so 
 as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary." We 
 cannot pursue an unknown good, and we shall 
 not pursue an unvalued one. But the know- 
 ledge of divine things, which results from the 
 teaching of the Spirit, is always influential 
 in the affections: experience gives a relish 
 which can never be forgotten ; enjoyment in- 
 creases huneering and thirsting after right- 
 eousness. When we have tasted the first- 
 fruits, nothing will satisfy but the whole 
 vintage. When we have si pped of the streams, 
 we must drink at the fountain-head. God 
 
 therefore, God in Christ, God in covenant, tne 
 God of all grace, is the object of the believ- 
 er's attraction and pursuit simply and supreme- 
 ly ; and though heaven and earth are very 
 comprehensive, and contain a thousand en- 
 dearments, he can say, " Whom have I in 
 heaven but Thee; and there is none upon 
 earth that I desire besides Thee." "It is 
 good for me to draw near to God." 
 
 But the sours following, and following 
 hard after God — what means this! Surely 
 it intends much more than a languid, inert 
 inclination ; or " the desire of the slothful 
 which killeth him, because his hands refuse 
 to labour." It evinces an intenseness of con- 
 cern that quickens and rouses the man into 
 
 life and earnestness that draw r s his very 
 
 " soul" along with it — that reconciles him to 
 every needful exertion and sacrifice, however 
 trying — and urges him to persevere, whatever 
 difficulties or discouragements he meets with 
 in his course. And sometimes the distance is 
 long — and the progress up hill — and the road 
 rough — and the weather unfriendly — and ene- 
 mies would thrust us back — and sometimes 
 we lose sight of Him, and ask those whom we 
 meet, " Saw ye him whom my soul loveth I" 
 — And when we spy him again, he seems to 
 advance as we advance — and when we gain 
 upon him and get nearer, he seems to look 
 back and frown, and almost tells us to retire. 
 The exercises and feelings of Christians in 
 the divine life, will enable them to explain 
 these allusions. Who among them all has 
 not, like the Jews, been sometimes " dis- 
 couraged because of the way !" Who has 
 not resembled Bank's adherents, " Faint, yet 
 pursuing?" Who has not frequently said, 
 " My soul followeth hard after Thee?" 
 
 And who among them all has not had reason 
 also to say — " Thy right hand upholdeth me If 
 For if God is before his people in one respect, 
 he is with them in another : while He tries 
 them by apparent neglect, he secretly sus- 
 tains them ; while He seems to forsake them, 
 he really supports them, and renders their 
 strength equal to their day. His right hand 
 means the influence of his gracious power, 
 employed to preserve and animate them to go 
 forward in their arduous course, cleaving to 
 the Lord with purpose of heart, according to 
 the promise, " Fear thou not ; for I am with 
 thee : be not dismayed : for I am thy God : I 
 will strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; 
 yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand 
 of my righteousness." Thus his right hand 
 upholds them three wavs. First — as to sin ; 
 lest they should fell by it Secondly— as to 
 suffering; lest they should sink under it. 
 Thirdly — as to duty ; lest they should decline 
 from it 
 
 Thus the believer's experience is now a 
 kind of dawn, neither day nor night — a mixed 
 estate of pains and pleasures, fears and hopes, 
 struggles and triumphs. He resembles - the 
 
38 
 
 JANUARY .7. 
 
 bush burning with fire, but not consumed : or 
 the ship suffering from the winds and waves, 
 but not sinking. He may be troubled on 
 every side, yet not distressed ; perplexed, but 
 not in despair ; cast down, but not destroyed : 
 and in his lowest circumstances he can chide 
 and encourage himself in the Lord his God— 
 u Why art thou cast down, O my soul 1 and 
 why art thou disquieted in me] hope thou in 
 God : for I shall yet praise Him for the help 
 of his countenance." 
 
 JANUARY 17. 
 
 •' And the Lord said unto JVoah, Come thou 
 and all thy house into the ark ; for thee have 
 I seen righteous before me its this ge- 
 neratiov." — Gen. vii. 1. 
 
 We have here a striking representation of 
 the character of Noah's piety. It was dis- 
 tinguished by singularity and sincerity. If 
 considered in reference to his fellow-crea- 
 tures, it was singular ; if in reference to the 
 Supreme Being, it was sincere — " Righteous," 
 says God, " in this generation :" and " right- 
 eous," says God, " before me in this genera- 
 tion." 
 
 " Righteous," says God, " in this genera- 
 tion" — a generation universally depraved: 
 " for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the 
 earth." Noah therefore had none to accom- 
 pany him, none to countenance him ; but all 
 opposed him. Never was there before, and 
 never has there been since, one so singular in 
 his religion as he — for he not only differed 
 from his neighbours, but from all his nation ; 
 and not only from all his nation, but from all 
 the earth. Here was the danger, and here 
 was the triumph of his piety. The force of 
 opinion and example when on the side of the 
 multitude is inexpressible. When a man is 
 alone, conscience and reason will sometimes 
 speak ; and he will form many a good pur- 
 pose, especially when trouble lays hold of 
 him, or he is laid on a bed of sickness. But 
 when he goes forth again, and again enters 
 the crowd, ne becomes another man. His 
 resolutions fai. him ; his impressions wear off; 
 the course of this world lays hold of him, and 
 the stream carries him down. Festus wil- 
 ling to do the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. 
 Herod when he saw that it pleased the Jews, 
 proceeded to take Peter also. Many of the 
 Pharisees believed in Jesus, but feared to con- 
 fess him lest they should be put out of the 
 synagogue; for they loved the praise of men 
 more than the praise of Go.!. And who has 
 not been influenced by the smiles or frowns 
 of his fellow-creatures to act against his 
 judgment and convictions'! Who has not 
 been holden back from the performance of 
 many things, which he knew to be duties, by 
 the inquiry, What will my friends think of 
 me? what will the world say of me 1 
 
 It would be well for us, seriously to reflect 
 in private ; to search the Scriptures without 
 prejudice or partiality ; to lay down certain 
 rules of conduct, and go forth in the strength 
 of the Most High, and follow them wherevei 
 they lead us, through evil report, or good re 
 port, saying, 
 
 "Careless, myself a dying man, 
 Of dying men's esteem ; 
 i Happy, O God, if Thou approve. 
 
 Though all beside condemn." 
 
 " But I shall be singular." You will be sin 
 gular ; and while the world continues what it 
 is, every Christian must be singular. Let any 
 man, actuated by the spirit, and governed hy 
 the precepts of the Gospel, pass through the 
 various walks of life, and whom will he re- 
 semble 1 The majority ] What says the Di 
 vine command 1 " Follow not the multitude 
 to do evil." " Be not conformed to this world." 
 " Come out from among them, and be sepa- 
 rate." " But I shall be singular." And sup- 
 pose you are. In every thing else that is 
 deemed excellent, persons wish to be singu- 
 lar. They would be singularly beautiful, sin- 
 gularly rich, singularly wise. But the right- 
 eous, in all these, is more excellent than his 
 neighbour. Religion is always praiseworthy. 
 To be religious among the religious is com- 
 mendable ; but it is far more so to be godly 
 among the ungodly. What is innocence 
 where there is no danger 1 or success where 
 there is no contention 1 But to be surrounded 
 with evil, and to be steadfast, unmoveable, and 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord — 
 this is the heroism of piety. This shows a 
 knowledge of its infinite importance ; a real 
 love to its nature ; a purity of motive ; a n> 
 bleness of mind, asserting its own freedom, 
 and daring to think and act for itself. 
 
 But his piety was as sincere as it was sin- 
 gular — "Righteous," says God, "before me 
 in this generation." Much more is necessary 
 to render us religious before God than before 
 men : and frequently that which is highly es- 
 teemed among men is an abomination in th6 
 sight of God. Human legislation is satisfied 
 with actions; but the law of God is spiritual, 
 and regards our principles as well as our prac- 
 tice. The Ix)rd looketh to the heart. Hence 
 we read of " pure and undefiled religion te- 
 fore God and the Father." 
 
 Bad goods require dark rooms ; and as many 
 articles of merchandise seem valuable till 
 taken into the light, so there are many things 
 which appear fair till they are set in the light 
 of God's countenance. Before him the friend 
 ships, we often profess are nothing but in- 
 stances of selfishness ; and the prayers and 
 praises we engage in are only the forms of 
 godliness. We may come to his house as his 
 people come, and sit and hear his words, and 
 commend the preacher, and with our mouth 
 show much love, while He sees our hearts 
 going after our covetousness. And how dread- 
 
JANUARY 18. 
 
 39 
 
 fill to think that He will hereafter deveiope 
 all, and divulge all respecting us ; and that 
 what we have always been before Him, we 
 shall be made to appear before an assembled 
 world ! Could many now be seen by their fel- 
 low-creatures as he sees them, they would 
 blush to leave their dwelling — To what ever- 
 lasting shame and contempt must they awake 
 and arise at the last day ! 
 
 It has been said, a man has four charac- 
 t<»rs : one with his friends ; another with his 
 enemies; a third with himself; and a fourth 
 with his God. The two last should agree ; 
 and they frequently do agree; and if our 
 heart condemn us not, then have we confi- 
 dence towards God. We often confound hy- 
 pocrisy and self-delusion. But hypocrisy has 
 nothing to do with deceiving ourselves ; it is 
 only a deceiving of others. It is wearing a 
 mask, instead of showing our own face : it is 
 acting a part which does not belong to our 
 character. This, we fear, is too common. 
 And what is the hope of the hypocrite, though 
 he hath gained, when God taketh away his 
 soul? But self-delusion is more rare, espe- 
 cially among those who live in the midst of 
 the light of the Gospel. The decisions of the 
 Scripture are so explicit, and the marks and 
 evidences of real religion are so plain and 
 many, that it is not an easy thing for a man 
 to be ignorant or uncertain whether he loves 
 God, or does not ; whether he walks by faith 
 or by sight ; whether he minds earthly things 
 or sets his affection on things above. Yet a 
 man may be deceived, as well as be a de- 
 ceiver, as to his spiritual state, and think 
 himself to be something when he is nothing. 
 Yea, it would seem that it is possible for per- 
 sons to carry the delusion in their favour to the 
 very door at which they will knock with con- 
 fidence, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; 
 and he will say, I know you not. Let it there- 
 fore be our solemn concern to inquire what 
 character we sustain in the sight of God, on 
 whose decision our destiny depends, and 
 whose judgment is always according to truth. 
 It was the honour of Zechariah and Elisabeth 
 that they were both righteous before God — 
 And of Noah God said, he is righteous before 
 me in this generation. He was not perfect ; 
 but his piety bore the eye of God. 
 
 JANUARY 18. 
 
 v .ind the Lord said unto JVoah, Come thou 
 and all thy house into the arh ; tor thee 
 have I seex righteous before me in this ge- 
 neration." — Gen. vii. 1. 
 
 We have viewed the character of Noah's 
 piety, let us now consider the Divine obser- 
 vation of it. " Thee" says God, " have I seen 
 righteous before me in this generation." It 
 means that He had discerned, noticed, re- 
 market! him. Men may suppose themselves 
 
 unobserved ; but they are not only God's crea- 
 tures, but subjects. He is their moral govern- 
 or ; and inspects and examines them all. His 
 eyes are in every place, beholding the evil 
 and the good. His eyes are upon the ways of 
 men, and He pondereth all their goings. 
 
 And what is his aim in the exploring of the 
 human race? Is it to ascertain whether we 
 are rich or poor, bond or free, learned or illi 
 terate ? These are distinctions of inferior im- 
 portance; they will soon drop off from their 
 possessors, and we shall enter eternity only 
 under personal characters. The grand thing 
 is, whether we are wise unto salvation ; whe- 
 ther we are free indeed ; whether we are rich 
 towards God ; whether we are men of the 
 world, or heirs of the grace of life ; whether 
 we are wicked or righteous. And He is able 
 to determine this, without the possibility of 
 mistake. He is not far from any one of us. 
 He needs not the aid of testimony to inform 
 Him. All things are naked and opened unto 
 the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 
 He understands our thought afar off Yea, 
 the darkness hideth not from Him, but the 
 night shineth as the day ; the darkness and 
 the light are both alike to Him. Hence He 
 knoweth them that are His ; and sees them, 
 however intermixed with others ; and in his 
 eye, they are as separate now, as they will 
 be hereafter. 
 
 Here was only one holy man in the world 
 of the ungodly : but. the Lord saw that single 
 grain of corn in a heap of chaff; and that par- 
 ticle of gold in a mass of dross : it was too 
 precious to be overlooked or disregarded. 
 And Noah continued to engage his attention. 
 Having seen him, the Lord never lost sight 
 of him. A prince cannot be acquainted with 
 all the conditions of his subjects. A father 
 cannot always have his children in view. 
 But the Lord withdraweth not his eyes from 
 the righteous : their walls are continually be- 
 fore Him. He sees all their external difficul- 
 ties, and all their inward anxieties. Do they 
 wander? He telleth all their wanderings. 
 Do they weep ? He puts their tears into his 
 bottle. Their desire is before Him, and their 
 groaning is not hid from Him. 
 
 He is not unrighteous to forget their work 
 and labour of love. If they speak one to an- 
 other, He hearkens and hears, and it is re- 
 corded in the book of his remembrance. 
 Much of their religion is private. But He 
 seeth in secret. Much is defective. But 
 where there is a willing mind, He accepts 
 according to what a man has. Where the 
 means of execution are wanting, He takes 
 the purpose of the generous heart for the 
 deed. Their wishes lie open to his /iew, and 
 He judges of their services by them, and thus 
 rendenTdouble unto them. 
 
 But when He says, " Thee have I seep 
 righteous before me in this generation," He 
 means to express not only discernment and 
 
40 
 
 JANUARY 19. 
 
 notice, but also approbation. " For the right- 
 eous Lord loveth righteousness ; his counte- 
 nance doth behold the upright." He taketh 
 pleasure in them that fear Him, in them that 
 Hope in his mercy. They blush and weep 
 over their duties; but He applauds them. 
 The world often counts their life madness, 
 and their end to be without honour; but the 
 Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. 
 
 Noah, as a preacher of righteousness, had 
 .aboured in vain, and spent his strength for 
 nought among the disobedient ; but his work 
 was with the Lord, and his judgment with 
 his God. While the ark was preparing he 
 met with nothing but ridicule and contempt. 
 How often would they go in parties and in- 
 sult him — " Well, old dotard, how come you 
 on with your folly I So you are going to 
 swim on dry land ! Do you intend to make 
 a sea as soon as you have done the ship? 
 Where are your sails and rudder?" — Who 
 knows not the force of cruel mockings? 
 
 But the work was the obedience of Faith : 
 and while men scorned, the Lord admired. 
 How delicious is the approbation of God ! 
 His smile ; his voice, saying, Well done, good 
 and faithful servant, is erough to disarm re- 
 proach and persecution, to sweeten all the 
 bitternesses of life, and to commence heaven 
 on earth. 
 
 JANUARY 19. 
 
 u And the Lord said unto JVoah, Come thou 
 
 AND ALL THT HOUSE INTO THE AUK \ for thee 
 
 have I seen righteous before me in this 
 
 generation." — Gen. vii. 1. 
 
 We have seen the character, and the ob- 
 servation of Noah's piety ; and here we see 
 the privilege of it — " Come thou and all thy 
 house into the ark." It is needless to in- 
 quire how the invitation was conveyed, 
 whether in a vision, or a dream, or by an im- 
 pulse on the mind, or a voice in the air — 
 Noah knew that it came from God. But the 
 manner of expressing it is observable. He 
 does not say, " Go thou and all thv house 
 into the ark ;" but " Come." As if God was 
 there. And He was there, and would have 
 his servants and his family with him, to be 
 safe in the day of evil. 
 
 To understand the greatness of the privi- 
 lege, you must recall the danger in which 
 he now was, and endeavour to realize the 
 scene. The time was arrived to fulfil the 
 threatening. " The end of all flesh is come 
 before me. And, behold, I, even I, do bring 
 a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy 
 a.i flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from 
 under heaven ; and every thing that is in the 
 earth shall die." All nature seems aghast 
 at the frown of its Maker. As Noah steps 
 into his welcome refuge, he looks, and sees 
 every thing foreboding a gathering storm. 
 The winds hurtle, the sky is covered with 
 
 blackness; the windows of hepven are open* 
 ed, the clouds pour down torrents, and the 
 fountains of the great deep are broken up. 
 The rivers swelling over their banks, and 
 the seas invading the land, soon drive the in 
 habitants from the valleys and the plains. 
 For awhile the hills and mountains afford 
 them a retreat : and higher and higher they 
 ascend up their sides. But no provision hav 
 ing been made, where will they find supplies 
 of food 1 They look hungry at each other— 
 and the weaker are slain and eaten with 
 cannibal voracity. The devourers, accord 
 ing to their strength, survive one another 
 Their last hope are the trees, to whose 
 branches they cling with despair, till, wea- 
 kened or benumbed, they loosen their hold, 
 and plunge into the flood. Then the stillness 
 of death reigns over the universal grave. 
 Many, before they perished, saw and heard 
 the misery of thousands, and in the doom oi 
 their fellow-wretches realized their own. 
 Many too perished in view of a place of 
 safety they could not reach; and tortured 
 with the thought that they had refused to 
 enter while it was in their power, and so 
 brought upon themselves destruction. Ah! 
 how would they envy now the man they had 
 derided ! — And what were his feelings ! His 
 reflections! What were his apprehensions 
 of the evil of sin, of the severity of God's 
 justice, of the majesty of his power, of hia 
 goodness towards his people, of his caring for 
 them, of his resources on their behalf! What 
 pleasure would he feel ; what thankfulness ; 
 what resolutions to love and serve Him ! 
 
 The Apostle Peter teaches us the use we 
 should make of this dispensation. If He 
 " spared not the old world, but saved Noah, 
 the eighth person, a preacher of righteous- 
 ness, bringing in the flood upon the world of 
 the ungodly ; the Lord knoweth how to de- 
 liver the godly out of temptations, and to re- 
 serve the unjust unto the day of judgment 
 to be punished." The present is not entire- 
 ly a state of retribution ; here we walk by 
 faith, and not by sight. Another period is 
 approaching, and " then shall ye return and 
 discern between the righteous and the wick- 
 ed, between him that serveth God, and him 
 that serveth Him not." Yet even now He 
 puts a difference between the Egj ptians and 
 the Israelites; and sometimes at least in- 
 duces the exclamation even from unholy lips, 
 " Verily there is a reward for the righteous : 
 verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth." 
 And this interposition on their behalf is often 
 spoken of in the Scriptures. He ordered a 
 mark to be impressed on the forehead of 
 those who mourned for the abominations that 
 were done in the land, that the executioner 
 when he approached Jerusalem might pass 
 them by. John heard the angel crying with 
 a loud voice to them who had power to hurt 
 the earth and the sea, saying, " Hurt not the 
 
JANUARY iiU. 
 
 41 
 
 carta, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we 
 have sealed the servants of our God in their 
 foreheads." And 8ays the Saviour to the 
 church of Philadelphia, " Because thou hast 
 kept the word of my patience, I also will 
 keep thee from the hour of temptation, which 
 shall come upon all the world, to try them 
 that dwell upon the earth." "Come, my 
 people," says God, " enter thou into thy 
 chambers, and shut thy doors about thee : 
 hide thyself as it were for a little moment, 
 until the indignation be overpast For, be- 
 hold, the Lord cometh out of his place to 
 punish the inhabitants of the earth for their 
 iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her 
 blood, and shall no more cover her slain." 
 If we distinguish ourselves for God, we shall 
 be distinguished by him; or, as Henry ex- 
 presses it, "If we keep ourselves pure in 
 times of common iniquity, He will keep us 
 secure in the times of common calamity." 
 If we suffer with others, we shall not suffer 
 like them. He can indemnify us with in- 
 ward sunports and consolations, and render it 
 good foi us to be afflicted. He can turn 
 enemies into friends ; and losses into gains. 
 And if they suffer temporally, there is no 
 condemnation to them that are in Christ 
 Jesus — and soon all tears will be wiped from 
 their eyes. The Lord's people should there- 
 fore not be afraid of evil tidings. Their 
 hearts should be fixed, trusting in the Lord. 
 But the privilege here was not personal 
 only, but relative. He was allowed to bring 
 " his house, and all his house, into the ark." 
 It is good to belong to the godly. We share 
 in many outward and spiritual advantages 
 owing to the relation. If God's servants are 
 blessings to others; if they are called the 
 repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths 
 to dwell in ; if they keep off judgments, and 
 bring down blessings upon the country in 
 which they live ; no wonder they are profit- 
 able to their own connexions. Abraham ob- 
 tained a portion even for Ishmael. Thou 
 hast spoken, says David, also of thy servant's 
 house for a great while to come. And when 
 Solomon was threatened for his transgres- 
 sions with the rending of ten tribes from the 
 empire, he was assured it should not be done 
 in his days, for the sake of his father. Pa- 
 rents should fear the Lord, for the good of 
 their children. The best provision they can 
 make for them is not a hoard of silver and 
 gold, but entailing upon them the blessing 
 of the Lord that maketh rich, and addeth no 
 sorrow with it It is true that real religion 
 does not descend by inheritance. Yet the 
 family of a good man has many spiritual ad- 
 vantages, derived from his instructions, ex- 
 ample, and prayers. If they do not improve 
 these, the sin is their own, and their punish- 
 ment will be the greater. Ham was in the 
 ark ; but without repentance, though he ex- 
 perienced a deliverance from the flood, he 
 
 perished for ever. " Many shall come from 
 the east and west and shall sit down with 
 Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the king- 
 dom of heaven. But the children of the 
 kingdom shall be cast out into outer dark 
 ness ; there shall be weeping and gnashing 
 of teeth." 
 
 We shall have reflected to little purpose 
 upon all this unless this impression be left 
 upon the mind, that we cannot serve God for 
 nought. "Godliness is profitable unto all 
 things, having promise of the life that now 
 is, and of that which is to come." He who 
 inhabiteth eternity, and has other worlds tc 
 show himself in ' and he who is the possessor 
 and governor of his, can never be at a loss 
 to fulfil his own word, ' Them that honour 
 me I will honour, and they that despise me 
 shall be lightly esteemed.' 
 
 JANUARY 20. 
 
 " The law is good if a man use it lawfully." 
 1 Tim. i. 8. 
 
 Does the goodness of the law then depend 
 upon your conduct? By no means. It is 
 good in itself, notwithstanding our ignorance 
 or our wickedness. Yea, it is good, though 
 it even increases our wickedness by irrita- 
 tion. And as a dam thrown across the river 
 augments it by resistance, causing it to rise 
 higher, to spread wider, and rush more im- 
 petuously; so "the strength of sin is the 
 law." This is the case admitted by the Apos- 
 tle : " When we were in the flesh, the mo- 
 tions of sins, which were by the law, did 
 work in our members to bring forth fruit 
 unto death." What shall we say then ? Is 
 the law sin 1 God forbid ! " But sin, taking 
 occasion by the commandment, wrought in 
 me all manner of concupiscence. For with- 
 out the law sin was dead." Yet he concludes, 
 " the law is holy, and just, and good" — It is 
 founded in the nature of God and of man ; 
 and in our relations to himself and to each 
 other. It requires nothing but what is rea- 
 sonable, and conducive to our happiness — 
 God himself could not have given any other 
 law — this law can never be abolished or 
 changed. 
 
 The Apostle means to say, that it is good 
 or evil to tts, according to the use we make 
 of it 
 
 What then is the unlawful use of the law ? 
 It is when we go to it as a covenant of works, 
 seeking from it acceptance before God, and 
 peace of conscience. It is wholly unable to 
 answer such a purpose with regard to the 
 fallen and the guilty. A law fulfilled indeed 
 justifies ; but a law broken can only condemn. 
 It was never given for such a design. And 
 such a use of it is therefore not only vain, but 
 sinful: it is striving against God ; it is oppos- 
 ing the plainest revelation of his will ; it is 
 robbing Him of his peculiar plorv; it is frus- 
 
42 
 
 JANUARY 21. 
 
 erating his grace, anl making Jesus Christ 
 to be dead in vain. Yet this use of it is too 
 natural, and it is with difficulty men can be 
 drawn away from it, and made to submit 
 themselves to the righteousness which is of 
 God. 
 
 It is also improper to repair to it for ano- 
 ther purpose. It can no more sanctify than 
 j justify. We may go to Sinai for the rule 
 I and the requisition; but we must go to Cal- 
 vary for encouragement, motive, and strength. 
 A sinless being can love God by seeing Him 
 i his law, but a guilty one never can — He 
 must first know that there is forgiveness with 
 Him. Terror and even authority cannot pro- 
 duce love. Love is the only source of love ; 
 and without love there is no true obedience. 
 The law therefore can do no more towards 
 our renovation than our remission. Its threat- 
 enings and commands may induce an outward 
 and constrained service, but will not bring us 
 cordially to his feet, asking, Lord, what wilt 
 thou have me to do? They may make a hy- 
 pocrite, or a slave ; but says Cowper, 
 
 "Tc 
 
 I « 
 
 Ch 
 
 To see the law by Christ fulfill'd, 
 And hear his pardoning voice, 
 ianges the slave into a child, 
 And duty into choice." 
 
 We use the law lawfully when, 
 
 First, It is made to con vice us of sin. For 
 sin is the transgression of the law ; and there- 
 fore we must judge of the one by the other. 
 As we perceive the crookedness of the work- 
 manship by applying the straightness of the 
 ru.e, so by the law, says the Apostle, is the 
 knowledge of sin. I had not known sin, says 
 he, but by the law : for I had not known lust 
 except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 
 
 Secondly, when it urges us to the Saviour. 
 Indeed nothing else can kill the self-righteous 
 confidence which keeps man naturally alive 
 to a vain hope, but an acquaintance with the 
 spirituality of the law. This extends not only 
 to the outward conduct, but the state of the 
 heart, and our very motives. It demands 
 nothing less than an obedience perfect in its 
 principle, extent, and duration : for " cursed 
 is every one that continueth not in all things 
 written in the book of the law to do them." 
 How then can any flesh living be justified 1 
 Therefore, says the Apostle, "I, through the 
 law, am dead to the law." And "how through 
 the law ? But by the law's showing him his 
 peril and danger ? by its stripping him of all 
 pretension to goodness and righteousness in 
 himself] by its awakening his conscience with 
 a sense of wrath, and driving him like the 
 avenger of blood into the city of refuge ? 
 ' Tor I was alive without the law once ; but 
 when the commandment came, sin revived, 
 and I died." While therefore we dislike 
 legal preaching, there is a preaching of the 
 law which is allowable and necessary, name- 
 ly, when it is preached, not as a substitute 
 for the Gospel, but to show its absolute im- 
 
 portance, and to induce us to believe on Hun 
 that justifieth the ungodly, and whose faith 
 is counted to Him for righteousness. 
 
 Thirdly, we use it lawfully when we re- 
 gard it as a rule of Hfe. Many vain things 
 have been said upon this part of our subject 
 But it is a fact that the Apostle — and surely 
 he was not wanting in evangelism — did refer 
 to the moral law as the rule of life to be- 
 lievers. He enforces love, as " the fulfilling 
 of the law," by which he unquestionably 
 means the moral law, which says, "Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." And he 
 calls upon children to obey their parents in 
 the Lord, because " it is the first command- 
 ment" of the second table " with promise." 
 And if this be not the rule of life, what, is 1 
 Produce any other rule of sin or duty — If it 
 be less perfect, it could not have come from 
 Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and 
 for ever — If it be more perfect, then he gave 
 a defective law before. But what rule can 
 we conceive equal to this? It binds man to 
 God and to all his fellow-creatures by love. 
 And what can we think of those who view a 
 deliverance from an obligation to love God 
 with all our heart, and our neighbours as our- 
 selves, as a privilege? A real Christian 
 would regard such a state of exemption as 
 the vilest bondage. He does not complain of 
 the law, but of himself. He does not wish to 
 bring down the law to his depravity, but he 
 longs to rise into full conformity to its re- 
 quirements. The more God does for him, the 
 more does he feel himself bound to serve 
 God. He also finds it every way useful to 
 apply to this perfect rule. It humbles him by 
 showing him his deficiencies. It makes him 
 prayerful to obtain grace to do the will of 
 God. It makes him long for heaven, where 
 he will be completely happy, because he will 
 be completely holy, and that law which is 
 now put into his mind, and written in his 
 heart, will have expelled every kind and de- 
 gree of adverse principle, and filled him with 
 all the fulness of God. 
 
 JANUARY 21. 
 
 " As his part is that goeth down to the battle, 
 so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff; 
 they shall part alike." — 1 Sam. xxx. 24. 
 
 The Amalekites had burnt Ziklag, the 
 place of David's residence, to the ground, 
 and carried the people away captives. Hav- 
 ing inquired of the I/)rd, David was encou- 
 raged to pursue after the marauders, and was 
 assured that he should recover all they had 
 taken. And so it fell out. But in the pursuit 
 <f two hundred men, being too faint to pro- 
 ceed, had been left at the brook Besor. These, 
 when David returned re-possessed of his own 
 property, and also laden with the riches of 
 the enemy ; these went forth to meet him 
 
JANUARY 21. 
 
 and David came near, and saluted them. But 
 the men of Belial, who were with him, said, 
 " Because they went not with us, we will not 
 give them aught of the spoil that we have 
 rcovered, save to every man his wife and 
 children." Then, said David, " Ye shall not 
 do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord 
 hath given us. For who will hearken unto 
 you in this matter ? But as his part is that 
 goeth doion to the battle, so shall his part be 
 that tarrieth by the stuff; they shall part 
 alike : and from that day forward, he made it 
 a statute in Israel." 
 
 The equity of this statute is obvious. Let 
 us pass to a higher order of things, and see 
 Vow far David's conduct on this occasion is 
 sanctioned by a greater than David. 
 
 All the Lord's followers are not alike cir- 
 cumstanced or employed. They differ in 
 their conditions, offices, talents, opportuni- 
 ties, exertions, and trials. Some of them 
 peculiarly require courage, others patience ; 
 some energy, others prudence. Some go 
 down to the battle, others tarry with the 
 stuff*; some are called to act offensively, 
 others defensively; some move in public, 
 others in private life ; the duty of some lies 
 at a distance, others are keepers at home — 
 
 J " Thousands at his bidding speed, 
 
 And post o'er land and ocean, without rest — 
 They also serve, who only stand and wait." 
 
 But this difference does not affect their ac- 
 ceptance and recompense. They shall part 
 alike ; that is, provided they are engaged in 
 the Lord's service, and willing to do what is 
 in their power. This was the case here. 
 These men were as much disposed to go as 
 their brethren; but they were unable; and 
 when detained, they were not useless, but 
 aided David in another department: they 
 guarded the baggage while their comrades 
 chased the foe. Why then should they have 
 been forgotten or overlooked ! Had it been 
 otherwise ; had these men refused to march 
 or fight, and feigned excuses for their in- 
 dolence, while their fellows toiled and bled ; 
 it would have been unrighteous for them to 
 have fared alike in the spoil. In the battle 
 of the Nile, one of the ships, in trying to take 
 its ordered station, went aground, and could 
 not be loosened in time to share in the heat 
 of the action. This prevention, however, 
 was purely accidental, and nothing could 
 have been more trying to the feelings of the 
 brave commander and his men: and who 
 sees not that their claims were equal to 
 those of their brethren, though their services 
 were not] But reason could have urged 
 nothing in their favour, had they, averse to 
 the conflict, sailed away, or purposely have 
 rendered their engagement impossible. And 
 does not this apply to many professors of re- 
 ligion ? The words of the Apostle, " where 
 there is first a willing mind, it is accepted 
 
 according to what a man hath, and not ac 
 cording to what he hath not;" are very en- 
 couraging to some, but they are often abused 
 by others. God never accepts a good in- > 
 clination in the room of a good action, with- 
 out inability: but the will is taken tor the 
 deed, where the deed cannot accompany the 
 will. No excuse, therefore, is allowed for 
 those who do not exert themselves accord- 
 ing to their capacity and means. And He 
 knows, unerringly, whether the impediments 
 we plead are real or pretended. And how 
 often does self-indulgence, or sloth, or cow* 
 ardice, create difficulties and obstructions' 
 "I cannot dig," says the unjust steward — 
 why not? Had he no hands? or could he 
 not procure a spade? Yes — but day labour 
 was a harder kind of livelihood than a dash 
 of the pen. Call upon a covetous hearer of 
 the Gospel, with a case of distress ; and he 
 tells you, "I cannot give." What is the 
 hinderance ? A greedy desire to hoard what- 
 ever comes within his grasp. Others are 
 crippled by profusion and excess in food, 
 furniture, and dress. They live to the ex- 
 tent of their income, or beyond it, and so 
 have nothing to spare for the poor, or for the 
 cause of Christ. — But how are they dis- 
 abled ? Who requires them to live thus ex- 
 pensively ? Surely not He, who says, " if 
 any man will be my disciple, let him deny 
 himself" "The lust of the flesh, the lust 
 of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the 
 Father, but is of the world." But, where the 
 desire is to the Lord, He estimates the ser- 
 vices of his people, not by what they do, but 
 what they would do, were they not prevent- 
 ed. David wished to build a house for His 
 name, but was forbidden ; yet the Lord told 
 him, it was well that it was in his heart, and 
 promised to build him an house. 
 
 Is this a curious or a useless speculation .' 
 It is adapted to keep us from pride and dis- 
 dain. Let us not undervalue others because 
 they have no,t our distinctions or advantages 
 while they are doing service in other ways. 
 God smiles upon them, and we should res- 
 pect them. Let not the eye say unto the 
 hand, I have no need of thee ; nor again, the 
 head to the feet, 1 have no need of you 
 Even those members of the body, which 
 seem to be more feeble, are necessary. Hence 
 Paul's caution to every man, " not to think 
 of himself more highly than he ought to 
 think; but to think soberly, according as God 
 hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 
 For as we have many members in one body, 
 and all members have not the same office: 
 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, 
 and every one members one of another. 
 Having then gifts differing according to the 
 grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, 
 let us prophesy according to the proportion of 
 faith ; or ministry, let us wait on our minister- 
 ing: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or 
 
44 
 
 JANUARY 22. 
 
 ne that exhortetk, on exhortation: lie that 
 giveth let him do it with simplicity ; he that 
 ruleth, with diligence ; he that showeth mer- 
 cy, with cheerfulness." 
 
 It should also keep us from leaving our 
 own stations, and intruding into places for 
 which we are not designed. The temptation 
 ia often usefulness; but if we are unprofit- 
 able, the fault is not in our condition, but in 
 our principles and dispositions. We may 
 serve our generation, and have the testimony 
 that we please God, in whatever state his 
 providence places us. Let every man, there- 
 fort,, abide in the calling in which he is called 
 of Go J. 
 
 And in the same way it should silence the 
 discontent or discouragement that often arises 
 from the obscurity and limitation of our cir- 
 cumstances. Why do we murmur or despond 
 because we have not the situations and re- 
 sources which others command 1 The Lord 
 who withholds them, looketh at the heart. 
 " If the foot shall say, because I am not the 
 hand, I am not of the body ; is it therefore 
 not of the body ? And if the ear shall say, 
 because I am not the eye, I am not of the 
 body ; is it therefore not of the body 1" What 
 said He of Mary 1 " She hath done what 
 she could." Many put into the treasury ; 
 aud the rich gave largely; but the poor 
 widow who gave only two mites, gave more 
 than they all. The man v ho occupied with 
 rive talents, heard the same sentence as the 
 man who had improved his ten — "Well 
 done, thou good and faithful servant." And 
 the man who was cast into outer darkness 
 would have had the same commendation had 
 he not been negligent: he was rejected, not 
 because he had only one talent, but because 
 he hid it in a napkin. It is well to see the 
 rich generous, and humble, and thankful ; but 
 the same degree of grace may appear equally 
 in the poor when they refuse to steal, and 
 take not God's name in vain. The man who 
 knows how to be abased is as, divinely in- 
 structed as he who knows how to abound. 
 Some go to the house of God with the multi- 
 tude to keep holy day : others are detained by 
 accident, sickness, or infirmity ; but " in their 
 hearts are the ways of them ;" and therefore 
 they shall see his power and glory alone, as 
 others see him in the sanctuary. One has 
 leisure to go forth on a week day evening to 
 hear the preaching of the word; another 
 abides by the stuff! That female edifies the 
 public with her pen; this is engrossed in 
 rearing her infant family, and performing the 
 most important duties of life without notice — 
 they are equally respectable and valuable in 
 their places, and shall part alike. "There 
 are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 
 And there are differences of administrations, 
 but the same Lord. But the manifestation 
 of the Spirit is given to every man to profit 
 withal." 
 
 Moral greatness does not consist in doing 
 extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary 
 things with a great mind; that is, with a 
 desire to please and glorify God. It therefore? I 
 lies open equally to all. The servant ma\ 
 be as great in the sight of the Lord as his 
 master. In a word, the excellency of in- 
 dividuals depends not upon the eminence or 
 their station, or the splendour of their calling. ' 
 but in the fidelity and zeal with which they 
 answer to their claims and duties; just as 
 the perfection of an actor appears, not in the 
 kind of character he represents, but in the 
 manner in which he performs it. — 
 
 " Glory and shame from no conditions rise, 
 Act well your part, — there all the honour lies '" 
 
 JANUARY 22. 
 " Deborah Rebekafis nurse died, and she via* 
 buried beneath Beth-el under an oak: and 
 the name of it -was called Allon-bachuth." 
 Gen. xxxv. 8. 
 
 She was one of his mother's servants. 
 When Rebekah married, she took Deborah 
 along with her. She had therefore attended 
 Jacob in his infancy ; and after his mother's 
 death he seems to have sent for her, and she 
 came and lived with him, and rendered her- 
 self useful to his own children. She must 
 now have been very aged. In those earlier 
 days domestics retained their relation to their 
 masters and mistresses much longer than 
 they now do: unless they married ; and 
 sometimes, even then, they commonly died 
 in the families in which they lived. Now, 
 the connexion is frequently but for the year 
 or month. " Ah," it is said, " servants are 
 not now what they were formerly." We 
 believe it; but the principal reason perhaps 
 is, because their masters and mistresses are 
 not the same. Corruption, like every other 
 stream, does not run upward, but downward. 
 Fashions descend from the high to the low : 
 and morals do the same. From the state of 
 the hall, we may generally ascertain tho 
 previous state of the parlour. 
 
 Old domestics, who have been faithful and 
 useful in their generation, should not be dis- 
 regarded as hirelings who have filled their 
 day, but be treated as humble relations — 
 " Thine own friend and thy father's friend 
 forsake not." 
 
 No mention is made of Rebekah's dissolu- 
 tion or interment ; but we are informed of 
 the death and burial of her nurse. As all 
 could not have a place in his word, the plea- 
 sure of God is seen in the distinguished no- 
 tice taken of some individuals above others. 
 Yet he has not acted arbitrarily in this case. 
 He bestows his favours freely ; but honour is 
 dispensed according to rule, and that rule he 
 has himself laid down — " Them that honou 
 me, I will honour." And this may be done 
 in any station, or condition of life. And th 
 
JANUARY 23. 
 
 Lord is no respecter of persons. He seeth 
 not as man seeth ; and often chooses things 
 that are not, to bring to nought things that 
 are, that no flesh may glory in his presence. 
 
 The weeping here was so great that it 
 gave a name to the place. Nothing could 
 more strongly show the worth of this old fe- 
 male, and the place she held in the esteem 
 and affection of the whole family. Every 
 tear that dropped from every eye said, " Well 
 done, good and faithful servant." There are 
 some who draw forth no blessing while they 
 live, vr tears when they die — a dry funeral is 
 a hateful sight 
 
 She was buried upon the spot, under " the 
 oak of weeping." Burying-places are of 
 natural, not of religious consideration. Where 
 the tree falleth, it may lie. But let us not 
 fail to observe how little we know of the cir- 
 cumstances in which we may be called to 
 die — whether among careless strangers or 
 sobbing friends, whether at home or abroad, 
 whether in the chamber or on the road. 
 Therefore says Wisdom, "Be ye always 
 ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, 
 the Son of man may come. We can ascertain 
 where we began life, but there is only one 
 Being who can tell where we shall end it 
 But we may well leave it to our Heavenly 
 Father to choose the lap of earth on which 
 we shall repose. Wherever it may be, it will 
 be alike safe and comfortable, if we fall asleep 
 in Jesus. 
 
 JANUARY 23. 
 
 " Clothed -with a garment down to the foot, and 
 girt about the paps with a golden girdle." 
 Rer. i. 13. 
 
 The dress was sacerdotal ; and our Lord's 
 appearance in this attire was to remind John 
 that He was the High Priest of our profes- 
 sion. This is one of the three grand offices 
 He sustains and executes in the economy of 
 our salvation — He who is the prophet that 
 was to arise like unto Moses, and the King 
 in Zion, is also an High Priest who is ,set on 
 the right hand of the throne of the Majesty 
 in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, 
 and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord 
 pitched, and not man. And we make no 
 scruple to say, that the first and second of 
 these offices derive their efficacy and even 
 their existence from the third. 
 
 The High Priest under the law was a very 
 remarkable and important character. He 
 was the medium of all intercourse between 
 God and the people. Thus he was a striking 
 emblem of the Lord Jesus as the mediator of 
 the new covenant But in tracing the re- 
 semblance we shall pass by his personal 
 qualities, the mode of his consecration, the 
 oil that was poured upon his head, and his 
 vesture to the skirt of which were attached 
 the golden bell and pomegranate — in all of 
 
 which truth may find some analogy and fancy 
 more : and notice only the three actions b* 
 had to perform. These were, 
 
 First, expiatioa. He offered not only gifts 
 but sacrifices : and we know the design ; it 
 was to atone for the sins of the people. The 
 slaughter of the victims showed at once the 
 penalty of sin, and the way of deliverance 
 from it — life for life — for without shedding 
 of blood there is no remission. Herein the 
 High Priest typified the Saviour: but see 
 how the former is surpassed by the latter! 
 The one offered for his own sins as well as 
 for those of the people: the other was harm- 
 less, holy, undefiled, separate from sinners. 
 The one repeated his sacrifices often, because, 
 they could not make the comers thereunto 
 perfect ; the other, by the one offering up o< 
 Himself, perfected for ever them that ar» 
 sanctified. The one made atonement onh, 
 for the congregation of the children of Israel 
 the other taketh away the sin of the world. 
 
 Secondly, intercession. We know no 
 whether the High Priest used any words , 
 but what he did, spuke loud enough. For 
 after slaying the victim, he took the blood in 
 a bason, and, wearing the names of the tribes 
 of Israel on his breast he entered into the 
 holiest of all, and sprinkled the mercy-seat 
 and burnt incense ; while He who sat between 
 the cherubim smelled the sweet savour. And 
 thus Jesus, after bearing our sins in his own 
 body on the tree, and obtaining eternal re- 
 demption for us, entered into heaven itself, 
 with his own blood, there to appear in the 
 presence of God for us, presenting and plead- 
 ing his sacrifice, and founding on his satis- 
 faction his claims in favour of his people. 
 " Wherefore He is able to save to the utter- 
 most them that come unto God by Him, see- 
 ing He ever liveth to make intercession for 
 them." "We have an Advocate with the 
 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is 
 the propitiation for our sins. 
 
 Thirdly, benediction. While he was burn 
 ing incense within, the whole multitude oi 
 people were praying without and did not de- 
 part till he came forth and pronounced the 
 blessing. The very words he used are re- 
 corded : " The Lord bless thee, and keep 
 thee : the Lord make his face shine upon 
 thee, and be gracious unto thee : the Lord 
 lift up his countenance upon thee, and give 
 thee peace." This language was more than 
 a mere wish on the part of the High Priest ; 
 it was the blessing of Him whom they had 
 offended, and was nothing less than an ac- 
 knowledgment that God was pacified to- 
 wards them, that they were in favour with 
 Him, and might go away joyful and glad of 
 heart. So his Church had not long to wait, 
 when they saw Him enter within the vail in 
 his accession to glory, before he came forth 
 in the effusion of his Holy Spirit and com- 
 manded the blessing, even life for evermore 
 
 * 
 
46 
 
 JANUARY 24 
 
 in the preaching of the gospel, which as- 
 sures us that we are reconciled unto God by 
 the death of his Son, that we are accepted in 
 the Beloved, and shall be Satisfied early with 
 his favour. " Happy art thou, O Israel." 
 " Blessed are the people that know the joy- 
 ful sound : they shall walk, O Lord, in the 
 light of thy countenance ; in thy name shall 
 they rejoice all the day, and in thy righte- 
 ousness shall thev be exalted." 
 
 JANUARY 24 
 
 ' Let the -words of my mouth, and the medita- 
 tion of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight." 
 Psalm xix. 14. 
 
 All human beings should have a govern- 
 ing aim to influence and regulate them. And 
 all have such an aim : but all have not a pro- 
 per one. All wish to please : but we may 
 divide them into three classes. Some please 
 themselves. Whoever is offended, they must 
 be indulged. Whatever be the claims of 
 others, they will have their own way, and 
 humour. Some strive to please men. And 
 this is not in all cases improper. A conde- 
 scending and obliging behaviour is lovely ; 
 and, therefore, enjoined. " Let every one 
 of us please his neighbour." But it must be 
 " for his good to edification ;" and in things 
 lawful ; otherwise, " if I seek to please men, 
 I shall not be the servant of Christ." Some 
 endeavour to please God. These are, in- 
 deed, comparatively few ; but we hope their 
 number is increasing. Such were Paul and 
 his companions : " We labour, that whether 
 present or absent, we may be accepted of 
 Him." And such was David: "Let the 
 words of my mouth, and the meditation of 
 my heart, be acceptable in thy sight." 
 
 By a figure of speech, all authors frequent- 
 ly use a part for the whole. David wishes 
 to dedicate to God all his powers and actions; 
 and to walk before Him in all his command- 
 ments and ordinances, blameless. But if we 
 take the expression a3 it is, we see how he 
 extends his pious solicitude. A natural man 
 may regard his conduct, especially as it falls 
 under the observation of his fellow-creatures. 
 But does he make conscience of his speech 1 
 Dees ho make conscience of his thoughts? 
 David's care reaches to the words of his 
 mouth, and the meditations of his heart; and 
 he prays that both may be acceptable in God's 
 sight. 
 
 The prayer shows hi3 humility. When 
 we have done all, we are unprofitable ser- 
 vants. A faithful examination of our holiest 
 things will destroy all confidence in them, 
 and prove that they need forgiveness, rather 
 than deserve recompense. "My perform- 
 ances are so poor, so imperfect, so unworthy, 
 that it must be an act of grace in Thee to 
 regard them. Deign, O Lord, to smile upon 
 them. View them in the Son of thy love ; 
 
 and for His sake forgive the evil and accep 
 the good — 
 
 •' I cast them a . T'r/ feet : my only plea 
 Is what it was, Hjpendence upon Thee." 
 
 The prayer shows his affection. All mus* 
 acknowledge the importance of loving God 
 But what is the best evidence of it ] " This 
 is the love of God, that we keep his com- 
 mandments." And the Christian delights in 
 his law. It is enough for him to know what 
 He forbids, or what He enjoins. This, says 
 he, will please Him ; therefore I will pur- 
 sue it. This will offend Him; therefore I 
 will forbear. David was anxious that not a 
 word or a thought should displease his God. 
 
 The prayer shows a consciousness of duty. 
 We are all under an indispensable obligation 
 to please God, both on the ground of grati- 
 tude and justice. Who called us into being 1 
 Who has fed us all our life long] Who 
 sought us when lost, and ransomed us from 
 death and hell 1 We are not our own 1 For 
 we are bought with a price. He is our fa- 
 ther, our master, our king. And without a 
 concern to please Him, can we be good chil- 
 dren, good servants, good subjects ] There 
 may be a time when an obligation to please 
 an earthly superior may cease to be binding 
 upon us. He may require of us what is un- 
 reasonable and unrighteous. But God's per- 
 fect will demands nothing but what is wise, 
 and holy, and just, and good. 
 
 The prayer shows a regard to self-interest. 
 David was not mercenary ; but he knew he 
 could not serve God for nought. In serving 
 God we more effectually serve our own wel- 
 fare : and as God himself has placed the ad- 
 vantage before us in the Scripture not only 
 as a truth, but as a motive, it cannot be im- 
 proper to regard it. Many will entreat the 
 favour of the prince, and every one is a 
 friend to him that giveth gifts. But if we 
 were sure of gaining his approbation — than 
 which nothing is more uncertain — yet what 
 is it when obtained 1 But if we study to 
 please God, success is not only sure, but glo- 
 rious. The friendship of the mightiest mo- 
 narch can do, very little for us ; our greatest 
 exigencies lie far beyond the reach of human 
 aid. But God can supply all our need. He 
 is able to do for us exceeding abundantly 
 above all we are able to ask or think. 
 
 It would be endless to specify all the be- 
 nefits attached to a pleasing God. Is pre- 
 servation from sin a blessing 1 " Whoso 
 pleaseth God shall escape from her ; but the 
 sinner shall be taken by her." There is no- 
 thing too vile for us to fall into if we provoke 
 our Defender to withdraw from us. Is safety 
 and concord a blessing'! "When a man's 
 ways please the Lord, he maketh even hia 
 enemies to be at peace with him." Is the 
 answer to prayer a blessing 1 " And what- 
 soever we ask we receive of Him, because 
 we keep his commandments, and do those 
 
JANUARY 2c 
 
 .hnigs that are pleasing 1 in his sight" Is a 
 removal to heaven desirable 1 " By faith 
 Enoch was translated that he should not see 
 death ; and was not found, because God had 
 translated him : for before his translation he 
 had tills testimony, that he pleased God." 
 Ho went indeed in a chariot of fire ; but an 
 apoplexy, an accident a dropsy, a fever will 
 not be amiss, that takes us from a vale of 
 tears into the joy of our Lord. 
 
 JANUARY 25. 
 "We are the Lord's."— Rom. xiv. 8. 
 
 By the Lord here we are to understand 
 the Lord Jesus : witness the words immedi- 
 ately following : " For to this end Christ both 
 died, and rose, and revived, that he might be 
 Lord both of the dead and living." 
 
 Now if we examine, we shall find that He 
 has every kind of claim and right to us. 
 
 He has a right derived from his creating 
 power. If " all things were made by Him," 
 He made us, and not we ourselves. In con- 
 sequence of this, he has a property in us, not 
 only such as no man can have in a fellow- 
 creature, but such as even no father has in 
 his own children. They are his in a Subor- 
 dinate and limited degree ; but we are the 
 Lord's absolutely and entirely. He brought 
 us out of nothing ; framed our bodies ; cov- 
 ered us with skin and flesh ; fenced us with 
 bones and sinews ; and formed our spirits 
 within us. Suppose we were to return to him 
 all that we received from him — what would 
 be left as our own 1 
 
 He has a right derived from his providen- 
 tial care. He has not only given us life and 
 favour, but his visitation hath preserved our 
 spirits. Why died we not from the womb ! 
 Who sustained us when we hung on our 
 mother's breast 1 Whose mercies have been 
 new every morning ! Who has given his be- 
 loved sleep 1 Who has inspired our connex- 
 ions with all the tenderness they ever ex- 
 pressed towards us 1 Whose are we but His, 
 in whom we live, move, and have our beino- > 
 How vile and mean to enjoy the light of n;s 
 sun— to breathe his air— to eat constantly at 
 his table— to be clothed from his wardrobe — 
 and not own and acknowledge our obligations 
 to Him ! 
 
 He has a right derived from his redeem- 
 ing mercy. We are not our own, but bought 
 with a price, and He paid it To feel the 
 force of this claim, it will be necessary for us 
 to weigh three things. First the mighty and 
 dreadful evils from which he has delivered 
 us ; sin, the power of darkness, the present 
 evil world, death, and the wrath to come. 
 Secondly, the state to which He has advanced 
 us; its blessedness, its glory, its safety, its 
 duration, its immensity. Even the beginnings 
 cf it here, its earnests and foretastes, are in- 
 
 describab e and inconceivable — even now the 
 joy is unspeakable and full of glory ; and the 
 peace passeth all understanding. Thirdly, the 
 way, the infinitaky expensive way in which 
 he has thus ransomed us. All comes free to 
 us ; but what did it cost Him ! Owing fc) our 
 slight views of the evil of sin and the holi- 
 ness of God, we are very little struck with 
 the greatness of redemption and the difficul- 
 ties attending it. It was easy to destroy man ; 
 but to restore him, in a way that should mag- 
 nify the law which had been broken, and dis- 
 play God as the just as well as the justifier, 
 was a work to which the Lord Jesus only 
 was adequate — and what does it require even 
 of him 1 Not a mere volition — not a mere 
 exertion, as when he delivered the Jews from 
 Egypt, and spake the world into being. He 
 must assume flesh and blood. He dwelt 
 among us. For thirty-three years he was a 
 man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 
 Let us go over his history ; let us survey his 
 sufferings ; let us meditate on his agony in 
 the garden ; his shame on the cross ; his 
 abasement in the lowest parts of the earth : 
 and all this for enemies ; and all not only 
 without our desert, but without our desire — 
 till we feel we are drawn, and bound with 
 the cords of a man and the bands of love — a 
 love that passeth knowledge. Hence 
 
 He has a right, derived not only from what 
 he has done, but from what we have dono ; 
 a right derived from our dedication. If Chris- 
 tians, we have ratified his claims, and have 
 actually surrendered ourselves to him, re- 
 nouncing every other owner, and saying, 
 " Lord, I am thine, save me. Other Lords be- 
 side Thee have had dominion over me ; but 
 henceforth by Thee only will I make men- 
 tion of thy name." Thus the Corinthians 
 " gave their ownselves unto the Lord." In 
 this surrender, the main thing is the heart ; 
 for if this be given, nothing will be with- 
 holden. This therefore is the Lord's demand : 
 ;i My son. give me thine heart" And perhaps 
 some can remember the particular time when 
 this surrender was first effectually made. 
 Perhaps they had been pressed by an afflic- 
 tion that nad threatened their frame, or laid 
 bare their earthly hopes. Perhaps a friend 
 had urged — perhaps a sermon. But the sur- 
 render was made — " Here, Lord, I give my- 
 self to Thee, with all I have, and all I am. 
 My understanding shall be Thine, to know 
 Thee ; my will, to choose Thee ; my coo- 
 science, to fear Thee — 
 
 " If there be passions in my soul, 
 And passions, Lord, there be, 
 I yield thera all to thy control, 
 My Jesus, all to Thee—" 
 
 My tongue shall show forth thy praise. 
 My time, my property, my influence, shall all 
 be employed for Thee. And this dedication 
 you have often renewed since — in the houi 
 of retirement — in the field of meditation — in 
 
JANUARY 26. 
 
 the house ol prayer — at the table of the 
 lx>rd — 
 
 And having opened your mouth unto the 
 Lord, you cannot go back^ Nor do you wish 
 it. To whom could you go 1 He hath the 
 words of eternal life — It is your highest priv- 
 ilege to belong to Him. If you are the Lord's, 
 He will take care of you. He will provide 
 for you. He will guide you with his counsel, 
 and afterward receive you to glory — " If ye 
 be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and 
 heirs according to the promise." 
 
 JANUARY 26. 
 
 "They have forsaken the right «?ay." 
 2 Peter ii. 15. 
 
 We shall leave the persons of whom the 
 Apostle here speaks, and call upon you to 
 think of yourselves. Religion is, very prop- 
 erly, held forth by the " right way ;" and we 
 have accordingly six admonitions to bring for- 
 ward concerning it. 
 
 First — inquire what this right way is. If 
 you err here, the labour of advancing will be 
 in vain ; your progress will only lead you 
 astray, and terminate in disappointment, re- 
 gret, and woe. And Solomon tells us " there 
 is a way which seemeth right unto a man, 
 but the end thereof are the ways of death." 
 How surprising and terrible to fall from the 
 expectation of heaven into the depths of hell ! 
 Yet this will be the case of some, yea many, 
 who will carry their confidence to the very 
 door, " saying, Lord, Lord, open to us ;" " and 
 He shall answer and say unto them, I know 
 ye not whence ye are." In a case of so much 
 importance, where there is reflection, there 
 can be no satisfaction of mind without cer- 
 tainty ; and certainty is attainable. Go forth 
 by the footsteps of the flock. Search the 
 Scriptures, and search them for the purpose 
 they were given to accomplish, "that we 
 might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son 
 of God ; and that, believing, we might have 
 life through his Name." If you are anxious to 
 know how you may come before the Lord, 
 and what you must do to be saved, you will 
 find the Prophets and Apostles all ready to 
 show unto you the way of salvation. Espe- 
 cially pray to the Father of lights, and plead 
 the promise : " If any of you lack wisdom, 
 let him ask of God, that giveth to all men 
 liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be 
 given him." Thus you will be taught of the 
 Lord ; his Spirit shall lead you into all truth ; 
 and as a wayfaring man, though a fool, you 
 shall not err therein. 
 
 Secondly — enter it, and walk therein. 
 There is a form of knowledge as well as of 
 godliness; and it is lamentable to think how 
 many there are who rest in it. They are 
 familiar with every thing the preacher ad- 
 vances, and admit readily the truth of it into 
 
 their judgment; but while they hear nis 
 words, they do them not. They acknowledge 
 themselves to be sinners, but never cry for 
 mercy. They believe in the divinity, atone- 
 ment, and righteousness of the Saviour, and 
 that there is salvation in none other ; but do 
 not come to Him that they might have life. 
 But " if ye know these things, happy are yo 
 if ye do them." The knowledge of a remedy 
 will never cure you without an application ot 
 it. Your knowledge of a way leading to a 
 place will never bring you there, unless you 
 set off", and hold on till you reach it. Yea, 
 your acquaintance with divine truth, if it has 
 no influence over you, will be worse than 
 nothing : " for to him that knoweth to do 
 good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." " And 
 that servant, which knew his Lord's will, and 
 prepared not himself, neither did according tc 
 his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." 
 "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him 
 shall be much required : and to whom men 
 have committed much, of him they will ask 
 the more." Therefore, saith the Lord, not only 
 " stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for 
 the old paths, where is the good way ;" but 
 " walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your 
 souls." 
 
 Thirdly — when you are in it, turn not 
 aside to the right hand or to the left. There 
 are mistakes and miscarriages of an opposite 
 description ; and we must not suppose that in 
 going from one side we are in no danger from 
 the other. All extremes are dangerous ; and 
 truth and duty lie in the middle. So Bunyan 
 taught : representing a lion on each side of 
 the road, but restrained by their chain from 
 approaching the middle — the only safe pas- 
 sage was between. And Inspiration long be- 
 fore had said, " I lead in the way of righteous- 
 ness, in the midst of the paths of judgment : 
 that I may cause those that love me to inherit 
 substance; and I will fill their treasures." 
 Courage lies between rashness and dread; 
 and patience between despising the chasten- 
 ing of the Lord and fainting when we are re- 
 buked of him. Parents are not foolishly to 
 indulge their children, neither are they to 
 provoke them to wrath, lest they should be 
 discouraged. We may not know what man- 
 ner of spirit we are of; and be either too 
 candid or too severe. Did not Doddridge err 
 in the former, and Toplady in the latter 1 
 Some carry the tenderness of conscience into 
 weakness; and some its allowances into licen- 
 tiousness. Some are too exclusively for pnvi 
 lege ; and others for duty : but faith and 
 works have both their claims in the Gospel ; 
 and from the Saviour's side came there out 
 blood and water. 
 
 Fourthly — get as many as you can tc ac- 
 company you. How can you bear to see the 
 destruction of your kindred? Begin therefore 
 with your relations, as Moses addressed Hc- 
 bah : " We are journeying unto the place of 
 
 * 
 
JANUARY 27. 
 
 49 
 
 which the Lord snit , I will give it you : come 
 thou with us, and +e will do thee good : for 
 the ljord hath spoken good concerning IsraeL" 
 But extend your concern, and, as you have 
 opportunity, say to all, and let your temper 
 and lite enforce the invitation : " O taste and 
 see that the Lord is good ; blessed is the man 
 that trusteth in him." Many in families and 
 neighbourhoods have begun alone — for we are 
 not to wait for others ; but after a while their 
 prayers and endeavours have been crowned 
 with success; and those who neglected, or 
 even opposed them before, have taken sweet 
 counsel together, and walked to the house of 
 God in company with them. And to be the 
 instrument of winning one soul ! " There is 
 joy in the presence of the angels of God over 
 one sinner that repenteth !" 
 
 Fifthly — go on your way rejoicing. So did 
 the eunuch after Philip had preached unto 
 him Jesus. And what source of joy had he, 
 which is not open to you ! You may indeed 
 reckon upon difficulties and trials; but the 
 Lord of the way hath said, " Thy shoes shall 
 be iron and brass, and as thy days so shall 
 thy strength be." " My grace is sufficient 
 for thee." " I will never leave thee, nor for- 
 sake thee." 
 
 Finally — think much of the end; "the end 
 of your faith ;" " the end, everlasting life." 
 Who can describe or conceive the blessed- 
 ness and the glory that await you 1 And the 
 attainment is sure and near! A few more 
 paces, and your Father's house will appear in 
 view — 
 
 " Soon shall you bear him say. 
 Ye blessed children, come : 
 Soon will he call you hence away, 
 And take his pilgrims home." 
 
 JANUARY 27. 
 
 Ye are of God, little children, and have over, 
 come them : because greater is He that is in 
 you, than he that is in the world." — 1 John 
 iv. 4. 
 
 How desirable was it to inform them of 
 their relation to God—" Ye are of God, little 
 children." So in a sense are all : for he made 
 us, and not we ourselves. As men, we are 
 his people, and the sheep of his pasture. He 
 clothed us with skin and flesh, and fenced us 
 with bones and sinews: and he not only framed 
 our bodies, but formed our spirits within us. 
 But there is something more peculiar in the 
 relation here spoken of. Believers are of God, 
 not only as they are the creatures of his power 
 and providence, but as they are the subjects 
 of his grace. They are of him, not only by 
 formation, but renovation also. This people, 
 says he, have I formed for myself. They are 
 his workmanship. They are* new creatures : 
 they have a new being, a new heart, a new 
 life ; all things are become new — and in all 
 Jus thev are of God—" Born not of blood, nor 
 
 of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 
 but of God." 
 
 How encouraging was it to announce their 
 victory — " and ye have overcome them." 
 They had not only resisted and withstood, 
 but had vanquished. How was this ! Were 
 their foes all slain 1 Had they taken off the 
 helmet and sheathed the sword! Had they 
 left the field, and were they now returning 
 home with songs of triumph ? Do not Chris 
 tians find the spiritual life a warfare to the 
 last J And as long as they continue here, 
 are they not armed ! Are they not engaged ! 
 And yet John speaks as if the warfare were 
 achieved. The reason is, because it is par- 
 tially accomplished. They have fought and 
 gained many a battle ; and have said, "Hither- 
 to hath the Lord helped me." And the re- 
 mainder of the conquest is sure. Now where 
 there is certainty, the future is spoken of in 
 the Scripture as if it were past Thus Isaiah, 
 ages before the incarnation of the Messiah, 
 said, " Unto us a Child is born ; unto us a 
 Son is given !" Well, therefore, may the be- 
 liever say, " Thanks be unto God, who giveth 
 us the victory :" " Yea, in all these tilings, 
 we are more than conquerors." 
 
 How wise was it to remind them of the 
 cause of their success — " Because greater is 
 He that is in you, than he that is in the world." 
 It was not owing to themselves — they were 
 not greater — yea, they were nothing to their 
 enemies. But if they v/ere nothing to their 
 enemies, their enemies were nothing to their 
 Friend and Keeper. The chief of them, the 
 prince of this world, the god of this world, is 
 nothing to the Lord of all, who is for them, 
 and nigh unto them, and in them, in all that 
 they call upon him for — If the one is mighty 
 the other is Almighty. He is therefore not 
 only greater, but infinitely greater : and not 
 only greater in himself, but greater in his 
 agency — greater in his residence — greater in 
 his subjects. He produces in them principles 
 more powerful than any of the principles 
 which their enemies would maintain, though 
 they have the advantage of an e»' Her being, 
 and derive aid from every thing around us. 
 How else would they ever have obtained pos- 
 session of the heart! " When a strong man, 
 armed, keepeth his palace, his goods are in 
 peace : but when a stronger than he shall 
 come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh 
 from him all his armour wherein he trusted, 
 and divideth his spoils." And how else could 
 they retain the possession, when every effort 
 will be made by the mortified foe to recover 
 his former sway! But truth is stronger than 
 error : grace is above nature ; and the Spirit 
 of the living God, thatdwelleth in his people, 
 can easily subdue the spirit that now \yorketh 
 in the children of disobedience. 
 
 Let this regulate your gratitude. You have 
 seen many fall, who once seemed much more 
 likely to stand in the evil day than your- 
 
50 
 
 JANUARY 28. 
 
 selves — but here you are : and though, from 
 the time you commenced your religious 
 course, you have been constantly opposed by 
 all the powers of darkness, your heart has not 
 turned back, neither have your steps declined 
 from his ways. To whose Name are you to 
 "ive glory ? You have often said, " 1 shall 
 one day perish :" and you would have perished 
 long ago, had you been left to yourself- — But 
 here is the secret — "Ye are of God, little 
 children, and have overcome them : because 
 greater is He that is in you, than he that is 
 in the world." 
 
 The same truth that accounts for your 
 standing as to the past, will show what you 
 have to rely upon as to the future. If the one 
 demands your praise, the other justifies your 
 confidence. When you look forward, you feel 
 your need of strong consolation ; and there is 
 enough to inspire it. Renounce self-depend- 
 ence ; but be strong in the Lord, and in the 
 power of his might. Look to his grace for 
 your all-sufficiency ; and you shall never be 
 confounded. Every thing else may, yea, must 
 give way — But " he that is born of God, over- 
 cometh the world." " Sin shall not have do- 
 minion over you ; for ye are not under the 
 law, but under grace." " The God of peace 
 shall bruise Satan under your feet, shortly." 
 
 JANUARY 28. 
 
 * And another angel came and stood at the altar, 
 having a golden censer; and there was given 
 unto him much incense, that he should offer it 
 with the prayers of all saints upon the golden 
 altar which was before the throne. And the 
 smoke of the incense, ichich came with the 
 prayers of the saints, ascended up before God 
 out of the angeVs hand." — Rev. viii. 3, 4. 
 
 The ablest expositors consider this angel 
 as the Lord Jesus. There were two altars 
 attached to the Jewish temple. But the altar 
 here spoken of was not the altar of burnt- 
 offering which stood in the inner court, but 
 the altar which stood in the holy of holies, 
 called the golden altar ; and at which the 
 high priest, after he had sacrificed the victim, 
 and sprinkled the blood, burnt incense, while 
 the people were praying without. The censer 
 was a small chafing-dish, filled with burning 
 coals, upon which the high priest threw the 
 rich perfume, whose fragrance then ascended 
 in a cloud of odour, of a sweet smell, to God, 
 who sat above upon the mercy-seat, between 
 the cherubim. This was typical of the High 
 Priest of our profession, who, having put away 
 sin by the sacrifice of himself, entered into 
 the holy place, not with the blood of bulls and 
 of goats, but with his own blood; not to burn 
 incense, but to make intercession for his peo- 
 ple, while they are praying in this lower 
 world. Four things are observable. 
 
 First, his people are saints. So tliev are 
 
 called, not only here, but throughout the 
 Scripture. The term is not confined to a few 
 official and extraordinary characters. We 
 affix the title to the immediate disciples of 
 the Lord Jesus ; and say, Saint Matthew and 
 Saint John : but the Apostle inscribes several 
 of his Epistles "to the Saints that are in 
 Christ Jesus" — that is, the whole body of the 
 Church. The name is therefore applicable to 
 all real Christians. They are called to be 
 Saints ; called unto holiness ; and holiness is 
 not only the design, but the tendency of all 
 their principles and privileges, when properly 
 understood. They are not saints by nature, 
 but are made so by grace. And how does 
 grace accomplish this work? It makes them 
 saints, not by imputed holiness — there is no 
 such phrase in the Bible, nor in the vocabulary 
 of common sense. Nor by imputed righteous- 
 ness — this makes them righteous, and justi- 
 fies them before God. But they are made 
 holy by the operation of the Spirit of grace 
 and truth. In consequence of which, there is 
 a renovation of their nature, and a consecra- 
 tion of all they are, and all they have, to the 
 service and glory of God. 
 
 Secondly, the saints are all men of prayer. 
 " The prayer of all saints" — not of some, but 
 of all. They are the generation of them that 
 seek him. For this shall every one that is 
 godly call upon him. The Spirit of grace is 
 always the spirit of supplication ; and praying 
 is as essential to the divine life, as breathing 
 to the natural. Vain therefore is every pre- 
 tension to religion, without a devotional tem- 
 per. The wicked restrain prayer before God. 
 The hypocrite will not always call upon him. 
 The formalist, who does not decline it, cries, 
 What a weariness it is to serve him ! How 
 is it with us? Do we live without God? Do 
 we only pray when urged by fear or affliction 7 
 Do we feel the duty a drudgery rather than 
 a privilege? All saints pray, in the temple, 
 in the family, alone, habitually, as long as 
 they live : and find it good to draw near to 
 God. 
 
 Thirdly, many imperfections attend their 
 services.- Hence we read of " much incense 
 offered with the prayers of all saints." In 
 this book mention is often made of the worship 
 of angels, but we do not read of a mediator 
 for them ; nor of incense being presented 
 with their devotion. Nor was this the case 
 with the services of Adam and Eve in Para- 
 dise. But we are fallen creatures. We are 
 vile, what shall we answer him ? We pollute 
 every thing we touch. Our Sabbaths would 
 condemn us, as well as our week-days, were 
 we to be tried by them. Our good works de- 
 serve rejection, rather than reward. Our re- 
 penting needs repentance , and our weeping, 
 tears. When we have done all, we are un- 
 profitable servants ; and the innumerable'sina 
 of our holy things constrain us to cry, " Entei 
 not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord 
 
JANUARY 29. 
 
 51 
 
 for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justi- 
 fied." Can this be prayer ? Is this worship- 
 ping him who is a Spirit, in spirit and in truth? 
 What wandering of thought ! What distrac- 
 tion of mind ! What coldness of affection ! 
 What a want of fervency and faith ! — How 
 can I offer this to the only wise and holy God ? 
 If I see so much that is defective and defiled 
 in my services, and am so dissatisfied with 
 them — how must they be viewed and regard- 
 ed by him who charges his angels with folly ? 
 in whose sight the very heavens are not 
 clean ? who sees more depravity in our duties 
 than we see in our sins ! — But, 
 
 Fourthly, there is hope in Israel concern- 
 ing this thing ; and relief is to be found in 
 the Mediator between God and man. " And 
 the smoke of the incense, which came with 
 the prayers of the saints, ascended up before 
 God out of the angel's hand." We inquire 
 not whether this intercession be vocal — we 
 are not informed whether the high priest said 
 any thing when he officiated at the golden 
 altar. But we know that his intercession is 
 real ; and founded on his suffering and death, 
 which were an offering and a sacrifice to 
 God, for a sweet-smelling savour. Hence, his 
 blood speaketh better things than the blood 
 of Abel. It cries not for revenge, but pardon. 
 "Be merciful to their unrighteousnesses — I 
 have borne their grief, and carried their sor- 
 row. I have magnified the law ; and redeem- 
 ed them from the curse — Keep, through thine 
 own Name, those whom thou hast given me. 
 Sanctify them through thy truth. Let them 
 be with me where I am, to behold my glory." 
 These are his pleadings for us, who is infi- 
 nitely worthy. And we are assured of the 
 result — The Father heareth him always. 
 
 This same shall comfort us. He is the 
 consolation of Israel. If any man sin, we 
 have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 
 Christ the righteous ; and he is the propitia- 
 tion for our sins. If we love him, we shall 
 not, we cannot abuse this encouragement: 
 but let it give us boldness and access with 
 confidence by the faith if him. Let us unite 
 hope with humility ; and rejoicing in Christ 
 Jusus, with having no confidence in the flesh. 
 And when we think of passing through the 
 valley of the shadow of death, to enter the 
 immediate presence of the Eternal, let us 
 say, " I will go in the strength of the Lord 
 God ; I will make mention of his righteous- 
 ness only." 
 
 JANUARY 29. 
 
 "He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he 
 reproved kings for their sakes ; saying, Touch 
 not mine anointed, and do my prophets no 
 harm." — Psalm cv. 14, 15. 
 
 He did this to the patriarchs. Ht did it 
 when they were but few in number, yea very 
 few, and strangers in the land: and when 
 
 they went from one nation to another, from 
 one kingdom to another people : and so seemed 
 to invite hostility and injury from the power- 
 ful and unprincipled. He did it sometimes in 
 dreams and visions, and sometimes in words 
 and deeds : as we see in the rebuke of Pha- 
 raoh with regard to Abraham when in Egypt ; 
 and of Abimelech with regard to Isaac in 
 Gerar. Also when by the destruction of the 
 Shechemites Jacob's sons had rendered him 
 odious to all the surrounding clans : yet, when 
 he journeyed, " the terror of God was upon 
 the cities that were round about them, and 
 they did not pursue after them." " He suf- 
 fered no man to do them wrong : yea, he re- 
 proved kings for their sakes ; saying, Touch 
 not mine anointed, and do my prophets no 
 harm." 
 
 Here we see that God's servants are dearer 
 to him than kings. The world knoweth them 
 not. They are often poor and afflicted. And 
 therefore those who judge after outward ap- 
 pearance make little account of them. " The 
 precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, 
 how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, 
 the work of the hands of the potter !" Yet of 
 such the world is not worthy. In their state 
 and character they are more excellent than 
 their neighbours, wherever they may be 
 placed, or however they may be endowed. 
 To them the Lord looks; in them he takes 
 pleasure. " Since thou wast precious in my 
 sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have 
 loved thee : therefore will I give men for 
 thee, and people for thy life." 
 
 We learn also that his servants are never 
 without a divine Guardian. When first they 
 flee to him for refuge, he encourages them 
 as David did Ahimelech escaped from the 
 fury of Saul : " Abide thou with me; fear not : 
 for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life : 
 but with me thou shalt be in safeguard." 
 They may sometimes lose dependencies ; they 
 may feel helpless and friendless; they may 
 be hated and opposed: but there is no en- 
 chantment against Jacob ; no weapon that is 
 formed against them shall prosper. Are they 
 travellers? The Lord is their keeper, the 
 Lord is their shade upon their right hand. 
 He shall preserve them from all evil. Are 
 they useful? They are immortal till their 
 work is done. Have they reached the days 
 of privation, and infirmity, and depression? 
 He will not cast them off'in the time of old 
 age ; but will bear and carry them even tc 
 gray hairs. He will never leave them nor 
 forsake them — 
 
 " Though I should walk through death's dark shade, 
 My Shepherd's with me there r 
 
 Once more. All creatures are under the 
 Lord's control; and when he does not renew 
 them, he can restrain. The noblest agency 
 of God is his spiritual agency : and nothing 
 can be more delightful than to contemplate 
 his gracious dominion over the souls / f men : 
 
ir2 
 
 JANUARY 30. 
 
 opening their understandings, enthroning him- 
 self in their hearts, changing their views and 
 feelings, and making them new creatures. 
 Are we the subjects of this agency'! But 
 distinguishable from this, there is another 
 ngency of God, and which we may call pro- 
 vidential. Solomon alludes to it when he 
 says, " The king's heart is in the hand of the 
 Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it 
 whithersoever he will." The husbandman 
 fan form a new channel for the water, and 
 the stream shall flow as freely as before, and 
 retain the same qualities. Esau left home 
 armed, and resolved to kill Jacob; but the 
 IiOrd softened, though he did not sanctify his 
 heart, so that when he met him he fell upon 
 his neck and kissed him : for when a man's 
 ways please the Lord, he maketh even his 
 enemies to be at peace with him. The spirit 
 of Cyrus, though a heathen, was stirred up to 
 favour Israel, and to let go the Lord's cap- 
 tives, not only without ransom, but even en- 
 •iched for their journey. At the three festi- 
 vals of the Jews, all the males were to appear 
 before the Lord in Jerusalem. Thus the 
 country seemed drained of its defence ; and 
 surrounded as the people were with enemies 
 ready to seize every advantage against them, 
 they might be tempted to say, " What will 
 become, in our absence, of our fields, and 
 vineyards, and houses, and wives, and chil- 
 dren V But says God, who has all hearts as 
 well as all events at his disposal, " I will cast 
 out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy 
 borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, 
 when thou shalt go up to appear before the 
 Lord thy God thrice in the year." 
 
 If I have any thing to do with my fellow- 
 creatures, let me commit my way unto the 
 Lord. Let me follow my convictions wherever 
 they lead me. If I am reviled, let me not re- 
 vile again, but commit myself to Him that 
 judgeth righteously. Who is he that will harm 
 us, if we are followers of that which is good 1 
 Jf God be for us, who can be against us] 
 
 JANUARY 30. 
 
 u Moreover He called for a famine upon the land : 
 he brake the whole staff of bread. He sent a 
 man before them, even Joseph, who toas sold 
 for a servant : whose feet they hurt with fet- 
 ters : he was laid in iron : until the time that 
 his word came : the word of the Lord tried 
 him. The king sent and loosed him : even the 
 ruler of the people, and let him go free. He 
 made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his 
 substance." — Psalm cv. 16—21. 
 
 God promised the patriarchs much more 
 than he performed for them here. The rela- 
 tion into which he entered with them neces- 
 sarily involved a future state ; yet he was 
 far from disregarding them in this life. The 
 former words show us how he preserved them 
 
 in danger : when they were very few, ani 
 strangers in the land of Canaan : " When 
 they went from one nation to another, from 
 one kingdom to another people ; he suffered 
 no man to do them wrong : yea, he reproved 
 kings for their sakes; saying, Touch not 
 mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." 
 And the words before us prove how he sup- 
 plied them in distress. 
 
 They suffered from one of the sorest ;'udj* 
 ments that can ever befall humanity. ' The 
 whole staff of bread was broken, and famine 
 was sore in the land, and prevailed in all the 
 neighbouring countries, and continued sever 
 years. But the Lord called for it. The 
 expression not only reminds us that evil 
 cometh from the Lord as well as good, but 
 shows us the sovereignty and ease with 
 which he brings it. All calamities are at 
 his disposal ; and if He speaks, they must 
 obey him. Practical infidelity is often con- 
 nected with nominal faith. People talk na 
 tionally of inexhaustible resources, of invin- 
 cible armies and navies ; but there is no wis- 
 dom, nor understanding, nor counsel against 
 the Lord. If he calls for an enemy, his way 
 will be made prosperous ; every thing will 
 favour him. If He calls for continued rain, 
 the precious grain perishes in the earth. It 
 is the same with continual sunshine ; as they 
 knew by experience who procured them- 
 selves ceiled houses, while the house of God 
 lay waste : " And I called for a drought upon 
 the land, and upon the mountains, and upon 
 the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon 
 the oil, and upon that which the ground 
 bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cat- 
 tle, and upon all the labour of the hands." 
 
 But, before the famine commenced, God 
 had arranged things for the relief of the suf- 
 ferers. Joseph was the man sent before them 
 to be the succourer and the saviour, and his 
 mission was from God. He sent him. It 
 seemed to be entirely the affair of his breth- 
 ren, who hated and envied him: but the 
 hand of the Lord was in the whole ; and Jo- 
 seph himself acknowledged it when he dis- 
 closed himself: "And he said, I am Joseph 
 your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 
 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry 
 with yourselves, that ye sold me hither : ft/ 
 God did send me before you to presti ve life. 
 For these two years hath the famine been in 
 the land : and yet there are five years, in the 
 which there shall neither be earing nor har- 
 vest. And God sent me before you to pre- 
 serve you a posterity in the earth, and to 
 save your lives by a great deliverance. So 
 now it was not you that sent me hither, but 
 God : and he hath made me a father to Pha- 
 raoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler 
 throughout all the land of Egypt" Thus, 
 though they sold him, God sent him. They 
 were the instruments, but he was the agent 
 They acted wickedly, but he was righteous 
 
JANUARY 31. 
 
 53 
 
 -Yet, what was the charactei under which 
 ne was sent to provide ? Was he employed 
 as an ambassador 1 A commissioner? A 
 corn-factor ? No. He was sold as a servant. 
 His brethren sold him for a servant to the 
 tshmaelites — and little did the purchasers 
 know with what a precious charge they 
 were intrusted; little did they think that 
 the lad they saw weeping as he walked, or 
 rode on the camel, was to be the saviour of 
 Egypt and Canaan. And the Jshmaelites 
 sold him for a servant to Potiphar — and little 
 did his master imagine that he was ever to 
 bow the knee to one he had bought for money. 
 There is nothing out of hell, and there is no- 
 thing in it, equal to the malice and rage of 
 "an imperious whorish woman." His mis- 
 tress, disappointed in her cruelty, accuses 
 him, and he is imprisoned. And a circum- 
 stance is here mentioned which the history 
 omits : " Whose feet they hurt with fetters ; 
 he was laid in irons." Look at that slave in 
 the dungeon, galled with his heavy chains. 
 Will he ever stand before Pharaoh] And 
 ride in the second chariot of the kingdom ? 
 And be lord of all the land of Egypt 1 ? There 
 seemed to be no prospect of this. There he 
 lies, day after day, month after month, year 
 after year, with no probability of the fulfil- 
 ment of his dreams, which he had been 
 taught to regard as prophetic — "until the 
 time that" Pharaoh's "word came," to de- 
 liver him, " the word of the Lord tried him," 
 that is, the promise of God, by which he en- 
 gaged to advance him. The accomplishment 
 was delayed ; things waxed worse and worse ; 
 and thus his confidence, patience, and resig- 
 nation were sorely exercised. Note, As we 
 try God's word, so God's word tries us ; and 
 happy if, when we are tried, we come forth 
 as gold ; and the trial of our faith proves 
 more precious than that of gold which per- 
 isheth, though it be tried with fire. This 
 was the case with Joseph. His destination 
 secured him, and the merciful mediation for 
 which he was designed required not only his 
 enlargement but his elevation. Therefore 
 the king not only released him, but " made 
 him lord of his house, and ruler of all his 
 substance" — one of the most remarkable 
 events recorded in all history. 
 
 We may consider this dispensation two 
 ways. First, as an instance of the wonder- 
 working providence of God on the behalf of 
 his people. " Behold, the eye of the Lord is 
 upon them that fear him, upon them that hope 
 in his mercy." Let those that live more im- 
 mediately as dependants on his care, remem- 
 ber that they have no reason to despond. The 
 world is his, and the fullness thereof. Who 
 nas seen the righteous forsaken, or their seed 
 begging bread ? Ravens fed Elijah. And the 
 widow's oil and meal wasted not. We are 
 not indeed to look for such miracles ; but He 
 who performed them is not far from any one 
 
 of us, and he is as powerful as ever, and 
 sooner all nature shall change than one of hia 
 promises fail. 
 
 Secondly, as a representation of the Sa- 
 viour's grace with regard to our spiritual 
 straits. In view of these, he was set up 
 from everlasting. In the fullness of time he 
 came to his own, but they received him not. 
 They despised and rejected him, and sold 
 him for thirty pieces of sLver. But he was 
 delivered by the determinate counsel and 
 foreknowledge of God. He made himself of 
 no reputation, but took upon him the form oi 
 a servant, and actually died upon a cross. 
 Wherefore also God highly exalted him. 
 What was the elevation of Joseph 1 Jesus 
 has all power in heaven and in earth. Many 
 others were relieved by Joseph's advance- 
 ment : but it was peculiarly designed for the 
 salvation of his father's house. Jesus is the 
 Saviour of all men, but especially of them 
 that believe — He is the head over all things 
 unto his body the Church. It hath pleased 
 the Father that in Him should all fullness 
 dwell. Therefore to Him let us go, and 
 from his fullness receive, and grace for grace. 
 For a time Joseph's brethren knew not that 
 he was the governor, and had all the corn at 
 his disposal; otherwise they would have 
 gone down earlier, and have appealed to a 
 brother's heart Yet perhaps one thing 
 might have checked them — a consciousness 
 of their baseness towards him. How can 
 we ever look him in the face ? But suppose 
 they had known that he had more than for- 
 given them ; and when he saw them would 
 fall on their necks and kiss them : then they 
 would have gone down, confident, yet feeling 
 much more of their unworthiness than be- 
 fore. Thus should we apply to the Lord Je- 
 sus ; with hope, rendering us more sensible 
 of our vileness. But let us not keep away 
 from Him. He invites us near. He assures 
 us that while He has plenty we shall not 
 want Because He lives we shall live also. 
 Let us remember the relation in which He 
 stands to us ; and see where and what He 
 now is. In what distress will not this en- 
 courage us? "Fear not I arr > the first and 
 the last ; I am he that liveth, and was dead ; 
 and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen ; 
 and have the keys of hell and of death." 
 
 JANUARY 31. 
 
 " In many things ioe offend all." — James ui. 1& 
 
 To exemplify this in our conviction, we 
 must estimate our offences according to the 
 mind of God, and not by a human judgment 
 When David says, " Who can understand his 
 errors?" he means to intimate that no one 
 can be fully acquainted with them. We are 
 too full of self-love ; and are too averse to dwell 
 on the discovery of our faults. The heart is 
 
54 
 
 FEBRUARY 1. 
 
 dot only desperately wicked, 6ut deceitful 
 above all things; and has a thousand arti- 
 fices to delude us into a more favourable 
 opinion of ourselves than we deserve. Hence 
 we excuse many evils ; we question the 
 guilt of others ; and as to those we consider 
 really sinful, we do not condemn them ac- 
 cording to their aggravations. From various 
 causes, therefore, we see only a small part of 
 our sins ; and we must not suppose we appear 
 in the eyes of God as innocent as we are in 
 our own — In his sight the very heavens are 
 not clean. And does he set our iniquities be- 
 fore him, our secret sins in the light of his 
 countenance ? 
 
 Neither must we judge of the number of 
 our offences only by our own remembrance 
 of them. We are affected with recent trans- 
 gressions ; but we are not struck with those 
 we were guilty of ten or twenty years ago. 
 And wherefore ? Though they are past as to 
 us, they are not so as to God. Nothing is 
 future, nothing is past, with Him — With 
 Him every thing is present — and we are at 
 this very moment committing those sins with 
 Him, with whom one day is as a thousand 
 years, and a thousand years are as one day. 
 Though we have forgotten a countless multi- 
 tude of our offences, God has forgotten none 
 of them. They are ail recorded in the book 
 of his remembrance — and could we consult 
 this awful register of our lives from the be- 
 ginning, with all the sins of youth and man- 
 hood, of secrecy and openness, of infirmity 
 and wilfulness, of purpose and accomplish- 
 ment; and could we peruse one chapter, or 
 one verse only, we should exclaim — we can- 
 not answer Thee for one of a thousand of 
 our transgressions. " Innumerable evils have 
 compassed me about: mine iniquities have 
 taken hold upon me, so that I am not able 
 to look up; they are more than the hairs 
 of mine head : therefore my heart faileth 
 me." 
 
 Have we not in many things offended all 
 — First, in our disregard of the Lord Jesus ? 
 Secondly, in the neglect and formality of our 
 devotion ? Thirdly, in the coldness and con- 
 tractedness of our charity? Fourthly, in the 
 non-improvement and mis-spending of our 
 time] Fifthly, in our behaviour under the 
 discipline of the rod? Sixthly, in our "tem- 
 per-flaws unsightly V* Seventhly, in the li- 
 cence of our tongues ? It would be easy to 
 multiply the counts in the indictment. Surely 
 a little reflection upon each of these will con- 
 vince us of the guilt here acknowledged. 
 
 But in what manner should we utter the 
 confession? For the words are not always 
 used as James and his brethren used them. 
 Some use them as a kind of censure upon 
 :»thers, rather than as a reflection upon them- 
 selves : yea, their aim is to screen them- 
 selves as culprits in the commonness of the 
 delinquency. Hence, when their conduct is 
 
 accused, or a monitor reminds them of then 
 misdoings, O, say they, none are exempt 
 from failings ; even the best err ; in many 
 things we offend all. Others use them with 
 out perhaps a bad design ; yet they use them 
 vaguely and unimpresively — it is mere lip- 
 service — it comes from nothing — and leade 
 to nothing. But if we properly feel the senti- 
 ment we utter, it will be accompanied with 
 deep repentance and godly sorrow — It will 
 make us sensible of our need cf the Saviour, 
 and endear to our souls the cross and the 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ — It will hide 
 pride from us, and fill us with self-abasement 
 — It will dispose us to receive and invite re- 
 proof—It will keep us from murmuring and 
 repining under divine correction — It will 
 make us tender towards the infirmities of 
 others — It will elevate our views to heaven, 
 and send forth our desires after a state in 
 which we shall never, never sin — and — It 
 will awaken us to caution, carefulness, and 
 zeal : for though we cannot attain perfection 
 here, we may much reduce our imperfec- 
 tions ; and should be concerned to make all 
 possible progression in the divine life. Here, 
 as all our offences arise from the depravity of 
 our nature, our business must be to seek for 
 more grace to mortify the principle of sin — 
 for how can we that are dead to sin live any 
 longer therein ? And as grace uses means, 
 we must inquire where we have most fre- 
 quently erred, and how we have been mosl 
 easily overcome ; and watch and pray lest 
 we enter into temptation. 
 
 FEBRUARY 1. 
 
 " At my first answer no man stood with me, but 
 all men forsook me : J pray God that it may 
 not be laid to their charge." — 2. Tim. iv. 16. 
 
 This was a very trying case. He was a 
 prisoner, and had appealed unto Caesar. He 
 had to appear before the tribunal of Nero, 
 the greatest and the most cruel monarch of 
 the earth, to defend himself against one 
 charge, for which he had suffered as an evil- 
 doer even unto bonds. His friends should 
 have rallied around him, encouraging him by 
 their kindness, emboldening him by their 
 presence, exculpating him by their testimo- 
 ny, or softening his judges by their tears and 
 entreaties. It was the custom among the 
 Romans for the connexions of the accused to 
 appear in court in mourning, to show thei. 
 regard for the prisoner, and to influence the 
 tribunal by their depositions, or their impor 
 tunity ; and sometimes the train that attend 
 ed them was very large and imposing. But 
 Paul appeared on the day of trial like an out- 
 cast, entirely disowned — when he looked, 
 around, he saw no one in his favour — the 
 abandonment was extreme — no man stood 
 bv him— but all forsook him ! Yet this eivea 
 
FEBRUARY 2. 
 
 55 
 
 the Apostle an opportunity to display the ex- 
 cellency of his principles and temper — " 1 
 Dray God that it may not be laid to their 
 charge." Hence we may observe, 
 
 First — It is no unusual thing for a man to 
 oe deserted in the hour of trial. The rich 
 have many friends ; but the poor useth en- 
 treaties, and often uses them in vain. Some 
 6eem to act as if they thought a brother was 
 born for prosperity, instead of adversity. Thus 
 the garden is not forsaken while it abounds 
 with flowers and fruits, but in the dreariness 
 of winter. Are you suffering under such de- 
 sertion ! Remember, your brethren have 
 drunk of this bitter cup before you. In his 
 deep distress, David heard that Ahithophel 
 was among the conspirators with Absalom. 
 And what was the complaint of Job ? " My 
 brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, 
 and as the stream of brooks they pass away ; 
 which are blackish by reason of the ice, and 
 wherein the snow is hid : what time they wax 
 warm, they vanish : when it is hot, they are 
 consumed out of their place." Is it the Scrip- 
 ture, only that is continually saying to us, 
 " Cease from man 1" 
 
 Secondly — See the frailty of good men. 
 For such the persons complained of were, not- 
 withstanding their infirmity on this occasion; 
 and therefore Paul distinguishes them from 
 the hardened persecutor and blasphemer of 
 whom, as an Apostle, he speaks in the verse 
 preceding: "Alexander the coppersmith did 
 me much evil : the Lord reward him accord- 
 ing to his works: of whom beware thou also; 
 for he hath greatly withstood our words." 
 Men may be backsliders and not apostates : 
 they may act weakly and not wickedly, or so 
 as to do despite to the Spirit of grace. Thus 
 these persons were friends at heart ; their de- 
 fection was only temporary ; and they would 
 soon grieve over it. But the best of men are 
 but men. The agency that makes them holy 
 leaves them human. There is nature in them 
 as well as grace. And what affecting and hu- 
 miliating changes do they sometimes betray ! 
 Who could have thought that Elijah, after 
 telling Ahab to his face of his abominations, 
 and slaying all the false prophets, should flee 
 at the threatening of Jezebel, and pray to be 
 released from life 1 Who, that had seen Peter 
 in Hie presence of the Roman soldiers draw 
 his sword and cut off" the ear of the High 
 Priest's servant, could have believed that the 
 very same man, a few hours after, would be 
 so overcome with fear, at the question of the 
 damsel in the judgment-hall, as to say, with 
 oaths arid curses, I know not the man 1 So 
 these brethren, when they heard that Paul 
 was coming to make his appeal, went down 
 to meet him as far as Appii-Forum and the 
 three taverns ; and when Paul saw them he 
 thanked God, and took courage : yet consult- 
 ing with flesh and blood, and thinking how 
 many had lately suffered, they yielded to ap- 
 
 prehension, and not one of them justified the 
 hope they had excited. Lord, what is man ! 
 Thirdly — How becoming and lovely is a 
 forgiving disposition ! However leniently the 
 conduct of these forsakers of Paul may be 
 treated, they were very blameworthy. There 
 was much in their defection to irritate his 
 mind, especially considering what was their 
 duty towards one who was suffering for the 
 cause they professed, and the pretensions of 
 friendship which they had made. Nothing is 
 more felt, more resented, than injury in the 
 hour of want and distress, contrary to every 
 kind and degree of just expectation — yet the 
 bleeding heart here only says, " I pray God 
 that it may not be laid to their charge." Im- 
 bibe the same spirit, and follow his example. 
 In provocations and complaints dwell not 
 upon the enhancing, but upon the extenu- 
 ating. Be not implacable, but tender-hearted, 
 forgiving one another, even as God, for 
 Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. It is the 
 glory of a man to pass by a transgression. It 
 is the noblest of all victories — Be not over- 
 come of evil, but overcome evil with good. 
 So the suffering Stephen, under a shower of 
 stones, cried, " Lord, lay not this sin to their 
 charge." Thus Jesus, as they were nailing 
 him to the cross, prayed, "Father, forgive 
 them, for they know not what they do." 
 
 FEBRUARY 2. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and 
 strengthened me; that by me the preaching 
 might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles 
 might hear : and I was delivered out of the 
 mouth of the lion." — 2 Tim. iv. 17. 
 
 At his first answer before Caesar he had 
 been deserted of all those whose duty it was 
 to have appeared for him. But to the loss of 
 his friends he opposes the grace of his Sa- 
 viour — "notwithstanding the Lord stood by 
 me." He was not visible to the assembly; 
 nor did Paul himself perceive him by the eye 
 of sense. His presence was real, but spirit- 
 ual ; and he was with his servant not as a 
 mere witness, but as a helper — He " strength- 
 ened me." He confirmed his courage, and 
 gave him self-possession, and freedom of 
 thought and expression. This was no more 
 than he had reason to expect, from his own 
 promise : " Lo ! I am with you always, even 
 unto the end of the world." " Ye shall be 
 brought before governors and kings for my 
 sake, for a testimony against them and the 
 Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, 
 take no thought how or what ye shall speak : 
 for it shall be given you in that same hour 
 what ye shall speak." 
 
 See how He differs from others ! They for- 
 sake us when we are in distress: He is a 
 present help in trouble. When human de- 
 pendence fails, he is sure to hold forth his 
 
56 
 
 FEBRUARY 3. 
 
 own arm, and to say, "Trust, and be not 
 afraid." Thus he was with Joseph when sold 
 into Egypt, with Jeremiah in the dungeon, 
 with the three Hebrew children in the fiery 
 furnace, and with Paul when abandoned of 
 all before Nero ! 
 
 And what a substitute was he for Paul's 
 friends ! They would have been nothing 
 without him ; but he was every thing without 
 them. If we walk through the valley of 
 the shadow of death with him, we need fear 
 no evil. He is all in all. 
 
 What was the design of this interposition 1 
 " That by me the preaching might be fully 
 known, and that all the Gentiles might hear." 
 The preaching intends the Gospel ; and the 
 meaning is, that in this trial he had an oppor- 
 tunity to publish it most advantageously and 
 extensively. What he delivered would spread 
 through the palace and the city ; and pervade 
 much further. For at this time Rome was 
 the metropolis of the world ; so that- what his 
 auditors heard would be reported to* others, 
 and extended through all the provinces. How 
 true is it, that though his servants may suffer 
 as evil-doers even unto bonds, yet the word 
 of God is not bound ! It can no more be re- 
 strained than the flowing of the sea, or the 
 rising of the sun. Yea, the very efforts de- 
 signed to injure it, have been overruled to aid 
 its progress. Persecution has always turned 
 out to the furtherance of the Gospel. 
 
 What was the issue 1 "And I was deliv- 
 ered from the mouth of the lion." Does he 
 refer to the enemy of souls ! He is called a 
 roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour : 
 and he hoped to prevail with Paul to deny 
 the Saviour's name. Or does he refer to 
 Nero'! The Scripture frequently compares 
 wicked men, and especially tyrants, to beasts 
 of prey : and it was impossible to disgrace 
 such a monster as now filled the imperial 
 throne — a wretch who killed his preceptor, 
 had his mother ripped up before his eyes, and 
 entertained himself at supper by the burnings 
 of Christians, at the corners of his pleasure- 
 grounds. Yet this hardly agrees with Paul's 
 manner of writing, and the respect he con- 
 sidered due officially to his sovereign. The 
 expression therefore is to be considered rather 
 as a phrase significant of a narrow escape 
 from a very pressing jeopardy. Hence David 
 had said, " Save me from the lion's mouth." 
 Paul's case was looked upon not only as dan- 
 gerous but desperate. He was considered a 
 dead man. Yet the emperor and the senate 
 did nothing against him ; but after a hearing, 
 he was sent back simply as a prisoner. 
 
 The sufferings of God's servants depend 
 not on the fancies and passions of men, but 
 the providence of God. Their enemies are 
 chained ; and wherein they think to deal 
 proudly, he is above them. He restrains or 
 diverts them by his power when he does not 
 govern them by his grace. "The king's 
 
 heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the riv*r§ 
 of water : he turneth it whithersoever h6 
 will." 
 
 He often permits his people to fall into the 
 greatest extremities, and then appears for 
 them, to show his power and glory, and to 
 teach them never to despair. Therefore, yc 
 seed of Jacob, hope in him and wait for him. 
 He whom you serve is continually able to de- 
 liver you. He can deliver you not only from 
 the lion's paw, but from the lion's mouth. 
 
 FEBRUARY 3. 
 
 " And the Lord shall deliver me from every evtt 
 work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly 
 kingdom : to whom be glory for ever and ever. 
 Amen."— 2 Tim. iv. 18. 
 
 Here he expresses his full assurance of 
 hope, after the trial he had experienced from 
 the desertion of his friends, and the succour 
 he had received from the presence of his Sa- 
 viour. What he expected, however, was not 
 exemption from trials. He looked for suffer- 
 ing. He knew that bonds and afflictions 
 awaited him. But he knew also that the 
 Lord would deliver him from every evil work 
 — and that, far from allowing him to apos- 
 tatize or backslide, he would enable him to 
 resist temptation, to hold on his way, to finish 
 his course with joy — and preserve him unto 
 his heavenly kingdom. 
 
 What a destination ! Nothing less than a 
 kingdom, a heavenly kingdom, his heavenly 
 kingdom, procured by him, prepared by him, 
 the same he himself enjoys, and which his 
 followers are to possess with him, according 
 to his promise : " Ye are they which have 
 continued with me in my temptations. And 
 I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father 
 hath appointed unto me." 
 
 But what is the prospect of such a glorious 
 estate, if we are destroyed before we attain 
 it 1 It is obvious the Apostle believed in his 
 own perseverance and final salvation. The 
 expressions he uses are not the language of a 
 man in doubt, floating between hope and fear , 
 but of a man fully convinced and assured. 
 And it is delightful to find him expressing the 
 same certainty of mind with regard to all the 
 subjects of divine grace : " Being confident 
 of this very thing, that he which hath begun 
 a good work in you will perform it until the 
 day of Jesus Christ." Yes, Christians ; you 
 may equally rejoice in hope of the glory of 
 God. He has provided for all your wants. 
 He will secure you in every danger. Sin 
 shall not have dominion over you. The God 
 of peace will bruise Satan under your feet 
 shortly. You have overcome them, because 
 greater is he that is in you, than thev that 
 are in the world. Yea, in all these things 
 you are more than conquerors. 
 
 It is nbvious the Apostle derived encour 
 
FEBRUARY 4. 
 
 S7 
 
 agement in his expectation from his former 
 experience : the Lord stood by me and 
 strengthened me, and I was delivered from 
 the mouth of the lion ; and the Lord shall 
 deliver me from every evil work, and pre- 
 serve me unto his heavenly kingdom. The 
 proofs we have had of his mercy and grace 
 should animate us in our dependence ; for he 
 is always the same ; and one blessing is the 
 pledge of another. The victories of an old 
 soldier feed his courage. David was filled 
 with confidence in his dreadful conflict, by 
 such recollections and reasoning. 
 
 But his expectation was founded on the 
 Lord Jesus, as his deliverer and his preserver : 
 the Lord shall deliver me from every evil 
 work, and preserve me unto his heavenly 
 kingdom. He is engaged to do it. He is 
 able to do it He is able to save unto the 
 uttermost. I can trust him for every period, 
 and with every result. " I know whom I 
 have believed, and am persuaded that he is 
 able to keep that which I have committed to 
 him against that day." *♦ . v 
 
 What wonder therefore that hfe^lhould ex- 
 claim, " To whom be glory for ever and ever, 
 Amen!" And will you not, Christian, make 
 this Amen your own! It becometh well the 
 just to be thankful. Praise is comely for the 
 upright. It is the most unselfish exercise of 
 your religion; and it will be the most du- 
 rable. It will be the work, the enjoyment 
 of heaven. 
 
 You say, " I hope I am grateful." You hope 
 you are! As if there was any difficulty in 
 determining the thing. Would similar con- 
 duct towards an earthly benefactor be deemed 
 grateful 1 What are the sentiments of your 
 mind 1 The affections of your heart 1 The lan- 
 guage of your lips? Above all — What is the 
 language of your life ] Actions speak louder 
 than words. 
 
 Like Paul, be enlarged in your gratitude. 
 Be concerned that his praise may be as last- 
 ing as his goodness — that his glory may be 
 for ever. Do what you can to advance it, 
 not only while living, but when dying, and 
 even when dead. I mean, by the institutions 
 you have established or supported — by the 
 examples you leave behind you — by the 
 children you have instructed — by the sinners 
 you have converted from the errors of their 
 ways to be a seed to serve him, and which 
 shall be accounted for a generation, and who 
 shall come and declare his righteousness to a 
 nation that shall be born, that he hath done 
 this. 
 
 FEBRUARY 4. 
 
 " Then came David to Nob" — 1 Sam. xxi. 1. 
 
 What an extraordinary character was 
 David! How large a portion of the sacred 
 nistory do his memoirs occupy. And how 
 profitable are they for " doctrine and reproof, 
 
 and correction, and instruction in righteous- 
 ness." 
 
 He was now informed by Jonathan of Saul'a 
 determination to kill him. He is therefore 
 compelled to flee for safety. The tabernacle 
 being at Nob, he repairs thither, in his confu- 
 sion and distress, both to take an affectionate 
 leave of the house of God which he despaired 
 of seeing again for a long time ; and also to 
 obtain succour. He asks Ahimelech the priest 
 whether he can give him any food for his hun- 
 ger, or weapon for his defence. With regard to 
 the former of, these, Ahimelech told him he had 
 nothing under his hand but the sacred loaves. 
 These, however, he gave him ; and our Saviour 
 fully justifies the action : " Have ye never read 
 what David did, when he had need and was an 
 hungered, bfejmd they that were with him ? 
 Ho\#ie weSnnto the house of God in the days 
 of AbiathWthe high priest, and did eat the 
 showbrealfwhich it is not lawful to eat but for 
 the priesp, and gave also to them which were 
 with him T Teaching us — that the ceremo- 
 nies of religion are to give place to the sub- 
 stance \ that positive institutions are to yield 
 to moral obligations ; that God requireth 
 mercy and not sacrifice. Upon the same 
 principle, it is lawful to do good on the Sab- 
 bath, ufough the Pharisees condemned our 
 Saviour for healing on this dayiBand we nave 
 knovvnsome who have opuj^j^n^ay sr ho«. Is 
 a^bre'aking in "lS\the^M Bf God. 
 '•With regard t!rthjfl HBRielech'told 
 him that he had ^notnqjji 1W the sword of 
 Goliath, which was wrapped in a cloth behind 
 the ephod. What a curiosity was here ! How 
 highly it was prized we may learn from the 
 preservation of it in such a place and with 
 such care! Nothing could have been more 
 welcome to David than this. weapon — " Give 
 
 like it." It 
 nd had been 
 he therefore 
 e to it than 
 is faith more 
 remembrance 
 
 it me," says he ; " there 
 had been drawn against 
 taken by his own han 
 seemed to have a gre 
 David. It would stre 
 than his arm. It woul 
 his former victory, and encourage afresh his 
 confidence in God, being able now to add, 
 " The Lord who delivered me from the paw 
 of the lion and the paw of the bear," and — 
 " from the uncircumcised Philistine," will de- 
 liver me from every evil work. So he ought 
 to have reasoned always, and so he sometimes 
 did reason: but, alas! two things occurred 
 here worthy of our remark. 
 
 First, the manner of application was blama- 
 ble. For, to obtain these supplies, he dissem- 
 bled, affirming that he was employed by the 
 king in a business that required haste. Is 
 this to be justified because it came from a 
 good man? It is the more to be censured. 
 He should have maintained the character of 
 an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile, and 
 who is always to choose suffering rather than 
 sin. But we see how well afflictions are 
 
Oo 
 
 FEBRUARY 5. 
 
 called trials, and how difficult it is to act 
 consistently in some conditions. How be- 
 coming is candour in judging others! Who 
 knows that he should have acted better under 
 the same pressure of circumstances'? How 
 lecessary the prayer, " Lead us not into 
 emptation, but deliver us from evil !" Sec- 
 ondly, .the issue was tragical. For while the 
 parties were having this intercourse, a man 
 named Doeg happened to be there " detained 
 before the Lord." This wretc 'i, instead of 
 minding his devotion, observed them, and 
 resolved to ingratiate himself with his master 
 Saul by an impeachment of Ahimelech. And 
 so it fell out. "Then answered Doeg the 
 Edomite, which was set over the servants of 
 Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming 
 to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And 
 lie inquired of the Lord for him, and gave 
 him victuals, and gave him the sword of Go- 
 liath the Philistine." Behold, first, the de- 
 ceitfulness of this villain. Like other slan- 
 derers, he does the business by a mixture of 
 fact and falsehood. He ought to have told 
 Saul that David had deceived Ahimelech, 
 and made him believe that he was acting for 
 the king ; and therefore that what Ahimelech 
 did was really in honour of the king. The 
 whole truth would have entirely exculpated 
 the high priest, but Doeg suppresses the most 
 essential Paq jgpf it. And behold, secondly, 
 the cruelty^jjflHMfc as falseness of this in- 
 former. " Ar&jM fcfc ini: said, Thou shalt 
 surely die, AhflBj BljJMiou, and all thy fa- 
 ther's house." THere was something vene- 
 rable in the character and office of a priest, 
 and as Ahimelech and his brethren stood 
 dressed in their sacred robes, Saul's footmen 
 shrunk back from slaying them. " And the 
 king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon 
 the priests. And »Doeg the Edomite turned, 
 and he fell updh- the priests, and slew on that 
 day fourscore and, five persons that did wear 
 a linen ephodj^And Nob, the city of the 
 priests, smote lie' with the edge of the sword, 
 both men and women, children and sucklings, 
 and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge 
 of the sword." 
 
 But see upon what little occurrences sur- 
 prising coincidences and great consequences 
 often depend. The word of the Lord had 
 denounced the house of Eli : but the threat- 
 ening could not be fulfilled without the de- 
 struction of these priests: but these priests 
 would not have been destroyed but for the 
 malice of Saul ; Saul's malice would not 
 have been excited but for the infamy of 
 Doeg; and Doeg would not have informed 
 against Ahimelech had he not been detained 
 at the tabernacle the day when David en- 
 tered it. All this seemed accidental ; but it 
 was not. All parties acted freely, yet ne- 
 cessarily too. What was unjust in Doeg 
 was righteous in God. He knew how to ac- 
 complish his word by human falsehood and 
 
 cruelty, and yet he was of purer eyes than to 
 behold iniquity. Nothing was more certain 
 as well as important than the death of Christ, 
 and he was delivered according to the deter- 
 minate counsel and foreknowledge of God; 
 yet by wicked hands the Jews crucified him. 
 Ask me not for a solution. I only know the 
 fact. I see the two ends of the chain, but the 
 middle is under water : yet the connexion is 
 as real as it is invisible. By-and-by it will 
 be drawn up. In the meanwhile, we must 
 walk by faith, and not by sight. Judge no- 
 thing before the time. We know that Mes- 
 siah cometh which is called Christ : when he 
 is come, he will tell us all things. 
 
 FEBRUARY 5. 
 
 " When I am weak, then am I strong." 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 
 Christianity is not only mysterious with 
 regard to doctrine, but also experience. Chris- 
 tians are men wondered at. They are a pe- 
 culiar people ; and the world knoweth them 
 not. Some of the effects and advantages of 
 their religion, indeed, may be palpable tc 
 others; but its principles and resources are 
 among the deep things of God, which the 
 natural man knoweth not, because they are 
 spiritually discerned. How strange to many 
 must the language of Paul appear — " I am 
 crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; 
 yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." " Most 
 gladly will I glory in infirmity, that the power 
 of Christ may rest upon me — I take pleasure 
 in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in 
 persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: 
 
 for WHEN 1 AM WEAK, THEN AM I STRONG." 
 
 As this expresses his experience not only 
 or principally as he was an Apostle, but a 
 Christian, let us in this exercise consider the 
 weaknesses to which he refers; and in the 
 next see how it becomes an accession of 
 strength. 
 
 The weakness is spiritual. But we must 
 distinguish between the reality of it, and the 
 apprehension. The fall has deprived us not 
 only of righteousness, but of strength ; and 
 by nature we are weak, as to all the purposes 
 of the divine life. But all are not sensible of 
 this. In general, men are far from believing 
 it; and will sooner acknowledge their guilt 
 than their inability. They will confess that 
 they have not been what they ought to have 
 been, or done what they ought to have done, 
 but they always presume upon their compe- 
 tency for these things ; and resolve by-and-by 
 to accomplish them. But Paul speaks of the 
 apprehension of our weakness. This is ef- 
 fected by the Holy Spirit; who convinces 
 men of sin, and makes them acquainted with 
 their true character and state before God. 
 But the sense of their weakness is increased 
 by observation and experience. They hear 
 of many falling around them who once seemed 
 
FEBRUARY 6. 
 
 59 
 
 much more lively to stand than themselves ; 
 and each of these declensions cries, " Let 
 him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest 
 he fall." And when they read the Scriptures, 
 they see the falls of good men there, and men 
 whose grace was very superior to their own : 
 and can they help fearing for themselves, 
 when they find Abraham betrayed into dis- 
 simulation by unbelief; Moses speaking un- 
 advisedly with his lips ; Job cursing the day 
 of his birth ; Solomon playing the fool ; and 
 Peter acting the coward 7 The events of life 
 also enlarge their self-acquaintance. Who 
 knows what he is till he is tried, and till he 
 meets with his own trial] For every one is 
 not discovered in the same way: and as 
 Joab adhered to David in the rebellion of 
 Absalom, yet turned aside after Adonijah ; 
 so we may be firm in one peril, and fail in 
 another. Afflictions are frequently called 
 temptations, because they try and prove us: 
 and where is the Christian who, in conse- 
 quence of these experiments, has not been 
 led, if not to question the reality of his re- 
 ligion, to mourn over the deficiencies of it? 
 Thus fresh and painful secrets are constantly 
 coming to light ; and the knowledge of their 
 depravity, which they could not have borne 
 at once, is produced by little and little. " And 
 where," says the Christian, often appalled, 
 " where will the mystery end 1 Who can un- 
 derstand his errors] Who can say, I have 
 made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin ?" 
 Thus he often seems worse, because he is 
 wiser. There is not more in him of unbelief, 
 and impatience, and vain thought ; but he sees 
 and feels more of them. 
 
 And how far does this sense of the Chris- 
 tian's weakness extend 1 He feels that he is 
 unable to do what he ought. His work is 
 laid down in the Scripture. It requires him 
 to run the race that is set before him ; to fight 
 the good fight of faith ; and to perform a thou- 
 sand duties with regard to God, his neighbour, 
 and himself — the view of whicn forces him 
 to exclaim, "Who is sufficient for these 
 things'!" He feels that he is unable to do 
 what he would. To will is present, but how 
 to perform that which is good, he finds not. 
 He would gladly flee, but the wires of his 
 cage tell him that he is a prisoner. He at- 
 tempts to sing, but his voice is untuned ; and 
 his harp is hung on the willows, and some- 
 times too high for him to reach. He feels 
 that he is unable to do what he has done. 
 His former experience humbles him. " O that 
 it was with me as in months past !" I fear I 
 shall never pray again as I have prayed. 
 Never trust in the promise as I have trusted. 
 Never kneel before the cross again as I once 
 did, and said — 
 
 " Here it is I find my heaven. 
 While upon the Lamb I gaze.' 
 
 He feels that he is unable to do the least 
 duty. He always thought himself inade- 
 
 quate, were he called to die at the stake, or 
 to offer up an Isaac : but he is beyond this 
 now. He now feels that he cannot order his 
 speech properly in company; nor endure, 
 with Christian temper, the trifling vexations 
 of the hour — yea, that without Christ he 
 " can do nothing." He feels unable to pre- 
 serve himself from the greatest sins. He 
 once thought that he was in no danger from 
 these ; and supposed that reputation, and 
 common prudence, would secure him from 
 such miscarriages. But he now prays with 
 David, not only, cleanse thou me from secret 
 faults, but keep back thy servant also from 
 presumptuous sins. 
 
 And what is there to meet all this weak- 
 ness 1 When he examines, he finds that no- 
 thing is sufficient. He cannot depend on the 
 grace he has received — He can no more live 
 without fresh supplies of the Spirit, than he 
 can see with the light, and respire with the 
 air, of yesterday. He cannot depend upon 
 his present frames. These may be lively 
 and delightful ; but they are of the nature of 
 cordials, not food — he cannot live by them. 
 He knows too how variable they are ; and 
 how often rapture has ended in gloom. He 
 cannot depend upon his resolutions and vows. 
 He has seen their vanity in binding his de- 
 praved heart. Though they seemed invinci- 
 ble, they have yielded in the hour of tempta- 
 tion : and before the assaults of the enemy, 
 they have been no more than a hedge of cob- 
 webs, or a wall of vapour. He cannot de- 
 pend upon means and ordinances. He values 
 these, and will be found in the use of them ; 
 they are his privilege as well as duty. But 
 unless the Lord give the increase, Paul plants 
 and Apollos waters in vain. We are to wait 
 only upon God. His influences and commu- 
 nications can alone relieve and elevate, re- 
 fresh and strengthen the soul. This seems 
 a discouraging state of mind to be in — but 
 what follows ' 
 
 FEBRUARY 6. 
 
 " When I am weak, then am I strong 
 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 
 The consciousness of our spiritual weak- 
 ness becomes the accession of strength three 
 ways. 
 
 First, as it inspires us with diffidence and 
 caution. It will keep us from venturing into 
 the company of the infidel and the wicked, 
 lest we learn of their ways, and get a snare 
 to our souls. It will restrain us from scenes 
 and places of dissipation where there is so 
 much temptation, and we feel we have so 
 little power of resistance. He who knows 
 how much tinder he has about him will not 
 invite sparks. The humble will always be 
 self-diffident. He will not vainly think that 
 he can withstand where others are over- 
 come. Therefore he will not make harte to 
 
00 
 
 FEBRUARY 7. 
 
 be rich, iest lie should not be innocent, but 
 fall into many foolish and hurtful lusts which 
 drown men in destruction and perdition. He 
 will perfectly tremble at the thought of the 
 love of money, since God tells him it is the 
 root of all evil. He will not exercise him- 
 self in great matters, or in things too high 
 for him ; he finds himself unequal to the dif- 
 ficulties and dangers of superior offices and 
 employments. If God calls him into an ar- 
 duous and perilous situation, the call insures 
 his safety and assistance ; but presumption 
 has nothing to plead. He will therefore look 
 for his commission ; and follow God, instead 
 of going before him. The Jews would go 
 up the hill — but the ark remained behind. 
 What was the consequence 1 The enemy 
 easily discomfited them, and chased them like 
 bees. The self-sufficient are never safe, be- 
 cause no one can warn them of danger with- 
 out giving offence: but the man who knows 
 himself, and is not highminded, welcomes ad- 
 monition and even reproof; and says, Faith- 
 ful are the wounds of a friend. 
 
 Secondly, as it makes us more prayerful. 
 When a man, concerned for his safety and 
 welfare, finds that he cannot rely upon him- 
 self, he will naturally look after another to 
 rely upon. So did Jehoshaphat in the pres- 
 sure of his straits: "We have no might 
 against this great company that cometh 
 against us ; neither know we what to do : 
 but our eyes are upon thee." And thus, 
 when the weak sees an adversary approach- 
 ing, he will not go forth to meet him alone ; 
 but hasten and call upon the Captain of his 
 salvation to come to his succour : and thus he 
 succeeds. What is prayer but an application 
 to the strong for strength 1 And as in the 
 Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength, but we 
 cannot hope for its aid without asking and 
 seeking; it follows, that nothing can strength- 
 en us like prayer. It is availing ourselves of 
 Omnipotence. It is our being strong in the 
 Lord and the power of his might. The babe 
 cannot support himself: yet he is not aban- 
 doned. Provision is made for him in another : 
 and what his little hands cannot accomplish 
 for him, his cries and tears can effect. The 
 mother hears him, and flies to relieve and in- 
 dulge. She, even she, may indeed forget; 
 or prove unkind or unable : but the God of 
 all grace never said to the seed of Jacob, 
 Seek ye me, in vain. Therefore, 
 
 Thirdly, as it encourages and animates the 
 soul by bringing us under the certainty of 
 divine promise. There is something very 
 winning and endearing in confidence. Who 
 could take away the life of a bird that fled to 
 his bosom from the pounce of the hawk 1 or 
 who could take advantage of having him in 
 his hand to deprive the little trembler even 
 of his liberty ! Nothing is ever lost by trust- 
 ing in the ingenuous and nobleminded : they 
 always feel a responsibility to repay the con- 
 
 fidence reposed in them. What then may 
 we not expect from the God of all comfort ] 
 But not only does the honour of his goodness 
 incline him to succour those who rely on him, 
 but also the honour of his truth. For has he 
 not said, " God resisteth the proud, but giveth 
 grace unto the humble 1 He filleth the hun- 
 gry with good things ; but the rich he hath 
 sent empty away 1" 
 
 Therefore you need not be afraid to know 
 the evil of your spiritual condition; since 
 suitable relief of every kind is provided — 
 And we see what is indeed the most enviable 
 state and frame of mind you can be in. The 
 best evidence of prosperity in the divine life 
 is not great knowledge and ecstasy ; but low- 
 liness of mind. " He that abaseth himself 
 shall be exalted." " A man's pride shall 
 bring him low ; but honour shall uphold the 
 humble in spirit." " With the lowly is wis- 
 dom." "With him also is affluence and 
 might" — " when I am weak, then am I 
 strong." 
 
 And let it comfort us that our resource is 
 not future only, but immediate. We cannot 
 doubt of our being strong in heaven. There 
 our powers will be fully equal to every de- 
 mand upon them. There we shall be able 
 to serve him day and night in his temple, 
 feeling no languor, and requiring no repose. 
 But we are strong not only after weakness, 
 bnt in it — "when I am weak, then am I 
 strong." " As thy day so shall thy strength 
 be.' "I will water it every moment." 
 
 Thus, out of weakness I am made strong. 
 "I can do all things through Christ whc 
 strengtheneth me." 
 
 FEBRUARY 7. 
 
 " Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord 
 
 Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you." — 
 
 1 Thes. iii. 11. 
 
 In order, as it is said, in the foregoing 
 verse, to " see their face, and perfect that 
 which was lacking in their faith." But two 
 remarks arise from the words. 
 
 The first is of a doctrinal character, and 
 regards a leading article of the faith once de- 
 livered to the saints — "Our Lord Jesus" is 
 here addressed in prayer, as well as "God 
 himself and our Father," and even with him. 
 This cannot be confounded with the practice 
 of the Romish Church in praying to the Vir- 
 gin Mary, and a multitude of patron saints. 
 Such prayers have no authority from the 
 Scriptures; and the persons to whom they 
 are addressed, being mere creatures only, 
 can have no knowledge of the wants and 
 feelings of thousands that may address them 
 at the same time. But the manner in 
 which the Saviour speaks of himself, before 
 he left the earth, shows the reasonableness 
 of our addressing him : " Lo," said he, " I 
 am with you always, even unto thp end of 
 
FEBRUARY 8. 
 
 61 
 
 the world." "Where two or three are 
 
 rithnred together in my Name, there am 
 in the midst of them." " He that loveth 
 me shall be loved by my Father ; and I will 
 love him, and will manifest myself to him." 
 He therefore, though unseen, is accessible ; 
 omnipresent ; knows all things ; is able and 
 engaged to manage all our concerns : and be- 
 cause he lives we shall live also. Hence the 
 first Christians are described, as " calling on 
 the Name of the Lord Jesus." Hence Ste- 
 phen, when dying, and full of the Holy Ghost, 
 invoked him. And Paul, not only in the text, 
 but in various other places, is chargeable with 
 the same idolatry, as it certainly must be 
 deemed, without conceding his divinity. In- 
 deed he begins all his Epistles with this salu- 
 tation and benediction : " Grace be to you, 
 and peace from God our Father, and the 
 Lord Jesus Christ." In one instance, he has 
 even reversed the order before us, and in his 
 supplication, places the Saviour before the 
 Father: "Now our Lord Jesus Christ him- 
 self, and God, even our Father, which hath 
 loved us, and hath given us everlasting con- 
 solation and good hope through grace, com- 
 fort your hearts, and stablish you in every 
 good word and work." And if we pass from 
 the Church below to the Church above, 
 where, though their prayers are ended, they 
 are still praising ; how are their praises ex- 
 pressed 1 "I beheld, and, lo, a great multi- 
 tude, which no man could number, of ail na- 
 tions, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, 
 stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, 
 clothed with white robes, and palms in their 
 hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, 
 Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the 
 throne, and unto the Lamb." Is this adora- 
 tion confined to the saints 1 " I heard the voice 
 of many angels round about the throne and 
 the beasts and the elders : and the number of 
 them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and 
 thousands of thousands ; saying, with a loud 
 voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to 
 receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
 strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." 
 Is there no exception ? " And every creature 
 which is in heaven, and on the earth, and 
 under the earth, and such as are in the sea, 
 and all that are in them, heard I saying, 
 Blessing, and honour, and glory and power, 
 be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
 unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." Be not 
 therefore faithless, but believing ; in all your 
 dependence and hope; and exclaim, with 
 Thomas, " My Lord and my God !" 
 
 The second remark is of a practical na- 
 ture: "Now God himself and our Father, 
 and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way 
 unto you." Does not the example of Paul 
 and his brethren in this case teach us, that 
 we ought to consider our visits and journeys 
 as under the influence of a special Provi- 
 ience? We are not to confine religion to 
 
 extraordinary occasions ; but to acknowledge 
 God in all our ways ; and in every thing, by 
 prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, 
 make our requests known unto him. We are 
 to love the Sabbath, and remember to keep it 
 holy : but we must serve God every day, and 
 be in the fear of the Lord all the day long 
 We are to repair .o the sanctuary, and to en- 
 ter the closet : but we must abide with God 
 in our calling; and whether we eat or drink, 
 or whatever we do, do all to the glory of God. 
 Paul speaks of " a prosperous journey by the 
 will of God ;" and John enjoins his friends to 
 bring " the brethren on their journey after a 
 godly sort." 
 
 And what is the truth of the case 1 " The 
 way of man is not in himself; it is not in 
 man that walketh to direct his steps." " A 
 man's heart deviseth his way ; but the Lord 
 directeth his steps." Have we a journey or 
 a visit in prospect 1 We must ask the per- 
 mission, and implore the blessing of Him in 
 whom we live and move and have our being. 
 He can stop our breath ; or lay us on a bed 
 of languishing. If we achieve our under- 
 taking, he can subvert the design of it, or 
 mar all our satisfaction in it How much often 
 depends upon a single excursion ! It may 
 terminate in a friendship the most important, 
 or a connexion for life. It may lead us into 
 temptation ; and we may be ensnared by er- 
 ror or vice. It may produce trials and losses 
 the most painful ; and we may return, com- 
 pelled to say, " I went out full, and the Lord 
 hath brought me home again empty.'-' Per- 
 haps, when we leave home, we unconsciously 
 take leave of our house, and field, and gar- 
 den, to return no more ; and the places that 
 once knew us will know us no more for ever ! 
 
 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for 
 his help. Happy he who can rejoice in the 
 promise : " Behold, I am with thee, and will 
 keep thee in all places whither thou goest." 
 
 FEBRUARY 8. 
 
 " The body is dead because of sin.' 
 Rom. viii. 10. 
 
 The language is striking ; for the AposUe 
 does not say, the body will die, but the body 
 " is dead." The reason is, because the sen- 
 tence is passed, and when the judge has con- 
 demned the criminal, we say, he is a dead 
 man. In the case before us too, the execution 
 of the sentence is commenced. And when a 
 man is old, or infirm, or diseased, we say, he 
 is as good as dead ; he has one foot in the 
 grave. Owing to the casualties of our con- 
 dition, and the frailties of our frame, there is 
 but a step between us and death. We are 
 not only mortal in destination, but in state. 
 We decay while we receive support Before 
 we reach our journey's end, our strength is 
 weakened in the way, our senses lose their 
 
62 
 
 FEBRUARY 9. 
 
 efficiency, and desire fails. Before the taber- 
 nacle is completely taken down, some pin is 
 taken out, some cord is loosened, some rents 
 or wearings away m the canvassare visible. 
 We talk of a dying hour ; but we die daily. 
 When a bottle is discharged of its contents, 
 there is a last drop ; but every preceding drop 
 emptied it as well as the last. Young says, 
 "our cradle rocks us to the tomb." And 
 Watts tells us, " the moment we begin to 
 live, we all begin to die." Who thinks of 
 this? 
 
 But bow profitable would the meditation 
 be ! Pamper not that dying body — " meats 
 for the belly and the belly for meats, but God 
 will destroy both it and them." Be not proud 
 of thy beauty and charms. The coral is leav- 
 ing thy lips ; the tints are fading from thy 
 cheeks ; the grave, the worms are ready for 
 thee. The body is dead — insult not the poor 
 carcass by dressing it up in vanity and gai- 
 ety of attire. The pilot goes to the very end 
 of the vessel to steer it: and you must repair 
 to the end of life to conduct it. Hence the 
 exclamation, and the prayer of Moses : " O 
 that they were wise ! that they understood 
 this ! that they would consider their latter 
 end !" " So teach us to number our days, 
 that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." 
 
 But the Apostle remarks the cause or the 
 reason of the event. " The body is dead be- 
 cause of sin." Death is not therefore, as it is 
 foolishly called, a debt due to nature, but to 
 the justice of God. Sin is the introducer of 
 death. We die not from any physical neces- 
 sity, like plants and animals : God indeed 
 could have rendered these everduring, but he 
 did not make them to be so. Man only was 
 made immortal, but he forfeited his immortal- 
 ity; and therefore, though all creatures die 
 as well as man, he only is called mortal, (for 
 we never speak of a mortal bird or beast) as 
 if in reproach for his becoming so by disobey- 
 ing the command of God, and voluntarily in- 
 curring the penalty threatened : " In the day 
 thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." 
 What a murderer is here ! Survey all the 
 myriads of the dead, and ask, " Who slew all 
 these ]" And hear the decision of Truth 
 itself: "By one man sin entered into the 
 world, and death by sin, and so death hath 
 passed upon all men because all have sinned." 
 
 But in the case of a Christian, and of such 
 Paul is speaking, there is another reason for 
 the assertion, and the body is dead not only 
 because of the desert of sin, but the removal 
 of it. During life there is an internal war in 
 believers : the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, 
 and the Spirit against the flesh ; and these 
 are contrary the one to the other, so that they 
 cannot do the things that they would. Death 
 ends the strife, by killing one of the parties, 
 and making the other more than a conqueror. 
 The Apostle speaks of the sin that dwelt in 
 nim : and such is the inherency of this evil. 
 
 that the body which is the residence of it, re- 
 sembles the house of leprosy which was to be 
 taken down to get rid of the infection. And 
 this will serve to explain a difficulty. For it. 
 may be asked, if Christ has redeemed them, 
 bearing their sin in his own body on the tree : 
 and they are justified by his blood, and saved 
 from wrath through him ; why do they yet 
 die 1 To which we answer, they die, as they 
 suffer affliction. Affliction is not a judicial in- 
 fliction, but is only corrective and medicinal ; 
 and though like all natural evil derived 
 originally from sin, is, as God empjoys it, the 
 effect and token of his love. So Christ has 
 abolished death as far as it is a curse : and 
 thus the Christian does not die : there is no- 
 thing penal in his death ; yea, death is a priv- 
 ilege, a deliverer. It delivers him not only 
 from a world lying in wickedness, but from 
 the plague of his own heart, from his inbred 
 corruptions, and even from the flesh and blood 
 which cannot without change and renovation 
 inherit the kingdom of God. Thus the enemy 
 is converted into a friend. The sting is taken 
 out of the bee, but the honey remains. The 
 lion is not only slain, but out of the eater 
 comes forth meat, and out of the strong 
 sweetness. 
 
 Ahasuerus issued a decree, that all the 
 Jews should be destroyed, and as no law of 
 the Medes and Persians could be changed, 
 the decree could not be revoked : but it could 
 be superseded. The people were apprized of 
 their danger, and called upon to defend them- 
 selves, and furnished with the means of safe- 
 ty and victory; and thus the day of their de- 
 struction was turned into a day of triumph 
 and joy, and they made it a festival which 
 they still observe. Thus it is appointed unto 
 men once to die ; and the sentence is irre- 
 versible. Believers themselves cannot escape 
 the decree, "Dust thou art, and unto dust 
 shalt thou return." But by the resources of 
 the Gospel the curse is turned into a blessing, 
 and to die is gain. And if there be a period 
 on which the spirits of just men made perfect 
 reflect with peculiar pleasure and praise, it is 
 the time of their escape from earth to heaven. 
 The approach of it had often alarmed them ; 
 but the consequences are inconceivably great ; 
 and these they always viewed with desire- 
 
 " O glorious hour, O blest abode ! 
 I shall be near, and like my God ; 
 And flesh and sin no more control 
 The sacred pleasures of the soul." 
 
 FEBRUARY 9. 
 
 " So Jight I, not as one that beateth the air.' 
 1 Cor. ix. 26. 
 
 Behold the boxer in the Grecian games 
 First, he often practised in feigned combat, 
 exorcising and extending his arms and hands 
 with his gloves on, to acquire greater agility 
 and skill. This was comparatively easj : this 
 
 
■FEBRUARY 10. 
 
 63 
 
 required no fortitude, and produced little ex- 
 haustion. But see him afterwards, when ac- 
 tually engaged with his antagonist — How he 
 agonizes ! How he stretches every muscle, 
 and strains every nerve ! Here was the trial. 
 Who does not perceive what a difference 
 there was hetween these? Between the 
 feigned and the real combat 1 Between beat- 
 ing the air, and beating the adversary ! But, 
 says the Apostle, I resemble the combatant 
 not in the former, but in the latter of these — 
 " So fight I, not as one that beateth the air." 
 
 So it is with every Christian. He has to 
 fight; and whatever defective or erroneous 
 notions may obtain concerning it, he finds it 
 to be, not an imaginary, but an actual con- 
 flict ; the most serious and trying in which 
 he can ever be engaged. The enemy he en- 
 counters has every quality that can render 
 him formidable. The struggle is constant, 
 and admits of no interval of repose or relaxa- 
 tion. The consequences are inexpressibly mo- 
 mentous and interesting. Salvation or damna- 
 tion, hell or heaven, everlasting happiness or 
 woe, depend on his success or failure. 
 
 It is no easy thing, therefore, to be a Chris- 
 tian indeed. Those who think otherwise, 
 prove that they never made the trial in earn- 
 est ; and are strangers to the language of the 
 Scripture. There we read of striving to enter 
 in at the strait gate ; of pressing into the 
 kingdom of God ; of the violent who take it 
 by force ; of running the race that is set be- 
 fore us ; of enduring hardness as a good sol- 
 dier of Jesus Christ. It is admitted that these 
 are metaphorical expressions ; but they must 
 be founded in truth ; and what is the truth 
 intended by them 1 If it be taken from the 
 lowest interpretation, it is enough to condemn 
 many : for surely they must fall short of the 
 requirement who have a name that they live, 
 but are dead ; who wear the form of godli- 
 ness, but deny the power ; whose religion al- 
 lows them to be at ease in Zion, retaining 
 every evil passion, every worldly indulgence ; 
 and is distinguished by nothing like exertion 
 or sacrifice. " But then real Christians are 
 few." And says not the Saviour the same 1 
 "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way 
 that leadeth unto life, and few there be that 
 find it." Men would be happy without being 
 holy; without diligence ; without contention. 
 But no sluggard, no coward, ever entered 
 heaven. " Win and wear it," says Latimer, 
 "is the motto inscribed on the crown for 
 which we strive." And says the Amen, the 
 faithful Witness, " If any man will be my 
 disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his 
 cross and follow me." 
 
 And, therefore, a religious course should 
 be entered upon with solemn thought and de- 
 liberation. We should sit down and consider 
 the difficulties, dangers, and exertions that 
 will attend it. For if we begin under a mis- 
 taken notion, and reckoning only upon what 
 
 is pleasing and peaceful, we shall peradven* 
 ture repent when we see war, and return into 
 Egypt. Hence many have taken up a profes- 
 sion of godliness, and scon laid it down again, 
 to the disgrace of the cause of Christ, and 
 the enhancement of their own condemnation • 
 for the last state of such men is worse than 
 the first. 
 
 But this should not discourage those thai 
 are heartily disposed for the warfare. There 
 is enough to justify their choice, and to ani- 
 mate them to go forward, notwithstanding all 
 they ought to look for in the divine life. 
 
 And if you are already engaged, and you 
 are constrained to say, Whatever others find 
 it, I feel it to be a conflict truly serious and 
 trying : I feel daily and hourly the sentiment 
 of Paul : " So fight I, not as one that beateth 
 the air :" remember that it is the same with 
 all your brethren in the world, and has been 
 so with all the glorified now before the 
 Throne — 
 
 " Once they were mourning here below, 
 And wet their couch with tears ; 
 They wrestled hard, as we do now, 
 With sins, and doubts, and fears." 
 
 It would be awful if you were not acquaint- 
 ed with this conflict. But your experience is 
 a token for good. The strong man armed 
 keepeth his palace and his goods in peace. It 
 is the delivered soul that is the subject of this 
 contest. Say not, why am I thus 1 You are 
 thus, because the Lord has chosen you to be 
 a soldier ; because his grace has produced in 
 you principles alien to nature, and which 
 have roused all the powers of darkness. And 
 you shall be furnished with supplies and suc- 
 cours. And as your day, so shall your strength 
 be. And armour is provided for you the most 
 tried and complete. And it is a good fight in 
 which you are engaged : it will bear exam- 
 ination ; every review will afford you plea- 
 sure ; every good being in the universe is on 
 your side, and wishes you success. And your 
 victory is sure and near. Earth is a tiresome 
 place; but you are not to live here always. 
 Now, if one temptation is overcome, another 
 succeeds. But the warfare will soon be ac- 
 complished. Death will proclaim the triumph. 
 How sweet will rest be after toil ; and peace 
 after such a fight ! 
 
 FEBRUARY 10. 
 
 "For this shall every one that is godly pray unto 
 thee in a time when thou mayest be found : sure- 
 ly, in the floods of great waters they shall not 
 come nigh unto him." — Psalm xxxii. 6. 
 David knew there was a general sameness 
 of views and feelings in the subjects of divine 
 grace. Hence from his own experience he 
 'inferred the disposition and conduct of the 
 godly in all future ages — they would do what 
 he had done, and find the same relief. He 
 refers, however, to the result of his case wbep 
 
04 
 
 FEBRUARY 10. 
 
 oe had been brought into a proper state of 
 mind, and not to the commencement of it 
 which he himself censures. For we are here 
 furnished with a fa^t which does not appear 
 in tha history of David. It is commonly sup- 
 posed, that after his grievous fall, till Nathan 
 reproved him, he had been careless and stupi- 
 fied; and this has often been adduced as a 
 proof of the hardening nature of sin. But the 
 thing was far otherwise. He was all the 
 while tortured in his mind, yet unwilling to 
 humble himself before God, and condemn him- 
 self before men, as he ought to have done — 
 He kept silence, and endeavoured to pass off 
 the distress by time, palliation, and excuse. 
 But the repression and concealment of his an- 
 guish preyed not only upon his peace, but his 
 health, and endangered life itself At length 
 he was reduced to the deepest penitence, and 
 threw himself, by an unqualified confession, 
 on the compassion of God. This was a wise 
 course, and we shall do well to follow his ex- 
 ample. Under a sense of guilt we should not 
 keep away from God, but enter his presence, 
 and cry, " God be merciful to me, a sinner." 
 This will melt the heart into " godly sorrow" 
 better than all legal terrors; and we know 
 who hath said, " If we confess our sins, he is 
 faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
 cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Hence 
 says David, " When I kept silence, my bones 
 waxed old through my roaring all the day 
 long. For day and night thy hand was heavy 
 upon me : my moisture is turned into the 
 drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin 
 unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. 
 I said, I will confess my transgressions unto 
 the Lord ; and thou forgavest the iniquity of 
 my sin." 
 
 He then adds : " For this shall every one 
 that is godly pray unto thee." Here we see 
 not only that all the godly pray, but every one 
 of them prays for pardon. This is the very 
 thing which our Saviour teaches his disciples : 
 " When ye pray, say — forgive us our trespas- 
 ses." And this praying does not only regard 
 the manifestation of forgiving mercy, as some 
 would have it, but the exercise of it For 
 in many things we offend all ; yea, in every 
 thing we come short of the glory of God. If 
 He should mark what we do amiss, we could 
 not stand before him, even for the sins of our 
 holy things. A faithful examination of the 
 most innocent hour of our lives, and the de- 
 voutest act of our worship, must bring us 
 upon our knees, crying, "Enter not into judg- 
 ment with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy 
 sight shall no flesh living be justified." From 
 the beginning to the end our hope must be a 
 " looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ unto eternal life. 
 
 But here is a season of audience — " In a 
 time when thou mayest be found." There is 
 s time, therefore, when he will not be found. 
 
 Hence the force of the admonition, " Seek ye 
 the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon 
 him while he is near." Life is the time not 
 only to serve, but to seek the Lord, — 
 
 "There are no acts of pardon past 
 In the cold grave to which we haste." 
 
 At death, the bridge is drawn ; the door is 
 shut Yet during life, there are some periods 
 more favoured than others. Paul sought the 
 Lord thrice for deliverance before the promise 
 of all-sufficient grace was given him. God 
 heard Moses at one time, not another. How 
 long did Abraham and Isaac pray before they 
 received the answer ! But the time of finding, 
 when we pray for pardoning grace, is the hour 
 in which David found it ; which was the mo- 
 ment he entirely condemned himself and jus- 
 tified God — God is always more ready to par- 
 don than we are to confess. 
 
 And blessed is he whose transgression is 
 forgiven. He is free from all condemnation ; 
 and in whatever condition he is found, he 
 dwells safely, and may be in quiet from the 
 fear of evil — " Surely in the floods of great 
 waters they shall not come nigh unto him." 
 Floods of great waters mean numerous and 
 pressing calamities, from which few are ex- 
 empted in this vale of tears — But how is it 
 said, they do not come nigh unto the godly 1 
 Are not the afflictions of the righteous many] 
 Did they not come nigh Joseph when he was 
 cast into the pit, and when in prison he was 
 fettered with irons 1 " Not come nigh me," 
 says many a living Christian ; " they have 
 washed away half my comforts already, and 
 I fear my heart will be overwhelmed within 
 me" — The language of the Scripture is bold, 
 and often requires to be qualified; but it is 
 always founded on truth. It is undeniable 
 that God in public and general sufferings has 
 frequently secured his servants ; as we see in 
 the case of Noah, and Lot an d the Jews in 
 Egypt And God is always able to do this for 
 his people. And nothing shall befall them 
 without his permission and appointment. 
 Nothing shall injure them. Yea, every loss 
 and trial shall conduce to their welfare. But 
 hear David's own explanation subjoined : 
 " Thou art my hiding-place ; thou shalt pre- 
 serve me from trouble ; thou shalt compass 
 me about with songs of deliverance." Thus 
 the believer is like a man in a strong hold 
 built upon a rock. In the flood, the water may 
 surround him, but does not touch him. It will 
 also roll oft! and he will walk abroad again. 
 Thus it is said, " We are troubled on every 
 side, yet not distressed." And in the final 
 disaster that will carry away every thing, it 
 shall not come nigh unto him, but only with 
 his eyes shall he see the reward of the 
 wicked — 
 \ "When desolation, like a flood, 
 
 On the proud sinner rolls; 
 Saints find a refuge in their God, 
 
 For he redeem'd their souls." 
 
FEBRUARY 11. 
 
 65 
 
 FEBRUARY 11. 
 
 • The people which were left of the sword found 
 grace in the vnlderness." — Jer. xxxi. 2. 
 
 The expression, " the people which were 
 left of the sword," refers to Ihe perils the Is- 
 raelites escaped before their journey began. 
 In Egypt they were in danger of being cut 
 off by excess of toil, and the bloody decree 
 which doomed all their male children to de- 
 struction. They were also likely to be cut 
 off at once, when Pharaoh pursued them to 
 the Red Sea. From all these jeopardies the 
 Lord's hand saved them. " But," you say, " he 
 brought them into a wilderness." He did — 
 Yet they had no reason to complain of their 
 condition : they " found grace in the wilder- 
 ness." And such, Christians, has been your 
 experience. 
 
 What the Jews did not derive from their 
 condition, they yet received in it — They 
 " found grace in the wilderness." This was 
 essentially the presence of God with them, 
 according to the prayer of Moses : " If thy 
 presence go not with me, carry us not up 
 hence. For wherein shall it be known here 
 that I and thy people have found grace in thy 
 sight? is it not in that thou goest w.th us! so 
 shall we be separated, I and thy people, from 
 all the people that are upon the face of the 
 earth." Hence no nation was so great, be- 
 cause they had God so nigh unto them in all 
 that they called upon him for. 
 
 They found in the wilderness, providing 
 grace ! And have not you ! The cup of some 
 of you has been running over. You have had 
 all things richly to enjoy. Others have been 
 more sensibly dependent Yet he has not 
 suffered you to want In his feeding and 
 clothing you, there has been less of miracle, 
 but not less of reality, than in feeding and 
 clothing the Jews. You have not had the 
 widow's cruse of oil and barrel of meal ; but 
 your supplies have not failed you. Ravens 
 have not sustained you; but you have had 
 relief from the most unlikely characters. 
 You have also had comfort in your temporal 
 blessings ; you have tasted the love of God 
 in them. He has blessed your bread and 
 your water; and hence the little you have 
 had, has been better than the riches of many 
 wicked. 
 
 They found in the wilderness, pardoning 
 grace. And have not you! It was said of 
 them, " How oft did they provoke him in the 
 wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! 
 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their 
 iniquity, and destroyed them not : yea, many 
 a time turned he his anger away, and did not 
 stir up all his wrath. For he remembered 
 that they were but flesh ; a wind that passeth 
 iway, and cometh not again." And has not 
 this been your case! In many things you 
 have offended, and in every thing come short 
 of the glory of God. How ungrateful, for- 
 5 
 
 getful, distrustful, incorrigible, have you been 1 
 Reflect for a moment on the sins of your 
 holy tilings ; review your sabbaths, your com- 
 munions, your omissions of duty, and the im- 
 perfections of your motives when your actions 
 have been materially right — Has he dealt 
 with you according to your desert! Has he 
 not spared you according to the greatness of 
 his mercy ! 
 
 They found in the wilderness, conducting 
 grace. And have not you ! They had a fiery 
 cloudy pillar to go before them, to determine 
 all their journeyings, and which left them 
 not, till it had guided them to the rest which 
 the Lord their God gave them. And you 
 know the way of man is not in himself. How 
 ignorant, how short-sighted, how easily im- 
 posed upon, have you been ! How mistaken 
 have you been, when most confident ! How 
 deceived have you been in your hopes and 
 fears ! How often have you wished to escape 
 things which have proved a blessing ; Jind to 
 obtain things which would have proved your 
 bane ! Into what embarrassments would you 
 have fallen, had you been left to lean to your 
 own understanding ! But he has fulfilled the 
 promise, " I am the Lord thy God, that teach- 
 eth thee to profit, and that leadeth thee it 
 the way that thou shouldst choose." And h<- 
 will be your guide even unto death. 
 
 They found in the wilderness, preserving 
 grace. As he led them about and instructed 
 them, so he kept them as the apple of his eye. 
 And have you not found the same grace! 
 Why have not your enemies, so superior in 
 every respect to yourselves, triumphed over 
 you ! The Lord has been on your side. You 
 have been kept by the power of God. 
 
 They found in the wilderness, assistmg 
 grace. What was said of Asher applied to 
 them all ; " as thy days, so shall thy strength 
 be." He made them equal to their travails 
 and their trials. He gave them his Sabbaths. 
 He sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before 
 them. They had the services of the Priests ; 
 the messages of the Prophets ; the commu- 
 nings of the mercy-seat. And has he not sent 
 you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen- 
 ed you out of Zion ! You have had his ordi- 
 nances. You have heard his word. You 
 have known him in his palaces for a refuge. 
 His Spirit has helped your infirmities. When 
 you have said, " I am cast out of his sight," 
 you have been enabled to look again towards 
 his holy temple. You dreaded the day of 
 trouble; but when it arrived, there arrived 
 with it the grace to help in time of need- 
 Where shall I end ! 
 
 But remember — First, that all you have 
 possessed and enjoyed, deserving the name 
 of good, has been grace. Secondly, you would 
 have seen much more of this grace in the 
 wilderness, had you been more observant: 
 for "whoso is wise, and will observe these 
 things, even he shall understand the loving- 
 
U6 
 
 FEBRUARY 12. 
 
 Kindness of the i« in." Thiidly, how much 
 more of" this grace- which you have found in 
 the wilderness will you see hereafter, than 
 you -are aware of now ! Then the divine dis- 
 pensations concerning you will be finished ; 
 your capacity for reviewing them will be 
 complete ; and you will fully see the bearing 
 of them all upon your welfare — Then for the 
 song — " O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he 
 is good, for his mercy endureth for ever — To 
 Him that led his people through the 
 wilderness; for his mercy endureth for 
 
 CTI11 I" 
 
 FEBRUARY 12. 
 
 " And Samuel lay until the morning, and open- 
 ed the doors of the house of the Lord. And Sa?n- 
 ud feared to show Eli the vision." — 1 Sam. iii. 15. 
 Every thing in the history and character 
 of Samuel is attractive and interesting. His 
 birth was in answer to prayer. He was sanc- 
 tified from the womb ; and was dedicated to 
 the service of the sanctuary as soon as he 
 was weaned. Among the Jews there were 
 three weanings. The first was at the end of 
 three years ; this was the weaning from the 
 mother's breast. The second was at the end 
 of seven years ; this was the weaning from 
 the dry nurse. The third was at the end of 
 twelve years; this was the weaning from 
 childish manners. At the latter period the 
 Jewish children began to attend the public 
 solemnities ; and at this age therefore we 
 find our Saviour in the midst of the doctors 
 in the temple. This we presume was the 
 season when Hannah left Samuel at Shilo, 
 under the care of old Eli ; for we see that he 
 immediately " worshipped the Lord there ;" 
 and was capable of rendering himself useful 
 in the services of the tabernacle. 
 
 Some length of time after this, the Lord 
 addressed him in the night, and delivered to 
 him an awful message concerning Eli. " And 
 Samuel lay until the morning." He seems 
 to have had none of those apprehensions 
 which other children suffer from the dread of 
 darkness, and apparitions, and sounds deemed 
 .minous. But did he sleep during the watches 
 of the night 7 We presume not. The won- 
 derfulness of the occurrence, the divinity of 
 the Speaker, and the import of the message, 
 would be likely to hold his eyes waking, and 
 fully employ his thoughts and meditations. 
 
 But he " opened the doors of the house of 
 the Lord." Though distinguished and digni- 
 fied by such a vision, he does not feel himself 
 raised above his humble office, but repairs to 
 his usual employment with alacrity. He that 
 is not faithful in little, will not be faithful in 
 much : but principle, diligence, and cheerful- 
 ness, in a private and inferior condition, are 
 the best preparatives for, and the surest 
 pledges of, good behaviour in higher and 
 
 more public situations. And why should any 
 kind of labour be considered as low, or de- 
 grading] What were our hands made for, 
 but to be used 1 Every kind and degree of 
 usefulness is respectable, is honourable. The 
 most despised character in the community 
 should be the man who does nothing, and has 
 nothing to do. 
 
 We here see that the call of God does net 
 draw us away from our stations, and make us 
 indifferent to the ordinary functions of life ; 
 but should dispose us to act more wisely and 
 piously in the discharge of them. " Let every 
 man," says the Scripture, " abide in the calling 
 in which he is called of God." The sun is 
 as regular as he is beneficent : he daily rises 
 and descends, and pursues his course always 
 in the same way. The comet is eccentric ; 
 breaks forth for a while, and then disappears ; 
 yet it excites more notice for the time than 
 the orb of day. Some we fear are tempted 
 to step aside from their own proper sphere by 
 the attention they attract ; and they will en- 
 deavour to justify themselves by appeals to their 
 usefulness. And they may do good ; but God 
 has not required this at their hands: and 
 every man is not only most respectable, but 
 most useful, when he keeps within his own 
 circle, and fills it to advantage. Religion is 
 the most orderly principle in the world. It 
 teaches us to give everything its place, time, 
 and importance. The most zealous of its 
 advocates was as wise as he was warm ; and 
 could say, " Having then gifts differing ac- 
 cording to the grace that is given to us, 
 whether prophecy, let us prophesy according 
 to the proportion of faith ; or ministry, let us 
 wait on our ministering : or he that teacheth, 
 on teaching ; or he that exhorteth, on exhort- 
 ation : he that giveth, let him do it with sim- 
 plicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he 
 that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.'' 
 We always suspect those who, looking after 
 something new and extraordinary, are car- 
 ried away from the plain path of revelation, 
 reason, and common sense. " The wisdom 
 of the prudent is to understand his way." 
 Let wives remember this, who gad about 
 after favourite preachers, and forget their 
 domestic arrangements, and unbelieving hus- 
 bands. Let servants think of this, who by 
 religious gossi pings render themselves un- 
 punctual in the claims of their places. Let 
 those who are too devout to be moral ; too 
 fervent in spirit to be diligent in business; 
 let the proud, the unruly, the roving, the 
 idle, weigh well the language of the Apostle 
 to the Thessalonians : " For even when we 
 were with you, this we commanded you, that 
 if any would not work, neither should he eat. 
 For we near that there are some which walk I 
 among you disorderly, working not at all, but 
 are busybodies. Now them that are such we 
 command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 
FEBRUARY 13. 
 
 m 
 
 \ 
 
 ttiat with quietness they work, and eat their 
 own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary 
 in well-doing." 
 
 Some intrusted with such a secret could 
 not have contained it without swelling and 
 bursting. They would have risen, and rush- 
 ed forth, and have proclaimed to their con- 
 nexions the privilege by which they had been 
 honoured. There was nothing of this in 
 Samuel. He was not elated or vain. He 
 rises only at the usual hour, and performs his 
 accustomed work; and is not eager to an- 
 nounce the transaction even to Eli. Empty 
 vessels sound loudest; and shallow brooks 
 babble most. A man of learning will not, 
 like a smatterer, be always referring to the 
 original, or quoting scraps of Latin and Greek. 
 Modesty and diffidence always attend true 
 greatness, in nature and in grace. Though 
 Paul had a vision that rapt him into the third 
 heaven, and he knew not whether he was in 
 the body or out of the body, he concealed it 
 for fourteen years, and then divulged it by 
 compulsion. Luther said, " Though I am an 
 old man, and have preached so long, I never 
 think of preaching without trembling." How 
 unlike the carelessness, the forwardness the 
 boldness of many a novice in the ministry ! 
 What a contrast between the reserve, the re- 
 tiringness, the humility of the lovely Samuel ; 
 and the self-conceit, and assurance, and arro- 
 gance, and talkativeness of many of the 
 young in our day ! " Exhort young men to 
 be sober-minded." " And let every man be 
 swift to hear, slow to speak." 
 
 But why was he "afraid to show Eli the 
 vision I" Had Eli treated him with distance 
 and harshness, so that he dreaded to offend 
 him by the communication ? Far from it Eli 
 always erred on the side of softness and in- 
 dulgence, not severity. And we may be as- 
 sured that he loved Samuel, and treated the 
 little Levite as a son that served with a 
 father. His fear, therefore, arose from the 
 tenderness of his disposition, from his regard 
 to the High Priest, and his veneration for 
 his age and office. Hence he was pained, 
 and shrunk back from the annunciation of 
 the judgment threatened. It is said, bad 
 news never wants wings. But the reason is 
 to be found in the tempers of men : it affords 
 them gratification ; and therefore out of the 
 abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 
 Evil would spread slowly if people were like- 
 minded with Samuel. What some call faith- 
 fulness is the indulgence of their harsh feel- 
 ings. They are at home, and in their ele- 
 ment, when they censure and condemn. They 
 often say, " I am very sorry to mention it ;" 
 when they are conscious of pleasure, and 
 their very manner betrays it to others. Never 
 reprove without cause ; and then do it in the 
 spirit of meekness, as a surgeon probes the 
 wound of his child. When Paul tells the 
 Philippians of some who were the enemies 
 
 of the cross of Christ, and whose end was 
 destruction, he does it with " weeping." And 
 Jesus " wept " when he foretold the doom of 
 Jerusalem, where he was going to be cruci- 
 fied. If ministers deal in the menaces of 
 Scripture, let them show that they speak with 
 concern — having compassion — and knowing 
 the terror of the Lord, persuade men. 
 
 FEBRUARY 13. 
 
 " Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more vaiut 
 than many sparrows." — Matt x. 31. 
 
 Here is obviously an implication of some- 
 thing going before. Our Saviour is speaking 
 of the doctrine of Providence, and he would 
 establish not only the truth but the extent of 
 it Some conceive of God as presiding over 
 whole systems, but regardless of individuals, 
 and the minute concerns of his creatures. 
 This philosophical or half infidel notion, if 
 designed, so to speak, to relieve the Supreme 
 Being, only dishonourshim ; as if an infinite 
 understanding was perplexed, or an almighty 
 power wearied — " Is any thing too hard for 
 the Lord'?" Besides, a general providence 
 involves a particular ; as a whole is made up 
 of the parts, and a universality is only the 
 aggregate of the particulars. The truth of 
 the case too is also proved by facts ; for we 
 actually find that nothing is overlooked, but 
 every thing, however small and apparently 
 insignificant, presents undeniable indications 
 of divine power, contrivance, and care. And 
 this is what our Saviour here teaches his dis- 
 ciples. And to impress them the more, he 
 has two references. The one is taken from 
 themselves — " the very hairs of your head 
 are all numbered." What could express 
 more strongly the minuteness of Providence 1 
 According to this assertion, God takes more 
 care of us than we take of ourselves : for if 
 we number our books, our cattle, or our 
 houses, we never think of numbering our 
 hairs ; and if one of these falls off, we never 
 observe or feel the trifling loss. And if he 
 attends to the least, will he neglect the great- 
 est of our interests'! The other is derived 
 from the inferior creatures. " Are not two 
 sparrows sold for a farthing 1 And one of them 
 shall not fall on the ground without your 
 heavenly Father." How natural and una- 
 voidable then the inference : " Fear ye not, 
 therefore, ye are of more value then many 
 sparrows." 
 
 The estimation is comparative — " ye are of 
 more value than many sparrows." Sparrows 
 therefore have their value; and we are re- 
 minded that we are no more to despise than 
 to abuse any of the animal tribes. They 
 have all their place and uses. No angel in 
 heaven could produce one of the meanest of 
 them. They are the work of God's fingers : 
 all praise him ; and he deems none of them 
 beneath his regard. But there is a gradatior 
 
68 
 
 FEBRUARY 14. 
 
 in hia productions ; and lie h'jnet'll* ranks some 
 of them above others. Thus he magnifies 
 his word above all his Name ; and tells us of 
 his creating new heavens and a new earth, 
 so superior to the old, that the former shall 
 not be remembered nor come into mind. A 
 plant is above a pebble ; a bird above a plant ; 
 a man above a bird. The supremacy of man 
 appears in his being made the lord of this lower 
 world, and having had all creatures put under 
 him, and given him not only for service but 
 food. Hence he said to Noah, " The fear of 
 you and the dread of you shall be upon every 
 beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the 
 air, upon all that movetli upon the earth, and 
 upon all the fishes of the sea ; into your hand 
 are they delivered. Every moving thing 
 '.hat liveth shall be meat for you ; even as the 
 gr ?en herb." Though man is now a fallen 
 creature, and he cannot think too meanly of 
 r lmself before God, yet he has physical en- 
 dowments which place him only a little lower 
 Jean the angels. He is capable of a thousand 
 operations inconceivably above .the reach of 
 '.he beasts that perish. How superior is his 
 reason to their instinct ! They soon reach the 
 extent of their ability, beyond which there is 
 no advance or improvement ; but what won- 
 ders have his faculties achieved ! and what 
 boands can be fixed to their expansion and 
 progress ? He teaches us more than the beasts 
 ci' the field, and makes us wiser than the 
 fowls of the air ; for there is a spirit in man, 
 find the inspiration of the Almighty giveth 
 bun understanding. And this spirit in man 
 jfl not only immaterial, but immortal. The 
 body dies, but the spirit returns to God who 
 gave it, and will behold the heavens and the 
 earth pass away, survive the dissolution of all 
 things, and live for ever. He is therefore not 
 only of more value than many sparrows, but 
 of more value than the material universe; 
 and would be an infinite loser were he to gain 
 the whole world and lose his own soul. 
 
 But if the disciples, as men, were so valu- 
 able, how much more were they so as Chris- 
 tians, under which relation and character he 
 viewed them ! Thus they were not only su- 
 perior to all other species of creatures, but to 
 their own. Christians are the excellent of 
 the earth, and whatever their outward cir- 
 cumstances may be, are more excellent than 
 their neighbours. The world knoweth them 
 not, but they are princes in disguise; they 
 are ransomed with a price of infinite value ; 
 they are the temples of the living God ; they 
 are partakers of the divine nature: and of 
 such importance are they, that they cannot 
 be spared from any place without danger and 
 detriment ; they have power with God ; they 
 are the chariots of Israel and the horsemen 
 thereof; they are the salt of the earth, and 
 the lignt of the world — Their value is inde- 
 scribable. 
 
 And they may without pride be conscious 
 
 of this; and our Lord would have his disci 
 pies feel confidence as the result of it — " Feat 
 ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than 
 many sparrows." There were two fears 
 which this consideration was designed and 
 adapted to prevent The first regarded their 
 defence. In proportion as things are valua- 
 ble, we are concerned to secure them. And 
 will not God preserve those who are precious 
 in his sightl They were going forth as lambs 
 among wolves; and would be hated of all 
 men for his Name's sake. Yet they were to 
 be safe in all their dangers: their enemies 
 could do nothing against them without Di 
 vine permission ; and if they suffered, they 
 were to be more than indemnified. A sparrow 
 cannot be destroyed or injured without his 
 providence; and shall you'! "Fear ye not, 
 therefore, ye are of more value than many 
 sparrows." 
 
 The second regarded their support " Pro- 
 vide," said he, " neither gold, nor silver, nor 
 brass in your purses, nor scrip for your jour- 
 ney, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet 
 staves." Yet you need not dread want. He 
 who employs you will supply you. Does he 
 suffer any of his creatures to famish 1 It ia 
 pleasing to contemplate his care ; to see how 
 he sustains the various classes of animals, 
 especially in the more dreary parts of the 
 year. Some for months he lulls to sleep. He 
 reduces the appetites of others, or changes 
 their food. The more domestic and useful, he 
 supports by the instrumentality of man. How, 
 when viewing the foddering of cattle, have I 
 said, " The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and 
 Thou givest them their meat in due season ! 
 — And shall they that seek the Lord want 
 any good thing 1 Their bread shall be given 
 them, and their water shall be sure. Behold 
 the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither 
 do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your 
 Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not 
 much better than they ! Christians! be not 
 fearful, but believing. Your Lord and Saviour 
 is concerned for your safety and welfare. He 
 would have you careful for nothing, but cast- 
 ing all your care upon him that careth for 
 you, go on your way rejoicing. 
 
 FEBRUARY 14. 
 
 r " Felix trembled" — Acts xxiv. 25. 
 
 " Felix trembled"— not Paul Yet Felix 
 was the judge, and Paul the prisoner. But 
 the prisoner was not guilty. Though he suf- 
 fered as an evil-doer even unto bonds, he had 
 a conscience void of offence ; and knew that 
 he was suffering in the best of all causes, and 
 for the most excellent of all masters. There- 
 fore none of these things moved him. There 
 is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth 
 out fear. The audience might have intimi- 
 dated him. It was a trying thing to speak be- 
 
FEBRuARf 15. 
 
 tore |wrsona of such reputation, and rank, and 
 influence, as Tertulliiif the orator, Felix the 
 Roman governor, Drusilla his wife, and other 
 individuals of quality, whom the occasion had 
 drawn together. Yet he trembled not ; for he 
 endured as seeing him who is invisible. Crea- 
 tures are all reduced to their proper level, 
 when by faith we realize the presence and 
 the eye of God. The fear of man would have 
 brought a snare. It would have subdued or 
 restrained his fidelity. And as Ahab's four 
 hundred chaplains, when called in before the 
 king, addressed themselves to his vanity, and 
 only flattered him, so Paul would have en- 
 deavored to ingratiate himself with those who 
 had power over him ; or at least, have studi- 
 ously avoided whatever would tend to make 
 them feel unpleasantly. But what was the 
 nature and manner of his address 1 He was 
 acquainted with the characters of those before 
 him. He knew Felix w:is cruel and oppres- 
 sive. He knew that he was addicted to 
 bribery and corruption in his office. He knew 
 that he was living in adultery ; for this Dru- 
 silla now united to him, had been seduced by 
 him from her own husband Azigus. And 
 what does he 1 He not only gives his views 
 of the faith in Christ doctrinally, but he ap- 
 plies them practically. He reasons of right- 
 eousness ; and shows that there is such a 
 thing as justice between man and man. He 
 reasons of temperance ; and shows the evils 
 of unbridled appetites and passions. He rea- 
 sons of judgment to come ; and shows the 
 awfulness of that day when the great as well 
 as the small will stand before an impartial tri- 
 bunal, and whoremongers and adulterers God 
 will judge. Yet he does not tremble. Where- 
 fore 1 He has truth on his side. He lias God 
 on his side. He has nothing to do with con- 
 sequences ; but by manifestation of the truth 
 commends himself to every man's conscience 
 in the sight of God. " Such a man," said 
 James the Sixth, "always preaches before 
 me as if death stood at his elbow." It does 
 really stand at the elbow of every minister ; 
 and therefore he should be able to use the 
 words of Baxter : 
 
 " I preach as if I ne'er should preach ayain ; 
 And as a dying man, to dying men." 
 
 44 Felix trembled"— not Drusilla. He was 
 a Pagan ; she was a Jewess ; and had even 
 induced her former husband to submit to the 
 rite of circumcision, as the condition of her 
 marrying him. She therefore seemed more 
 likely to be affected than Felix. How was it 
 she escaped, and left all the emotion to him 1 
 Was her insensibility derived from the 
 th n Jght of her Jewish extraction and privi- 
 leges "? We should have deemed this impos- 
 sible ; but we know that the Jews, when they 
 were most wicked, emboldened and encour- 
 aged themselves by this consideration. You 
 steil says God by Jeremiah, and murder, and 
 
 commit adultery, and swear falsely, and bear 
 incense unto Baal ; and come and stand be- 
 fore me in this house, which is called by my 
 Name, and say, We are delivered to do all 
 these abominations ; yet they trusted in lying 
 words, and said, The temple of the Lord, 
 The temple of the Ixtrd, The temple of the 
 Lord are we. Severely as John censured 
 many of those who came to his baptism, he 
 knew under all their iniquity they were say- 
 ing in themselves, We have Abraham to our 
 father. But Abraham calls the rich man in 
 hell his son : and God says, I will punish the 
 circumcised with the uncircumcised. The un- 
 concern of Drusilla is rather to be traced to 
 these two things. She had been accustomed 
 to these subjects. Though they were novel 
 to Felix, they were not new to her. The 
 noise of the waterfall that almost deafens 
 strangers, does not even prevent the sleep of 
 those who reside near it. The sparks do not 
 terrify the animal that lies hard by the anvil. 
 Familiarity with divine things takes off from 
 the power of their impression, and exceed- 
 ingly tends to harden the heart they have not 
 softened. Hence it is that many in our as- 
 semblies now hear, hardly awake, those aw- 
 ful truths which once alarmed themselves, 
 and now make others tremble. She had also 
 sinned under greater obligation, and against 
 clearer light ; and it is natural for such tc 
 wax worse and worse. Having known the 
 way of righteousness, and turning from it, 
 they became tenfold more the children of hell 
 than before. Their peculiar guilt provokes 
 the displeasure of God, and he judicially and 
 generally gives them up to strong delusion, 
 and to their own hearts' lusts ; and withhold- 
 ing the influence that can alone render means 
 effectual, and withdrawing his restraining 
 grace, he says of them as hg did of Ephraim, 
 " they are joined to idols, let them alone." 
 
 How serious is the state of many of the 
 children of the kingdom ! We have more 
 hope of those that come from the east and 
 from the west. The first shall be last, and 
 the last first 
 
 FEBRUARY 15. 
 
 " Felix trembled." — Acts xxiv. 25. 
 " Felix trembled"— See the vanity ol 
 worldly greatness. We can judge very little 
 of persons by their outward circumstances. 
 As " the mind is the standard of the man ;" 
 so it is the standard of his state, as to happi- 
 ness or misery. Had we seen a prisoner in 
 chains, and a governor on the bench, we 
 should have been disposed to pity the one, and 
 envy the other. Yet had we known all, our 
 pity and our envy would have changed sides : 
 for we should have found the prisoner pos- 
 sessed of the peace of God which passeth al" 
 understanding ; while the governor was do 
 
/O 
 
 FEBRUARY 15. 
 
 voured by anxiety and fear, notwithstanding 
 his office, his rank, his authority, wealth and 
 luxury — Felix trembled. 
 
 " Felix trembled" — See the power of con- 
 science. Conscience is a bosom friend, or a 
 bosom fur). It is God's vicegerent on earth ; 
 his tribunal within ; the quarter sessions be- 
 fore the grand assize. Paul speaks of " the 
 conscience bearing witness, and the thoughts 
 the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one 
 another." Is this principle ever entirely sup- 
 pressed 1 Some have boasted of the attain- 
 ment. But there is a difference between pre- 
 tensions and reality. What are men — not in 
 company, but alone 1 Whence their dislike 
 and dread of solitude 1 What are men — not 
 in life, but in death 1 " Fools men may live, 
 but fools they cannot die." Yet even in life, 
 how hard is it to resist particular apprehen- 
 sions ! And apprehensions which cannot be 
 ascribed to the danger of human detection, or 
 punishment, because there is no fear of either. 
 As the winter-frozen serpent seems lifeless, 
 but is only benumbed, and when brought to 
 the fire, again feels and uncoils, and stings : 
 so, when conscience is asleep, it is not dead. 
 And it is easily awakened by a particular re- 
 flection : the sight of a funeral, or sudden 
 death, or a threatening sickness. The wick- 
 ed, though not always actually in it, are all 
 their lifetime subject to bondage, through fear 
 af death. Madame de Stael observes, that 
 misfortune has the power to make the strong- 
 est minds superstitious. It would be better to 
 say, it has a tendency to revive a belief of a 
 moral Providence, and to remind us of the 
 connexion there is between sin and suffering. 
 We see this in Jacob's sons when in the 
 ward : there seemed to be nothing to lead 
 them to think of Joseph, yet " they said one 
 to another, We are verily guilty concerning 
 our brother, in that we saw the anguish of 
 his soul, when he besought us, and we would 
 not hear ; therefore is this distress come upon 
 us." So Belshazzar's knees smote one against 
 another when he saw, in the midst of his 
 feast, the handwriting on the wall. The in- 
 scription was unintelligible : it might there- 
 fore have contained something favourable to 
 him : but guilt was the interpreter. Herod, 
 hearing of our Lord's fame, said, It is John 
 the Baptist ; he is risen from the dead ; and 
 mighty works do show forth themselves in 
 him. If, as Joseph us says, he was a Sadducee, 
 he denied the existence of spirits and the 
 resurrection of the body — But his conscience 
 was too strong for his creed. 
 
 " Felix trembled" — See the energy of di- 
 vine truth. The word of God is called " a 
 hammer," and "a fire;" and is said to be 
 quick and powerful, sharper than any two- 
 edged sword, piercing even to the dividing 
 asunder of the joints and marrow, and is a 
 discerner of the thoughts and intents of the 
 oeart." The noblest instance of its efficacy 
 
 is when it is the power of Goti to salvation. 
 But where it does not work effectually, as in 
 them that believe, it often produces great ef- 
 fects for the time. Many were astonished at 
 our Saviour's dpctrine, and wondered at the 
 gracious words that proceeded out of his lips 
 The stony ground hearers heard the word 
 with joy, and endured for a while. Herod re- 
 vered John, heard him gladly, and did many 
 things ; performing various duties, and break- 
 ing off" from some of his vices. We little 
 imigine, when the Gospel is plainly and faith- 
 ful y preached, what feelings are excited 
 evea in natural men, and which will serve to 
 render them inexcusable. For they that 
 preach the truth as it is in Jesus, have a wit- 
 ness even in the experience of the uncon- 
 verted. When these come from curiosity, or 
 to ridicule, and are made to tremble ; when 
 they have forced upon them a remembrance 
 of their sins, as if the preacher had been 
 privy to all they have said or done ; when 
 the very secrets of their hearts are made 
 manifest ; when, notwithstanding their self- 
 love, the doctrine makes them dissatisfied 
 and uneasy with themselves; when they can- 
 not but own secretly the necessity of the 
 change they strive to deny or ridicule ; and 
 when, though offended and determined to gc 
 no more, they cannot but be found again and 
 again in the assembly — What is this but a 
 voucher of the divinity of their mission ! and 
 a testimony which God gives to the word of 
 his grace 1 
 
 "Felix trembled" — See the deceitfulnesa 
 of the human heart. If what Paul said was 
 not true and important, why did he tremble? 
 If it was, why did he tremble only ] Why 
 did he not follow out his conviction ? Yea. 
 why did he endeavour to get rid of it 1 — But 
 what does he ! he has recourse to delay — 
 "Go thy way for this time." This is the 
 common device of Satan, and ruin of souls 
 It is not positive refusal, but putting off the 
 thing for the present. Then he pleads an- 
 other frequent delusion, engagement — " when 
 I have a more convenient season, I will send 
 for thee." A more free and leisure period to 
 attend to the things of the soul is not likely 
 to be found as we advance further in life and 
 get more into the world. Yet suppose it 
 could arrive — It did arrive to Felix. But the 
 opportunity came without the disposition. 
 He saw the preacher, but said nothing about 
 the faith in Christ now. He saw him fre- 
 quently, but no trembling now. — The good 
 feeling was gone for ever ! " He hoped that 
 money should have been given him," and, dis- 
 appointed in his avarice, and " willing to 
 show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound." 
 Behold another deception. If men reach 
 what they have looked forward to as the 
 most favoured period, they are not the same 
 they once were. They are less disposed to 
 that which is good and has been disregarded 
 
FEBRUARY 16. 
 
 71 
 
 •o long. Evil propensities have grown by 
 continuance. The disease has gained strength 
 by neglect; and the shrub by being left has 
 become a tree, and is too radicated to be re- 
 moved. 
 
 Bless God if you tremble at his word ; but 
 cemember, conviction is not conversion. De- 
 pend not on excitement in religion, without 
 principle. Pray that you may tremble to 
 purpose. Let your fear induce you to flee 
 for refuge, to lay hold of the hope set before 
 you. Beware of losing your burden on the 
 wrong side of the hill. Lay it down no- 
 where but at the feet of him who cries, 
 11 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take 
 my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I 
 am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall 
 find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is 
 easy, and my burden is light" 
 
 FEBRUARY 16. 
 
 ' Ye have in heaven a better and an enduring 
 
 substance." — Heb. x. 34. 
 
 The righteous is more excellent than his 
 neighbours. He is above -them in character, 
 in condition, and in prospect He is more 
 happy ; more wise ; more honourable ; more 
 free ; more safe ; more affluent He has 
 much in hand ; but he has far more in hope. 
 Hence says the Apostle to these Hebrews, 
 " Ye have in heaven a better and an enduring 
 substance." But 
 
 How came Christians to be possessed of 
 property] They were originally destitute; 
 they were by nature poor even as others. 
 For a time indeed they were proudly deluded, 
 and said, " I am rich and increased with goods, 
 and have need of nothing." But when they 
 were brought to a knowledge of themselves, 
 they confessed with Paul, " In me, that is in 
 my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." And they 
 also now acknowledge, that whatever they 
 have gained has not been earned by their ex- 
 ertions, or procured by their worthiness ; but 
 was provided for them by another, even by 
 him who said, " I will cause them that love 
 me to inherit substance, and I will fill their 
 treasure." And the way ye know. Yes Chris- 
 tians, ye " know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your 
 sakes he became poor, that ye through his 
 poverty might be rich." Here you see the 
 liberality of his design — It was not only to 
 relieve you, but to enrich ; not only to clothe 
 you, but to adorn ; not only to draw you from 
 the dust and the dunghill, but to set you 
 among princes, even the princes of his peo- 
 ple. And now all things are yours. You 
 also see the expensiveness of the medium — 
 (t is through his poverty you are enriched. 
 He was in the form of God : but in this form 
 he could not be your redeemer, your sacri- 
 fice, your sympathising friend, your example 
 
 in duty and suffering. He therefore fa made 
 himself 1 of no reputation, and took upon him 
 the form of a servant, and was made in the 
 likeness of men : and being found in fashion 
 as a man, he humbled himself, and became 
 obedient unto death, even the death of the 
 cross." Thus he abased himself that we 
 might be exalted, and emptied himself of his 
 glory that we might be filled with all the 
 fullness of God. And if such a medium was 
 expedient and necessary, (and the fact itself 
 is the proof) what an idea must we attach to 
 the greatness and difficulty of our salvation ! 
 and what ought we to think of the Saviour's 
 " grace !" 
 
 " He sunk beneath our heavy woes, 
 To raise us to his throne ; 
 There's not a gift his hand bestows. 
 But costs his heart a groan." 
 
 But let us examine the wealth of his peo- 
 ple. It is substance characterized by three 
 things. 
 
 By its residence. It is substance in hea- 
 ven — The abode of the glorified, the habita- 
 tion of angels, the dwelling-place of God 
 himself. Whether this is either of the 
 shining worlds over us, or any other invisi- 
 ble to the eye, we cannot determine. But 
 said Jesus, " I go to prepare a place for you ; 
 and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will 
 come again, and receive you to myself, that 
 where I am there ye may be also." Since 
 he is there, our hope is said to be laid up for 
 us in heaven; for we are blessed with all 
 spiritual blessings "in heavenly places in 
 Christ" And no wonder we have our con- 
 versation in heaven : for where our treasure 
 is, there will our heart be also. 
 
 By its pre-eminence — It is better sub- 
 stance. Better than what 1 Better than the 
 goods which the Hebrews had lost ; and of 
 which the Apostle speaks in the words im- 
 mediately preceding : " ye took joyfully the 
 spoiling of your goods." He allows that the 
 things of which they had been deprived were 
 good in themselves, though often abused. 
 But he says, this substance is better. Better 
 in its nature. It is spiritual ; and so suited 
 to the wants of the soul. Better in enjoy- 
 ment It yields satisfaction ; while as to 
 worldly wealth, a man's life consisteth not in 
 the abundance of the things which he pos- 
 sesses ; and in the midst of his sufficiency he 
 is in straits. Better in acquisition. Worldly 
 riches are commonly the mammon of un 
 righteousness. Few acquire them without 
 some moral injury or degradation. He that 
 maketh haste to be rich, saith Solomon, shall 
 not be innocent ; and Paul says, " they that 
 will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, 
 and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, 
 which drown men in destruction and perdi- 
 tion. For the love of money is the root of 
 all evil: which while some coveted after, 
 they have erred from the faith, arid pierced 
 
72 
 
 FEBRUARY 17. 
 
 -heinseles through with many sorrows." 
 But in the pursuit of this substance there is 
 no need ol* meanness and hypocrisy, of run- 
 ning down others, of hating rivals, of wish- 
 ing people dead. The love of this wealth 
 refines, enlarges, elevates, and ennobles the 
 possessor, and does this in the same degree 
 in which he is covetous after it 
 
 By its permanency — It is enduring sub- 
 stance. This is an attribute that attaches to 
 nothing here. Ri«hes make to themselves 
 wings and flee away. They are therefore 
 called " uncertain riches." They are destruc- 
 tive in themselves, and they are liable to a 
 thousand outward disasters; storms, floods, 
 fires, war, wicked and unreasonable men, 
 buyers who never mean to pay, and borrowers 
 who never mean to restore. Hence the ex- 
 hortation of our Saviour: "Lay not up for 
 yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth 
 and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves 
 break through and steal : but lay up for your- 
 selves treasures in heaven, where neither 
 moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves 
 do not break through nor steal." Here then 
 are durable riches with righteousness. There 
 is in them no principle of decay ; and they 
 are safe from external invasion and injury. 
 A Christian therefore does not feel like men 
 of the world, who have their portion in this 
 life. They are alarmed and miserable at the 
 changes which endanger "all the happiness 
 they know." But the Christian is calm, and 
 his soul dwells at ease, because whatever be- 
 falls him, he knows his treasure is secure; 
 independent of the body and its diseases, the 
 world and its revolutions, time and its vicissi- 
 tudes. The heavens may pass away with a 
 great noise, and the elements melt with fer- 
 vent heat ; the earth also, and the works that 
 are therein, may be burnt up — but he is no 
 loser even then— "For, according to His 
 promise, we look for new heavens and a new 
 earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. 
 
 " All, all on earth is shadow; all beyond 
 Is substance— The reverse is folly's creed. 
 How solid all where change shall be no more!" 
 
 "So teach us to number our days that we 
 may apply our hearts unto wisdom." 
 
 FEBRUARY 17. 
 
 " Now, there were in the church that was at An- 
 tioch certain prophets and teachers ; as Barna- 
 bas, and Simeon tliat was called Niger, and 
 Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had 
 been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and 
 Saul." — Acts xiii. 1. 
 
 There were no less than sixteen Antiochs 
 in Western Asia, founded in honour of Anti- 
 ochus, by Seleucus Nicator his son. The 
 Scripture only mentions two of them. The 
 first was the capital of Pisidia; the second, 
 the capital of Syria. The text alludes to the 
 .atter of these. Its situation, extent, honours, 
 
 riches, trade, and the freedom and privilege* 
 the Jews enjoyed in it, may be easily ascer- 
 tained from history. We have other things 
 to notice. The most important fact ever con- 
 nected with it was the arrival of the Gospel. 
 This was occasioned by the persecution that 
 arose about Stephen ; for some of those who 
 were scattered by that event reached so far, 
 and there preached the Lord Jesus. " And 
 the hand of the Lord was with them : and a 
 great number believed, and turned unto the 
 Lord. Then tidings of these things came 
 unto the ears of the church which was in 
 Jerusalem ; and they sent forth Barnabas, that 
 he should go as far as Antioch : who, when 
 he came, and had seen the grace of God, was 
 glad, and exhorted them all, that with pur- 
 pose of heart they would cleave unto the 
 Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, 
 for to seek Saul ; and when ? e had found him, 
 he brought him unto Antioch. And it came 
 to pass, that a whole year they assembled 
 themselves with the church, and taught much 
 people. And the disciples were called Chris- 
 tians first in Antioch." There has been much 
 dispute here ; and it is not perhaps possible to 
 determine, whether this name was imposed 
 by way of reproach, or by a divine intima- 
 tion. But the name was obviously derived 
 from the Founder of Christianity ; and we 
 wish his followers had never been called by 
 any other. 
 
 God has his set places, as well as times, in 
 which to favour Zion. This church at Anti- 
 och, though of recent formation, flourished 
 abundantly ; and was remarkable for members 
 and ministers. There were in it "certain 
 prophets and teachers." Do these signify two 
 classes of officers 1 or the same men exerci- 
 sing two functions ! that is, not only preach- 
 ing the word but occasionally foretelling 
 events ? 
 
 Five of them are here mentioned by name 
 First, Barnabas. He was a Levite of Cyprus ; 
 a man of property : but who sold his estate, 
 and threw the money into the common stock. 
 He was first called Joses, but afterwards Bar- 
 nabas; which signifies the son of consolation : 
 because he refreshed the bowels of the poor, 
 was tender in his disposition, and preached 
 affectionately. He was a good man and full 
 of the Holy Ghost ; and the father of many 
 converts. 
 
 The second was " Simeon, that was called 
 Niger." This must regard his complexion. 
 He was probably a negro. We trust ne was , 
 for we love every thing that sheds a ray of 
 comfort, honour, or hope over that sinfully 
 degraded race of our brethren — if some wiLF 
 allow us to call them so. If not, he was * 
 man of very dark and swarthy colour. Many 
 a fair and beautiful form has enshrined a truly 
 ugly mind. And on the other hand, a lovely 
 soul has sometimes inhabited an ungracious 
 body. Let us learn to value intellectual and 
 
FEBRUARY 18. 
 
 73 
 
 moral qualities above corporeal — " As a jewel 
 of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman 
 without discretion." " Favour is deceitful, 
 and beauty is vain : but a woman that feareth 
 the Lord, she shall be praised." 
 
 The third is " Lucius of Cyrene." Of him 
 we know nothing more, except his being men- 
 tioned by the Apostle among his saluted 
 friends, in the close of the epistle to the Ro- 
 mans : " Timotheus my workfellow, and 
 Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, 
 salute you." Some have thought whether he 
 was not Luke the physician and Evangelist, 
 and the writer of this book 
 
 The fourth was " Manac n, who had been 
 brought up with Herod the tetrarch." This 
 Herod was not Herod the Great, who massa- 
 cred the infants in Bethlehem, but his son. 
 To him Manaen was foster-brother ; that is, 
 he was the son of his nurse ; and therefore 
 in his infancy, reared along with him. Let 
 us not pass this slightly over. What different 
 courses do men take who were once in the 
 same condition! Here we see Herod and 
 Manaen, brought up together in the same 
 house : the one becoming a profligate, a per- 
 secutor, the actual murderer of James, and 
 the intentional murderer of Peter, awfully 
 ending his course, being smitten of an angel 
 of the Lord, and eaten of worms ; the other 
 becoming a disciple of Jesus, and a preacher 
 of the Gospel — So diverse were the characters 
 of these two individuals, brought up together, 
 playing in the same room, hearing the same 
 voices, and surrounded with the same exam- 
 ples, during the most impressive period of life ! 
 Why did Herod reject Christianity } and why 
 did Manaen embrace it ! The one was per- 
 fectly inexcusable ; the other had no reason 
 to be proud, but much reason to be thankful. 
 Men destroy themselves, and will feel guilty 
 in their ruin. But by grace are we saved. 
 The Lord makes us to differ from others; 
 and we have nothing but what we have 
 received. 
 
 Manaen therefore was a person of some 
 distinction and quality; and had probably 
 renounced considerable worldly advantage 
 for the sake of religion. Had he joined with 
 hie young and royal companion in sin, he 
 might it is likely have gained a place under 
 government, as every kind and degree of re- 
 lationship is provided for in such cases at the 
 expense of the public; but he resembled 
 Moses, who when he was come to years re- 
 fused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daugh- 
 ter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with 
 the people of God than enjoy the pleasures of 
 sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of 
 Christ greater riches than the treasures of 
 Egypt. And was he a loser? He could not 
 be a loser. The lips of Truth have said, 
 " There is no man that hath left houses, or 
 parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for 
 the kingdom of Gcd's sake, v ho shall not 
 
 receive manifold more in this present time, 
 and in the world to come life everlasting." 
 
 God generally chooses the poor of this world 
 to be rich in faith. Not many wise men aftei 
 the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble 
 are called. But there have been always a 
 few; and we should be thankful when we 
 meet with such instances: for though their 
 souls are no more precious than the souls of 
 the vulgar, they are so placed and circum- 
 stanced as to be able to be more serviceable 
 in their generation. Thus, as Manaen was 
 a man of education and address, these ad- 
 vantages were now sanctified ; and he was 
 therefore immediately and advantageously 
 employed. 
 
 The fifth was " Saul ;" a character endear- 
 ed to us as the Apostle of the Gentiles ; and 
 one of the most extraordinary individuals re- 
 corded in history. We know much concern- 
 ing him ; much from his own writings ; and 
 much from the narratives of Luke. When 
 we consider his pharisaism, his persecutions 
 of the Church, his conversion, his zeal, his 
 journeys, sufferings, and services, we readily 
 join him in the acknowledgement : " The 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding 
 abundant to me ward." And we glorify God 
 in him. What an assortment ! What an as- 
 semblage was here ! 
 
 FEBRUARY 18. 
 
 " And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I nave 
 found favour in thine eyes, tarry : for I have 
 learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed 
 me for thy sake." — Gen. xx.x. 27. 
 
 Laban knew and acknowledged the true 
 God, yet had idols in his family. His charac- 
 ter was a compound of selfishness, cunning, 
 meanness, and cruelty. He even turned his 
 daughters into articles of traffic; and inveigled 
 his son-in-law into discord and wretchedness, 
 polygamy and incest All this is perfectly 
 credible ; for he was covetous ; and " the love 
 of money is the root of all evil." He is here 
 addressing Jacob, who after serving him with 
 diligence and fidelity for many years, and 
 meeting only with injury and insult, resolved 
 to leave him. The resolution was not the 
 effect of feeling only, but of divine command ; 
 for the Lord " had said unto him, Return unto 
 thy country and to thy kindred, and I will 
 deal well with thee." At the thought of losing 
 such a prize, " Laban said unto him, I pray 
 thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, 
 tarry : for I have learned by experience that 
 the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake." 
 Whence we remark, — 
 
 That God is the author of ad our suc- 
 cesses and comforts. Even Laban owns this — 
 " The Lord has blessed me." No wonder 
 therefore Solomon should say, " The blessing 
 of the Lord, it maketh rich." Moses gives 
 Israel the admonition, " Thou shalt remember 
 
74 
 
 FEBRUARY 18. 
 
 the Lord thy God, for he it is that giveth thee 
 power to get wealth." Yet they soon forgot 
 and drew upon themselves the reflection, 
 " the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his 
 master's crib ; but Israel doth not know, my 
 people do not consider." " For she did not 
 know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, 
 and multiplied her silver and gold, which 
 they prepared for Baal." Let us beware of 
 this, and not sacrifice unto our net, and burn 
 incense unto our drag, bpcause by them our 
 portion is fat, and our meat plenteous. 
 
 God may blesi a bad man — The Lord hath 
 blessed me, says Laban. He maketh his sun 
 to rise upon the evil, as well as upon the 
 good ; and sendeth rain, not only upon the 
 just, but upon the unjust. If we look over 
 their gardens and fields, we shall not be able 
 to distinguish by their fertility or barrenness 
 those which pertain to the friends or the 
 enemies of God. "All things come alike to 
 all ; there is one event to the righteous and 
 to the wicked." " No man knoweth either 
 love or hatred by all that is before them." 
 The sure mercies of David," are peculiarly 
 appropriated ; but the good things of Provi- 
 dence are bestowed indiscriminately. God 
 may heal the bodies of those whose souls are 
 not saved : and he may elevate in life, those 
 who have no inheritance among them that 
 are sanctified. Yea, the wicked often prosper 
 ta the world beyond others, and have more 
 than heart can wish. This will not perplex 
 us when we understand their end, and see in 
 what slippery places they are set. Who en- 
 vies the ox that is fattening for the slaughter 
 in the greenest pasture 1 Be not thou afraid 
 when one is made rich, and the glory of his 
 nouse is increased. Do not imagine that God 
 approves of you because he bears with you, 
 and even indulges your desires. Pray for the 
 favour which he bears to his people ; for the 
 heritage of those that fear his Name. 
 
 God blesses some for the sake of others — 
 * The Lord hath blessed me for thy sake." 
 See another instance of this in the case of 
 Potiphar. " And it came to pass from the time 
 that he had made him overseer in his iiouse, 
 and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed 
 the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake ; and 
 the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he 
 had in the house, and in the field." Upon 
 this principle Moses pleaded: "Remember 
 thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and 
 look not unto the stubbornness of this people, 
 nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin." 
 And when Jerusalem was besieged, God said, 
 " For I will defend this city to save it, for 
 mine own sake, and for my servant David's 
 sake." We are bound to religion, not only by 
 personal, but also by relative considerations. 
 We are in a sense responsible for others as 
 well as for ourselves. We can injure or bene- 
 fit those with whom we are connected. One 
 •inner destroyeth much good, while the godly 
 
 are blessings to all around them. How much 
 should we value such benefactors ! Thev are 
 the light of the world ; the salt of the earth ; 
 the chariots of Israel and the horsemen there- 
 of. They stand in the gap, and hold back in- 
 vading judgments. They are the repairers of 
 the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in. 
 "Thus saith the Lord, as the new wine is 
 found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy ii 
 not ; for a blessing is in it : so will I do for 
 my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy 
 them all. 
 
 Persons may derive advantage from their 
 inferiors. The stream of goodness and useful- 
 ness seems naturally to run downwards: but 
 here the less is not blessed of the greater ; 
 but the elder of the younger ; the master of 
 the servant. None are independent of others. 
 The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no 
 need of thee ; nor the head to the feet, I have 
 no need of you. Nay, much more those parts 
 of the body which seem to be most feeble are 
 necessary. The king is served by the labour 
 of the field. Parents have derived spiritual 
 life from their children. Ministers may learn 
 from those they are appointed to teach : and 
 Christians superior in circumstances, may be 
 improved by those who though poor in this 
 world, are rich in faith, and deeply versed in 
 the things of God. A little captive girl was 
 the instrument of making the God of Israel 
 to be honoured in Syria, and of obtaining a 
 miraculous cure for her master — Call nothing 
 common or unclean. 
 
 Men, however irreligious, are sometimes 
 constrained to bear testimony in favour of 
 the godly. Laban, who disliked Jacob, and 
 would have injured him had he not been di- 
 vinely restrained, cannot avoid thus honouring 
 and extolling him — " If I have found favour 
 in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by 
 experience that the Lord hath blessed me for 
 thy sake." Balaam had no love for Israel, 
 and died fighting against them ; yet exclaim- 
 ed, " How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and 
 thy tafcernacles, O Israel ! Let me die the 
 death of the righteous, and let my last end be 
 like his." Such a difference is there between 
 belief and practice; conviction and disposition. 
 So men hold the truth in unrighteousness. 
 So they own the reality of the conversion, and 
 " gaze and admire and hate the change." 
 When Saul was spared by David, he could 
 not help lifting up his voice and weeping and 
 crying, "Thou art more righteous than I." 
 When Christians act consistently, they en- 
 throne themselves in the minds of their 
 observers ; and though their enemies may 
 outwardly reproach them, they cannot but in- 
 wardly revere. They may dislike the nature 
 of religion, but they can judge of its moral 
 and relative advantages. The difference be- 
 tween the partakers of divine grace and 
 others, in their conduct and their condition, is 
 too great and obvious to elude notice. " Their 
 
FEBRUARY 19, 20. 
 
 75 
 
 seed shall b^ know n among the Gentiles, and 
 their offspring among the people : all that see 
 them shall acknowledge them, that they are 
 the seed which the Lord hath blessed." 
 
 FEBRUARY 19. 
 
 u /John am youi brother, and companion in tribu- 
 lation, and in the kingdom and patience of 
 Jesus Christ." — Rev. i. 9. 
 
 Bv calling himself their " brother," John 
 shows how well he remembered the admoni- 
 tion of his Lord and Saviour : " Be not ye 
 called masters ; for one is your master, even 
 Christ, and all ye are brethren." The first 
 ministers of the Gospel never thought of 
 " lording it over God's heritage, but were 
 ensamples to the flock." " We have no do- 
 minion," said they to their hearers, " over 
 your faith, but are helpers of your joy : for by 
 faith ye stand." Every man is a brother : but 
 the name is peculiarly applied to the subjects 
 of divine grace. Whatever differences pre- 
 vail among these, they are only the distinc- 
 tions of children — they are all of the same 
 family — the same household of faith — and to 
 claim kindred with them, is the supreme de- 
 sire of every one who is a child of light. John 
 valued his relation as a Christian more than 
 his office and endowments as an Apostle. He 
 might have been an Apostle, and have perish- 
 ed. Judas was an Apostle; yet he hanged 
 himself, and went to his own place. But " he 
 that believeth hath everlasting life, and shall 
 never come into condemnation." So much 
 better is it to pray than to prophesy ; and to 
 have our names written in heaven, than have 
 the spirits subject unto us. 
 
 When he speaks of his being their " com- 
 panion," he does not mean what we might at 
 first suppose — one who had free and familiar 
 intercourse with them : from this he was now 
 debarred, being banished to the Isle of Pat- 
 mos. As we need and are formed for society, 
 and as religion sanctifies the social principle, 
 Christians love the presence and conversation 
 of each other. " My goodness," says David, 
 " extendeth not to thee ; but to the saints that 
 are in the earth, and the excellent in whom 
 is all my delight. I am a companion of all 
 them that fear thee." Their intercourse with 
 each other is instructive, and relieving, and 
 enlivening. Solomon compares it to the re- 
 freshment of ointment and perfume; and to 
 the mutual sharpening of instruments. Yet 
 some are entirely denied this privilege ; and 
 are placed in neighbourhoods and families 
 where they can have no sweet counsel to- 
 gether, or go to the throne and the house of 
 the Lord in company. Others lament the 
 little access they have to those whom they 
 most love and esteem. So it is — as if God 
 would wean us from hence, and make us long 
 for the general assembly, where, in heaven, 
 
 we shall enjoy the fellowship forbidden us on 
 earth. In the mean time, as a substitute, we 
 can be present in spirit, and now and then 
 peruse the welcome epistle, and be thankful 
 that we are joint-sharers in all their rights 
 and blessings in " the communion of saints," 
 But John means, that he was a fellow-par- 
 taker with them — In what? "Your com- 
 panion," says he, " in tribulation ; and in the 
 kingdom ; and patience of Jesus Christ." A 
 just and striking representation of the state 
 of Christians while in this world. 
 
 They are called to suffer: and many are 
 the afflictions of the righteous. But never 
 imagine you are alone in your trials. The 
 same things have happened to your brethren. 
 See your companions — " Whom the Lord lov- 
 eth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son 
 whom he receiveth." 
 
 But if you suffer, you are also called to 
 reign : and are receiving a kingdom that can- 
 not be moved ; the everlasting kingdom of our 
 Lord and Saviour; a kingdom not of this 
 world, but infinitely surpassing all the glories 
 of time and sense. 
 
 Hence patience is indispensable. It is ne- 
 cessary to both the former ; to the tribulation 
 — to bear it : and to the kingdom — to wait for 
 it For though you are already entitled and 
 anointed, you are not yet actually crowned ; 
 but resemble David, who, after much tiibnla 
 tion and years of hope, entered his kingdom. 
 
 FEBRUARY 20. 
 
 " Lead me in a plain path, because of mine 
 enemies." — Psalm xxvii. 11. 
 
 David had enemies. So has every Chris- 
 tian. And perhaps we should have more if 
 we more fully resembled Him, who said to 
 the Jews, " The world cannot hate you ; but 
 me it hateth, because I testify that its deeds 
 are evil." 
 
 But the margin reads, " because of mine 
 observers." Let us see who these observers 
 are, and how concerned we should be to walk 
 properly, having so many watchers over us, 
 and many of them regarding us with no 
 friendly mind. 
 
 The world are observers, and they mark 
 us with a keen and malignant eye. When 
 David had slain Goliath, and drawn forth the 
 gratitude of his countrymen, it is said, " Saul 
 eyed David from that day and forward." And 
 it is also said, " And David behaved himself 
 wisely in all his ways; and the Lord wa* 
 with him. Wherefore when Saul saw thai 
 he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid 
 of him." How well if it had been always so' 
 At length he* yielded to temptation, and one 
 of the effects which he had to mourn over all 
 bis days, was the triumph he gave to his ad- 
 versaries. Thou hast caused, said .Nathan, 
 the enemies of the Lord Ut blaspheme. To 
 
76 
 
 FEBRUARY 21. 
 
 Dlaspheme here means, to speak reproachfully 
 ri,;uinst his God, his religion, and his experi- 
 ence. So Paul says, " Let as many servants 
 as are under the yoke count their own mas- 
 ters worthy of all honour, that the name of 
 God and his doctrine be not blasphemed." 
 Wonder not that this is addressed to servants 
 and even slaves ; for, professing- Christianity 
 as they did, they were able to adorn the doc- 
 trine of God our Saviour, or disgrace it. Let 
 us remember that we have many lookers on 
 who watch, not to find something to admire, 
 but for our halting. And they are not so ig- 
 norant as we sometimes imagine. They know 
 generally what we profess, and they know 
 what line of conduct becomes us; and if we 
 act inconsistently with it, they will be sure to 
 despise us. But if we are inflexible, and fol- 
 low out our principles, and are always and 
 everywhere the same, we shall commend 
 ourselves to their consciences, and they will 
 be constrained to respect those to whom they 
 cannot be attached. What a noble testimony 
 was borne to Daniel, when his accusers said 
 they could find nothing against him, unless 
 in matters pertaining to the law of his God ! 
 Some do not mind what people say of them : 
 but they ought to mind. "Ought ye not," 
 said Nehemiah, " to walk in the fear of our 
 God, because of the reproach of the heathen 
 our enemies]" And says Peter, "So is the 
 will of God, that with well-doing ye may put 
 to silence the ignorance of foolish men." 
 "Avoid," says Paul, "'the very appearance of 
 evil." 
 
 Saints are our observers. They observe us 
 from love ; and a sense of duty. They are 
 commanded not only to " admonish," and 
 " exhort," but to " consider one another" — 
 not curiously, but to warn ; and rebuke ; and 
 restore ; and to provoke to ' love and good 
 works. Woe to those who shall offend one 
 of God's little ones! It were better for him 
 that a millstone were hanged about his neck, 
 and he thrown into the depth of the sea. Let 
 us be careful, even if they are ignorant and 
 infirm, not to offend against the generation of 
 the upright. Let us make strait paths for our 
 feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of 
 the way ; but let it rather be healed. 
 
 Ministers are our observers. They are to 
 take heed to the flock over which the Holy 
 Ghost has made them overseers. When we 
 act unworthy our calling, their minds are 
 perplexed, their hearts are discouraged, and 
 their hands are slackened. But they live 
 when we stand fast in the Lord. They can 
 refer to us, when our conversation becomes 
 the Gospel, as arguments, proofs, and com- 
 mendations ; and we are their glory and joy. 
 
 Angels observe us. We are a spectacle to 
 angels, as well as to the world and to men. 
 And Paul charges Timothy, not only before 
 God and the Lord Jesus Christ, but also the 
 elect angels, to do nothing by partiality. They 
 
 are therefore witnesses of our conduct, and 
 can see us, though we cannot see them. 
 When persons are tried, witnesses are called 
 in to depose. So will it be at the day of judg- 
 ment. Parents wil' be called upon to testify 
 against their children ; and ministers against 
 their hearers. Angels also will be employed. 
 Some sins, and the temptations leading to 
 them, are unknown to all human beings but 
 the parties themselves. And these accuse 
 each other. And who is to determine which 
 is the seducer, and which only the seduced 1 
 
 Above all, God observes us. He is the most 
 perfect observer, for nothing eludes him : he 
 seeth our thoughts afar off*. He is also ihe 
 most concerned observer : they are his laws 
 which are violated or honoured by our tem- 
 per and conduct ; and he records all we speak 
 and do ; and will bring every work into judg- 
 ment, with every secret thing, whether it be 
 good or whether it be evil. Therefore said 
 he to Abraham, " Walk before me, and be 
 thou perfect." And what manner of persons 
 should we be, if we believed and considered 
 that he was always looking upon us ! 
 
 Let us remember therefore that we are 
 never in secret, but always acting on a stage. 
 We are observed by foes, by friends, by men, 
 by angels, and by God the judge of all. Surely 
 we need wisdom, and strength, far above our 
 own. Lord, be our guide and our guard, even 
 unto death. 
 
 FEBRUARY 21. 
 
 " And all that sat in the, council, looking sted. 
 faslly on him, saw his face as it had been the 
 face of an angel.'' , — Acts vi. 15. 
 
 There was nothing unaccountable in their 
 beholding him as they did. He was a remark- 
 able character; and had excited much notice 
 by his office, and the wonders and miracles 
 which he did among the people, and the vic- 
 tory he had gained over a number of able op- 
 ponents Avho had challenged him to the dis- 
 pute. He also now appeared, upon his trial, 
 under some heinous" accusations. When a 
 prisoner enters a court, every eye is naturally 
 drawn towards him; and the judge and the 
 jury frequently observe his countenance, as a 
 kind of index of his conscious innocency or 
 guilt. All that sat in the council looked sted- 
 fastly on Stephen, wishing and hoping, per- 
 haps, to gaze him into confusion and tremor. 
 But he could bear looking at — They saw hia 
 face as it had been the face of an angel. But 
 filled with envy and malice and fury, grin- 
 ning horribly, and gnashing upon him with 
 their teeth; how did their faces appear? 
 What a contrast between him and his perse- 
 cutors ! Here was a lamb among wolves, am 
 angel before devils, and the High Priest the 
 chief of the devils! 
 
 " They saw his face as it had beer the face 
 
FEBRUARY 21. 
 
 n 
 
 it an angel." But how could they tell what 
 in angel's face was ? They had never seen 
 ene. Angels had indeed formerly appeared 
 to men : and many instances of it are record- 
 ed. But as the design of the Scripture is to 
 edify, and not to amuse, it tells us little con- 
 cerning these beings. Yet all it relates goes 
 to establish one thing — their superiority to 
 the human race. Thus we read that man 
 was made a little lower than the angels. 
 They are spoken of as flying very swiftly. 
 They are said to excel in strength. To be 
 exceedingly wise, is to be wise as an angel 
 of God. The glory of their appearance was 
 such as commonly to overpower the senses of 
 those to whom they were sent At the sight 
 of Gabriel, Daniel's comeliness was turned 
 into corruption, and he retained no strength. 
 The human voice is a wonderful instrument ; 
 and we find what it can achieve in singing 
 and eloquence. Yet Paul speaks not only of 
 the tongues of men, but of angels: and it 
 would seem that one of these is to awaken 
 the dead ; the voice of the archangel is the 
 trump of God. A human countenance is an 
 astonishing display of perfection : yet it is in- 
 timated that the face of an angel is much 
 more so. These celestial beings are the flower 
 of the creation ; and from our inferiority to 
 them, we see more fully the excellency of 
 God's power, in putting the treasure into 
 earthen vessels, and employing as ministers 
 men, and not angels — The vastness of the 
 Christian's obligation, who is raised from his 
 low estate, and placed above these angels in 
 blessedness and glory — The humility and 
 kindness of these angels, that though now so 
 much higher than we, they are all our minis- 
 tering spirits, and despise not even our little 
 ones — And, far more still, the grace and con- 
 descension of the Lord Jesus, who took not 
 on him the nature of angels, but was made in 
 the likeness of men ; and because the chil- 
 dren were partakers of flesh and blood, also 
 took part of the same. 
 
 But what was the nature of this appear- 
 ance in the face of Stephen 7 and how is it 
 to be accounted for 1 The visage is some- 
 times very impressive and striking by natu- 
 ral beauty. There is nothing in the world so 
 idmirable as " the human face divine." How 
 greatly does it display the workmanship of 
 the Creator, and how often has it been the 
 instrument of his providence in effecting 
 great designs! How much depended upon 
 the life of Moses! But he was hid three 
 months because he was a goodly child. Daniel 
 and bis three companions were preferred be- 
 xause they were well formed and there was 
 no blemish in them. Esther was an orphan, 
 supported by her uncle, with no dowry but 
 her charms : yet she becomes the saviour of 
 Israel, and the queen of one hundred and 
 'wenty-seven provinces. 
 
 The face is rendered powerful and striking 
 
 by intellectual qualities. The former ma? I 
 be found without these; but the features; '• 
 however fine and regular, will be tame and \ 
 insipid, unless something of mind beams 
 through ; and the countenance will only cap- 
 tivate fools and sensualists. " Wisdom," says 
 Solomon, " maketh the face to shine." What 
 expression is there in the looks of some 
 speakers when they are animated and lighted 
 up ! Much of the force of Lord Chatham's 
 eloquence arose from the fire of his eye, and 
 the majesty of his features. 
 
 The face is rendered interesting and strik- 
 ing by social and moral attributes. These 
 constitute the chief grace, the principal 
 charm. It is of these we think when we 
 conceive of our Lord in the days of his flesh, 
 and by which alone perhaps he was person- 
 ally fairer than the children of men. We 
 imagine his face beaming with peace, gentle- 
 ness, compassion, kindness, readiness to par- 
 don and relieve, the image of the invisible 
 God who is love. How is a countenance in- 
 jured by the want of humility, modesty, diffi- 
 dence, tenderness ! How lovely are infanta 
 while insensible of their cherub charms! 
 How lovely is youth while they are uncon- 
 scious of their attractions, and full of innc- 
 cency and simplicity, and devoid of design 
 and attempt — for the impression is gone 
 when the wearer is perceived to be acting 
 upon it; and study, art, and decoration are 
 employed and managed as substitutes and ex- 
 pedients. What difference is there between 
 two countenances, one of which is inhabited 
 by vice and bad humour, and the other by 
 goodness and amiable temper! How angelic 
 does one man iook! How rude, tyrannical, 
 insolent, unfeeling, and cruel another ! How 
 desirable is it that persons should be religious 
 early, while the face is susceptible of impres- 
 sion and improvement, and the features may 
 be modified by its benign and heavenly influ- 
 ences ! When they are older, a change of 
 character cannot change the countenance : 
 and if envy and malignity, and pride, and 
 disdain have ruled in it before, they will 
 leave deep and dismal traces for life. Re- 
 ligion, we are persuaded, is not only "the 
 health of the countenance," but the comeli- 
 ness too ! 
 
 But when Stephen's face was seen as it 
 had been the face of an angel, was the as- 
 pect natural, or supernatural'! He might 
 have had a corporeal loveliness. We know 
 he was at this time full of wisdom and faith. 
 His countenance was not pallid with guilt, 
 nor distracted by care, nor troubled with fear, 
 but full of confidence, serenity, mildness and 
 joy. Yet there was something supernatural 
 here. And why should this be deemed in- 
 credible, or even wonderful 1 The occasion 
 was worthy a divine interposition. It was 
 an age of miracles. A few hours afterwards, 
 Stephen said, I see the heaven opened, and 
 
78 
 
 FEBRUARY 22. 
 
 Jesus standing on t'le right hand of God. In 
 the transfiguration, as he prayed, the fashion 
 of his Saviour's countenance was changed, 
 and his raiment was white and glistering. It 
 is said of Moses too, as he came down from the 
 mount, that his face shone so that the Israel- 
 ites could not behold him for the glory of his 
 countenance. And how remarkable was it, 
 that at the very moment Stephen was ac- 
 cused of being an enemy to Moses, God 
 should have honoured him in the very same 
 way, shedding a radiance upon him that 
 might serve to remind them, and perhaps did 
 remind them, of the illustrious legislator 
 himself! 
 
 FEBRUARY 22. 
 
 ''•And all that sat in the council, looking stead- 
 fastly on him, saw his face as it had been the 
 
 face of an angel" — Acts vi. 15. 
 
 The design of the Lord in this appearance 
 was to distinguish and dignify his servant. 
 He saves and pardons sovereignly ; but he 
 administers honour according to a rule which 
 he has himself laid down : " Them that hon- 
 our me, I will honour." Enoch was trans- 
 lated that he should not see death ; for be- 
 fore his translation he had this testimony, 
 that he pleased God. " Come thou and all 
 thy house into the ark," said God to Noah, 
 "for thee have I seen righteous before me in 
 this generation." Stephen was not ashamed 
 of the Redeemer. He went forth to him 
 without the camp, cheerfully beaiing his re- 
 proach ; and was determined that Christ 
 should be magnified in his body whether by 
 life or by death — and the Lord stood by him, 
 confessing him before men, and putting a 
 visible glory upon him. We are not to look 
 for miracles, wonders, and signs: but the 
 Lord has not forsaken the earth; and the 
 promise is still true, " If any man serve me, 
 him will my Father honour." And he can- 
 not be at a loss for means to do this, not only 
 beyond the grave, but through life. There is 
 a moral glory in their character and conver- 
 sation, which shows that they have been with 
 Jesus. It adorns the doctrine of God their 
 Saviour ; inspires beholders with reverence 
 and awe ; and more than puts to silence the 
 ignorance of foolish men. He whom they 
 serve has often brought their enemies to 
 their feet ; and put such a difference between 
 his people and the Egyptians as to constrain 
 the most unthinking to say, "Verily, there is 
 a reward for the righteous; verily, he is a 
 God that judgeth in the earth." When they 
 have suffered, especially for his Name's sake, 
 " the Spirit of glory and of God has rested 
 upon them." And how has he owned them 
 in their last hours! A radiance has been 
 thrown around them that has rendered the 
 dying chamber the house of God and the gate 
 »f heaven; and induced the exclamation 
 
 from all beholders, " Let me die the death of 
 the righteous, and let my last end be like 
 his !" — What then is the glory that shall be 
 revealed in them, when he shall change even 
 the vile body of his people, and fashion it 
 like unto his own glorious body ; and they 
 shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom 
 of their Father ! 
 
 We here see the truth and faithfulness of the 
 Lord Jesus, and how worthy he is of our con- 
 fidence. He had said to his disciples : " They 
 will deliver you up to the councils, and they 
 will scourge you in their synagogues: but 
 when they deliver you up, take no thought 
 how or what ye shall speak ; for it shall be 
 given you in that same hour what ye shall 
 speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the 
 Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.' 
 " For I will give you a mouth and wisdom 
 which all your adversaries shall not be able 
 to gainsay nor resist." And did not Stephen 
 find it so 1 Perhaps he had his fears previ- 
 ously to his appearance in the council. No- 
 thing is more intimidating than to appear be- 
 fore lawyers, magistrates and judges. Many 
 well know how they felt when they had to 
 enter a court only to give evidence, and when 
 they had persons to introduce and support 
 them. But Stephen was alone and unbe- 
 friended, and his judges were filled with 
 hatred and fury. Yet he had a reasonable 
 and an adequate relief to rely upon ; and he 
 found the assurance true ; and was perhaps 
 astonished at his own self-possession, and force 
 of argument, and promptness of recollection, 
 and fluency of words. Yea, more was done 
 than was engaged for. The promise only 
 regarded the tongue, not the face ; only how 
 they should speak, not how they should look 
 — but benold an irradiation of countenance 
 that draws and fixes every eye — " All that sat 
 in the council, looking stedfkstly on him, saw 
 his face as it had been the face of an 
 angel." The Lord is never worse, but he is 
 frequently better than his word. Though his 
 promises are exceeding great as well as pre- 
 cious, they do not exhaust all the love of his 
 heart, or power of his arm. He has yet re- 
 serves for extraordinary purposes; and in- 
 dulges, and surprises. He loves to exceed 
 expectation ; and do for us exceeding abun- 
 dantly above all we ask or think. 
 
 What was the effect of this scene ? With 
 regard to Stephen, it does not appear that he 
 was aware of it himself. This too was the 
 case with Moses in a similar distinction. He 
 knew not that his face shone, till he saw the 
 Israelites were dazzled, and he was obliged 
 to take a veil and soften the lustre. Good 
 men are not the first to discover their excel- 
 lences : nor are they forward to publish them. 
 But from others they cannot be concealed: 
 their profiting will appear unto all men. 
 Though Stephen was unconscious of the 
 honour, none of the council were ignorant o' 
 
FEBRUARY 23. 
 
 79 
 
 ft ; all looked stedfastly, and saw his face as 
 it had been the face of an angel. And how 
 were they all affected ) They were enraged 
 the more : and " then said the High Priest, 
 •Are these things sol" What a proof was this 
 of the perverseness and impenitency of these 
 men, that they could go on, and persecute to 
 the death, a ,man whom God himself was 
 honouring before their eyes ! But it is a tact 
 every way instructive. It shows the truth 
 of the declaration, that the heart is deceitful 
 above all things and desperately wicked. It 
 shows that all belief is not, as some say. in- 
 fluential. It ought to be so, and would be so 
 if we were in a right state : but we are fallen 
 creatures; and the powers of the soul are 
 thrown into disorder. Hence we see and ap- 
 prove better things, and follow worse ; and 
 the clearest convictions of the judgment are 
 counteracted by our passions and appetites. 
 We talk of the evils of ignorance : but while 
 some are destroyed for lack of knowledge, 
 others perish by the possession of it To him 
 that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to 
 him it is sin. Numbers, like these beholders 
 of Stephen, derive from their opportunity and 
 advantages only an increase of guilt and con- 
 demnation. 
 
 We talk of miracles. They were useful 
 as evidences and proofs ; but as moral means 
 they failed as well as other means. We are 
 ready to think that those who were not prop- 
 erly influenced by them, could not believe 
 them : but they did believe them. The Phar- 
 isees believed our Lord's miracles, but feared 
 to confess him, lest they should be put out of 
 the synagogue. And we find the council at 
 Jerusalem admitting fully the notable miracle 
 that had been done upon the cripple : we can- 
 not say they deny it — yet they aoprehend, 
 and beat, and imprison the doers ui it, and 
 command them to speak no more in the name 
 of Jesus ! Men pretend inability, when only 
 inclination is wanting. They are not stran- 
 gers to the truth, but hold it in unrighteous- 
 ness ; and will not let it go free in their con- 
 duct They think their irreligion is the crea- 
 ture of circumstances ; and that if they had 
 other situations and conditions, they should 
 be godly. Vain supposition ! They are ready 
 to wish some overpowering dispensation or 
 calamity may befall them, that what is not 
 done by conviction, may be done by impres- 
 sion ; and what is not done by the means of 
 grace, may be done by events. If one come 
 unto us from the dead, we should repent 
 Vain hope ! If you hear not Moses and tlie 
 prophets, neither would you be persuaded, 
 . though one rose from the dead. 
 
 FEBRUARY 23. 
 
 Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
 tJie world. Amen." — Matthew xxviii. 20. 
 It is needless to ask who is the speaker? 
 
 Every believer will exclaim, as soon as he 
 hears the words, " It is the voice of my Be- 
 loved." His voice is always welcome to tnt 
 ear of faith : welcome when it enjoins a duty ; 
 welcome when it demands a sacrifice — How 
 welcome then when it announces that he will 
 never leave us nor forsake us ! 
 
 But we may ask, on what occasion he 
 spoke] It was on the verge of glory, a few 
 hours only before he entered the joy that was 
 set before him. It was in the nature of a 
 parting address. O, to have seen him ! to 
 have glanced at the features and emotions of 
 his countenance just as he was ascending to 
 his Father and our Father, to his God and our 
 God! He could not go without something 
 that should keep from despair even the minds 
 of those who had crucified him. Preach, said 
 he to his Apostles, repentance and remission 
 of sins in my Name among all nations, begin- 
 ning at Jerusalem. Let those that smote the 
 Rock, have the first offer of the stream ! Tell 
 those that shed it that there is redemption 
 in my blood, even the forgiveness of their 
 sins ! If such was his concern for enemies, 
 what says he to encourage those who had 
 forsaken all to follow him) No wonder 
 sorrow had filled their hearts. How we feel 
 at the loss of a dear relation, or beloved 
 friend, or useful minister ! They were as 
 lambs among wolves. They were left in a 
 world that hated and persecuted them. What 
 will they do for defence, counsel, and com- 
 fort when their defender, and counsellor, and 
 comforter is gone ? Ye shall see me again, 
 says he — I will not leave you comfortless — 
 I will come to you — "Lo! I am with you 
 alway, even unto the end of the world. 
 When you were en the lake, and a storm 
 arose, and you seemed ready to perish, 1 
 awoke and rebuked the sea, and there was a 
 great calm. When at another time the wind 
 was contrary, and you rowed in vain, till ' 
 your strength failed, I came at the fourth 
 watch of the night and immediately the ship 
 was at the land whither ye went And when i 
 I sent you forth without purse, and scrip, and 
 shoes, you had many anxieties and fears; but 
 lacked ye any thing ? In every want I will 
 provide. The latest watch shall find me near. 
 Every storm shall bring me in its bosom — Lo ! 
 I am with you alway, even to the end of the 
 world." 
 
 But how could this be? Did they live 
 alway ? Did they not all leave the world more 
 than seventeen hundred years ago? He 
 spake to them, not so much personally, as 
 relatively and representatively. Had he in- 
 tended themselves only, it would have been i 
 enough to say, I am with you alway, even to 
 the end of life; but as he intended the Church 
 whom he addressed in them, he says, I am 
 with you alway, even to the end of the world. 
 There is nothing unusual in such a mode of 
 address. Speaking as Englishmen, we say, 
 
to 
 
 FEBRUARY 24. 
 
 ►hings nave been so and so with us, ever 
 since the Reformation or Revolution. No' 
 ' river has the selfsame particles of water it 
 had a year or an hour ago; yet because it 
 flows in the same banks, and from the same 
 sources, we always call it by the same name. 
 The Church of Christ is one community, and 
 the unity is not affected by the variety of 
 parts, or succession of time. We look back- 
 ward to the days of his flesh, and say, " We 
 beheld his glory:" we look forward to his 
 coming again, and say, " We shall not all 
 sleep, but we shall all be changed." 
 
 There is a world, the Lord prepared us for 
 it ! that will never terminate : but " this pre- 
 sent world" is not only seen, but temporal — 
 It will have an " end ;" and we know it. We 
 know not indeed when it shall take place; 
 but we know that " the day of the Lord will 
 come as a thief in the night ; in the which 
 the heavens shall pass away with a great 
 noise, and the elements melt with fervent 
 heat ; the earth also, and all the works that 
 are therein, shall be burnt up." Then " time 
 shall be no longer." But O delightful assu- 
 rance ! we know that till then, Jesus will be 
 — must be — with his people. Yet how is the 
 assurance to be understood 1 How can he be 
 with them alway, even to the end of the 
 world ] O, say they who only counsel to cast 
 him down from his excellency ; by his word, 
 and ordinances, and ministers. But he speaks 
 of his presence : and he does not say, I shall 
 be, but I am with you. Yet it could not be 
 as to his bodily presence : for he said, " the 
 poor ye have always with you; but me ye 
 i have not always." " Now I am no more in 
 : the world :" and no more will he be corpo- 
 really in the world, till he shall appear a 
 second time without sin unto salvation. It is 
 impossible to explain these things consistently, 
 without the admission of his divinity. It is 
 absurd to suppose that a mere creature could 
 be always with millions of persons at the 
 same time. A man, an angel, cannot be in 
 two places at the same moment. Yet, even 
 allowing his divinity, some distinction is 
 necessary. His omnipresence is an essential 
 attribute by which he fills heaven and earth, 
 and thus he is as near to the wicked as to the 
 righteous. When his presence is spoken of in 
 a way of privilege, it must be distinguished 
 from a perfection of his nature, and refer to 
 the agency of his grace, or the influence of his 
 Spirit. So he had explained himself to his 
 disciples : " I will give you another Comfort- 
 er, that he may abide with you for ever: 
 even the Spirit of truth; whom the world 
 cannot receive, because it seeth him not, 
 neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for 
 he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." 
 
 Let us realize this promise, as the promise 
 )f One that cannot lie. And while it fills us 
 with wonder and admiration, and induces us 
 
 to exclaim, " Will God in very deed dwel' 
 with man upon the earth 7" let it induce us 
 to seek the blessedness of a union with his 
 people, saying, We will go with you, for we 
 have heard that God is with you. And if we 
 have reason to hope that we are in the num- 
 ber of his followers, let the promise establish 
 our hearts with regard to the security of his 
 Church, and the permanency and success ot 
 his cause. Let it animate us in every duty. 
 Let it be a source of consolation in every 
 trial. Are we reduced in circumstances'! 
 deserted] bereaved 1 looking into the valley 
 of the shadow of death] Let us hear him 
 saying, " Fear not ; for I am with thee." And 
 may we be enabled to answer — 
 
 ( " If Thou, my Jesus, still art nigh, 
 ; Cheerful I live, and cheerful die: 
 
 Secure, when mortal comforts flee, 
 \ To find ten thousand worlds in Thee." 
 
 FEBRUARY 24. 
 
 " And he said, It is the Lord : let him do what 
 seemeth him good." — 1 Sam. iii. 18. 
 
 Eli had many failings ; but his behaviour 
 on this occasion does him honour. Samuel 
 had feared to show him the vision. But 
 though Eli foreboded that it was against him, 
 he adjured the young Levite to " hide nothing" 
 from him. This was well. But it was belter 
 still when having heard " every whit," he ex- 
 claimed, " It is the Lord : let him do what 
 seemeth him good." 
 
 We need not push this resignation to every 
 extent. Eli considers the message as a tem- 
 poral judgment, designed to degrade his fam- 
 ily from the priesthood, but not as necessarily 
 consigning them all to endless perdition. 
 Some of the mystics have carried the princi- 
 ple of submission so far as even to include 
 their future destruction ; and have said, " If 
 thou send me to hell, I shall continue to praise 
 and love thee." The thing is impossible. It 
 is not in our power to love a being that with 
 out compensation would make us miserable. 
 By the law of our nature we are bound to 
 pursue our welfare and happiness: and our 
 resignation to be lost for ever, if it were a 
 possible feeling, would oppose the revealed 
 pleasure of the Almighty, " who will have 
 all men to be saved," and " commands us to 
 believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ" 
 — Neither should we suppose that the state 
 of Eli's mind at this time excluded sensibil- 
 ity. A man of his tenderness must have felt 
 — and he ought to have felt — and he could 
 have exercised no resignation without feel- 
 ing. Our Saviour himself said, " Now is 
 my soul troubled ;" and he prayed, " Father, 
 if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ;'' 
 and so may you, consistently with the most 
 perfect submission, if you can add as he did : 
 " Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be 
 d^np " 
 
FEBRUARY 25. 
 
 81 
 
 Bill Eli humbles himself under the mighty 
 tand of God without murmuring and com- 
 plaining. He does not accuse him of injus- 
 tice or severity, but meekly accepts the dis- 
 pensation — 1 1t is the Lord : let him do what 
 soemeth him good." Two things contributed 
 to this. First, a sense of his guilt He had 
 connived at Joe conduct of his sons, and 
 thereby had dishonoured religion, and offend- 
 ed God. This he felt, and therefore said, 
 " why should a living man complain ; a man 
 for the punishment of his sin ?" " I will bear 
 the indignation of the Lord, because I have 
 sinned against him." Let the afflicted com- 
 pare their sufferings with their guilt, and 
 they will see that they have no right to re- 
 pine : God has punished them less than their 
 iniquities deserve. Secondly, a recognition 
 of divine agency. Natural men live without 
 God in the world. They do not perceive and 
 acknowledge him in their successes and com- 
 forts, but sacrifice to their own net, and burn 
 incense to their own drag. And so in their 
 disappointments and trials they exclaim, " It 
 was that unfortunate event ; it was that un- 
 lucky servant ; it was that malicious neigh- 
 bour ; it. was that perfidious friend"— But Eli 
 says " Tt is the Lord," and therefore " let him 
 do whai seemeth him good." A man like- 
 minded with Eli, does not stop at second 
 causes ; or think only of instruments. Instru- 
 ments may inflict the injury, and we are not 
 required to justify them in their conduct ; but 
 they could have no power against us unless 
 it were given them from above. David did 
 not excuse the malice and profaneness of 
 Shimei, when he said, " Let him curse, for 
 the Lord hath bidden him." But he saw the 
 providence of God in the permission and con- 
 currence of the event And is there an evil 
 in the city and the Lord hath not done it? 
 Does not he make darkness as well as create 
 light ? Does not he wound as well as heal I 
 And what can tend more to produce submis- 
 sion to his will than the sight of his hand ? 
 Therefore David said, " I was dumb, I opened 
 not my mouth, because thou didst it." — " It 
 is the Lord," whose power is almighty, and 
 who cannot be resisted. " It is the Lord," 
 who has a sovereign propriety in us, and may 
 flo what he will with his own. " It is the 
 Lord," who is righteous in all his works — 
 shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? 
 " It is the Lord," whose understanding is in- 
 finite, and whose wisdom is unerring. " It is 
 the Lord," whose mercy endureth for ever; 
 who does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the 
 children of men ; who loves while he chas- 
 . tens, and chastens because he loves; who will 
 be with us in trouble, to sustain, deliver, and 
 sanctify us; and make all things work to- 
 gether for our good — The cup which my 
 Father giveth me, shall I not drink it? — 
 • I^et him do what seemeth him good." 
 6 
 
 FEBRUARY 25. 
 
 u Note a certain man of the servants of Saul teat 
 there that day, detained before the Lord." — 
 1 Sam. xxi. 7. 
 
 This fact is not without its usefulness. It 
 shows us that in divine worship, we appear 
 before God. We are indeed always in his 
 view; and should continually impress our 
 minds with Hagar's conviction, Thou God 
 seest me. But he is in some places as he is 
 not in others : and a peculiar presence of God 
 belongs to the sanctuary. David believed 
 this ; and therefore, longing for the ordinances 
 of his house, he exclaims, " When shall I 
 come and appear before God?" And surely 
 Christians have not less reason than Jews to 
 expect the special presence of God in their 
 assemblies. Has he not said, " In all places 
 where I record my Name, I will come unto 
 thee ; and I will bless thee !" " For where 
 two or three are gathered together in my 
 Name, there am I in the midst of them?" 
 The tokens of his presence are less sensible 
 under the Christian, than under the Jewish 
 dispensation ; but they are no less real. They 
 saw the cloud of glory, and hoard the an- 
 swers from the mercy-seat And we see the 
 beauty of the Lord, and inquire in his tem- 
 ple, and hear what he says concerning us. 
 How often has he been found there, in his 
 converting power, in his enlivening grace, 
 and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost ! How 
 often has he been known in his palaces for a 
 refuge ! 
 
 Again. We see that persons may attend 
 the means of grace, not from inclination, but 
 constraint What brought Doeg to the tab- 
 ernacle at this time, — whether it was to jus- 
 tify himself from some uncleanness, to per- 
 form a vow, or for any other purpose, we 
 cannot determine : but he would rather have 
 been elsewhere. He was not doing his own 
 business, nor finding his own pleasure there 
 — he was not at home there — not at ease 
 there — He " was detained before the Lord" 
 — as a bird is detained in a cage from the 
 liberty he loves; or as a man is detained by 
 complaisance in a party he dislikes ; or as a 
 traveller is detained under a shed from the 
 rain, but longing to be gone. There is no 
 judging of men fairly, unless you observe 
 them when they act freely. It is said of 
 Peter and John, that "being let go, they 
 went to their own company." Unless he 
 goes out of the world, the Christian must 
 mix with others : but they are not his com- 
 panions : he is a companion of all them that 
 fear God; in them is all his delight He 
 does business with others, but he takes hold 
 of the skirt of him that is a Jew ; saying, I 
 will go with you, for I have heard that God 
 is with you. On the other hand, many things 
 short of disposition may detain persons in 
 
82 
 
 FEBRUARY 26. 
 
 their attendance on the means of grace, and 
 but for which we should see them no more in 
 the house of God. 
 
 Some are detained by reputation. Though 
 we are not a country of Christians, we are a 
 Christian country ; and though few feel the 
 power, all comparatively respect the forms of 
 godliness; and to abandon these, would ex- 
 cite remark and censure, even among the 
 worldly and indifferent. Some also are in- 
 fluenced by their connexions: children by 
 the authority of their parents; servants by 
 the requisition of their masters ; husbands by 
 the importunity of their wives. Some, and 
 this I fear is frequently the case in the upper 
 ranks, are attendants for the sake of example ; 
 and to sanction the thing in the eyes of the 
 common people, who do want religion, and 
 cannot well be managed without it Some 
 are urged by the uneasiness of their minds, 
 arising from conviction and fear. They feel 
 no concern to please God, and have no desire 
 to hold communion with him ; but they want 
 an opiate to allay the wakefulness of con- 
 science. Some are attracted by a kind of 
 entertainment which they find in the psalmody 
 of the place, or the eloquence of the preacher. 
 This was the case with Ezekiel's hearers : 
 " Thou art unto them as a very lovely song 
 of cine that hath a pleasant voice, and can 
 play well on an instrument: for they hear 
 thy words, but they do them not. If the 
 Sabbath to some be not an irksome day, it is 
 because they divert it from its sacred pur- 
 poses — otherwise they would exclaim, What 
 a weariness it is to serve the Lord ! when 
 will the Sabbath be gone ? Yea, so irksome 
 are religious exercises to some, that they feel 
 perhaps more of the carnal mind that is en- 
 mity against God in their devotions, than in 
 any other engagements ; because they are 
 irritated by restraint. • 
 
 Let us bring home this matter to ourselves. 
 We attend, and*perhaps have long 1 attended 
 the services of the sanctuary. But let us 
 ask, from what principle or motive ? Is it to 
 obey God? Is it to seek his face? Is it to 
 obtain the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ ? 
 A Christian can say, " It is good for me to 
 draw near to God." " I have loved the hab- 
 itation of thy house." " A day in thy courts 
 is better than a thousand." We have no 
 piety unless we regard religious duties as re- 
 ligious privileges : and are able to say, " My 
 meat is to do the will of him that sent me." 
 
 We are too prone to err in judging of per- 
 sons by their presence in our holy assemblies. 
 It is a positive proof against a man if he neg- 
 lects them : but his attendance is not a deci- 
 sive evidence in his favour. Solomon saw the 
 wicked buried, who had come and gone from 
 ♦he place of the holy. And many a one, un- 
 less deprived of reason and reflection, will, at 
 a dying hour, exclaim, " How have I hated 
 instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 
 
 and have not obeyed tie voice of my teach- 
 ers, nor inclined mine ear to thern that in- 
 structed me ! I was almost in all evil in the 
 midst of the congregation and assembly." 
 Thus Doeg, while remaining demurely in the 
 divine presence, instead of minding his devo- 
 tion, was observing the intercourse between 
 David and Ahimelech, doing, mischief, and 
 determining by lies to achieve murder ! Lord. 
 what is man ! 
 
 FEBRUARY 26. 
 
 " Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the 
 shadow of thy wings will I rejoice." — Psalm 
 
 lxiii. 7. 
 
 Man is called a rational creature , but he 
 deserves the character for the possession of 
 reason, rather than the exercise of it. He 
 has powers; but his depravity leads to the 
 neglect or perversion of them. Thus he is 
 able to reflect, and to anticipate ; but gov- 
 erned by things only present to his senses, he 
 never regards the past and the future, unless 
 in connexion with the body and the life that 
 now is. There indeed he often displays a 
 prudence that forms a lamentable contrast 
 with his indifference and inattention in the 
 concerns of the soul and eternity. There he 
 rises early, sits up late, compasses sea and 
 land, and recalls all his former miscarriages 
 or successes for his after use and improve- 
 ment. But how foolish is he, and ignorant, 
 and like a beast before God, in things that 
 accompany salvation ! It is otherwise with 
 the follower of Jesifs. He is renewed in the 
 spirit of his mind. He regards religion as 
 the one thing needful, and never imagines 
 himself prospering unless his soul prospers. 
 His reason is enlarged and directed by faith. 
 He thinks for moral and spiritual purposes 
 of the past and the future — he looks back- 
 ward with humiliation and gratitude, and 
 forward with prayer and hope. Therefore 
 David said, " Because thou hast been my 
 help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings 
 will I rejoice." Let us make his words our 
 own. 
 
 Let us make his acknowledgment our own. 
 — " Thou hast been my help." In what have 
 we not required his succour, and in what have 
 we not experienced it? Has he not helped 
 us in our temporal exigencies, and yet more 
 in our spiritual concerns? Has he not sea- 
 sonably and constantly helped us in our du- 
 ties ? We have had much to do ; our work 
 has been the most serious, important, and dif- 
 ficult; and we have had no sufficiency of 
 ourselves. But the Lord we serve is not an 
 Egyptian task-master, enjoining us to make 
 brick without straw. His grace has been 
 sufficient for us. His Spirit has helped our 
 infirmities; and he has worked in us to will 
 and to do of his good pleasure. Has he no: 
 helped us in our sufferings ? We have no* 
 
FEBRUARY 27. 
 
 83 
 
 wily had much to do, but also to bear. Our 
 personal and relative trials have been many 
 and various ; and the bitterness of some of 
 them, the heart only has known. But how 
 true are the words of the sweet Psalmist of 
 Israel ! 
 
 " Our sorrows and our griefs we pour 
 Into the bosom of our God : 
 He hears us in the mournful hour, 
 And helps us bear the heavy load." 
 
 We have found him a very present help in 
 trouble. He has afforded us support, so that 
 we have not sunk in the day of adversity, 
 and been swallowed up of over-much sorrow. 
 He has commanded fbr us deliverances, and 
 sometimes in cases in which we were trou- 
 bled on every side, and could see no way of 
 escape. He has also saved us from the sins of 
 the condition ; enabled us to glorify the Lord 
 in the fires ; taught us to learn obedience by 
 the things we suffer, and to gather from our 
 chastenings the peaceable fruits of righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 Let us make his resolution our own — 
 " Under the shadow of thy wings will I re- 
 joice." God has no wings : but he has perfec- 
 tions. He has wisdom, power, goodness, and 
 truth. He has made with us an everlasting 
 covenant. He has given us exceeding great 
 and precious promises. His providence per- 
 formeth all things for us. The allusion is to 
 a bird. The hen has wings, and gathers her 
 chickens under them from harm when the 
 hawk hovers near, and the storm approaches, 
 and the night comes on. The image seems 
 low when applied to God; for every figure 
 falls infinitely short of his glory. Yet they 
 have their use, and aid the understanding, the 
 impression, and remembrance of divine truth. 
 And the wings afford not only concealment 
 and defence, but a warm, soft, pleasing, and 
 delightful retreat ; and the feathered mother 
 loves to cover her infant brood, and feel them 
 at her side. So God saves his people, and 
 rejoices over them with joy, and rests in his 
 love: so they rejoice under the shadow of his 
 wings. A situation is nothing unless we 
 make use of it. The security results from 
 our application of the advantage ; and David 
 was aware of this, and therefore cries, "I 
 flee unto thee to hide me." Hence says 
 Solomon, " the name of the Lord is a strong 
 tower; the righteous runneth into it and is 
 safe." And by rejoicing under the shadow of 
 God's wings, he can intend nothing less than 
 nis having recourse to it; but he includes 
 much more-^-That he would repair to it from 
 choice, and realize it with thankfulness, and 
 enjoy it with complacency and exultation. 
 It is what he enjoins upon others when he 
 says, " Let the children of Zion be joyful in 
 their King." It is what the Church resolves 
 to do when she exclaims, " I will greatly re- 
 joice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in 
 my God ; for he hath clothed me with the 
 
 garments of salvation, he hath covered me 
 with the robe of righteousness, as a bride- 
 groom decketh himself with ornaments, and 
 as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." 
 
 Let us make his reasoning our own ; and 
 derive, as he did, confidence from experience 
 — " Because thou hast been my help, there- 
 fore under the shadow of thy wings will I 
 rejoice." It is needless to observe how fre- 
 quently this mode of arguing and acting is 
 exemplified in the Scriptures. And what 
 can more naturally tend to encourage us in 
 the Lord our God than the proofs we have 
 had of his power, faithfulness, mercy, and 
 grace ! The fisherman is the more inclined 
 to repair to the place where he has been suc- 
 cessful. The beggar feels no excitement to 
 revisit the door where he was insulted or re- 
 pulsed ; but he hastens to the house where 
 he has always met with kindness and relief. 
 He may indeed feel some hesitation arising 
 from the thought that he has frequently been 
 there before. But the oftener we come, the 
 more welcome we are. The beggar too, 
 when after an absence he applies again, may 
 find a change in the benefactor as to his dis- 
 position, or even his ability. But the Lord 
 changeth not What he has been, he is, and 
 will be for ever. His hand is not shortened 
 that he cannot save, nor his ear heavy that 
 it cannot hear. And one of the designs of 
 God in his kindness towards us is, not only 
 by his benefits to relieve our present wants, 
 but to excite our future applications and em- 
 bolden our future hope. 
 
 If we have never addressed God, we are 
 authorized to do it ; but our encouragement 
 in our first approach must be derived only 
 from faith. But some have believed, and 
 have now the witness in themselves. They 
 have made the trial. They go to a known 
 God — And they that know his Name will put 
 their trust in him. Nothing is more becoming 
 a Christian than a lively cheerful confidence. 
 And in order to maintain and increase it, we 
 shall do well to consider not only God's word, 
 but his works ; and to remember the years of 
 the right hand of the Most High. "For 
 thou hast delivered my soul from death ; wilt 
 not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I 
 may walk before God in the light of the 
 living:?" 
 
 FEBRUARY 27. 
 " Behold, we count them happy which endure?' 
 James v. 11. 
 This seems a strange judgment; and w<* 
 may ask, Who are they that draw such a con- 
 clusion? 
 
 There is a sense in which men in general 
 make this estimate. They commonly admire 
 those that suffer well ; and are struck with 
 instances of prudence in difficulties, and mag- 
 nanimity in dangers ; calmness in a storm, 
 
M 
 
 FEBRUARY 28 
 
 and firmness under an operation. There is a 
 tameness in the character of one who has al- 
 ways sat in the lap of ease and indulgence. 
 The most striking and interesting materials 
 for biography are derived from those sudden 
 changes and painful occurrences which tried, 
 discovered, and improved the sufferers who 
 had to encounter them. 
 
 Yea, men, even natural men, have often 
 admired those who have endured for the sake 
 of religion. For it has been the strange lot 
 of many of God's people to.be hated and per- 
 secuted while living, and to be praised and 
 extolled when dead. Thus the Scribes and 
 Pharisees painted and garnished the tombs of 
 the prophets their forefathers had slain, at the 
 very time they wished to crucify the only be- 
 gotten Son of God. And thus many now talk 
 highly of the noble army of martyrs, who re- 
 vile some of their fellow-creatures for dis- 
 playing a little of the same spirit by which 
 they were actuated. Deceased saints are be- 
 yond our envy. They are no longer seen or 
 heard. They no longer reproach us by their 
 conversation and temper; no longer incom- 
 mode us by disturbing us when we wish to 
 sleep, or by flashing upon us truths of which 
 we are willingly ignorant. 
 
 We should therefore inquire, not what we 
 think of dead saints, but how we feel towards 
 living ones. These are scoffed at by many : 
 are they with us more excellent than their 
 neighbours!? Is all our delight in them ! Are 
 they our brethren and companions] "Every 
 one that loveth him that begat, loveth him 
 also that is begotten of him." 
 
 The Apostle however attests here, not the 
 judgment of men, but of believers. These 
 differ widely from each other in their senti- 
 ments with regard to a thousand subjects — 
 especially misery and happiness. Men call 
 the proud happy ; but God resisteth the proud. 
 Men bless the covetous, whom the Lord ab- 
 horreth. Men are afraid when one is made 
 rich, when the glory of his house is increased ; 
 but God tells us a man's life consisteth not in 
 the abundance of the things that he possesseth. 
 And faith confers not with flesh and blood : 
 it does not estimate things by time, but eter- 
 nity ; it does not view them through the re- 
 ports of sense, but through the decisions of 
 unerring wisdom ; and echoes back the testi- 
 mony of God : " Blessed are the poor in spirit 
 — Blessed are they that hunger and thirst 
 after righteousness — Blessed are they that 
 mourn — If ye suffer for the sake of Christ, 
 happy are ye." 
 
 When we believe the principle from which 
 their afflictions are sent ; the designs they are 
 to accomplish; the evils they prevent; the 
 peaceable fruits of righteousness they yield ; 
 the far more exceeding and eternal weight 
 of glory they work out ; and even the sup- 
 ports and consolations enjoyed under them : 
 ve shall feel little difficulty in the de- 
 
 cision — "Happy is the nvn,' not who 
 escapes the rod, but "whorr the Lord cor* 
 recteth." Therefore despise not thou the 
 chastening of the Lord. Nor faint when 
 thou art rebuked of him. 
 
 FEBRUARY 28. 
 
 " Ye have heard of the patience of Job." — J amen 
 v. 11. 
 
 There was therefore really such a man to 
 be heard of; and the book that bears his name 
 is therefore not a parabolic representation, but 
 a true history. Ezekiel mentions him more 
 than once, with Noah and Daniel. They 
 were real characters; and would Job have 
 been specified with them had he been a ficti- 
 tious one ? Noah and Daniel, and a metaphor ! 
 James also associates him as an example with 
 the prophets, who were not imaginary, buL 
 real beings. 
 
 But how came we to hear of this man at 
 all, seeing he lived more than two thousand 
 miles off, and more than four thousand years 
 ago 1 " He was the greatest man in the east" 
 But his estate would never have been noticed, 
 had he possessed nothing else : a man is no- 
 thing the more to God for the number of his 
 sheep, oxen, and asses. "The Lord takes 
 pleasure in them that fear him, in them that 
 hope in his mercy." But he was as good as 
 he was great ; and his accuser was told that 
 he was " a perfect and an upright man." Yet 
 we should have known nothing of his moral 
 and spiritual worth but for his afflictions. Hia 
 calamities were his trial, and his triumph: 
 these have filled the earth with his renown. 
 Many names in the book of martyrs would 
 have perished in oblivion but for the sufferings 
 that raised and immortalized them. The ser- 
 vants of God are never so remarked, so im- 
 pressive, so useful, as when they are called 
 forth by trouble to be his witnesses, and to 
 glorify him in the fires : and little do they 
 frequently imagine what personal and relative, 
 what public and remote consequences may re- 
 sult from their enduring. What would Joseph 
 have been, what would he have done, but for 
 the persecutions and hardships through which 
 he arose to eminence, influence, and fame? 
 And thus you have heard of the patience of 
 Job— 
 
 — Not his insensibility. Patience is not 
 stoicism. There is no patienct, in a stone : 
 there is no virtue in bearing what we do not 
 feel. Joh is never senseless under his woes. 
 When he said, " My friends scorn me," he 
 adds, " but mine eye poureth out tears unto 
 God." With what earnestness does he call 
 for commiseration ! "Pity me, pity me, O ye 
 my friends; for the hand of God hath touched 
 me." And when he heard of all the evil that 
 had come upon him, " he rent his mantle, and 
 shaved his head, and fell upon the ground 
 
MARCH 1. 
 
 85 
 
 and worshipped." You have heard of the 
 patience of Job — 
 
 — Not his impatience. And yet he cursed 
 the day of his birth, and prayed for death, and 
 said, I lothe it, I would not live always. O 
 that thou wouldst hide me in the grave ! There 
 the wicked cease from troubling: and there 
 the weary are at rest. But not a word of this 
 is here mentioned. No. He had repented 
 of it, and it had been forgiven him : and the 
 «ins and iniquities of his people God remem- 
 bers no more. No. It was not the display 
 of his habitual disposition ; but a partial and 
 temporary emotion, issuing not from his prin- 
 ciples, but against them. And does not this 
 omission of his fault by an Apostle teach us — 
 That a man is to be judged of by his general 
 character and conduct ! — That we should be 
 peculiarly lenient towards a person in great 
 sufferings; when by the violence of the storm, 
 reason and religion for a moment may be up- 
 set ; and in the anarchy, nature involuntarily 
 utters things which grace will afterwards be 
 6ure to condemn 1 — Yea, that we should al- 
 ways speak of our brethren with candor and 
 kindness. The wicked watch only for their 
 halting ; they would make them offenders for 
 a word ; they overlook a thousand good things, 
 and greedily seize upon a single failing, and 
 magnify this into a crime — But charity cov- 
 ereth a multitude of sins. It will allow and 
 require us indeed to be severe towards our- 
 selves ; but it will induce us to make the best 
 of things in others, not only because from our 
 infirmities we may need the same tenderness, 
 but that we may be followers of the God of 
 all grace. Yes, 
 
 You have heard of his patience ; and you 
 have been accustomed from your infancy to 
 consider him as the most patient of all men. 
 And this is just, if his patience is to be esti- 
 mated, as it ought to be, by his sufferings. 
 Miseries of every kind fell upon him — and 
 they fell upon all his comforts. They fell 
 upon his estate — and deprived him of all his 
 substance ; upon his family — and his servants 
 were slain ; and all his children were crushed 
 to death; and his wife urged him to curse 
 God and die ; and his friends mistook his case 
 and reproached him with hypocrisy and wick- 
 edness ; upon his body — and he had no ease 
 from pain ; was covered with sore boils from 
 head to foot, so that he said, " I am made to 
 possess months of vanity, and wearisome 
 nights are appointed to me. When I lie 
 down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night 
 be gone! and I am full of tossings to and fro 
 unto the dawning of the day. My flesh is 
 clothed with worms and clods of dust ; my 
 skin is broken, and, become loathsome." All 
 this came upon him at once — and it was all 
 enhanced by his previous condition: for he 
 had seen better days : he had been indulged 
 by every kind and degree of prosperity ; and 
 ae presumed he should " die in his nest" — 
 
 vain hope ! How well could he say, " My com 
 plaint is bitter: my stroke is heavier than my 
 groaning." " I was not in safely — neither 
 had I rest — neither was I quiet — yet trouble 
 came." And 
 
 Yet " in all this Job sinned not, nor charged 
 God foolishly." Yet he said, " the Lord gave, 
 and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be 
 the name of the Lord." Yet he 6aid, " what ! 
 shall we receive good at the Lord's hand, and 
 shall we not receive evil 7" Yet he said, 
 " though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 
 
 But by nature he could not have thus en- 
 dured. And we here see what the grace of 
 God can effect. Let us remember that he is 
 called " the God of pafceence" — and not only 
 because he requires it — but because he pro- 
 duces it, sustains it, perfects it. With him is 
 the residue of the Spirit. Look to him ; re- 
 pair to him, ye sufferers. Honourhim not only 
 by your application, but by your confidence. 
 Despair ! You have hearp of the patience 
 of Job. 
 
 MARCH 1. 
 
 " Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more, 
 with idols? I have heard him, and observed 
 him : I am like, a green fir-tree. From me is 
 thy fruit fouid? — Hosea xiv. 8. 
 
 The announcement represents Ephraim in 
 his return to God : and God in his reception 
 of Ephraim. 
 
 In his return to God, Ephraim should say, 
 " What have I any more to do with idols 1" 
 The language owns his former attachment, 
 while it expresses his present aversion anc 
 rejection — "I have had too much to do with 
 them. O how degrading and painful to look 
 back on years of folly and of guilt ! Behold I 
 am vile, what shall I answer thee 1 I abhor 
 myself, and repent in dust and ashes. O 
 Lord, other lords beside thee have had do- 
 minion over me ; henceforth by thee only will 
 I make mention of thy name." 
 
 This was very proper for him ; but what 
 is this to us? Are persons here chargeable 
 with idolatry even before conversion 1 Not in- 
 deed as to the grossness of the offence. When 
 we consider idolatry literally, it would seem 
 impossible that a rational being should bow 
 down, not only to the sun, moon, and stars, 
 but to his fellow-creatures, to animals, to rep- 
 tiles, to wood and stone, to the work of his 
 own hands. Yet what says all history 1— 
 And not only were the heathens thus besotted, 
 but the Jews also. Ephraim worshipped the 
 calves. And if we advert to the refinement 
 of these abominations, and pass from literal to 
 spiritual idolatry, every man by nature is an 
 idolater. What was the Fall, but a defection 
 from God ? What is sin, but the transfer to the 1 
 creature of the regard due to the Creator 1 
 And it matters not whether the rival and en- 
 grosser be a worm, or an angel. What' ver 
 
Hfi 
 
 MARCH 2. 
 
 we fear or value more than God, i*. to us an 
 idol. Thus we read of " lovers of pleasure 
 more than lovers of God ;" and of some " who 
 make gold their hope, and fine gold their con- 
 fidence ;" and of others " who make flesh 
 their arm." God alone can heal us ; and yet 
 we seek to the physician, and not to God. 
 His blessing alone maketh rich ; and yet we 
 form our plans without him, and ascribe our 
 successes to our own skill and care. He is 
 the God of our salvation ; and yet we depend 
 on our own worthiness and strength, instead 
 of saying, In the Lord I have righteousness 
 and strength. " Little children," says John, 
 " keep yourselves from idols." We may make 
 idols of our relations, idols of our opinions, 
 idols of our religious parties, idols of our min- 
 isters, idols of the means of grace — What is 
 neaven 1 A state in which God is all in all. 
 What is the effect of growing sanctification 1 
 Our waiting on God all the day. What is 
 conversion 1 A turning away from the world 
 to God, saying, " Whom have I in heaven but 
 thee, and there is none on earth that I desire 
 besides thee." — " It is good for me to draw 
 near to God" — " What have I any more to do 
 with idols T" 
 
 And observe the disposition of God towards 
 the repenting Ephraim. 
 
 He observes the workings of his heart — 
 " I have heard and observed him." This is to 
 be restrained to the nature of the case. It is 
 an awful reflection, that God is in every 
 place : he hears and observes all his creatures. 
 But much more is here intended than mere 
 observation : it is observation accompanied 
 with approbation and delight. Such a penitent 
 is either disregarded or despised by the world. 
 At best he is considered as the subject of a 
 weak mind or a disordered imagination. But 
 truth assures us that he is now coming to 
 himself; that the angels rejoice over him ; 
 while God himself says, " to that man will I 
 look, even to him that is poor, and of a con- 
 trite spirit, and that trembleth at my word." 
 " I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning 
 himself thus : Thou hast chastised me, and I 
 was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to 
 the yoke : turn thou me, and I shall be turn- 
 ed ; for thou art the Lord my God. Is Ephraim 
 my dear son ! Is he a pleasant child 1 For 
 since I spake against him, I do earnestly re- 
 member him still : therefore my bowels are 
 troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy 
 upon him, saith the Lord." 
 
 He presents himself as his shelter and re- 
 freshment — " I am like a green fir-tree." Is 
 not this image below God 1 So is every com- 
 parison. Figures taken from the sublimest 
 objects in nature come infinitely short of his 
 glory. Yet such allusions are useful and ne- 
 cessary. In the east too, a fir-tree is far more 
 than we see it here ; beautiful in its appear- 
 ance, growing to a great height, yielding a 
 fragrant scent, spreading very wideLy. and af- 
 
 fording a desirable retreat to the traveller. 
 But a metaphor must not be pressed. The 
 import of it is often purely relative to some 
 one thing rendered valuable by the present 
 circumstances of the individual. Such is cold 
 water to a thirsty soul. Such is a cloud in 
 harvest The simple idea here is shade and 
 perpetual verdure : the fir-tree being an ever- 
 green, the same in summer and winter — Thus 
 God is the same to the soul that trusts in him 
 at all times and in all conditions : and if we 
 would be raised above the influence of fear 
 and trouble, we must sit beneath the shadow 
 of the Almighty, and realize his perfections, 
 presence, promises, and providence as un- 
 changeably concerned for our welfare. Crea- 
 tures may all fail us ; but He is the same. 
 " My salvation shall be for ever, and my right- 
 eousness shall not be abolished." 
 
 He engages to furnish fertility — " From 
 me is thy fruit found." This supplies a de- 
 ficiency in the former image. A fir-tree, 
 though always green and affording shade, yet 
 yields no fruit : but the Lord affords repast as 
 well as repose. These are united in the ac- 
 knowledgment of the Church : " I sat down 
 under his shadow with great delight, and his 
 fruit was sweet to my taste." This fruit is to 
 be taken two ways. First, for the fruit they 
 enjoy. What is this but all spiritual blessings, 
 pardon, peace, the comforts of the Holy Ghost, 
 the foretastes of Heaven 1 This is the be- 
 liever's fruit, because he is the possessor of 
 it : but in me, says the Lord, it is found as the 
 source and giver. Let us seek it alone in 
 him. Paradise had nothing like it. Secondly, 
 for the fruit they bear. This includes their 
 graces, duties, and good works. To these our 
 Saviour refers when he says, " Herein is my 
 Father glorified that ye bear much fruit." 
 This is ours because we are the subjects of 
 it ; but he is the author. We receive the in- 
 fluences, but he imparts them. We exercise 
 the principles, but he produces them. We 
 render the obedience, but he inclines and en- 
 ables us. We repent and believe, but the re- 
 pentance and the faith are his gifts. We 
 work out our salvation, but he works in us to 
 will and to do of his good pleasure. They 
 are therefore called "the fruit of the Spirit:" 
 and "the fruits of righteousness, which are 
 by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of 
 God" — "From me is thy fruit found." 
 
 MARCH 2. 
 
 "All the promises of God in him are yea, and in 
 him amen, unto the glory of God by us." — 2 
 Cor. i. 20. 
 
 There is some difference between God's 
 purposes and promises. Both of them so to 
 speak are gold : but the one, gold in the mint : 
 the other, gold in the mint impressed and pre- 
 pared for currency and use. God could hav» 
 
MAKCH 3. 
 
 87 
 
 iiessed his people without previously an- 
 nouncing it, and bringing himself under an 
 engagement ; but in this case his design could 
 not have been known, believed, expected, 
 pleaded. But the promises give rise to a life 
 of faith, and hope, and patience, and prayer. 
 
 Let me contemplate these promises in their 
 relation to Christ — They " are in him." All 
 their contents are found in him : indeed he 
 himself is the substance of the whole. In the 
 Covenant of Grace he is the Covenantee ; and 
 the promises of it are made, not immediately 
 with us but with him, as our head representa- 
 tive and surety. He performed the awful con- 
 dition on which they were all founded ; and 
 has ratified them by his own blood. He is 
 also the pledge of their existence and accom- 
 plishment They might seem too great to be 
 believed were it not for himself, who is greater 
 than any thing God has promised. But he has 
 been given ; and " he that spared not his own 
 Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 
 shall he not with him also freely give us all 
 things V If the promises are in him, the way 
 to possess and enjoy them all is to receive 
 him—" He that hath the Son hath life." 
 
 Let me also view them in their certainty — 
 "All the promises of God in him are yea, and 
 in him amen." All the promises of Satan are 
 falsehood. Human promises are not always 
 truth. David indeed erred when he said in 
 his haste — all men are liars ; yet too com- 
 monly " men of low degree are vanity, and 
 men of high degree are a lie." But even 
 Balaam could say, " The Lord is not a man 
 that he should lie ; neither the son of man 
 that he should repent: hath he said, and shall 
 he not do it ] or hath he spoken, and shall he 
 not make it good !" Men fail in their prom- 
 ises through forgetfulness, or changeableness 
 of mind, or inability of performance. But can 
 he forget, whose understanding is infinite] 
 Can he change his purpose who is in one 
 mind, the same yesterday, to-day, and for 
 ever ? Can any thing be too hard for the Al- 
 mighty, maker of heaven and earth 1 Let us 
 therefore honour God by our confidence. If 
 we have a word from him, let it satisfy us 
 whatever difficulties oppose the accomplish- 
 ment—these are for him to consider who has 
 promised. Abraham, therefore, having re- 
 ceived the divine assurance, though Ihere 
 were improbabilities, and even natural impos- 
 sibilities in the way, " staggered not at the 
 promise of God through unbelief, but was 
 strong in faith, giving glory to God." Hence 
 
 Let me observe them in their design — " To 
 the glory of God." God is glorified in them 
 as they are all yea and amen : for nothing 
 can be more honourable to God than the im- 
 possibility of impeaching his veracity. He is 
 therefore called "the faithful God." "His 
 faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds;" and 
 far beyond them — his " faithfulness is estab- 
 lished in the very heavens ;" and the famp of 
 
 it there draws forth the acclamation, " Just 
 and true are all thy ways, O thou King of 
 saints !" But his wisdom and power also are 
 glorified in the time and manner of their ac- 
 complishment. Above all, how does not only 
 the fulfilment but the donation of these prom- 
 ises display the exceeding riches-of his grace ! 
 For what but the most undeserved favour and 
 boundless mercy could have led him to re- 
 member us in our low estate, and instead of 
 threatening us with destruction, promise us 
 eternal life and all spiritual blessings in hea- 
 venly places in Christ ! 
 
 Finally, let me remark the instrumentality 
 of this design — " To the glory of God by us. 
 By us as ministers — publishing, explaining, 
 applying them. A promise is often like a box 
 of ointment very precious ; but the fragrance 
 does not fill the room till the preacher breaks 
 it Or it is like the water that was near Ha- 
 gar which she saw not, till the angel of the 
 Lord opens our eyes and shows us the well. 
 By us believers — realizing the excellency and 
 efficacy of them in our character and conduct 
 It is when these promises are reduced to ex- 
 perience ; when they are seen cleansing u* 
 from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, making 
 us partakers of the divine nature, leading us 
 to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we 
 are called, filling us with kindness and be- 
 nevolence, supporting us cheerfully under all 
 our trials ; it is then they glorify God by us. 
 
 How responsibly should they feel, and how 
 carefully should they walk, who are intrusted 
 with the honour of God in his word — which 
 he magnifies above all his Name ! 
 
 MARCH 3. 
 
 " Sirs, what must I do to be saved V 
 Acts xvi. 30. 
 
 We may imagine the manner in which the 
 jailer had addressed Paul and Silas before, 
 from the manner in which he treated them ; 
 for having received them in charge, he thrust 
 them into the inner prison, and made then- 
 feet fast in the stocks, while their backs were 
 bruised and bleeding from the scourge ; for 
 their wounds were not dressed till some hours 
 after. Doubtless bad words and reproachful 
 names were added to the cruelty. But how- 
 ever he had insulted them before, he now re- 
 veres them more than kings ; and calling ior 
 a light, he springs in, and comes trembling, 
 and falls down before them in the inner pris- 
 on, and brings them out, and cries, "What 
 must I do to be saved 1" 
 
 This was obviously the language of appre- 
 hension. He saw he was in danger of being 
 lost. But how lost? Some have supposed 
 that he refers to his temporal danger. The 
 Roman jailer was made answerable for his 
 prisoner ; and if the prisoner escaped, the 
 jailer bore the punishment the prisoner was 
 
88 
 
 MARCH 3. 
 
 doomed to endure At first therefore the 
 keeper was thus alarmed ; for upon the earth- 
 quake, which shook the foundations of the 
 prison, so that the doors were opened, and 
 every man's bands were loosed, he awaked 
 out of his sleep, and drew his sword, and 
 would have killed himself, supposing that the 
 prisoners had fled. But his alarm on this ac- 
 count must have been removed, as soon as 
 ever Paul cried with a loud voice, " Do thy- 
 self no harm, for we are all here." And the 
 answer given to his inquiry, shows that he 
 did not refer to temporal death ; for though 
 faith in Christ saved him from hell, it would 
 not have saved him from the penalty of the 
 Roman law had he incurred it. 
 
 His anxiety, therefore, regards his spiritual 
 and eternal state. It is in vain to argue 
 against this, and say, how could this be, as it 
 supposes a knowledge which this Pagan could 
 not possess ! For the heathen generally had 
 some sense of a future state ; and were all 
 their life-time subject to bondage through 
 p ear of death. Often their uneasinesses were 
 such, that to obtain something like peace of 
 .nind, they would endure the greatest priva- 
 tions and self-inflicted tortures, and give the 
 fruit of their body for the sin of their soul. 
 God indeed has a witness in every bosom. 
 Every man is a sinner ; his conscience con- 
 demns him ; he feels his need of pardon. 
 Were he guiltless, he would be fearless. The 
 innocent do not tremble when they hear the 
 trumpet announcing the entrance of the 
 Judge ; but only those who are to be tried. 
 The earthquake had roused the jailer's dread 
 of the power and anger of God. Perhaps he 
 had heard Paul and Silas singing in the 
 stocks. Perhaps they had dropped something 
 while he was misusing them that had im- 
 pressed his mind. Perhaps he had been in- 
 formed of their preaching ; and doubtless he 
 had been told of the language of the Pytho- 
 ness, who for many days had cried, " These 
 men are the servants of the Most High God, 
 which show unto men the way of salvation." 
 To which we may well add, how soon the 
 Spirit of God can reach the heart, and enter 
 the conscience like a conqueror at the head 
 of an army. No wonder his apprehension 
 made him cry, " What must I do to be saved 1" 
 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of 
 ;he living God. If a man were any way ex- 
 posed to it, we should think it impossible that 
 he could enjoy a moment's ease ; or be capa- 
 ble of feeling a lighter sorrow, in hazard of 
 such a tremendous doom. When I was 
 awakened, says Bunyan, nothing so astonished 
 me as to see how my fellow-creatures were 
 affected with their outward troubles — I had 
 many of these ; but I could only cry, How 
 snail I escape the damnation of hell ] 
 
 His language contains a desire of informa- 
 ion. In such a state as this, ignornnce is 
 
 dreadful, and perplexity intolerable. And in 
 vain you address the man concerning any 
 other subject. Tell me, says he, how I can 
 flee from the wrath to come 1 How I can 
 obtain acceptance with God ? How I can be 
 renewed in the spirit of my mind 1 Is there 
 balm in Gilead, and a physician there 1 And 
 what is the balm i Who is that physician 1 
 He also dreads imposition. Tell me the true 
 state of my soul. If there be hope, announce 
 it ; but do not flatter me. Nothing will now 
 satisfy the mind but certainty. And the man 
 has it not in his power to be his own instruc- 
 tor or comforter. He distrusts himself, and 
 suspects every thing like comfort that comes 
 from his own heart which has so often de- 
 ceived him. Now therefore he prizes the 
 means and the source of information. He 
 reads the Scripture — and for the purpose for 
 which it was written. He hears the word — 
 and for the purpose for which it is preached. 
 How beautiful now are the feet of him that 
 bringeth good tidings! How endeared the 
 throne of grace where the prayer is heard, 
 " Thy Spirit is good ; lead me into the land 
 of uprightness." 
 
 Here was also a readiness to submit to the 
 method prescribed for his deliverance. Some, 
 when they are alarmed, think of building a 
 shelter rather than of fleeing for refuge. 
 They indulge in a legal bias, and human 
 reasonings ; and going about to establish their 
 own righteousness, do not submit themselves 
 to the righteousness of God. The simplicity 
 of the scheme of gospel grace, pays no hom- 
 age to the idol self; and the spiritual Naaman 
 is ready to turn away in a rage, because the 
 mode of relief is not such as he " thought." 
 The scheme is additionally offensive, because 
 it demands the destruction also of every sin; 
 and men love independence, and to walk ac- 
 cording to the way of their own hearts. But 
 bring a man into the state of the jailer, and 
 he will be willing to yield — willing to be led. 
 Tell him the way, and he will walk in it. 
 Tell him the remedy, and he will submit to 
 it, however it may require him to stoop, or 
 whatever it may require him to sacrifice. Dr. 
 Chyne was an eminent as well as a pious 
 physician. But he was supposed to be severe 
 in his regimen. When he had prescribed, 
 and the patient began to object to the treat- 
 ment, he would say, " I see you are not bad 
 enough for me yet." Some are not bad 
 enough for Christ yet — we mean in their own 
 apprehension. But when they find and feel 
 that they are entirely lost, and have no othei 
 help or hope, they will cordially acquiesce in 
 his recommendation, however mysterious, 
 however humbling, however trying. " If by 
 any means I might attain unto the resurrec- 
 tion of the death." 
 
 Let me not think this inquiry was proper 
 for the jailer only. All have sinned. And 
 
 
MARCH 4. 
 
 89 
 
 he soul that sinneth it shall die. It should 
 Jierefore be the inquiry of every man. O my 
 soul, let it be thine ! 
 
 What is the answer ! 
 
 MARCH 4. 
 
 'And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and thou shall be saved." — Acts 
 xvi 3J. 
 
 They overlook his injurious treatment of 
 ihem. They do not take advantage of his 
 present distress to insult him, as the council 
 did Judas, who when he cast down the pieces 
 of silver, confessing he had sinned and be- 
 trayed innocent blood, said, "What is that 
 to us ] See thou to that." Yea, they hear 
 with delight his exclamation, " What must I 
 do to be saved !" Such cries as this are music 
 in the ears of those who long to save souls 
 from death — " Your case is bad, but it is not 
 hopeless. You are guilty and condemned, 
 and there is only one way of deliverance — 
 But there is one. We have tried it ourselves, 
 and have found it effectual, and recommend 
 it to you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and thou shalt be saved." Here is the advan- 
 tage of knowledge and of experience in those 
 who have to deal with souls in spiritual dis- 
 tress. They can speak readily and clearly ; 
 and with confidence and earnestness — "Lo 
 this, we have searched it ; so it is ; hear it, 
 and know thou it for thy good." What could 
 the heathen philosophers have done with this 
 question'! Or what the Scribes and Phari- 
 sees who sat in Moses' chair 1 What would 
 a modern infidel make of it] How many 
 called divines, would answer: "Be not too 
 much distressed. You are not worse than 
 others. All are frail. God knows our frame. 
 He will not be severe to mark what we do 
 amiss. Guard against these gloomy notions 
 which drive people to distraction or despon- 
 dency. Take exercise. Go into company. 
 Moderately indulge in the amusements of 
 life." Or if any thing more religious be said, 
 it would be, "Reform whatever may have 
 been vicious: and in proper time prepare 
 yourself for a worthy reception of the Lord's 
 Supper." How different was the language 
 of Paul and Silas ! " Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 
 
 This teaches us that awakened souls are to 
 be led immediately to Christ There are 
 some who are slow to bring forward the glad 
 tidings of salvation, fearing that such persons 
 are not yet distressed and humbled enough. 
 But it is obvious that a long process to pre- 
 pare for an application to the Lord Jesus was 
 not deemed necessary by the Apostles. They 
 presented him at once : through this man is 
 preached unto you the forgiveness of sins ; 
 and by him all that believe are justified. He 
 did the same himself: "Come unto me" — 
 * Look unto me." No other recommendation 
 
 can be available. Every other direction wiil 
 turn the sinner aside from safety and relief! 
 All the peace obtained by any other means is 
 only a temporary delusion. " Why should I 
 wait] I want a mediator between me and 
 God, but I do not want a mediator between 
 me and Christ. I must come to him as I air- 
 And I may come — ' all the fitness he requireth 
 is to feel my need of him.' " 
 
 The answer shows that there is salvation 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a faithful say- 
 ing, and worthy of all acceptation, that he 
 came into the world to save sinners ; and that 
 he is now exalted at God's own right hand to 
 be a Prince and a Saviour. With him is 
 plenteous redemption ; free deliverance from 
 the guilt, the pollution, and the consequences 
 of sin ; and for ever — 
 
 The way to realize this is believing. "To 
 him that worketh not, but believeth on him 
 that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted 
 to him for righteousness." Unless we begin 
 here, we commence at the wrong end. Good 
 works do not produce faith, but faith produces 
 good works. If we see a fellow-creature 
 wrecked and ready to sink, the first thing is 
 to get out the life-boat. It would be absurd 
 to go to the dying bed of a man, and begin to 
 admonish him how he ought to walk and to 
 work — The man is dying. Send for the phy- 
 sician — Bring a remedy. When recovered, 
 admonition will be reasonable and needful. 
 God gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- 
 ever believeth in him should not perish : and 
 however salvation is represented in the Scrip- 
 ture, we see faith is essential to it. Whatever 
 Christ may be in himself, he can be nothing 
 to us without it He is indeed the refuge, 
 but a refuge cannot secure us unless it be 
 entered ; and it can only be entered by faith. 
 He is indeed the bread of life, but food can- 
 not nourish us unless it be eaten ; and it can 
 only be eaten by faith. The grand thing 
 therefore ia to believe the record concerning 
 him ; and to trust in his name ; to rely upon 
 his grace ; to apply to him for all the purposes 
 he is revealed to accomplish ; and to receive 
 him as he is held forth to us in the gospel. 
 
 This course will not fail. Salvation is in- 
 sured to believing. As without faith we can- 
 not be saved, so with it we cannot perish. 
 " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hear- 
 eth 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." 
 
 If therefore you feel your need of salvation, 
 repair to him, and say, " Let this ruin be un 
 der thy hand." He is mighty to save. He is 
 able to save to the uttermost. And while his 
 power enables him to save, his goodness in- 
 clines him to save. His soul is the dwelling- 
 place of pity. His heart is made of tender- 
 ness ; his bowels melt with love. And while 
 his goodness inclines him to save, his promise 
 
90 
 
 MARCH 5. 
 
 ainds him to save — He cannot deny himself. 
 He has said, " Him that cometh unto me, I 
 will in no wise cast out." 
 
 ' My soul obeys the Almighty call, 
 
 And runs to this relief; 
 I would believe thy promise, Lord ; 
 O help mine unbelief." 
 
 MARCH 5. 
 
 u And Ekron as a Jebusite." — Zech. ix. 7. 
 
 The prophecy in which these words are 
 found shows, that God in judgment remem- 
 bers mercy ; and can punish her enemies 
 without injuring the Church ; and can even 
 increase her welfare by means of it. Deso- 
 lations were coming upon the Syrians, and 
 Tyrians, and Philistines ; but a remnant should 
 be saved and converted, so as to become the 
 worshippers and people of the God of Israel ! 
 This is exemplified in the latter of these 
 powers : " I will cut off the pride of the 
 Philistines : and I will take away the blood 
 out of his mouth, and his abominations from 
 between his teeth : but he that remaineth, 
 even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be 
 as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebu- 
 site." The Philistines were the most constant 
 and implacable of all the adversaries of the 
 Jews. Ekron was one of their greatest capi- 
 tals. It was the residence of Beelzebub the 
 chief of the devils; and is put by the poets 
 for hell itself. Jebus is the old name for Je- 
 rusalem. Hence we read that "David and 
 all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus ; 
 where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of 
 the land." The meaning of the words there- 
 fore is, that the inhabitants of Ekron should 
 become as the denizen of Jerusalem ; no 
 longer an enemy, or a stranger and foreigner, 
 but a fellow-citizen with the saints and of 
 the household of God. Two remarks arise 
 from this promise. 
 
 First, — It is a great thing to be a Jebusite. 
 The Apostle speaks of it as the highest of all 
 privileges, that we " are come to Mount Zion, 
 the city of the living God, and to the heavenly 
 Jerusalem;" and that "Jerusalem, which is 
 above, and which is free, is the mother of us 
 all." Of this city of our God, glorious things 
 are spoken, and they are not vain words. 
 What a governor have these citizens ! He is 
 fairer than the children of men; he is the 
 king of glory. What a charter have they! 
 What can equal their defence and safety? 
 What can equal their liberty'? What their 
 commerce and wealth ? What their happi- 
 ness? Their peace passeth all understanding 
 — Their joy is unspeakable and full of glory — 
 '' as well the singers, as the players on instru- 
 ments shall be there : all my springs are in 
 thee." 
 
 Secondly, — Jebusites may be dwived from 
 Ekron ites. Here we have the evidence of 
 &ct The thing has been done; and the most | 
 
 unlikely characters have furnished pious con 
 verts. We can make an appeal to Manasseh 
 who had sinned away all the effects of a godly 
 education, and had become the most daring 
 idolater ; and such a murderer, that he made 
 the streets of Jerusalem to run down with 
 innocent blood — yet he, even he, sought and 
 found the Lord God of his fathers. "W e could 
 appeal to the dying thief, blaspheming with 
 his companion one moment, and praying the 
 next, " Lord, remember me when thou comest 
 into thy kingdom." We could appeal to the 
 murderers of Jesus, so soon washed in the 
 blood which they themselves had shed. What 
 could surpass the guilt and depravity of the 
 Corinthians? Yet they were washed, they 
 were justified, they were sanctified in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of 
 our God. And what says Paul of himself? 
 " I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and inju- 
 rious ; but I obtained mercy" — and " for this 
 cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus 
 Christ should show forth all long-suffering, as 
 a pattern to them that should hereafter believe 
 on him, to life everlasting." 
 
 Here, from what he has done, we see what 
 he can do. We see also what he must do ; 
 for he has bound himself by his word. And 
 who are the heirs of promise? From whence 
 are they to be brought ; and from what mate- 
 rials are the subjects of his grace to be formed 7 
 " Princes shall come out of Egypt" " Ethio- 
 pia shall soon stretch out her hands unto 
 God." " Instead of the thorn shall come up 
 the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come 
 up the myrtle-tree : and it shall be to the Lord 
 for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall 
 not be cut off." " The wolf also shall dwell 
 with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down 
 with the kid." " The beasts of the field shall 
 honour me, the dragons and the owls." 
 
 Much of these announcements is indeed 
 highly figurative, but the meaning cannot be 
 mistaken, and the truth of it is perpetually 
 accomplishing. For, blessed be God, these 
 changes are not imaginary representations. 
 The pictures are from real life ; and the origin- 
 als are to be found. We speak that we do 1 
 know, and testify that we have seen. We i 
 have seen the profligate becoming not only 
 moral but holy — the proud clothed with hu- 
 mility — the niggard and the churl learning 
 to be bountiful and kind — the earthly-minded 
 seeking the things that are above — the curses 
 of the neighbourhood going about doing good. 
 Well may the Author of all good say, " This 
 people have / formed for myself; they shall 
 show forth my praise" — What displays, what 
 triumphs are they of the freeness, the riches, 
 and the power of his grace ! 
 
 Let none despair. However desperate their 
 case is with regard to their own resources, 
 there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 
 Nothing is too hard for the Lord. 
 
 Neither let us despond with regard to any 
 
MARCH 6, 7. 
 
 91 
 
 (/our fellow-creatures. We may be tempted 
 to think gome of them beyond the possibility 
 of reclaim. But God is able of these stones 
 to raise up children unto Abraham. Let us 
 not abandon them, but persevere in the use of 
 means — animated by prayer — and strong in 
 the Lord and in the power of his might. 
 
 MARCH 6. 
 
 * Do not all go to one place ?" — Eccles. vi. 6. 
 
 What place 1 There are four places; and 
 a universality of passengers is approaching 
 each of them. An absolute universality with 
 regard to the two first ; and a specific univer- 
 sality with regard to the two second. 
 
 There is the grave. Do not all go to this 
 place J Yes. " All go to one place — all are 
 of the dust, and all turn to dust again." No 
 one denies this ; and yet no one seems to be- 
 lieve it, at least with regard to himself! Who 
 would suppose that thousands around us ever 
 said, " I know that thou wilt bring me to 
 death, and to the house appointed for all liv- 
 ing." What a proof is this, that convictions 
 however clear, and belief however firm, may 
 be paralyzed and rendered uninfluential ! 
 
 There is the judgment-seat. Do not all go 
 to this place 1 Yes : " We must all stand be- 
 fore the judgment-seat of Christ." The high 
 will not be excused ; the low will not be over- 
 looked. " I saw the dead," says John, " small 
 and great, stand before God ; and the books 
 were opened." And the Judge himself tells 
 us, that "before him shall be gathered all 
 nations, and he will separate them one from 
 another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from 
 the goats : and he shall set the sheep on his 
 right hand, and the goats on the left — and 
 these shall go away into everlasting punish- 
 ment, but the righteous into life eternal." 
 
 Now therefore a separation takes place, 
 and what before applied to all with regard to 
 nature, will now apply to all only with regard 
 to character. 
 
 There is hell. Do not all go to this place ! 
 Yes, al! the wicked : " The wicked shall be 
 turned into hell, with all the nations that for- 
 get God." Their sin is very diversified ; and 
 though all go astray like sheep, they turn 
 every one to his own way. The covetous and 
 the cruel, the hypocrite and the profligate, 
 the scoffer and the formalist, the swearer and 
 the slanderer, are all in various directions go- 
 ing tiie downward road, and will meet in the 
 same place of torment. There is something 
 inexpressibly dreadful in the thought of mix- 
 ing with such society. And when we con- 
 sider the number of the damned, their malig- 
 nity, their mutual accusations, their hatred of 
 each other, their freedom from all the re- 
 straints which check the bad and vile while 
 here, their power to curse and tear each other, 
 under the empire too of the devil and his 
 
 angels — who would not cry, " Gather not. my 
 soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody 
 men." 
 
 There is heaven. Do not all go to this 
 place] Yes, all the righteous — all who art- 
 justified by faith, and renewed in the spirit 
 of their mind. We need not ask where this 
 place is ; it is enough to know that Jesus has 
 said, " I go to prepare a place for you, and if 
 1 go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
 again, and receive you to myself, that where 
 I am there ye may be also." There, out of 
 every period of time, and out of every kindred, 
 and nation, and people, and tongue, he will 
 gather together in one, the children of God 
 which were scattered abroad. Here they dif- 
 fered in their outward condition, in their re- 
 ligious opinions and usages, and in the degree 
 of their grace ; but they were all one in 
 Christ Jesus, and now they are all one with 
 him. Is this candour and comprehensiveness 
 in heaven an excellency 1 Let us approach it 
 as much as possible; and as we are all going 
 to one place, let us not fall out by the way. 
 Let us pray, " Grace be with all them that 
 love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity ;'" and 
 let us show, by our freedom from bigotry, that 
 our prayer is not hypocrisy or formality. 
 Many a persecuting and many a censorious 
 spirit has had liberality enough upon his oily 
 lips, especially at public meetings, who has 
 only scowled hate or dislike towards his dif- 
 fering brethren at all other times. But the 
 Master says, " Out of thine own mouth will I 
 condemn thee, thou wicked servant." 
 
 MARCH 7. 
 
 u Ye are they which have continued with me in 
 my temptations. And I appoint unto you a 
 kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 
 me." — Luke xxii. 28, 29. 
 
 The dying Patriarch said of Reuben, "un- 
 stable as water, thou shalt not excel." Sta- 
 bility is essential to excellency. Without it 
 no reputation can be acquired, no confidence 
 can be supported, no usefulness can be in- 
 sured. Even obstinacy, which is ignorant re- 
 solution, is more allied to excellency than 
 versatility. You may build upon a rock ; but 
 what can be done on shifting and sliding sand ? 
 If a man be one thing to-day and another to- 
 morrow; if he yields to every fresh impres- 
 sion like a wave of the sea driven with the 
 wind and tossed ; and is governed by circum- 
 stances instead of principles ; he can never 
 display character, for character is the effect 
 and fame of habit 
 
 Nothing recommends a man more than 
 stedfastness in friendship, especially when the 
 adherence has to struggle with difficulties. 
 This is what our Lord here commends in his 
 disciples — They had "continued with him in 
 his temptations." 
 
92 
 
 MARCH 8. 
 
 If the enemy ever left Christ, it was only 
 tor " a season ;" he soon returned again to the 
 assault; and urged him even to infidelity, 
 presumption, suicide, and idolatry — How well 
 is it said — 
 
 " He knows whi t sore temptations mean, 
 For he hat. fell the same." — 
 
 But our Lord does not here refer to such 
 temptations, and especially those he endured 
 in the wilderness. In these his disciples were 
 not present — he was alone — of the people 
 there was none with him. In the Scripture, 
 temptations do not always, nor most com- 
 monly, signify enticements to sin; but any 
 events that morally try us in the way of duty. 
 fn such trials his disciples continued with him : 
 they found him poor and despised ; bearing 
 the contradiction of sinners against himself; 
 slandered; menaced; and in danger of death. 
 And they were willing to share in the same 
 treatment. They denied themselves, and took 
 up their cross and followed him. They deem- 
 ed it enough for the servant to be as the mas- 
 ter, and the disciple as his Lord. 
 
 There are trials now to which they who 
 are with him are exposed. They are called, 
 " the sufferings of Christ ;" " his reproach ;" 
 and here his " temptations ;" as they accom- 
 pany his cause, and are endured for his sake. 
 They are not all of a painful nature, or con- 
 sisting in various degrees of persecution. His 
 followers are often tried in other ways. There 
 are the dangers of prosperity as wetl as of ad- 
 versity. The world has its allurements as 
 well as frowns, and is more perilous in its 
 friendship than its enmity. There must be 
 heresies, that they who are of a contrary part 
 may be made manifest. There will always 
 be many who will turn again to folly from 
 the holy commandment delivered them, and 
 will endeavour to draw away others. Happy 
 they, who while the Saviour says, " Will ye 
 also go away V can answer, " Lord, to whom 
 shall we go 1 Thou hast the words of eternal 
 life." For, " blessed is the man that endureth 
 temptation ; for when he is tried, he shall re- 
 ceive a crown of life which the Lord hath 
 promised to them that love him." 
 
 Observe, O my soul, how he insures and 
 amplifies the privilege : " I appoint unto you 
 a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 
 me." The grant is not an estate, a province, 
 a principality, but a kingdom ! And observe 
 two things with regard to it. First. See the 
 Saviour's authority and dominion : " / appoint 
 unto you a kingdom." The Father judgeth 
 no man, but hath committed all judgment 
 unto the Son : and he has given him power 
 over all flesh, that he should ffive eternal life 
 to as many as the Father hath jriven him. 
 The fullness from which he should dispense 
 to the myriads of the saved all the blessings 
 of grace and gdory, was the joy set before 
 him, for which he endured the cross. It is 
 U15 fruit of the travail or'his soul, and it satis- 
 
 fies him ; it yields infinite delight to his be- 
 nevolent heart. And how must the gift be 
 endeared to the receiver when it is conferred 
 by his own dear hand — 
 
 " The righteous Judge at that great day 
 Shall place it on my head." 
 
 Secondly — he is not only the appointer 
 but the 'model of the appointment — "as my 
 Father hath appointed me." The ground of 
 the Father's appointment of him was indeed 
 peculiar — He deserved it and could claim it. 
 He fulfilled the high and awful condition on 
 which it was suspended, his suffering and 
 death. The cause of the Saviour's appoint- 
 ment of us is nothing meritorious ; it is mercy 
 and grace, though founded in his own claims. 
 But the one is as real as the other ; and as 
 certain in the accomplishment; and termi- 
 nates in the same state ; and as far as our na- 
 ture will allow, we shall partake of the same 
 blessedness and honour with himself, though 
 conscious that we have not reached the ele- 
 vation in the same way. The Scripture can- 
 not be more decisive than it is — " we are 
 quickened together with Christ, raised up and 
 made to sit with him in the heavenly places." 
 " When he who is our life shall appear, we 
 shall also appear with him in glory." " To 
 him that overcometh will I grant to sit with 
 me upon my throne, even as I also overcame, 
 and am set down with my Father upon his 
 throne." And herein again we rejoice — as 
 all our happiness and dignity will be received 
 from him, so it will be enjoyed with him — 
 " Where I am there shall also my servants 
 be" — " We shall live together with him " 
 
 MARCH 8. 
 
 " And when Rachel saw that she bare Jucou nu 
 children, Rachel envied her sister; and said 
 unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die." — 
 Gen. xxx. 1. 
 
 Here we see a little of the evils of polyga- 
 my. How hard is it to maintain an equality 
 of satisfaction where there are different claim- 
 ants feeling alike in their pretensions ! Yet if 
 there, be a partiality of regard, either real or 
 supposed, what can be expected but discord 
 and wretchedness? How much more agreea- 
 bly did Isaac and Rebecca live together, ac- 
 cording to God's original appointment, than 
 poor Jacob with his two wives ! What could 
 ever justify a practice at war with morality 
 and the happiness of domestic life, the fountain- 
 head of society ] 
 
 Observe Rachel's ill-humour. Bodily 
 charms with the ornament of a meek and 
 quiet spirit would be irresistible ; but a pretty 
 face and a gentle temper are seldom found 
 together. Rachel was beautiful ; but. because 
 she bore Jacob no children, like her sister, 
 " she envied her." There is nothing against 
 which we should more jruard ourselves than 
 
MARCH 9. 
 
 93 
 
 envy. If is a quality the most unlovely and 
 diabolical. Envy is grief, not at another's 
 woe but another's welfare. It is the rotten- 
 ness of the bones ; it is the bane of self- 
 enjoyment; it is quarrelling with God for 
 making another to differ from us. It is awful 
 to think how naturally prone we are to this 
 vice — "The spirit that is in us lusteth to 
 envy." 
 
 See her intemperate desire. "And she 
 said unto Jacob, Give me children or else I 
 die." There was no harm in the wish for 
 offspring. They are the natural privilege of 
 marriage. And many have supposed that 
 the Jewish wives wished so much to be 
 mothers, as the promise of God entailed the 
 richest blessings on the posterity of Abraham, 
 and because from his seed according to the 
 flesh, the desire of all nations was to descend. 
 This probably had some influence ; but the 
 principal thing was the respect attached to 
 fruitfulness. In a more refined and improved 
 state of society, intellectual and moral quali- 
 ties are sufficient to obtain distinction ; but in 
 the earlier and ruder ages, outward and cor- 
 poreal attributes are chiefly regarded. In 
 their modes of living, too, children were an 
 advantage and a defence. Hence the language 
 of Scripture : " Lo, children are an heritage 
 of the Lord : and the fruit of the womb is his 
 reward. As arrows are in the hand of a 
 mighty man ; so are children of the youth 
 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of 
 them; they shall not be ashamed, but they 
 shall speak with the enemies in the gate." 
 Hence the conception after barrenness in the 
 cases of Sarah and Manoah's wife, and Han- 
 nah and Elizabeth, drew forth such joy and 
 praise — But what could be so censurable as 
 the inordinate language of Rachel — " If my 
 wish be not gratified, I shall offer violence 
 to my life, or fret myself into the grave. In 
 some way or other it will prove my death." 
 
 But ah ! what ignorance of the future, and 
 of her real welfai e does she here betray ! 
 " Who knoweth what is good for a man in 
 this life, all the days of his vain life which 
 he spendeth as a shadow 1" How little was 
 Lot aware of the fearful consequences arising 
 from the indulgence of his wish in the choice 
 of the vale of Sodom, well-watered, and look- 
 ing like the garden of the Lord ! The Jews 
 obtained quails in answer to their pettish re- 
 quest ; but he gave them their heart's desire, 
 and sent leanness into their souls: while the 
 flesh was between their teeth, the wrath of 
 God came upon them, and they died of their 
 intemperance. They would have a king; 
 and he showed his resentment not in denying 
 but gratifying them. " He gave them a king 
 in his anger, and took him away in his wrath." 
 So here ; Rachel says, " Give me children or 
 else I die" — and she died not in the failure of 
 ner desire, but in the accomplishment of it, 
 falling a victim to her second pregnancy: 
 
 " And they journeyed from Betnel ; and there 
 was but a little way to come to Ephrath : and 
 Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. 
 And it came to pass, when she was in hard 
 labour, that the midwife said unto her, Frar 
 not ; for thou shalt have this son also. And 
 it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, 
 (for she died) that she called his name Ben- 
 oni : but his father called him Benjamin. 
 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way 
 to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob 
 set a pillar upon her grave : that is the pillar 
 of Rachel's grave unto this day." And 
 among other things engraven upon it is this 
 — Let your desires be under the government 
 of reason and religion — Extort nothing from 
 God. As to spiritual blessings indeed we can- 
 not be too importunate ; but with regard to 
 temporal we cannot be too resigned. We 
 are allowed to ask for any comfort pertaining 
 to this life, but we must ask submissively and 
 conditionally. We must implore it only if it 
 be good for us; and we must leave the deter- 
 mination of this to him that knoweth all 
 things. This too is the surest way to succeed. 
 God sees that while we are in a high fever 
 of desire he cannot safely indulge us ; but he 
 is never unwilling to gratify us when he can 
 do it without injury — For he " hath pleasure 
 in the prosperity of his people." 
 
 MARCH 9. 
 
 " And God shall wipe away all tears from thnt 
 eyes." — Rev. xxi. 4. 
 
 Unless we knew something of the world 
 of glory, we could not desire it or prepare for 
 it Yet what we know is comparatively little : 
 and it is rather negative than positive. In our 
 present state, our liveliest feeling of good is 
 the absence of evil ; and of pleasure is 
 the cessation of pain. And therefore, con- 
 formably to an experience well understood by 
 every child of Adam, the happiness of heaven 
 is held forth to our hopes as an exemption 
 from every kind and degree of sorrow — and 
 "God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes." 
 
 Tears and sorrows do not always go to- 
 gether. Some people have a plenitude of 
 tears, whose emotions are by no means deep 
 and durable. Others can seldom weep; yet 
 they feel, and feel the more, because their 
 grief wants utterance. Persons in great an- 
 guish are commonly beyond weeping. This 
 is seen in criminals preceding their execu- 
 tion. 
 
 When it is said, " God shall wipe away all 
 tears from their eyes," it is taken for granted, 
 that the eyes of his people are no strangers to 
 them now. Grace does not exclude the sen- 
 sibilities of our nature, but increases as wel* 
 as refines them. We read of "them that 
 mourn in Zion." And it is said, "thev shal. 
 
ftt 
 
 MARCH 10. 
 
 come with weeping." Religion costs a Chris- 
 tian a thousand tears in addition to those 
 which he inherits as a man — for " man is born 
 to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards." 
 
 Of the tears they so frequently shed, we 
 may remark, in particular, five sources. 
 Those which arise from secular afflictions — 
 such as difficulties, perplexities, and failures in 
 business ; and changes, reductions, and priva- 
 tions in outward circumstances. Those which 
 arise from social trials — whether sympathy in 
 sorrow, defections in friendship, or bereave- 
 ments. Those which arise from bodily pains, 
 indispositions, and decays. Those which flow 
 from moral imperfections, and which are the 
 most distressing to a pious mind. And those 
 which spring from the sins of others ; for 
 rivers of tears run down their eyes, because 
 men keep not God's law. 
 
 But of whatever kind their tears may be, 
 the promise insures the removal of them. 
 The removal has three characters. It is 
 divine — " God shall wipe away all tears 
 from their eyes." He alone can do it. But 
 he is all-sufficient, and the God of all comfort. 
 Even here, " when he giveth quietness, then 
 who can make trouble t" It is complete — 
 " God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes" — Who can tell what will be the last 
 drop of the briny flood. But it will be shed. 
 And there shall be no more death, neither 
 sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any 
 more pain : for the former things are passed 
 away." 
 
 It is future — " God shall wipe away all tears 
 from their eyes." He wipes away many even 
 now : but the days of their mourning are not 
 yet ended. Whatever be their indulgences, 
 earth will always be distinguished from 
 heaven. They are now in the warfare ; the 
 triumph is to come. This is their seed-tirne, 
 and they sow in tears ; but they shall reap in 
 
 joy- 
 Let us learn our obligation to the Re- 
 deemer of sinners. Our tears would never 
 have been wiped away, but a miserable life 
 would have been followed by a more misera- 
 ble eternity, had not he interposed on our be- 
 nalf, and bore our sins in his own body on 
 the tree. " These are they that came out of 
 great tribulation, and have washed their 
 robes, and made them white in the blood 
 of the Lamb; therefore are they before the 
 Throne—" 
 
 Christians ! in the multitude of your 
 thoughts within you, let this comfort delight 
 your souls. Life is the date of all your griefs. 
 If the one be short, the other cannot be long. 
 Not a single tear beyond the grave ! Bear up 
 faith, hope, and patience a little longer, and 
 the " eye shall see evil no more." 
 
 What folly and madness to resign this 
 
 -ispect, and when the blessedness is within 
 
 reach to sacrifice it for a thing of naught ! 
 
 Vet are we. in the number of thosp whose 
 
 tears will be thus wiped away ? It is certain 
 that many are not heirs of this promise ; and 
 therefore whatever be their present distresses, 
 they only feel the beginning of sorrows. 
 Poor as their pleasures now are, they are the 
 best — they are all the happiness — they will 
 know. And the vanity and vexation of spirit 
 here will issue in outer darkness hereafter, 
 where there will be weeping and wailing and 
 gnashing of teeth — 
 
 " But as yet there is a hopei 
 You may his mercy know 
 Though his arm be lifted up. 
 He still forbears the blow' - 
 
 MARCH 10. 
 
 ■ When the people of the land shall come bejoi e 
 the Lord in the solemn feasts, he that entereth 
 in by the way of the north gate to worship shall 
 go out by the way of the south gate : and he 
 that entereth by the way of the south gate shall 
 go forth by the way of the north gate : he shall 
 not return by the way of the gate whereby he 
 came in, but shall go forth over against it." — 
 Ezekiel xlvi. 9. 
 
 To preserve the remembrance of his mighty 
 works ; to attach the people to the true re- 
 ligion by the frequent use of public and instruc- 
 tive services and ceremonies ; to allow them 
 seasons of rest and pleasure ; to promote their 
 acquaintance with their brethren ; and to pre- 
 figure good things to come under the dispen- 
 sation of the Gospel ; God appointed various 
 "solemn feasts" among the Jews. There 
 were more especially three; the feast of the 
 Passover or of unleavened bread, the feast of 
 Pentecost or of weeks, and the feast of Tab- 
 ernacles. Each of these was annual, and all 
 the males were required to attend upon them 
 in Jerusalem, where alone they could be cel- 
 ebrated. 
 
 In doing this, they " came before the Lord." 
 For his dwelling-place was in Zion. There 
 he sat between the cherubim, and communed 
 with the worshippers from off the mercy-seat. 
 Of his presence there, he gave not only real 
 but miraculous proof, in the cloud of glory, 
 and in the answers from the holy oracle. 
 Though his manifestations are less sensible, 
 he is as truly present in the Christian as in the 
 Jewish sanctuary. It is insured by his promise, 
 and confirmed by the holy and happy experi- 
 ence of all his people. Hence they feel this 
 to be the principal attraction when they as- 
 semble together in his name. They love the 
 habitation of his house, because it is the place 
 where his honour dwelleth. 
 
 But what means this law of the temple to 
 regulate the attendants in their ingress and 
 egress? "He that entereth in by the north 
 gate to worship shall go out by the way of the 
 south gate ; and he that entereth by the way 
 of the south gate shall go forth by the way of" 
 the north gate; he shall not return by the 
 
MARCH 11. 
 
 96 
 
 *ay of the gate whereby he came in, but shall 
 30 forth over against it" 
 
 First, it was to prevent confusion, and to 
 keep order in their comings and goings. God 
 's not the God of confusion, but of peace. He 
 has not deemed it beneath him to enjoin, 
 " Let every thing be done decently and in or- 
 der." He is the example of what he requires 
 — order pervades all his works. The heavenly 
 bodies are called " the army of heaven," to 
 signify not only power but discipline ; not 
 only multitude but arrangement — " He brings 
 out their host by number, he calleth them all 
 by names." When Peter went into the sepul- 
 chre, he saw " the linen clothes lie, and the 
 napkin that was about his head, not lying 
 with the linen clothes, but wrapped together 
 in a place by itself." This proved how un- 
 likely it was that the body could have been 
 stolen away in haste and fear, either by foes 
 or friends ; and shows the presence of mind 
 and calmness with which our Saviour loft the 
 tumb — but does it not also show that he did 
 nothing negligently and disorderly! All 
 greatness, in proportion to its degree, de- 
 mands order. Surely not only holiness but 
 decorum becomes God's house for ever. How 
 far this is often displayed in our assemblies, 
 especially in entering and departing, we leave 
 observers to judge. 
 
 Secondly, to express respect and reverence. 
 It is deemed only polite and becoming for per- 
 sons in leaving a room not to turn their back 
 on the company. Courtiers always leave the 
 presence of the king with their faces towards 
 him — The very thing God here requires for 
 himself. He " will be sanctified in all that 
 come nigh him." " God is greatly to be feared 
 in the assembly of the saints, and to be had 
 in reverence of all them that are about him." 
 The prohibition here by an outward and visi- 
 ble sign, shows the inward and spiritual obei- 
 sance and homage his infinite majesty de- 
 mands and deserves. He complains of the 
 want of it : " They have turned unto me the 
 nack, and not the face : though I taught them, 
 nsing up early and teaching them, yet they 
 nave not hearkened to receive instruction." 
 Therefore, says he, to express their punish- 
 ment under the same image with their sin : 
 " I will scatter them as with an east wind be- 
 fore the enemy ; I will show them the back, 
 and not the face, in the day of their calamity." 
 
 Thirdly — That you are not to turn back in 
 serving God, but to go forward. " If any man 
 draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in 
 nim." " But," says the Apostle, " we are not 
 of them that draw back unto perdition, but 
 of them that believe to the saving of the soul" 
 —that is, who " continue in the faith," " to 
 life everlasting." We are not even to look 
 back ; but to say, with Paul, " Forgetting the 
 things that are behind, and reaching forth to 
 those that are before, I press toward the mark 
 
 for the prize of my high calling of God in 
 Christ Jesus." 
 
 Fourthly — That we never go out of God's 
 house as we go in. This was true of the 
 Jews locally, it is morally true of us. As the 
 departure of these worshippers was remote 
 from the place of their entrance, so we with- 
 draw from his ordinances further from heaven 
 or hell than we entered in ; less meet for the 
 former, or more prepared for the latter. Min- 
 isters are a sweet savour of Christ, both in 
 them that are saved, and in them that perish. 
 To the one they are the savour of lite unto 
 life ; but to the other they are the savour of 
 death unto death. 
 
 Who believes this? who trembles at the 
 thought 1 Who earnestly, constantly prays, 
 that our coming together, "may be for the 
 better and not for the worse ]" 
 
 MARCH 11. 
 
 " The rich and the poor meet together. 
 Prov. xxii. 2. 
 
 When we think of the universe, we are 
 immediately struck not only with the number 
 of creatures in it, but the variety. If we enter 
 heaven, instead of sameness we find "thrones 
 and dominions, principalities and powers," an- 
 gels and archangels. " There are also celes- 
 tial bodies and bodies terrestrial : but the 
 glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of 
 the terrestrial is another. There is one glory 
 of the sun, and another glory of the moon, 
 and another glory of the stars : for one star 
 differeth from another star in glory." " All 
 flesh is not the same flesh : but there is one 
 kind of flesh of men, another of beasts, an- 
 other of fishes, and another of birds." What 
 an amazing diversity is there in the human 
 species ! No two persons are so perfectly 
 alike in voice, form, and feature, as to be un- 
 distinguishable by close and accurate com- 
 parison. And yet all these constitute one and 
 the same kind of beings ; and the accordances 
 among them are far superior in number and 
 importance to their inequalities. Solomon re- 
 marks this, and says, " The rich and the poor 
 meet together." 
 
 He mentions, " the rich and the poor," not 
 exclusively, for there are many other human 
 distinctions; but specifically. He specifies 
 these for two reasons. First, because "the 
 rich and the poor" are the most common and 
 general division of mankind. They are every- 
 where to be found ; and comprehend many 
 more than any other discrimination. Sec- 
 ondly, because they are also the most influ- 
 ential division. What is there the multitude 
 dread so much as penury, or desire so much 
 as affluence? How many are there who 
 would rather be wicked than poor, or rich 
 than pious ! How much cleverer, and hand 
 
WJ 
 
 MARCH 12. 
 
 BOiner, ana even younger is a woman with a 
 fortune than without one ! How much more 
 : is a man listened to, whatever folly drivels 
 from his lips, if he has a large income ! How 
 do the revolted tribes of Israel worship the 
 golden calves ! But " the rich and the poor 
 meet together ;" and if it be asked how 1 and 
 where 1 we answer, 
 
 In their original. Hence Solomon adds, 
 " the Lord is the maker of them all." We 
 ire the clay, and he is the potter, and we are 
 all the work of his hands. When Job speaks 
 of his man servant, he therefore asks, " Did 
 not he that made me in the womb make him 1 
 and did not one fashion us in the womb]" 
 We have not only "one father," as God is 
 the sole creator, but as Adam is the only 
 founder of our race. Some have talked of 
 Preadamites ; but the Apostle speaks of " the 
 first man Adam :" and says, " God has made 
 of one blood all the nations of men." This is 
 not a mere truth but a useful one. It renders 
 us all intimately related to each other. It is 
 the cure of envy, pride, unkindness. Wherever 
 T see a human being, I see a brother. 
 
 In their dependence upon God. In him all 
 live, and move, and have their being. This 
 is as true of the rich as of the poor. Yea, the 
 more we possess, the more dependent are we. 
 
 In their mutual need of each other. If the 
 poor need the wages of the rich, the rich 
 need the service of the poor. The king is 
 served by the labour of the field. " And the 
 eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need 
 of thee : nor again the head to the feet, I 
 have no need of you. Nay, much more those 
 members of the body, which seem to be more 
 feeble, are necessary." 
 
 Ir; their fallen condition. They have turned 
 every one to his own way ; but all have gone 
 astray. All have sinned. There is none right- 
 eous ; no, not one. All therefore are guilty be- 
 fore God : all are unfit for his kingdom with- 
 out being made new creatures ; and all are 
 equally incapable of recovering themselves 
 from their lapsed estate. 
 
 In the work of their salvation. There is 
 only one name given under heaven among 
 men whereby they must be saved. All are 
 washed in the same fountain. All are healed 
 by the same remedy. All are justified by the 
 same blood. All are renewed by the same 
 Spirit. 
 
 In the means and ordinances of divine 
 grace. The rich and the poor meet together 
 in reading the same Bible ; in kneeling before 
 the same Throne of Grace ; in hearing the 
 same servants of the most high God ; in sur- 
 rounding the same table of the Lord, and par- 
 taking of the same emblems of the body and 
 blood of Christ. In the holy communion, the 
 rich receive no better broad and wine than 
 the poor ; and as there is no preference in the 
 ■ign, so there is none in the thing signified — 
 '* ft is the common salvation." 
 
 In liableness to the same calamities of life 
 Family bereavements, bodily pains, eclipses 
 of reason — how numerous the ills that flesh 
 is heir to ! — befall the high as well as the low. 
 Yea, if there be any difference, there is on 
 the side of the former, more exposure to as- 
 sault and more acuteness in enduring. 
 
 In the sentence of mortality. In this war 
 there is no discharge. Death is the way of 
 all the earth. The grave is the house ap- 
 pointed for all living. "There the wicked 
 cease from troubling ; and there the weary 
 be at rest. There the prisoners rest together ; 
 they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The 
 small and great are there ; and the servant is 
 free from his master." "All go unto one 
 place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to 
 dust again." 
 
 In the proceedings of the last day. None 
 are so little as to be overlooked ; none are so 
 great as to be excused. I saw, says John, the 
 dead, small and great, stand before God. We 
 must all, says the Apostle, appear before the 
 judgment-seat of Christ. Thus the rich and 
 the poor meet together. What inference 
 should we draw from this fact] Read tho 
 next article. 
 
 MARCH 12. 
 
 " The rich and poor meet togethir. 
 Proverbs xxii. 2. 
 
 What is the inference to be drawn from 
 this fact ] The subject is capable of abuse, 
 and fertile of improvement. 
 
 It would be foolish to conclude from it that 
 all conditions are alike in themselves, or with 
 regard to us. As if a man was no more fa- 
 voured who resided in a comfortable dwelling, 
 than one who had not where to lay his head. 
 Our Saviour himself said, " it is more blessed 
 to give than to receive;" and surely this 
 shows at least one advantage the possessor 
 has over the destitute. We teach our children 
 
 to say, 
 
 " Not more than others I deserve, 
 Yet God hath given me more'' — 
 
 And are we not to be thankful for the exemp- 
 tions and indulgences by which we are dis- 
 tinguished] On the other hand, if we are de- 
 prived of certain outward comforts, we are re- 
 quired to submit to the will of God ; but the 
 submission does not imply indifference of 
 mind : yea, the submission would not be a 
 virtue, unless we were allowed to value what 
 we are called to resign. The religion of the 
 Bible is never enthusiastical ; it never de- 
 mands the sacrifice, but the sanctification of 
 humanity and common sense. 
 
 But there is the inference of faction as 
 well as of fanaticism — " The rich and poor 
 meet together" — " Therefore give up the 
 ranks of life, and let us have an equality." 
 A certain equality if you please ; that is, an 
 equality of right to unequal things. Let thp 
 
MARCH 13. 
 
 U7 
 
 »ttage have as full a right to prott ction as 
 the mansion ; and the peasant's cart be as sa- 
 cred as the nobleman's carriage. This is rea- 
 sonable and righteous ; and this privilege we 
 enjoy under the laws of our wise, just, and 
 happy constitution. But it is far different 
 with an equality of condition and possession. 
 Indeed t'\e advocates for this doctrine do not 
 plead for it in all cases. You never find them 
 zealous to level up, but only to level down. 
 They would reduce those above them, but 
 leave unraised those that are below them — 
 Their servants must remain servants still. 
 The absurdity of this principle is so great and 
 obvious, that it seems unworthy of being rea- 
 soned with : otherwise we might observe — 
 That such an equality is impossible : if men 
 were made equal to-day, they would be un- 
 equal to-morrow, owing to the difference in 
 their understandings, their diligence, and 
 their self-denial — That it is clearly the will 
 of God that distinctions of rank and circum- 
 stances should prevail : hence in his word he 
 has described the duties of superiors and of 
 inferiors ; and commanded us to render to all 
 iheir due — And that it is better there should 
 be such distinctions, as thev call upon men 
 for many virtues, the exercise of which would 
 be impossible in a state of equality. 
 
 Yet it is desirable that these distinctions 
 should not be excessive, or carried to their 
 extremes. The welfare of the community 
 eonsists much in the various gradations be- 
 tween the very rich and the very poor. And 
 surely it is not favouring the levelling scheme, 
 to oppose a state of things in which some 
 have every thing and others nothing. Let 
 there be poor as well as rich, but let them 
 not only exist but live ; let there be poor, but 
 let them have employment and food and 
 clothing. Where this is not the case, a country 
 has retrograded, something wrong has en- 
 tered, and till it be rectified there can be no 
 solid and lasting peace or safety. 
 
 The truth should also lower the impression 
 of these distinctions upon our minds. This 
 should be felt, First, in judging others. Let 
 us not only or principally regard them by 
 outward and adventitious claims, but by their 
 moral and religious worth. Character is in- 
 dependent of circumstances. In our eyes let 
 a vile person be contemned, however rich; 
 and let us honour them that fear the Lord, 
 however poor. Yet, says Solomon, the poor 
 is despised of his neighbour, but the rich hath 
 many friends. Secondly, in judging ourselves. 
 Let us not suppose that we are nothing if we 
 are poor. A proper self-respect is as far from 
 pride as it is from meanness, and is even a 
 source of duty. If we are poor, let us re- 
 member we are not overlooked ; that we are 
 not excluded from any thing essential to our 
 happiness; that we are not prevented even 
 from acquiring greatness and dignity. We 
 can be great in the sight of the Lord. We 
 7 
 
 can gam the unsearchable riches of Chrlfet 
 We can be greater conquerors than Alexan- 
 der. We can appear in a glory that will eclipse 
 the splendour of Jie universe. The poor 
 have the gospel {reached unto them. — Let 
 us not imagine we are every thing if we are 
 rich. There are many fooiish as well as 
 hurtful lusts which attend wealth. Let us 
 beware of them, and not think more highly 
 of ourselves than we ought to think. A 
 man's life consisteth not in the abundance of 
 the things which he possesses. We may be 
 rich, and yet weak and mean and wicked and 
 miserable. Let us not be proud of our con- 
 dition. Who made us to differ from others 1 
 He who can easily bring us down : he whe 
 will soon call us to give account of our stew- 
 ardship. Shall we disdain others? He that 
 despiseth the poor reproacheth his Maker; 
 but he that hath pity on the poor happy is he. 
 Our wealth is not designed for hoarding or 
 extravagance ; but that we may give to him 
 that needeth in all good things. If the clouds 
 be full, they empty themselves upon the earth. 
 
 MARCH 13. 
 
 " J withheld thee from sinning against me" 
 Genesis xx. 6. 
 
 So said God to Abimelech, the king of 
 Gerar, when he sent to take Sarah, Abraham's 
 wife. But it will truly apply to every indi- 
 vidual of the human race, though not in the 
 same circumstances. 
 
 All sin is against God — There is a propen- 
 sity in man to the commission of it — and 
 God's agency is necessary to restrain us from 
 it Some of our fellow-creatures have gone 
 great lengths in iniquity; and have acted 
 more like incarnate demons than human be- 
 ings. These show us what our depraved 
 nature is capable of, when placed in con- 
 ditions favourable to temptation, and affording 
 both opportunity and power. And yet even 
 these have some restraints. The worst char- 
 acters that ever lived never committed a 
 thousandth part of the wickedness they would 
 have committed had they not been checked 
 and hindered. If God did not interpose there 
 would be no living in a state of society. And 
 the interposition of God is to be seen even in 
 the laws and provisions of civil government 
 A magistrate is a terror to evil-doers. The • 
 gallows, the prison, the pillory, the stocks, 
 are not only instruments of justice, but means 
 of grace; and while we lament the necessity, 
 we are thankful for the use of them. 
 
 Various are the ways in which God with- 
 holds us from sin. He has numberless prov ; 
 dential precautions. Sickness has interrupter 
 a course of iniquity which health would have 
 continued. Worldly losses have led to the 
 abandonment of schemes which vanity and 
 pride had been devising. What Christian 
 has not in some instances gone astray, and 
 
98 
 
 MARCH 14. 
 
 whose experience has not enabled him to ex- 
 plain the threatening or rather the promise : 
 " Behold, I will hedge up thy way with 
 thorns, and make a wall that she shall not 
 find her paths. And she shall follow after 
 her lovers, but she shall not overtake them ; 
 and she shall seek them, but shall not find 
 them : then shall she say, I will go and re- 
 turn to my first husband ; for then was it bet- 
 ter with me than now ?" A thorn in the flesh, 
 the messenger of Satan to buffet him, saved 
 Paul from being exalted above measure 
 through the abundance of his revelations. 
 David had been insulted by Nabal, who was 
 such a son of Belial that no one could speak 
 with him. He deeply felt the provocation, 
 and was upon the road resolved to avenge 
 himself. But Nabal had a wife who was as 
 kind and prudent as she was beautiful ; and 
 upon the report of the approaching danger 
 she hastened to meet David with a present, 
 and a soft answer, which turneth away wrath. 
 And what was the happy result ? " And Da- 
 vid said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God 
 of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet 
 me : and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be 
 thou, which hast kept me this day from com- 
 ing to shed blood, and from avenging myself 
 with mine own hand." How much evil has 
 often been prevented by a wise and season- 
 able reproof! Faithful are the wounds of a 
 friend. How many have had reason to bless 
 God for a pious education! How much do 
 they owe, in their preservation from sinful 
 courses or actions, to the impressions of early 
 sentiment, the influence of a father's exam- 
 ple, the recollection of a mother's tears, and 
 the Scriptures which had been lodged in 
 the memory ! There are restraints from do- 
 mestic discipline and devotion. Can a man 
 who .says, with Joshua, "As. for me, and 
 my house, we will serve the Lord," and 
 who performs family worship every morn- 
 ing and evening, act like others 1 Does a 
 man make a profession of religion ? He is 
 bound to avoid things which others may 
 think themselves at liberty to indulge in. 
 Is he a minister or an office-bearer in the 
 Church? What a safeguard becomes the 
 reputation, the consistency that he must main- 
 tain ! Some persons are averse to things 
 which gender an increase of moral obligation ; 
 but we ought to value a state or a station in 
 proportion as it tends to rescue us from sin. 
 How often have men been checked on the 
 brink of evil by a passage in some book, or 
 by the address of the preacher in a sermon ! 
 How does God withhold men from sinning by 
 the power of conscience ! The advantage of 
 this principle, which it is so difficult to sub- 
 due or to silence, is unspeakable. It operates 
 in a thousand instances where human legis- 
 lation has no effect Tyrants who have found 
 themselves above law, and secret transgress- 
 ors who have trusted in their concealment, 
 
 have yet trembled before this monitor of God 
 within. But the chief and the best way in 
 which God restrains us from sin is by the 
 operation of his grace. If a man has a thiev- 
 ish inclination, it is well to put him out of the 
 way of temptation ; but this does not make 
 him honest in design, though it keeps him 
 innocent in conduct. The great thing is to 
 have the disposition to sin mortified ; and this 
 is the experience of those who are renewed 
 in the spirit of their minds. They are made 
 to abhor that which is evil, and to cleave to 
 that which js good. Some who avoid sin 
 would be glad to indulge in it if their safety 
 or advantage would allow of it. But how 
 shall we who are dead to sin live any longer 
 therein ? " Whosoever is born of God doth 
 not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in 
 him : and he cannot sin, because he is born 
 of God." 
 
 We know not how much we owe to God 
 for his preventing and restraining grace ; not 
 can we know while we are in this world. 
 But we surely know enough for two pur- 
 poses: to make us candid, and to make m 
 thankful. Who can tell how far we shoul : 
 have resembled those we now condemn hac 
 we been placed in the same circumstances 
 and been exposed to the same excitements 
 or had God left us to ourselves ? " There goes 
 John Bradford but for the grace of God." 
 " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to 
 thy name give glory for thy mercy and for 
 thy truth's sake." 
 
 MARCH 14. 
 
 " I am glad for your sakes that J was not there, 
 to the intent ye may believe.'" — John xi. 15. 
 Here we see, not only that our Saviour is 
 alive to the welfare of his disciples, but that 
 there is nothing he is so much concerned to 
 promote in them as their faith. Some under- 
 value faith ; yea, they seem to be afraid of it, 
 as if it were injurious to holiness and good 
 works ! But we here see our Lord's estima- 
 tion of it. He knows that it is the source 
 from which flow all the streams of consola- 
 tion and obedience ; the tree which bears all 
 the fruits of righteousness. Every thing in 
 religion flourishes only as this prospers. We 
 are also reminded — that we are slow of heart 
 to believe — and that faith is no easy thing. 
 They who think otherwise evince that the) 
 have never yet seriously made the trial 
 There is not a Christian upon earth, but ir, 
 the attempt has often cried out with tears, 
 " Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief." 
 Even the Apostles, who had been so long 
 with him and had seen his glory, said untc 
 the Lord, Increase our faith. These disciples 
 had already believed, or they would not have 
 left all to follow him : but it seems they did 
 not believe sufficiently. Faith therefore ad- 
 mits of degrees. Accordingly we read of 
 
MARCH 15. 
 
 99 
 
 little faith," and of "great faith ;" of those 
 Jiat are " weak in the faith," and of those 
 that are " strong in the faith." We should 
 be anxious that our faith, like that of the 
 Thessalonians, should grow exceedingly, be- 
 coming more and more clear in its views, and 
 firm in its reliance, and bold in its professions, 
 and active in its agency, and heroical in its 
 sacrifices — unto the perfect day. 
 
 The Saviour can accomplish his purposes 
 in a manner peculiarly his own. " I am glad 
 for your sakes I was not there," to the intent 
 ye may believe. They would have said, he 
 ought to have been there and succoured so 
 dear an object All the friends of Lazarus 
 would have supposed that as soon as ever he 
 was informed of his affliction he should have 
 hastened to the scene of distress, and at least 
 have expressed his sympathy. How eagerly 
 did the sisters long for him ! How did their 
 hearts bleed over his delay! How often, 
 wringing their hands, did they look out of the 
 window ; and send a servant to look down the 
 Galilean way — " Where is he 1 If he 
 comes not soon, it will be too late" — And now 
 he has breathed his last — and the house is 
 filled with wonder, perplexity, and grief 
 Even when he arrives they can hardly for- 
 bear reflection — " Lord," said Martha, " if 
 thou hadst been here, my brother had not 
 died" — Mary also complained in the same 
 way. But hear him. " All has been proper and 
 necessary. I know what I have done, and why 
 I have done it. J know it now, and you wiil 
 know it soon. Then you will be glad with me. 
 Then you will see that it was far better that 
 Lazarus should be raised from the dead after 
 he had lain in the grave four days, than have 
 been only recovered from a bed of sickness." 
 
 Thus he brings the blind by a way that 
 they know not. His thoughts are as much 
 above our thoughts as the heavens are higher 
 than the earth. Joseph's case at first seems 
 very hard; and many would have expected 
 that the Lord's love to him would have kept 
 him from being thrown into the pit and sold 
 into Egypt But I am glad it did not for 
 his own sake, and the sake of his father's 
 house, and the surrounding countries, and the 
 Church of God in all ages. What would 
 have been lost by the prevention of his calam- 
 ity 1 The God they served continually was 
 able to save the three Hebrews from the fiery 
 furnace. But I am glad he did not — and they 
 are glad now — and were glad after their 
 escape; — and were glad even while they were 
 walking loose in the midst of the fir%with 
 the Son of God. The same may be said of 
 . Job. We have seen the Lord, to use his own 
 language, taking him by the neck and shak- 
 ing him to pieces : but we have also seen the 
 end of the Lord, how that the Lord is very 
 pitiful and of tender mercies. And with 
 regard to ourselves — Is it not well for us that 
 things were not always according to our 
 
 mind 1 Has he not often advanced our wet 
 fare by events which seemed perfectly ad- 
 verse to it? We were tempted to charge 
 him foolishly and unkindly ; yet after a while 
 we perceived how in the dispensation his wis- 
 dom and kindness were peculiarly at work 
 for our good. And what we know not now 
 we shall know hereafter. Let us therefore, 
 when our notions and his schemes disagree, 
 distrust our own judgment and confide in the 
 rectitude of his conduct Let us not think 
 of regulating his sun by our dial, but our dial 
 by his sun. Let us not judge of his word by his 
 providence, but of his providence by his word. 
 Let us not judge of his heart by his hand, but 
 of his hand by his heart Where can we find 
 his heart to judge by 1 In the promises — in the 
 cross — he loved us and gave himself for us. 
 Before we undertake to amend, let us be 
 assured that there is something wrong ; and 
 before we censure, let us at least understand. 
 Who knows what is good for a man in this 
 life 1 How liable we are to err, from pride, from 
 worldly-mindedness, from impatience, from 
 unbelief! Let us judge nothing before the 
 time. He will give a good account of him- 
 self at last ; and bring us over to his own 
 mind. But till we walk by sight, let us walk 
 by faith, and believe now, what we shall 
 know then — that " his work is perfect his 
 ways are judgment." "He hath done all 
 things well." 
 
 MARCH 15. ' 
 
 u / hare set the Lord always before me." 
 Psalm xvi. 8. 
 
 David could only set the Lord before him 
 mentally, or as an object of contemplation ; 
 for "no man hath seen God at any time." 
 And when he says he had always done this, 
 the meaning is, not that he was always actu- 
 ally thinking of him. This would have been 
 impossible. Our powers are limited. We 
 have bodies, we have connexions, we have 
 callings; and these demand, a share and a 
 large share of our attention. And we are not 
 to be slothful in business. And we are not to 
 abandon society, and retire into cells to be 
 always praying in sight of a skull and a cru- 
 cifix — This is not to fight the good fight of 
 faith, but to flee from the field : this is not 
 serving our own generation, but deserting it • 
 this is not letting our light shine before men, 
 but putting it under a bushel. Yet it implies 
 the prevalence of a fixed belief of the being 
 and nearness of God — a frequent excitement 
 of ourselves to take hold of God — and the 
 regular use of the means which jring God to 
 remembrance, such as prayer, reading the 
 Scripture, hearing the word, and meditation. 
 By these, under the Divine influence, a state 
 of mind is produced, in which the spirit of 
 devotion actuates us even in the absence of 
 its forms, and we habitually and easily recur 
 
100 
 
 MARCH 16. 
 
 to God in our thoughts wherever we are, and 
 however we are engaged — Thus we can set 
 the Lord always before us. And there are 
 four ways in which you should do this. 
 
 First, Set the Lord always before you as 
 your protector. This is the peculiar though 
 not the only reference of David, and there- 
 fore he adds, " He is at my right hand, I shall 
 not be moved." The word virtue, which at 
 first signified bravery, valour, is now used for 
 all moral excellence : and the reason is, be- 
 cause it is necessary to it. You have no hold 
 of a man who is destitute of it, either in 
 avoiding evil or doing good. Bunyan there- 
 fore, with as much truth as genius, places all 
 his pilgrims for the shining city under the 
 conduct of Greatheart Courage is not only 
 necessary for' a martyr: every Christian is 
 called to suffer and do the will of God in a 
 thousand cases where cowardice would fail. 
 Perhaps there is not a simpler maxim, or one 
 more readily and universally admitted than 
 this, " we ought to obey God rather than 
 men ;" and yet who could fully act upon it 
 for a day together in a world like this" without 
 moral heroism? Our religious course is a 
 constant warfare ; and when we think of our 
 ovrn weakness, and the number and qualities 
 of our enemies, we should tremble: but 
 trembling unfits for action: a soldier must 
 have courage. How is firmness and confi- 
 dence to be obtained ? Set the Lord in his 
 presence and perfections and covenant-en- 
 gagements always before you : and hear him 
 saying, Fear not, for I am with thee — and 
 out of weakness you will he made strong — 
 and like Moses, you will endure as seeing 
 him who is invisible. 
 
 Secondly, Set the Lord always before you 
 as your leader. Your way is not only dan- 
 gerous but perplexing : and you are not only 
 weak but ignorant — How much you need a 
 guide! How earnestly did David pray for di- 
 vine direction : " Lead me in thy Truth and 
 guide me." How did he rejoice in the pros- 
 pect of it : " This God is our God, for ever 
 and ever : he will be our guide even unto 
 death." The Jews left to themselves could 
 not have found their way in a large pathless 
 desert ; but " the Lord went before them by 
 day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the 
 way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give 
 them light; to go by day or night." Thus 
 his goodness met their necessity, and relieved 
 them from all anxiety. This guide determined 
 the direction, and the continuance of all their 
 journeyings ; nor ever disappeared till by a 
 strange and varying but always a right way, 
 it brought them to a city of habitation. 
 Events are not this pillar to u?, but the writ- 
 ten word. This is " the lamp unto our feet, 
 and the light unto our paths •" to which we 
 do well to take heed. How much depends 
 upon a wrong step ! How liable are we to 
 
 err ! How often have we gone astray ! How 
 much have we suffered from our perversenest 
 or rashness ! How much more should we 
 have suffered had he dealt with us according 
 to our desert in not asking counsel of him! 
 Let us not lean to our own understanding. 
 Here is the commandment with promise ; " In 
 all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall 
 direct thy paths." 
 
 Thirdly, Set the Lord always before you as 
 your example. The advantages of example 
 are great ; and God himself comes down and 
 condescends to go before us, calling upon us 
 to be holy as he is holy ; to forgive as he for- 
 gives ; to be merciful as he is merciful. We 
 were made in his likeness, and our renovation 
 in Christ is our being renewed after his own 
 image. Our happiness results from the per- 
 fection of our nature ; and the perfection of 
 our nature consists in its resemblance to the 
 divine — " Therefore be ye followers of God 
 as dear children." 
 
 Fourthly, Set the Lord always before you 
 as your observer. Nothing escapes his notice. 
 Ail he sees he records ; and all he records he 
 will bring into judgment. Do we believe 
 this? It is true, whether we own it or deny 
 it, that he is about our path and our bed, and 
 understands our thought afar off- — But do we 
 believe it? Surely faith in such a truth must 
 have some influence. And how useful muft 
 that influence be ! A heathen philosopher ad- 
 monished his disciples to imagine that the eye 
 of some illustrious personage was always up- 
 on them. What was the eye of Plato, or 
 Cato, to the eye of God ? If while you were 
 careless in company, some prominent indivi- 
 dual should enter, whose approbation it would 
 be important for you to acquire, how would 
 his presence regulate your behaviour, and 
 correct your speech ! What a stimulus would 
 it be to zeal ; what a check to sin ; what a 
 motive to sincerity ; what a relief under re- 
 proach ; what a solace in affliction ; what a 
 duty; what a privilege — to realize Hagar's 
 conviction, " Thou God seest me !" 
 
 MARCH 16. 
 
 " Behold, Hay in Sion a chief corner-stone, elect, 
 ■precious : and he that believe th on him shall not 
 be confounded."— \ Pet. ii. 6. 
 
 " Behold," is a note of attention and won- 
 der. It shows that the subject introduced is 
 worthy of our regard. The subject here is a 
 representation of the importance of the Sa- 
 viour, and the advantage his people derive 
 from him. He is laid in Sion for a foundation — 
 
 " A chief corner-stone." Such a stone is 
 designed to sustain, and on him depends, the 
 salvation of the whole Church. It also unites 
 as well as supports. And in him are united 
 deity and humanity, the Old and New Tesfa- 
 
MARCH 16. 
 
 101 
 
 sent, Jew and Gentile ; we are all one in 
 Christ Jesus — 
 
 " Elect" — Chosen for the place and the 
 purpose. Nothing is casual in the common 
 affairs of life, much less in the restoration of 
 sinners. All here, especially as to the accom- 
 plisher, is transacted according to the deter- 
 minate counsel and foreknowledge of God. 
 God knew what the immensity of the under- 
 taking required, and found it only in the Son 
 of his love — " All things are of God, who hath 
 reconciled us unto himself by Jesus Christ" — 
 
 " Precious" — Deserving of the destination 
 and the honour. Here is the difference be- 
 tween him and us. He chooses us, not be- 
 cause we are precious, but to make us pre- 
 cious ; not because we are holy, but that we 
 may be holy : and if ever we enter heaven, 
 it will be upon terms of mercy. But his ap- 
 pointment resulted from his fitness. He en- 
 tered heaven upon terms of merit, pure and 
 ibsolute merit: and therefore the angels pro- 
 claim with a loud voice, " Worthy is the Lamb 
 that was slam to receive power, and riches, 
 and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and 
 glory, and blessing." But if the word " pre- 
 cious" is significant of excellency, it also im- 
 ports endearment. Hence it is said, " Behold 
 my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in 
 whom my soul delighteth." " The Father 
 loveth the Son, and hath given all things into 
 his hands." And as he is dear to God, so he 
 is dear to all his people. " To them that be- 
 lieve he is precious." They have their im- 
 perfections and mourn over them. But if he 
 asked them individually, " Lovest thou me 7" 
 They could all answer — 
 
 " Yes, thou art precious to my soul, 
 My transport and my trust; 
 Jewels, to thee, are gaudy toys, 
 And gold is sordid dust. 
 
 " AH my capacious powers can boast, 
 In thee most richly meet ; 
 Nor to mine eyes is light so dear. 
 Or frieudsbip half so sweet." 
 
 Such is the foundation. Observe the build- 
 » : " He that buildeth on him." We might 
 have supposed that the metaphor would have 
 been coutinued, and that Peter would have 
 said, he that buildeth on him. But he con- 
 veys the same meaning without the fiVure. 
 For as stones, as long as they continue in the 
 quarry or remain loose upon the ground, are 
 not actually parts of the edifice, neither in- 
 deed can be till they are placed on the founda- 
 tion ; so faith and faith alone connects us with 
 Christ, and enables us to derive benefit from 
 him. " For God so loved the world, that he 
 gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
 believeth in him should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life." 
 
 Observe the blessedness he claims : he that 
 oelieveth on him " shall not be confounded." 
 He shall not be like the foolish man, " who 
 ouilt his house upon the sand ; and the rain 
 
 descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
 blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell." 
 An emblem of those who hear the Saviour's 
 sayings, and do them not ; that is, of Antino- 
 mians : and an emblem of those who rely 
 upon their own worthiness and works ; that is, 
 of self-righteous Pharisees. How confou.ided 
 will these be, when their hopes fail them, and 
 they are rejected at the very door of heaven — 
 But when they " begin to stand without, and 
 to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open 
 unto us ;" he shall answer, " I say I know you 
 not whence ye are." It is the emblem also 
 of those who seek happiness in the world. 
 They are sure of disappointment, if not in ob- 
 taining their desires, which is frequently the 
 case, yet in possessing them, and in the loss 
 of them. Not so the believer. He is sure of 
 gaining what he seeks after ; the prize when 
 enjoyed will exceed all his hope ; and the 
 good part which he has chosen shall never be 
 taken away from him. 
 
 In the original passage from which the 
 words before us are a quotation, Isaiah says, 
 "He that believeth on him shall not make 
 haste" — That is, he shall not be like a person 
 overtaken and surprised by calamity, and in 
 perplexed and tormenting eagerness to escape 
 Thus it was with the world of the ungodly at 
 the deluge. They despised the warnings ol 
 Noah while he was preparing the means of 
 safety ; but when the torrents began to fall, 
 and the waters to overflow, in what hurry and 
 confusion did they run to knock at the ark ' 
 How did they rush to the hills and mountains 
 for safety ! flow climb the trees, and cling to 
 them in despair, till they could retain their 
 weakened hold no longer, and dropped into 
 the abyss ! Into what haste and confusion are 
 the men of the world thrown when those 
 losses befall them which threaten their only 
 portion. But the believer though he feels 
 affliction does not iaint under it, and his mind 
 is kept in perfect peace being stayed upon 
 God. Into what haste and confusion are the 
 wicked thrown when they apprehend that the 
 messenger of death has laid hold upon them — 
 But Simeon says, m Lord, now lettest thou 
 thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes 
 have seen thy salvation." Into what confu- 
 sion and horror will the tribes of the earth be 
 thrown when the Judge of all shall appear in 
 the clouds of heaven. But the Christian 
 shall have " confidence, and not be ashamed 
 before him at his coming." Filled with self- 
 condemnation and self-reproach at the conse- 
 quences of tneir vile and infatuated conduct, 
 in having sacrificed their eternal all for what 
 was worse than nothing, " many will rise to 
 everlasting shame and contempt" — But Israel 
 shall be saved in the I/>rd with an everlasting 
 salvation ; they shall not be ashamed or con- 
 founded world without end." O "visit m* 
 with" this " salvation !" 
 
102 
 
 MARCH 17. 
 
 MARCH 17. 
 
 Enoch walked with God : and he was not ; fin- 
 God took him." — Genesis v. 24. 
 
 Took him from time to eternity, from earth 
 to heaven, from the world of the ungodly to 
 the innumerable company of angels, from a 
 vale of tears to fullness of joy : took him im- 
 mediately to himself without dissolution — 
 " By faith Enoch was translated that he should 
 not see death; and was not found, because 
 God had translated him : for before his trans- 
 lation he had this testimony, that he pleased 
 God." 
 
 But what was this privileged being who was 
 saved from the way of all the earth and the 
 house appointed for all living ? who, excused 
 suffering "the pains, the groans, the dying 
 strife," was changed in a moment, in the 
 twinkling of an eye! who, instead of being 
 unclothed, was clothed upon, that mortality 
 might be swallowed up of life 3 When an 
 event so surprisingly and entirely singular 
 takes place, it is natural and useful to inquire 
 after the cause. And the Holy Ghost meets 
 our wishes, and places before us the quality 
 of a life that terminates so differently from 
 that of all other men — Enoch walked with 
 God. 
 
 And here we see that the best characters 
 are the most easily recorded, and often furnish 
 the fewest materials for history. There are 
 not many particulars in the life of any individ 
 ual very worthy of publicity and perpetuation ; 
 and generally if it be faithful, the larger the 
 account of the actor, the greater the display 
 of weakness or sin or suffering. Hence the 
 folly of the volurninousness of modern biogra- 
 phy. Hence the wisdom of the sacred wri- 
 ters in not dragging us after them through a 
 thousand minute and uninteresting occur- 
 rences, but fixing the mind upon a few and 
 important articles. The history of an Alex- 
 ander, a Ca3sar, a Napoleon, would fill many 
 a page, and curse many a volume; while the 
 simple, noble life of a man honoured above 
 all humanity, is comprised in one sentence — 
 
 Enoch WALKED WITH GOD. 
 
 And do we not here see wherein lies the 
 true dignity of man, and what it is that su 
 premely attracts the divine approbation 1 It is 
 not worldly grandeur, riches, or power — 
 — Enoch is not famed for these. It is not 
 even gifts — Enoch was indeed a prophet, and 
 announced the Lord's coming to judgment 
 But his greatness in the sight of God arose 
 not from his inspiration, but from his moral 
 excellency, holiness, and grace. The low es- 
 timation in which God holds great talents and 
 endowments may be inferred from his im- 
 parting them so sparingly. Were they so 
 uecessary as some imagine in the affairs of 
 the world and the Church, he could easily 
 fiirnish them — and he would do it; for in his 
 
 economies — things are common in proportion 
 as they are indispensable. It also appears 
 from the character of those on whom they are 
 frequently conferred. They are not dear to 
 God, nor can he take pleasure in them though 
 he employs them. What was Balaam with 
 his sublime predictions'! or Judas with his 
 miracles and signs 7 "Though," says Paul, 
 " I speak with the tongues of men and of an- 
 gels, and have not charity, I am become as 
 sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And 
 though I have the gift of prophecy, and un- 
 derstand all mysteries, and all knowledge; 
 and though I have all faith, so that I could 
 remove mountains, and have not charity, I am 
 nothing." Here we are always erring — we 
 covet earnestly those gifts which are confined 
 to a few, and are seldom sanctified to the 
 possessor, w r hile we are careless of those 
 graces which are accessible to all, and which 
 always accompany salvation. That life which 
 was so distinguished by the Judge of all ; that 
 life which was only one remove from glory ; 
 that life which opened at once a passage for 
 soul and body into the heaven of heavens, was 
 not placed in circumstances above our reach, 
 nor did it consist in any thing unattainable 
 by the poorest, and meanest amorg us — It was 
 walking with God. Real greatness does 
 not depend upon the things we do, but upon 
 the mind with which we do them ; and the 
 Lord looketh to the heart. The career there- 
 fore of true glory lies open to all ; to the ser- 
 vant as well as to the master ; to the subject 
 as well as to the monarch. All cannot be 
 learned ; but all may be taught of the Lord. 
 All cannot enjoy civil freedom ; but all may 
 possess the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 And the poor of this world may be rich in 
 faith and heirs of the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 Yet the life of Enoch by no means passed 
 in abstraction from society and business, or 
 favoured that superstitious sanctity which re- 
 fuses the allowed enjoyments of nature and 
 providence. A proper use of our creature 
 comforts is compatible, not only with the sin- 
 cerest, but the strictest godliness; and falls 
 in with the design of him who giveth us 
 richly all things to enjoy. Enoch, who sus- 
 tains such an exalted character, was not an 
 ascetic, or recluse — he married earlier than 
 any of his patriarchal brethren, and had sons 
 and daughters. It is not the religion of the 
 Bible that drives men into caves and dens of 
 the earth, or that teaches them to counteract 
 the destinations of Providence, or to oppose 
 the nature that God has given them — It is the 
 religion of anti-christ that represents as im- 
 pure what God has declared to be pure : it is 
 a seducing spirit that decries what God not 
 only permits but enjoins as honourable in all 
 it is a doctrine of devils that forbids to marry 
 and commands to abstain from meats which 
 God hath created to be received with thank- 
 fulness of them which believe and know the 
 
MARCH 18. 
 
 103 
 
 truth — Is a wretched dronish monk in his 
 cell, with his horsehair, skull, and hour-glass, 
 a more amiable, a more useful, a more holy 
 being than Enoch at the head of an early 
 family, filling up his station, and serving his 
 generation by the will of God ] 
 
 If however some entertain ideas of his life 
 too rigid, others may have views of it too lax, ' 
 limited, and low. His religion was not con- 
 fined to morality. Morality is not to be un- 
 dervalued. There is no piety without morality, 
 but there may be morality without piety. We 
 commend a discharge of the duties we owe 
 to our fellow-creatures: but this is only our 
 walking with men. Our greatest relations 
 connect us with another Being; with him we 
 have principally to do — Godliness consists in 
 our walking with God. Some are not vicious, 
 but they never reverence the Sabbath, or at- 
 tend public or private devotion. They owe no 
 man any thing ; but they rob God. They are 
 good neighbours, but God is not in all their 
 thoughts. They have no confidence in him, 
 no communion with him. They are not re- 
 newed after his image. They are not follow- 
 ers of him as dear children, nor walk in love 
 as Christ also loved us. 
 
 Such was the religion of Enoch. And 
 blessed are they who like him walk with God. 
 They must not indeed expect to be translated 
 «s he was. Yet as to its sting and its curse, 
 Jesus has abolished death. He teils his fol- 
 lowers, "If a man keep my sayings he shall 
 sever see death." With regard to him death 
 is so changed in its nature, and so blessed in 
 its effects, that it does not deserve the name 
 — No, he shall not die, but only go home ; only 
 fall asleep in Jesus ; only depart to be with 
 Christ which is far better. His body also will 
 be changed and fashioned like the Saviour's 
 own glorious body ; and so will he be for ever 
 with the Lord. The issue therefore is the 
 same — And this is the grand thing. And if 
 I am not to reach the blessedness by a mi- 
 raculous transformation, but by an accident, 
 or a disease — it is enough. " Let me die the 
 death of the righteous, and let my last end 
 be like his." 
 
 MARCH 18. 
 
 1 Our «oul -waitethfor the Lord: he is our help 
 and our shield." — Psalm xxxiii. 20. 
 
 There may be the form of godliness with- 
 out the power. But the religion of the Bible 
 Gas to do with the " soul." The true wor- 
 shippers worship the Father in spirit and in 
 truth — And 
 
 " In vain to heaven we lift our cries, 
 And leave our souls behind." 
 
 In noticing the subject of the exercise here 
 ?ncouraged, it may be observed that it is said 
 — not our souls — out " our soul" — as if they 
 all had only one. And what is the language 
 
 of God by the prophet : " I will give them 
 one heart and one way." And thus the two 
 disciples going to Emmaus exclaimed, upon 
 their discovery and surprise, "Did not our 
 heart burn within us ?" And thus in the be- 
 ginning of the Gospel it was said : " The 
 multitude of them that believed were of one 
 heart and of one soul." We have seen se- 
 veral drops of water on the table by being 
 brought to touch running into one. If Chris- 
 tians were better acquainted with each other, 
 they would easily unite. What wonder that 
 those should be one-minded who, under the 
 same influence, are feeling the same wants, 
 pursuing the same good, employing the same 
 means, looking for the same destination ! And 
 how suitable and wisely enforced is the ad- 
 monition — " Endeavouring to keep the unity 
 of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There i* 
 one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are call- 
 ed in one hope of your calling; one Lord, 
 one faith, one baptism, one God and Fathe 
 of all, who is above all, and through all, and 
 in you all." 
 
 But the exercise itself is " waiting for the 
 Lord." An exercise frequently mentioned in 
 the Scriptures, and well understood by all be- 
 lievers. Their character as the heirs of pro- 
 mise, is derived from it ; " blessed are all they 
 that wait for him." It includes conviction — 
 a persuasion that the Lord is the supreme 
 good, the fountain of life, our exceeding joy ; 
 all in all. It includes desire — it is expressed 
 by hungering and thirsting after righteous- 
 ness, by panting after God, by fainting for his 
 salvation. It includes hope — the degrees of 
 this may vary, but some measure of it is ne- 
 cessary to the commencement and continu- 
 ance of the exercise ; and the exercise will 
 be always influenced and enlivened accord- 
 ingly as our hope is possibility, or probability, 
 or confidence. It also includes patience — 
 God is never slack concerning his promise. 
 He never tarries beyond his own time ; but 
 he is often beyond ours : and in a state of ex- 
 pectation hours seem days, and days seem 
 weeks, especially if we are pressed with dif- 
 ficulties, and our eagerness for enjoyment is 
 great — Then hope deferred maketh the heart 
 sick. Here is the trial ; and here is the need 
 of patience. But patience will restrain us 
 from the hasty use of improper means of re- 
 lief; and preserve us from charging God fool- 
 ishly, censoriously, or unfaithfully ; and from 
 sinking in the day of adversity ; and from 
 abandoning the throne of grace ; and saying, 
 why should I wait for the Lord any longer? 
 Hence " it is a good thing that a man should 
 both hope and quietly wait for the salvation 
 of the Lord : for the Lord is good unto them 
 that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh 
 him"— 
 
 And thus the church is here encouraged : 
 " He is our help ; and our shield." He is 
 
 Their help. They need aid ; and they feel 
 
104 
 
 MARCH 19. 
 
 their need ; and th\jy increasingly feel it as 
 
 they advance in their religious course. They 
 
 do not complain of their duties, or murmur at 
 
 their trials; but with the knowledge they 
 
 have of themselves, they often fear whether 
 
 they shall ever disci.arge the one, and endure 
 
 the other as becomes their profession. And 
 
 they would not if left to themselves. But 
 
 they are not left to themselves. They have a 
 
 divine helper whose resources are infinite. 
 
 Through his strengthening of them they can 
 
 do all things , and as it is with their work, so 
 
 it is with their sufferings — 
 
 " He hears them in the mournful hour, 
 And helps them bear the heavy load." 
 
 And he is " a very present help in trouble" 
 — easily found — always near them — always 
 within sight — or within call — and while they 
 call he will answer — and say, " Here I am !" 
 
 He is also their shield. They are not only 
 weak, but exposed. They are in an enemy's 
 country. Their adversary, the devil, like a 
 roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he 
 may devour. He is yet more dangerous as 
 the serpent ; and we read of his depths, wiles, 
 and devices. They are surrounded with the 
 errors and vices, frowns and allurements of a 
 world lying in wickedness : while owing to 
 the remaining corruption of their nature, all 
 their passions, appetites, and senses, may 
 prove inlets to evil. But their defence is of 
 God, who saveth the upright in heart. The 
 Lord is their keeper, and he is able to keep 
 them from falling — Faith can realize this, 
 and preserve the mind in perfect peace, being 
 stayed upon God. " The Lord is my light and 
 my salvation, whom shall I fear J" Thus he 
 is their benefactor as to good, and their pre- 
 server as to evil. What can they want more t 
 
 And can such an experience be kept to 
 themselves] Impossible — "If these should 
 hold their peace the stones would cry out." 
 " O Israel, trust thou in the Lord : he is their 
 help and their shield. O house of Aaron, 
 trust in the Lord : he is their help and their 
 shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the 
 I/)rd : he is their help and their shield." 
 
 MARCH 19. 
 
 u And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a 
 nam: written. King of kings, and Lord of 
 lords." — Rev. xix. 16. 
 
 The name is expressive of dignify, great- 
 ness, and dominion. A more elevated idea of 
 him could not be given comparatively, than 
 to say he was higher than the highest, and 
 governed those who governed the earth. The 
 title has been worn by princes and popes; but 
 the assumption was always founded in igno- 
 rance, pride, and impiety. To Jesus it truly 
 and perfectly belongs. It may be considered 
 two ways. First, as importing the extensive- 
 ness of his empire : his kingdom ruleth over 
 
 all ; and there are no beings in the universe 
 but are either his subjects or slaves. Sec- 
 ondly, as referring to his connexion with the 
 personages here mentioned : he is " the King 
 of kings, and the Lord of lords." They aie 
 all amenable to his authority, and will be 
 judged at his bar. They are all raised up vf 
 his power. They are all controlled by jiifl 
 providence. They all subserve his designs. 
 
 But where is the name worn ? " Upon his 
 vesture and upon his'thigh:" that is, upon 
 the part of the vesture which covered the 
 thigh. His ways are not our ways. This is 
 not the place where we should have looked 
 for his name — the thigh is the place where 
 hangs the sword. It is — and this is the very 
 reason why his name is found there. It re- 
 minds us that his kingdom is not of this 
 world : then would his servants fight : but 
 now is his kingdom not from thence. Ana 
 therefore, says the Apostle, the weapons of 
 our warfare are not carnal but spiritual. He 
 had a sword ; and John saw the sword ; but 
 it was a sword "going out of his mouth." 
 This intended his word, and showed — not that 
 he does not make war, but by what kind of 
 instrumentality his victories are to be achiev- 
 ed. He meets with opposition both in gaining 
 and in maintaining his dominion ; and he 
 rules in the midst of his enemies. But howl 
 By the rod of his strength — the gospel of 
 Christ, which is the power of God to salva- 
 tion to every one that believeth. " So shall 
 my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth : 
 it shall not return unto me void, but it shall 
 accomplish that which I please, and it shall 
 prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." 
 
 And how was it impressed 1 It was " writ- 
 ten." As the vesture seemed dipped in blood, 
 and appeared as of a deep crimson colour, the 
 letters of the name it is probable were white 
 and glistening. We know not in what lan- 
 guage the name was inscribed. It was legi- 
 ble to John. Might it not be like his title on 
 the cross, written in Hebrew, Greek, and 
 Latin 1 However this may be, it was written 
 in order to be read and known. Many indi- 
 viduals pass us of whom we are ignorant 
 A nobleman may be ascertained by his livery 
 or his arms. But he who has his name writ- 
 ten even upon his vesture and upon his thigh 
 must assuredly wish to be read and known of 
 all men. Paul earnestly desired to know 
 him ; and esteemed all things but loss for the 
 excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus 
 his Lord. The reason results from two things 
 — He is of unspeakable importance to the 
 case of fallen man : no one can supply his 
 place in any thing pertaining to our recovery: 
 there is salvation in no other — And we can 
 derive no advantage from him without know- 
 ing him. Without knowing him how can 
 we love him 1 How can we put our trust ic 
 him? ILw can we repair to him for refugt 
 or help'' Therefore says God, "bv his know 
 
MARCH 20. 
 
 105 
 
 ledge snail my righteous servant justify many." 
 It is true that we are justified only by faith. 
 But " how can they call upon him in whom 
 they have not believed ; and how can they 
 believe in him of whom they have not heard ] 
 
 Hence the expediency, the necessity of 
 making him known. Hence it is said, " 1 
 will cause thy name to be remembered in all 
 generations ;" and " the earth shall be full of 
 the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters 
 cover the seas." Hence the Scriptures so 
 clearly reveal him ; and ministers so constant- 
 ly cry, " Behold the Lamb of God." Hence 
 his people pray, " Send out thy light and thy 
 truth ;" " that thy way be known on earth, 
 thy saving health among all nations." Hence 
 parents are required to teach him to their 
 children ; and every partaker of divine grace 
 to say to his neighbour, " O taste and see that 
 the Lord is good, blessed is the man that 
 trusteth in him." 
 
 Let then this name written upon his ves- 
 ture and upon his thigh be known and read of 
 all men. Let the proud read it, and admire his 
 condescension. He who stoops to our mean 
 affairs, allows us to walk with him, tells all 
 our wanderings, puts our tears into his bottle, 
 makes all our bed in our sickness, is " the 
 King of glory," and " the Lord of all" — Let 
 
 His enemies read it, and tremble. Who 
 ever hardened themselves against him and 
 prospered 1 " These shall make war with the 
 Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, 
 for he is jiing of kings and Lord of lords." — 
 Let 
 
 His friends read it, and dismiss all their 
 fears. He is for them and with them. Their 
 Redeemer is mighty ; and will plead their 
 cause. " I know whom I have believed, and 
 am persuaded that he is able to keep that 
 which I have committed to him against that 
 day" — And what is there else that he is not 
 able to keep? my reputation ] my business 1 
 my health ] my family ] Is there a loss but 
 he can turn into a gain] He can make all 
 things work together for good to them that 
 love him. — Let 
 
 Those who are tempted to deny him read 
 it, and go forth to him without the camp 
 bearing his reproach. Let them remember 
 not only their danger in being ashamed of 
 him and of his words ; but of their folly and 
 weakness. Who is he they blush to own? 
 and whose cause, and whose followers they 
 deem it disgraceful to espouse] The King of 
 kings and Lord of lords ! 
 
 Let us all read it, and invite him to go on 
 conquering and to conquer till hi? title is as 
 fully acknowledged as it is justly deserved, 
 and he shall reign for ever and ever. " Gird 
 thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, 
 with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy 
 majesty ride prosperously because of truth 
 and meekness and righteousness; and thy 
 -ight hand shall teach thee terrible things." 
 
 " Great ^.ing of grace, my heart sum ic, 
 I wou.il be led in triumph too: 
 A willing captive to my Lord, 
 And sing the victories of thy word." 
 
 MARCH 20. 
 
 " Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons 
 of Jacob ; and hearken unto Israel your Fa- 
 ther."— Gen. xlix. 2. 
 
 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the 
 death of his saints; and the scene is peculi- 
 arly worthy of our contemplation. It shows 
 us the power of divine grace, and the value 
 of the religion of Jesus in sustaining the pos- 
 sessor when every other support gives way, 
 in comforting him when every other source 
 of consolation dries up, and in irradiating him 
 when every other sun of glory sets. There- 
 fore says David, " Mark the perfect man, and 
 behold the upright, for the end of that man 
 is peace." And even Balaam exclaims, " Let 
 me die the death of the righteous, and let 
 my last end be like his." 
 
 Jacob is here dying. He feels perfectly 
 composed and satisfied as to the issue. We 
 see him between two worlds, weary of time, 
 and welcoming eternity; rejoicing in hope 
 of the glory of God, and saying, " I have 
 waited for thy salvation, O Lord." It seems 
 to have been common in the patriarchal age 
 for men, when dying, to pronounce a benedic- 
 tion on their offspring; and which, in many 
 cases, not only admonished them of their 
 duty, but foretold their destination — Thus 
 " Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather 
 yourselves together, that I may tell you that 
 which shall befall you in the last days. Gather 
 yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob ; 
 and hearken unto Israel your father." The 
 wordsof dying men, especially of dying parents, 
 are impressive and ought to be remembered. 
 We have met with instances in which they 
 have proved the power of God to salvation. 
 
 — Jacob begins with Reuben. Reuben sig- 
 nifies, " see a son." It was the exclamation 
 of the joyful mother at his birth. So children 
 are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of 
 the womb is his reward. But how little does 
 a parent know in what disappointments his 
 wishes and prognostics are to terminate ! 
 Reuben was his first-born, but he had forfeit- 
 ed the prerogatives of birth ; and Jacob men- 
 tions them only to degrade his son from them. 
 He shall have the privilege of a son, but not 
 the rights of primogeniture — " Reuben, thou 
 art my first-born, my might, and the begin- 
 ning of my strength, the excellency of dig- 
 nity, and the excellency of power : unstable 
 as water, thou shalt not excel ; because thou 
 wentest up to thy father's bed, then defiledst 
 thou it : he went up to my couch." It may 
 seem strange and unkind in Jacob to revive 
 this scandal now, when Reuben was weeping 
 at the side of a father's dying bed ; but he 
 spake as he was moved by the Holy Ghost 
 
106 
 
 MARCH 21. 
 
 The sin had indeed been committed more 
 than forty years before ; but as nothing is fu- 
 ture so nothing is past with God. We should 
 hope he had long before repented of the deed ; 
 but there are crimes, the consequences of 
 which are irreparable in this world. It was 
 well if the guilt of his conduct was removed 
 from his conscience — and with the Lord there 
 is mercy ; but the stain was indelible on his 
 person and family. We are under a moral 
 economy, and the wisdom of God has estab- 
 lished connexions which even his goodness 
 does not destroy. " Can one go upon hot 
 coals, and his feet not be burnt] So he that 
 goeth in to his neighbour's wife ; whosoever 
 toucheth her shall not be innocent. Whoso 
 committeth adultery with a woman lacketh 
 understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth 
 his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall 
 he get ; and his reproach shall not be wiped 
 away." It is useless to murmur at the divine 
 dispensations. Forgiveness is attainable upon 
 repentance; but they who trifle with charac- 
 ter, must not expect to retain esteem and 
 honour. They will be sure to hear of it 
 again; and by providential corrections, the 
 rebukes of friends, the upbraidings of enemies, 
 and galling reflections of their own minds, 
 they will often have reason to say, " My sin 
 is ever before me." 
 
 Reuben had fits of good feeling and wis 
 naturally tender-hearted. When therefore 
 his brethren were going to slay Joseph, he 
 urged them to cast him into a pit, hoping to 
 deliver him. And when they had left the place, 
 and he to accomplish his purpose went secret- 
 ly round to it and found him not, " he rent his 
 clothes ; and returned unto his brethren, and 
 said, The child is not ; and I, whither shall I 
 go?" And when they were all put in ward, 
 and conscience led them to say one to another, 
 " We are verily guilty concerning our bro- 
 ther ;" Reuben made this appeal : " Spake I 
 not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the 
 child ; and ye would not hear ] therefore, be- 
 hold also his blood is required." When too 
 they were in danger of perishing for want 
 through Jacob's unwillingness to let Benjamin 
 go, " Reuben spake unto his father, saying, 
 Slay my two sons if I bring him not to thee : 
 deliver him into my hand, and I will bring 
 him to thee again." And had we a fuller 
 history of his life, we should doubtless meet 
 with many instances of a similar nature. 
 But his goodness was as the morning cloud 
 and early dew that soon passeth away. He 
 had no self-government. He was the slave 
 of his appetites and vile passions — " unstable 
 as water, thou shalt not excel." No ; without 
 stability, there cannot be excellency. With- 
 out stability, there can be no character; for 
 character is the effect and force of habit; 
 and habit is produced only by constancy and 
 consistency in acting. The proverb says, a 
 rolling stone gathers no moss. A tree that 
 
 is every year transplanted will not rise J>ig% 
 and grow strong, and bring forth much fruit. 
 Even obstinacy is preferable to versatility : the 
 one may perchance be well guided, and then 
 it will firmly go on ; in the other, there is no- 
 thing to guide. You may build upon a rock, 
 but what can you do with a mound of sand 1 
 In the next exercise, we will inquire 
 wherein we should seek to excel ; and in the 
 following, wherein we should guard against 
 instability ] 
 
 MARCH 21. 
 
 " Unstable as water, thou slialt not excel. 
 Gen. xlix. 4. 
 
 — Wherein should we seek after excellence? 
 
 Let us seek to excel in knowledge. For 
 the soul to be without knowledge it is not 
 good. It is like a vessel without rudder or 
 compass : or a body without an eye. Bacon 
 is admired for saying, Knowledge is power. 
 But Solomon had said, ages before, " Wisdom 
 is a defence, and money is a defence: but 
 the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom 
 giveth life -to them that have it." We are to 
 have the innocency of the dove, but our Sa- 
 viour himself requires us to combine with it 
 the wisdom of the serpent. And while the 
 apostle tells us in malice to be children, he 
 adds but in understanding be ye men. And 
 " henceforth be no more children, tossed to 
 and fro, and carried about with every wind 
 of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cun- 
 ning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to 
 deceive." It is lamentable to think how little 
 judgment many professors of religion exer- 
 cise, and how little information they have 
 acquired, after enjoying so many advantages 
 and for so long a season : so that when for 
 the time they ought to be teachers, they have 
 need that one teach them again which be the 
 first principles of the oracles of God. How 
 cloudy and confused and inconsistent are the 
 views of some even with regard to the lead- 
 ing articles of the truth as it is in Jesus, by 
 which if their safety is not affected, their 
 comfort and welfare are injured. 
 
 Let us seek to excel in sanctity. Without 
 obedience vain is our knowledge — "If ye 
 know these things happy are ye if ye do 
 them. What is it to understand all myste- 
 ries and not bridle the tongue or govern the 
 temper] To be orthodox and not moral] 
 To be taught by the gospel every thing ex- 
 cept to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
 and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in 
 the present "world ] Holiness is the beauty, 
 the dignity of the soul. It is the radiance of 
 the divine image. The design of God in all 
 his commands, promises, dispensations, ^nd 
 influences is to make us "partakers oi liis 
 holiness." 
 
 Let us seek to excel in charily. " Covet 
 earnestly the best, gifts, savs the apostle, 
 
MARCH 22. 
 
 107 
 
 14 and yet I show unto you a more excellent 
 way :" and this he immediately explains to 
 be our acquiring and exercising the best 
 graces, and principally charity; for the 
 greatest of these is charity — love to God, and 
 to our fellow creatures, and especially to 
 them that are of the household of faith. By 
 tin's all men are to know that we are the dis- 
 ciples of Jesus ; and by this we ourselves are 
 to know that we have passed from death unto 
 life. This is that which the apostle so com- 
 mends in the Thessalonians : "As touching 
 brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto 
 you : for ye yourselves are taught of God to 
 ove one another. And indeed ye do it to- 
 wards all the brethren which are in all Ma- 
 cedonia." Yet he adds; "But we beseech 
 you, brethren, that ye increase more and 
 more." And after many admonitions to the 
 Colossians he says, "and above all these 
 things, put on charity, which is the bond of 
 perfectness." 
 
 Let us seek to excel in usefulness. If the 
 unprofitable servant be a wicked one ; and if 
 every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit 
 be hewn down and cast into the fire, what 
 becomes of the religion and the hope of 
 many ? What good of any kind or of any 
 degree do they perform — or even endeavour 
 to perform ? The endeavour indeed is execu- 
 tion with him who looketh to the heart, and 
 says, where there is first a willing mind it is 
 accepted according to what a man hath, and 
 not according to what he hath not It would 
 be well if they deserved the commendation 
 pronounced upon Mary; "She hath done 
 what she could." But is this their case ? Is 
 there one of their powers or resources which 
 they fully tax ? What good work at the end 
 of a day or a week have they ever to review ; 
 we do not mean with self-exultation, but with 
 thankfulness to God that they do not eat, and 
 drink, and sleep, and live in vain? In a world 
 like ours, if we are disposed, we can never be 
 at a loss for opportunities or means of doing 
 good. And if we have no profession or busi- 
 ness, we are the more bound to be useful, be- 
 cause we are the more free from care. Has 
 not God promised that he will not only save 
 his people, but make them a blessing? Is it 
 not most delightful and honourable to resem- 
 ble him who went about doing good? Be 
 teachers of babes in our Sunday schools. Be 
 eyes to the blind. Let the blessing of him 
 that is ready to perish come upon you. Cause 
 the widow's heart to sing for joy. Serve 
 your generation acccording to the will of 
 God; and "seek that ye may excel to the 
 edifying of the Church." 
 
 Seek to excel in reputation. A bishop 
 must have a good report of them that are 
 without; and Christians are to be blameless, as 
 well as harmless. They are not to be uncon- 
 cerned about what people say of them, but to 
 take heed that their good be not evil spoken 
 
 of A good name is rather to be chosen than 
 gieat riches. It is valuable as an instrument 
 of usefulness. It gains a man esteem. It 
 procures for him confidence. It gives fcrce 
 to his advice, authority to his reproof, and in- 
 fluence to his example. If the world does 
 not love some men, it cannot despise them. 
 If it speaks against them, it is only in mat- 
 ters pertaining to the law of their God — 
 which is their glory; or by magnifying in- 
 firmities from which no one professes to be 
 free, or by misrepresenting their actions or 
 motives — and against this it may be impossi- 
 ble to guard. But commonly after a while a 
 consistent Christian puts to silence the igno- 
 rance of foolish men, and constrains those 
 around him to bear their testimony in his 
 favour. Demetrius had a good report of all 
 men, as well as of the truth itself. And 
 where the kingdom of God is not meat and 
 drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in 
 the Holy Ghost — he that in these things serv- 
 eth Christ, is acceptable to God and approved 
 of men. 
 
 Much has been said upon the subject df 
 emulation ; and it has been often disputec 
 whether it should be encouraged or repressed. 
 It is certain that a disposition to excel others 
 in beauty, dress, learning, riches, power, 
 and honour, may prove very corrupting, and 
 gender envy, hatred, falsehood, and strife. 
 But there is a principle of this kind in our 
 nature ; and there is a course in which you 
 may seek to surpass, without danger to 
 yourselves or injury to others. We have 
 placed it before you — Pursue it. Be ambi- 
 tious to be great in the sight of the Lord. Be 
 not satisfied with the reality of religion, but 
 go from strength to strength ; and be changed 
 from glory to glory. Increase with all the 
 increase of God. Do not compare yourselves 
 with low models, but with the higrhest exam- 
 ples. Pray that you may do the will of God 
 on earth, as it is done in heaven — And be ye 
 perfect even as your Father which is in 
 heaven is perfect 
 
 MARCH 22. 
 ■ Unstable as uxiter, thou shall not exceL" 
 Gen. xlix. 4. 
 — Wherein should we guard against insta- 
 bility ? 
 
 We should guard against it in our govern 
 ing aim. If a vessel at sea is steering for no 
 port, who is to determine whether the direc- 
 tion of the wind be favourable or unfavoura- 
 ble ? If we are traveling at random, we 
 move, but we do not journey ; and it is a mat- 
 ter of indifference whether we turn aside or 
 draw back ; we make no progress unless we 
 advance towards some end which we wish to 
 reach. When a man has fixed his aim, his 
 aim will simplify his conduct arrange his ac- 
 tions, and give every thing a relat'^n. P*ni 
 
108 
 
 MARCH 23. 
 
 ays, " This one thing I do." He does not 
 speak of a oneness of exertion, for he did a 
 thousand things ; but a oneness of purpose, 
 which combined them all, and gave them the 
 same direction. Now our determinate aim 
 should be to please and serve God according 
 to the injunction, " whether ye eat or drink, 
 or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 
 [f here our eye be single, our whole body 
 will be full of light. But if other aims also 
 sway us, we shall be perplexed, distracted, 
 and often at a stand. " Their heart is divided ; 
 now shall they be found faulty." "A double- 
 minded man is unstable in all his ways." " No 
 man can serve two masters: for either he 
 will hate the one, and love the other ; or else 
 he will hold to the one, and despise the other. 
 Y 7 e cannot serve God and mammon." 
 
 Let us guard against instability in our 
 views of divine truth. Some have no fixed 
 sentiments in religion ; they are struck with 
 every novel opinion ; and are led after every 
 " Lo ! here ; or Lo ! there." But, says Paul, 
 " Be not carried about with divers and strange 
 doctrines, for it is a good thing that the heart 
 be established with grace." By grace he 
 means the Gospel. We would not plead for 
 bigotry or prejudice. We should be open to 
 conviction, and judge according to evidence : 
 but it is absurd to suppose we must remain 
 all our days in uncertainty and doubt. If the 
 poor have the Gospel preached unto them, it 
 cannot be, if they are to receive it, very diffi- 
 cuA as to its leading principles. And we are 
 told that the wayfaring man, though a fool, 
 shall not err therein. Surely it is a reproach, 
 and not a commendation, lhat some are ever 
 learning and never able to come to the know- 
 ledge of the truth. It is desirable and neces- 
 sary that we should be able early to decide 
 what is truth, that we may make use of it, 
 and live upon it, and enjoy it. Who has ever 
 seen a sound experience and a consistent 
 practice in connexion with a loose creed 1 
 We should distinguish between what is cir- 
 cumstantial in religion, and what is essential. 
 With regard to the former we cannot be too 
 candid and liberal. But with regard to the 
 latter let us be inflexible — Here " take hold 
 of instruction , let it not go : keep her, for 
 she is thy life." 
 
 Let us guard against instability in church 
 fellowship and attendance. Some belong to 
 no religious community. They are mere birds 
 of passage, fleeing from one congregation to 
 another. They enter no school, and therefore 
 are subject to no rules of instruction. They 
 are attached to no corps in the army of hea- 
 ven ; and therefore they have no discipline or 
 drilling. They are not fellow-citizens with 
 the saints, but spiritual vagrants. If all were 
 like-minded, there would be no such thing as 
 a church state, in which the members give up 
 themselves to each other as well as to the 
 Lord, communing together in privilege, co- 
 
 operating together in exertions, and walking 
 in all the commandments and ordinances of 
 the Lord, blameless. They are also incon- 
 stant in their attendance on the means of 
 grace in the same sanctuary. We would not 
 have the house of God turned into a prison, 
 and have people fettered to their own walls. 
 Yet it is desirable, and for the promotion of 
 godliness, for persons to have a spiritual homo 
 of their own. Some on the Sabbath-day morn 
 ing have to determine where they shall go, 
 and whom they shall hear. They are actuated 
 by novelty and curiosity, rather than a simple 
 desire to profit: and unwilling to endure any 
 course of tuition which would do some justice 
 to the word of God at large, they " heap tc 
 themselves teachers, having itching ears." 
 Unstable as water, they never excel. 
 
 We should guard against instability even 
 in our temporal concerns. This is inferior in 
 some respects to the former articles, but it 
 has a considerable degree of importance. Peo- 
 ple will judge of you in other things, by what 
 comes under their observation : and you will 
 be sure to lose respect in proportion as you 
 appear to b<» versatile. Yet in some what va- 
 riableness is there ! What instability with re- 
 gard to friendship — every month or year 
 yields a new favourite, at whose shrine some 
 old connexion is sacrificed. What instability 
 with regard to domestics — what changes of 
 servants ! What instability with regard to 
 residence — what changes of abode ! What 
 instability with regard to business — what 
 changes of employment ! What instability in 
 the management of their affairs — what viola- 
 tions of engagement and punctuality — what 
 confusion, what delays, what excuses — no- 
 thing is done decently and in order — " Un- 
 stable as water, thou shalt not excel." 
 
 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye 
 stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in 
 the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know 
 that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 
 
 And " the God of all grace, who hath called 
 us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, af- 
 ter that ye have suffered a whilo, make you 
 perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To 
 him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. 
 Amen." 
 
 MARCH 23. 
 
 " And the prince in the midst of them, when tha, 
 go in, shall go in; and when they go forth 
 shall go forth" — Ezekiel xlvi. 10. 
 
 This refers immediately to the temple wor- 
 ship. Read the verse preceding : " When the 
 people of the land shall come before the Lord 
 in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by 
 the way of the north gate to worship, shall go 
 out by the way of the south gate ; and he 
 that entereth by the way of the south gate, 
 shall go forth by the way of the north gate : 
 
MARCH 23. 
 
 109 
 
 he shall not return by the way of the gate 
 whereby he came in, but shall go forth over 
 against iL" TKis regulates the attendance 
 of the people. Then follows an order for the 
 prince. He was to appear in the house of 
 God as well as others ; and regardless of his 
 civil prerogatives, feel himself in sacred 
 things on a level with his people, observing 
 the same ordinances, entering the sanctuary 
 at the same time, and continuing as long in 
 as they. "And the prince in the midst of 
 them, when they go in, shall go in ; and when 
 they go forth, shall go forth," 
 
 Various are the gradations of life, and it is 
 not for the benefit of society that they should 
 be abolished. But religion is not as some 
 imagine, for the lower classes, or only a proper 
 and necessary expedient to keep them orderly 
 and obedient Its institutions and exercises 
 are binding upon the rich as well as the poor ; 
 upon the noble as well as the vulgar ; upon 
 masters as well as servants ; and upon sove- 
 reigns as well as subjects. It is very pleasing 
 and becoming in persons of quality to be seen 
 going to the temple of God with their do- 
 mestics, tenants, and poor neighbours about 
 them. And superiors ought to be constant 
 and devout in their attendance on public wor- 
 ship : yea, they are under peculiar obligations 
 to do it. They are under an obligation arising 
 from gratitude : for duty grows with benefits : 
 and if they are more distinguished and in- 
 dulged than others, they owe the more to 
 their benefactor, and should be the more con- 
 cerned to please and serve him ; and not re- 
 semble vapours exhaled from the earth, that 
 only darken and hide the sun that raised 
 them. They are under an obligation arising 
 from influence. They are more seen, observ- 
 ed, and followed, than persons in lower life. 
 If they are irreligious and vicious, they take 
 away shame and fear from others; and by 
 their example they sanction, excite and en- 
 courage imitation. Morals as well as fashions 
 s re sure to work downwards. They are under 
 an obligation arising from self-interest. Did 
 they consider things aright, they would be 
 sensible that none need the means of grace 
 more than themselves. Their duty is great : 
 and here they would find instruction, encour- 
 agement, consolation, and support, amidst all 
 that is difficult and trying in their stations. 
 And their danger is great They are set in 
 slippery places, and the prosperity of fools de- 
 stroys them. They are in jeopardy from self- 
 indulgence, and flattery, and vanity, and 
 pride, and forgetfulness of God and eternity ; 
 and here they would be admonished and arm- 
 ed ; here they would be reminded amidst their 
 temptations, of their original, their depend- 
 ence, their mortality, their end, and of the ac- 
 count they will have to render at the judg- 
 ment-seat of Christ — But this page is not 
 likely to reach many of the great — Otherwise 
 
 we would thunder in their ear : '' Be wise 
 now therefore, O ye kings : be instructed, ye 
 judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with 
 fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the 
 Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the 
 way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. 
 Blessed are all they that put their trust ia 
 him." 
 
 But some suppose a reference here to an- 
 other prince, even he who was to be ruler in 
 Israel. The allusion is possible and pleasing. 
 We say possible ; for God's aim in his word 
 is so comprehensive as to include all the law- 
 ful purposes to which any part of it is applied ; 
 and it is lawful to avail ourselves of every 
 thing that will teach and preach Jesus Christ 
 And we say pleasing as well as possible ; for 
 so must the assurance be felt \f significant 
 of him. And there is a conformity between 
 him and his people ; and in all things it be- 
 hoved him to be made like unto his brethren. 
 Yet in all things too he has the pre-eminence : 
 and is anointed with the oil of gladness above 
 his fellows. He could say, In the midst of the 
 Church will I sing praise unto thee : but he 
 is more than their fellow-worshipper, more 
 than their companion, more than their exam 
 pie, more than a man — He is lord of alL 
 
 — Observe his title—" The Prince." He ia 
 the only King in Zion : but he is " Messiah 
 the Prince ;" " the Prince of peace ;" " the 
 Prince of life ;" " the Prince of the kings of 
 the earth ;" "a Prince and a Saviour" — 
 
 Observe his residence — " In the midst of 
 them." This situation agrees with all the re- 
 presentations we have of him, and the state 
 of his people requires it. He was in the 
 midst of the burning bush ; and hence it was 
 not consumed. He was in the midst of the 
 seven golden candlesticks. I will, says he, be 
 not only a wall of fire round about them, but 
 the glory in the midst of them. Sometimes 
 kings reign over a country in which they do 
 not reside, and which they seldom or never 
 visit: and no earthly prince can be in the 
 midst of his people so as to be heard and seen 
 and approached at the same time by all. But 
 the Lord Jesus is nigh unto all them that call 
 upon him ; and has said, Lo ! I am with you 
 alway, even unto the end of the world. And 
 
 Observe therefore his agency — Wherever 
 they go he attends them graciously, and the 
 angel of his presence saves them. " When 
 they shall go in, he shall go in ; and when 
 they shall go forth, he shall go forth." It ia 
 so as to their devotions. Do they enter the 
 temple ? When they go in, he shall go in— 
 and they shall see his beauty, and behold his 
 goings : for where two or three are gathered 
 together in his name, there is he in the midst 
 of them. Or do they enter the closet? When 
 they go in he shall go in — and manifest him- 
 self unto them. And how often can thfi? 
 say 
 
110 
 
 MARCH 24. 
 
 ' While such a scene of sacred joys 
 Our raptur'd eyes and souls employs ; 
 Here we could sit, and gaze away 
 A long, an everlasting day!" 
 
 But they cannot be always in devotional en- 
 gagements. They have many other duties to 
 discharge : and must go forth to meet the 
 claims of civil and relative life — But when 
 they go forth he shall go forth ; and be with 
 thein in the farm, the shop, the road, as well 
 as in the church and the closet. It is true 
 therefore as to the common concerns of life. 
 If in the evening they retire to rest, or in tne 
 morning go forth to their work and their la- 
 bour ; if they enter their calling or withdraw ; 
 if they begin or finish an enterprise, he is still 
 with them. Hence they are in the fear of the 
 Lord all the day long, and acknowledge him 
 in all their ways, and are safe, sanctified, and 
 happy. " The Lord shall preserve thee from 
 all evil ; he shall preserve thy soul." " Bless- 
 ed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and 
 blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out." 
 
 It is also true with regard to their suffer- 
 ings. When they enter these, they often fear 
 they shall sink ; but they do not enter alone 
 — " I will," says he, " be with him in trouble." 
 And he comes forth with them, or they would 
 not come forth as gold, or be able to retain 
 the lessons and impressions they received, 
 and to say, "It is good for me that I have 
 been afflicted." Wise Christians feel more 
 need of his presence and grace when they 
 are coming out of a trial, than when they are 
 going into it ; though in both they are indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 And is there before them the valley of the 
 shadow of death 1 It often dismays them. 
 But they need fear no evil, for he is with 
 them. Their friends indeed can attend them 
 only to the entrance of it. But he will go 
 with them into it, accompany them through 
 it, and bring them out into a wealthy place. 
 " When they go in, he shall go in ; and when 
 they go forth, he shall go forth"— He hath 
 said, "I will never leave. thee nor forsake 
 thee." One place seems an exception. They 
 shall enter Immanuel's land, the rest that re- 
 mains for his people : but when he goes in 
 with them there, he will not go out But the 
 reason is because they shall go no more out : 
 but they shall be for ever with the Lord. 
 
 MARCH 24. 
 
 " But as for me, / will come into thy house in the 
 multitude of thy mercy : and in thy fear will 
 I worship toward thy holy temple." — Psalm v. 7. 
 
 Let us make this noble resolution our own ; 
 and in order to this let us endeavour to un- 
 derstand it. Observe the singularity of the 
 resolution. " Let others take their course, 
 I have chosen mine. It is good for me to 
 draw near to God. Him will I seek and serve. 
 And though it is desirable to have company 
 
 in religion, and I wish to bring all my felloe 
 creatures to walk with me iu the way ever 
 lasting, their determination will not influence 
 mine — As for me, I will come into thy house 
 in the multitude of thy mercy : and in thy 
 fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." 
 Let us not be peculiar in little and lawful 
 things; nor affect singularity for its own 
 sake. This is always the mark of a vain but 
 weak mind : the man wishes for distinction 
 but cannot attain it by excellence, and so hap 
 recourse to eccentricity ; he cannot excite 
 notice by the goodness of his pace, and so 
 tumbles in the road, or leaps through the 
 hedge. But where truth and duty and con- 
 science are concerned, singularity is a noble 
 virtue; and no one shows such dignity of 
 principle, and pureness of motive, and simple 
 regard to the authority of God, as the man 
 who goes forward according to his conviction, 
 without the company and commendation of 
 others, and especially when reproached and 
 opposed by them. And them that honour me, 
 says God, I will honour. 
 
 Mark the object of the resolution. It re- 
 gards the service of God jn the sanctuary. 
 I will come into thine house in the multitude 
 of thy mercy, and in thy fear will I worship 
 towards thy holy temple. David was foud of 
 retirement, and was much alone in meditation 
 and prayer. Yet he knew the closet was not 
 to exclude the sanctuary, but to prepare for 
 it ; and therefore he could say, I have loved 
 the place where thine honour dwelleth ; a day 
 in thy courts is better than a thousand. 
 Though a king, he did not think it beneath 
 his greatness to sanctify the Sabbath, and 
 attend the gates of Zion ; yea he knew he 
 was the more bound to do it, from the emi- 
 nence of his station, and the influence of his 
 example. Though a man full of employ- 
 ment, who had to give audience to ambassa- 
 dors, orders to officers, and instructions to 
 ministers; and had to manage the affairs of 
 a large and distracted empire; yet he had 
 time for God's ordinances — for he rose early — 
 and loved order, and such beings have leisure 
 for every thing. Though a genius, a very 
 wise man, a prophet,* he did not neglect the 
 institutions of religion, and say, I cannot 
 learn more than I know already. Humility 
 attends profound knowledge. Teach a wise 
 man, and he will yet be wiser. He was a 
 godly man ; but under a notion of superior 
 piety, he did not despise the means of grace ; 
 like some who say they never haH so much 
 communion with God in their lives as they 
 now have ; every day now being a Sabbath, 
 every place a temple, every creature a 
 preacher — Believe them not. God knows 
 what is in man, and what is needful to him, 
 and has appointed his ordinances for our wel- 
 fare : and though a painted man does not 
 want food, a living one cannot dispense with 
 it. A real Christian feels his necessities and 
 
MARCH 25 
 
 HI 
 
 deficiencies ; and knows by experience where 
 tiis heart has been enlarged, and his strength 
 renewed. He has found Gul for a refuge 
 in his palaces. Strength and beauty are in 
 the sanctuary. 
 
 The manner in which he would accomplish 
 the resolution is worthy our notice. It in- 
 cludes two things. He would do it impressed 
 with a sense of divine goodness. I will come 
 into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy. 
 How can we reflect and not feel this 1 The 
 worship itself is a privilege. Tt is a mercy 
 that we have a sanctuary — It is a mercy that 
 we have liberty to assemhle together — It is a 
 mercy that we have health and strength and 
 leisure for divine worship — It is a mercy that 
 we have a disposition to avail ourselves of the 
 privilege — It is a mercy that we repair to the 
 service, knowing that it 13 not a vain thing to 
 seek the Lord, and able to plead the promise, 
 I will make the place of my feet glorious. 
 But we need not confine the subject To 
 creatures so unworthy and guilty as we are, 
 every tiling is mercy: the air we breathe; 
 the water we drink ; our food ; our sleep. 
 Let us think in what a multitude of mercies 
 we come together ; public and private ; per- 
 sonal and relative ; temporal and spiritual : 
 redeeming mercies, justifying mercies, re- 
 newing mercies — Let us dwell on the pleni- 
 tude of his undeserved favours, that we may 
 not murmur or even complain of a few trials, 
 but come before his presence with singing 
 aud praise. 
 
 He would also do it filled with holy vene- 
 ration. And in thy fear will I worship to- 
 ward thy holy temple. This fear is not dread, 
 and therefore comports with the cheerfulness 
 of which we have been speaking. The first 
 believers walked in the fear of the Lord, and 
 in the comforts of the Holy Ghost : and we 
 are commanded to serve the Lord with fear 
 and rejoice with trembling. We are to be in 
 the fear of the Lord all the day long — but 
 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of 
 the saints, and to be had in reverence of them 
 that are about him. Nothing more becomes 
 his majesty and purity, his omniscience and 
 omnipresence. Nothing more becomes our 
 meanness and vileness; and the importance 
 of the work in which we are engaged ; and 
 the consequences depending. We sing and 
 pray and hear for eternity. We are respon- 
 sible for all our opportunities. We never 
 leave the house of God as we enter it — How 
 dreadful is the place ! It is none other but the 
 house of God, and the gate of heaven — and 
 of hell ! To some the word preached will be 
 the savour of life unto life ; to others it will 
 ' be the savour of death unto death. Nothing 
 is so likely to secure our edification by the 
 means of grace, as a solemnity of mind in our 
 attendance. And where it prevails, the eyes 
 will not rove all over the place. Sleep and 
 drowsiness will be excluded. We shall not 
 
 leave the sanctuary with levity, and fall intc 
 vain and idle discourse. Nor shall we ever 
 come to it without reflection and prayer. 
 
 MARCH 25. 
 
 "lamina strait beticixt tux>." — Phil, i- 23. 
 
 Nothing is more trying and distressing 
 than a state of uncertainty, indecision, and 
 perplexity — or being in a strait between op- 
 posing claims, one of which only can be cho- 
 sen. What a strait was David in, when he 
 had to choose between pestilence, and war and 
 famine ! And what a strait was Jacob in be- 
 tween his wish for relief and the fear of send- 
 ing Benjamin ! 
 
 Paul is here in a strait, but it is between 
 two things, each of which is agreeable and 
 inviting. We might have been sure that 
 whatever weighed with him would be some- 
 thing pertaining to Christ Accordingly his 
 drawing was, on the one side the enjoyment 
 of his Lord's presence in heaven ; and on the 
 other the serving of his people on earth. Let 
 us notice the former of these — "Having a 
 desire to depart to be with Christ, which is 
 for better." 
 
 The Apostle means death; but he avoids 
 the name, and calls it a departure. We are 
 much more influenced by words than we may 
 imagine ; and as there is so much to render 
 death formidable, we should as for as possible 
 soften it even in the representation. And the 
 Scripture does this. It tells us that if a man 
 keeps the sayings of Christ, " he shall never 
 see death." Is he then exempted from the 
 law of mortality ! No : but death is so changed 
 with regard to him, that it does not deserve 
 the name. It is therefore a gathering to his 
 people, a falling asleep, a putting off this tab- 
 ernacle, a departure — "I long to depart." 
 Does the Apostle refer to a mariner loosing 
 anchor from a foreign shore to depart for his 
 own country ? or a traveller departing from 
 an inn to which he has turned aside for a 
 night to go on his wayl or to a prisoner de- 
 parting from his dungeon and chains to enjoy 
 his freedom] or to a soldier departing for his 
 peaceful home after his warfare is ended? 
 The death of a Christian furnishes all these 
 images and fulfils them. But how surely 
 does the representation remind us of the com 
 plex nature of man! If nothing survived ai 
 death, death would be a cessation, not a de 
 parture. We do not say an animal departet 
 this life. If we buried a beast we should no! 
 inscribe on a stone, " Here lies his body"— 
 Here lies the whole of him. But over th« 
 grave of a man we say, "Here lies the body" 
 — or, " Here repose the remains" — For "there 
 is a spirit in man;" and when "the dust re- 
 turns to the dust whence it came, the spirit 
 returns to God who gave it" 
 
 The effect of this death is " to be with 
 
112 
 
 MARCH 26. 
 
 Christ." It is obvious the Apostle supposed 
 that a separate state immediately followed the 
 dissolution of the body, as he says in another 
 place expressly, " Absent from the body and 
 present with the Lord." Had he expected 
 that he should not be with Christ till the res- 
 urrection, his dying would have been of no ad- 
 vantage to him. It might have freed him in- 
 deed from his sufferings : but he is not speak- 
 ing of what he should leave, but of what he 
 should reach. In a blessed sense Christ was 
 with him here ; and this, with all his trials, 
 was better than annihilation till the last day. 
 [t is useless to say the period would seem only 
 as a moment to the individual — for this is not 
 the question — the difficulty lies here — that 
 let the term be long or short, such inaction 
 and insensibility could not be better than the 
 nresence of Christ with Paul even in this life. 
 
 I love the very words the Holy Ghost useth. 
 Paul does not say, I long to depart to be in 
 heaven. This is his meaning — but he speaks 
 in a way that while it expresses the blessed- 
 ness, characterizes it also at the same time. 
 To be in heaven is to be with Christ. Our 
 Lord affirms this himself in his promise to 
 the thief — " This day thou shalt be with me 
 in paradise." And in his prayer for the dis- 
 ciples — " That they may be with me where 
 [ am to behold my glory." Is this our hea- 
 ven \ Could such happiness make us happy 1 
 Whatever that state be, we must be prepared 
 for it by a conformity to it in our views and 
 feelings here. What a delightful prospect is 
 the social intercourse of that world ! If Soc- 
 rates could comfort himself that he was going 
 to Museus and other worthies that had lived 
 before him, what is the attraction of a Chris- 
 tian, that he is going to join his own beloved 
 connexions, and the martyrs, and the apos- 
 tles, and the prophets, and the patriarchs, 
 and the innumerable company of angels — 
 and above all, " the Lord of all," the most 
 wonderful of all characters, the most endear- 
 ed of all benefactors, the most precious of all 
 friends ! 
 
 We have not only the nature and effect of 
 this death, but the pre-eminency of the bless- 
 edness to which it leads. It is strongly ex- 
 pressed. It is " better" — " far better." Far 
 better than what? It would be saying little 
 to say that it was far better than his trials, 
 far better than to be stoned at Philippi, than 
 to fight with beasts at Ephesus, than to be a 
 night and a day in the deep, than to be in 
 perils among false brethren. It would also 
 be little to say that it was far better than all 
 his temporal comforts. These a Christian 
 does not undervalue ; yea he is grateful for 
 them, and enjoys them with a relish peculiar 
 to himself But he has something even now 
 superior to all outward good — The means of 
 grace and the comforts of the Holy Ghost. 
 But to be with Christ is far better than these : 
 ts the day is far better than the dawn, and 
 
 the inheritance and the vintage are far better 
 than the earnests and the first fruits only. 
 Our communion with him here is distant and 
 often intercepted — there it will be perpetual 
 and immediate. We love the streams — but 
 what is the fountain ! We love the house of 
 prayer — but what is the temple in which they 
 serve him day and night ! 
 
 " Thine earthly Sabhaths, Lord, wc love : 
 But there's a nobler rest above : 
 To that our labouring; loves aspire, 
 With ardent pangs of strong desire. 
 
 " No more fatigue, no more distress. 
 Nor sin, nor hell, shall reach the place ; 
 No groans to mingle with the songs, 
 Wh'ch warble from immortal tongues " 
 
 MARCH 26. 
 
 " Nevertheless to abide in the Jlesh is more need- 
 ful for you. And hating this confidence, 1 
 know that I shall abide and continue with you 
 all for your furtherance and joy of failh." — 
 Phil. i. 24, 25. 
 
 Voltaire, in his letters to one of his con- 
 fidential friends and admirers, more than once 
 says, I hate life, and I dread death. How 
 different were the views and feelings of Paul ! 
 He did not dread death, but could say, "I 
 long to depart to be with Christ, which is far 
 better." And so far was he from hating life, 
 that he valued if as affording him opportunity 
 to glorify his Saviour, and to serve his people 
 according to his will. We have seen one 
 part of his strait— Let us look at the other. 
 
 Whether he derived his persuasion from a 
 knowledge that his bonds were manifest in all 
 the palace, and that efforts were making in 
 his favour by the saints in Caesar's household, 
 or from an inspired intimation, we cannot de- 
 termine : but he was confident that he should 
 not only escape death, but be releasefl from 
 imprisonment. Thus he would be debarred 
 from a state which, as to personal enjoyment, 
 he deemed far better than every thing else 
 and intensely longed after, and yet he speaks 
 of it with more than acquiescence. What an 
 instance of self-denial was here ! How back- 
 ward are some to make any sacrifice in order 
 to do good. They cannot forego a luxurious 
 meal to furnish a poor family with a plain one. 
 They cannot give up a little variety in dress 
 to clothe a naked child. But Paul is willing 
 to resign heaven itself, though he was sure 
 it was his own, and every kind of suffering 
 rendered it desirable — in order to be useful. 
 Self-denial is the first lesson Christianrty re- 
 quires ; and every part of it tends to inspire 
 us with a disposition to look, not on our own 
 things but also on the things of others. This 
 was the mind of Christ. When he was rich, 
 for our sakes he became poor. And the glo- 
 rified who are now with him, and have drunk 
 fully into his spirit, would be all ready were 
 it the will of God, to leave their ecstasies, 
 and come down asrain and live in this vale ct 
 
MARCH 27. 
 
 l13 
 
 tears, year after year, to serve the cause of 
 the Redeemer, and to promote the salvation 
 of mankind. 
 
 We see also that Paul was conscious of his 
 usefulness. Ignorance is not necessary to 
 humility; much less affectation. A man need 
 not deny his abilities, or acceptance, or suc- 
 cess, though he ought to acknowledge from 
 whom they come, and on whom they depend. 
 A mother may have a lowly mind, and yet 
 feel that her life is of importance to her 
 rising charge, and the feeling is even a duty. 
 A minister may be willing to enter into his 
 rest, yet be more than reconciled to life, when 
 he sees that many hang upon his lips who 
 may be saved or comforted by him; and it 
 would be folly in him not to be aware that he 
 is a blessing. Paul said, " I am nothing — 
 and so he was absolutely — but not compara- 
 tively and relatively." Am not I, says he, an 
 Apostle 1 "Have I not seen Christ 1" "By 
 the grace of God I am what I am ; not I, but 
 the grace of God which was with me ;" but, 
 adds he, " I laboured more abundantly than 
 they all." And he here makes no scruple to 
 say, that the welfare of the Philippians and 
 others depended upon his abiding in the flesh. 
 
 But wherein did he reckon upon being ser- 
 viceable 1 Not only in the conversion of sin- 
 ners, but in helping them much who had 
 believed through grace — " For your further- 
 ance and joy of faith." This is worthy of 
 notice. It shows the importance of faith. 
 Paul considered this every thing — not to the 
 exclusion of holiness, morality, and good 
 works; but as to the production of them, and 
 their support and their increase. He knew 
 that as faith prevailed, every thing in the di- 
 vine life would prosper. 
 
 Some say there is no growth in grace. But 
 the Apostles prayed, " Lord, increase our 
 faith." The faith of the Thessalonians " grew 
 exceedingly." And Paul was concerned for 
 " the furtherance" of the faith of his beloved 
 Philippians — that is, that it might be more 
 clear in its views, more firm in its principles, 
 more powerful in its influence, more appro- 
 priating in its confidence. He also wished 
 not only for their furtherance, but "joy of 
 feith." This joy they would constantly need ; 
 and it would be their strength. Jesus is the 
 source of it, but faith is the medium. He is 
 the well of salvation, but faith draws the 
 water — " In whom, believing, we rejoice with 
 joy unspeakable, and full of glory" — We are 
 " filled with all joy and peace in believing." 
 
 Such was Paul ! He was once a blasphemer, 
 a persecutor, and injurious, and abhorred the 
 worthy Name by which we are called : but 
 he obtained mercy: and the grace of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding abundant 
 to him-ward in faith and love, which are in 
 Christ Jesus. So that he could now say, " for 
 ine to live is Christ, and to die is gain" — 
 8 
 
 " Christ is all and in all. " Is any thing too 
 hard for the Lord ? 
 
 What an example is here ! What zeal and 
 yet what knowledge ! What preparation for 
 both worlds ! What readiness to go ! What 
 willingness to stay if there was any thing 
 more for him to do or suffer ! 
 
 " Behold the awful portrait, and admire. 
 Nor stop at wonder. Imitate and live " 
 
 MARCH 27. 
 "Am I in God's stead." — Genesis xxx. 1&. 
 
 What Jacob here says to Rachel, every 
 creature to which we address ourselves will 
 sooner or later say to us : " Am I in God's 
 stead V The doctrine we may derive from 
 the words is this, no creature can be in 
 the stead of God. But let us explain the 
 doctrine by some distinctions and concessions. 
 
 Though no creature can be in the stead of 
 God, God can be in the stead of any creature. 
 David therefore at Ziklag, w T hen deprived of 
 all his substance and his relations, " encour- 
 aged himself in the Lord his God." And the 
 Church exclaims, "Although the fig-tree shall 
 not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine ; 
 the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields 
 shall yield no meat ; the flock shall be cut off 
 from the fold, and there shall be no herd in 
 the stalls : yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I 
 will joy in the God of my salvation." 
 
 The sun may enable a man to dispense with 
 a lamp, but the lamp cannot supersede the 
 sun. The fountain is necessary to the stream, 
 but not the stream to the fountain. 
 
 Though no creature can be in the stead of 
 God to us, one creature may be in the stead 
 of another creature. A minister may more 
 than fill the void made by the removal of his 
 predecessor, and may possess a double portion 
 of his spirit. A child may be deprived of a 
 father, and some kind patron may take him 
 up, and educate him, and place him abroad in 
 life, and fully repair his loss. A husband may 
 seem inconsolable when deprived of the de- 
 sire of his eyes ; but soon after, another soft 
 hand may wipe away his tears. One relation 
 seems much more irreparable ; it is that of a 
 mother. Yet we ought not to indulge in gen- 
 eral and indiscriminate reflections. There 
 are mothers-in-law who are mothers in kind- 
 ness ; and step-mothers — that is — those who 
 step into the place of real mothers, who fulfil 
 the duties of the office, and are mothers in- 
 deed — and such can never be too much com- 
 mended and praised. 
 
 Though no creature can be in God's stead, 
 a creature may be in God's hand. He may 
 be God's instrument, but cannot be his substi- 
 tute. The instrumentality that God employs 
 differs much from the instrumentality which 
 men employ. Men employ instruments from 
 
114 
 
 MARCH 28 
 
 necessity, God employs them from choice. 
 Men employ them from weakness, God em- 
 ploys them from wisdom. Men depend upon 
 their instruments, God's instruments depend 
 upon him. They are no more than he is 
 pleased to make them. How then can they 
 fill his place ? They are nothing without his 
 agency. " Who then is Paul, and who is Apol- 
 los, but ministers by whom ye believed, even 
 as the Lord gave to every man ? I have plant- 
 ed, Apollos watered; but God gave the in- 
 crease. So then neither is he that planteth 
 any thing, neither he that watereth; but 
 God that giveth the increase." 
 
 The truth of this doctrine it would be easy 
 to exemplify. Can any be in God's stead as 
 a creator ! This is Jacob's immediate aim in 
 his reply — am I in God's stead, who hath 
 withholden from thee the fruit of the womb ? 
 He is the sole author of existence ; the former 
 of our bodies ; the father of our spirits ; and by 
 this he has an infinite distinction from all 
 creatures — they are made, and he is the 
 maker. Who can be in God's stead as a pre- 
 server] It is in him alone we live and move, 
 as well as have our being. If preservation 
 be not a continued creation, it is a continued 
 agency. Were he to suspend his upholding 
 influence for a moment, we should relapse 
 into nothing. Can any be in God's stead as 
 a redeemer'! Who but he could say, Deliver 
 from going down into the pit, I have found a 
 ransom ? He alone who required the sacri- 
 fice, could provide the lamb for a burnt-offer- 
 ing. He made him to be sin for us who knew 
 no sin, that we might be made the righteous- 
 ness of God in him. "Beside me there is no 
 Saviour." Who can be in God's stead as a 
 teacher"! "Who teaches like him)" We 
 are not only in darkness but blind — Who but 
 he can give us eyes as well as light ? We 
 are not only ignorant but weak — Who but he 
 can give us capacity as well as lessons! Who 
 but he can bear with our infirmities? Who 
 but he can make us wise unto salvation 1 
 Who can be in his stead as a sanctifier? 
 Who but he can create in us a clean heart, 
 aod renew a right spirit within us 1 ? "This 
 people," says he, " have / formed for myself; 
 they shall show forth my praise." Who can 
 be in his stead as a comforter ? Who can be 
 a substitute for him in healing the broken 
 in heart, and binding up all their wounds! 
 Who can revive those who walk in the midst 
 of trouble ? Who can fill the valley of the 
 shadow of death with joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory? 
 
 Let us think of this fact, and be thankful 
 that this only, this all-sufficient Being is ac- 
 cessible ; and allows and commands us to 
 "take hold of his strength." Let us think 
 of it in reference to creatures — Let us think 
 of it in asking for them. They may appear 
 desirable ; they may be useful ; but let us 
 never suppose that we must obtain them in 
 
 order to happiness. One thing only is neeo 
 ful ; it is an interest in God. Let us think of 
 it in possessing them, and say with Watts, 
 
 " To thee we owe our health and friends, 
 Our wealth and safe abode ; 
 Thanks to thy name for meaner things, 
 But they are not my God." 
 
 Let us think of it in losing them. We are 
 allowed to feel but not to despair. Yet what 
 idolaters are we ! and it appears when our 
 gods are taken away. Oh ! if I should lose 
 such a preacher ! Oh ! if that beloved con- 
 nexion was removed — mine eye would no 
 more see good. But the storm that carries 
 away the stubble, does not destroy the estate. 
 It was not a bad question the child addressed 
 to her bereaved and weeping mother when 
 she said, "Is God dead?" How strange 
 would some of our feelings appear if they 
 were expressed in words ! Yet what did Da- 
 vid think of this? " Whom have I in heaven 
 but thee ? and there is none upon earth that 
 I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart 
 faileth : but God is the strength of my heart 
 and my portion for ever." 
 
 MARCH 28. 
 " Gentleness."— Gal. v. 22 
 
 Paul here speaks of gentleness, not as a 
 natural temper, but as " the fruit of the Spir- 
 it." James also considers it as an attribute 
 and character of inspired religion : " Tht 
 wisdom that is from above is gentle." This 
 is surely recommendation enough to induce 
 us to make it the object of devout attontior. 
 
 Gentleness is very distinguishable fror 
 weakness of mind, and the fawning of Aatte 
 ry. It requires us to give up no truth tt 
 abandon no duty. Principle and consistency 
 are not only compatible with it, but necessaiy 
 to it. Lead is too soft as well as too worth- 
 less to be stamped into coin and currency. 
 You cannot polish a spunge, or a fungus; 
 solid bodies only can admit the process; and 
 the firmer they are, the better will they shine. 
 But gentleness must exclude arrogance, inso- 
 lence, violence, harshness, rudeness, and every 
 thing offensive and painful that can be avoid- 
 ed with integrity and rectitude. There is an 
 artificial mildness, and a studied softness ot 
 manner learned in the school of the world 
 that often covers baseness and ill-nature, and 
 envy and hatred. But a Christian is to be an 
 Israelite indeed in whom is no guile. He is 
 to be in reality what others are in appearance 
 and pretence: he is from inward disposition 
 naturally to exemplify what others from edu- 
 cation or custom put on. And how lovely and 
 engaging is that unaffected civility, that cour- 
 tesy which springs freely from the state of 
 the mind and heart under the renewing influ- 
 ence of divine grace ! He that in these 
 things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and 
 I approved of men. It recommends his religion 
 
MARCH 29. 
 
 115 
 
 by adorning it, and gives him a thousand ben- 
 eficial influences in dealing with his fellow- 
 creatures. A man may wait even years before 
 he has an opportunity for acts of high benefi- 
 cence and extensive usefulness ; but he can 
 exercise gentleness every day and every hour; 
 and contribute to the advantage and happiness 
 of all that are about him. And does he not 
 thereby equally befriend himself? Does it 
 not preserve calmness and sunshine within ? 
 And are not all the mild and kind affections 
 conducive even to the health of the body ? 
 
 Let us therefore cultivate this gentleness. 
 Let it enter our habits, and spread through 
 our whole behaviour. Let it constantly actu- 
 ate our temper, and regulate our speech. Let 
 all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and cla- 
 .ttiour, and evil-speaking be put away from us 
 with all malice, and let us be kind one to an- 
 other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, 
 even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven 
 us. Let us in all our religious concerns re- 
 member that the wrath of man worketh not 
 the righteousness of God. The servant of 
 the Lord must not strive but be patient to- 
 wards all men ; in meekness instructing those 
 that oppose themselves. The way to convince 
 another is not to affront, and insult, and pro- 
 voke him, and drive him to resistance; but to 
 show him that you love him, and are only con- 
 cerned to do him good. Some have no sooner 
 expressed their belief that a man can receive 
 nothing unless it be given him from above, 
 than they condemn and reproach him for a 
 destitution which, according to them, is not 
 his guilt but his misfortune! Ts a brother 
 overtaken in a fault ? Let us restore such an 
 one in the spirit of meekness, considering our- 
 selves, lest we also be tempted. Have we oc- 
 casion to reprove'? Let us remember what 
 was said of Leighton — He rebuked faults 
 with such kindness and mildness that they 
 were never repeated, not because the reproved 
 were afraid, but ashamed to repeat them. As 
 much as lieth in us let us live peaceably with 
 all men ; and resolve to act upon the lesson 
 we teach our infants — 
 
 " I '11 not easily offend, 
 Nor be easily offended ; 
 What 's amiss I 'II strive to mend. 
 And endure what can't be mended." 
 
 A.nd ye fathers provoke not your children to 
 wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord. And ye masters, 
 forbear threatening, knowing that your Mas- 
 ter also is in heaven, and that there is no re- 
 spect of persons with him. Gentleness in- 
 deed must peculiarly appear in our treatment 
 of those who are placed under us. It is one 
 of Lavater's aphorisms on man, and will, we 
 are persuaded, be found without exception 
 true — " If without living with him, or study- 
 Jig him, you would know a man at once, ob- 
 serve how lie acts and speaks towards his in- 
 feriors." Towards his superiors and his equals 
 
 he is guarded, but with his inferiors he is open 
 and free — and if with them he assumes airs, 
 and commands harshly, and answers roughly ; 
 if he swaggers, scolds, and threatens ; if he 
 tries to inspire fear rather than to gain love 
 — he has a tyrannical and a villanous heart. 
 A common observer would say — he is no gen- 
 tleman ; every thing in the gospel says — he 
 is no Christian. 
 
 MARCH 29. 
 
 " Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever 
 my lord the king shall appoint" — 2 Sam. xv. 15. 
 
 This was said on the trying emergency 
 when he was about to leave Jerusalem, to es- 
 cape from the vile rebellion of Absalom. And 
 it was well said. And it shows us what little 
 reason David had to complain, all men are 
 liars. With a few exceptions, no one ever 
 had more attached and devoted adherents 
 than he. 
 
 There is no spiritual meaning in the words. 
 They intend no more than they express. But 
 who can help thinking with what propriety 
 they may be adopted by Christians, and ad- 
 dressed to Christ? He is their Lord and 
 King. They profess to be his servants. He 
 ha» the appointment of their word. And 
 they should be ready to do his will without 
 partiality as well as without hypocrisy — " Be- 
 hold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever 
 my Lord the King shall appoint." 
 
 This is our reasonable service : and four 
 things should excite, sustain, and increase this 
 readiness. 
 
 First, the consciousness of our obligations 
 to him. How much do we owe him ! What 
 has he not done for us? and in a way the 
 most expensive to himself? He was rich, 
 and for our sakes he became poor — 
 
 " He sunk beneath our heavy woes. 
 To raise us to his throne : 
 There 's not a gift his hand bestows, 
 But cost his heart a groan." 
 
 We can never discharge our obligations to 
 a love that passeth knowledge. But we should 
 be deeply sensible of them ; and hold ourselves 
 entirely at his disposal ; and delight to do his 
 will ; and constantly ask, " What shall I render 
 unto the Lord, for all his benefits towards me?" 
 
 Secondly, a persuasion of his right to ap- 
 point every thing pertaining to us. Not a 
 right derived and limited like that of a mas- 
 ter or a father to dispose of his servant or his 
 child : but an original inalienable right — the 
 right of an absolute proprietor — the right of 
 a creator over a creature whom he called out 
 of nothing, and who lives and moves and has 
 his being in him. 
 
 Thirdly, a conviction not only that he has 
 a right to appoint, but that his appointments 
 are right — always wise and just and good. 
 They may be sovereign, but they are not ar- 
 bitrary. The reasons of them may be for s 
 
116 
 
 MARCH 30. 
 
 time concealed, but they are worthy of his 
 character. They are now satisfactory to his 
 own mind, and when explained, they will draw 
 forth our approbation and praise. We know 
 not what is best or even good for us. We have 
 made mistakes and suffered embarrassments 
 enough when we have attempted to judge for 
 ourselves, to convince us that the way of man 
 is not in himself. But he cannot err. His 
 understanding is infinite : and our wisdom and 
 welfare require us to say, " The Lord shall 
 choose our inheritance for us." 
 
 Lastly, a persuasion that our acceptance 
 with him does not depend upon the place he 
 assigns us, or the nature of the work he or- 
 dains us, but our submission to it. We are 
 not answerable for our stations and offices; 
 but for eur conduct in them. We can serve 
 the Lord in adversity as well as in prosperity ; 
 in a private as well as in a public capacity. 
 A good actor on the stage may be seen in the 
 character of a peasant as well as in that of a 
 prince — it is not the part allotted him that 
 calls forth the applause of the audience, but 
 the manner in which he represents it. To be 
 great in the world depends upon things over 
 which we have frequently no control : but all 
 may be great in the sight of the Lord : the 
 hearer as well as the preacher ; the servant 
 as well as the master. He looketh to the 
 heart ; and if we are ready to do whatsoever 
 he appoints, we shall have the testimony that 
 we please God ; and shall soon hear him say, 
 " Well done, good and faithful servant ; enter 
 thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 Such was the submission of Saul of Tarsus 
 -" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do 7" 
 Such was the temper of Samuel — "Speak, 
 Lord, for thy servant heareth." Such was 
 the practice of David — " On thee do I wait all 
 the day." And such is the readiness of an- 
 gels — Though they excel in strength, they do 
 his commandments hearkening unto the voice 
 of his word. What pleases them is not the 
 kind of work in which they are employed, but 
 their having an opportunity of showing their 
 regard to the pleasure of the employer. May 
 his will be done on earth as it is done in 
 heaven ! 
 
 MARCH 30. 
 
 " Since we have heard of your faith in Christ Je- 
 sus, and of the love which ye have to all the 
 Saints, and of the hope, which is laid up for you 
 in heavenV— -Col. i. 4, 5. 
 
 These were the grounds of Paul and Tim- 
 othy's praise to God on the behalf of the Colos- 
 sians. And they are all spiritual motives. 
 Temporal blessings are not to be overlooked 
 — But gratitude is to be wise, and to propor- 
 tioiHts fervours to the value of the benefits 
 conferred. And what are the good things 
 pertaining to the life that now is, compared 
 with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places 1 
 
 Much depends upon the nature ot jur grata 
 tude. There is no man who does not some 
 times thank God. But for what? A safe 
 voyage ; a good ha rvest ; a recovery from 
 sickness. All that awakens his heart is con- 
 fined within the circle of time and sense. 
 Christians are peculiar in every thing; ana 
 their gratitude shows that they are heavenly- 
 minded. They therefore thank Goc .irt so 
 much for the meat that perisheth, as ii_r :hat 
 meat which endureth unto everlasting life: 
 not so much for civil freedom, as for the glo- 
 rious liberty of the sons of God ; not so much 
 for health of body as for soul prosperity. They 
 that are after the flesh do mind the things of 
 the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit the 
 things of the Spirit. 
 
 The blessings here specified are three. 
 
 First, their faith in Christ. Faith regards 
 all the Scripture ; but this is the record, that 
 God hath given us eternal life, and this life is 
 in his son. Faith therefore has principally to 
 do with the Saviour. It receives as true the 
 testimony concerning him; and leads us to 
 depend upon him, and to apply to him for all 
 that he is revealed to accomplish and bestow. 
 Under the influence of it therefore we are 
 represented as looking to him; coming to hiin; 
 building on him as our foundation ; entering 
 him as our refuge ; and glorying in him as the 
 Lord our righteousness and strength — For the 
 Scriptures always describe rather than define 
 faith ; and show us what it is by what it does. 
 
 Secondly, Their love to all the Saints. 1 
 need not observe how often love is connected 
 with faith : but the same order is always main- 
 tained between them — Faith jprecedes love. 
 Love is the fruit and not the root ; the effect 
 and not the cause. Faith is the origin of 
 every thing in the Christian life; and it is 
 vain unless it be operative — it works by love. 
 Love to whom 1 To " The Saints"— not ex- 
 clusively, but peculiarly. The Thessalonians 
 loved all their fellow-creatures, but not with 
 the same degree or even kind of love. They 
 loved their enemies, but not as they loved 
 their friends. They loved sinners ; but it was 
 with a love of pity and benevolence, not of 
 esteem and complacency. But the Saints 
 were regarded by them as the excellent of the 
 earth, and in them was all their delight 
 Love to whom ? To " all the Saints" — regard- 
 less of outward distinctions, or the minor mat- 
 ters of religion. Indeed our love to the 
 brethren is not a proof that we have passed 
 from death unto life, unless it regards them 
 as saints. We love them under the influence 
 of some other character or quality, unless we 
 can pray, " Grace be with all them that love 
 our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity :" and fol 
 low the example of him who said, " Whoso- 
 ever shall do the will of my Father who is in 
 heaven, the same is my brother, and sister and 
 mother." 
 
 Thirdly, Their "hope." Hope is a grace 
 
 1. 
 
MARCH 31. 
 
 117 
 
 as well as faith and love ; but as a grace hope 
 is in us; whereas here hope is said to be 
 "laid up for them in heaven" — This shows 
 that the object of hope is here intended ; or 
 all that which God has promised to his people 
 beyond the grave. The laying it up in heaven 
 reminds us of its security. Hence the admo- 
 nition of the Saviour : " Lay up for yourselves 
 treasures in heaven, where neither rnoth nor 
 rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not 
 break through nor steal." In a world like 
 this, where nothing is safe or certain, how 
 anxious, fearful, miserable, must those be, who 
 have their portion in this life ! But Christians 
 can dwell at ease. None of these changes 
 and dangers affect their essential welfare. 
 They know in themselves that they have in 
 heaven a better and an enduring substance. 
 They have chosen that good part which shall 
 not be taken away from them. — It shows us 
 that it is principally future. At present they 
 are not at home, but strangers and pilgrims 
 on earth. They have remittances and sup- 
 plies, but it is from God's riches in glory. 
 The inheritance is reserved in heaven for 
 them ; and they cannot possess it till they are 
 ~>F age. Should they think of building their 
 tabernacles here, something would soon tell 
 them to arise and depart hence for this is not 
 their rest. Seed is sown for the righteous; 
 but the reaping-time is to come. Now is the 
 conflict, but the crown of glory that fadeth 
 not away is reserved for the hour of triumph. 
 — Also by being laid up in heaven it is much 
 concealed. O how great is the goodness, 
 says David, which thou hast laid up for them 
 that fear thee ! and says the Apostle, Eye 
 hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have en- 
 tered into the heart of man the things which 
 God hath prepared for them that love him. 
 After all the developments of the Scripture, 
 and the illuminations of the Holy Spirit in the 
 experience of Christians, we read of a glory 
 that shall be revealed. We could not in this 
 weak state of flesh and blood bear the full 
 disclosure. But the veil will soon be drawn 
 aside ; and the voice will cry, Come and see. 
 And the sight will infinitely surpass the ex- 
 pectation. 
 
 MARCH 31. 
 
 u The engrafted word." — James i. 21. 
 
 Historv, is silent as to the time when 
 grafting was first introduced. But it has been 
 long practised ; and the process is now gen- 
 erally familiar. 
 
 The image essentially includes union, vital 
 union between parts not connected before. 
 The man receives the word into his heart, as 
 the tree receives into its stock the scion, 
 which by incorporation becomes thencefor- 
 ward one with itself The surprise seems 
 here— We should imagine when the insertion 
 
 is made, that the sap of the tree entering the 
 scion which is so much smaller, would imme- 
 diately convert the scion into its own quality 
 but instead of this the scion converts the sap; 
 and the changed juice maintains, enlarges, 
 fructifies the scion ; and causes it in due time 
 to produce — not according to the kind of the 
 old stock — but of the adopted graft. 
 
 A metaphor is not to be pressed : but we 
 cannot avoid remarking, That as the body of 
 the tree continues the same after the ingraft- 
 ing, so in conversion we remain physically 
 the same as before ; retaining the same rela- 
 tions, conditions, callings; the same corporeal 
 powers, and mental faculties — only the effi- 
 ciency of them is changed, hallowed, and ap- 
 plied to other uses and purposes — and all 
 through the medium of the word. 
 
 Grafting is one of the most pleasing exer- 
 cises to those who feel delight in horticulture . 
 and how eagerly and anxiously after the ope- 
 ration has been performed, does the gardener 
 go and examine whether it has succeeded . 
 And this will be soon known. If the scion 
 has taken, it proves the vitality by the appear- 
 ance and growth of the graft. There are first 
 the shoots ; then the branches ; at length the 
 blossoms and the fruit appear; and the whole 
 increases every year, till it becomes a great 
 tree and abundantly rewards the owner. 
 
 Thus earnestly and carefully does a minis- 
 ter look after the effect of his labour ; and the 
 success of his preaching is known and haikd 
 in the same way ; only with higher exultation 
 and praise. Happy those servants of the 
 Lord Jesus whose hearers have received " the 
 grace of God in truth ;" and to whom they 
 say, "our gospel came to you not in word 
 only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, 
 and in much assurance." 
 
 It is from hence the gospel has its charac- 
 ter ; and is called the ingrafted word. It is 
 so called, however, not because this is always 
 the effect — for there are many who receive 
 it in vain ; but it is designed to be so received ; 
 and it is actually thus received when " it is 
 able to save the soul." Thus it is called the 
 word of faith — not because it is always be- 
 lieved; but because it is credible; and it is 
 made known for the obedience of faith ; and 
 it cannot profit us unless faith be mixed with 
 it. Thus it is called the word of life — not 
 because it quickens all those among whom 
 it comes — for there are many who remain 
 dead in trespasses and sins: but it calls us 
 to walk in newness of life ; and the man who 
 receives it, not only has " life, but life more 
 abundantly." 
 
 How does this apply to us? "My word," 
 said Jesus t# the Jews, " has no place in you'* 
 — Has it a place in us? — And what place? In 
 the head only ? or the heart? Is it in us a no- 
 tion? or a principle? And does it work pow- 
 erfully in us as it does in them that believe! 
 And does it fill us with all the fruits of right- 
 
119 
 
 APRIL 1. 
 
 ousncss which are by Jesus Christ to the 
 oraise and glory of God ! Such is the promise : 
 '•' I will put my Spirit within you, and cause 
 you lo walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep 
 my judgments and do them." 
 
 APRIL 1. 
 
 And these things I speak in the world, that they 
 might have my joy fulfilled in themselves." — 
 John xvii. 13. 
 
 " In the world." For as yet he was in it, 
 but was just going to leave it and go unto the 
 Father. His last words, considering their 
 conduct, might have been reproachful, or at 
 least reproving : but the things he now spoke 
 were adapted to encourage, and designed to 
 comfort them — " These things I speak in the 
 world, that they might have my joy fulfilled 
 in themselves." 
 
 Observe the nature of this joy — " my joy." 
 There is a joy he himself feels in contem- 
 plating the welfare of his people. In saving 
 them " he rejoices over them with singing." 
 As the good shepherd he lays the sheep he 
 has found on his shoulder, " rejoicing." He 
 sees of the travail of his soul, and is " satis- 
 fied." But his joy here is not the joy of which 
 he is the subject, but the joy of which he is 
 the medium, author, source and only source. 
 Jesus the Saviour! All that is good and 
 blessed is thine. The blood that redeems us 
 is thine. The righteousness which justifies 
 us is thine. The grace that sanctifies us is 
 thine. The power that supports us is thine. 
 It is thy peace that composes us. It is thy 
 joy that must be in us, or we must lie down 
 in sorrow. Thou art " the consolation of Is- 
 rael ;" and there is not a drop of real comfort 
 but flows from thee. But in thee there is 
 every thing that can excite, every thing that 
 can justify joy — even though it should be joy 
 unspeakable and full of glory. 
 
 Observe the means of this joy — " These 
 things I speak in the world, that they might 
 have my joy fulfilled in themselves." This 
 may be extended to all that he had delivered 
 during his whole ministry : but it principally 
 refers to his present speech, and the prayer 
 he had offered in their hearing. These were 
 to animate and console them. In these they 
 could see his heart, his desires, views and 
 purposes on their behalf. Here they heard 
 him say that he had finished the work that 
 was given him to do ; and that he had power 
 over all flesh, that he should give eternal life 
 to as many as the Father had given him. 
 Here they heard him interceding for their 
 preservation, their holiness, their union, their 
 glorification — What could they desire more 1 
 And what can we desire mqre ? For having 
 fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set 
 before us, we are authorized to receive this 
 irtrong consolation, and claim an interest in 
 
 this intercession, accoidmg to his own words: 
 " Neither pray I for these alone, but for them 
 also which shall believe on me through their 
 word." Yea we have the advantage of them 
 since we are more fully acquainted than they 
 were at this time with the dignity of his per- 
 son, his dearness to God, and the grounds on 
 which he pleads for us, in his obedience unto 
 death, and in his sacrifice on the cross. We 
 know that the Father heareth him always. It 
 was David's privilege to have an advocate at 
 court, and he was the king's own son. But 
 we have a much greater advantage in having 
 an advocate with the Father. What was Jona- 
 than to Jesus'! Jonathan too had to plead with 
 a father that hated his friend — But says Jesus, 
 "I say not unto you, that I will pray the 
 Father for you : for the Father himself loveth 
 you, because ye have loved me, and have be- 
 lieved that I came out from God." 
 
 Let us observe one thing here — The joy of 
 the believer is not a visionary thing. It is not 
 the produce of delusion or ignorance. It 
 flows from conviction ; it appeals to the word 
 of the Saviour. They who put their trust in 
 him know his name, and are able to give a 
 reason of the hope that is in them. 
 
 Observe the measure of this joy — " That 
 they might have my joy fulfilled in them- 
 selves? They possessed it already but de- 
 fectively. In conversion a good work is be- 
 gun ; but it is carried on until the day of 
 Christ. The rising sun, the growing corn, 
 and every other image employed in the Scrip* 
 tures, import the imperfections and progres- 
 sions there are in the experience of Chris- 
 tians. Hence there are degrees in faith ; and 
 we read of weak and of strong faith ; of little 
 and of great faith. Some have a competency 
 of faith ; others are affluent, they are rich in 
 faith. Some have hope; others the full as- 
 surance of hope. Some from various preven- 
 tions have little of the pleasures of religion ; 
 others walk in the comforts of the Holy 
 Ghost. Some have many distressing doubts 
 and fears ; others are filled with all joy and 
 peace in believing — And this is peculiarly de- 
 sirable. For 
 
 Observe Lastly, the importance of this joy 
 — This undeniably results from the concern 
 our Saviour here expresses. Men often err; 
 and we cannot conclude that a thing is emi- 
 nently, or even really excellent and valuable 
 because they prize and pursue it : for what 
 trifles, what follies attract and influence 
 many ! But as the Lord Jesus thinketh so U 
 is; his judgment is always according to truth 
 — And therefore says he, These things speak 
 I in the world that my joy might be fulfilled 
 in themselves. He knew the importance of 
 this possession — to the honour of our religion, 
 and the recommendation of the ways of god- 
 liness to others — to our activity and zeal in 
 the divine life — to our weanedness from the 
 world — to our suoport in trouble— and ou. 
 
APRIL 2. 
 
 llfr 
 
 eumlort in the valley of the shadow of death. 
 In all these the joy of the Lord is our strength. 
 
 Let the Saviour's concern regulate the 
 concern of ministers. Let them be helpers of 
 our joy, and seek the tongue of the learned, 
 that they may know how to speak a word in 
 season to him that is weary. 
 
 Let the Sa\ four's concern regulate the 
 concern of Christians. They should distrust 
 themselves; but they should be strong in the 
 grace that is in Chiast Jesus. They should 
 watch and be sober ; yet they should be scrip- 
 turalJy confident Are the consolations of 
 God small with them ] They are not small 
 in themselves, and they were not small in the 
 experience of the first believers. If therefore 
 they are small with us, is there not a cause 1 
 Is there not some secret thing with us ? Let 
 us search and try our ways, and turn again 
 unto the Lord. Let us resolve to sacrifice 
 whatever has caused him to hide his face 
 from us. Let us pray, Restore unto me the 
 joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy 
 free Spirit. Let us ask and receive that our 
 joy may be full. 
 
 APRIL 2. 
 
 *■ JSow is my soul troubled ; and what shall I say ? 
 Father, save me from this hour : but for this 
 cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify 
 thy name" — John xii. 27, 28. 
 
 Here we see the Saviour's anguish in re- 
 alizing the approach of the closing scene of 
 his life. Yet the trouble of his soul could not 
 have been produced by the certainty of his 
 Buffering and death only ; it must have prin- 
 cipally regarded the nature of them. Unless 
 we allow this, he loses his pre-eminence. 
 Some of the sages of antiquity met their end 
 with firmness. Socrates and Seneca died with 
 composure. Stephen did not say, " Now is my 
 soul troubled" when they were leading him 
 to be stoned. Paul did not tremble when he 
 said, " I am ready to be offered, and the time 
 of my departure is at hand." We have read 
 of martyrs who issued from their prisons with 
 singing and embraced the stake. And though 
 crucifixion was ignominious and painful, 
 many of the Lord's followers had to bear a 
 death much more torturing and lingering ; yet 
 they were not troubled or afraid. But his suf- 
 ferings and death were to redeem us from the 
 curse of the law ; and therefore he was made 
 a curse for us. The Lord laid on him the in- 
 iquity of us all. He bore our sins in his own 
 body on the tree. And here it is that we see 
 what a dreadful evil sin is. Many deem it a 
 light thing ; but hear him saying, " My soul 
 is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." 
 See him " sore amazed and very heavy." Be- 
 hold "his sweat, as it were great drops of 
 blood falling to the ground." A Christian can 
 •ever deem sin a trifle, or be reconciled to it 
 
 after he has seen the agonies f hiin who was 
 pierced by it — And as the citiztns of Rome, 
 upon the uncovering of the wounded and 
 gory body of Csesar, rushed forth to find and 
 avenge his murderers, so every Christian 
 flees to arms at the sight of the death of Jesus. 
 
 "Furnish me. Lord, with heavenly arms, 
 From grace's magazine ; 
 And I'll proclaim eternal war 
 With every darling sin." 
 
 — He here speaks as one in a strait , as if 
 struggling between inclination and convic- 
 tion, his feeling and his work — "And what 
 shall I say 1 Father, save me from this hour : 
 — But for this cause came I unto this hour." 
 There is no real difficulty here. He was hu- 
 man as well as divine ; and the Godhead did 
 not absorb the humanity, or change its attri- 
 butes. The Word was made flesh, and had 
 all the passions and infirmities of our nature, 
 sin only excepted. But suffering in itself can 
 never be agreeable to our nature — for then it 
 would be no longer suffering. If therefore 
 we submit to it, it is not from pleasure, but 
 for some reason or purpose. This reluctance, 
 instead of being inconsistent with submission, 
 serves to enhance it, and is even necessary to 
 it. There is no resignation in giving up what 
 we do not value. If we had no inclination to 
 food, there would be no self-denial in fasting. 
 There is no virtue in a stone ; and there is no 
 patience in bearing what we do not feel — Pa- 
 tience is injured by feeling too little, as well 
 as by feeling too much ; by despising the 
 chastening of the Lord, as well as by fainting 
 when we are rebuked of him. 
 
 Our Saviour therefore acquiesces in the 
 event. But in his mode of expressing it, he 
 leads us to observe two things concerning his 
 death. First, that it was not casual : " For 
 this caxise came I unto this hour." It was 
 written in the volume of the book — It was a 
 covenant transaction. He assumed a body 
 and entered our world for the very design — 
 " The Son of man came not to be ministered 
 unto, but to minister, and to give his life a 
 ransom for many" — He became incarnate to 
 die. Secondly, it was voluntary — " For this 
 cause came I unto this hmtr." He was not 
 compelled or deceived into the business ; but 
 as it was fore-appointed, so he foreknew and 
 foresaw it ; and acted from independence and 
 choice. He loved us and gave himself for us. 
 He had his eye upon this scene from the be- 
 ginning, and in all his travels of woe held it 
 in view till he reached it, saying, "Lo! I 
 come to do thy will, O God. I delight to do 
 thy will : yea, thy law is within my heart." 
 
 Hence his pious prayer — " Father, glorify 
 thy name." As if he had said, " If my suf- 
 ferings will be for thine honour, let them fall 
 upon rne, regardless of my feelings." Did he 
 then question this 1 By no means. His lan- 
 guage is rather the expression of confidence. 
 "I know that my death will infalliblv and ir 
 
120 
 
 APRIL 3. 
 
 finitely advance thy praise ; and therefore I 
 cheerfully bow t) thy pleasure" — Just as he 
 said, atler instituting his own supper, and 
 when about to enter Gethsemane : " But that 
 the world may know that I love the Father ; 
 and as the Father gave m« commandment, 
 even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." 
 
 But what is it to glorify his name ? Glory 
 6 the display of excellence. God's excellence 
 cannot be increased, but it may be made 
 known ; and this is the design of God in all 
 his operations. The heavens declare his 
 glory. All his works praise him. " And every 
 labour of his hands shows something worthy 
 of a God"— 
 
 •' But in the grace that rescued man, 
 His brightest form of glory shines ; 
 Here on the cross 'tis fairest drawn, 
 In precious blood, and crimson lines." 
 
 If God had punished sinners in their own 
 persons according to their desert, his law 
 would have been magnified, and his right- 
 eousness and truth confirmed ; and thus he 
 would have been glorified. And this glory 
 of God is secured here : but observe the addi- 
 tional advantage. Had the wicked been pun- 
 ished, though his law would have been mag- 
 nified, and his truth and righteousness con- 
 firmed, we could have seen nothing else — 
 nothing of his mercy and love : but here 
 mercy and truth meet together, righteous- 
 ness and peace kiss each other. We see the 
 exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness 
 towards us by Christ Jesus. And we draw 
 the consolatory conclusion : " He that spared 
 not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
 all, how shall he not with him also freely give 
 us all things?" 
 
 Herein also he hath abounded towards us 
 in all wisdom and prudence. At present in- 
 deed we see comparatively but little of this 
 glory : yet even now the sight is enough to 
 fix and fill the mind of believers. And not 
 only are they relieved and refreshed by the 
 contemplation, but they are sometimes carried 
 away, and catch glimpses of those irradiations 
 reserved for another life, which will draw 
 forth the wonder and praise of the heavenly 
 world for ever — and angels desire to look into 
 these things. 
 
 We love not to consider Christ only or 
 ;hiefly as our model. But after holding him 
 forth in his higher character as our sacrifice, 
 and righteousness, and strength, it is more 
 than allowable to bring him forward as our 
 example. And then nothing will be more ac- 
 ceptable to Christians. The love shed abroad in 
 their hearts by his cross, will make them long 
 to resemble him, and pray that they may be 
 changed into the same image, from glory to 
 glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. And this 
 conformity is not only desirable but necessary. 
 "If any man," says he, " will be my disciple, 
 let him deny himself, and take up his cross, 
 and follow me." Remember therefore that 
 
 " he suffered for us, leaving us an exampje, 
 that we should tread in his steps." We may 
 feel our sorrows, and even desire the removal 
 of them ; but we must do it as he did. 
 " Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass 
 from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as 
 thou wilt." Like him also we must, as suf- 
 ferers, regard the honour of God, and te con- 
 cerned that his Name may be glorified by cur 
 trials. "Wherefore glorify ye tiie Lord in 
 the fires." You cannot* do this in the same 
 way with him. His sufferings were media- 
 torial, atoning, and meritorious. But yours 
 may be instructive, encouraging, and useful. 
 They may recommend your religion, and 
 prove that God never forsakes his people, but 
 is with them in trouble, and comforts them in 
 all their tribulation, enables them to acknow- 
 ledge " he hath done all things well." " It is 
 good for me that I have been afflicted." 
 
 APRIL 3. 
 
 " They sung an hymn." — Matt. xxvi. 3U. 
 
 This is a circumstance not mentioned by 
 the other evangelists. But it is very instruc- 
 tive. 
 
 We should like tc have known the very 
 hymn they sung. The psalms the Jews used 
 at the end of the passovor began with the one 
 hundred and thirteenth, and ended with the 
 one hundred and eighteenth. Was the hymn 
 here used one of these ? Or was it any one 
 else of the compositions of David " the sweet 
 psalmist of Israel?" Or was it the words of 
 any other pious poet? We cannot determine. 
 We have every reason to believe the subject 
 of it was suited to the occasion ; and never 
 had language been so honoured before. We 
 might also have wished to know the manner 
 in which they performed it — Was it recitative 
 or choral? Symphonious or responsive? But 
 how did he join ? Oh ! to have seen the emo- 
 tions of his countenance, to have heard the 
 strains of his voice ! — But the Scripture is not 
 designed to indulge our curiosity. It there- 
 fore only says, " They sung an hymn." But 
 the fact itself teaches us that singing is a 
 Christian ordinance. It is sanctioned by our 
 Lord's own example. And the authority for 
 the usage was not overlooked by the Apostles 
 as we see both in their practice and precepts. 
 Thus at Philippi we find Paul and Silas at 
 midnight not only prayed but "sung praises 
 unto God ; and the prisoners heard them." 
 And thus Paul says to the Colossians, " Teach- 
 ing and admonishing one another in psalms 
 and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with 
 grace in your hearts to the Lord." And Jamea 
 enjoins those who are merry to " sing psalms." 
 
 But observe by what this singing was im 
 mediately preceded, and by what it was im 
 mediately followed. 
 
 It was immediately Receded by the admit 
 
APRIL 4 
 
 m 
 
 is tration ot his own supper Hence we learn 
 that singing should accompany this sacred or- 
 dinance. "Joy becomes a feast" — And this 
 is a feast — a feast of love and friendship — a 
 feast of reconciliation between God and us — 
 a feast upon the sacrifice — a feast in which 
 we are reminded that " his flesh is meat in- 
 deed, and his blood drink indeed." And we 
 ought not only to be thankful for such a death, 
 but for such a memento and emblem of it. 
 For here we have signs so lively and sensible 
 that before our eyes he is evidently set forth 
 crucified among us. And what an honour 
 that we who are not worthy of the children's 
 crumbs are allowed to sit down with the King 
 at his table, as a proof that " we are fellow- 
 citizens with the saints, and of the household 
 of faith!" 
 
 " While all our hearts, and all our songs. 
 Join to admire the feast: — 
 Each of us cries with thankful tongues, 
 Lord, why was I a guest ?" 
 
 It was immediatelyybZfottjerf by his entrance 
 into Gethsemane — When they had sung a 
 hymn " they went out into the mount of 
 olives." Now this garden may be viewed as 
 a place of suffering, and of retirement ; and 
 so two things may be observed. First, That 
 the prospect of suffering should not prevent 
 our joy and praise. Though our Saviour had 
 announced the treason of Judas ; foresaw the 
 denial of Peter, and the desertion of all the 
 disciples ; and knew that he was now going 
 into Gethsemane to agonize there, and there 
 to be apprehended and led away to crucifixion 
 — yet this does not hinder his previously sing- 
 ing a hymn ! Does not this say to his followers, 
 Rejoice evermore? In every thing give thanks? 
 A Christian should say with David, " I will bless 
 the Lord at all times, his praise shall contin- 
 ually be in my mouth. I look for changing 
 scenes and trying dispensations ; but I shall 
 always have to sing of mercy as well as judg- 
 ment — and of mercy in judgment." " Come," 
 would Luther say to Melancthon, a wise man 
 but more timorous than himself, when pros- 
 pects looked dark and distressing at the be- 
 ginning of the Reformation : " Come, let us 
 sing the forty-sixth psalm : and let earth and 
 hell do their worst." Should it not reprove 
 and humble us, that we have so little of the 
 mind that was in Christ Jesus, especially when 
 we consider the greatness of his sufferings, 
 and the comparative lightness of our own ? If 
 we are not filled with murmurings and com- 
 plainings, we are often silent in his praise, 
 as if we had nothingto be grateful for, though 
 encompassed with his goodness. The im- 
 pression of one trial will make us insensible 
 to the claims of a thousand blessings. But 
 Christ might well sing. He knew God would 
 be with him in the trying scene. And will 
 he not be with you ? Has hi not said, " I will 
 be with thee in trouble ?"— And he had a joy 
 «et before him at the end of his conflict, the 
 
 prospect of which might well induce him 
 more than to' submit. And have not you! 
 Could you see the issue of all your trials, you 
 also would — you must — rejoice in hope of the 
 glory of God. 
 
 Secondly, That religious ordinances and 
 engagements should not lead us to dispense 
 with retirement. When therefore they had 
 ended the communion by singing a hymn, 
 they went out into the mount of olives, 
 whither he had often resorted for prayer and 
 meditation. It is alone, after you have left 
 the worship, and especially the table of the 
 Lord, it is there that you can revive the re- 
 membrance ; that you can bring home to 
 yourselves what you have heard and seen ; 
 that you can call your consciences to an ac- 
 count , that you can yield yourselves afresh 
 unto the Lord ; that you can implore that di- 
 vine influence which alone giveth the in- 
 crease. 
 
 The neglect of this practice will explain 
 the reason why many who attend the services 
 of the sanctuary derive so little advantage 
 from them — " Through desire a man having 
 separated himself seeketh and intermeddleth 
 with all wisdom." 
 
 APRIL 4. 
 
 " And as they led him away, they laid hold upon 
 one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the coun- 
 try, and on him they laid the cross, that he might 
 bear it after Jesus." — Luke xxiii. 26. 
 
 In the course of a few hours he had taken 
 many a weary and painful step. From the 
 communion chamber he had walked to the 
 garden of Gethsemane — From Gethsemane 
 he was hurried away, bound as a prisoner, to 
 Annas — From Annas to Caiaphas — From Cai- 
 aphas to Herod — From Herod back again to 
 Pilate — so that he had already traversed a 
 great part of Jerusalem. But he must take 
 one melancholy walk more — It is from the 
 judgment-hall to Golgotha. 
 
 With us not only hours but days, and fre- 
 quently even weeks elapse between the sen- 
 tence of death and the execution : and Tibe- 
 rias, the present emperor, had issued an order 
 some years before, that no criminal should be 
 executed till ten days after his condemnation. 
 But the benefit of this edict did not extend to 
 murderers and rebels, as it was judged ne- 
 cessary for the public safety and tranquillity, 
 that such malefactors should be immediately 
 put to death. Jesus was arraigned as a 
 mover of sedition as well as a blasphemer; 
 and therefore as soon as ever the sentence 
 was pronounced upon him, he was led away 
 lo be crucified. But he was not taken by 
 surprise. He knew that his hour was come* 
 and was ready to welcome its approach. 
 
 He was not conveyed to the place of exe- 
 cution, but walked. Nor was this all. 
 Amonsr the Romans the criminal carried his 
 
122 
 
 APRIL 5. 
 
 cross. Tne design ol the custom was good. 
 It was to intimate that, he was the author of 
 his own punishment; and seemed to say to 
 him, " Hast thou not procured this unto thy- 
 self ] n The outstretched arms of the criminal 
 were fastened to the transverse beam, while 
 the upright part of the cross rested between 
 his shoulders, and extending down his back 
 dragged on the ground. In this manner was 
 Jesus to go forward. And in his case the im- 
 position was not only humiliating but painful, 
 owing to the bruises and soreness produced 
 by the scourge. Yet thus was he pressed 
 with the heavy load, and had to exert all his 
 strength to draw along the instrument of his 
 death. And considering his agony in the 
 garden, his fatiguing night, his want of sleep 
 and refreshment, and his loss of blood ; no 
 wonder he was found unequal to the continu- 
 ance of the task, at least in the manner his 
 executioners wished. Hence the relief af- 
 forded him. This relief was not from tender- 
 ness to him, but to hasten the execution. 
 They saw that he grew weak, and frequently 
 paused ; and were fearful lest he should fail 
 before he reached the top of the hill. This 
 would have occasioned delay ; and their wish 
 was to get the crucifixion over, and the bodies 
 taken down before the Sabbath began. And 
 such was their haste, that by nine o'clock he 
 was lifted up from the earth ! He had drawn 
 the burden through the streets, arid was now 
 between the city gate and the foot of Calvary, 
 in the ascending of which his difficulty would 
 be increased. Here the procession met Sim- 
 eon. Simeon was of Cyrene, a city of Libya, a 
 thousand miles distant from Jerusalem. He 
 was an African and a black — never the worse 
 for this — yea we hope it was a token for good 
 with regard to a race chargeable with so 
 guilty a skin. He seems to have been a man 
 of some note : at least he was the father of 
 Rufus and Alexander, who were afterwards 
 distinguished in the church. Simeon was 
 coming up from the country, either to do 
 business or to attend the Passover. Nothing 
 therefore could be more accidental than this 
 meeting — But how much in his history de- 
 pended upon it ! We cannot help thinking he 
 was a secret disciple of Jesus; and seeing 
 him th is suffering, and ready to sink, he be- 
 trayed his sympathy and regard by his looks 
 and words. This was enough for the soldiers, 
 and tho rude rabble, who setting up a laugh 
 exclaimed, " Well, since the negro pities him, 
 he shall help him." And so " on him they 
 laid the cross, that he should bear it after 
 Jesus." In another place it is said they 
 " compelled" him ; but this regards their en- 
 forcement of the thing ; for it is obvious he 
 made no resistance. Had he been an unre- 
 lenting Jew, an enemy to Jesus and his doc- 
 trine, he would have railed and cursed ; and 
 the Priests and Scribes would have interposed 
 for him, and desired the soldiers not ti make 
 
 a laughing-stock of one of their fellow-c tizens. 
 Or if for a moment he discovered a little re- 
 luctance, he soon felt enough not only to 
 make him willing to yield, but to enable him 
 to rejoice that he was counted worthy to suf- 
 fer shame for his Name. 
 
 And is not the same thing required of us ' 
 Has not Jesus said, "Whosoever doth not 
 bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be 
 my disciple ?" We too at first may be ready 
 to shrink back; but further information and 
 experience induce us cheerfully to deny our- 
 selves, and to go forth to him without the 
 camp bearing his reproach. We see him be- 
 fore us — dignified and holy — enduring the 
 curse for us — and leaving us only " this light 
 affliction, which is but for a moment, and 
 which worketh out for us a far more exceed- 
 ing and eternal weight of glory" — 
 
 " We tread the path our Master trod, 
 We bear the cross he bore ; 
 And every thorn that wounds our feet, 
 His temples pierced before. 
 
 " O patient spotless Lamb! 
 My heart in patience keep; 
 To bear the cross so easy made, 
 By wounding thee so deep." 
 
 APRIL 5. 
 
 " And there followed him a great company of peo- 
 ple, and of women, which also bewailed and 
 lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them 
 said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for 
 me, but weep for yourselves, and for your chiU 
 dren. For, behold, the days are coming, in the 
 which they shall say, Blessed arc the barren, 
 and the wombs that neter bare, and the paps 
 which never gave suck. Then shall they begin 
 to say to the mountains, Fall on us ; and to the 
 hills, Cover us. For if they do these things 
 in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry ?" 
 — Luke xxiii. 27 — 31. 
 
 Only six days before he had descended into 
 Jerusalem from Bethany, by the Mount of 
 Olives, when the multitude spread their gar- 
 ments in the way, and cried, Hosannah! 
 Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord ! Many of the same people are now fol- 
 lowing him as he goes to Calvary to be cru- 
 cified. As it was now a festival, there was 
 an immense concourse of people ; this would 
 readily increase the number of spectators. 
 But a public execution always collects a 
 a crowd. There must be something exceed- 
 ingly attractive and interesting in such a 
 sight, or so many would not repair to it ; for 
 they go voluntarily ; and there have been in- 
 stances in which a reprieve has disappointed 
 their expectation, and led them to murmur 
 that they had taken so much trouble in vain. 
 Yet a public execution might be rendered 
 morally impressive and useful. " The way 
 of transgressors is hard." See there what 
 an evil and bitter thing sin is. See the de- 
 gradation of our common nature. That crinv 
 
APRIL 6. 
 
 123 
 
 ma. may De lesi guilty than myself. He may 
 have had tew of my advantages. If left in 
 the same circumstances he was, what might 
 1 have been ? — 
 
 Our regard for the sex makes us lament that 
 so many females always attend such scenes 
 as these. They have certainly more compas- 
 sionateness than men ; but they have also in 
 their nature a principle of curiosity, and a love 
 of excitement, which somei imes carry them 
 away. Here were many women lining the 
 sides of the road by which Jesus was to pass, 
 some leading their children, and some carry- 
 ing their "babes. But they did themselves 
 honour ; for while others insulted, they " la- 
 mented him." Perhaps some of them had 
 been healed by him. Perhaps some of them 
 had heard him preach. Were any of the 
 mothers here whose infants he had taken in 
 his arms and blessed ? Was the widow here 
 whose son he had raised from the dead ? Was 
 the woman here who had washed his feet 
 with her tears ? Could Martha and Mary be 
 here? Or Mary Magdalene and the other 
 Mary ? — These seeing him as he came oppo- 
 site them — in this piteous plight — bleeding — 
 exhausted — pausing and panting — the execu- 
 tioners savagely goading him on — and the 
 populace mocking at his grief; could refrain 
 no longer, but strongly, as the word implies, 
 expressed their sorrow, by cryings, and tears, 
 by wringing of their hands and striking their 
 breasts. This required courage a3 well as 
 tenderness. It showed an interest in the 
 supposed culprit: it seemed a censure of his 
 suffering as unjust and cruel. And persons 
 were severely forbidden to indulge in public 
 condolence with offenders the Sanhedrim had 
 condemned — But " love is strong as death ; 
 many waters cannot quench love, neither can 
 the floods drown it." 
 
 Our Saviour's kindness and presence of 
 mind are here seen. The nearness of his 
 execution, and his present anguish do not ab- 
 sorb him in selfish feeling, but he turns to 
 these daughters of Jerusalem, and says, 
 " Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves 
 and your children." Some suppose that he 
 blamed these tears, because he knew they 
 sprung from ignorance of the cause and de- 
 sign of his death. Others supposed he blamed 
 them because he did not deserve these tears, 
 as he was a guilty sufferer, the Lord having 
 laid upon him the iniquity of us all. The 
 former surmise is ill founded, the latter ab- 
 surd. The fact is he did not blame them at 
 all, but would intimate, That if they knew 
 what was ready to befall them, their sorrow 
 would be more required for themselves than 
 for him. It was an expression of his pity, 
 excited by a view of the dreadful calamities 
 which would desolate their city and their 
 country, when even Jewish mothers, who so 
 valued offspring, would hail the childless ; and 
 others envy the happiness of those who would 
 
 be buried alive ! " For, behold, the days are 
 coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed 
 are the barren, and the wombs that never 
 bare, and the paps which never gave suck. 
 Then shall they hegin to say to the moun- 
 tains, Fall on us ; and to the hills, Cover us." 
 Of these judgments he intimates the caus«. 
 in a question drawn from a proverb : " For if 
 they do these things in a green tree, what 
 shall be done in the dry?" The green tree 
 refers to himself, the dry to the people of the 
 Jews. Surely wood full of sap is less inflam- 
 mable than wood withered and dead. If I ' 
 suffer who am innocent — how will the guilty 
 escape — and who are adding my death to all j 
 their other crimes? It shows us that sin is 
 danger, and prepares us for the wrath of God ? 
 " Fury is not in me. Who would set the 
 briers and thorns against me in battle? I 
 would go through them, I would burn them 
 together." And there are degrees of peril 
 and of punishment. If the ignorant are de- 
 stroyed for lack of knowledge, what will be- 
 come of those who possess and abuse it ? If 
 they escaped not who refused him that spake 
 on earth, how much more shall not we escape 
 if we turn away from him that speaketh from 
 heaven ? If the children of ungodly parents 
 perish, what will be the doom of those who 
 have been trained up in the nurture and ad- 
 monition of the Lord ? If Moses and Aaron 
 were so severely chastised for a single offence 
 to which they were greatly provoked at the 
 waters of strife ; what have they to expect 
 who sin constantly and without excuse ? If 
 he deals thus with friends, how will he treat 
 enemies ? " Behold, the righteous shall be 
 recompensed in the earth, how much more 
 the sinner and the ungodly !" " The time 
 is come that judgment must begin at the 
 house of God: and if it first begin at us, 
 what shall the end be of them that obey not 
 the gospel of God? And if the righteous 
 scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly 
 and the sinner appear ?" 
 
 APRIL 6. 
 
 " But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his 
 side, and forthwith came thereout blood and 
 water." — John xix. 34. 
 
 This incident is recorded by none of the 
 other evangelists. But John more than suf- 
 ficiently attests it The fact is very striking 
 and improvable ; and perhaps we are not in- 
 structed in it as we ought to be. 
 
 The ancients enlarge much on this wound, 
 and some of the moderns are not far behind 
 them. One makes it an allusion to the man- 
 ner in which Adam obtained his wife, and by 
 which he was a figure of him that was to 
 come. While the Lord from heaven was 
 sleeping the sleep of death, his aide was open- 
 ed, and from thence his Church was taken, to 
 
124 
 
 APRIL 7. 
 
 / vhom he has espoused himself. Another 
 makes it the cleft of the rock into which God 
 puts us, as he did Moses, when he passes by 
 and proclaims his goodness. A third repre- 
 sents it as a window made in his body by 
 which we can look into his heart and see his 
 love. Herbert in his Temple calls it a letter- 
 bag into which we may put any of our re- 
 quests, and which shall be thereby safely con- 
 veyed to God. 
 
 It is painful to think what freedoms have 
 been taken with the Scriptures; and what 
 silly and profane conceits have been indulged 
 on subjects at once the most sacred and 
 awful. And yet many affect to wonder at 
 the impression made by such improprieties 
 upon the minds of the young, and the edu- 
 cated, and the sceptic, and the scoffer ! We 
 are not answerable for the dislike men feel 
 to the truth itself; but we should distinguish 
 between the offence of faith, and the offence 
 of folly. 
 
 The occasion of the event was this. The 
 Jews, because it was the preparation, that the 
 bodies should not remain upon the cross on 
 the Sabbath-day, for that Sabbath was an 
 high day, besought Pilate that their legs 
 might be broken; and that they might be 
 taken away. The worst of men are often 
 I anxious about the external and ceremonial 
 parts of religion. Conscience as well as de- 
 i cency requires something; and forms and 
 ! rites are not difficult, and they leave the 
 j state of the heart untouched. What a mix- 
 ture was here ! What superstition and wick- 
 edness! What regard to the Sabbath and the 
 passover and what swiftness to shed blood ! 
 The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 
 Why do they not dispatch the sufferers at 
 once, instead of only hastening their death 
 by addition to their anguish? The violence 
 and the pain probably produced the most 
 dreadful outcries. In this barbarous manner 
 the soldiers came and brake the legs of the 
 first, and of the other which was crucified 
 with him. One of these was the penitent 
 thief. He had prayed to be remembered 
 when Jesus came into his kingdom, and had 
 received the assurance that he should that 
 very day be with him in paradise; and the 
 promise would now be fulfilled. Yet this 
 does not exempt him from the same usage 
 endured by his impenitent companion. All 
 things come alike to all. But though out- 
 wardly treated alike, what a difference was 
 there between them in their feelings and in 
 their end — one passing from torture into tor- 
 ment — the other rejoicing that all his suffer- 
 ing was for ever ended, and he should instant- 
 ly enter into the joy of his Lord ! 
 
 Jesus had now breathed his last. Was it 
 owing to the greater sensibility of his mind, 
 and delicacy of his body, that he expired 
 sooner than his fellow-sufferers] Rather we 
 see here the voluntariness of his death. He 
 
 had said, No man taketh my life from me ; I 
 lay it down of myself. As he was the sacri- 
 fice, so he was the priest, and through the 
 eternal Spirit he offered himself without spot 
 to God. He did not die therefore from a 
 mere exhaustion of nature. He cried with a 
 loud voice, and gave up the ghost : and Pilate, 
 as a thing perfectly unusual, when informed 
 of it, marvelled that he was already dead. 
 When therefore they came to Jesus, and 
 saw that he was already dead, they brake 
 not his legs : but " one of the soldiers with 
 a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came 
 thereout blood and water." From hence we 
 see that our Saviour had not been long 
 dead ; for had the flesh been cold, and the 
 fluids coagulated, the effusions would not 
 have taken place. Those who understand 
 anatomy, and are aware of the membraneous 
 bag which contains the heart, can easily ac- 
 count for the flowing of water as well as blood. 
 But we have something of more importance 
 here than any physical reflections. Let me, 
 O my soul, consider the fact as — an instance 
 of the indignity to which the Saviour sub- 
 mitted for my sake — as a confirmation of the 
 reality and certainty of his death — as a sym 
 bol of the manner of my recovery by him — 
 and as a display of Providence in fulfilling 
 the Scriptures. Take your own thoughts 
 first upon these remarks, and then read the 
 illustrations in the following exercise. 
 
 " O the sweet wonders of that cross 
 Where God my Saviour groan'd and died! 
 Her noblest life my spirit draws 
 From his dear wounds, and bleeding side.'" 
 
 APRIL 7. 
 " One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his 
 
 side, and forthwith came thereout blood and 
 
 water." — John xix. 34. 
 
 Let us view this fact as an instance of the 
 indignity and insult to which the Saviour 
 submitted. When we consider not only the 
 pre-existence, but the original greatness of 
 the Lord Jesus; and read all the magnificent 
 things the sacred writers have said of him ; 
 how surprising do his grace and condescension 
 appear ! He took not on him the nature of 
 angels — then they could not have pierced 
 him ; but because the children were partakers 
 of flesh and blood, he likewise himself took 
 part of the same. Yet he did not assume our 
 nature in any of its higher forms or condi- 
 tions. Some are rich ; hut he had not where 
 to lay his head. Some are admired and ca- 
 ressed ; he was despised and rejected of men. 
 Some are nobles and princes; he made him- 
 self of no reputation, but took upon him the 
 form of a servant, and became obedient unto 
 death, even the death of the ■cross. The 
 death was not only a scene of pain, but of 
 shame : and to render it the more ignomini- 
 ous, he was numbered with the transgressors, 
 and crucified between two thieves. He was 
 
APRIL 7. 
 
 126 
 
 also insulted when dying — and mangled when 
 dead. O my soul, was all this humiliation for 
 me 1 And shall 1 deem any thing too dear to 
 resign, or too trying to endure for him ? How 
 was that precious body prepared for him by 
 the Holy Ghost treated ! How was his whole 
 frame agonized when his sweat was as it 
 were great drops of blood falling to the 
 ground ! How was his flesh ravaged by the 
 scourge when the ploughers ploughed upon 
 his back, and made long their furrows ! How 
 were his temples lacerated with the crown 
 of thorns ! How was his face marred when 
 they plucked off the hair ! How were his 
 hands and feet pierced with the nails — while 
 the. soldier's spear pierced his side ! And how 
 shall I regard all this ! The wounds of a 
 general who bleeds in the defence of his coun- 
 try are deemed not disgraceful, but scars of 
 honour; and are viewed with emotions of ten- 
 derness, admiration, and praise. Jesus dis- 
 played much more than such memorials. He 
 retained them after his resurrection. When 
 he appeared to the Apostles, " he showed them 
 his hands and his feet." Thomas was not 
 then present, and continued incredulous, not- 
 withstanding the testimony of ten witnesses 
 -To him he also appeared ; and said, " Reach 
 hither thy finger and behold my hands ; and 
 reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my 
 side, and be not faithless but believing." He 
 wears them now. John saw him as a lamb 
 that had been slain. He will wear them for 
 ever, and the view of them will serve to ex- 
 cite the renewed praises of his people — 
 
 Let us view it as a confirmation of the re- 
 ality and certainty of his death. It could 
 not be said he was only in a swoon ; or half 
 dead; or that his resurrection was nothing 
 more than a recovery of suspended animation. 
 His enemies were concerned to know that he 
 had expired ; and they fully ascertained it. 
 The very act of wantonness in the ruffian 
 soldier demonstrated it. He could not have 
 survived the wound, had it been given him in 
 perfect health. It penetrated the pericardi- 
 um/ and transfixed his vitals. But what is 
 this to us ] Every thing. Without his death 
 the whole gospel is a cipher, and all our hopes 
 are a delusion. He died for us. And he died 
 for us not only or principally to confirm his 
 doctrine, or to be our example ; but to bear 
 our sins in his own body on the tree ; and by 
 the one offering up of himself to perfect for 
 ever them that are sanctified. He made 
 peace by the blood of his cross. He died too 
 as a testator : he made a new will, the lega- 
 cies of which were invaluable ; but it could 
 never have become valid without his death : 
 " For where a testament is, there must also 
 of necessity be the death of the testator. For 
 a testament is of force after men are dead : 
 otherwise it is of no strength at all while the 
 testator liveth." What therefore establishes 
 my faith in his death is beyond expression im- 
 
 portant. If it be false, I am left to all the ef 
 fects of the Fall. If it be true, my triumph 
 is complete — It is all my salvation and all my 
 desire. 
 
 Let us view it also as a symbol of the man- 
 ner of our recovery by him. Hear what the 
 reporter of the fact has said concerning it in 
 his epistle : " This is he that came by water 
 and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water 
 only, but by water and blood." It would be far 
 short of the Apostle's meaning to consider the 
 allusion as sacramental, looking only at Bap- 
 tism and the Lord's Supper. The reference 
 regards tha double efficiency of the Lord's 
 death — to satisfy and — to sanctify. Blood to 
 redeem and water to cleanse. The one to 
 remove the curse of sin, the other the love 
 of it. Neither of these blessings i is to be 
 found unless in the cross. But they are both 
 to be derived from a dying Jesus : and there- 
 fore iniquity need not be our ruin if we apply 
 to him. He is a Prince and a Saviour. He 
 gives repentance and remission of sins. 
 
 Let us be convinced of our need of both ; 
 and combine both in our creed and our expe- 
 rience. It is a defective view of the death 
 of Christ, to look to it for comfort only : he 
 died not only to atone, but to purify : " he 
 loved the church, and gave himself for it 
 that he might cleanse it by the washing of 
 water by the word." The water and the 
 blood were not severed in their effusion ; nei- 
 ther can they be divided in their application. 
 Happy they who value both ; and can say, " In 
 the Lord have I righteousness and strength." 
 
 Lastly, we may view it as a display of 
 Providence in the fulfilment of the Scrip- 
 ture. Hence John immediately adds, " And 
 he that saw it bare record, and his record is 
 true : and he knoweth that he saith true, that 
 ye might believe." Believe what 1 That 
 Jesus was the Messiah, by the correspondence 
 between him and the prophecies going before. 
 Observe those he mentions: First, says he, 
 " For these things were done, that the Scrip- 
 ture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall 
 not be broken." Referring to the language 
 of David, " He keepeth all his bones : not one 
 of them is broken." This was not only fore- 
 told of him in words ; but also prefigured in 
 type. He was our Passover. Now of the 
 Paschal Lamb it was said, " Neither shall ye 
 break a bone thereof" — This could not have 
 been verified had the soldier fractured his 
 legs. Nor would another have been accom- 
 plished had he not pierced his side. "Again 
 another Scripture saith, They shall ktok ok 
 him whom they pierced :" referring to the 
 language of Zechariah, " They shall look 
 upon me whom they have pierced." Thus 
 the eye of prophecy, ages before the accom- 
 plishment, saw this soldier piercing him per- 
 sonally and literally ; and the Jews by means 
 of him: and therefore he adds, "and they 
 shall mourn for him." And some of them 
 
126 
 
 APRIL 8. 
 
 after they had crucified him, were brought to 
 repentance, and sorrowed after a godly sort. 
 And others of them, yea all Israel will do 
 this, when the veil is taken from their heart. 
 It is also now realized in every penitent who 
 mourns for his sins as the cause, whoever 
 were the instruments of the sufferings and 
 death of the Saviour. 
 
 But how true is it that " the Scripture can- 
 not be broken !" And how wonderfully does 
 God accomplish it — by friends — by foes — by 
 the righteous — by the wicked — by what is 
 casual — by what is criminal — Nothing was 
 further from the thoughts of this unfeeling 
 soldier than the end answered by his brutali- 
 ty — but he was God's instrument, and acted 
 an important and indispensable part in proving 
 his omniscience and veracity. 
 
 APRIL 8. 
 
 " They shall look on him whom they pierced" 
 John xix. 37. 
 
 It is added in the prophecy from which 
 these words are taken — "And they shall 
 mourn for him." And who is not ready to 
 say, " Nothing could have been more becom- 
 ing in those who were chargeable with the 
 deed-, when they reflected that they had cru- 
 cified an innocent being, a being who only 
 went about doing good, a being made higher 
 than the heavens — surely they ought to have 
 mourned for him ' as one mourneth for his 
 only son, and to be in bitterness for him as 
 one that is in bitterness for his first-born.' " 
 But suppose we should have been consenting 
 unto his death 1 Suppose we should have 
 been the cause of it 1 Suppose his persecu- 
 tors and murderers were only the instruments 
 we employed 1 Then our resentment will 
 operate nearer home, and our grief will rend 
 our own souls. And this is the case with a 
 real penitent. By faith he perceives and re- 
 alizes his own bloodguiltiness in this awful 
 8cene ; and says, 
 
 • And now the scales have left mine eyes, 
 
 Now I begin to see; 
 Oh ! the curs'd deeds my sins have done, 
 What murderous things they be! 
 
 • — 'Twere you that pull'd the vengeance down 
 
 Upon his guiltless head ; 
 Break, break, my heart ! oh! burst, mine eyes, 
 And let my sorrows bleed" — 
 
 And there is no true repentance but what 
 flows from the sight of the cross. 
 
 Yet they are not only to look upon him 
 with godly sorrow, but also with enlivening 
 hope. For he was not only pierced by them 
 but for them ; and by his stripes they are 
 healed. Strong consolation is necessary to 
 meet true conviction of sin. And here it is 
 to be found, and here only. Every other re- 
 fuge will be found a refuge of lies ; every 
 other comforter a miserable comforter. But 
 thet which satisfies the righteousness of God 
 
 may well satisfy the alarmed and afflicted 
 conscience of the sinner. We have redemp- 
 tion through his blood; and this blood cleans- 
 eth us from all sin. We oppose to the num- 
 ber and heinousness of our offences the infi- 
 nite value of the sacrifice. We are recon- 
 ciled unto God by the death of his Son. This 
 death we plead, and are accepted in the Be- 
 loved ; and we joy in God through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received 
 the atonement. 
 
 We look on him also, and derive submis- 
 sion from the sight. The Apostle tells us to 
 " consider him" as a sufferer, lest we " be 
 weary and faint in our minds." His cross is 
 the tree by which the bitter waters in the 
 wilderness are healed. His death has re- 
 deemed us from the curse of the law ; and 
 nothing penal is left in any of our trials. The 
 most painful of them are only the medicines 
 of our heavenly Physician : the corrections 
 of a loving Father. They are blessings in 
 disguise. Are we tempted to despond or com- 
 plain at our afflictions 1 What are our en- 
 durings compared with his 1 — 
 
 We look on him also to excite and inflame 
 our zeal. Many motives to obedience are 
 mentioned in the Scriptures, and therefore it 
 cannot be improper to oe influenced by them. 
 Yet the purest and the most powerful motive 
 is drawn from the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. And the first Christians owned and 
 felt it. The love of Christ, says Paul, con- 
 straineth us to live not to ourselves but to 
 him that died for us and rose again. The 
 divinity is equal to the poetry when the bard 
 of night sings — 
 
 " — O bleeding Calvary, 
 The true morality is love of thee." 
 
 Hear Hervey — In a letter dated Weston- 
 Favell, May 6th, 1748, he writes thus to a 
 person he had befriended. " With regard to 
 the little assistance which I have contributed, 
 
 and which Mrs. thinks worthy of her 
 
 acknowledgments; I beg of her to observe 
 that it is owing, wholly owing to her adored 
 Redeemer. To him, to him alone, she is 
 obliged — if there be an obligation in the case, 
 for this friendly donation. He has been 
 pleased to command this instance of my grati- 
 tude for his unspeakably tender mercies to 
 my soul. He has been pleased to declare 
 that he will look upon such a piece of kind- 
 ness as done to his own blessed self. This 
 makes me, this makes all believers glad to 
 embrace every such occasion of showing our 
 thankfulness to our infinitely condescending 
 
 gracious Lord. The action which Mrs. 
 
 calls generous does not arise, as she expresses 
 it, from any innate nobleness of mind. I re- 
 member the time when this heart was as hard 
 as the flint, and these hands tenacious even 
 to avarice. But it is Jesus, the quickening 
 Spirit, and the lover of souls, who has made 
 
APRIL 9. 
 
 127 
 
 your friend to differ from his natural self. If 
 • the flinty heart is melted into compassion, it 
 ts melted by a believing consideration of his 
 most precious blood. If the avaricious hands 
 are opened and made ready to distribute, wil- 
 ling to communicate, they are made so by the 
 free grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. There- 
 fore not unto me, but unto the great and good 
 Redeemer, are all the returns of gratitude 
 due." 
 
 APRIL 9. 
 
 ; Joseph of Arimathea, (being a disciple of Jesus, 
 but secretly for fear of the Jews,) besought Pilate 
 that he might take away the body of Jesus." — 
 John xix. 38. 
 
 We may consider this man in connexion 
 with prophecy. Though all the prophets 
 gave him witness, no one so specially testified 
 of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that 
 should follow, as Isaiah. Observe the whole 
 of the fifty-third chapter — But it is the ninth 
 verse that bears upon our subject. Bishop 
 Lowth's rendering has been universally deem- 
 ed an improvement — " And his grave was ap- 
 pointed with the wicked, but with the rich 
 man was his tomb." Here it is clearly inti- 
 mated that there would be an instance of 
 overruling providence. Had the common and 
 natural course of things taken place, he would 
 have been buried with other malefactors in 
 Golgotha, the place of a skull. There were 
 thrown the bodies of the two thieves — but had 
 his been thrown there, the prediction could 
 not have been verified. But the word was 
 gone out of God's mouth, and was firmer than 
 heaven and earth. And if we turn from the 
 prophecy to the history, we shall see how, 
 though his grave was likely to have been with 
 the wicked, yet with the rich man was his 
 tomb. " When the even was come, there 
 came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, 
 who also himself was Jesus' disciple : he went 
 to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then 
 Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 
 And when Joseph had taken the body, he 
 wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it 
 in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out 
 in the rock : and he rolled a great stone to 
 the door of the sepulchre, and departed." Let 
 this induce and enable us to confide in the 
 word of God more fully and more firmly. It 
 is a triedjyoid. For near six thousand years 
 it has been continually put to the test; and it 
 has always been found faithful — " The Scrip- 
 ture cannot be broken." 
 
 We may consider Joseph of Arimathea in 
 reference to his rank in life. He was " a rich 
 man." How hardly shall they that have riches 
 enter into the kingdom of God ! Yet we here 
 see the camel drawn through the eye of the 
 needle : for what is impossible with men is 
 possible with God. He was " an honourable 
 counsellor." Not many wise men after the 
 
 flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are 
 called. Have any of the rulers believed on 
 him] Suppose they have not ? Is all good- 
 ness or sense confined to them 1 The com- 
 mon people gave much better proof even of 
 their wisdom and taste than those who des- 
 pised them ; " the common people heard him 
 gladly" — But we answer, yes ; some of the 
 rulers have believed on him : witness Joseph 
 of Arimathea ; and Nicodemus. The wife of 
 Herod's steward followed Jesus ; we read in 
 the Acts, of honourable women not a few ; 
 and in the Epistles of saints in Ceesar's house- 
 hold. We find Abraham rich and powerful 
 enough to furnish from his own family four 
 hundred armed men. Godliness once rode in 
 the second chariot of Egypt : and led Daniel 
 the prime minister of one hundred and twenty- 
 seven provinces, to retire three times a day 
 for praise and prayer : and in all ages there 
 have been somf instances of piety in the high- 
 er walks of like. There have indeed been 
 few enough to show that the cause of Christ 
 has not depended on them, while they have 
 been numerous enough to confute the preju- 
 dice that religion is only suited to the ignorant 
 and vulgar. 
 
 We may also view this man in connexion 
 with his infirmity and imperfection. The 
 Jews had passed a decree that if any man 
 confessed Christ, he should be put out of the 
 synagogue. Hence many who believed on 
 him, yet feared to confess him. This was for 
 some time the case with Joseph. He was " a 
 disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the 
 Jews." " The fear of man bringeth a snare." 
 It is this that leads many to ask, not whether 
 such a thing be right ; but what will people 
 think and say of me if I adopt it ? It is this 
 that keeps many from following their convic- 
 tions, and acknowledging what they know to 
 be the truth. But we ought faithfully to ad- 
 here to the dictates of conscience ; and not 
 only be Christians, but appear such, confess- 
 ing with the mouth, as well as believing with 
 the heart ; and remembering that if we are 
 ashamed of Christ, he will be also ashamed of 
 us. We do not therefore justify Joseph in 
 this part of his conduct Yet let us remem- 
 ber — That some individuals, owing to their 
 stations and connexions, have difficulties in 
 religion to contend with which others know 
 nothing of, or they would feel and pray for 
 those they are now perhaps only disposed to 
 censure and condemn — That grace operates in 
 various degrees — and that between the begin- 
 ning and the progress of its work in the soul 
 there may be as great a difference as between 
 the mustard seed and the mustard tree. And 
 — That we may hope the Lord has more dis- 
 ciples than we are aware of, only they are 
 kept back from our observation by things 
 blamable in themselves, yet compatible with 
 sincerity. Little did Elijah think when he 
 said T am left alone that there were seven 
 
128 
 
 APRIL 10. 
 
 thousand men who had not bowed the knee to 
 the image of Baal. Little did the Apostles 
 imagine their Lord had a secret yet real dis- 
 ciple in Joseph of Anmathea. 
 
 Therefore again observe this man in the 
 increase and development of his Christian 
 principle. For he now shows himself openly, 
 and acts a noble and distinguished part. The 
 effect was owing to the death of Jesus — This 
 did more than his miracles and preaching — 
 This does every thing to purpose in the divine 
 life — Hence our strength as well as comfort 
 — "I, if I be lifted up from the cross, will 
 draw all men unto me." — Prudence would 
 have said, Forbear. You will involve yourself 
 in trouble and expence. You will draw upon 
 yourself suspicion. You will excite preju- 
 dice. You will injure your usefulness — Be- 
 sides he is now dead, and what good can you 
 do his remains 1 But Joseph confers not with 
 flesh and blood. It required 1io little zeal and 
 courage to own a regard for one that had been 
 judicially executed unuer the charge of blas- 
 phemy and sedition — to come forward and 
 publicly ask for his body — to give it an hon- 
 ourable interment in his own garden and 
 his own tomb, which had never yet been used. 
 This was more than identifying himself with 
 the malefactor ; it was doing him honour to 
 the utmost. It was far surpassing his Apostles : 
 they had all forsaken him, and disowned their 
 master dying and dead. But this man goes 
 forth to him without the camp, bearing his 
 reproach and braving every danger; for he now 
 feels that perfect love that casteth out fear. 
 
 Let us not decide upon the character of 
 persons too soon. Let us not give them up 
 because of some present weaknesses, much 
 influenced perhaps by peculiar circumstances. 
 Let us not despise the day of small things. 
 We have often seen, in the experience of the 
 bruised reed and the smoking flax, judgment 
 brought forth to victory : and we are confident 
 of this very thing, that he who hath begun a 
 good work, will perform it until the day of 
 Jesus Christ. The path of the just is as the 
 shining light, that shineth more and more 
 unto the perfect day. How delightful to see 
 persons proving better than our fears, and far 
 surpassing all our hopes ! What changes in 
 our views and feelings sometimes render us 
 a wonder to others, and perhaps also to our- 
 selves ! How unlike may the present be to the 
 future ! In the days of Queen Mary, when 
 so many were put to death for denying the 
 doctrir.o of transubstantiation — that Moloch 
 at whose snrine so many victims have been 
 immolated, a poor man was convicted and sen- 
 tenced to be burnt alive. In his way to the 
 place of execution he was very pensive and 
 depressed. But when he came in sight of the 
 stake, overpowered for the time with fear, he 
 involuntarily exclaimed, " Oh ! I cannot 
 burn ! I cannot burn !" Some of the priests, 
 wioposing he wished to recant, immediately 
 
 approached and addressed him. This how- 
 ever was not his design ; but he wanted more 
 of that confidence and consolation which 
 would enable him to endure becomingly the 
 fiery trial. He was left some minutes to him- 
 self, during which in great earnestness and 
 agony of spirit, he prayed that God would 
 manifest himself more clearly to his mind — 
 When God so shone in upon his soul, that 
 raising and clapping his hands, he cried with 
 a loud voice — " Now I can burn — Now I can 
 burn." 
 
 APRIL 10. 
 
 " Because I live, yc shall live also." — John xiv. liJ. 
 
 We are seldom sufficiently struck with in- 
 dividual importance. We are all in a state 
 of connexion with, and dependence upon each 
 other, like the members of the human frame, 
 in which one part cannot say to another, I 
 have no need of thee ; and where even those 
 members which seem to be more feeble are 
 necessary to the welfare of the whole body. 
 But there are persons who seem to be the 
 very life of the cause or the community to 
 which they belong. Place them in a state of 
 danger and you awaken a thousand sympa 
 thies and anxieties. Remove that monarch, 
 and the extensive empire founded by his val- 
 our and skill is crushed at once, or crumbled 
 by degrees to nothing. Remove tnat minister, 
 and the congregation he has by his talents at- 
 tracted and formed, is divided, diminished and 
 dispersed. Remove the head of that family, 
 and two tender relations are immediately pro- 
 duced, the widow and the fatherless, and both 
 reduced to perplexity and distress; it may be 
 to want and oppression. Yet in all these in- 
 stances the dependence is not absolute, and 
 the consequences admit of much exception 
 and limitation. Empires have flourished when 
 monarchs have fallen. Congregations have 
 continued when ministers have finished their 
 course. Families have been provided for 
 when the husband and the father have been 
 taken away — But here is a Being upon whom 
 hangs all the glory of his Father's house. He 
 is indispensably and infinitely necessary to a 
 multitude which no man can number. Is he 
 alive or dead 1 If he be dead we are for ever 
 undone. If he be alive we are safe, we are 
 happy, we are made for eternity ! And what 
 is his own language 1 " Because I live, ye 
 shall live also." 
 
 By his life here, though spoken of as pres- 
 ent, because of its nearness and certainty, he 
 means his life after his resurrection ; and to 
 this the Apostle refers when he says, "If 
 when we were enemies, we were reconciled 
 to God by the death of his Son, much more, 
 being reconciled, we shall be saved by hia 
 life. Of this life we think comparatively too 
 little, no* considering — that it was expedienl 
 for us tnat he went away — that he not only 
 
APRIL 11. 
 
 129 
 
 died for us but rose again — that he is exalted 
 to be a Prince and a Saviour-^- $at. lie is car- 
 rying on in heaven the saroe cause that 
 brought him down to eartffirThere will be 
 indeed a close to this at the end of the econo- 
 my, when he will deliver up the kingdom to 
 God, even the Father, and God shall be all in 
 all: but at present he is leading not only a 
 life of glory but of office, and will continue 
 applying on the throne, the redemption he 
 procured on the cross, till he shall appear the 
 second time without sin unto the complete 
 salvation of his people. It would be easy to 
 shuw how the life of his people in their justi- 
 fication, sanctification, and glorification de- 
 pends on the living Saviour ; but we see also 
 that their life is insured and secured by his — 
 " Because 1 live, ye shall live also." 
 
 The certainty of the result is founded in 
 three principles. First, the union subsisting 
 between him and them. Secondly, the claim 
 he has to urge on their behalf, having suffered 
 and died for them. And Thirdly, the all-suf- 
 ficiency he possesses to meet all their exi- 
 gences. We cannot infer the safety and wel- 
 fare of a person merely from the regard of 
 his friend ; for however intensely his friend 
 may love him, he may be unable to succour 
 and defend him. But the ability of the Sa- 
 viour is equal to his readiness to help us. His 
 love passeth knowledge, and has the com- 
 mand of unbounded resources — he is mighty 
 to save — able to save to the uttermost those 
 that come unto God by him. Jacob supposed 
 Joseph was dead, but he was alive, and the 
 prime minister of Egypt, and all the stores 
 of the realm were at his disposal ; and be- 
 cause he lived his family lived also. And we 
 have an intercessor for us, an advocate with 
 the Father, a relation who loved us so as to 
 bleed and die for us, who has power over all 
 flesh, who has all power in heaven and in 
 earth, and is head over all things unto the 
 Church, which is his body. How can we 
 perish for want while in him all fullness 
 dwells 1 In what perils can his defence fail 
 us ? " Fear not," says he, " I am the first and 
 the last ; I am he that liveth, and was dead ; 
 and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen ; 
 and have the keys of hell and of death." 
 
 " How can I die while Jesus lives, 
 Who rose and left the dead ? 
 Pardon and grace my soul receives 
 From mine exalted Head." 
 
 APRIL 11. 
 
 a God maketh my heart soft. 1 " — Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 We may consider God's softening the 
 heart three ways. There is a soft heart de- 
 rived from constitution — Thus he makes the 
 heart soft as the God of nature. There is a 
 soft heart derived from affliction — Thus he 
 makes the heart soft as the God of Provi- 
 dence. There is a soft heart derived from 
 9 
 
 renovation — Thus he makes the heart soft a* 
 the God of grace. 
 
 Let us now attend to the first of these. 
 We are fearfully and wonderfully made ; and 
 while there is a general sameness, there is 
 also a remarkable variety in the human race 
 naturally. It seems strange that any should 
 deny this, and endeavour to account for every 
 variation and inequality from the operation 
 of causes subsequently to birth. Events and 
 circumstances have unquestionably a mighty 
 influence in forming the character; and in 
 elevating or depressing, in rousing' or check- 
 ing the powers of the individual : but surely 
 there is some difference previously to the ex- 
 istence or want of excitement and develop- 
 ment We cannot suppose that any similar 
 mode of training would have made Johnson 
 Shakspeare, or Shakspeare Johnson. Some 
 are naturally bold, forward, and loquacious. 
 Others are timid, retreating, and slow of 
 speech. The meal out of which some are 
 kneaded seems leavened with laudanum ; 
 while mercury seems infused into the very 
 frame of others, and they are all vigour and 
 motion. How unimpressible are some! It 
 matters not where they are, all places and all 
 scenes are nearly the same to them ; they are 
 insensible to every thing that can strike the 
 senses, imagination, and passions. But — and 
 you may see it in children — take others and 
 you find their curiosity is awakened, their 
 fear excited, their hope inflamed, according 
 to the quality of what comes in contact with 
 them ; and their feelings respond to every 
 pleasing or painful occurrence. 
 
 We are not able to determine physically 
 the cause of this constitutional sensibility ; it 
 requires far more knowledge than we possess 
 or can probably acquire. Neither is it neces- 
 sary to attempt absolutely to decide whether 
 this softness of heart be upon the whole de- 
 sirable or advantageous. We must not in this 
 case arraign the sovereign pleasure of God, 
 any more than in our form or our stature, by 
 saying, Why hast thou made me thus 1 Nor 
 should we forget that religion adapts itself to 
 every peculiarity of natural formation and 
 complexion. It has scenery for the imagina- 
 tive, secrets for the inquisitive, depths for the 
 profound, argument for the reasoning, and 
 facts for the busy and simple ; it has active 
 engagements for the daring and zealous ; and 
 retirement and gentleness for the meek; it 
 allures some, and some it saves with fear. 
 There is nothing also in the world purely 
 natural, but the Maker of all things has, 
 so to speak, balanced or qualified; levying 
 some tax upon what is admired and envied, 
 and connecting some redeeming quality, or 
 some power of compensation with every dis- 
 advantage. Certain states or qualities there- 
 fore abstractedly considered cannot prove 
 how much the subjects of them actually suf- 
 fer or enjoy. 
 
lao 
 
 APRIL 12. 
 
 The tenderness cf which we are speaking 
 certainly gives a quickness to the sensations 
 of the individual, so that he admits more mis- 
 ery than another ; but he feels also more hap- 
 piness. Such a man incurs indeed many a 
 pang by his sensibility, but then he is capable 
 of a thousand pleasures which others know 
 not of. He has indeed less peace, but more 
 enjoyment; and his exquisite indulgences, 
 with the alternations of sadness — in which 
 too he often feels a strange kind of satisfac- 
 tion and luxury, are far better than the stag- 
 nant pool, or the dull unvarying level of dull- 
 ness and unfeeling sameness. I wou!d rather 
 be a sensitive plant than a fungus. Who 
 would as a traveller, be cased from head to 
 foot in leather, to escape the inconvenience 
 of a few gnats and briers, and lose the liberty 
 and gratifications of the journey 1 
 
 All must allow that this sensibility renders 
 the possessor amiable. Men are commonly 
 ashamed of being seen in tears. But true 
 greatness is always tender and sympathetic. 
 Homer, that just observer of nature, makes 
 no scruple to represent Ulysses — his best of 
 men ; and Achilles — his bravest of men, fre- 
 quently weeping. Jonathan and David were 
 the most heroical young men of the age ; yet 
 they wept on each otlier's neck, till each ex- 
 ceeded. Yea we read that the Lord of all 
 wept at the grave of Lazarus. What can 
 equal beauty in tears 1 The moment a female 
 appears devoid of tenderness, she wants an 
 excellence so essential that nothing can atone 
 for in her ; and though she may possess talent, 
 and retain the dress of the sex, she forfeits 
 the honourable and endeared name of woman. 
 
 It will also be acknowledged that this sen- 
 sibility prepares persons for usefulness. In 
 numberless cases where the relief and com- 
 fort of our fellow-creatures are concerned, 
 many are not excited and constrained to act, 
 because they do not feel. 
 
 APRIL 12. 
 
 " God maketh my heart soft." — Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 There is a soft heart derived from afflic- 
 tion — Thus God maketh the heart soft as the 
 God of Providence. 
 
 To this Job immediately refers. " For God 
 maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty trou- 
 bleth mc, because I was not cut off before the 
 darkness, neither hath he covered the dark- 
 ness from my face." 
 
 Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly up- 
 ward. But we shall not enlarge upon the 
 multitude and variety ; the sources, kinds, and 
 degrees of human sufferings in this vale of 
 tears. And we shall turn away as soon as 
 possible from those who seem insensible un- 
 der their trials, and despise the chastening of 
 the Lord. When God strikes them, they 
 
 strike again ; -and repair in their calamity tt 
 places of gin otdissipation, to drown ah sense 
 of sorrow. OF this temper were those of 
 whom Jeremiah complained: "Thou hast 
 stricken them, but they have not grieved ; 
 thou hast consumed them, but they have re- 
 fused to receive correction : they have made 
 their faces harder than a rock ; they have re- 
 fused to return." The judgments of God 
 which befall some men are like blows inflict- 
 ed upon wild beasts, which instead of taming, 
 enrage them the more. Isaiah describes some 
 incorrigible rebels as saying, in their pride 
 and stoutness of heart, " the bricks are fallen 
 down, but we will build with hewn stones , 
 the sycamores are cut down, but we will 
 change them into cedars." And we read that 
 Hiel, the daring rebuilder of Jericho, not 
 only disregarded the threatening of Joshua, 
 but even when one half of it was fulfilled, he 
 went on still in his trespasses, and having 
 " laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his 
 first-born, set up the gates thereof in hia 
 youngest son Segub." Thus many if not ver- 
 bally yet practically express a determination 
 to proceed in an evil course, notwithstanding 
 obvious and repeated discouragements and 
 checks thrown in their way. Ahab was re- 
 duced very low, "yet in the time of his dis- 
 tress did he trespass yet more against the 
 Lord." And God brands him with infamy, 
 that all future ages may know that this was 
 the desperate wretch who, when the Edom- 
 ites, and the Philistines, and the Assyrians 
 were upon him, even then he provoked a 
 greater adversary than all, and would fight 
 against God — " This is that king Ahab." And 
 is even this a peculiar case 1 Can nothing of 
 this kind deservedly stigmatize you ? — "This 
 is the man who when desolated in his cir- 
 cumstances, bereaved of his connexions, and 
 more than once the subject of disease, instead 
 of humbling himself under the mighty hand 
 of God, waxed worse and worse, and pro- 
 ceeded from evil to evil." 
 
 But in a general way, when people come 
 into trouble, they feel, feel seriously and sof- 
 tened. But what is the result 1 It is three- 
 fold. First — It often wears off, and the effect 
 produced is like the morning cloud and early 
 dew that passeth away. Oh what a difference 
 has there frequently been between the same 
 persons in sickness and health! They 
 " howled upon their beds." " They poured 
 out a prayer when his chastening hand wai 
 upon them." O " let my soul live and it shal . 
 praise thee." And " spare me a little longer.'' 
 " I will not offend any more." And they added 
 to their prayer confessions, resolves, and 
 vows. But no sooner were they raised up and 
 set free, than they returned again to folly 
 and endeavoured to drive from their minds the 
 remembrance of what could only charge them 
 with inconsistency, and clothe them witr 
 
APRIL ia 
 
 131 
 
 ehnrue. Phaiaoh after every plague cried, I 
 nave sinned ; entreat the Lord for me ; but 
 when there was respite he hardened his heart 
 
 Secondly— As this softening is frequently 
 transient, so it is sometimes fatal. It seems 
 indeed wonderful that those who know nothing 
 of the grace of God, should often bear their 
 troubles as they do ; and that they are not al- 
 ways driven by the heavy pressure of anguish 
 to distraction or despair. And so it is with 
 not a few. They droop and sink iri the day 
 of adversity ; and are swallowed up of over- 
 much sorrow. They verify the words of the 
 Apostle; "The sorrow of the world worketb 
 death" — It deprives them of reputation, sub- 
 jects them to contempt, deprives them of sup- 
 port, preys upon their health, breaks down 
 their spirits : and the sufferer gradually drops 
 into the grave, or by self-destruction is hur- 
 ried from the evils of time into those of eterni- 
 ty — for whatever he endured here was only 
 the beginning of sorrows. Oh how desirable 
 is it when the heart is wounded to apply to it 
 the balm of Gilead ; and when it is softened to 
 give it the impression of heaven ! And 
 
 Thirdly — This is sometimes the case, and 
 the heart by suffering is softened to purpose, 
 and the man can say with David, " It is good 
 for me that I have been afHicted." As there- 
 fore when I see the smith putting a bar of 
 iron into the fire, I conclude he is going to 
 work upon it, and form it for some useful pur- 
 pose, which could not be done while it was 
 cold and hard ; so I always look prayerfully 
 and hopefully towards a man when the Lord 
 brings him into trouble. Manasseh in his dis- 
 tress sought the God of his father, and found 
 nim. The famine made the Prodigal think of 
 home and he was starved back into a return. 
 The Grecian said, I should have been lost had 
 I not been lost. And there are those now 
 living who can say, I should have been poor 
 had I not been impoverished. The darkening 
 of my earthly prospects made me long after a 
 better country, that is an heavenly. Ah ! 
 happy unkindnesses and treacheries, that said, 
 ' Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confi- 
 dence in a guide" — it was you that induced 
 me to say, " Therefore will I look unto the 
 Lord ; I will wait for the God of my salvation, 
 any God will hear me." Ah ! vain world — 
 
 " Your streams were floating me along, 
 Down to the gulf of black despair; 
 And while I listen'd to your song. 
 Your streams had e'en convey'd me there. 
 " Lord, I adore thy matchless grace. 
 That warn'd me of that dark abyss; 
 That drew me from these treacherous seas, 
 And bid me seek superior bliss. 
 
 " Now, from the shining realms above, 
 
 I stretch my hands, and glance mine eves ; 
 Ofor the pinions of a dove. 
 To bear me to the upper skies. 
 
 There from the bosom of my God, 
 
 Oceans of endless pleasures roll — 
 There would I fix my last abode. 
 And droxen the sorrows of my soul.' 1 
 
 APRIL 13. 
 
 " The Lore maketh my heart soft." 
 Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 There is a soft heart derived from renova- 
 tion. Thus he makes the heart soft as the 
 God of grace. 
 
 Of this the Lord speaks in the new cove- 
 nant. " I will take away the stony heart out of 
 your flesh, and I will give you an heart of 
 flesh." There cannot be a greater contrast 
 than between these substances as to feeling — 
 but the heart before conversion is stone. And 
 after conversion flesh. Sin hardens the heart ; 
 and whatever tenderness there may be in it 
 with regard to other things, it has none 
 towards the things of the Spirit, till the re- 
 newing of the Holy Ghost. But when grace 
 makes the heart soft it will appear in the fol- 
 lowing effects. 
 
 It will melt with sorrow for sin. Many are 
 afraid of hell; but they are not affected with 
 the sin that leads to it Sin is the last thing 
 some people think of; but it is the first thing 
 with the penitent — " My sin is ever before 
 me." And this is the case even in affliction ; 
 even then sin oppresses more than trouble. 
 This is the burden too heavy for him to bear. 
 After the loss of an only son, a good woman 
 once said, " Under this losa I have shed many 
 tears for my son, but many roore for my sin." 
 Thus Ephraim was heard bemoaning himself, 
 and what was the subject of bis complaint 1 
 Not his suffering — but his iutx* r igibleness un- 
 der it : " Thou hast chastised i^e, and I was 
 chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the 
 yoke — I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, 
 because I did bear the reproach »»f my youth 
 — Turn thou me and I shall be turned, for 
 thou art the Lord my God." Anc* what is the 
 divine promise'? "I will pour upon the house 
 of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusa- 
 lem, the spirit of grace and of supplications ; 
 and they shall look upon me whom rhey have 
 pierced, and they shall mourn for hio», as one 
 mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bit- 
 terness for him, as one that is in bitterness for 
 his first-born." And repentance new flows 
 so freely, and we never so much sorrow after 
 a godly sort as when we are led to tlw cross 
 and view the Saviour dying not only by us but 
 for us. 
 
 When the heart is made soft it v» «I1 be 
 pliant to the word of truth. An instance oi 
 this is mentioned in the experience of Josiah. 
 " Because thine heart was tender, and thou 
 hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when 
 thou heardest what I spake against this place, 
 and against the inhabitants thereof, that they 
 should become a desolation and a curse, and 
 hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me ; I 
 also have heard thee, saith the Lord." It is 
 the general character of the subjects of divine 
 grace that they " tremble at his word." The 
 
132 
 
 APRIL 14 
 
 Binner sits before among the threatenings of 
 God, as Solomon sat between his twelve lions 
 unalarmed because they were dead. But faith 
 enlivens them and makes them roar ; and he 
 now cries, " What must I do to be saved ?" 
 Yet we are not to imagine that he feels the 
 d'vine menaces only ; the promises so exceed- 
 ing great and precious equally awaken his 
 apprehensions. Oh ! says he, if I miss them, 
 and come short at last ! How many feelings 
 will the reading of one chapter, or the hearing 
 of one sermon excite in the soul of such a 
 man ! The Bible is his only rule, and his only 
 judge. He dares not trifle with its contents ; 
 nor question its declarations. He yields him- 
 self to its authority without asking how can 
 these things be ; and receives with meekness 
 the engrafted word which is able to save the 
 soul. 
 
 If the heart be made soft we shall be com- 
 passionate towards others. Are our fellow- 
 creatures in penury ? We shall have bowels 
 and mercies ; and not say, Go in peace ; be 
 ye warmed, and be ye filled, while we give 
 them not such things as are needful for the 
 body. Are their souls desolate within them ? 
 We shall weep with them that weep. Are 
 they in ignorance ? In meekness we shall in- 
 struct them. Have they fallen ? In meekness 
 we shall endeavor to restore them; hating 
 the sin, but pitying the sinner. Have they 
 offended and injured us? We shall not be 
 revengeful or implacable ; but tender-hearted, 
 forgiving one another even as God for Christ's 
 sake hath forgiven us. 
 
 Such a heart is also very sensible of the 
 divine goodness. The man instead of com- 
 plaining of what he wants, wonders at what 
 he possesses and enjoys. He feels that he is 
 unworthy of the least of all his mercies. 
 What claims have I upon him ? I was a poor 
 blind creature, but he has opened mine eyes. 
 I was naked, and he clothed me. I was a 
 child of wrath, and he has made me an heir 
 of glory. What shall I render ? Bless the 
 Lord, O my soul, and forget not all hi3 ben- 
 efits. 
 
 A man whose heart God has made tender 
 will be alive to his glory. He will mourn to 
 hear his name blasphemed, and to see his 
 gospel despised. He will be sorrowful for 
 the solemn assembly, and the reproach of it 
 will be his burden. He will be holily fearful 
 lest he should grieve his Holy Spirit, or cause 
 the way of truth to be evil spoken of His 
 glory will touch every spring of action in his 
 soul ; and he will be dai]y asking the Lord 
 what wilt thou have me to do ? 
 
 O what a blessing is such a heart as this ! 
 It is better than thousands of gold and silver. 
 It prepares for all the manifestations of divine 
 love ; and it insures them. 
 
 Who feels a hard heart 1 ! The very feeling 
 shows some sensibility. Who longs for a soft 
 one i Let him ask of God, who is more ready 
 
 to hear than we are to pray, and who " ufr 
 spiseth not the prayer < f the destitute." 
 
 APRIL 14 
 
 * The God of all comfort."— 2 Cor. i. 3. 
 
 How much, both as to duty and privilege, 
 depends upon the views we entertain of " Hire 
 with whom we have to do !" And while born 
 to trouble as the sparks fly upward, and pass- 
 ing through a vale of tears, and feeling even 
 in our best estate some heart's bitterness — 
 for " full bliss is bliss divine ;" what can be 
 more encouraging and delightful than to re- 
 gard him as " The God of all comfort 1" 
 
 And how well does he deserve this benefi- 
 cent title ! Every comfort we have in the 
 creature is from him. If sleep comforts us 
 when we are weary, or food comforts us 
 when we are hungry, it is from his goodness. 
 If when he sendeth abroad his ice like mor- 
 sels and none can stand before his cold, we 
 have houses to defend us, raiment to cover us. 
 fuel to warm us, it is from him. When the 
 spring returns, Whose sun calls us to go forth 
 into the fields and garden'.' Who regales all 
 our senses ? Who charms the ear with these 
 melodies? the eye with these colours? the 
 smell with these perfumes? and the appetite 
 with these tastes ? Who gives us those benign 
 and joyous and grateful sensations which we 
 feel when the lambs sport themselves? and 
 the apple-tree is dressed among the trees of 
 the wood ? and the hay appeareth ? and the 
 full corn waves in the ear ? and the reapei 
 fills his hand, and he that bindeth sheavef 
 his bosom? and the little hills rejoice on 
 every side? and the year is crowned with 
 his goodness ? 
 
 Who has not by accident or disease been 
 confined to the chamber of weariness and 
 pain ; and who by the sympathies, attentions, 
 and soothings of the tenderest friendship has 
 comforted you upon the bed of languishing, 
 and made all your bed in your sickness ? 
 And who when the graves were ready for 
 you, and you said, I shall behold man no 
 more with the inhabitants of the world, Who 
 comforted you by the return of ease, the 
 re-glowing of health, the renewal of your 
 strength, the resumption of your liberty — so 
 that all your bones said, " Who is a God like 
 unto Thee ?" 
 
 Has a friend like ointment and perfume 
 rejoiced your heart by the sweetness of his 
 counsel ? or has a minister been the helper 
 of your faith and joy ? The Lord gave him 
 the tongue of the learned, that he should 
 know how to speak a word in season to him 
 that is weary. God comforted you by the 
 coming of Titus. 
 
 The heathens made idols of every thing 
 that afforded them relief and comfort ; and 
 thus they loved and served the creature more 
 
APRIL 15. 
 
 133 
 
 than the Creator. Let us not resemble them ; 
 but remember that whatever may be the me- 
 dium of our comfort, God is ' the only source 
 of it Thus the instrument instead of se- 
 ducing us from God, will be a conductor to 
 him ; and the stream will lead us " to the 
 fountain of life." Gxl will not give his glory 
 to another ; and we cannot affront him more 
 than by substituting any thing in the place 
 of him. This will provoke him to strike the 
 idol that robs him of his praise out of the 
 way; or cause him by disappointing us in 
 the moment of application to say, " Am I in 
 God's stead? If the Lord help thee not, 
 whence should I help thee 1 !" If we will not 
 make him our trust, he will make that where- 
 on we lean to smite us. He can take com- 
 fort out of all our possessions and enjoyments, 
 so that in the midst of our sufficiency we shall 
 be in straits, and with cheerfulness on every 
 side walk in silence and sadness, like a ghost 
 among the tombs. What Job calls his friends, 
 " physicians of no value," " miserable com- 
 forters," will apply to all our dependences 
 and expectations separate from God. Even 
 in laughter the heart will be sorrowful. Our 
 successes, like the quails of the Jews, will 
 poison us while they gratify : our prosperity 
 will destroy us : and at the end of our days 
 the fool and the wretch will acknowledge the 
 truth of Jonah's confession, " They that ob- 
 serve lying vanities forsake their own mer- 
 cies ; salvation is of the Lord." 
 
 True comfort is to be found in God only ; 
 in the hope of his mercy ; in the evidence of 
 his friendship ; in the freedom of his service ; 
 in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. But they 
 who seek it in him shall not be confounded. 
 He has insured to those who flee for refuge 
 to this hope strong consolation, by a promise 
 confirmed by an oath ; and what he promises 
 he is able to perform. Nothing is too hard 
 for the Lord. No depth of distress is below 
 his reach. He can create comfort when 
 there is nothing to derive it from. He can 
 extract it out of the most unlikely materials. 
 He can bring order out of confusion, strength 
 out of weakness, light out of darkness. 
 
 Sufferer ! think of Him ! It is his preroga- 
 tive and delight to " comfort them that are 
 cast down." Why should you faint or de- 
 spond 1 Are the consolations of God small 
 with thee ? Does not He say " 7, even I, am 
 he that comforteth thee ?" 
 
 Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief. 
 " Thou, which hast showed me great, and sore 
 troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt 
 bring me up again from the depths of the 
 earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, 
 and comfort me on every side." 
 
 APRIL 15. 
 
 " Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take 
 not thy holy Spirit from me* — Psalm li. 11. 
 We may see what David prized by what 
 
 he deprecates. There were many calamities 
 at the thought of which his heart might have 
 trembled. He could remember how God for 
 his disobedience had punished his predecessor 
 Saul, and had rent the kingdom from him. 
 He knew how God by Nathan had threatened 
 himself; and he could not help feeling the 
 announcement, that the child should die and 
 the sword never depart from his .house. Yet 
 he does not say, O let me escape the rod — do 
 not deprive me of my throne — or involve my 
 family in trouble and disgrace. This is what 
 many would have implored. But David prays, 
 " Cast me not away from thy presence ; and 
 take not thy luly spin, from me." They that 
 are after the flesh do mind the things of the 
 flesh ; and thus it is with men of the world ; 
 they are satisfied as long as their friends and 
 health, their corn and wine abound. Tell 
 them of the hiding of God's countenance, and 
 the loss of the comforts of the Holy Ghost, 
 and they know not your meaning, and are 
 ready to treat you with scorn or pity. They 
 judge of every thing by a fallacious stand- 
 ard. "Evil men understand not judgment: 
 but they that seek the Lord understand all 
 things." They weigh every claim in the 
 balance of the sanctuary. They walk by faith 
 and not by sight No evils therefore appear 
 to them like Ihose which regard the welfare 
 of the soul and eternity. 
 
 And their judgment is founded in truth. 
 The most awful evils are spiritual evils. And 
 these are more peculiar to the dispensation 
 under which we live. Temporal judgments 
 were common under the law, when offenders 
 were often punished immediately, sensibly, 
 visibly. We see this in the case of Lot's 
 wife, Miriam, Uzzah and many others record- 
 ed in the Old Testament. But under the 
 gospel, inflictions are more spiritual. Here 
 men are given up to a hard heart, a reprobate 
 mind, a seared conscience ; to vile affections ; 
 to strong delusion ; to believe a lie. The 
 spirit of slumber falls upon them. The word 
 and ordinances of religion become harren and 
 unprofitable. By the fascinations of error 
 they are so bewitched that they cannot obey 
 the truth. Yet they are easy. For these are 
 judgments that do not alarm ; it is the very 
 nature of them to stupify. Oh ! it would be 
 a thousand times better to lose all your sub- 
 stance and beg your bread from door to door ; 
 a thousand times better to be robbed of health, 
 and never enjoy another hour of ease, than 
 for God thus to punish you. And though you 
 will not and ought not to pray for sufferings 
 absolutely, if you are like-minded with David 
 you will be willing that God should deal with 
 you in any way rather than say, " He is joined 
 to idols, let him alone" — And this will be 
 your most earnest prayer : " Cast me not 
 away from thy presence; and take not thy 
 holy Spirit from me." 
 
 But was David in danger of this ' We d« 
 
134 
 
 APRIL 1(>. 
 
 not -ike r u get rid of an apparent difficulty by 
 denying a revealed truth. And such appears 
 to us the doctrine of the final perseverance 
 of the saints. We are therefore confident of 
 this very thing, that he who has begun a good 
 work in them will perform it until the day of 
 Jesus Christ. Yet first, the effect deprecated 
 may take place in a measure and degree* 
 *1God was provoked to leave Hezekiah in the 
 "business of the ambassadors of Babylon, and 
 it showed what was in his heart. And God 
 may be so grieved as to suspend the comforts 
 of the Holy Ghost, and all joy and peace in 
 believing. And secondly, by yielding to tempt- 
 ation a partaker of divine grace may be re- 
 duced to such a state of darkness and horror 
 and anguish, as to apprehend God's entire 
 abandonment of him for everj JJj This was 
 David's case. His fall had broken his bones, 
 closed his lips, deprived him of the joy of 
 God's salvation, and made him fear that he 
 vas cut off from before his eyes. 
 
 Such an evil and bitter thing is it to sin 
 against God. So surely will our backslidings 
 reprove us. If his children walk not in my 
 judgments, then will I visit their transgres- 
 sion with the rod. Nevertheless my loving- 
 kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor 
 suffer my faithfulness to fail. The way to 
 walk comfortably is to walk consistently. I 
 am always sorry to see some professors so 
 calm and happy as they are. With their 
 levity of temper, and vain conversation, and 
 worldly conformities, and neglect of the 
 means of grace — were they the Lord's peo- 
 ">le, surely he would show that they are not 
 valking so as to please him. Them that 
 lonour me, I will honour. Blessed is the 
 nan that feareth always. 
 
 APRIL 16. 
 
 • Ye icere as sheep going astray." — 1 Peter ii. 25. 
 
 The words seem to be, if not a quotation 
 from, yet an allusion to the language of Isaiah 
 — " All we like sheep have gone astray ; we 
 have turned everyone to his own way." If 
 there be truth in this supposition, two things 
 are asserted by the prophet which are not re- 
 peated by the Apostle. The one is, the uni- 
 versality of the charge — All we like sheep 
 have gone astray. There is no difference be- 
 tween Jew and Greek. The Scripture has 
 proved all under sin. The other is, the di- 
 versification of the depravity — We have turn- 
 ed every one to his own way- Though all are 
 guilty, each has some particular iniquity to 
 >vhich he is attached, by his constitutional 
 complexion or his outward circumstances. 
 And here it is that many are deluded. They 
 flatter themselves by comparison, and are sat- 
 isfied because they are free from some crimes 
 chargeable upon others; not considering that 
 thev also are wanderers, only in another road. 
 
 A straight line is always the same ; but tn^rc 
 are millions of crooked ones. There was only 
 one ark by which any could be saved ; but 
 there were numberless abysses in which they 
 could be drowned. Nothing, says a good 
 writer, is more lamentable, than to hear peo- 
 ple who are all wrong disputing among them- 
 selves which is right Yet this is common. 
 But the lover of pleasure and the lover of 
 gold ; the profligate and the pharisaical ; the 
 open offender and the close hypocrite ; the 
 superstitious Papist and the formal Protestant, 
 are all in the same condition with regard tc 
 their safety. Let us remember that the Scrip 
 ture is our only rule of judgment, and that it 
 matters not what we think of ourselves, or 
 others think of us — if we are destitute of 
 faith in Christ and true holiness. " He that 
 believeth not the Son hath not life :" and 
 " without holiness no man shall see the Lord." 
 
 The words are a metaphor; a metaphor 
 often used by the sacred writers, and there- 
 fore just and pertinent. Indeed nothing can 
 be more significant of the danger and misery 
 of a sinner than a strayed sheep. The wel- 
 fare of the sheep depends on the care of the 
 shepherd. If they wander beyond his protect- 
 ing arm, they are liable to be destroyed by 
 beasts of prey ; or if they leave his pasturage 
 they are likely to perish for want of food : for 
 though they can go astray of themselves, they 
 cannot defend themselves, nor provide for 
 themselves, nor of themselves find their way 
 back. They are therefore lost unless sought 
 after. The metaphors of the Scripture, how- ' 
 ever, though strong in their allusion, an"* often 
 only partial. But they are more forcible by 
 being limited; for by stretching a comparison 
 to reach every thing, we weaken it as well 
 as render it ridiculous. Sheep in going astray 
 are not guilty, but they would be criminal 
 and deserving all they suffered, if they were 
 possessed of reason, and after having been 
 under the superintendence of the kindest 
 shepherd, and allowed to want no good thing, 
 they should knowingly abandon him, and wil- 
 fully incur every kind of peril and wretched- 
 ness. And is not this the emblem of our con- 
 duct 1 Did not God make man upright 1 Did 
 not the inspiration of the Almighty give him 
 understanding'! Was he not placed in a con- 
 dition of safety, peace, and happiness 1 Was 
 he not fenced in by divine commands 1 Ap- 
 prized of the consequences of going astray 1 
 And warned against them 1 — Yet astray h*> 
 went! 
 
 And thus we reach the fact which the 
 words were intended to express — the natural 
 state of men as alienated from the life of God 
 — They are as sheep going astray. They go 
 astray from their duty to God. Thus they for- 
 sake him as their Lord and owner. As he 
 made them, and gave them all their powers, 
 possessions, and enjoyments, they are bound 
 to serve and obey him : but they prefer theii 
 
APRIL 17. 
 
 136 
 
 t>wn will to his authority, and live in the vio- 
 lation of his laws which are all holy and just 
 and good. They go astray from their happi- 
 ness in God. Thus they forsake him as then- 
 portion, following after rest and satisfaction 
 apart from the supreme good. All wisli for 
 happiness ; but where do they naturally seek 
 it ! In the pleasures of sin, in the dissipations 
 of the world, in science, fame, riches, power, 
 friendship. They do not seek it in the tavour, 
 the image, the presence, the service of God. 
 They wish to be happy without God. They 
 ask " Who will show us any good I" but do 
 not pray, " Lord, lift thou up the light of thy 
 countenance upon us" — If ever they go to 
 God, it is when fear or affliction urges them. 
 Do they delight themselves in the Almighty 1 
 Do they always call upon God ! They go 
 astray from their recovery by God. Thus 
 they forsake him as their Saviour ; who in- 
 stead of abandoning them when they departed 
 from him, remembered them in their low es- 
 tate, and provided means the most suitable 
 and adequate for their restoration. He spared 
 not his own Son, but gave him up as a propi- 
 tiation for their sins. He sends them the gos- 
 pel ; beseeches them by his ministers ; and 
 urges the message by a thousand motives — 
 But they make light of it : they turn away 
 from him that speaketh, and neglect so great 
 salvation. Yea they oppose it ; and if ever 
 they think of returning to God, it is by a way 
 of their own devising in preference to his. 
 They go about to establish their own right- 
 eousness instead of submitting themselves to 
 the righteousness which is of God ; and act 
 in their own strength instead of being strong 
 in the grace that is in Christ Jesus ; thus 
 frustrating him in his greatest delight, and 
 robbing him of his highest glory. 
 
 Reflect upon each of these : and remember, 
 Christian, this was once your own state. Look 
 back; and acknowledge that ye yourselves 
 also were once foolish and disobedient. But 
 after this the loving kindness of God our Sa- 
 viour towards you appeared. If you are jus- 
 tified you were once condemned : if alive you 
 were once dead : if found you were once lost 
 How happy that you can be addressed as 
 those who were once going astray, but are 
 now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of 
 vour souls ! 
 
 APRIL 17. 
 
 "He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified." 
 Heb. ii. 11. 
 
 The Apostle here speaks of Christ and of 
 Christians as concerned in the same work, 
 but differently concerned. He is the agent, 
 they are the subjects — He sanctifieth, and 
 they are sanctified. "We are not however to 
 suppose that in this work they are passive ; 
 »r that he acts upon them as a mechanic 
 
 operates upon stone and wood which are h> 
 sensible and unconscious of the process. He 
 does not sanctify them without their know- 
 ledge, and consent, and choice, and exertion. 
 According to his good pleasure he works in 
 them to will and to do. He makes them the 
 instruments as well as the subjects ; and so 
 engages them, that the work is represented 
 as their work as well as his. Hence it is en- 
 joined, as well as promised, and we are called 
 upon to cleanse ourselves from al 1 filthiness 
 of flesh and spirit ; and are assured that he 
 who has the hope of Christ in him purifieth 
 himself even as he is pure. 
 
 But there is no inconsistency here. We 
 believe, but he enables us to believe. We ex- 
 ercise repentance, but he gives us repentance 
 unto life. We bear the fruit, but it is the 
 fruit of the Spirit, and in him is all our fruit 
 found — and therefore we are called trees of 
 righteousness, the planting of the Lord that 
 he may be glorified. 
 
 To sanctity admits of two imports. The 
 first is separation or setting apart from com- 
 mon to sacred use. Thus the tabernacle and 
 all the vessels of the sanctuary under the law 
 were sanctified. No change took place in 
 their qualities, but only in their appropriation 
 and use — They were sanctified by consecra- 
 tion. And there are some who contend that 
 in this sense only are we sanctified by the 
 purpose of God. To plead for a real change 
 of nature, for a growth in grace, or for any 
 thing in ourselves, though not derived from 
 ourselves, is legal, genders to bondage, and 
 obscures the glory of the gospel. So it was 
 always. Jude tells us of ungodly men who 
 turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness: 
 and James mentions those who relied on a 
 faith without works, and which was dead be- 
 ing alone. This sense of sanctification indeed 
 applies to the people of God, but it involves 
 another. " The Ijord hath set apart him that 
 is godly for himself." " God hath from the 
 beginning chosen them to salvation, through 
 sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the 
 truth." 
 
 The second meaning therefore is renova- 
 tion — Hence we read of being renewed in 
 the spirit of our minds ; of being made par- 
 takers of the divine nature, having escaped 
 the pollutions of the world through lust 
 There is a real operation in all the subjects 
 of divine grace which delivers them from the 
 power of darkness ; and destroys the love of 
 sin ; and renders true holiness their delight i 
 and pursuit Paul therefore says, "Be ye '■ 
 transformed by the renewing of the mind, 
 that ye may prove what is that good, and ac- 
 ceptable, and perfect will of God — The latter 
 depends upon the former. We cannot be con- 
 secrated to God till we are renovated. The 
 reason is that by nature we are depraved, and 
 have no love to God or concern to please him. 
 But when this divine change takes place. 
 
136 
 
 APRIL 18. 
 
 then what God purposed is actually exempli- 
 fied, and we dedicate ourselves to him, con- 
 sidering ourselves as no longer our own, and 
 using all we are, and all we have to his ser- 
 vice and in his praise. 
 
 Hence sanctification is more than natural 
 amiahleness, outward reformation, and mere 
 morality. Morality does not include holiness, 
 but holiness includes morality, and makes 
 provision for it in the surest and noblest way. 
 
 Sanctification too is not confined to any 
 particular faculty, but extends to the whole 
 nature of man. We read of being sanctified 
 wholly, body, soul, and spirit The work is 
 not finished in any part, but it is begun in 
 every part. There is a difference between 
 the operations of art and of life. The pro- 
 gress of the former is successional, the latter 
 simultaneous. The painter or the sculptor 
 while advancing ■ one part of the picture or 
 the statue leaves for a time the rest: but in a 
 flower and a tree the whole goes on at once 
 towards maturity. The child is not a man, 
 but he has all the lineaments and faculties, 
 and though they are imperfect, they grow to- 
 gether to manhood in due time — So it is with 
 the Christian. 
 
 How defective are they in their religious 
 views and concerns who do not look to the 
 Lord Jesus as the Sanctifier as well as the 
 Redeemer ! If I wash thee not, says he, thou 
 hast no part in me. Without holiness no man 
 shall see the Lord. 
 
 APRIL 18. 
 * Casting all your care upon him" — 1 Peter v. 7. 
 
 To understand this injunction two remarks 
 will be necessary. 
 
 First, the Apostle refers to cares pertaining 
 to the life that now is. As to the affairs of 
 the life to come, we are not only permitted 
 but required to be careful. Yea we are com- 
 manded to "seek first," that is, before all 
 other things, " the kingdom of God and his 
 righteousness." And it is to enable us to pur- 
 sue these objects in a manner becoming their 
 importance, that other cares are forbidden. 
 Yet, 
 
 Secondly, The Apostle does not design, 
 even in temporal interests, to dispense with a 
 wise use of means and a strict attention to 
 duty. For these are encouraged in other parts 
 of Scripture, and every word of God is pure. 
 "The hand of the diligent maketh fat" 
 M The prudent man foreseeth the evil and 
 hideth himself; but the simple pass on and 
 is punished." " Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; 
 consider her ways, and be wise : which hav- 
 ing no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth 
 her meat in the summer, and gathereth her 
 food in the harvest." Hence also the general 
 caution. " Let thine eyes look right on, and 
 lot thine eyelids look straight before thee. 
 
 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy 
 ways be established." If professors of religion 
 therefore, under a notion of casting all their 
 care upon the Lord, neglect exertion, refuse 
 opportunities of improving their condition, 
 and in their expenses exceed their income, 
 they are tempting God but not trusting in 
 him. And Paul, a very compassionate man- 
 made no scruple to enjoin, " If any will not 
 work, neither should he eat. For we hear 
 that there are some which walk among you 
 disorderly, working not at all, but are busy- 
 bodies. Now them that are such we command 
 and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
 with quietness they work, and eat their own 
 bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in 
 well doing." Jacob had to meet his brother 
 Esau who was coming towards him in the 
 fury of revenge. But what does he 1 ? He 
 does all that his means would admit, or his 
 prudence could dictate. He divides his com- 
 pany, sends forward a present, studies a soft 
 answer which turneth away wrath ; and then 
 retires and casts all his care on him who 
 cared for him, and made even his enemy to 
 be at peace with him. Why did not his father 
 and mother throw Moses into the river at 
 once 1 God could have easily preserved him, 
 and the deliverance would have been the 
 more remarkable. But as if every thing de- 
 pended upon their diligence and precaution, 
 they hide him as long as possible, and then 
 build a little ark, and pitch it within and with- 
 out, and when the vehicle is left in the flags, 
 the sister is stationed to watch any favourable 
 issue: and in doing this they cast all their 
 care upon him who cared for them, and turn- 
 ed the shadow of death into the morning. 
 Miracles were never mere displays of power ; 
 nor ever were they needlessly performed, or 
 excessive in their degree and extent. Thus 
 our Lord prepared a fish to furnish money for 
 the temple-tax ; yet he did not supernaturally 
 transport it through the air and lay it upon 
 the table ; but ordered Peter to go to the sea 
 arid cast in his hook. And when the angel 
 had done what was really out of Peter's pow- 
 er, opened the iron gates and loosened his 
 fetters, he yet told him to put on his sandals 
 and mantle, and follow him : for this he could 
 do ; and why should the angel carry him forth 
 in his arms or on his shoulder 1 
 
 But though you are not to cast your work 
 upon the Lord, you are to cast your care. 
 For though duty is yours, events are his. 
 But when you have diligently and properly 
 used the means, you are not to be of a doubt- 
 ful mind, or to yield to fretful ness and impa- 
 tience ; but to commit your way unto the 
 Lord, and leave the concern with him. If we 
 go forward into the world of imagination, and 
 busy ourselves about contingencies, we invade 
 the Lord's province, and weary ourselves for 
 very vanity. Who by taking thought can / 
 add one cubit unto his stature ? But he car 
 
APRIL 19. 
 
 137 
 
 take away one. He can injure himself though 
 fie cannot benefit. The sin brings its own 
 punishment along with it. Our anxiousness 
 hurts our health, our temper, our peace of 
 mind, our fitness for duty and devotion. 
 What a wretched burden it is ! WW1 what- 
 ever makes up the depression, " Cast thy bur- 
 den upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee." 
 But how is this to be done ? We are to cast 
 all our care upon him two ways. First, by 
 prayer. " Be careful for nothing, but in every 
 thing, by prayer and supplication with thanks- 
 giving, let your request be made known unto 
 God." "Is any afflicted? Let him pray." 
 Oh what a relief! 
 
 Secondly, by faith — A firm and influential 
 belief of his providential agency in all our 
 concerns ; a persuasion that all his ways to- 
 wards us are mercy and truth ; an assurance 
 that all things work together for good to 
 them that love God. " Thou wilt keep him 
 in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on 
 thee, because he trusteth in thee." But 
 who has faith enough for this ? Lord, I believe, 
 help thou mine unbelief. 
 
 APRIL 19. 
 
 "For he careth for you" — 1 Peter v. 7. 
 
 Whatever the world may think, religion 
 is wisdom ; and requires nothing of its fol- 
 lowers but " a reasonable service." The priv- 
 ileges of a Christian are not baseless fancies ; 
 his repentance is not an ignorant sorrow ; his 
 trust in God is not a blind presumption. He 
 is able to give a reason of the hope that is in 
 him ; and he can justify his practice as well 
 as his expectation. How simple and satisfac- 
 tory is the motive or argument here adduced 
 to enforce the duty enjoined : " Casting all 
 your care upon him— -for he careth for you." 
 Our affairs cannot be left to negligence and 
 uncertainty — Some one must manage them; 
 and care for us. Now opposed to our own 
 care is the care of God ! And how much bet- 
 ter is the one than the other ? Our care is un- 
 availing and unprofitable. And how little can 
 we add to it from any relative resource ! A 
 friend is indeed born for adversity : and such 
 a benefactor by counselling us in our doubts, 
 comforting us in our sorrows, and relieving 
 us in our necessities, is one of the greatest 
 blessings heaven can bestow. Yet how lim- 
 ited as well as uncertain is human friendship ! 
 All reliance on creature help is leaning on a 
 broken reed, or hewing out broken cTsterns 
 that can hold no water. But " blessed is the 
 man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose 
 hope the Lord ig. For he shall be as a tree 
 
 Elanted by the waters, and that spreadeth out 
 er roots by the river, and shall not see when 
 heat cometh ; but her leaf shall be green ; 
 Mid shal. not be careful in the year of drought, 
 noither sha 1 ! cease from yielding fruit" 
 
 Here is a divine Iriend and helper. He 
 careth for us — Here is the case of a God en- 
 gaged for us — That is of a Being possessed 
 of infinite perfections. Here is a care at- 
 tended by unerring knowledge ; by almighty 
 power ; by a goodness, a kindness, a tender- 
 ness, a patience, a fidelity that knows no 
 bounds. Surely all these advantages com- 
 bined in him who careth for us, must render 
 his care all-sufficient for every purpose, and 
 discharge our minds from every solicitude. 
 
 But what evidence have we that he does 
 care for us] The fact is certainly astonishing; 
 and when we reflect upon God s majesty and 
 holiness, and our meanness and unworthmess, 
 we may well exclaim with David, " Lord, 
 what is man that thou art mindful of him, 
 or the son of man that thou visitest him !" 
 Or with Job, " What is man that thou 
 shouldest magnify him ; that thou shouldest 
 set thy heart upon him ; that thou shouldest 
 visit him every morning, and try him every 
 moment !" Yet nothing is more true. It is 
 involved in the first essential principle of re- 
 ligion, and upon which all its duties are 
 founded: for "he that cometh to God must 
 believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder 
 of them that diligently seek him." We are 
 commanded to pray to God ; but for what pur- 
 pose if he takes no interest in our concerns'? 
 We are required to bless and praise him ; but 
 for what reason, if he dispenses our blessings 
 by accident, and not from disposition and de- 
 sign ? He also takes care for oxen. He giv- 
 eth to the beast his food, and to the young 
 ravens that cry. JJe openeth his hand and 
 satisfieth the desire of every living thing. 
 Now we may reason from the less to the 
 greater — And hence the Saviour says to his 
 disciples, " Ye are of more value than many 
 sparrows." " Behold the fowls of the air : for 
 they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather 
 into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth 
 them. Are ye not much better than they ?" 
 " Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
 grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin : 
 and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in 
 all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 
 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the 
 field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast 
 into the oven, shall he not much more clothe 
 you, O ye of little faith ?" The relations iu 
 which he stands prove the same. If he pro- 
 fesses himself to be the Shepherd, the King, 
 the Husband, the Father of his people, will he 
 not care for his sheep, his subjects, his bride, his 
 offspring? His promises are exceeding great 
 and precious, and adapted to all our wants 
 and fears. " The eyes of the Lord are upon 
 the righteous, and his ears are open unto their 
 cry." " When thou passest through the 
 waters, I will be with thee ; and through the 
 rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when 
 tho'i walkest through the fire, thou shalt not 
 be buried; neither shall the flame kmdle 
 
138 
 
 APRIL 20 
 
 upon tliee." " I will never leave thee nor 
 forsake thee." Is not this the language of 
 one that careth for us? Review his doings 
 for proof of this ; for as we have heard so 
 have we seen in the city of our God. What 
 says the history of his people in all gene- 
 rations ? Who cared for Noah when the 
 deluge was coming on, and said, Come thou 
 and all thy house into the ark ? Who cared 
 for David, and appeared for him in all his 
 dangers and tribulation ? Who restrained the 
 lions and the flames that they should not 
 touch Daniel and his companions? Whose 
 angel stood by Paul in the storm, and said, 
 Fear not, Paul, when all hope that they 
 should be saved was taken away ? And what 
 says your own experience 7 Has he not cared 
 for you from the womb l In childhood ? In 
 youth? In manhood? In every period of life? 
 In every condition? In every difficulty? In 
 every distress ? And having cared for you so 
 long, will he abandon you now ? Having 
 sought you when enemies, will he forsake 
 you now he has made you friends ? Having 
 not spared his own son, but delivered him up 
 for you; will he withhold any good thing 
 from you? 
 
 " But if he cared for us, why are we so af- 
 flicted ?" This instead of being an objection 
 furnishes a proof. Your trials evince his care. 
 You are children under discipline — And if 
 you endure chastening, God dealeth with you 
 as with sons ; for what son is he whom the 
 father chasteneth not "If ye be without 
 chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then 
 are ye bastards, and not sons." The hus- 
 bandman prunes the vine* because he cares 
 for it, and wishes it to bring forth more fruit. 
 The artificer puts the gold into the furnace 
 because he values and wishes to improve it 
 
 How enviable is the portion and experience 
 of Christians ! The world indeed knoweth 
 them not They can only see their outward 
 condition ; and because this is often poor and 
 afflicted, they are ready to think that they 
 are miserable and melancholy. But how dif- 
 ferently would they think if they could see 
 their inward security and composure — If 
 they could see how they rise above those 
 changes which ruffle and terrify others — If 
 they could see how, while the men of the 
 earth fret and turmoil and are devoured by 
 the sorrow of the world that worketh death, 
 they have, even in this vale of tears, an asy- 
 lum where the wicked cease from troubling, 
 and where the weary are at rest, and the 
 peace of God which passeth all understanding 
 keeps their hearts and minds through Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 But alas! we often hold forth Christians 
 as they ought to be, rather than as they are. 
 It is lamentable that they do not more fully 
 improve their resources, and live up to their 
 privileges. Hence, that care which they are 
 allowed and commanded to resign, and which 
 
 their neaveoly Father and Friend is more 
 than willing to take upon himself, they letain 
 and even cherish to the spoiling of their com- 
 fort: and instead of their dwelling at ease, 
 and being in quiet from the fear of evil, they 
 are ingenious at self-vexation, and suffer in 
 imagination more than in reality ! Lord, 
 humble us — and forgive — and teach us to 
 profit — and lead us in the way that we should 
 choose. 
 
 APRIL 20. 
 
 " Consider the lilies.'"— Matt. vi. 28 
 
 Some persons seem to have no relisu for 
 the works of nature, and therefore, " seeing 
 many things, they observe not." Others 
 have a taste for every thing that is fair and 
 inviting and enchanting in the seasons of the 
 year, and the scenery of the earth, and are 
 never weary of walking in the forest, the 
 meadow, and the garden. For they believe 
 and feel that "God made the country, and 
 man made the town." And all applaud the 
 judgment and sensibility they discover in 
 distinction from those mechanical beings 
 who are only struck with what is factitious 
 and artificial. 
 
 Yet even here one thing more is desirable 
 and necessary. It is that while we are 
 pleased we should be instructed ; it is that 
 while our senses are charmed our graces 
 should be exercised ; it is that wonder should 
 be followed with adoration, and the Christian 
 be added to the man. 
 
 It is thus the sacred writers perpetually 
 send us to the animal and vegetable creation 
 for impression and improvement. And thus 
 our Saviour addressed his hearers and said, 
 "Consider the lilies." There were many 
 other flowers equally worthy of notice with 
 the lilies: but ho selected these as specimens, 
 and probably because they were near him and 
 in sight, for he was sitting on the side of a 
 hill, and he mentions not the cultured lilies, 
 but lilies " of the field." 
 
 Consider the lilies as productions of God's 
 creating skill. All his works praise him ; and 
 what distinguishes his works so much from 
 the operations of men is that they will bear 
 examination, and that the more they are ex- 
 amined the more will they display the wisdom 
 of the author. Nothing can be added to them, 
 nothing can be taken from them — " His work 
 is perfect" Take an artificial flower : il shows 
 ingenuity and deceives the eye at a distance. 
 But bring it near ; observe it ; compare it— 
 and where are the life, the growth, the open- 
 ing bud and blossom, the freshness, the colours, 
 the fragrance of the living one ? We some- 
 times admire articles of dress. The rich man 
 was clothed " in purple and fine linen." Thev 
 that are in king's houses " wear soft raiment.'* 
 How exquisitely wrought are some kinr.s of 
 
APRIL 21. 
 
 139 
 
 nuiuan manufacture : and yet when you sur- 
 vey them through the microscope they appear 
 in the rudeness and roughness of sackcloth. 
 But the green and the white of the lily chal- 
 .enge the inspection not only of the eye, but 
 of the glass, and compel you to exclaim, " This 
 is the finger of God." If those versed in 
 mathematical science remark that they cannot 
 go far without meeting with something in- 
 finite, how much more must this be the case 
 with every »eflecting mind at every step he 
 takes among the wonders of creation ! 
 
 Again. Consider the lilies as objects of his 
 providential care. This was the peculiar aim 
 of our Lord in the admonition. He would free 
 the minds of his disciples from all undue soli- 
 citude respecting their temporal subsistence. 
 Therefore, says he, "Take no thought for 
 your life, what ye sball eat, or what ye shall 
 drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall 
 put on. Is not the life more than meat, and 
 the body than raiment J" He then refers, in 
 his own inimitable way, to each of the neces- 
 saries of life, food and clothing — "Behold the 
 fowls of the air : for they sow not, neither do 
 they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your 
 heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not 
 much better than they? And why take ye 
 thought for raiment ? consider the lilies of the 
 field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither 
 do they spin : and yet I say unto you, that even 
 Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed 
 like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe 
 the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to- 
 morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
 more clothe you, O ye of little faith ?" How 
 simple yet convincing is the inference ! God 
 does not love the birds and the flowers as he 
 loves you. He has not bought them with an 
 infinite price. He has not put his Spirit 
 within them. They are not partakers of the 
 divine nature. They are not to endure for 
 ever. Will he take care of the less and over- 
 look the infinitely greater 1 
 
 Consider also the lilies as emblems. First 
 as emblems of Christ The image indeed 
 comes very far short of his glory, but it will 
 help our conceptions, and serve to remind us 
 a little of his purity, his meekness, his loveli- 
 ness, and " the savour of his knowledge :" 
 therefore, says he, " I am the rose of Sharon, 
 and the lily of the valleys." Secondly as em- 
 blems of Christians. In all things he must 
 have the pre-eminence, but his people are held 
 forth in the Scripture by the same resemblan- 
 ces : for there is not only a union but a con- 
 formity between them. They have the same 
 mind which was in him. They have the imace 
 of the heavenly. And therefore to express 
 their residence in the world, and how he values 
 them above others, he adds, "as the lily 
 among thorns, so is my love among the daugh- 
 ters.' r 
 
 Let us conclude with the words of the 
 Church : " My beloved is gone down into his 
 
 garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the 
 gardens, and to gather lilies^ Thus he 
 comes into our congregations and families, 
 and takes to himself our dear ornaments and 
 delights. We miss them, and sigh over the 
 loss of pious connexions. The friend who way 
 as my own soul, the child of my bosom, the 
 desire of mine eyes, the guide of my youth, is 
 taken away — and the place that once knew 
 them, knows them no more — But He taketh 
 away, and who can hinder him 1 The whole 
 garden is his ; and he has a right to do what 
 he will with his own. He saw them meet for 
 the change ; and they are unspeakable gainers 
 by the removal. Other lilies when gathered 
 fade and die ; but these shall bloom for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 APRIL 21. 
 
 " That wemigfube fellow-helpers to the truth." 
 3 John 8. 
 
 Co-operation supposes others engaged al- 
 ready in the same cause. Who these were 
 we learn from the preceding words. They are 
 called " brethren and strangers." Yet they 
 were not private Christians, but preach erg, 
 evangelists, missionaries who travelled to 
 spread the savour of the Redeemer's know- 
 ledge in every place — "Because for hi& 
 name's sake they went forth, taking nothing 
 of the Gentiles." The labourer is worthy oi 
 his hire ; and God has ordained that they who 
 preach the Gospel shall live of the Gospel * 
 but these men waived their right, as Paul 
 had done while in Corinth, that they might 
 not seem mercenary or prove burdensome. 
 These Gentiles too might have been indis- 
 posed lo afford them reception and support. 
 Such a readiness to come forward can hardly 
 be expected from persons before they have 
 heard the word, so as to understand the im- 
 portance of it. People do not make sacrifices 
 for a thing they do not value ; and they are 
 not likely to value what they do not feel they 
 need. We have seen infants at the funeral 
 of a mother, instead of being affected with the 
 scene, amusing themselves with the emblems • 
 of mortality ; but nothing can be more affect- 
 ing than this ; and we have been ready to ex- 
 claim, Ah ! ye dear babes, you little know the 
 loss you have sustained, but as you grow up 
 you will learn it from experience. Does the 
 maniac ask our pity and help"! He scorns 
 them. He sings in his confinement — it is his 
 palace — he deems himself a king. But is he 
 not the more entitled to our compassion on this 
 very account? So here ; none are so worthy 
 of our merciful regard as those who are per- 
 ishing for lack of knowledge, but are unaffect- 
 ed with their condition : and it must be our 
 concern to make them sensible of their want 
 In the first instance they will not come to us 
 — we must go to them — and we must seek, if 
 we would save, that which is lost. They wil 
 
140 
 
 APRIL >£i. 
 
 not be at the charge of our messengers ; others 
 therefore must support them. And on whom 
 are we to call for assistance but. on those who 
 have tasted the good word of life, and know 
 by experience that the Gospel is the power of 
 God to salvation. " We ought therefore," 
 says John, " to receive such, that we might 
 be fellow-helpers to the truth." 
 
 And such was Gaius. He was not one of 
 those that went forth to labour among those 
 who could not or would not entertain and sup- 
 ply them : but when these teachers travelled 
 that way, he accommodated them in his house , 
 he forwarded them on their journey after a 
 godly sort; he furnished them with what was 
 needful in their work ; and encouraged them 
 to apply to him in their exigences. In this, 
 some may resemble him expressly by atten- 
 tions and kindness to our evangelists at home ; 
 and as to our missionaries at a distance, and 
 to whom we can have no immediate access, 
 all can countenance and aid them by helping 
 those societies which engage tliem and are 
 responsible for their support. To do this is a 
 duty. When persons are drawn in the militia, 
 if they go not themselves they must procure 
 substitutes. All cannot go forth among the 
 Gentiles, but we should all contribute to those 
 who dc. We should consider them as our 
 agents labouring for us — for the work is ours 
 — and the command is binding upon us, " Go 
 ye into all the world, and preach the gospel 
 to every creature." Nothing is to be done 
 even in the cause of God without pecuniary 
 aid. What an honour is conferred on proper- 
 ty that it should be employed in the salvation 
 of souls! Who would waste any of his re- 
 sources'? Who would not deny himself* to be 
 able to become a fellow-helper to the truth that 
 has so helped him, and can so help others? 
 Mordecai told Esther that if she refused to ex- 
 ert herself for the deliverance of her people, 
 
 ! enlargement should come from another quar- 
 ter ; but then she would lose the honour and 
 
 : blessedness of the instrumentality ; and not 
 only so, but be destroyed herself. God allows 
 us to act in his cause ;' but let us not mistake 
 *the principle : he employs us for our sake, not 
 his own. His resources are infinite: and if 
 we decline the work, the work will not be 
 abandoned : but we shall lose the glory and 
 the happiness of the achievement. And who 
 could endure the thought that in this divine 
 undertaking he had never had any concern ? 
 But this is not all. There is danger as well 
 as loss. Our inaction is guilt. We neglect 
 the use of the finest opportunity for useful- 
 ness. We hide our talent in the earth. Our 
 indifference is rebellion to the call of God. 
 " Who will rise up for me against the evil 
 doers? Who will stand up for me against the 
 workers of iniquity ?" " Curse ye Meroz, said 
 the angel of the Lord, Curse ye bitterly the 
 ipkabitants thereof, because they came not to 
 
 the help of the Lord, to tht j.elp of the Lord 
 against the mighty." 
 
 APRIL 22. 
 
 " If God were your Father ye would love me 
 John viii. 42 
 
 Some are so full of self-conceit and self-suffi- 
 ciency, that they seem to consider themselves 
 the standard of all worth and excellency ; and 
 are disposed to judge of others principally if 
 not only, by their regard to them. If you dis- 
 like them, you are worthless ; but just in pro- 
 portion as you esteem and admire them, you 
 rise in value. And such is the injustice of 
 oub fallen nature, that we are pleased with 
 commendations which we know we do not 
 deserve; and court praise for abilities and 
 qualities which we are sure we do not possess. 
 
 It was not so with Christ. He was meek 
 and lowly in heart ; and if he spoke highly of 
 himself, it was not from pride and vainglory, 
 but from the necessity of the case. He knew 
 himself ; he knew his importance to us ; and 
 he knew that we ought to be acquainted with 
 it. Therefore he said, "Come unto me" — "I 
 am the light of the world" — " I am the bread 
 of life" — " I am the way, the truth, and the 
 life" — ■ This is life eternal, to know thee, the 
 only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou 
 hast sent." He knew that God's relation to 
 us could only be determined by our regard to 
 himself, and therefore he was authorized and 
 required to say, " If God was your Father you 
 would love me." There can be no doubt of 
 this ; for he that belongs to God will resemble 
 him ; he will love peculiarly what God loves 
 peculiarly; and he will love supremely what 
 God loves supreme.y : and " this," says he, 
 "is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased." " Mine elect in whom my soul de- 
 lighteth." " The Father loveth the Son, and 
 hath given all things into his hand." 
 
 It is a great thing to have God for our father 
 — not by creation, in which sense all mankind 
 are his offspring ; but by adoption and regene- 
 ration. What an honour ! What a blessed- 
 ness ! To be the sons and daughters of the 
 Lord Almighty ! To have free and invited 
 access to him ! To share in all the love and 
 pity of his heart ! To be authorized to de- 
 pend upon him for instruction, and correction, 
 and defence, and support ! To be heirs of 
 God, to an inheritance incorruptible and un- 
 defined, and that fadeth not away, reserved in 
 heaven for us ! 
 
 But how are we to ascertain this privilege? 
 By our regard to Christ — if God is our Father 
 we love him. Now this love, though not a 
 passion, is a real, powerful, influential princi- 
 ple ; and it is the mainspring of action in the 
 Christian life. There are two modes of de- 
 termining our love to him. The First is to 
 
APRIL 23. 
 
 141 
 
 consider him relatively, and observe how we 
 are affected towards those parts of him, so 
 to speak, with which we are constantly com- 
 ing more immediately into contact There 
 is " the Lord's day" — Do I love this ; and can 
 I call the Sabbath a delight? There is "the 
 word of Christ" — Can I say "Thy words 
 were found, and I did eat them; and thy 
 word was unto me the joy and the rejoicing 
 of my heart 1" He has a house for his name 
 — Can I saj^ " I have loved the habitation of 
 thy house, and the place where thine honour 
 dwelleth 1" He has a seed to serve him — Do 
 I pray, " Remember me with the favour thou 
 bearest unto thy people 1" They are " the ex- 
 cellent of the earth" — Is all my delight in 
 them 1 If I love him, I shall love every thing 
 that is his. 
 
 The Second is to consider how our attach- 
 ment to any other object affects us. If I love 
 an object, I naturally, unavoidably, frequent- 
 ly, pleasantly think of it Can I love Christ 
 and not have him much in my thoughts ! If 
 I love an object I am led to speak of it : I 
 oannot help referring to it and recommending 
 it : out of the abundance of the heart the 
 mouth speaketh. What reason have I to con- 
 clude that I love Christ unless he often en- 
 ters my discourse ; and I feel myself at home 
 while talking of his glory ? If I love a 
 friend, I shall desire nearness to him and com- 
 munion with him. And how can I love 
 Christ unless I mourn his absence, and long 
 after intercourse with him, especially in his 
 ordinances — " Tell me, O thou whom my soul 
 loveth, where thou feedest where thou 
 makest thy flock to rest at noon V If I love 
 a benefactor, I shall inquire how I can make 
 suitable returns for his kindness ; I shall be 
 afraid to grieve him; I shall be anxious to 
 please him ; I shall be willing to make sacri- 
 fices for his sake. Do I discover the same 
 nispositbn towards Christ ? 
 
 This yields a dreadful reflection with re- 
 gard to some. They are those who do not 
 love Christ — God is not their Father. They 
 are the children of the devil. And the lusts 
 of their Father they will do, and with him 
 and his angels, and all who " cannot love," 
 they will have their portion for ever — " If any 
 man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him 
 be Anathema Maran-atha." 
 
 APRIL 23. 
 
 » Howbeit for this cause I obtained merer/, that in 
 me first Jesus Christ might show forth all 
 long-suffering, for a pattern to them which 
 should hereafter believe on him to life everlast- 
 ing."—! Tim. i. 16. 
 
 The Lord Jesus never acts without de- 
 sign ; and his purposes are worthy of himself. 
 When we consider its capacity and duration, 
 the evils from which it is rescued, and the 
 
 blessings to which it is advanced, the salva- 
 tion of one soul is a work infinitely greater 
 than the deliverance of a whole country from 
 civil bondage; and therefore there is joy in 
 the presence of the angels of God over one 
 sinner that repenteth. Yet in the conversion 
 of Saul of Tarsus his aim did not terminate 
 in his salvation, all-important as it was. He 
 looked far beyond, and intended that it should 
 bear influentially on the recovery of others to 
 the end of time. 
 
 And thus we see the greatness of his be- 
 neficence. Men wish to have their goodness 
 known ; but it is from self-love, and not from 
 kindness. It is to gain applause, and not to 
 excite and bring others to their door. And 
 therefore they sometimes enjoin those they 
 relieve to say nothing of their bounty, not 
 from humility but economy, lest applications 
 should be too numerous. But the Lord Jesus 
 knows his resources; and is not afraid of mul- 
 tiplied importunity. He wishes hisfavoursto 
 be known, that others may come and be re- 
 lieved ; for he delighteth in mercy. 
 
 How many principles are involved in the 
 design here expressed ! — The subjects of di- 
 vine grace believe on him to life everlasting. 
 — A succession of these believers will arise 
 from age to age. — They will find it no easy 
 thing to believe on him, and will feel their 
 need of strong consolation. — Encouragement 
 is necessary ; for nothing can be done without 
 hope and confidence. — The Saviour is con- 
 cerned to furnish the relief. — And in doing 
 this he produces actual examples of the free- 
 ness and fullness of his grace. Facts strike ; 
 they furnish us with sensible evidence. A 
 debtor frankly forgiven an immense sum 
 when going to prison, and having nothing tc 
 pay, shows forth most impressively the clem- 
 ency of the creditor. The goodness of a 
 prince appears in pardoning the "greatesl 
 crimes against him. This indeed is rarely 
 done among men. In all acts of grace, some 
 exceptions are made. The ringleaders are 
 excluded. Their impunity would seem a con- 
 nivance at rebellion, and would endanger the 
 safety and welfare of the state. But he saves 
 sinners, says the Apostle, of whom I am chief. 
 Here the ringleader of the persecutors, who 
 gave unity to their counsels, and stimulus to 
 their zeal, is laid hold of, not to be punished 
 but pardoned — laid hold of too for this pur 
 pose in the very act of rebellion and treasoi 
 — and made a pattern of mercy to encourage 
 others to trust in him. 
 
 We know what effect this kindness hart 
 upon himself It changed his mind. It melt- 
 ed his heart It softened the lion into the 
 lamb. Behold, he prayeth — prayeth to him 
 whom a moment before he had abhorred — 
 " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do f And 
 from that moment the love of Christ con- 
 strained him to live to him that died for him 
 and rose again. 
 
42 
 
 APRIL 24. 
 
 What effect has it upon us ? Do we con- 
 tinue in sin that grace may abound ? God 
 forbid. " No man can quicken his ov/n soul. 
 We cannot change our own heart. The Bible 
 is a sealed book till we are enlightened. It 
 is useless for us to pray without the Spirit. 
 if we belong to his people he will call us in 
 due time" — This is the devil's reasoning ; and 
 it is not the better for employing the language 
 of Scripture, or of perverted orthodoxy. And 
 what a proof is it that we are not yet sensible 
 of our lost condition — If we were we could 
 not sit still, and thus argue or cavil. We 
 should resemble a man who found himself in 
 a house on fire — he must move — he could not 
 avoid striving to escape, though at first per- 
 haps not by the right passage. What a proof 
 is it that we are not really desirous of salva- 
 tion ! else we should say, i I have read Paul's 
 case. It meets my condition. I am unwor- 
 thy ; so was he. But he obtained mercy ; and 
 why should I be refused ?" 
 
 This is the proper use of it — I see in this 
 model his power and his compassion — I will 
 go to his footstool, and cry, "Lord, save, I 
 perish ;" " God be merciful to me, a sinner." 
 
 It should equally encourage us with regard 
 to others. Despondency chills our zeal, and 
 prevents our efforts to save others. But why 
 should we cease to pray, and use all the 
 means within our power? Duty is ours ; and 
 none of our fellow-creatures are beyond his 
 reach who called by his grace a Saul of Tar- 
 sus. 
 
 Blessed Jesus ! Thou art fairer than the 
 children of men ! But while we admire thee 
 we would also resemble. May thy mind be 
 in us ! Art thou so long-suffering towards us, 
 and shall we bear with nothing in our bre- 
 thren ? Art thou so ready to forgive, and 
 shall we be revengeful? Didst thou when 
 rich for our sakes become poor, and shall we 
 be masses of pure selfishness, and never deny 
 ourselves to promote the welfare of others? 
 
 APRIL 24. 
 
 " And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his 
 wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, 
 into the South. And he went on his journeys 
 from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place 
 where his tent had been at the beginning, be- 
 tween Beth-el and Hai ; vnto the place of the 
 altar, which he had made there at the first: 
 and there Abram called on the name of the 
 Lord."— Gen. xiii. 1, 3, 4. 
 
 In this movement of Abram two things are 
 noticed — whence he came — and whither he 
 went. 
 
 " He went up out of Egypt." But how 
 "ame he there ? He was driven by famine. 
 Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he 
 give for his life. Abram therefore was justi- 
 fied in coino- thither. We are not to starve 
 
 if we can obtain suosistence lawfully. We 
 tempt God if we do not avail ourselves of the 
 means and opportunities of relief and assist- 
 ance which he affords us in the course of hi? 
 providence. For though we are to cast our 
 care, we are not to cast our duty upon the 
 Lord ; and it is only in the way of duty that 
 we can trust in him. But we may be found 
 in places and conditions at,the cajl of duty or 
 necessity in which we are not to Jtbide. Na- 
 omi and the Shunamite who had led to Moab 
 in the. dearth, returned like true Israelites 
 when they heard that the Lord had visited 
 his people with bread. And Abram did not 
 settle in Egypt, but only sojourned there. He 
 had succeeded while there, so as to increase 
 in wealth, and Egypt was at this time the 
 most famous country on earth : but it had 
 been to him a place of temptation ; it was 
 irreligious ; and Canaan was the land which 
 the Lord had shown him — the land of prom- 
 ise. And what is this world to us if we are 
 the children of Abram by faith, but a tempo- 
 rary residence ? It is not our home — it is not 
 our rest. And we must arise and depart 
 hence now, in thought, affection and pursuit; 
 and by a readiness to leave it aelually when- 
 ever our change comes. If w<j are the heirs 
 of promise, Canaan will dra/.* us out of 
 Egypt. 
 
 " And he went on, even to Beth-el." x'here 
 he had dwelt before. It is affecting tr ietum 
 to a place where we formerly resided Who 
 can help reflecting upon his sins ther ? (for 
 wherever we have lived we have provea 
 ourselves to be sinners,) and the bleedings he 
 enjoyed there ; and his trials ; and the 
 changes which have taken place, and the pro 
 gress of his time since ! But Abram had not 
 only dwelt at Beth-el, but dwelt there as a 
 man of faith, piety, and prayer. What a dif- 
 ference is there between returning to a place 
 where we lived without God in the world ; 
 and to one where we loved and served God, 
 and walked with him, and said of many a 
 spot, " This is none other than the house of 
 God, and this is the gate of heaven !" 
 
 Observe how pleasingly and significantly 
 this is expressed with regard to Abram — He 
 came " unto the place where his tent had 
 been from the beginning, between Beth-el 
 and Hai ; unto the place of the altar which 
 he had made there at the first — and tlwrt 
 Abram called on the name of the Loid." 
 Thus we see his devotion here was not a nov- 
 elty — it had been a constant usage. As soon 
 as he had pitched a tent for himself, he rear- 
 ed an altar for God. Where he resided, he 
 sacrificed and worshipped with his household. 
 And they who would be the children of Abra- 
 ham must walk in his steps, and be concerned 
 to keep up the service of God with their fam- 
 ilies. Family-worship is no recent thing. It 
 is the good old way in which even the Patri- 
 archs walked. I pity as well as condemn the 
 
APRIL 25. 
 
 143 
 
 man who has a " tent," but no " altar." God 
 threatens to pour out his fury upon the fami- 
 lies that call not upon his name. Therefore 
 says Solomon, " The curse of the Lord is in 
 the house of the wicked ; but he blesseth the 
 habitation of the just." 
 
 — Abram thus called upon the name of the 
 Lord, notwithstanding the character of his 
 neighbours; for the chapter tells us "The 
 Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in 
 the land." And they were idolaters, and 
 vicious to a proverb. They would therefore 
 oppose and laugh and ridicule — But Abraham 
 was not ashamed of hi3 glory — Yea, as he 
 was the more bound, so he was the more dis- 
 posed and determined to confess him before 
 men. And " them that honour me," says God, 
 "I will honour; and they that despise me 
 shall be lightly esteemed." 
 
 APRIL 25. 
 
 * Drink no longer water, but use a little xcine 
 for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmi- 
 ties."— I Tim. v. 23. 
 
 It may at first seem strange that Paul 
 should only have recourse to ordinary means, 
 such as any other person would have used on 
 the same occasion — that he should advise and 
 prescribe as a friend, instead of employing 
 the powers he possessed as an Apostle. But 
 as the working of miracles was a delegated 
 prerogative, so it was limited. It was con- 
 fined to particular moments and subjects. 
 Otherwise John, instead of wishing above all 
 things that his beloved Gaius was in health, 
 would have healed him : and Paul would not 
 have left his companion Trophimus at Mile- 
 tum sick. Simon Magus wished to obtain 
 the gift of working miracles for the purposes 
 of vanity and gain. It is easy to see, from 
 the disposition of the people to worship Paul 
 and Barnabas when they had healed the crip- 
 ple at Lystra, what a source of honour and 
 emolument the ability would have become, 
 had it been at the option of possessors. Even 
 good men, being imperfect while here, might 
 have been tempted to pervert it, or have 
 sometimes used it with respect of persons, in- 
 fluenced by natural or partial affection. The 
 effect therefore depended entirely upon the 
 pleasure of the Almighty. How useful was 
 Timothy ! How highly did the Apostle think 
 of him — how strongly was he attached to him 
 — how peculiarly was he concerned for his 
 welfare! yet though he had performed so 
 many wonders and signs, he can only, with 
 regard even to him, sympathize and pray and 
 admonish — " Drink no longer water, but use 
 a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and thine 
 often infirmities." 
 
 But here we see the importance of health. 
 Of all natural blessings, it is the most per- 
 sonal and the most prized. It is not so much 
 
 an ingredient in human happiness, as the 
 foundation of it With the Grecians, it was 
 a goddess. The Lycaonians worshipped the 
 image of health, and the women offered to il i 
 their hair, which is their glory — That is 
 they sacrificed ornament to health — Some fe 
 males have sacrificed health to ornament. 
 Have we ever looked into the wards of an 
 hospital or an infirmary ? Have we ever 
 visited the sick-chamber of a friend or neigh- 
 bour 1 — what confinement ! what restlessness ! 
 what disrelishes! what loathings! what days 
 of languishing ! what wearisome nights ! 
 Health is never so valued as when it brings 
 a letter of recommendation from sickness. 
 Have we been the subject of it ? What were 
 then a well-spread table, an elegantly fur- 
 nished room, the aspects of the garden and 
 field, the* charm* of the favourite author! 
 Cowper and Milton with their heavenly harps 
 sing their songs to a heavy heart. But health 
 is important, not only as to enjoyment, but 
 usefulness. The discharge of almost all the 
 duties of life depends upon it. How much is 
 suspended upon the indisposition of a minister 
 whose lips feed many — How much upon the 
 illness of a wife, a mother, the mistress of the 
 family, the centre, the eye, the hand, the sou) 
 of the domestic system ! It is only at such a 
 time and in such circumstances her utility 
 can be fully felt Health too has its spiritual 
 bearings. In all the works of religion the 
 body is the companion of the soul, but in 
 many it is the instrument We cannot read, 
 or hear, or sing, or go to the house of God, 
 without it Many of what good people cal 
 their temptations, and doubts, and fears, are 
 only physical effects. The frame is disordered 
 through which they see and feel. Hence 
 they are affected even in their intercourse 
 with God ; and when they consider, are afraid 
 of him. How many privileges too, in the 
 means of grace, are they deprived of while 
 they are the prisoners of sickness, the re- 
 membrance of which draws forth their tears. 
 Here we see that very good men and very 
 useful men may be the subjects of bodily af- 
 fliction. Timothy had a weakly, sickly con- 
 stitution, and Paul speaks of his "frequent 
 infirmities" or indispositions. Many other 
 excellent individuals mentioned in t"ie Scrip- 
 ture were exercised in the same way. And 
 so it has been in every age of the Church. 
 We are acquainted with the biography of 
 many eminent servants of God in modern 
 times, who prosecuted the duties of their 
 callings under weaknesses and pains, a hun- 
 dreth part of which would keep many pro- 
 fessors of religion from the sanctuary of God, 
 by the month or the year.. — But let not the 
 weak and sickly suppose that what has be- 
 fallen them is not common to men — The same 
 afflictions have happened to their brethren 
 who were before them in the world. And if 
 v T e knew all, we should cease to wonder at 
 
i44 
 
 APRIL 20. 
 
 Mich dispensations. The Lord's love to his 
 people is great, but it is wise ; and he regu- 
 lates his measures not by their wishes, but 
 their welfare. There is a "needs-be" for 
 every ailment, and every pain. While he 
 chastens, he teaches us out of his law. The 
 ^ender mother overlooks none of her off- 
 spring : but the breathless tread, the pillowed 
 couch, the knee, the bosom, the indulgence, 
 are for the little invalid endeared by the pain 
 he suffers, and even by the care he creates — 
 And what says God 1 " As one whom his mo- 
 ther comforteth, so will I comfort you." — 
 
 We learn also that we may err on the side 
 of deficiency as well as excess. There are 
 always two extremes: yet in going from the 
 one, we rarely consider that we are in n^y 
 danger from the other. But wisdom leads in 
 the way of righteousness ; in the midst of the 
 paths of judgment: and it becomes us, with 
 regard to all our concerns and movements, to 
 hear the word behind us saying, " This is the 
 way, walk ye in it, when we turn to the right 
 hand, or when we turn to the left." We 
 may fail as to the spirit we are of, not only on 
 the side of a bold and firm temper, but on the 
 6ide of a tender and candid one. A man is 
 required to be diligent in business, but he 
 must not entangle himself in the affairs of 
 this life. He ought to be economical and 
 frugal, but he may run into closeness and 
 meanness. Even temperance, so useful and 
 commendable, may become a snare ; and 
 there have been instances of persons under a 
 religious motive, injuring themselves by self- 
 denial and abstinence. Timothy was in dan- 
 ger of this. He had to this time used water 
 only, but he was following this abstemious- 
 ness too exclusively and too long : his system 
 now required something more generous, and 
 restorative, and strengthening : and therefore 
 sayc his friend, " Drink no longer water, but 
 use a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and 
 thine often infirmities." 
 
 As there was nothing in Paul enthusiasti- 
 cal, or leading him to the neglect of means 
 and rational means, so there was nothing in 
 him favouring of superstition. He withholds 
 a Christian from no creature-comfort He 
 knew of none of those prohibitions, " Touch 
 not, taste not, handle not," which have pro- 
 duced such results in the church of Rome, 
 unless to foretell and condemn them: "in 
 the latter times 6ome shall depart from the 
 faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and 
 doctrines of devils; forbidding to marry, and 
 commanding to abstain from meats, which 
 God hath created to be received with thanks- 
 giving of them which believe and know the 
 truth. For every creature of God is good, 
 and nothing to be refused, if it be received 
 with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the 
 word of God and prayer." David observes, 
 that God bringeth forth out of the earth 
 "urine that maketh glad the heart of man, 
 
 and od to make his face to shine," as well ai 
 " bread that strengthened man's heart' 
 And his son makes no scruple to say to a 
 good man, " Eat thy bread with cheerfulness, 
 and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for 
 God hath accepted thy works." 
 
 But we have here laid clown the rules we 
 are to observe in the use of natural refresh- 
 ments. They are two ; and they contain all 
 that is necessary upon the subject. The first 
 is moderation — " Drink a little wine." We 
 should fear danger, especially in an article of 
 indulgence. The evil steals upon us by de- 
 grees, and therefore insensibly. Who ever 
 bVcame intemperate at once 1 or without res- 
 olutions to the contrary 1 " Nature," says 
 Hall, " is content with little ; grace with less.' 
 The second regards our design — "for thy 
 stomach's sake, and thine often infirmities." 
 That is, we are to use these good things, not 
 for the mere gratification of appetite, but to 
 fit us for our stations, and to enable us to 
 serve God. The former within proper boundi 
 is a lawful use ; the latter is a pious one. In 
 the first, the creature only appears; in the 
 second, the Christian is seen. Some live to 
 eat and drink; some eat and drink to live. 
 The former are the disgrace, the latter are 
 the glory of human-kind. Even in common 
 things the partakers of divine grace are a 
 peculiar people — Their motives distinguish 
 them. This turns a natural action into a 
 spiritual duty. This also enlarges the prov- 
 ince of their religion to the extent of all their 
 concerns ; keeps them waiting upon God aL 
 the day long ; and enables them, whether 
 they eat, or drink, or whatever they do, to do 
 all to the glory of God. 
 
 APRIL 2' . 
 
 " Willing rather to be absent from the body, and 
 to be present with the Lord." — 2 Cor. v. 8. 
 
 It seems impossible to read these words 
 and not admit that Paul and h's companions 
 believed three things — Tha*; Lhey were com- 
 plex beings, and had spirits which could be 
 present with the Lord when absent from the 
 body — That there was an intermediate state 
 between death and the resurrection, so that 
 as soon as they were absent from the body 
 they were present with the Lord — And that 
 their being present with the Lord was the 
 completion of their happiness and their hope. 
 
 Hence their wish. It was not an absolute 
 desire, but a preference. Their state here 
 under the influence of divine grace admitted 
 of comfort, and demanded gratitude. But to 
 depart to be with Christ was far better. 
 They were therefore "willing rather to be 
 absent from the body, and present with the 
 Lord." 
 
 This seems to have been very much in the 
 beginning of the gospel a common experience. 
 
APRIL 27. 
 
 145 
 
 Hence we read of looking for that blessed 
 hope; waiting for his Son from heaven; lov- 
 ing his appearing ; hastening unto the coming 
 of the day of God ; and crying, Amen ; even 
 so come, Lord Jesus. Those also who were 
 called by divine grace at the reformation in 
 Germany, and at the revival of evangelical 
 religion, in our own country, seemed familiar 
 with death ; were not shocked to be reminded 
 of their age and infirmities ; and loved to talk 
 with each other of going home. 
 
 Yet all, yea many cannot receive this say- 
 ing. Even the subjects of redemption are 
 said to be, through fear of death, all their life- 
 time not actually in bondage, but subject to 
 it The desire of death cannot be natural ; 
 nature must abhor its own dissolution. Yet 
 what is impossible to nature is possible to 
 grace. We commonly find more of this will- 
 ingness to leave the world among the poor 
 and afflicted of the Saviour's followers : they 
 have much to wean, as well as to draw: 
 their consolations correspond with their suf 
 ferings ; and the Lord is found a very present 
 help in trouble. When the love of life can 
 subserve no important purpose, it declines; 
 and the fear of death commonly diminishes as 
 the event approaches. Thousands who often 
 trembled before, have at last been joyful in 
 glory, and shouted aloud upon their beds. 
 Clouds and darkness have obscured their 
 day ; but at eventide it has been light 
 
 All believers have cause enough, if they 
 knew it, to make them long for their removal. 
 For to die is gain, unspeakable and everlast- 
 ing gain. They then exchange faith for 
 eight ; and hope for possession ; and that 
 which is in part for that which is perfect. 
 
 And the apprehension of many of the 
 Lord's people regards the manner of their 
 departure rather than the effect The part- 
 ing scene ; the pains, the groans, the dying 
 strife ; the separation of soul and body, and 
 the consignment of the flesh to corruption 
 and worms ; all this leads them to say, with 
 good. Dr. Conyers, I am not afraid of death, 
 but of dying. 
 
 And indeed all real Christians must long 
 for the consequences ; in being fully like 
 their Saviour ; and able to serve him ; and to 
 enjoy him completely. But they resemble 
 the man whose beloved family is abroad. He 
 would rather therefore be there than here — 
 But while he feels the attraction, he shudders 
 at the sea and the sickness. Watts represents 
 the believer as loving the Canaan beyond, 
 but dreading the Jordan between. 
 
 Well, if you really love the heaven of the 
 Christian, that is, a heaven derived from being 
 present with the Lord ; fear not, but thank God 
 and take courage. Either you will have, like 
 the Israelites, a dry-shod march across the 
 river ; or if, like Bunyan's pilgrims, you wade 
 through, your feet shall feel the bottom, and 
 vour eyes shall see the shining ones ready to 
 10 
 
 receive you on shore. Your passage will be 
 safe and short; and the issue an abundant 
 entrance i»to the joy of the Lord. 
 
 " 'Tis pleasant to believe his grace, 
 But we would rather see; 
 We would be absent from the flesh. 
 And present, Lord, with thee." 
 
 APRIL 27. 
 
 " The Lord that delivered me out of the paw Oj 
 the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will 
 deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine" 
 1 Sam. xvii. 37. 
 
 These are the words of David, when he 
 would justify himself from presumption in 
 fighting with Goliath, who was defying the 
 armies of the living God. It is observable 
 that he acknowledges the Lord to be his de- 
 liverer. He delivered me; he will deliver 
 me. " Salvation belongeth unto the Lord." 
 To him it belongeth supremely, and in a sense 
 only. For though we have many deliverers, 
 they only deliver us instrumentally. The 
 means he employs often conceal his agency, 
 but they should lead us to it : for instrument- 
 ality implies and requires agency. Adapta- 
 tion is not efficiency. However suitable a pen 
 is to write, it is nothing without a hand to use 
 it — Hence the question, " Who then is Paul, 
 and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom 
 ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every 
 man ?" In a state of nature, men are a kind 
 of atheists: whatever be their speculative be- 
 lief, they are practically without God in the 
 world ; God is not in all their thoughts. In 
 conversion they are awakened from this dread- 
 ful insensibility and indifference; and are led 
 to inquire after God. And they not only seek 
 him, but find him ; and not only find him, but 
 hold communion with him ; and hold commu- 
 nion with him, not only in his word, but in 
 his works, not only in his ordinances, but in 
 his dispensations. They connect him with the 
 events of life, and this gives them a sacred im- 
 portance. They connect him with their trials, 
 and this softens them. They connect him 
 with their comforts, and this sweetens them. 
 And thus life becomes a continued walking 
 with him towards that world in which " God 
 is all in- all." 
 
 David reviews his former agency — The 
 Lord delivered me out of the paw of the lion, 
 and out of the paw of the bear. This hap- 
 pened when he kept his father's sheep. Each 
 of these fierce and dreadful creatures took a 
 lamb out of the flock. And he went after 
 them. The peril was most imminent When 
 he forced them to drop the prey, they rose 
 ■ against him ; but he caught them by the 
 ; beard and smote them and slew them. He 
 well therefore speaks of their paw, for it wag 
 actually upon him ! This, it will be allowed, 
 was a deliverance little less than miraculous. 
 We have nothing, perhaps, so extraordinary 
 
146 
 
 APRIL 28. 
 
 to reTi'ew, yet we have had our deliverances, 
 and some of them remarkable, at least to our- 
 selves, if not to others. We have had our 
 bears and lions ; but we have not been given 
 over a prey to their teeth. We have had 
 spiritual deliverances. We have been saved 
 from the curse of the law ; from the power 
 of Satan ; from the tyranny of the world ; 
 from the dominion of sin. We have had tem- 
 pora'. deliverances. Some of these have been 
 visible, but many more have been invisible : 
 and it. is owing to our having obtained help 
 of God, that our lives, and families, and sub- 
 stance, and all our outward estate, have been 
 preserved. And if at any time our comforts 
 have been invaded and injured, it has been 
 for a moral benefit ; and he has enabled us to 
 say, " It is good for me that I have been af- 
 flicted." 
 
 David hopes for his future agency — "He 
 will deliver me from this Philistine." For af- 
 ter the beasts of prey, here is another, and 
 more formidable foe. We must always re- 
 joice with trembling; and never boast our- 
 selves of to-morrow, for we know not what a 
 day may bring forth. Because some storms 
 have expended themselves, we must not reck- 
 on upon perpetual sunshine; the clouds re- 
 turn after the rain. When we have slain the 
 lion and the bear, we may be called to en- 
 counter Goliath — Well — and we may meet 
 him undismayed if the Lord be with us. He 
 who has delivered will deliver. And like 
 David — 
 
 We should draw confidence from reflection. 
 We have not only his promise to encourage 
 us, but our experience ; and because he has 
 been our help, therefore under the shadow of 
 his wing should we rejoice. We cannot cer- 
 tainly infer what men will be from what they 
 have been, or what they will do from what 
 they have done. They are variable ; but the 
 Lord changeth not. They may become una- 
 ble, if their intentions are the same ; but in 
 the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. 
 Neither should a sense of our un worthiness 
 weaken our expectation from him : we were 
 unworthj' when he first took knowledge of 
 us; and he deals with us, not according to 
 our desert, but his own mercy and grace. 
 
 Wherefore let us observe the loving-kind- 
 nesses of the Lord, and treasure thein up in 
 our minds. We know not what occasions we 
 may have for the use of them, But in every 
 tendency to depression, let us not yield to our 
 infirmity, but remember the years of the right 
 hand of the ^lost High. 
 
 APRIL 26. 
 
 u So thpt I might finish my course tcithjoy." 
 Acts xx. .24. 
 
 Does this imply any apprehension as to 
 Jje event 1 It is no more than be enjoins 
 
 upon others : " Let us therefore fear, lest, a 
 promise being left us of entering into his rest, 
 any of you should seem to come short of it." 
 It certainly expresses great desire and great 
 anxiousness. He deemed nothing too much 
 to do or to suffer for such a privilege. 
 
 But how is it to be understood ? We may 
 take two views of it. We may consider the 
 •Christian as finishing his course with joy to 
 others, and with joy to himself. The latter 
 is principally intended. But did you ever 
 stand by the side of a dying bed, and, when 
 your connexion was suffering severely, and 
 all hope of recovery was taken away, have 
 you not been glad when the struggle was 
 over? Yes. You rose above selfishness; and 
 could say, " Our loss is his gain. Shall we 
 weep at his deliverance from sorrow, tempta- 
 tion, and sin ? and his entering into the joy 
 of his Lord 1 If we loved him we should re- 
 joice, because he said, I go unto the Father." 
 And when he finished well, have you not 
 hailed him on another account? "Well, thy 
 sun is gone down without a cloud. I feared 
 for thee, but the danger is now over. Thou 
 hast had to go through a defiling world, but 
 thou hast kept thy garments clean. Thou 
 hast had fears within and fightings without, 
 but thy heart has not turned back, neither 
 have thy steps declined from his way. We 
 crown thee now. Servant of God, well done." 
 But when the Christian finishes his course 
 with joy, it mainly refers to himself, and re- 
 gards his dying experience. There is a great 
 difference in the departure of believers. Some 
 reach heaven, so to speak, in a kind of wrecked 
 state ; they get safe to land, but on planks and 
 broken pieces of the ship. Others, in full sail, 
 enter the desired haven; and have, as the 
 Apostle Peter calls it, " an abundant entrance 
 into the kingdom of their Lord and Saviour." 
 Some die perplexed with doubts, and depress- 
 ed with fears; others have the full assurance 
 of hope : they are joyful in glory, and shout 
 aloud upon their beds; and their dying cham- 
 ber is none other than the house of God, and 
 the gate of heaven. " With gladness and re- 
 joicing shall they be brought : they shall en- 
 ter into the King's palace." This joy does 
 not depend upon outward things ; for in com- 
 mon, God's poor and afflicted people have the 
 greatest degrees of it Neither is it according 
 to previous confidence, for many who have 
 been all their life-time subject to bondage 
 through fear of death, have been filled at last 
 with all joy and peace in believing. Now we 
 lay no stress upon the want of this dying con- 
 fidence and comfort, as an evidence against 
 the safety of a man, when his life has been 
 godly and consistent ; for we know not how 
 far it may be the effect of temperament or 
 disease. Yet it is very desirable to enjoy it 
 We shall need all the comfort we can ge 
 when heart and flesh fail us, and friends can 
 afford us no assistance, and the enemy of 
 
APRIL 29. 
 
 147 
 
 souls may be particularly busy, knowing that 
 his time is short. It is also very useful. It 
 has often impressed the careless, confirmed 
 the doubting, and encouraged the timid. And 
 how has it glorified God, by showing the 
 power o." his grace, and recommending his 
 service ! Except for this, a Christian would 
 desire a sudden death, and escape " the pains, 
 and groans, and dying strife :" but he is more 
 than reconciled to bear them, if Christ is thus 
 magnified in his body by death, as well as by 
 life. 
 
 But this finishing his course with joy, takes 
 in the issue, as well as the conclusion. If it 
 ends with heaven, it ends well, whatever be 
 the experience immediately preceding. If 
 the Christian were to leave this world in dark- 
 ness and uncertainty, that darkness would be 
 instantly dispelled, and all would be quietness 
 and assurance for ever. Thus even Cowper 
 finished his course with joy, for the gloom 
 vanished in glory — and how ecstatic must 
 have been the surprise of his blessed spirit, to 
 feel itself in the possession of a boon it had 
 long despaired to find ! , 
 
 All who have gone before us at death 
 finished their course p but many finished it 
 with joy. How will you finish yours 1 The 
 Lord has appointed us bounds which we can- 
 not pass. We have an allotted course of ser- 
 vice and suffering ; and the end is sure — and 
 the end is nigh. Mark the perfect man and 
 behold the upright, for the end of that man is 
 peace. He shall enter into rest ; and be for 
 ever with the Lord. But how will you end 1 
 will you be defeated or crowned 1 will you be 
 clothed with shame, or shine forth as the sun 
 in the kingdom of our Father ? O let it be 
 your prayer and care to realize this final 
 blessedness ; and endeavour to judge of every 
 thing now as it will affect you at last 
 
 Even a Balaam could admire the tents of 
 Jacob, and the tabernacles of Israel ; and was 
 compelled to exclaim, " Let me die the death 
 of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
 his." Yet he died fighting against the peo- 
 ple he had blessed and envied. Such a differ- 
 ence is there between conviction and practice ; 
 and so absurd is it to look for the end without 
 the way. 
 
 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. 
 But if you die out of him, unpardoned and un- 
 renewed, you must finish your course with 
 grief. — Grief to others, to ministers, to Chris- 
 tians, to godly friends and relations. — Grief to 
 yourse.ves. The sorrows of life may be divert- 
 ed by company, by amusements, by the hur- 
 ry of business. A man may drink and forget 
 his sorrow, and remember his misery no more. 
 But your drinking days will be then over, and 
 you will be near a state where you will call 
 in vain for a drop of water to cool your tongue. 
 Your associates will then forsake you, or be 
 found miserable comforters. If they are cruel 
 enough to jest about religion then, you will 
 
 not be able to relish it, while fearing that all 
 may be true which you have treated as false. 
 Nature will have then closed the doors against 
 every worldly diversion. You can no more 
 attend the playhouse and the race-ground. 
 All that before was vanity, will now be vexa- 
 tion of spirit Riches profit not in the day 
 of wrath. What is a man profited if he should 
 gain the whole world, and lose his own soul, 
 or what shall a man give in exchange for his 
 soul 1 But should you have no time for re- 
 flection ; or be incapable of exercising reason ; 
 or conscience be unawakened : should you 
 through the power of delusion have no bands 
 in your death, and your strength be firm; 
 should you fall asleep like a lamb, you will 
 awake with the devil and his angels. There 
 is no peace, saith my God, unto the wicked. 
 
 APRIL 29. 
 
 M Who comforteth us in all our tribulations. 
 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 
 This reminds us of the nature of the Chris- 
 tian life. It is " neither clear nor dark." It 
 partakes both of tribulation and comfort The 
 tribulation endears the comfort ; and the com- 
 fort relieves and gilds the tribulation. 
 
 Paul does not say he comforts us by keep- 
 ing us out of all tribulation. He could do 
 this ; but it accords not with the wisdom of 
 his mercy. Therefore many are the afflictions 
 of the righteous, and through much tribula- 
 tion they must enter the kingdom. But while 
 in the world they have tribulation, in him 
 they have peace — and he comforts them in 
 all their TRIBULATION. And he does this 
 four ways. First by deliverance. This is 
 perhaps the most pleasing way to our natural 
 feelings : and these feelings are in a measure 
 allowable. For tribulation is not to be pre- 
 ferred for its own sake ; neither are we to 
 consider ourselves unsubmissive, though we 
 are led to say, " Father, if it be possible, let 
 this cup pass from me ;" provided we can add, 
 " nevertheless not my will, but thine be done." 
 And the Lord knoweth how to deliver. If he 
 does not find a way, he can make a way for 
 our escape. Of old he appeared for his ser- 
 vants ; and often constrained even their ene- 
 mies to acknowledge the finger of God. Ob- 
 serve Joseph in Egypt, Jonah in the whale's 
 belly, Daniel in the lions' den, and Peter in 
 prison. " But these were miracles." They 
 were. "And miracles are not to be expected 
 now." They are not But he who performed 
 them is not far from any one of us — He is a 
 very present help in trouble — and able to 
 make good the word upon which he has 
 caused us to hope ; or miracles would be seen 
 again. Nothing is too hard for the Lord ; all 
 hearts are in his hand ; all events are at his 
 control; and even now "he turneth the 
 shadow of death into the morning." He does 
 
148 
 
 APRTL 3(J. 
 
 not always deliver js according to our wishes 
 and expectation ; and hope deferred maketh 
 the heart sick; and the eagerness and de- 
 spondency of impatience may lead us to com- 
 plain, "O when wilt thou comfort mel" But 
 the vision is only for an appointed time ; at 
 the end it shall speak ; neither will it tarry a 
 moment beyond the season our welfare re- 
 quires—" For the Lord is a God of judgment ; 
 blessed are all they that wait for him." 
 
 Secondly, by compensation. Philosophers 
 have remarked how all through the natural 
 world there are indications of a system of 
 counterbalancings ; so that a deficiency in 
 one thing is remedied by some advantage in 
 another. We see this also in human life ; so 
 that persons in their trouble .are, so to say, 
 recompensed by something which lessens the 
 impression of their trials, and after which if 
 they are wise they will look, for the purpose 
 of submission and thankfulness. Hannah was 
 barren and reproached by her fruitful rival ; 
 but she was consoled by the greater love of 
 her husband, and who " was better to her 
 than ten sons." Mephibosheth while an in- 
 fant was lamed on both his feet ; but owing to 
 this accident his life was preserved when the 
 other princes of the house were destroyed. 
 Thus bodily deformity is sometimes relieved 
 by superior endowments of mind. Thus a 
 man is compelled to labour: but this gives 
 soundness to his sleep, and appetite to his 
 food, and vigour to his health, to which the 
 easy and indulged are strangers. Paul suf- 
 fered unto bonds, but the word of God, which 
 was dearer to him than life, was not bound ; 
 and his confinement turned out rather to the 
 furtherance of the gospel. The thorn in the 
 flesh was continued ; but instead of the re- 
 moval, he had the assurance of all-sufficient 
 grace under it ; and he was more than satis- 
 fied with the compensation — yea, he gloried 
 in it ; and said, " When I am weak then am 
 I strong." Ah ! I dreaded, says the Christian, 
 as I entered the affliction, and was laid on a 
 bed of languishing : but prayer was made for 
 me , a force and a tenderness of friendship 
 were displayed of which I was not aware be- 
 fore — and Oh! how kind was that "Friend 
 who sticketh closer than a brother" — " Thou 
 drewest near in the day that I called upon 
 thee ; thou saidst unto me, Fear not." 
 
 Thirdly, by sanctification. A man may be 
 saved in his affliction when he is not saved 
 out of it. Affliction is a scene of great moral 
 danger, and the enemy of souls will endea- 
 vour to turn to account what it yields in a 
 way of temptation. It is mentioned with won- 
 der that in all the evil that had come upon 
 him, " Job sinned not, nor charged God fool- 
 ishly." A Christian is sometimes " afraid of 
 all his sorrows" — afraid lest he should sink— 
 afraid lest he should sin in the day of adver- 
 Bity — afraid lest he should not suffer well, and 
 fjlorify the Lord in the fires ; but dishonour 
 
 his religion by unbelief, and discontent, and 
 murmuring. This leads him to pray ; and the 
 Lord hears him, and keeps him in the evil 
 day. He affords him also the supply of the 
 Spirit of Jesus Christ, which confirms his 
 faith, and strengthens his patience, and ena- 
 bles him to bear the rod. Some in their dis- 
 tresses have cursed God and died. Others 
 have spoken unadvisedly with their lips ; 01 
 they have been vengeful towards the instru- 
 ments of their sufferings, or they have em- 
 ployed unlawful means to obtain relief, or 
 they have attempted self-destruction. Have 
 you been preserved 1 Has the furnace only 
 severed the dross from the gold] Has the 
 pruning-knife only lopped off the suckers that 
 robbed the vine 7 Can you say with David, 
 " It is good for me that I have been afflicted , 
 before I was afflicted I went astray, but now 
 have I kept thy word" — Has the Lord for 
 gotten to be gracious to you 1 
 
 Fourthly, he does it by discovery. • The 
 word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the 
 second time, while he was yet shut up in the 
 court of the prison, saying: Call unto me, 
 and I will answer thee, and show thee great 
 and mighty things which thou knowest not." 
 This is no more than he does to other suffer- 
 ers ; it is in the hour of trouble he peculiarly 
 fulfils the promise, "I will manifest myself 
 unto him." " I will allure her," says he, " and 
 bring her into the wilderness, and there will 
 I speak comfortably unto her" — or as it is in 
 the margin, speak to her heart — so speak to 
 her as to " give her her vineyards from thence, 
 and the valley of Achor for a door of hope, 
 and she shall sing there as in the days of her 
 youth, and in the days when she came up out 
 of the land of Egypt." Oh ! if he says to the 
 soul, " I am thy salvation ;" if he " shows you 
 his covenant;" if he convinces you that none 
 of your trials are casual or penal ; if he as- 
 sures your consciences that you are redeemed 
 from the curse, and that you only feel the rod 
 of a father, who uses it in kindness and ten- 
 der mercy ; if heaven be opened to the eye 
 of the mind, and like Stephen you see Jesus 
 ready to receive you, and wipe away all your 
 tears ; if you are assured that your afflictions 
 will work out for you a far more exceeding 
 and eternal weight of glory — then, though 
 you will not be deprived of feeling, you will 
 be raised above despondency and depression 
 — Then^hough troubled on every side, you 
 will not be distressed — Then, though sorrow- 
 ful, you will be always rejoicing — And no1 
 only so, but you " will glory in tribulation 
 also." 
 
 APRIL 30. 
 
 " The desire of all nations." — Haggai ti. 
 That this refers to the Messiah is unques- 
 tionable. Yet there seems some necessity for 
 
MAY 1. 
 
 149 
 
 explaining the title given him, as it apparently 
 disagrees with the language of other parts 
 of Scripture, and with fact. Is he not de- 
 spised and rejected of men 1 He was in the 
 world, and the world was made by him ; and 
 the world knew him not. He came unto his 
 own, and his own received him not. How 
 then can he be called the desire of all na- 
 tions ! The character is justified five ways. 
 
 First, by the general expectation that pre- 
 vailed in the world previously to his advent. 
 It is well known that there was such a look- 
 ing out for some great deliverer and benefac- 
 tor as nigh at hand. Divines have collected 
 many testimonies from heathen authors, and 
 have peculiarly remarked a little poem of 
 Virgil's, written a few years only before the 
 birth of Jesus, and which contains a kind of 
 prophecy, foreshowing that some extraordi- 
 nary personage would shortly come, and re- 
 store the peace and plenty and blessings of 
 the fancied golden reign. The sentiment had 
 been conveyed down by tradition, but it was 
 originally derived from a divine source, the 
 early and repeated promise of "him that 
 should come." 
 
 Secondly, by the need all mankind had of 
 such a Saviour as he was to be. The whole 
 world was lying in wickedness. Darkness 
 covered the earth. They knew not the su- 
 preme good. They found only vanity and 
 vexation of spirit in their pursuits and attain- 
 ments. They had no support under the trou- 
 bles of life. Their uneasinesses arising from 
 guilt, death, and futurity, made them often 
 willing not only to offer thousands of rams, 
 and rivers of oil, but to give the first-born for 
 their transgression, the fruit of their body for 
 the sin of their soul. But no remedy could 
 they find to remove the doubts and fears of 
 their consciences — The Lord Jesus meets the 
 condition they were in ; and therefore though 
 they had no revelation of him, yet they were 
 groping ignorantly after what alone he could 
 impart ; and therefore he deserves to be call- 
 ed the desire of all nations, just as a physi- 
 cian, able and willing to cure all diseases, is 
 the desire of all patients. 
 
 Thirdly, by being entirely attractive in 
 himself, so that all would actually long after 
 him if they knew him. He has every excel- 
 lency in his person, every perfection in his 
 character. There is nothing in creation that 
 will afford a proper image of his glory. All 
 the lovelinesses of men and angels shrink 
 from a comparison with his charms — " How 
 great is his beauty !" — " Yea, he is altogether 
 lovely.*' Do we esteem riches 1 His riches 
 are unsearchable. Do we admire friendship 1 ! 
 He is a friend that sticketh closer than a bro- 
 ther. Do we applaud benevolence 1 His love 
 passeth knowledge. He comes down like rain 
 on the mown grass, as showers that water the 
 earth. A bruised reed will he not break, and 
 Hnoking flax wil he not quench. He delivers 
 
 the needy when he crieth, the poor also and 
 him that hath no helper — 
 
 " His worth if all the nations knew, 
 Sure the whole earth would love him too." 
 
 Fourthly, by his having had admirers in 
 every country. Wherever believers have 
 been found, they have been all distinguished 
 by the same convictions and dispositions with 
 regard to him. Abraham in Canaan rejoiced 
 to see his day, saw it and was glad. Job in 
 the land of Uz said, I know that my Redeemer 
 liveth. Moses in Egypt esteemed his reproach. 
 Wise men came from Persia and paid him 
 homage. Devout men from every nation un- 
 der heaven came to the temple at Jerusalem, 
 and joined in the ceremonies and sacrifices of 
 which he was the substance and the end. 
 And John heard his praise from a multitude 
 which no man could number, out of all nations, 
 and kindreds, and people, and tongues. For, 
 
 Lastly, he is so named, because in due 
 time he will be prized and gloried in by all 
 the ends of the earth. To him, said the dy- 
 ing Patriarch, shall the gathering of the peo- 
 ple be. He is the salvation, says Simeon, pre- 
 pared before the face of all people; a light 
 to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his 
 people Israel. All kings shall fall down be- 
 fore him : all nations shall serve him ; all na- 
 tions shall call him blessed. 
 
 But let me not lose myself in general re- 
 flections. How does this desire of all nations 
 appear to me 1 Has he been revealed in me 
 the hope of glory ? Is he all my salvation and 
 all my desire 1 Can I count all things but 
 loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
 Christ Jesus my Lord 1 Do I love the people 
 who resemble him 1 Do I value the ordi- 
 nances in which I can enjoy communion with 
 him 1 Will it complete my happiness to he 
 like him and see him as he is , . 
 
 MAY 1. 
 
 "Judas saith unto him, (not Jscariot,) Lord, how 
 is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us 
 and not unto the world?" — John xiv. 22. 
 
 Jvdas Iscakiot had already sold his mas- 
 ter, and was now busy in betraying him into 
 the hands of his enemies. We are sometimes 
 ready to wonder by what potency of diabolical 
 agency he could be carried to such a degree 
 of wickedness. But when we are informed 
 that he was covetous, the mystery is ex- 
 plained. Then we have a cause fully ade- 
 quate to any effect : " for the love of money 
 is the root of all evil." 
 
 But there was another Judas among the 
 Apostles. He was the brother of James ; the 
 author of the last inspired epistle of the New 
 Testaments ; and a faithful follower, of Jesua 
 — He was the present inquirer. We may be 
 good and happy under any name. Yet there 
 are names that seem ominous and odious. It 
 must have been painful for this exceller* ran 
 
150 
 
 MAY 2. 
 
 o be called by the name of the infamous 
 wretch who had sold his Lord for thirty pieces 
 of silver. John therefore distinguishes him. 
 We should learn from his example to be care- 
 ful, in relating facts, not to confound persons. 
 For want of an attention to this, what is only 
 true of one individual is applied to another ; 
 and not only mistake, but mischief frequently 
 ensues. You can never talk safely after some 
 people : they are sure to suppress, or omit, or 
 perplex. How little is circumstantial truth 
 attended to ! 
 
 It is not always easy to determine the prin- 
 ciple of an action. We commonly look for a 
 single cause, when perhaps several excite- 
 ments have operated though not equally. A 
 late popular senator, Mr. Whitbread, often 
 said, no man ever acted from a single motive. 
 Whence sprang the question of Judas ! 
 
 Was it the language of grateful surprise 1 
 " How is it that we should be selected 1 and 
 thus honoured and indulged V This is the 
 disposition of the subjects of divine grace. 
 They do not think more highly of themselves, 
 because they are made to differ from others. 
 Not unto us, O Lord ; not unto us. Who am 
 T, O Lord God, and what is my father's 
 house 1 
 
 Or was it the language of doubt 1 He seems 
 to question whether the Lord could come and 
 manifest himself to them without others 
 seeing and knowing it. If he really thought 
 so, it was very weak and foplish ; but he spake 
 in haste, and without reffection. He might 
 easily have known the possibility, in a thou- 
 sand cases, of communicating ourselves to a 
 friend while every one else remains ignorant 
 of the transaction. And if others could not 
 do it, was it becoming in Judas to measure 
 the Saviour by their capacity ? What is mar- 
 vellous in their eyes is not marvellous in his. 
 It was enough that he had said it. He never 
 promises what he is not able to perform — And 
 never should we ask, after any of his declara- 
 tions, " How can these things be ?" 
 
 Or was it the language of curiosity ] He 
 might have admitted the reality of the thing, 
 but wished to know the circumstances, and 
 the mode of the manifestation. There is too 
 much of this tendency of mind in all of us, so 
 that we le,ave what is plain and useful, to pry 
 into what is dark and unprofitable ; and wish 
 to explore the secret things which belong unto 
 God, instead of being satisfied with those 
 which are revealed, and which are for us and 
 for our children. Thus time is wasted, the 
 attention is drawn off from the main concern, 
 the temper is injured by dispute, and the 
 words of the Apostle verified, " Knowledge 
 puffeth up, but. charity edifieth." Jesus there- 
 fore would not gratify the inquirer after the 
 number of the saved : and when Peter asked 
 him after the destiny of John, he reproved 
 him, saying, " What is that to thee 1 follow 
 thou me :" and when his Apostles would dive 
 
 into prophecy, he said, "It is not for you to 
 know the times and the seasons which the 
 Father hath put into his own power." 
 
 But let us always take things in their most 
 charitable construction. Perhaps it was the 
 language of allowable desire. He felt the 
 condescension and kindness of Jesus : he con- 
 sidered the privilege as an inestimable favour : 
 but having little acquaintance with it, he 
 wished to know more of it, to regulate him- 
 self accordingly, so as not to lose, but secure 
 and improve the privilege. This is the more 
 probable, as our Saviour does not blame him, 
 but gives him an answer. This he would not 
 have done had Judas spoken superciliously or 
 impertinently ; and not in the spirit of a learn- 
 er. He did not answer Pilate ; nor indulge 
 Herod ; nor suffer those to remain in the room 
 who laughed him to scorn when he raised the 
 ruler's daughter. But he favours and satisfies 
 Judas : " Jesus answered and said unto him, 
 If a man love me, he will keep my words : 
 and my Father will love him, and we will 
 come unto him, and make our abode with 
 him." 
 
 Hence, while we oppose a doubtful, curious, 
 and speculative turn of mind, we should not 
 repulse humble and useful inquiries. There 
 are difficulties of an experimental and a prac- 
 tical nature with regard to duties and privi- 
 leges which it is possible and desirable to re- 
 move. And there is no one to whom we can 
 carry them so proper as he to whom this in- 
 quirer addressed himself— and not in vain 
 
 MAY 2. 
 
 " Ye were a curse" — Zech. viii. 13. 
 
 When Elihu asked Job, with regard to the 
 Supreme Being, "If thou sinnest, what doest 
 thou against him ?" He adds ; " Thy wicked- 
 ness may hurt a man as thou art." The in- 
 jury one man* is capable of doing to another 
 is incalculable ; and it will never be known 
 in this world what a curse the sinner has 
 been. The corrupt always become, as Isaiah 
 calls them, "children that are corrupters." 
 They are concerned to bring other* into the 
 same course and condition with themselves ; 
 and as, owing to the depravity of our natuie, 
 we are much more accessible to evil than to 
 good, they are rarely successless in their en- 
 deavours. Wn addition to their invitations and 
 enticings, and, if they have power, their 
 frowns and menaces ; how impressive is the 
 force of example ! and how does the presence 
 of vice familiarize it to the mind, and weaken 
 the restraints of fear and shame ! " One sin- 
 ner destroyeth much good." 
 
 It seems hard that the wife end children 
 of Achan should have been stoned and burnt 
 with himself And nothing could have been 
 more affecting than the sight and cries of these 
 victims of his guilt, especially if he nac airv 
 
MAY 3. 
 
 151 
 
 fcenng, to the man himself. And the Deist 
 here rages against the Bible. But the Bible 
 only records the fact ; and the Deist is perpet- 
 ually meeting with similar things in his own 
 book of nature. He sees what his Omnipotent 
 Goodness does not interfere to prevent, — one 
 suffering from the vileness of another. He 
 sees the wife and children reduced to want, 
 beggary, infamy, disease, death ; by an idle, 
 drunken, stealing, licentious husband and 
 father. — This should be one of the greatest 
 preventions of sin, that it always injures, not 
 only ourselves, but others: and it would be 
 so, if we had any ingenuous, noble, relative 
 feeling. But what filial affection has that 
 youth who can break a mother's heart, and 
 bring down the gray hairs of a father with 
 sorrow to the grave ? Whatever be his poli- 
 tics, what real patriotism has he who endea- 
 vours to arm Providence against his country, 
 and promotes " that sin which is a reproach to 
 any people V " I cannot exercise a better 
 charity towards others," says Adam of Win- 
 tringham, " than by avoiding all sin myself." 
 
 As the wicked are " a curse" by injurious- 
 ness, so they are also by execution. How 
 many suddenly curse their habitation ! How 
 are they cursed often by those who are ruined 
 by their pride, luxury, and speculations ! How 
 vill children when they meet their ungodly 
 parents rise up against them in the judgment, 
 and cause them to be put to death ! flow in 
 the world of torment will the seduced exe- 
 crate the seducer? the murdered the mur- 
 derer ! and the pupil of infidelity the wretch 
 that led him into the paths of the destroyer ? 
 How dreadfully did the writer of this article 
 once hear a fine young man, while dying, ex- 
 claim, again and again, " O curse you, Vol- 
 taire !" — Angels curse them : " Curse ye 
 Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye 
 bitterly the inhabitants thereof " — The Judge 
 of all will curse them — He " will say unto 
 them on his left hand, Depart, ye cursed" — 
 
 And, Christians, were you ever in danger 
 of this ? Were you ever once a curse your- 
 selves ? How humbling is the review ! What 
 godly sorrow does it call for ! It seems 
 enough to make you weep, if possible, tears 
 of blood, to think that there are some in hell, 
 and others going thither, whom you have led 
 astray and encouraged! You, surely you, 
 can never forgive yourselves! But if God has 
 forgiven you, you ought to love much ; and be 
 concerned, as you have been a curse, to be- 
 come a blessing. 
 
 MAY 3. 
 
 '• Ye shall be a blessing." — Zech. viii. 13. 
 
 What a difference is there between the state 
 of nature and grace ! The transition from 
 the one to the other verifies and explains the 
 words of th3 prophet : " Instead of the thorn, 
 
 shall come i p the fir tree ; and instead of the 
 brier, shall come up the myrtle tree." Hence 
 says God — " As ye were a curse" — " Ye shall 
 be a blessing." 
 
 For the change affects them not only per- 
 sonally, but relatively. It begins with them- 
 selves, but it extends to others ; and a zealous 
 concern for the salvation of their own souls is 
 always accompanied with a benevolent anxi- 
 ety for the salvation of their fellow-creatures. 
 Their exertions for this purpose are indeed 
 often ungratefully received ; and they are re- 
 proachfully desired to keep their religion to 
 themselves. But this is enjoining upon them 
 an impossibility. They cannot but speak the 
 things which they have seen and heard — If 
 these should hold their peace, the stones would 
 cry out — The fire must burn — The spring 
 must rise up. Others are not only excused, 
 but commended— even if they err in the man- 
 ner, who strive to heal the sick, to clothe the 
 naked, and to feed the hungry : but Christians 
 are called intermeddlers when they would 
 exercise the noblest charity of all, which is 
 spiritual mercy. Not that they neglect the 
 body — Jesus himself did not But he that 
 converteth a sinner from the error of his ways 
 shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a 
 multitude of sins. 
 
 David therefore said, " I will teach trans- 
 gressors thy ways, and sinners shall be con- 
 verted unto thee." What a blessing was An- 
 drew to his brother Peter ! and Philip to his 
 friend Nathanael ! and the woman of Samaria 
 to her fellow-citizens ! — " Many believed on 
 him for the saying of the woman." In this 
 way God carries on his cause. He makes us 
 the subjects of his grace, and then the me- 
 diums and the instruments. He could call 
 fifty at once in a village. But what is com- 
 monly the case? One is called first He 
 soon pities the condition of others; and he 
 goes to the minister by whom he was awaken- 
 ed, and informs him of the ignorance of his 
 poor neighbours, and says, " Come over and 
 help us." He goes ; and a number believe and 
 turn unto the Lord. A single grain of corn 
 will produce several ears; these ears will 
 produce many ears more ; and the increase in 
 time will be sufficient for the semination of a 
 field, a province, a country — So says God of 
 his people, " I will sow them in the earth.' 
 Thus churches are raised. Thus kingdom* 
 are evangelized. 
 
 Why are good men called "the chariots of 
 Israel and the horsemen thereof?" " The salt 
 of the earth ?" " The light of the world ?" 
 " A dew from the Lord ?" But to express the 
 advantages others derive from them. And 
 who can tell the extent of the benefits produ- 
 ced by their prayers, exampje, and influence? 
 We are persuaded that none of them are use- 
 less : and he who has been the means of the 
 salvation of one soul, has done more tnan tho 
 hero who has delivered a whole empire from 
 
152 
 
 MAY 4. 
 
 iivil bondage — for " there is joy in the pre- 
 sence of the angels of God over one sinner 
 that repenteth" — But what blessings have 
 some individuals proved ! Think of Howard 
 in his journeys of compassion — of Thornton 
 and Reynolds in the diffusions of their bounty 
 — of Luther in the work of the reformation — 
 of Watts in his psalms and hymns — of Whit- 
 field in his preaching — of a father and mother 
 who bring up a family of children in the fear 
 of the lx)rd — of the two or three individuals 
 that brought Christianity to this favou red coun- 
 try—of the few missionaries who landed in 
 the South-Sea Islands, and induced whole 
 communities to turn from dumb idols to serve 
 the true God, and to wait for his Son from 
 heaven ! ! 
 
 But they are made a blessing not only as 
 they bless others, but as the}' are blessed by 
 them. With regard to Joseph's offspring, the 
 dying patriarch " blessed them that day, say- 
 ing, God make thee as Ephraim and as Man- 
 asseh." What did Balaam but bless them, 
 though he was employed to curse, when he 
 said, " How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, 
 and thy tabernacles, O Israel" — "The Lord 
 his God is with them, and the shout of a King 
 is among them" — " Let me die the death of 
 the righteous, and let my last end be like 
 his." And thus their very enemies are in- 
 wardly constrained to admire and extol those 
 whom they pretend to despise, and in words 
 even revile. But how cordially are they 
 blessed by those to whom they have been 
 useful ! With what satisfaction does Job 
 speak of this — " When the ear heard me it 
 blessed me" — " The blessing of him that was 
 ready to perish came upon me." " Blessed be 
 my mistress," says a servant: "I was igno- 
 rant as a heathen when I entered her family ; 
 but she has led me into the way everlasting." 
 " Blessed for ever be my precious mother," 
 says many a child, " whose easy and gentle 
 endeavours brought me up in the nurture 
 and admonition of the Lord." Their fellow- 
 christians bless them as their brethren, com- 
 panions, and helpers. Ministers say, "The 
 blessing of the Lord be upon you : we bless 
 you in the name of the Lord." " And their 
 seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and 
 their offspring among all people : all that see 
 them shall acknowledge them that they are 
 the seed which the Lord hath blessed" — For, 
 " Come," will the Judge say, " Come, ye 
 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
 prepared for you from the foundation of the 
 world." 
 
 MAY 4. 
 
 * And they worshipped him, and returned to 
 Jerusalem with great joy : and were continually 
 in the temple, praising and blessing God. 
 Amen." — Luke xxiv. 52, 53. 
 
 Tins was the consequence of the affecting 
 
 transaction recorded in the preceding verses 
 "He led them out as far as to Bethany, and 
 he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And 
 it came to pass, while he blessed them, he 
 was parted from them, and carried up into 
 heaven" — Upon this four things are recorded 
 of these blessed disciples. 
 
 First, their adoration of him — "They 
 worshipped him." Full of astonishment, and 
 straining their eyes to follow him in his trace- 
 less flight, they were standing when he had 
 ascended : and hence the angelic messengers 
 said, " Why stand ye gazing up into heaven ?" 
 They then kneeled, and prostrated themselves 
 upon the ground — and "worshipped him." 
 And what was this worship ] It was nothing 
 less than Divine. It was addressed to a be- 
 ing now absent, and whose sense.3 therefore 
 could not advertise him of the homage : for 
 they not only worshipped, but worshipped 
 him. The enemies of the present truth are 
 embarrassed with the case of Stephen. They 
 cannot deny that he prayed to Christ, when 
 he said, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ;" 
 and " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." 
 But they reply, that he saw Christ "standing 
 on the right hand of God :" and therefore ad- 
 dressed him ; conceding that to have address- 
 ed him in this manner, had he been absent 
 and invisible, would have been no less than 
 idolatry. Yet not to observe that the peti- 
 tions themselves were very strange ones, to 
 offer to a creature, even if present and in 
 sight, \ve find prayer addressed to him when 
 he was undeniably invisible and absent. Paul 
 speaks of " all who called upon the name of 
 the Lord Jesus." In his own prayer for the 
 Thessalonians he mentions him, even before 
 the Father. " Now our Lord Jesus Christ 
 himself, and God, even our Father, which hath 
 loved us, and hath given us everlasting con 
 solation and good hope through grace, com- 
 fort your hearts, and stablish you in every 
 good word and work." And the disciples 
 here worshipped him after " he was carried 
 up into heaven." 
 
 Secondly. Their obedience — " And they 
 returned to Jerusalem." We call this obe- 
 dience, because he had expressly enjoined it. 
 "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye 
 be endued with power from on high." " Be- 
 ing assembled together with them, he com- 
 manded them that they should not depart 
 from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of 
 the Father." It was all along foretold that 
 the Christian dispensation was to commence 
 from the metropolis of Judea, "The Lord 
 shall send the rod of his strength out of Zion." 
 " Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the 
 word of the Lord from Jerusalem." There 
 Jesus died and rose again. There the Apos- 
 tles were to open their commission ; and the 
 Holy Spirit was to be poured down to qualify 
 them to preach the Gospel to every creature 
 At this time Judea was the centre of the 
 
MAY 5. 
 
 153 
 
 Known world ; for America was not yet dis- 
 covered, and probably not inhabited. It was 
 the most surrounded and the most accessible 
 situation ; and therefore when the Lord made 
 the feast unto all people, he spread it upon 
 this mountain ; the table was in the middle of 
 the room. It would be an evidence in favour 
 of Christianity that it was published immedia- 
 tely on the spot where the facts were alleged 
 to have occurred. And it would show the 
 compassionate disposition of the Founder, that 
 he would have repentance and remission of 
 sin in his name to be published first at Jeru- 
 salem. Hence he required their return 
 thither. And they, instead of fleeing or con- 
 cealing themselves, repaired back to a place 
 full of danger — a place where lately they had 
 killed their master, and would be still more 
 likely to hate and persecute themselves. This 
 would be a great trial of their obedience. 
 They were going like lambs into a lair of 
 wolves. But they had nothing to do with 
 events. They knew his order for their con- 
 duct ; and the path of duty is the path of 
 safety. Yea, we see, 
 
 Thirdly, their gladness; for they net only 
 returned, but " with great joy." This seems 
 surprising. He is a bad relation, we say, that 
 is not missed. How we feel the removal of 
 a friend or a minister who has been useful to 
 us ! and not to feel, would be a criminal in- 
 sensibility. What a loss then did the disci- 
 ples sustain when deprived of their Lord and 
 Saviour who had always guided, preserved, 
 and comforted them ! Accordingly, when the 
 intimation was first given, sorrow filled their 
 hearts. But we here see the advantage of 
 knowledge. For he had opened their under- 
 standings, and explained to them the Scrip- 
 tures: and they now saw — That though he 
 was going to leave them as to his bodily pres- 
 ence, he would be with them spiritually — 
 That his departure would result in his own 
 exaltation and glory — That it was also expe- 
 dient for themselves that he went away — 
 That he would appear in the presence of God 
 for them, and be their advocate with the Fa- 
 ther — That he would be able to make all 
 things work together for their good — That 
 he would prepare a place for them, and come 
 again and receive them unto himself, that 
 where he was they might be also. And what 
 could they want more to induce them to re- 
 joice] But, 
 
 Fourthly, they were as grateful as they 
 were joyful — " And were continually in the 
 temple praising and blessing God." That is, 
 they constantly repaired thither at the sea- 
 sons of devotion. For we read that " when" 
 upon their return to Jerusalem " they were 
 come in, they went up into an upper room, 
 where abode both Peter, and James, and John, 
 and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholo- 
 mew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphas- 
 us, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother 
 
 of James. These all continued with one 
 accord in prayer and supplication with the 
 women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, ana 
 with his brethren." But their private engage- 
 ments did not keep them from the public ser- 
 vices of the sanctuary as often as they re- 
 turned. We are not to forsake the house of 
 our God : and we are to " enter his gates 
 with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise." 
 It is easy to see what was the cause of their 
 excitement, and which led them to magnify 
 the Lord, and to exalt his name together. 
 They blessed and praised him for all Jhis mer- 
 cies, but above all, for his unspeakable Gift — 
 That he was delivered for their offences and 
 raised again for their justification — That he 
 ever lived to make intercession for them 
 That he had taken possession of heaven on 
 their behalf — and that in him they were bless- 
 ed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly 
 places. Let us cherish the same disposition, 
 and follow their example. And let our grati- 
 tude be real and practical. Let us show forth 
 his praise, not only with our lips, but in our 
 lives. " God is the Lord, which hath showed 
 us light : bind the sacrifice with cords, even 
 unto the horns of the altar." 
 
 MAY 5. 
 
 " Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die." 
 1 Cor. xv. 32. 
 
 When Isaiah had foretold the invasion of 
 Judea by the Chaldeans ; " And in that day 
 did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, 
 and to mourning, and to baldness, and to gird- 
 ing with sackcloth : behold joy and gladness, 
 slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, 
 and drinking wine — let us eat and drink ; for 
 to-morrow we shall die." If we quote the 
 Wisdom of Solomon, it s is not because we 
 consider it inspired Scripture, but as evidence 
 to support the common prevalence of this 
 wretched sentiment at the period it was writ- 
 ten: "For our time is a very shadow that 
 passeth away: and after our end, there is no 
 returning: for it is fast sealed, so that no 
 man cometh again. Come on therefore, let 
 us enjoy the good things that are present: 
 and let us speedily use the creatures like as 
 in youth. Let us fill ourselves with costly 
 wine and ointments : and let no flower of the 
 spring pass by us. Let us crown ourselves 
 with rosebuds before they be withered. Let 
 none of us go without his part of our volup 
 tuousness : let us leave tokens of our joyful 
 ness in every place : for this is our portion, 
 and our lot is this." This indeed in all ages 
 and countries has been the manual of devo- 
 tion for those worshippers whose god is their 
 belly, who glory in their shame, and mind 
 earthly things. 
 
 It admits a fact too clear to be questioned. 
 The living know that they shall die. Tlie 
 
154 
 
 MAY 6. 
 
 *ery men before us confess it; yea, they ac- 
 knowledge that the event is not only certain, 
 Dut near — " To-morrow we die." And this 
 was true ; for death is always near in possi- 
 bility ; and is never far oft" in reality. Yet, 
 instead of saying, as w e must die shortly, and 
 may die soon, therefore we ought to be pre- 
 pared for the event, they make it a motive to 
 encourage licentiousness — " Let us eat and 
 drink, for to-morrow we die." What a 
 proof have we here of the truth of the Fall ! 
 " The heart of the sons of men is full of evil, 
 and madness is in their heart while they live." 
 We could as soon believe that God made 
 fiends as that he made the human race what 
 they now are. " God made man upright, but 
 they sought out many inventions." 
 
 But how stands the truth of the charge 
 with regard to us! Let none imagine that 
 they are innocent because they have never 
 uttered the sentiment in so many words. 
 Your temper and actions speak louder than 
 words — And what is their language'? Does 
 it not say unto God, " Depart from us, for we 
 desire not the knowledge of thy ways]" 
 Does it not seem to avow that nothing shall 
 disturb your carnality and carelessness ] and 
 that if life be short, you are resolved it shall 
 not be sad 1 
 
 But is the reasoning or excitement such a 
 monstrous perversion of every thing right as 
 it appears 1 Let us place it on two grounds. 
 Are you believers in Revelation ] Do you ad- 
 mit that there is really an eternal world, and 
 that you are always on the brink of it] You 
 are then worse than infidels, not as to your 
 creed — this is truth, but as to your practice, 
 which is inconsistent and senseless beyond all 
 the power of language to express. But if 
 you are unbelievers, if you deny a future 
 state, and think that we are mere masses of 
 matter, that we perish like the beasts, and 
 nothing survives death; you are but acting 
 consistently with your belief, and you may 
 then well say, " Let us eat and drink, for to- 
 morrow we die." The present is all the 
 happiness you know, and you would be fools 
 not to make the most of it — Therefore we 
 would say to you, Go on — only remarking 
 two things. First, be sure, perfectly sure, of 
 your premises. But you cannot demonstrate 
 that there is no world to come, no judgment 
 after death. The utmost you can reach is 
 probability. If a doubt remains in a case of 
 such tremendous import, it must be enough 
 to break all your repose whenever it recurs, 
 and to stamp your conduct with insanity. 
 Probability would be sufficient to justify a 
 man on the other side, the safe side, the side 
 on which, if we are mistaken as to our main 
 expectation, we must be gainers upon the 
 whole, and present gainers; but nothing less 
 than absolute certainty can justify you. When 
 Thistlewood the traitor was ascending the 
 \ drop, he said to his companions, referring to 
 
 the doubtfulness of an existence after death, 
 " We shall soon know the great secret.' 
 And so they would. Yet what madness and 
 wretchedness to leave it undetermined till the 
 discovery could be of no advantage, and the 
 truth of the condemnation was proved by the 
 execution of the sentence, and hell was seen 
 and suffered at once ! " Rejoice, O young 
 man, in thy youth ; and let thy heart cheer 
 thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in 
 the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of 
 thine eyes : but know thou, that for all these 
 things God will bring thee into judgment." 
 
 Secondly, even admitting the truth of your 
 premises, your conduct is not rational unless 
 intemperance and luxury were the truest and 
 highest enjoyments of life. But it would be 
 easy to prove that they are not. It is worthy 
 of observation that Epicurus himself, though 
 he contemned religion in every form, and ex- 
 cluded a future state, and contended that 
 pleasure was the great end of life, yet recom- 
 mended the practice of universal virtue, and 
 thought the virtues were to be cherished not 
 on their own account, but for the sake of 
 pleasure. He was himself the most plain 
 and temperate of men, lived sparingly, and 
 on the plainest food, always attesting that 
 this was best not only for health, but pleasure ; 
 and employed it as a maxim, " That he lived 
 most pleasurably who lived most temperately." 
 We have better authority than this ; and we 
 are sure that good men have not only a thou- 
 sand enjoyments of a nature which others 
 know nothing of; but as to those kinds of 
 pleasure which the men of the world value 
 (unless the pleasures of sin), the pleasures of 
 timo and sense, they have by far the pre-emi- 
 nence. Godliness is profitable unto all things ; 
 it has the promise of the life that now is, as 
 well as of that which is to come. Others 
 may possess more, but we know who hath 
 said, " the meek shall inherit the earth." 
 " Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and 
 drink thy wine with a merry heart ; for God 
 now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments 
 be always white ; and let thy head lack no 
 ointment." 
 
 MAY 6. 
 
 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have 
 a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, 
 and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves . 
 for a friend of mine in his journey is come tc 
 me, and I have nothing to set before him ? 
 And he from within shall answer and say 
 Trouble me not : the door is now shut, and my 
 children are icith mc in bed ; I cannot rise and 
 give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not 
 rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet 
 because of his importunity he will rise and give 
 him as many as he needeth. And I say unto 
 you, Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and 
 ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened 
 unto you. For every one that asketh receiveih 
 
MAY 7. 
 
 I'M 
 
 mna he that setketh findeth ; and to him that 
 
 knocketh it shall be (pened." — Luke xi. 5 — 10. 
 
 Never man spake like this man. He 
 taught as one having authority, but not as the 
 Scribes. This applies to the manner as well 
 as the subject of his preaching. He had 
 uothing of official parade and unfeeling se- 
 verity ; but was gentle and affectionate, and 
 came down as the rain on the mown grass. 
 One thing cannot be overlooked — It was the 
 easy and familiar mode in which he delivered 
 the most important doctrine. Here were no 
 dry definitions, no logical subtleties, no ab- 
 stract reasonings, no lengthened argumenta- 
 tions, no abstruse allusions parading the eru- 
 dition of the speaker, but darkening counsel 
 with words without knowledge to the multi- 
 tude — In his ministry the poor had the gos- 
 pel; the common people heard him gladly. 
 He commended himself to every man's con- 
 science by a simple manifestation of the 
 truth ; and always reached the heart by ap- 
 peals the most touching and tender, and by 
 images the most natural, conclusive, and in- 
 teresting. I have read treatises on repent- 
 ance, but I never derived half the instruction 
 and impression from them all that I have 
 found in the parable of the prodigal son. We 
 have had lectures on humility. But when 
 his disciples were disputing for pre-eminence 
 in his empire, " He called a little child unto 
 him, and set him in the midst of them, and 
 said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be con- 
 verted, and become as little children, ye shall 
 not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. Who- 
 soever, therefore, shall humble himself as this 
 little child, the same is greatest in the king- 
 dom of heaven." Here he is teaching them 
 to pray — but while he informs he excites and 
 encourages. He argues from the less to the 
 greater, and makes the contrast conduce to 
 his aim as well as the comparison. A man 
 indisposed to the thing itself, and even com- 
 plaining of the application, may grant a re- 
 quest to importunity — How much more may 
 we hope to succeed with God, whose good- 
 ness like his power is infinite ! 
 
 But O the execution that is done in the 
 fillingr up of the representation ! It intimates, 
 first, that in prayer we may go to God in the 
 character of " a friend." And how pleasing 
 and inviting is it to view the Supreme Being 
 xs standing in such a relation to us, and to 
 know that we have not only a real but a per- 
 fect, yea, a divine friend, who is nigh unto 
 us in all that we call upon him for. Secondly, 
 that we may come to him at any season, even 
 though it be "at midnight" He never slum- 
 bers or sleeps; never complains of surprise 
 or interruption. We are allowed, we are 
 commanded to pray without ceasing. David 
 says, " Morning, and evening, and at noon 
 will I pray and cry aloud :" and " at midnight 
 1 will rise and give thanks unto thee, because 
 
 of thy righteous judgments." Never wait 
 for a more convenientor favourable period — 
 go to him immediately — in the midnight 
 gloom of thy experience or condition — He 
 can turn the shadow of death into the morn- 
 ing. Thirdly, that we are allowed to ask of 
 him largely — " Send me, not a loaf, but three 
 loaves." Fourthly, that we need not be 
 ashamed to tell him our destitute and strait- 
 ened condition — " I have nothing to set be- 
 fore him." Fifthly, that we must be earnest 
 and persevering in our addresses. " Asking," 
 " seeking," " knocking," are not a mere repe- 
 tition, but an emphatical gradation. Impor- 
 tunity is not necessary to move God ; but it 
 is necessary to evince our sincerity, and to 
 prepare us to enjoy his undeserved favours 
 with improvement and praise. Lastly, that 
 none who ask, and seek, and knock, shall be 
 refused — " For whoso asketh receiveth, and 
 he that seeketh findeth, and to him that 
 knocketh it shall be opened." We often talk 
 of holding a man by his word ; and if he be 
 an honest man, we have nothing by which 
 we can hold him more firmly. Here we 
 have the assurance of truth itself. He can- 
 not deny himself. Let us therefore take Him 
 at his word, and relying on his engagement, 
 whoever we are, whatever be our character 
 and condition, draw near in full assurance of 
 faith, and be filled with all joy and peace in 
 believing, that we may abound in hope through 
 the power of the Holy Ghost 
 
 MAY 7. 
 
 " J am pacified toward thee" — Ezekiel xvi. 63. 
 
 There can be no pacifying without pre- 
 vious offence and provocation. Sin rouses 
 the displeasure of God. Therefore he says, 
 "O do not that abominable thing which I 
 hate !" He is of purer eyes than to behold 
 iniquity. The wicked shall not stand in his 
 sight It is no trifling thing to provoke a 
 fellow-creature. Every one is able to injure 
 us: but some possess larger influence and 
 power. It is spoken of as a great disadvan- 
 tage in contention, to " be as one that striveth 
 with the priest :" and it is said, " the wrath 
 of a king is as the roaring of a .ion." But to 
 fall into the hands of the living God ! Man is 
 mortal, and soon dies. And as the injury he 
 inflicts is temporary, so it is limited. At 
 most he can only kill the body — there js no 
 more that he can do — But there is One " who, 
 after he hath killed, hath power to cast into 
 hell." Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy ? 
 Are we stronger than he 1 Hast thou an arm 
 like God, or canst thou thunder with a voice 
 like his ? As sinners therefore, we lay entirely 
 at his mercy, and he could easily and righte- 
 ously have destroyed us, " and that without 
 remedy." But he was not revengeful or im 
 
156 
 
 MAY 7. 
 
 placable. He was not only willing to be paci- 
 fied, but even devised means for the purpose — 
 for by grace are we saved. 
 
 This pacification is to be viewed three 
 ways : in the cross : in the gospel : and in 
 the conscience. In the cross it is accomplish- 
 ed. Though God is good and merciful, he 
 must maintain the honour of his law, defend 
 his truth, and display the rectitude of his gov- 
 ernment. Hence he set forth his Son, "to be 
 a propitiation — to declare his righteousness — 
 that he might be just, and the justifier of him 
 which believeth in Jesus." Hence also we 
 are told that Christ " made reconciliation for 
 the sins of the people." His death was infi- 
 nitely valuable, not only from his innocency, 
 but his divinity ; and was " an offering and a 
 sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savour." 
 Thus while sin is condemned it is pardoned ; 
 and God is glorified while we are redeemed. 
 There is now no hindrance to a sinner's re- 
 turn on the part of God ; and " we have bold- 
 ness to enter into the holiest of all by the 
 blood of Jesus." What do people mean when 
 they talk of making their peace with God 1 
 If such peace can be made, it was made by 
 the blood of the cross. If our tears, and con- 
 fessions, and performances, could have accom- 
 plished the work, God would have spared his 
 own Son an immensity of needless suffering. 
 If without shedding of blood there is no re- 
 mission, Christ lias been sacrificed for us, or 
 we are yet in our sins. 
 
 In the gospel it is revealed. In vain the 
 work had been effected unless it had been 
 made known. But now the righteousness of 
 God without the law is manifested, being 
 witnessed by the law and the Drophets : and 
 whatever obscurity attaches to any other sub- 
 ject in the Scriptures, the light of life shines 
 on this subject with peculiar lustre. The 
 Peacemaker himself came and preached 
 peace : and sent forth also his servants to 
 publish it everywhere, and upon the house- 
 tops. The gospel ministry is called the min- 
 istry of reconciliation ; that is, that God was 
 in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, 
 not imputing their trespasses unto them: 
 Tipon which ground, says the Apostle, " we 
 are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did 
 beseech you by us : we pray you in Christ's 
 stead, be ye reconciled to God." How blind 
 must that guide be, who does not show unto 
 men this way of salvation ! What a physi- 
 cian of no value is he who does not employ 
 this balm of Gilead in the cure of souls! — By 
 his stripes we are healed. 
 
 In the conscience it is realized. In vain is 
 it not only procured but published, if it be re- 
 jected or disregarded. It must be applied by 
 faith. Then we receive the atonement ; rely 
 upon it; plead it; and have access with con- 
 fidence. By believing we .enter into rest ; 
 and being justified by faith we have peace 
 with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ; 
 
 not only peace above, but peace within. And 
 it is a peace which passeth all understanding. 
 For he is pacified perfectly, and for ever. 
 Who can describe the blessedness of the man 
 to whom the Lord will not impute sin ] and 
 who is able to say, " As far as the east is from 
 the west, so far hath he removed our trans- 
 gressions from us!" God's frown darkens 
 the universe : but when he smiles every thing 
 rejoices. Eternity has no dread. Death has 
 no sting. Affliction has no curse. " In that 
 day," therefore, says the Church, " O Lord, I 
 will praise thee: though thou wast angry 
 with me, thine anger is turned away, and 
 thou comfortedst me." 
 
 Nor is this experience unfriendly to holi- 
 ness, and good works. Yea, it is necessary 
 to them : and believers are witnesses of these 
 things. The people of the world may think 
 that their liberty is licentious ; but they run 
 in the way of his commandments when God 
 hath enlarged their heart. The joy of the 
 Lord, instead of weakening their motives to 
 duty, is their strength. The comforts of the 
 Holy Ghost, instead of being opiates, prove 
 cordials, and give them life more abundantly. 
 The promises cleanse them. Hope purifies 
 them. What says the Apostle? "How much 
 more shall the blood of Christ, who through 
 the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot 
 to God, purge your conscience from dead 
 works to serve the living God '!" What says 
 God in the words before us 1 " That thou 
 mayest remember, and be confounded, and 
 never open thy mouth any more because of 
 thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee 
 for all that thou hast done." The apprehen- 
 sion of wrath not only terrifies, but repels. 
 We hate those "'e dread. We cannot love a 
 Being while we view him as an enemy to our 
 happiness. 
 
 Till I knew God as the God of peace, my 
 heart could no more bleed than a stone. But 
 when I saw his glory in the face of Jesus 
 Christ, when I saw his abundant mercy, and 
 the exceeding riches of his grace, not only in 
 sparing me so long, but in being willing to 
 receive me after all my offences ; and espe- 
 cially in having, not only without my desert, 
 but even desire, provided a Saviour in whom 
 I have righteousness, and strength, and all 
 spiritual blessings in heavenly places ; and 
 was enabled to realize the whole by faith — 
 then the stone became flesh — then I cried, 
 God be merciful to me a sinner — then I sor- 
 rowed after a godly 6ort. The prodigal could 
 view the evil of his conduct in the misery to 
 which it had reduced him ; and he had some 
 sense of his shame when he resolved to re- 
 turn and say, " I have sinned against Heaven, 
 and before thee, and am no more worthy to 
 be called thy son ; make me as one of thy 
 hired servants" — But he felt it a thousand 
 times more when his father fell upon his neck 
 and kissed him. O how did he repent and 
 
MAY 8, 9. 
 
 137 
 
 tAMidemn himself for having grieved such a 
 parent ! O how did he weep when they put 
 on the best robe ; and ushered him into the 
 room of festivity prepared for the occasion — 
 '« Yes, tears of joy !" — Nay, but tears of in- 
 genuous sorrow too ! 
 
 MAY 8. 
 
 "Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and 
 he shall bear the glory." — Zech. vi. 13. 
 
 We need not ask, of whom speaketh the 
 prophet, when the words immediately preced- 
 ing tell us that he is " the man whose name 
 is the Branch," who should " grow up out of 
 *iis place" — " He," says Zechariah, " shall 
 build the temple of the Lord" — And to fix 
 our attention to it the more, he repeats the 
 sentiment with a striking addition — "Even 
 he shall build the temple of the Lord ; and he 
 shall bear the glory." Let us observe the 
 temple ; the builder ; and the glory. 
 
 The temple means the church of God. 
 The Scripture often holds it forth under this 
 image. The allusion was peculiarly natural 
 in a Jewish writer, considering the import- 
 ance attached to the house of God in Jerusa- 
 lem. The name is founded on three reasons. 
 
 First, consecration. A temple is a place 
 appropriated to sacred uses: and the people 
 of God are separated from the world, and 
 dedicated to his service — " The Lord hath set 
 apart him that is godly for himself." This is 
 done by his eternal purpose, and by effectual 
 calling. The former is realized and discover- 
 ed in the latter, when they who were his by 
 choice become his by surrender, each of them 
 saying, " Lord, I am thine, save me. Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do !'' And they 
 should remember that all they have, and all 
 they are, is now the Lord's ; and that to take 
 any thing pertaining to a temple is not only 
 robbery but sacrilege. Let them think of this 
 when they would use their time, their sub- 
 stance, or any of their talents as their own, 
 regardless of the will of God. Holiness be- 
 comes God's house for ever ; and therefore it 
 becomes them. Our Saviour was offended 
 because they made his Father's house a house 
 of merchandise, and drove out the buyers and 
 sellers, and hallowed it for holy purposes. 
 And says Paul, " If any man defile the tem- 
 ple of God, him will God destroy ; for the 
 temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 
 How vile and dreadful was it in Manasseh to 
 .ake the image of Baal and place it in the 
 temple, opposite the mercy-seat, the very 
 throne of the God of Israel ! Beware of pro- 
 fane mixtures : " What agreement hath the 
 temple of God with idols !" Christians, main- 
 tain your sacredness. Keep yourselves pure 
 from all filthiness of flesh as well as spirit. 
 * What ? know ye not that your body is the 
 temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, 
 
 which ye have of God, and ye are not your 
 own ? For ye are bought with a price : there- 
 fore glorify God in your body, and in your 
 spirit, which are God's." 
 
 Secondly, residence. A mansion is a dwell- 
 ing for a nobleman, a palace for a king, a 
 temple for a God — and the church is called 
 the temple of the Lord, because he occupies 
 it : " Ye are the temple of the living God ;'• 
 as God hath said, " I dwell in them, and walk 
 in them." He is everywhere essentially, and 
 it would be well for us always to remembei 
 that God seeth us : but he is in his Chu&ch bj 
 a special presence ; and in a way of grace 
 and influence, and operation. This at onci 
 secures and dignifies it : "I will be a wall of 
 fire round about her, and the glory in tht 
 midst of her." " This," says he, " is my res 
 for ever : here will I dwell ; for I have de- 
 sired it." What are numbers, or fine build- 
 ings, or imposing ceremonies, to communis 
 with the living God ? 
 
 Thirdly, devotion. He is served and wor- 
 shipped in them as a temple. And he receives 
 homage and adoration nowhere else according 
 to his own requisition ; " God is a Spirit : and 
 they that worship him must worship him in 
 spirit and in truth." His worship therefore 
 is a reasonable service. The offerings pre- 
 sented to him are not gross, but spiritual sa- 
 crifices. They are prayers, and praise, and 
 alms, and a broken heart, and a contrite spirit 
 — and though all these are imperfect and de- 
 filed, they result from principle : they aim at 
 the glory of God ; and being offered through 
 the Mediator, and with his much incense, 
 they are accepted in the Beloved, and the 
 worshipper has the testimony that he pleases 
 God. 
 
 " Remember me, O Lord, with the favour 
 that thou bearest unto thy people." 
 
 MAY 9. 
 
 " Even he shall build the temple of trie Lord ; and 
 he shall bear the glory" — Zech- vi. 13. 
 
 We have seen the building, let us turn to 
 the Builder, " Even he shall build the temple 
 of the Lord." In another view he is the 
 foundation ; and the only foundation laid in 
 Zion. No image can do nim justice. The 
 sacred writers therefore are reduced to three 
 things — They strip images of all their imper- 
 fections, and apply them to him in their com- 
 plete state — They ascribe to these images 
 properties which they do not naturally pos- 
 sess : thus they speak of him as " a living 
 stone ;" for 
 
 " Nature, to make his beauties known, 
 Must mingle colours not her own." 
 
 And — They join several of these images to- 
 gether : thus he is not only the way, but the 
 leader in it ; not only the physician, but the 
 
im 
 
 MAY 10. 
 
 remedy itself: not only the master of the 
 feast, but the provision too — not only the 
 foundation, but the builder also. 
 
 But how is he the builder 1 He is the only 
 one — "Neither is there salvation in any 
 other." Yet are not Christians required to 
 build ? Does not Jude say, " Build up your- 
 selves in your most holy faith 7" But this is 
 to remind us that we are not only subjects 
 but instruments in this work. He does not 
 believe and repent — We are the believers 
 and the penitents. But he makes us such : 
 he works in us to will and to do ; and though 
 we are the boughs that bear " the fruits of 
 righteousness," " in me," says the Lord, " is 
 thy fruit found ; and therefore it is called " the 
 fruit of the Spirit." Are not Christians re- 
 quired to build up others 1 Yes, says the 
 Apostle, " edify one another ;" and " seek to 
 excel to the edifying of the Church." And 
 of himself he says, " As a wise master-build- 
 er, I have laid the foundation, and another 
 buildeth thereon." But even ministers only 
 build instrumentally. He employs them, and 
 all their success is from him. Paul and Apol- 
 los are only ministers by whom we believe, 
 even as the Lord gives to every man. They 
 often begin too insensible of this, and are like 
 Melancthon, who supposed, in his fervour, he 
 should convert all who heard him : but they 
 must learn — and cannot learn too soon, that 
 it is not by might, nor by power, but by the 
 Spirit of the Lord. He builds this temple 
 three ways. 
 
 First, He purchases all the materials. These 
 consist of believers. Other temples are built 
 of lifeless substances, but this of living stones : 
 and he procures them, and with no less a 
 price than his own blood: "He gave his life 
 a ransom for many." 
 
 Secondly, he prepares them. The mate- 
 rials for building a common temple are not 
 found fit, but made so : and Solomon probably 
 in allusion to his own great undertaking, says, 
 " Prepare thy work without, and make it fit 
 for thyself in the field ; and afterwards build 
 thine house. The wood must be felled, and 
 come under the operation of the axe, the saw, 
 and the plane. The stones must be dug out 
 of the quarry, and hewn and polished : and 
 we are commanded to "look to the rock 
 whence we were hewn, and to the hole of the 
 pit whence we were digged" — that is, to re- 
 member our condition by nature. But he does 
 not leave us where he finds us, or what he finds 
 us. He renews us in the spirit of our minds, 
 and forms us a people for himself, to show 
 forth his praise. 
 
 Thirdly, He unites them. He assigns them 
 their proper places; gives them one heart and 
 one way ; and by " faith and love, which are 
 in Christ Jesus," they are bound more firmly 
 together than any human ties could attach 
 '•■hem — The union is for ever — And the Sa- 
 
 viour addressing his Father, says, " They are 
 one even as we are one." 
 
 The parts of a temple are different, but they 
 are all necessary. The door cannot say to the 
 window, or the wall to the roof, I have nc 
 need of thee. Some parts are more near, and 
 some more remote, some more conspicuous, 
 and some more concealed ; but they all sub- 
 serve their appointment : they have all a re- 
 lation to each other: and by their junction 
 form one whole—" We are all one in Christ 
 Jesus" — "in whom all the building fitly 
 framed together, groweth unto an hoiy tem- 
 ple in the Lord." 
 
 Art thou found, O my soul, among those to 
 whom the application can be made 1 " In 
 whom ye also are builded together for an 
 habitation of God through the Spirit" 
 
 MAY 10. 
 
 " Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and 
 he shall bear the glory.'''' — Zech. vi. 13. 
 
 It is supposed that a glory will result 
 from the building; and to whom can this 
 glory belong but to the builder? A man's 
 works praise him in the gates. Some have 
 immortalized themselves by military achieve- 
 ments ; some by voyages of discovery : some 
 by scientific improvements ; some by the com- 
 position of a book; and some by the structure 
 of an edifice — But what building ever re- 
 dounded so much to the glory of the builder 
 as this temple of the Lord 1 It would be easy 
 to prove, or rather to exemplify this. 
 
 Observe the badness of the materials. The 
 Worse and the more unsuitable these are, the 
 more praise is due to the workman that bends 
 them completely to his purpose. But there 
 never were such materials as this builder had 
 to work upon: so that it was necessary to 
 change, not their form only, but their very 
 nature ; and from earthly, sensual, and devil- 
 ish, to make them heavenly and divine. 
 
 Then see the excellency of the workman 
 ship—" His work is perfect." The more we 
 examine an instance of human agency, the 
 less admiration we feel. We can generally, 
 by examination, soon perceive some super- 
 fluity or deficiency ; some possibility of alter- 
 ation for the better ; or at least, we find the 
 whole is within our grasp, and the extent of 
 the art can be comprehended. But when we 
 tun: to the Lord's doing, this is marvellous in 
 our eyes, in proportion as we explore it. By 
 every research we seem to detect fresh indica- 
 tions of design ; we feel ourselves ulways on 
 the verge of infinite : we exclaim, " This is 
 the finger of God." So it is with all his works 
 — He doth all things well : but he hath mag- 
 nified his word above all his name : and in 
 the salvation of his people he excelleth ui 
 glory. 
 
MAY 11. 
 
 159 
 
 Look at the magnitude of the work. A 
 work is sometimes estimated by the length of 
 time employed in the execution of it. Forty 
 and six years, said the Jews, was this temple 
 in building : but here the structure has been 
 going on for near six thousand years, and is 
 tar from being accomplished yet. A work is 
 estimated by the number of workmen en- 
 gaged, and the abundance of scaffolding re- 
 quired. Here millions of hands have been 
 cordially employed, and countless multitudes 
 also, who will derive no advantage from it 
 Scholars, merchants, kings, heroes, tyrants, 
 have ldboured for this cause, without knowing 
 it : and the world itself, as soon as the work 
 is finished, will be removed and burnt up. 
 The estimate is also taken from the duration. 
 Man's work, like himself, is perishing. Solo- 
 mon's temple was burnt by the Chaldeans, 
 and Zerubbabel's temple by the Romans ; and 
 not a fragment remained, a few ages only af- 
 ter their erection. But, says the Saviour, 
 " Upon this rock will I build my church, and 
 the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 
 The defections of heretics, and the apostasies 
 of professors, do not affect it : " the foundation 
 of God standeth sure." The most remarkable 
 structures for permanence are the pyramids 
 of Egypt ; but though it is probable they may 
 reach the last day, they must then fall in the 
 wreck of all things. But from the ruins of 
 sin he has made his people an eternal excel- 
 lency, the joy of many generations. 
 
 And how glorious to himself is the manner 
 In which he carries it forward to its comple- 
 tion ! Difficulties insuperable to man attend 
 every part of the work. It is opposed by all 
 the powers of darkness. But their attempts 
 only serve to display the Saviour's wisdom 
 and power. Nothing is too hard for him. He 
 is not driven from his post, he is not compelled 
 to pause. He will accomplish the plan pre- 
 cisely according to the design, and to a mo- 
 ment of the time appointed. The angels will 
 not pass by the partially erected edifice and 
 say, He began to build, but was not able to 
 finish — "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid 
 the foundation of the house : his hands shall 
 also finish it Who art thou, O great moun- 
 tain 1 before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a 
 plain ; and he shall bring forth the head stone 
 thereof with shouting — Grace, grace unto 
 >t. !" 
 
 Such is the determination of God — " even 
 he shall build the temple of the Lord, and — 
 he shall bear the glory." Every thing in the 
 economy of salvation therefore is so arranged, 
 that he who glories must glory in the Lord. 
 Therefore every sentiment incompatible with 
 this, is an erroneous ser.timent ; and every 
 disposition adverse to this, is an unrighteous 
 disposition. And in the minds of his people, 
 the proud looks are humbled, and the lofty 
 looks laid low ; and the Lord alone is exalted. 
 They now readily exclaim. "Not unto us, O 
 
 Lord, not unto us, but to thy Name give 
 glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake." 
 How much more will this be the case, when 
 he will come to be glorified in his saints, and 
 admired in all them that believe ! — when they 
 will cast their crowns before the Thr>ne, 
 and it will be their business and their delight 
 to exclaim, " To him that loved us, and wash- 
 ed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath 
 made us kings and priests unto God and his 
 Father; to him be glory and dominion for 
 ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 " O may I bear some humble part 
 In that immortal song; 
 Wonder and joy shall tune my heart. 
 And love command my tongue." 
 
 MAY 11. 
 
 " J have learned by experience." — Gen. xxx. 21. 
 
 There is no spiritual meaning in these 
 words. They are only the language of Laban 
 acknowledging the benefit he had derived un- 
 der God — for even he could talk piously, from 
 his son-in-law Jacob ; " The Lird hath blessed 
 me for thy sake." But the way in which he 
 says he had learned this — " I have learned by 
 experience," will apply to a Christian in 
 speaking of his acquaintance with divine 
 things ; and afford us an occasion to notice a 
 very interesting subject. Experiments are 
 processes of trial to determine some thing not 
 sufficiently known or admitted. Experience 
 is the knowledge derived from the trial ; and 
 this knowledge is very distinguishable from 
 mere report or opinion. A medicine is an- 
 nounced as a specific for some malady ; but 
 when I have taken it, and have been cured by 
 it I have learned the excellency and efficacy 
 of it by experience. Much of the philosophy 
 of former times was little better than learned 
 affectation. The vouchers of it were not will- 
 ing to own their ignorance, and place them- 
 selves upon a level with the vulgar, and so 
 they conjectured and theorized ; but their hy- 
 potheses could not abide the test Of late 
 years a wiser course, recommended by Bacon, 
 has been pursued, and people have been 
 taught to found science on fact, to reason from 
 inductions, and to take nothing for truth with- 
 out trial. 
 
 Now this is what we wish with regard to 
 the noblest of all subjects. Why cannot re- 
 ligion be tried] Why cannot prophecy be 
 compared with events 1 Why cannot miracles 
 be examined by any given standard of evi- 
 dence ? Why cannot we take what the 
 Scripture says of the state of human nature, 
 and go into the world, and see whether it is 
 borne out by history and observation ? Yes, 
 says the Christian, the wickedness and de- 
 ceitfulness of the heart is not a notion with 
 me — I have learned it by experience in my 
 unthankfulness under mercies, incorrigible- 
 ness under corrections, unprofitableness un- 
 
160 
 
 MAY 12. 
 
 jer vows and professions. I know that there 
 is such a Saviour as the gospel proclaims, for 
 I have made application to him, and I have 
 proof of his ability, suitableness, and willing- 
 ness to save in my own salvation — " He that 
 oelieveth hath the witness in himself." The 
 Word says, " He that walketh uprightly, 
 walketh surely," and I have learned this by 
 experience. I have always suffered when I 
 have turned aside to crooked and selfish 
 policy ; but I never had reason to repent 
 when I have acted in simplicity and godly 
 sincerity, and been willing to deny myself for 
 the Lord's sake. In the same way I can at- 
 test the influence and usefulness of prayer — 
 It has calmed my fears — it has revived me in 
 the midst of trouble — I have learned by ex- 
 perience, that it is good for me to draw near 
 to God. 
 
 And verily this is the best way in which 
 we can become acquainted with divine truth. 
 Our knowledge of it without this will be 
 mere speculation. We read of "a form of 
 wiowledge" as well as " a form of godliness :" 
 and what is the value of the one more than 
 of the other, without " the power thereof]" 
 The knowledge of some things is injurious 
 rather than useful without it. When persons 
 take up the sovereignty of God from a mere 
 doctrinal system, we commonly find them 
 heady, and contentious, and censorious : but 
 when they learn it from experience, and are 
 constrained to own that by his grace they are 
 what they are, he having begun with them, 
 instead of their beginning with him ; it makes 
 them humble, and grateful, and -candid, and 
 tender. 
 
 It is a good thing for the heart to be 
 established with grace ;" and this mode of 
 learning confirms the judgment, and renders 
 a man safe against error. He is not to be 
 ridiculed or reasoned out of his conviction. In 
 vain would any one tell you. If you have 
 tasted them, that gall is not bitter, or honey 
 sweet. 
 
 The heart also, as Solomon remarks, teach- 
 eth the lips, and we derive a great advantage 
 from experience in dealing with others. We 
 shall be able to speak with more confidence, 
 and more earnestness, and more feeling ; be- 
 cause we do not deal in untried advantages, 
 but declare that which we have seen, and 
 heard, and handled of the Word of life. 
 " Lo this, we have searched it, so it is ; hear 
 it, and know- thou it for thy good." It is 
 thus we gain the tongue of the learned, and 
 know how to speak a word in season to him 
 that is weary: it is thus we can comfort 
 others with those comforts wherewith we 
 ourselves are comforted of God. 
 
 Christians therefore should study their ex- 
 perience. It is one of their best books ; and 
 as to some of them it has become now no in- 
 considerable volume. They should remem- 
 ber how differently things have frequently 
 
 appeared in prosr ct, and in review. Tney 
 should observe how differently they have felt 
 and acted in various periods and conditions 
 of life : especially they should examine what 
 were the workings of their hearts under those 
 afflictive dispensations which are called trials, 
 because intended to be moral probations. 
 
 It is natural that Christians should commu- 
 nicate of their experience ; for out of the 
 abundance of the heart the mouth sp-'.aketb. 
 But here wisdom is profitable to direct. We 
 are not to give that which is holy to the 
 dogs; neither should we cast our pearls be- 
 fore swine. In a general way it will be 
 proper to follow the example of David, who 
 said ; " Come unto me, all ye that fear God, 
 and I will declare what he hath done for my 
 soul" — They alone can understand and relish 
 the communication. And with regard to 
 them, we are not to speak without distinc- 
 tion. We are not to bring forward the deep 
 things of God to those who cannot bear them 
 now. Neither should we dismay the timid 
 and doubting, by displaying before them our 
 confidence and ecstasies. We may talk with 
 some out of the eighth of the Romans, but 
 with others we must quote out of the seventh. 
 It v/ill often be better to talk of divine things 
 at large without referring to our own expe- 
 rience. And we must always remember that 
 we had better never speak of our experience 
 at all, unless it be accompanied with suitable 
 practice : for it is always of the nature of 
 personal evidence, and therefore will only 
 affect the hearers in proportion as they con- 
 fide in us. 
 
 MAY 12. 
 
 " Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my foot- 
 steps slip not." — Psalm xvii. 5. 
 
 Religion is principally an intercourse main- 
 tained between God and us. And in the 
 thought of it there is something very won- 
 derful and striking. When we consider his 
 greatness and glory, and our vanity and vile- 
 ness, we are led to exclaim, " Lord, what is 
 man that thou art mindful of him, or the son 
 of man that thou visitest him ?" But so it is — 
 And as he visits us, so he allows us to visit 
 him — and while he addresses us, we address 
 him. He addresses us in his Word, and we 
 address him in prayer. 
 
 How much they lose who are strangers to 
 this duty, this privilege ! It is our light in 
 darkness ; our solace in affliction ; our sancti- 
 fication in prosperity. We cannot be wise, 
 or happy, or even safe without it Let me 
 observe David's course, and his concern re- 
 specting it ; and learn to pray as he prayed, 
 " Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my 
 footsteps slip not." 
 
 First, his course. He speaks of his " go- 
 ings." Religion does not allow a man to sH 
 
MAY 13. 
 
 161 
 
 ■till. Under the influence of it he believes, 
 knows, feels, speaks: but all these are vain 
 unless they result in practice — unless he is, 
 so to speak, set a going — unless he says, with 
 David, " I will walk in thy truth." To walk 
 is to be active and advancing. It stands for 
 .he whole of our conduct: and upon this it is 
 that the Scripture lays such stress, requiring 
 js as we have received Christ Jesus the Lord 
 so to walk in him ; and to walk worthy of the 
 vocation wherewith we are called. 
 
 He speaks of his goings " in God's paths." 
 These are three-fold. — The path of his com- 
 mands. " O let me not wander from thy 
 commandments." "Make me to go in the 
 path of thy commandments ; for therein do I 
 delight" His commands are to be found in 
 his word ; and faith in Christ is one of them, 
 and necessary to our obeying all the rest; 
 for "this is his commandment, that we be- 
 lieve in the name of his Son Jesus Christ." 
 — The path of his ordinances. Pious minds 
 alive to the authority of God who has ap- 
 pointed them, and believing the promise that 
 they who wait upon the Lord shall renew 
 their strength, and feeling their need of spir- 
 itual supplies and succour, can never neglect 
 the means of grace. They will value retire- 
 ment for reading the Scriptures, and medita- 
 tion, and prayer. They will love the con- 
 versation of the godly. As they have oppor- 
 tunity they will repair to the sanctuary, and 
 join in the solemn assemblies in public devo- 
 tion, and in hearing the word preached, and in 
 surrounding the table of the Lord. Others may 
 indeed occasionally or even frequently attend 
 upon religious institutions, but not as spiritual 
 worshippers who use them as mediums of 
 communion with God, and channels of com- 
 munication from him. — The path of his dis- 
 pensations. Nothing in our condition hap- 
 pens by chance. Events are the movements 
 of his providence : and where others disregard 
 them or view them only in connexion with 
 creatures — for God is not in all their thoughts, 
 believers acknowledge him in their con- 
 nexions, their losses, their gains, their com- 
 forts, and their trials. Thus Job said, " The 
 Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; 
 blessed be the name of the Lord." And Da- 
 vid says, " I will sing of mercy and of judg- 
 ment ; unto thee, O Lord, will I sing." Such 
 was his course. Observe, 
 
 Secondly, his concern respecting it — 
 " Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my 
 footsteps slip not" It is the language of con- 
 viction. He knows the injury that would re- 
 sult from a fall or even a slip in religion — 
 How it would dishonour God, cause the way 
 of truth to be evil spoken of, harden the 
 wicked, scandalize the weak, distress the 
 strong, injure his own usefulness and peace, 
 and bring upon himself those trials by which 
 nis wickedness should correct him, and his 
 oackslidings reprove him. It is the language 
 11 
 
 of apprehension. He knew his footstep* 
 were prone to slide. How can a man be ig- 
 norant of this who reflects on the malice and 
 power of his adversary the devil, and the al- 
 lurements of the world, and the corruption 
 of his nature ; and has seen the errors and 
 falls of others far superior to himself! It is 
 well to be sensible of our danger ; and it is 
 only grace that can enable us to say- 
 
 " Prone to wander, Lord. I feel it. 
 Prone to leave the God I love — " 
 
 It is the language of weakness. He knew 
 not only his exposure, but his inability to help 
 himself. This a Christian learns not only 
 from faith in the testimony of the Word, which 
 everywhere assures us that we are without 
 strength in ourselves, but from experience 
 also. He sees how little he can depend upon 
 his persuasions however clear, and his reso- 
 lutions however firm — How often have they 
 given way, and filled him not only with grief 
 but astonishment ! Year after year has told 
 him that he who trusts in his own heart is a 
 fool ; and that he is not wise who trusts in 
 his own grace — It is not thy grace, says the 
 Saviour, but my grace that is sufficient for 
 thee. It is the language of confidence. He 
 hopes in God while he renounces all self-de- 
 pendence. The one is as necessary as the 
 other. And it is as well founded. O that 
 we could keep them equally balanced in the 
 mind — That while we avoid presumption, we 
 may also avoid despondency — That while we 
 are humble we may also be cheerful — That 
 while we are cautious we may also be cour- 
 ageous ; knowing that while we cannot stand 
 of ourselves, he is able to keep us from fall- 
 ing, and has said, I will never leave thee nor 
 forsake thee ; so that we may boldly say, 
 The Lord is my keeper, I will not fear — 
 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. 
 
 MAY 13. 
 
 " Behold my hands and my feet." — Luke xxrv. 35 
 
 His sufferings and death were not only 
 wonderful, but all-important : and he showed 
 them his hands and his feet;" because these 
 contained the effects and proofs of them. 
 The wounds were indeed now closed, and 
 this was as miraculous as his resurrection it- 
 self: for the parts had been so lacerated and 
 torn by the large nails that fastened him to 
 the cross and sustained the whole weight of 
 his body, that many weeks would have been 
 required to heal them naturally. But the 
 marks remained, and fully ascertained him 
 to be the sufferer who died on the crosa 
 All the disciples now present saw them ; and 
 Thomas who was absent saw them a few daya 
 after, and was no longer faithless, but believ- 
 ing. And these signs of his passion our Lord 
 retained, not only after his resurrection, but 
 also after his ascension. John, in his visions, 
 
102 
 
 MAY 14. 
 
 saw an image of him, " as a lamb that had 
 been slain ;" that is, the lamb appeared with 
 the wool gored, and the neck gashed. He 
 ever liveth to make intercession for us, and 
 is our advocate with the Father, by present- 
 inf his humanity and pleading the sacrifice 
 he offered on earth : for he entered into the 
 holy place, there to appear in the presence 
 of God for us, not with the blood of bulls and 
 of goats, but with his own blood, the blood of 
 sprinkling, which speaketh better things than 
 that of Abel. The Father beholds his hands 
 and his feet, and is well pleased for his right- 
 eousness' sake, and says, " Ask of me now, 
 and I shall give thee the heathen for thine 
 inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
 earth for thy possession." The angels behold 
 them, and though he has not saved them, 
 they know that he has saved us, and their 
 benevolence leads them to exclaim, with a 
 loud voice, " Worthy is the Lamb that was 
 slain to receive power, and riches, and wis- 
 dom, and strength, and honour, and glory, 
 and blessing." The saints behold them, and 
 sing "a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to 
 take the book, and to open the seals thereof: 
 for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to 
 God by thy blood out of every kindred, and 
 tongue, and people, and nation." 
 
 Christians, to this same sight you are hast- 
 ening ; for yet a little while, and you will be 
 like him, for you shall see him as he is. But 
 you have no reason to look for such a real 
 and sensible sight of him here. Some indeed 
 seem persuaded that they have actually seen 
 him ; but their mistake obviously appears 
 from the manner of the sight. He could ren- 
 der himself corporeally visible ; but if he did 
 this, he would give us a true representation 
 of himself. These good people have always 
 seen him upon the cross : but he is now in 
 his glory. If he showed himself at this mo- 
 ment, we should not see his hands and feet 
 bleeding; but his body would be a glorious 
 body, as Saul of Tarsus saw it, and shining 
 above the brightness of the sun. The case 
 seems to be this. These persons, of lively 
 apprehensions and feeling, in the depth of 
 their anguish and terror, obtained relief from 
 a dying Saviour, by believing, which is men- 
 tal sight, and took the impression of faith for 
 a sensible reality. 
 
 But there is still a spiritual exhibition of 
 himself, in which he says, " Behold my hands 
 and my feet." They are to be seen, First, in 
 the Scripture of Truth ; in its types, prophe- 
 cies, history, doctrine. Secondly, in the min- 
 istry of the Gospel, which is called "the 
 preaching of the cross." Thirdly, in the 
 teachings of the Holy Ghost, who takes of 
 the things of Christ, and shows them to us ; 
 so that we see the Son and believe on him. 
 And, Fourthly, in the ordinance of the Lord's 
 supper, where, by emblems and memorials the 
 mosf simple and significant, before our eyes, 
 
 Jesus Christ is evidently set forth crucified 
 among us. 
 
 And what should the sight remind us of? 
 Beholding his hands and his feet, we should 
 think of the evil of sin, that required his suf- 
 fering and death to put it away — And of the 
 justice of God, that spared not his own Son 
 when he became a surety for us — And the 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in his kind- 
 ness towards us. We hear of benefactors: 
 but how rarely do they exercise self-denial, 
 or make personal and painful sacrifices ! We 
 talk of love ; and greater love hath no man 
 than this, that a man lay down his life for his 
 friends. But while we were enemies Christ 
 died for us — 
 
 MAY 14. 
 
 " And the Lord showed me jour carpenters. ' 
 Zech. i. 20. 
 
 " The heaven, even the heavens, are the 
 Lord's : but the earth hath he given to the 
 children of men." And it is given them not 
 only to possess and enjoy, but to cultivate. 
 Carelessness, and ignorance, and sloth, stalk 
 over many rude and barren spots, which skill 
 and diligence could render beautiful and pro- 
 ductive. It is the same with the Scripture. 
 Many passages as they are now read seem to 
 have no meaning, and yield no information, 
 yet they really contain much of the wisdom 
 that is from above. "All Scripture is given 
 by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
 doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for 
 instruction in righteousness ; but they are 
 addressed to us as rational creatures, and we 
 are commanded to search them. We must 
 therefore not only read them, but remark, 
 and examine, and compare, and apply them. 
 And if we do this with seriousness and prayer, 
 we shall be amply rewarded for our endeavt 
 ours, and the good ground will yield " some 
 an hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty." 
 
 Zechariah had seen four horns, and had 
 said to the angel that talked with him, "What 
 be these V* And he answered him, " These 
 are the horns which have scattered Judah, 
 Israel, and Jerusalem." Then the Lord 
 
 SHOWED HIM FOUR CARPENTERS. And upon 
 
 his inquiring, "What come these to do'?" he 
 received for answer, "These are come to 
 fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gen- 
 tiles, which lifted up their horn over the land 
 of Judah to scatter it." 
 
 It is not perhaps possible to determine who 
 those " four horns" were, or whether they are 
 to be viewed as so many individuals or na- 
 tions — they were evidently hostile powers. 
 The same may be said of these " four car 
 penters." Some have supposed they were 
 Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and Nehemiah, and 
 Ezra. In each case a definite number seems 
 to bo used for an indefinite. 
 
MAY 15. 
 
 163 
 
 But we see from it — that the friends of 
 Zion are as numerous as her foes ; that her 
 defence is equal to her danger ; and that as 
 the state of his people requires it, the Lord 
 will seasonably raise up means and instru- 
 ments for their succour and deliverance — 
 This is the doctrine of the text. And the as- 
 surance may be derived from four principles 
 — The love of God — The power of God — 
 The faithfulness of God — The conduct of 
 God. In the first we see that he must be in- 
 clined to appear for them, as they are infi- 
 nitely dear to him. In the second we see that 
 he is able to do it. In the third, that he is en- 
 gaged to do it, and his promise cannot be 
 broken. In the fourth, that he always has 
 done it, Scripture, history, and experience 
 being witness — 
 
 " Then let the world forbear their rage, 
 The Church renounce her fear ; 
 Israel must live through every age, 
 And be the Almighty's care." 
 
 MAY 15. 
 
 And she said, Oh ! my lord, as thy soul livetk, 
 my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee 
 here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I 
 prayed ; and the Lord hath given me my peti- 
 tion which I asked of him." — 1 Sam. i. 26, 27. 
 
 Here we see the meekness of wisdom, and 
 the wisdom of meekness. Hannah does not 
 bring the former scene to the remembrance 
 of Eli by his improper carriage towards her 
 — " O my lord, I am the woman you called a 
 drunkard, and treated as a daughter of Belial. 
 What do you think of her now ! And what 
 do you think of yourself and your false, vile, 
 and cruel censure !" Little minds always re- 
 tain a sense of an injury received : but it is 
 the glory of a man to pass by a transgression ; 
 and we are not to be overcome of evil, but to 
 overcome evil with good. We question the 
 sincerity of a man who says, I forgive but I 
 do not forget. We are sure he does not re- 
 semble the Father of mercies, who says, 
 Their sins and their iniquities will I remem- 
 ber no more. Good men are not to be up- 
 braided with their miscarriages and mistakes. 
 They have long ago mourned over them ; and 
 have condemned them more than others have 
 done — Let them be buried in oblivion for ever. 
 
 Here we behold one of those transitions 
 which often take place in human life. We 
 may compare it with another affecting change 
 of a very different quality, and which also 
 befell a pious woman. When Naomi returned 
 with her daughter-in-law Ruth from the coun- 
 try of Moab, to which she had been driven 
 by famine, and had reached her native vil- 
 lage, the people of Bethlehem came around 
 her, saying, " Is this Naomi 1" And she said, 
 "Call me not Naomi — Call me Mara, for the 
 Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me. I had 
 
 substance — I am now poor. I had a husband 
 — I am now a widow. I was a mother — I am 
 now childless. I went out full, and the Lord 
 hath brought me home again empty. Why 
 then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath 
 testified against me, and the Almighty hath 
 afflicted me 1" But what a difference is there 
 between Hannah's former and present cir- 
 cumstances and experience. Then she was 
 a petitioner — now she is filled with thanks- 
 giving, and has the garment of praise for the 
 spirit of heaviness. Then she presented i er- 
 self at the temple in the bitterness of her 
 soul ; then she sowed in tears — now she reaps 
 in joy ; then she went forth weeping, bearing 
 precious seed — now she returns again with 
 rejoicing, bringing her sheaf with her. " Oh 
 my lord, you may have forgotten the case, but 
 J have not I who am now so favoured and 
 honoured am the very woman who was here 
 at such a time, drunk indeed with grief; but 
 he has made darkness light before me : he 
 has turned the shadow of death into the 
 morning — Oh my lord, I am the woman that 
 stood by thee here praying unto the Lord." 
 
 Here we learn the importance of prayer. 
 Whoever undervalues it, says Hannah, I can 
 extol and recommend it. I have found it good 
 to draw near to God — For this child I prayed ; 
 and the Lord hath given me my petition 
 which I asked of him. Time employed in 
 prayer is not spent in vain. Prayer is the 
 richest traffic in the world ; the merchandise 
 of it is better than the merchandise of silver, 
 and the gain thereof than fine gold. By in- 
 tercourse with God we are impressed, and 
 made to resemble him, as the face of Moses 
 shone when he came down from the commu- 
 nion of Horeb. How are we refreshed by the 
 exercise when our spirits are weary and 
 ready to faint ! How it enables us to leave 
 our fears and cares at the footstool of divine 
 grace ; and go away as Hannah did, with our 
 countenance no more sad, and our heart feel- 
 ing the peace of God which passeth all un- 
 derstanding! Trouble is the dreary path 
 which in this vale of tears all will sooner 
 or later tread : and to enter without a guide; 
 to go on without a comforter, to meet death 
 at the end without support or hope — if any 
 man be reduced to this, "I say, an untimely 
 birth is better than he." But let us not limit 
 the subject, or suppose with some that the 
 worth or usefulness of prayer arises wholly 
 and merely from the influence of the per 
 formance. The labour of the husbandman in 
 the field is beneficial to him by the exercise, 
 and conduces to health and strength : but he 
 looks also for a crop ; and goes forth and sees 
 first the blade, then the ear, and after that 
 the full corn in the ear. So it is with us. 
 The very action of prayer benefits and im- 
 proves us : but if there be any meaning in 
 the Scripture, we may rely upon answers of 
 prayer. This woman obtained her request 
 
164 
 
 MAY 16. 
 
 and the time would fail us to tell of all those 
 recorded in the word of God who could ac- 
 knowledge that he had given them the bless- 
 ings which they asked of him. 
 
 Hannah observes the answer to her peti- 
 tion. Prayer is sometimes answered imme- 
 diately, and sometimes it is delayed. It is 
 sometimes answered in the very thing de- 
 sired, and sometimes in a way of exchange — 
 while sometimes, by strange and even terri- 
 ble things in righteousness, the Lord answers 
 his people. Wisdom therefore is here neces- 
 sary in discerning, and caution in judging. 
 We should not indeed subtilize too much; 
 nor be distressed if we cannot ascertain what 
 is in answer to prayer. We have always 
 enough to encourage us to continue in the 
 exercise, and should impress our minds with 
 the conviction that our seeking cannot be in 
 vain in the Lord. Yet as prayer is answered, 
 it is proper and important to attend to it ; and 
 whoso ; s wise and will observe these things, 
 even he shall understand the loving-kindness 
 of the Lord. It is more than trifling with the 
 Supreme Being, it is even insulting him, to 
 awaken hits attention when we never mean to 
 regard his benefits. Yet thousands never 
 think more of their prayers when they have 
 once offered them. They knock, but never 
 stay to see whether the door of mercy is 
 opened. They send an address, but never 
 wait for the reply, or read it when it comes. 
 And will God remember prayers which we 
 ourselves forget, or regard prayers which we 
 ourselves despise 1 On the other hand, how 
 desirable is it to know that he has not forgot- 
 ten to be gracious, or turned away our prayer 
 from him ! How confirming is it to our con- 
 fidence to be able to say, with Moses, " The 
 Lord heard me at that time also." What ex- 
 citement to praise and prayer does David de- 
 rive from this persuasion ; " I love the Lord, 
 because he hath heard my voice and my sup- 
 plications." 
 
 Hannah not only observes the regard of 
 God to her case, but acknowledges it. So 
 should we. We should not hide his right- 
 eousness within our heart; but declare his 
 faithfulness and his salvation. Many stand in 
 need of encouragement, and under a sense 
 of their unworthiness and guilt are ready to 
 conclude that the Lord will not hear them. 
 Be his witnesses. Testify to them from your 
 own experience. I have tried the freeness 
 and fullness of his grace. I never trusted in 
 him and was confounded, never sought him 
 and was disappointed. Tell it to his own peo- 
 ple. It will not excite their envy ; the hum- 
 Die shall hear thereof and be glad. They 
 have prayed for you : call upon them to aid 
 your praise : O magnify the Lord with me, 
 and let us exalt his name together. I sought 
 the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me 
 from all my fears. Come and hear, all ye that 
 fear God, and I will declare what he hath 
 
 done for my soul. Yea, like Harjiah, tell it 
 to Eli — Ministers personally need such com- 
 munications; and they can also improve them 
 for the good of others, both in their private 
 intercourse and in their public services. 
 
 What a place will heaven be when >ve as- 
 cend to that Shiloh ! What development, 
 shall we have to make from our history and 
 experience ! What answers of prayer, what 
 deliverances, what blessings to acknowledge! 
 What mutual congratulations shall we have 
 to receive ! What praises shall we have to 
 offer! 
 
 MAY 16. 
 
 " Therefore I have lent him to the Lord ; as long 
 as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord." — 
 1 Sam. i. 28. 
 
 This must have been an exercise of great 
 self-denial in Hannah, to resign so dear a 
 child for ever. But it was only an act of 
 fidelity to religious engagement : it was the 
 condition of her prayer : she vowed a vow, 
 and said, " O Lord of Hosts, if thou wilt in 
 deed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, 
 and remember me, and not forget thine hand- 
 maid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a 
 man-child, then I will give him unto the 
 Lord all the days of his life, and there shall 
 no razor come upon his head." Distress will 
 often gender purposes and resolutions, be- 
 cause we then feel our weakness and depend- 
 ence; but when the danger is removed, or 
 the blessing obtained, and the hour of per- 
 formance is arrived, we resemble the lepers 
 who, when healed, returned not to give glory 
 to God. How many have howled upon their 
 beds, and poured out a prayer when God's 
 chastening hand was upon them ! But the 
 vows of sickness have been violated by re- 
 newed health, and their iniquities, like the 
 wind, have taken them away. Even Heze- 
 kiah, affected as he was by the divine good- 
 ness, so that he composed a writing to fix 
 and perpetuate the sentiment, and said, " The 
 living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do 
 this day: the father to the children shall 
 make known thy truth : The Lord was ready 
 to save me : therefore we will sing my song3 
 to the stringed instruments all the days of our 
 life in the house of the Lord :" yet after all 
 this he rendered not according to the benefit 
 done him. So it was with Jacob. When, 
 going from home a forlorn youth, he was in- 
 dulged with the vision at Bethel, and alluding 
 to the divine intimation so suited to his cir- 
 cumstances of distress, he " vowed a vow, 
 saying, If God will be with me, and will keep 
 me in this way that I go, and will give me 
 bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that T 
 come again to my father's house m peace; 
 then shall the Lord be my God : and this 
 stone, which I have set for a pillar, 6hall to 
 
MAY 17. 
 
 bod's hous* : and of all that thou shalt give 
 me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." 
 Yet when he returned, multiplied and en- 
 riched, he passed year after year, compara- 
 tively in the neighbourhood, forgetful of his 
 engagement, till God said to him, " Arise, go 
 up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make 
 there an altar unto God, that appeared unto 
 thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau 
 „hy brother." Then, and not till then, " Ja- 
 cob said unto his household, and to all that 
 were with him, Put away the strange gods 
 that are among you, and be clean, and change 
 your garments: and let us arise, and go up 
 to Bethel ; and I will make there an altar 
 unto God, who answered me in the day of my 
 distress, and was with me in the way which 
 I went." 
 
 We do not much recommend vowing ; we 
 would rather urge praying : but if vows are 
 to be made, .et them be made in the strength 
 of divine grace ; and let them not be trifled 
 with, but fulfilled. " When thou vowest a 
 vow unto God, defer not to pay it ; for he hath 
 no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast 
 vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not 
 vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not 
 pay." How noble was the conduct of David 
 upon his deliverance! "I will go into thy 
 house with burnt-offerings : I will pay thee 
 my vows, which my lips have uttered, and 
 my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trou- 
 ble." In the same manner Hannah acts when 
 she brings her little Samuel to Shiloh, and 
 dedicates him to the Lord — " As long as he 
 liveth he shall be lent to the Lord" — 
 
 And was she a loser by this surrender 1 
 Did he cease to be hers because he was the 
 Lord's ? She would feel a new and a pecu- 
 liar interest in him, in consequence of his re- 
 lation to the sanctuary. There she knew the 
 little Levite would be safe, and happy, and 
 dignified. There he would grow up to be the 
 light of Israel, the prophet, the ruler, the 
 judge of his country. And she would make 
 him a little coat, and bring it to him year by 
 year, when she came up with her husband to 
 offer the yearly sacrifice. And while her fin- 
 gers were employed in the needlework, her 
 spirit would hold communion with him; and 
 she would look forward to a state in which 
 she would possess him for ever — 
 
 Was she a loser by this resignation 1 Im- 
 mediately her tongue was loosed, and became 
 of the pen of a ready writer : " My heart re- 
 joiceth in the Lord ; mine horn is exalted in 
 the Lord ; my mouth is enlarged over mine 
 enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation." 
 There is nothing meritorious in our perform- 
 ances ; but with such sacrifices God is well 
 pleased. Them that honour me, says God, I 
 will honour. When we folk w our convictions, 
 and show that we hold nothing too dear to part 
 with at his call, he gives us the testimony of 
 his approbation, and fills the mind with peace 
 
 and joy. When ihe tvunuch was baptized, he 
 went on his way rejoicing. What is the reason 
 that some are strangers to the liberty and 
 comfort of the Gospel ? Is it not, some known 
 duty neglected ? or some idol adored ? Are 
 the consolations of God small with thee 1 Is 
 there no secret thing with thee ? Throw the 
 head of the traitor to our Lord the King over 
 the wall ; and Joab retires, and peace is re- 
 stored — O that thou hadst hearkened to my 
 commandments ! then had thy peace been as 
 a river, and thy righteousness as the waves 
 of the sea. 
 
 Was she a loser by this sacrifice ? " And 
 the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceiv- 
 ed, and bare three sons and two daughters." 
 For one child given, behold five added ! " And 
 Amaziah said to the man of God, But what 
 shall we do for the hundred talents which I 
 have given to the army of Israel 1 And the 
 man of God answered, The Lord is able to 
 give thee much more than this." "Then 
 Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed 
 thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say 
 unto you, There is no man that hath left 
 house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or 
 children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who 
 shall not receive manifold more in this pres- 
 ent time, and in the world to come life ever- 
 lasting." 
 
 MAY 17. 
 
 " Tlie son of consolation.' 1 — Acts iv 36. 
 
 This is spoken of a man who was a Levite. 
 His ancestors had retired from Judea to the 
 country of Cyprus. We know not for what 
 purpose; but there he was born. His first 
 name was Joses. But after his conversion to 
 Christianity he was surnamed by the Apostles 
 Barnabas, which is, being interpreted, the son 
 of consolation. Two reasons have been as- 
 signed for this denomination ; both very con- 
 sistent with each other, and both very probable 
 in themselves. First, because by his proper- 
 ty — for he had substance, he succoured and 
 solaced the poor and miserable. And Se- 
 condly, because by his preaching he comfort- 
 ed the people of God, and encouraged sinners 
 to come to the Saviour for deliverance. 
 Ministers may differ considerably from each 
 other. Some may be called Boanerges, or 
 sons of thunder, not only as they are bold in 
 their manner, but as the severe seems to be 
 their element, and they deal much in the 
 alarming. Others are Barnabases ; and have 
 given them, the tongue of the learned, that 
 they may know how to speak a word in season 
 to him that is weary. Let us not oppose the 
 servants of Christ to each other, thereby in- 
 flating one, and running down another, be- 
 cause^ their diversities. Let us view them 
 all in their commission, and their suitableness 
 to their appointments. Their stations, their 
 
JOO 
 
 MAY 18. 
 
 natural dispositions, their gifts, their graces 
 are not the same : but we need them all ; and 
 they are all useful. Let one plant, and 
 another water ; let one lay the foundation, and 
 another build thereon ; let one be set for the 
 defence of the gospel, and another abound in 
 the application of it ; each is alike respectable ; 
 and each shall receive his own reward ac- 
 cording to his own labour. Beware, says the 
 Apostle, in his address to the Corinthians, 
 that you fall not into spiritual babyism ; or 
 walk as men. " While one saith, I am of 
 Paul ; and another, I am of Apollos ; are ye 
 not carnal 1 Who then is Paul, and who is 
 Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, 
 even as the Lord gave to every man V To 
 him let us look, and say, not formally, but 
 sincerely, " Lord, send by whom thou wilt 
 send." If we attempt to make the favourite 
 substitute " in God's stead," we shall pro- 
 /oke the Most High to remove him, or to 
 withhold his blessing by him ; thereby to re- 
 prove our idolatry ; and to convince us that he 
 will not give his glory to another. Happy 
 they whose strength is in Him ! They are 
 most likely to succeed, both in hearing and 
 in preaching, who are most imbued with the 
 conviction; "Not by might, nor by power, 
 but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." 
 
 MAY ia 
 
 u Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and 
 righteousness, and sanctijication, and redemp- 
 tion:'— I Cor. i. 30. 
 
 Here are four articles. The first is wis- 
 dom — He is made of God unto us wisdom. 
 He is the true excellency of the under- 
 standing. In knowing him, we know all that 
 is necessary to be known. Especially we 
 know God — No man hath seen God at any 
 time ; the only begotten Son who was in the 
 bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 
 He is the author of our spiritual illumination ; 
 he is the prophet of his church, and leads us 
 into all truth by his word and Spirit. As the 
 sun can only be seen by his own rays, so he 
 is only known by his own revealing. He 
 therefore says, "I will manifest myself unto 
 him." The second is righteousness — He is 
 made of God unto us righteousness. That is, 
 he delivers us from guilt and condemnation, 
 and makes us just before God. The Apostle 
 tells us how it is accomplished : he hath made 
 him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we 
 might be made the righteousness of God in 
 nim. This righteousness, derived entirely 
 from himself, regardless of our worthiness or 
 works, is called the righteousness which is 
 of faith, because it is only apprehended, and 
 made ours, and pleaded by faith. The third 
 as sanctification — He is made of God unto us 
 sanctification. This is as much from him as 
 righteousness, only not in the same way. He 
 
 is the one to us by imputation, he is the other 
 by communication. By the one he chnnger 
 our state, by the other our nature. By the 
 one he entitles us to life, by the other he 
 makes us meet for it But though the bless- 
 ings are distinguishable, they are not separa- 
 ble. He came by water, and by blood. Whom 
 he justifies he renews. And this sanctifica- 
 tion is more than a reformation of manners, or 
 mere morality. A man may be moral without 
 being sanctified, but he cannot be sanctified 
 without being moral. When he sanctifies 
 us he puts a new spirit within us, delivers us 
 from the dominion and the love of every sin, 
 and enables us not only to obey God, but to 
 delight to do his will, and to dedicate all we 
 have to his service and glory. The fourth is 
 redemption — He if made of God unto us re- 
 demption. To ascertain the meaning of which, 
 we must observe that it is distinguished from 
 the foregoing benefits. But if it were taken 
 for redemption from the curse of the law, it 
 would coincide with his being our righteous- 
 ness, and if for emancipation from the servi- 
 tude of sin, it would be comprised in his be- 
 ing our sanctification. It is also mentioned 
 after wisdom, righteousness and sanctification. 
 To which we may add an appeal to other 
 passages of Scripture where the same term is 
 used. Thus Paul says to the Ephesians, 
 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby 
 ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 
 And to the Romans, We groan within our- 
 selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the 
 redemption of the body. Here the import o. 
 the term must mean the resurrection to eter- 
 nal life. And there is a peculiar propriety in 
 applying the word to this conclusion of the 
 Christian's recovery from the effects of the 
 Fall, not only because any great deliverance, 
 regardless of price, is called redemption in 
 the Scripture, but also because it is the erfect 
 of the purchase of the cross. Christ has ran- 
 somed the bodies as well as the souls of his 
 people, and therefore God's covenant also is 
 with their dust. Their bodies will not only 
 be raised, but infinitely improved, and will 
 bear not the image of the earthly hut of the 
 heavenly Adam. The sacred writers there- 
 fore, in speaking of the happiness of believers, 
 go forward at once to the glory of the last day 
 — not to the denying or undervaluing of an 
 intermediate state, but because their salva- 
 tion will then, and not till then, be perfectly 
 achieved. This consummation is all his own 
 work and honour — " To them that look for 
 him will he appear a second time without sin 
 unto salvation." " We look for the Saviour 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall change our 
 vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto 
 his glorious body." 
 
 And is he made of God unto us wisdom 
 and righteousness, and sanctification, and re- 
 demption '! — Then we learn what is our coi> 
 dition bv nature : we are destitute of all these. 
 
MAY 19. 
 
 167 
 
 wnd can never derive them from ourselves. — 
 Then we see the importance and value of the 
 Lord Jesus. He is not something only, but 
 every thing to them that are lost. In him we 
 are blessed with all spiritual blessings. — Then 
 we need not wonder that he is the substance 
 of revelation, and that the Scriptures every- 
 where should testify of him. — Then he should 
 De the theme, the only theme of preaching ; 
 and every minister, faithful to his commis- 
 sion or usefulness, like Paul, should determine 
 not to know any thing, save Jesus Christ, 
 and him crucified. — Then we may judge of 
 the happiness of Christians who can realize 
 him in all these glorious blessings as their 
 own ; and infer, how resigned, and glad of 
 heart, and thankful they should always live. 
 — And what says the subject to those who 
 despise or neglect him 1 What do they lose ! 
 What will be their doom ! How intolerable ! 
 How unavoidable ! And yet how righteous ! 
 
 Let me therefore be wise enough to choose 
 this good part, and seek after an interest in 
 him. If ever I am saved, he must be all my 
 salvation — May he be all my desire. May a 
 union with him be not only my supreme, but 
 immediate concern — knowing that the gra- 
 cious opportunity aflbrded me is short and un- 
 certain, and — that I cannot be happy too soon. 
 He who has the Son has life ; and is prepared 
 for -every thing ! 
 
 MAY 19. 
 
 " Noah walked with God." — Gen. vi. 9. 
 
 The same thing is testified of Enoch ; and 
 will be exemplified in every partaker of divine 
 grace. Two questions may be asked concern- 
 ing it : the one regards the nature, and the 
 other the excellency, of this walk. 
 
 Now as to the former of these, walking 
 with God includes the following things. It 
 supposes that we are on terms of concord and 
 friendship — " How can two walk together, 
 except they be agreed]" Here we see the 
 necessity of a mediator. By the Fall we had 
 revolted from God, and our access to him was 
 cut off! But Christ once suffered for sins, 
 the just for the unjust, that he might bring 
 us unto God. He made peace by the blood 
 of his cross ; and we are accepted in the Be- 
 loved. But it is not enough that God is thus 
 reconciled to us; we must also be reconciled 
 to God ; reconciled to his nature, to his law, to 
 his gospel, to his government. As sinners 
 we have no sentiments of affection, gratitude, 
 or obedience towards God, but feel a spirit 
 of enmity against him — How then can we 
 walk with him, till this alienation and aver- 
 sion be subdued 1 This change is effected by 
 the Holy Spirit. The love of God is shed 
 abroad in the heap 1 ., and then our desire is to 
 his name. What we dreaded to part with 
 before, we then resign with ease : and what 
 was once irksome in the performance, be- 
 
 comes delightfu. His commands re not 
 grievous; his yoke is easy, and his ways 
 pleasantness and peace. — It also implies near* 
 ness. If you walk with any one, he must 
 be with you. God is not far from any one 
 of us : he is about our path and our bed, and 
 is acquainted with all our ways. And as 
 God is present with us, so we are present 
 with him — " I am continually with thee.'' 
 By faith and reflection we bring ourselves 
 consciously under his eye ; feel, wherever we 
 are, Hagar's impression, " Thou God seest 
 me ;" and upon every temptation to sin, how- 
 ever secret, say with Job, " Doth not he 
 know my ways, and count all my steps'!" — 
 It also takes in communion. We do not 
 walk with God as a madman with his keeper, 
 or a servant behind his master, or as a stran- 
 ger in the distance of reserve. God is our 
 father and our friend ; and when we walk in 
 the light as he is in the light, we have fel- 
 lowship one with another. Many a conference 
 passes between us. Sometimes he begins. 
 He addresses the soul, and the soul replies — 
 " When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my 
 heart answered, Thy face, Lord, will I seek." 
 At other times we begin. We have much tc 
 divulge and much to implore. And we are 
 allowed to deal freely and familiarly with 
 him ; yea, we are required in every thing by 
 prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, to 
 make known our requests unto God. — It also 
 expresses mutual progress in the same direc- 
 tion. When we walk with another, we re- 
 cede and advance together ; we move towards 
 the same place or object When therefore 
 we walk with God, we pursue the same end 
 with himself. And what is this end, but his 
 own glory'! This is his aim, in all his works, 
 and in all his dispensations. And the Chris- 
 tian has the same bias and the same move- 
 ment ; and whether he eats or drinks, or what- 
 ever he does, he does all to the glory of God. 
 Hence one moral maxim serves as a 6hort 
 and sufficient rule to govern his conduct — 
 He will follow wherever the Lord goes, for 
 he cannot lead him astray : but he will not 
 be found where the Lord refuses to accom- 
 pany him, or he cannot consistently invite his 
 presence to go with him. Let us pass from 
 the nature to the excellency of this course. 
 
 In walking with God there is honour. It 
 is the dignity of man, that he alone of all 
 creatures in this world, is capable of it : but 
 the Christian only actually enjoys it In con- 
 sequence of this, the righteous is more ex- 
 cellent than his neighbour. He is raised up 
 from the dust and the dunghill, and placed, 
 not only among princes, but in company with 
 God himself. How would the poor deem 
 themselves honoured if permitted to walk at 
 liberty with their sovereign ! But such honour 
 have all the saints — They walk with the 
 blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, 
 and the Lord of lords. 
 
168 
 
 MAY 20. 
 
 In walking with God there is safety. W ie 
 unto us, if our adversaries find us away from 
 him, for without him we can do nothing. But 
 what confidence and courage should not his 
 presence inspire ! He is not only for me, but 
 with me ; he is at my right hand, therefore I 
 shall not be moved. If the enemy assails 
 me, it is in sight of my almighty helper. 
 Yea, if I walk through the valley of the 
 shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for he is 
 wnu me. When I first fled to him breath- 
 less, from a thousand dangers at my heels, he 
 waid to me, as David to Ahimelech : " Abide 
 with me, for he that seeketh thy life seeketh 
 my life ; but with me thou shalt be in safe- 
 guard." 
 
 There is pleasure in walking with God. 
 For with him is the fountain of life, and in 
 his light we shall see light. If the journey 
 would prove discouraging, our intercourse 
 with him relieves the tediousness of the road, 
 prevents weariness, revives our droopings, 
 and renews our strength. With him we can 
 dispense with things, the loss of which would 
 otherwise destroy all our peace and comfort. 
 When the fig-tree does not blossom, and 
 there is no fruit in the vine, we can rejoice 
 in the Lord, and joy in the God of our salva- 
 tion. In all our personal and relative trials, 
 his presence opens a retreat; and we enter 
 where the wicked cease from troubling, and 
 where the weary are at rest. 
 
 There is profit in walking with God. Where 
 is the believer who cannot acknowledge, " It 
 is good for me to draw nigh to God 7" The 
 mind is powerfully affected by the objects 
 with which we are very familiar. He who 
 is much engaged in ignoble pursuits will soon 
 be ueoased : but we are elevated in the pres- 
 ence and contemplation of greatness and sub- 
 limity. The things of earth tend to sensual- 
 ize us ; but when we are with God, the in- 
 roads of the world are checked ; we stand on 
 holy ground ; impure desires and vain thoughts 
 fall off. Our attention is fixed upon the per- 
 fections and blessedness of Jehovah, and we 
 admire, and adore, and love, and resemble 
 him. We feel the transforming views of his 
 character, and are changed into the same 
 image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit 
 of the Lord. People take knowledge of us 
 that we have been with Jesus ; and our profit- 
 ing appears unto all men. And as the nearer 
 the fountain the purer the stream, and the 
 nearer the centre the more powerful the at- 
 traction; so, the nearer we are to God the 
 more will all our religious principles be in- 
 fluenced, the more we shall grow in grace, 
 the more will our conversation be in heaven. 
 Let us not then sacrifice our highest wel- 
 fare in disregarding this attainment. The 
 vessels of mercy are afore prepared unto 
 glory. We must be made meet for the in- 
 heritance of the saints in light. What would 
 manv find heaven, if they were admitted into 
 
 't, but a melancholy and miserable siwte 1 
 Could they enjoy the perpetual presence of 
 God who cannot endure even the occasional 
 thought of him 7 How wise as well as merci- 
 ful is the scheme of God in the Gospel ! He 
 never advances us without making us capable 
 of the promotion ! A king may elevate a slave 
 to a superior station, but he cannot give lum 
 the suitableness and sufficiency for it. But 
 God, when he changes our condition, changes 
 our nature too. Before he brings us to hea- 
 ven, he makes us heavenly : he draws forth 
 our desires after it, and enables us to delight 
 in the elements and beginnings of it — We 
 walk with him in a way of grace, in token 
 of, and in preparation for, our walking with 
 him in glory ; according to the promise, " They 
 
 SHALL WALK "WITH ME IN WHITE, FOR THEY 
 ARE WORTHY." 
 
 MAY 20. 
 
 " There standeih one among you, whom ye know 
 not" — John i. 26. 
 
 This was the language of John at Beth- 
 abara beyond Jordan, where he was baptizing. 
 It was addressed to many of the Jews whe 
 were assembled before him, among whom 
 were Priests and Levites from Jerusalem, 
 sent to inquire who he was. After disclaim- 
 ing that he was any thing more than " the 
 voice of one crying in the wilderness," he in- 
 timates the arrival of a personage on the spot, 
 very superior to himself, and for whom he was 
 unworthy to perform an office the most me- 
 nial — " There standeth one among you, whom 
 ye know not." 
 
 It is needless to mention who this wonder- 
 ful Being was — But we see that our Lord had 
 nothing in his outward appearance to distin- 
 guish him from others. As to his character, 
 he was fairer than the children 'of men, and 
 altogether lovely : but he was " clothed in a 
 body like our own ;" and " in all things" was 
 " made like unto his brethren." Had we 
 passed him upon the road, we should have 
 taken him for a common man. No rays of 
 glory encircled his head. No surprising 
 beauty marked his features — " His face was 
 marred more than any man's, and his form 
 more than the sons of men." Least of all 
 would he have been distinguished by a par- 
 ticular garb. His coat was indeed seamless, 
 woven from the top throughout ; but this was 
 no observable thing. Wisdom is an enemy 
 to affectation and eccentricity ; and real 
 greatness is never anxious for show, being 
 satisfied with the consciousness of its own 
 claims without the acknowledgments of 
 others. 
 
 There is much excellency in the world 
 that is unknown. In nature there is mary a 
 rich vein of ore concealed beneath a rude 
 surface ; and many a flower that blooms un- 
 seen in the woods, and sheds its fragrane« 
 
MAY 21. 
 
 169 
 
 •' on the desert air." Learning and genius 
 are often buried in obscurity. The same may 
 be said of moral and religious qualities. We 
 are not to measure or number the instances 
 of godliness by our personal observation. God 
 has his hidden ones. Who has not been sur- 
 prised as well as delighted in travelling to 
 discover frequently individuals walking in the 
 truth in situations the most unlikely and un- 
 
 firomising! Abraham said of Gerar, " Sure- 
 y the fear of God is not in this place ;" but 
 he found it there. Elias said, "I am left 
 alone ;" but there were " seven thousand who 
 had not bowed the knee to the image of 
 Baal." " Who," says the Church, " has be- 
 gotten me these 1" " These, where have 
 they been f 
 
 From hence Christians need not wonder at 
 the little notice frequently taken of them. 
 They are princes, but in disguise. The day 
 of their manifestation is coming ; and then 
 shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in 
 the kingdom of their Father. But now they 
 are seen poor, and afflicted, and despised ; and 
 little do the multitude imagine that they are 
 heirs of God ; the charge of angels ; the 
 chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof; 
 the salt of the earth, and the light of the 
 world. And herein the members are only 
 conformable to the head. " He was in the 
 world, and the world was made by him, and 
 the world knew him not" — " Therefore the 
 world knoweth us not, because it knew him 
 not." 
 
 There are many, we have reason to fear, 
 who are in the same condition with John's 
 attendants. Jesus is "among" them. And 
 he is " standing" among them — a posture of 
 attention — and a posture of readiness to de- 
 part. But they " know" him " not." They 
 read of him, and hear of him ; but they do 
 not " see the Son, and believe on him." They 
 are not spiritually and savingly acquainted 
 with him. If they were, they would put 
 their trust in him ; they would love him ; 
 they would obey him ; they would count all 
 things but loss for the excellency of his know- 
 ledge ; and be changed into the same image, 
 from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the 
 Lord. Now this ignorance is very deplorable ; 
 and the reason is because of the unspeakable 
 importance of the object. We may be igno- 
 rant of many things, and yet be safe and hap- 
 py : but to be ignorant of Christ is as if the 
 pursued manslayer of old had been ignorant 
 of the city of refuge ; or as if a dying patient 
 was ignorant of the only remedy that could 
 cure him — People perish for lack of this 
 knowledge. It is also criminal. Hence Paul 
 says to those who are destitute of this know- 
 ledge, " I speak this to your shame." Their 
 ignorance could only be their shame, as it was 
 their sin; and it could not have been their 
 sin unless it had been avoidable. The know- 
 ledge therefore is attainable. Happy thev 
 
 who possess it, and can say, " We know that 
 the Son of God is come, and hath given ua 
 an understanding, that we may know him 
 that is true, and we are in him that is true, 
 even in his Son Jesus Christ ; this is the true 
 God, and eternal life. But why should any 
 despair ! The blind man could not open his 
 own eyes : but the Saviour was passing by ; 
 and he cried, " Jesus, thou Son of David, have 
 mercy on me ;" and " straightway he received 
 sight, and followed him in the way." You 
 must be taught of God ; and it is the Spirit 
 alone that can guide you into all truth. But 
 " if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 
 that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraid 
 eth not ; and it shall be given him." 
 
 MAY 21. 
 
 " And from thence we came to Philippt. 
 Acts xvi. 12. 
 
 "I say unto you, that there is joy in tne 
 presence of the angels of God over one sin- 
 ner that repenteth." Nothing'can more pow- 
 erfully imply, or express the importance of 
 conversion, than this declaration of the Sa- 
 viour, the faithful and true witness. How- 
 ever lightly or contemptuouslj conversion 
 may be thought of among men, celestial be- 
 ings, proverbial for their wisdom, and incapa- 
 ble of mistake, always behold it with wondei 
 and delight. With them, the improvements 
 of art, the discoveries of philosophy, the ex- 
 ploits of heroes, the revolutions of empires, 
 are comparatively nothing to the salvation of 
 a soul. In their view, the release zf Israel 
 from the land of Egypt and the house of bond 
 age, and their march through the wilderness 
 to the land of Canaan, was a sight far less 
 glorious and impressive, than the deliverance 
 of a sinner from the power of darkness, and 
 his translation into the kingdom of God's dear 
 Son. At the first creation, the morning stars 
 sang together, and all the sons of God shout- 
 ed for joy : but they sing a new song, and 
 with peculiar rapture, at the second, when old 
 things pass away, and all things become mor 
 ally and spiritually true. 
 
 Luke the historian was like-minded. He 
 here speaks of his coming with Paul and Silas 
 to Philippi. Philippi was built by Philip, the 
 father of Alexander. From the beginning it 
 had been noted : but within comparatively a 
 recent period it had been rendered exceed 
 ingly remarkable, by the two great battles 
 which the Romans fought in its plains. In 
 the one Julius Ciesar vanquished Pompey. In 
 the other Octavius Augustus defeated Brutus 
 and Cassius. Though every battle of the war- 
 rior is with confused noise, and garments roll 
 ed in blood, and produces so much misery, it 
 is painful to think what a power it has always 
 had to excite and interest the attention. 
 What traveller that has passed through 
 
170 
 
 MAY 22. 
 
 Waterloo has been able to forbear speaking 
 of the 16th of June ! But Luke says nothing 
 of the work of Philip, of the prowess of 
 Caesar, of the fortune of Augustus ! — But he 
 mentions what would immortalize the place 
 in the annals of the soul and eternity — The 
 conversions of two individuals — Lydia and 
 the jailer. Lydia was amiable and moral ; a 
 proselyte to the Jewish religion ; and a wor- 
 shipper of the true God. The jailer was a 
 heathen ; an idolater ; vicious in his disposi- 
 tion ; as rude and savage in his soul as in his 
 office. The conversion of the one was in an- 
 swer to prayer, gentle, gradual, imperceptible 
 in the progress, but obvious in its result. The 
 conversion of the other was sudden, extraor- 
 dinary in the circumstances, and accompa- 
 nied with terror and anguish. She was over- 
 come by the smiles of mercy, and drawn by 
 the cords of love. He, with the arrows of 
 the Almighty sticking fast in him, and with a 
 wounded spirit which he could not bear, was 
 dragged to the judgment-seat, looking only 
 for the sentence of condemnation. Her heart 
 the Lord opened, as the sun opens a flower 
 in spring. His heart was stormed like a cita- 
 del, where the strong man armed kept his 
 palace and his goods in peace. 
 
 Hence we see by what various methods di- 
 vine grace operates upon different persons ; 
 and learn how improper it is to lay down any 
 one of them as a rule from which there is no 
 exception. Let us not judge of the reality 
 of the religion of others by an invariable 
 standard ; or draw a conclusion against our- 
 selves, that we are strangers to a work of 
 grace, because we have not been led in the 
 same way with others. The Saviour may 
 come in the bosom of the storm : but his pres- 
 ence and agency are no less real, in the still 
 small voice. Samuel was called by grace as 
 well as Manasseh : and Watts was saved by 
 grace as well as Bunyan. " There are dif- 
 ferences of administration, but the same Lord. 
 And there are diversities of operations : but 
 it is the same God which worketh all in all." 
 
 The surest and best way to judge is not by 
 the manner in which the change has been ac- 
 complished, but by the effects produced and 
 remaining. And happy they who are able, 
 whatever that is curious or minute may per- 
 plex them, to say, One thing I know, that 
 whereas I was blind I now see ; whereas I 
 was once dead I am now alive. 
 
 MAY 22. 
 
 * He shall stand and feed in the strength of the 
 Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord 
 his God." — Micah v. 4. 
 
 Tp it be asked, of whom speaketh the 
 prophet this ? the words immediately preced- 
 ing will furnish an answer ; for they announce 
 the birth of our Saviour in Bethlehem, and 
 
 call him the ruler in Israel, whose gomga 
 forth have been from of old from everlasting 
 Micah refers to him under the implied char- 
 acter of the Shepherd of his people, and ex- 
 presses his work — 
 
 He shall "feed." The term is not to be 
 confined to his furnishing his flock with food ; 
 but to be taken as including the discharge of 
 the pastoral office in all its parts — his causing 
 them to rest — his leading them — his restoring 
 them when they go astray — his healing them 
 when wounded or sick — his defending and 
 securing them. But observe the manner in 
 which he is to perform his work. 
 
 He is to do it diligently and attentively — 
 He shall stand and feed. We read of shep- 
 herds who lie down, loving to slumber. And 
 even the most dutiful and sedulous shepherd 
 sometimes unbends; he must have his mo- 
 ments and hours of relaxation and repose, 
 during which his vigilance is suspended. But 
 Jesus is always in a posture of observance 
 and care ; his sheep graze or repose beneath 
 his look ; he withdraweth not his eyes from 
 the righteous. He that keepeth Israel neither 
 slumbers nor sleeps. 
 
 He is to do it ably and powerfully — He 
 shall feed in the strength of the Lord. On 
 earth he had power to forgive sins, and heal 
 all manner of diseases, and call by his word 
 whom he would, and they came unto him. 
 He said to Zaccheus in the tree, Make haste 
 and come down ; and to Matthew at the re- 
 ceipt of custom, Follow me; and immediately 
 they obeyed him. Has he less power, now he 
 is in heaven 1 He has power given him over 
 all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as 
 many as the Father hath given him. It is 
 their happiness to know that they are under 
 the charge of one who is mighty to save ; able 
 to save unto the uttermost. Their weakness 
 requires this ; their condition requires it 
 They are surrounded with enemies. Many of 
 thdm are visible ; but if our eyes were opened 
 to see the invisible, we should be convinced 
 that we could not be for an instant safe but 
 as we are kept by the power of God. David, 
 reminded of his inequality to the foe he was 
 willing to fight, said unto Saul ; " Thy ser- 
 vant kept his father's sheep, and there came 
 a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the 
 flock : and I went out after him, and smote 
 him, and delivered it out of his mouth : and 
 when he arose against me, I caught him by 
 his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 
 And what said the Saviour 1 " My sheep hear 
 my voice, and I know them, and they follow 
 me, and I give unto them eternal life, and 
 they shall never perish, neither shall any 
 pluck them out of my hand." His people do 
 not always apprehend this; their fears are 
 often great because their faith is small ; and 
 they draw the conclusion that they shall one 
 day perish. At other times they can realize 
 it ; and then they feel secure, though in the 
 
MAY 23. 
 
 171 
 
 midst of danger, and can say with Paul — " I 
 know whom I have believed, and am per- 
 suaded that he is able to keep that which I 
 have committed to him against that day." 
 
 He is to do it with grace and dignity — He 
 shall feed in the majesty of the name of the 
 Lord his God. It does not refer to a temporal 
 and worldly majesty. This he did not possess. 
 He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. 
 He was a man of sorrows. He was crucified 
 as a slave and a malefactor. Thus he had no 
 form nor comeliness, nor any beauty, that 
 they should desire him. Yet even then there 
 were those who beheld his glory, the glory as 
 of the only begotten of the Father, full of 
 grace and truth. One of these could say, 
 " We were eye-witnesses of his majesty" — 
 He refers peculiarly to his transfiguration, 
 when his face did shine as the sun, and his 
 raiment became white and glistering, and 
 Moses and Elias appeared in glory talking 
 with him, and a voice from heaven cried, 
 This is my beloved Son, hear ye him. Com- 
 pared with this, how poor, how mean is the 
 pomp of a king on the most splendid of his 
 court days ! His kingdom was not of this 
 world. 
 
 Action is graceful when art is concealed, 
 and ease and nature seem only to appear. 
 Longinus admires as an example of the sub- 
 lime, the sentence, " Let there be light, and 
 there was light :" and nothing can be more 
 striking than the immensity of the effect 
 joined to the simplicity of the cause. How 
 far was Jesus from parade and effort in all his 
 miracles ! With what facility did he accom- 
 plish his mighty works — yet with what amaz- 
 ing gentleness and tenderness too ! 
 
 Majesty is here connected with strength. 
 Power is not always dignified in the posses- 
 sion or the display. Some, conscious of their 
 force, are concerned for nothing else. They 
 only think of coercion : they delight to in- 
 timidate: they would rather be feared than 
 loved. These are vulgar and base spirits. 
 Paul speaks of the excellency of the power 
 which is of God. And had not Jesus this very 
 power 1 How mildly, how kindly he exerted 
 himself! He came down like rain upon the 
 mown grass. He broke not the bruised reed ; 
 nor quenched the smoking flax. He paused 
 to hear the cry of a beggar by the way-side, 
 and commanded him to' be brought to him. 
 He raised the widow's son, and presented 
 him to his mother. Grace was poured into 
 his lips. Oh ! to have heard the tone with 
 which he said, " Woman, thy sins are forgiv- 
 en thee" — " Come unto me, all ye that labour 
 and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest." Yes, the world might have seen that 
 Deity was come down in the likeness of men. 
 What could be before them but the image of 
 the invisible God ? 
 
 But "with God is teirible majesty." This 
 always Jesus displayed. His day is called the 
 
 day of vengeance of our God : the great and 
 terrible day of the Lord. Who, asks Malachi, 
 shall abide the day of his coming, and whe 
 shall stand when he appeareth 1 He detected 
 hypocrisy. He separated between the right- 
 eous and the wicked. He denounced Chora- 
 zin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, because they 
 repented not. He doomed Jerusalem to wai 
 and desolation, because she knew not the day 
 of her visitation. And never will he fail to 
 show that he is not to be insulted, or even 
 neglected with impunity. He is holy as well 
 as patient ; just as well as merciful. Nothing 
 is represented so dreadful as the wrath of the 
 Lamb : " For the great day of his wrath is 
 come ; and who shall be able to stand v 
 
 • MAY 23. 
 
 r 
 
 " Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him 
 that is near." — Isaiah lvii. 19. 
 
 Here is the proclamation of the Gospel — 
 Peace, peace. From this lovely word the 
 Gospel derives its name and its character : it 
 is called " the Gospel of Peace." Peace is 
 sometimes used in the Scripture for well- 
 being, or happiness at large : but here it is to 
 be taken in its most appropriate signification, 
 as holding forth the idea of reconciliation. 
 Reconciliation with whom 1 With God, 
 through the mediation of him who loved us, 
 and gave himself for us — " God was in Christ 
 reconciling the world unto himself, not im- 
 puting their trespasses unto them." We had 
 offended and provoked him, and he could 
 righteously have destroyed us : we had no 
 claims upon his pity ; and had we been told 
 that he was forming a purpose concerning us, 
 and was about to send a special messenger, 
 yea, even his own Son, into the revolted 
 province, what would have been the fore- 
 bodings of our guilty consciences ! " But God 
 sent not his own Son into the world to con- 
 demn the world, but that the world through 
 him should be saved." And it is not the lan- 
 guage of vengeance we hear from his mes. 
 sengers, War, war ! — but " Peace, peace !" 
 He does not wait for our repentance and sub- 
 mission, but of his own will he forms and ac- 
 complishes the plan. There were difficulties 
 in the way of our restoration to his favour ; 
 these he removes : a sacrifice was necessary ; 
 this he provides — He spared not his own Son, 
 but delivered him up for us all. ' He made 
 him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we 
 might be made the righteousness of God in 
 him. And thus having opened a new and 
 living way into the holiest by the blood of 
 Jesus, he arrays himself as the God of love, 
 and comes and invites us to return. We 
 were hid among the trees of the garden, 
 whither fear had urged us, and the voice of 
 thunder would have driven us further in ; but 
 the small still voice of pardon assuring v& 
 
1/2 
 
 MAY 24. 
 
 that w ith the Lord there is mercy, and with 
 him p'enteous redemption, draws us forth to 
 his feel, and we are accepted in the Beloved. 
 
 Too well we know, from observation and 
 experience, the evils of war. Who has not 
 felt the wretchedness of discord 1 Who has 
 not tasted the bitterness of alienation 1 And 
 who has not relished the luxury of restored 
 sentiments of kindness, tenderness, and friend- 
 ship 1 — Let him judge of the joy and peace 
 of believing ! Yet what is peace with a bro- 
 ther, a friend, a father, a king, compared with 
 peace with God ! In his favour is life. Who 
 can describe or imagine the calm after such 
 a storm ! It is a peace which passeth all un- 
 derstanding. It is angels' food — It is more. 
 They never felt a certain fearful looking-for 
 of judgment, and fiery indignation. They 
 never knew a wounded spirit and th» anguish 
 of despair, upon which descended, with heal- 
 ing under its wings, a hope full of immortality. 
 But the Christian, throwing the arm of faith 
 around the cross, can say " We joy in God 
 through our Ijord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
 have now received the atonement." " O 
 Lord, I will praise thee : though thou Tvast 
 angry with me, thine anger is turned away, 
 and thou comfortedst me." 
 
 But to whom is it addressed 1 " Peace, 
 peace to him that is far off, and to him that 
 is near." This immediately regards the Gen- 
 Tiles and the Jews, as we are assured by the 
 Apostle, who, speaking expressly of these 
 parties, says, "He is our peace, who hath 
 made both one, and hath broken down the 
 middle wall of partition between us ; and 
 came and preached peace to you which were 
 afar off, and to them that were nigh." The 
 Jews were a people nigh unto him, not as to 
 his essential presence, but his special and 
 gracious. He resided among them ; they had 
 his oracles, his house, his ordinances, his ser- 
 vants. The Gentiles were far off, because 
 they were strangers to all these privileges, 
 and without God in the world. But Chris- 
 tianity knows no outward distinctions ; it re- 
 gards men as creatures in the same fallen 
 condition, and brings them health and cure. 
 "The Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth 
 on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no 
 difference between the Jew and the Greek : 
 for the same Lord over all is rich unto all 
 that call upon him." 
 
 By a parity of reasoning, this distinction 
 will include other classes. They who are far 
 off, and they that are nigh, represent persons 
 possessing certain privileges, or destitute of 
 them. Some are nigh — That is, they were 
 oorn of godly parents ; they were piously 
 educated : from children they have known 
 the Holy Scriptures. Others are far off — 
 That is, they are the children of irreligious 
 parents, who teach them to swear, but not to 
 pray ; and lead them into sin, but never go 
 «»n« sten before them in the way everlasting. 
 
 Some are nigh — They are moral in their 
 lives, amiable in their tempers, teachable in 
 their disposition ; they seem as free from pre- 
 judice as from vice, and only require inform- 
 ation and decision. Of such an one, our 
 Saviour said, " Thou art not far from the king- 
 dom of God." Others are far oft— They are 
 grossly wicked and abandoned, despisers of 
 those that are good, profaners of the Sabbath, 
 swearers, drunkards, and seem beyond the 
 reach of reformation. 
 
 Some are nigh — They are the young, 
 whose lives are free from care and trouble, 
 whose understandings are not yet filled with 
 error, whose consciences are not yet seared 
 as with a hot iron, whose hearts are not yet 
 hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, 
 whose memories are retentive, and whose af- 
 fections are tender and lively. Others are far 
 off— They are the old, whose indispositions are 
 inveterate, whose vices are deep-rooted, whose 
 habits of evil have become a second nature — 
 " Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the 
 leopard his spots!" "With man it is impossi- 
 ble ; but with God, all things are possible." 
 
 We could enlarge the number of cases. 
 There are many who have advantages which 
 others are denied. Some are rich, and others 
 are poor — But the unsearchable riches of 
 Christ are accessible to all. Some are learned, 
 and others illiterate — But none can know di 
 vine things without a Divine teacher: and 
 under his teaching, the wayfaring man, though 
 a fool, shall not err therein. 
 
 The proclamation of the gospel is therefore 
 addressed to all, without exception. And 
 there is the greatest propriety in this : for if 
 its language was not universal ; if there were 
 any exclusions or omissions, awakened souls, 
 sensible of their desert, would be sure to ap- 
 propriate them, and conclude that they had 
 no part nor lot in the matter. But they can- 
 not question whether they are sinners; and 
 Jesus Christ came into the world to save sin- 
 ners. They cannot question whether they 
 have been spending their money for that 
 which is not bread, and their labour for that 
 which satisfieth not : but these are invited to 
 hear, that their souls may live. The Gospel 
 affords a complete warrant for every man to 
 believe on the Son of God. We are surely 
 nigh or afar off*: but the command is, " Look 
 unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the 
 earth." 
 
 MAY 24. 
 
 " Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there it 
 liberty."— 2 Cor. iii. 17. 
 
 This is mentioned for two purposes. First, 
 to characterize the Gospel. It is therefore 
 called in the preceding verse, "the ministra- 
 tion of the Spirit." Secondly, to describe the 
 Christian. Natural men have not the Spirit, 
 and if they make a profession of religion, it i<s 
 
MAY 24. 
 
 173 
 
 ttily the form of godliness without the power 
 --But Christians possess the Spirit. The 
 Apostle takes this for granted in his Epistle 
 to the Galatians, and therefore inquires not 
 whether they had received the Spirit, but how 
 they had received it : " Received ye the Spirit 
 by the works of the law, or by the hearing of 
 faith!" 
 
 But how is it to be ascertained whether we 
 are made partakers of the Holy Ghost ! Ob- 
 serve the reasoning of David ; " That thy 
 Name is near, thy wondrous works declare." 
 He proves the presence of God from the agen- 
 cy of God. We are to do the same here. 
 The residence of the Spirit is to be determined 
 by the influences and operations of the Spirit. 
 The Spirit makes those in whom he dwells 
 • spiritual" — They " live in the Spirit" — and 
 " walk in the Spirit" — and " worship God in 
 the Spirit." «« Where the Spirit of the Lord 
 is, there is the fruit of the Spirit ;" and the 
 fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and 
 righteousness, and truth. " Where the Spirit 
 of the Lord is — there is liberty." 
 
 Christians rejoice " in hope :" and there is 
 a blessedness reserved for them in heaven 
 called " the glorious liberty of the sons of 
 God." But this is future : and the Apostle 
 says where the Spirit of the Lord is — not 
 there shall be — but there is, liberty. What 
 liberty 1 A freedom from sin. A freedom in 
 duty. 
 
 A freedom from sin. There is something 
 in the very sound of slavery, that offends the 
 ear and revolts the heart. Hence when our 
 Lord spoke of making them free, the Jew? 
 answered, " We were never in bondage to 
 any man ; and how sayest thou then ye shall 
 be made free ]" Yet their whole history 
 showed that they had been in vassalage to all 
 the nearer, and to many of the remoter pow- 
 ers ; and were even then a province of the 
 Roman empire, paying tribute unto Caesar. 
 And thus men are unwilling to own that they 
 are naturally enslaved. There is nothing they 
 so glory in as their freedom. They despise 
 or pity the godly as captives under the most 
 melancholy ' and mortifying restraints ; and 
 therefore say, " Let us break their bonds asun- 
 der, and cast away their cords from us" — 
 " With our lips will we prevail, our tongues 
 are our own, who is Lord over us 7" But 
 while they use great swelling words of vanity, 
 they themselves also are the servants of cor- 
 ruption : for of whom a " man is overcome, 
 of the same he is brought into bondage." He 
 that committeth sin, is the servant of sin ; and 
 of all wretches in the world, he serves the 
 worst tyrant, and is employed in the vilest 
 drudgery. Sometimes, like a madman, he 
 dances and sings in his chains. But this is 
 not always the case. The hypocrite may 
 Doast of pleasure which he never feels : but 
 here is no peace unto the wicked. The way 
 
 of transgressors is ha".', as well ae the end of 
 these things death. Miny effects, the natural 
 produce of his iniquity, often makr. him groan 
 inwardly. Stung with remorse <uid shame, 
 he sometimes says, I wdi be such a slave no 
 more — I will be free. And he resolvgs, hut 
 it is in his own strength. He is therefore 
 overcome, and bound faster than befoie: and 
 frequently the result of these short-lived re- 
 formations, put oft* as long as possible, resorted 
 to with reluctance, and hated in the perform- 
 ance, is, that the latter end is worse than the 
 beginning. At best, he only exchanges one 
 sin for another; and while he gives up gross- 
 er transgressions, he comes under the power 
 of more " spiritual wickedness," pride, self- 
 righteousness, and unbelief. But if the Son 
 makes him free, he is free indeed— For where 
 the Spirit of the Lord is, .there is liberty. 
 Thus the Apostle says to the Romans ; " Ye 
 were the servants of sin, but have obeyed 
 from the heart the form of doctrine which was 
 delivered you." And " now being made free 
 from sin, ye became servants unto God." 
 " For he that is dead is freed from sin." He 
 does not mean, freed from the very being of 
 it — This would contradict the language of 
 the Scripture at large, and make those sad 
 whom God has commanded us to make mer- 
 ry. For what is the painful experience of 
 every believer ] He finds a law, that when he 
 would do good, evil is present with him : he 
 feels the sin that dwelleth in him : he groans, 
 " O wretched man that I am ! who shall de- 
 liver me from the body of this death 1" But 
 he is freed from the rule of it. It reigns 
 in others, in their mortal bodies; and they 
 obey it in the lusts thereof: but from this, 
 Christians are delivered, and against the re- 
 turn of it they are secured ; " Sin shall not 
 have dominion over you, for ye are not under 
 the law, but under grace." 
 
 They are also freed from the love of it. 
 Persons may avoid that which is evil, and not 
 abhor it. While inclination urges, authority 
 may restrain, or the fear of consequences may 
 deter. Many wish they could indulge them- 
 selves freely and safely in their criminal pas- 
 sions and pursuits; and therefore hate the 
 law that forbids and threatens them. But 
 Christians are not held back from sin against 
 their wills ; they are mortified to it. They 
 are dead to sin. They have seen the evil of 
 it in the cross. Is it possible that a mothei 
 could ever love the murderer of her child 1 
 But there is no love like that which the saved 
 sinner bears to the Saviour. Can I ever be 
 reconciled to that which made him bleed and 
 die 7 Can I ever cherish that which grieve? 
 and dishonours him who loved me and gavp 
 himself for me? 
 
 " Furnish me, Lord, with heavenly arms 
 From grace's magazine ; 
 And I'll proclaim eternal war 
 With every darling sin." 
 
174 
 
 MAY 25. 
 
 MAY 25. 
 
 u Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 
 liberty." — 2 Cor. iii. 17 
 
 A freedom in duty. There are some who 
 dislike, the word duty, though it is a word by 
 no means unevangelical ; for it entirely ex- 
 cludes the idea of merit : as that which is due 
 cannot be meritorious. And are persons, in 
 proportion as they are favoured, without obli- 
 gations? Do not benefits gender claims to 
 service 1 " Know ye not," says the Apostle, 
 " that ye are not your own ? for ye are bought 
 with a price ; wherefore glorify God in your 
 body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 
 David acknowledges this ; " O Lord, truly I 
 am thy servant, thou hast loosed my bonds :" 
 that is, thou hast loosened me to bind me — 
 loosened me from disease and destruction, to 
 bind me to love and serve my deliverer and 
 benefactor. Those who dislike the word 
 duty, it is to be feared, dislike the thing itself; 
 and resemble Ephraim, who loved to tread 
 out the corn, yet not to break the clods. But 
 " the spiritual" can say, " his commandments 
 are not grievous." They consider religious 
 duties as privileges, and feel them such when 
 the Lord is with them ; for " where the Spirit 
 of the Lord is, there is liberty." To this 
 David refers when he says, " Then shall I run 
 in the way of thy commandments when thou 
 shalt enlarge my heart." The heart is en- 
 larged for obedience, when it is exempted 
 from the influence of carnal considerations. 
 When Paul received his trying commission, 
 immediately, says he, I conferred not with 
 flesh and blood. Flesh and blood are sad 
 counsellors in the work of God ; and it is easy 
 to imagine what advice they would have 
 given him. Some persons are not at liberty 
 to pursue the way that they should choose. 
 They feel restraints arising from their repu- 
 tation, or connexions, or worldly advantage. 
 They could easily decide whether the thing 
 was true or right in itself; and this should be 
 the only question ; but before they act, they 
 must know what people will think and say 
 of them. Whether they shall not be charged 
 with hypocrisy 1 or enthusiasm 1 or provoke 
 an enemy ] or lose a friend 1 or suffer in trade ? 
 Thus they are checked by the fear of man, 
 which bringeth a snare. What snare 1 The 
 danger of drawing back, or turning aside, in- 
 stead of going forward and abounding in the 
 work of the Lord; the danger of concealing 
 or denying their principles, and conforming 
 to the place and company they are in, instead 
 of confessing the Saviour before men, and de- 
 claring themselves on the Lord's side. Now 
 the grace of God delivers us from these pre- 
 ventions : it sets us free to follow the calls of 
 duty ; it induces us only to ask, " Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do!" And what a 
 Dlessed liberty does a man then feel ! Thus 
 the bird that rises high and flies along is free 
 
 from obstruction ; and can move straight and 
 quick : while the bird that keeps near the 
 ground must make many a zigzag in his 
 course, to avoid trees, and houses, and towers, 
 and hills. A timid animal starts or creeps 
 aside continually ; but " the lion" keeps on in 
 his march, " and turneth not away for any." 
 And " the path of life is above to the wise." 
 And " the righteous is bold as a lion." Con- 
 viction is a great source of courage, but affec- 
 tion is a greater. There is no fear in love, 
 Perfect love casteth out fear. Love is strong 
 as death : many waters cannot quench love, 
 neither can the floods drown it. What then 
 will be the effect of the love of God shed 
 abroad in the heart 1 " We cannot," said Pe- 
 ter and John, " but speak the things which 
 we have seen and heard." Bunyan very 
 wisely makes Mr. Greatheart the conductor 
 of the pilgrims. How would they have been 
 let and injured without him ! But where he 
 was, there was liberty. 
 
 The Christian is also enlarged for obedi- 
 ence by deliverance from formality. We 
 may well talk of the dullness and deadness of 
 formality. The effect of it in duty is tc 
 make our souls like Pharoah's chariots with 
 the wheels off: we drag on heavily. But 
 holy fervour makes us " like the chariots of 
 Amminadib." Sails are useful, but what are 
 they if there be no breeze? Nothing con 
 tracts and obstructs like the want of spiritual- 
 ity in religion. We sometimes complain of 
 darkness ; and darkness confines ; but the 
 rising sun releases the prisoners of night, 
 and they go forth to their work and to their 
 labour till the evening. We. feel coldness; 
 and coldness confines. The frost binds up the 
 stream ; but the melting causes it to flow. 
 The winter holds back the powers of nature, 
 and keeps barren the fields and the garden; 
 but the warmth of spring sets free the prin- 
 ciples of vegetation, and all is life and fer- 
 tility. Such a difference is there in our de- 
 votional exercises, whether retired or public ; 
 between our frames, when we are left to our- 
 selves, and when the Spirit helps our infirmi- 
 ties : and the preparation of the heart, and 
 the answer of the tongue, are from the Lord. 
 
 We may add, that nothing more prepares 
 for and aids us in the work of obedience than 
 a discharge from the dread of condemnation. 
 " The blood of Christ purges the conscience 
 from dead works to serve the living God." 
 By dead works the Apostle means sins, which 
 produce spiritual and deserve eternal death. 
 The purging of the conscience from these 
 does not here refer to sanctification, but tc 
 the effect of justification, in freeing us from 
 a sense of guilt, and giving us peace and joy 
 in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by 
 whom we have received the atonement. 
 And this grace wherein we stand is not only 
 the most delightful privilege, bul according 
 to the Apostle it is necessary to our serving 
 
MAY 26. 
 
 \n> 
 
 God. For how can we pursue our work to 
 advantage while we are pressed down with a 
 burden too heavy for us to bear! How must 
 we be labouring in the fire, and wearying 
 ourselves for very vanity, while we are think- 
 ing of atoning for our lives, or going about to 
 establish our own righteousness] Believers 
 have nothing to do here — Their sins are expi- 
 ated ; the righteousness in which they appear 
 before God is provided. They therefore cease 
 from their legal and tormenting drudgery, and 
 enter into rest, and are made free indeed — 
 and free to attend entirely to their grateful 
 and pleasant work of pleasing and serving 
 God in the Spirit of his Son — There is no- 
 thing servile in their obedience, and therefore 
 it is not partial and constrained ; but full, and 
 of a ready mind — They are upholden by his 
 "free Spirit." They are sons that serve 
 him : for they have not received the spirit of 
 bondage to fear, but the Spirit of adoption, 
 whereby they cry, Abba, Father. Not that 
 they indulge in a careless, presumptuous 
 manner in dealing with God ; but they feel 
 their relation to him, and knowing that God 
 is not only pacified towards them, but that 
 they are accepted in the Beloved, and are 
 now not only reconciled but infinitely dear to 
 him, they have boldness and access with con- 
 fidence by the faith of Jesus ; and can draw 
 near in full assurance of faith. They feel 
 their unworthiness, but they know they are 
 welcome — welcome to approach his gates — 
 welcome to enter his house — welcome to sit 
 down at his table — welcome to hang upon his 
 arm — welcome to lean on his bosom — wel- 
 come at all times and in all circumstances to 
 6pread their wants and cares before him with 
 a certainty of relief— For where the Spirit 
 of the Lord is, there is liberty ! 
 
 While we believe the importance of the 
 possession, and know that if any man have 
 not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his ; let 
 us rejoice that our heavenly Father will give 
 nis Holy Spirit to them that ask him ; and 
 that he giveth more grace. Let us therefore 
 be enlarged in our desires ; and not only have 
 the Spirit, but be filled with the Spirit 
 
 MAY 26. 
 
 " Looking diligently lest any man jail of the trace 
 of God."— Heb. xii. 15. 
 
 We are here admonished not to " fail of 
 the grace of God." There is a difference be- 
 tween failinsro/the grace of God, and failing 
 from it. We are persuaded the Scripture 
 gives no real countenance to the doctrine of 
 falling from grace?" The certainty of the 
 end includes the necessity of the means; and 
 therefore we can, with consistency, make use 
 of every warning and motive against declen- 
 sion and apostasy, while yet we believe that 
 
 confident of this very thing, that he which 
 
 hath begun a good work in us will perform it 
 
 until the day of Jesus Christ. When the 
 
 angel had announced the safety of all on 
 
 board, and the apostle believed God that it 
 
 should be as it had been told him ; yet he 
 
 made no scruple to say to the Centurion and 
 
 the soldiers, when the mariners were meanly 
 
 leaving the vessel, "Except these abide in 
 
 the ship, ye cannot be saved." Dr. Owen, \fawl vM* 
 
 no mean cntic.^contends that the word here I/O A_~^ 
 
 rendered to fail, signifies always to want, to 
 
 come short ; and never, to fall from actual ; uA* ^ trt-i 
 
 possession. We say, the trees this year willt^ (m-.H^a. i 
 
 fail of a crop: we say to a racer, see that you X*Jl *: 
 
 fail not of the prize, and to a warrior, see that r° 
 
 yuu fail not of the victory ; and in all these ^ '^ r> 
 
 instances we intend not the loss of a thing jkjAJ / <M 
 
 when obtained, but the not obtaining it. The V 
 
 meaning therefore is, take heed that you miss 
 
 not the grace of God ; or, as it is expressed in 
 
 an earlier part of the Epistle, " Therefore fear, 
 
 lest, a promise being left you of entering into 
 
 his rest, any of should seem to come short of 
 
 it." 
 
 The caution implies importance, acquira- 
 bleness, and danger. 
 
 It implies importance — It is as much as to 
 say, your supreme concern should be to se- 
 cure the grace of God — This is the principal 
 thing — 
 
 "Sufficient in itself alone, 
 And needful were the world our own." 
 
 Even the devil is good authority here ; he 
 knows the worth of what we neglect and 
 despise ; all his aims and devices are to keep 
 us from seeking after it. The grace of God 
 is — The only source of relief under conviction 
 of sin — The only principle of true obedience 
 — The only safeguard of prosperity The 
 only support under trouble — The only de- 
 liverance from death — The only meetness for 
 heaven — the evidence, the earnests, the fore- 
 tastes, the beginning of eternal life. 
 
 It implies acquirableness. The admonition 
 would be futile unless the grace of God were 
 within our reach. It is impossible to read 
 the Scripture, and not perceive that the ines- 
 timable blessing is not only revealed to our 
 view, but proposed to our hope, and pressed 
 upon our acceptation. We are commanded 
 to be " renewed in the spirit of our minds ;" 
 and to be "filled with the Spirit:" but the 
 command, or it would be absurd, involves the 
 possibility of the thing. Grace is laid up in 
 the Mediator for this very purpose. It 
 pleased the Father that in him should all 
 fullness dwell for our use. "He received 
 gifts for men, and even for the rebellious 
 also, that the Lord God might dwell among 
 them." We have also the promise; "Ask, 
 and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall 
 find." The invitation also is universal: 
 " Whosoever will, let him take of the water 
 of life freely." " Look untc me, and be re 
 
 , the righteous shall hold on his way, and are 
 
176 
 
 MAY 27. 
 
 saved, all the ends of the earth." We can 
 appeal ( » actual instances. How many in 
 heaven, how many also on earth, who by na- 
 ture were all children of wrath, even as 
 others, and in whom was no good thing, are 
 now the partakers of the grace of God in 
 truth ! We are encompassed with a great 
 cloud of witnesses ; and each of them testifies 
 that he is good and ready to forgive, and 
 
 Klenteous in mercy unto all that call upon 
 im. 
 
 — But it implies danger. Unless it was 
 possible, and very possible, that we should 
 come short of it, the Apostle would not have 
 expressed himself with such peculiar earnest- 
 ness — " Looking" — " diligently ;" nor have 
 extended the caution to all, whatever advan- 
 tages they have in their favour — " Lest any 
 man fail of the grace of God." You may fail 
 of the grace of God — Though you were born 
 in a Christian country, and were baptized in 
 your infancy — Though you were born of re- 
 ligious parents, and had a pious education — 
 Though you attend the means of grace, and 
 hear the truth as it is in Jesus — Though you 
 iiave a clear knowledge of the doctrines of 
 the Gospel — Though you receive into your 
 conviction and belief the faith once delivered 
 to the saints — Though you have spiritual 
 jfifls, and can talk well and pray wisely — 
 Though your passions are sometimes pleas- 
 ingly and awfully excited — Though you have 
 undergone a great change and reformation in 
 your character and conduct — Though many 
 think you have the grace of God, and you are 
 admitted into the church, and admired while 
 you live, and extolled when you die, and the 
 funeral sermon and the magazine may speak of 
 you as having entered into the joy of your Lord 
 — Though you are persuaded yourselves that 
 you are possessed of it, and carry the confi- 
 dence to the very door of heaven, saying, 
 " Lord, Lord, open unto us : we have eaten 
 and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast 
 taught in our streets — But he shall answer, 
 I know you not whence ye are — " 
 
 Of the numbers that came out of Egypt 
 only two entered Canaan; though they did 
 all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all 
 drink the same spiritual drink. 
 
 Wherefore let him that thinketh he stand- 
 eth, take heed, lest he fall. 
 
 " Search me, O God, and know my heart : 
 try me, and know my thoughts : and see if 
 there be any wicked way in me, and lead me 
 n the way everlasting." 
 
 MAY 27. 
 " And Paul said, I would to God, that not only 
 thou, but also all that hear me this day, were 
 both almost, and altogether such as I am, ex- 
 cept these bonds. n — Acts xxvi. 29. 
 
 "Such as I am." And what was Paul? 
 He was an Apostle. But he does not refer to 
 
 this, or wish that his audience, like nimself, 
 were called to an extraordinary mission, 
 or could speak with new tongues, and dis- 
 cern spirits, and heal diseases, and forevell 
 things to come. He knew that official char 
 acter and miraculous endowments were not 
 things that accompany salvation. Balaam 
 was a prophet, and Judas was an apostle 
 But Paul was a Christian; and to this his 
 desire alludes. For his exclamation is in re- 
 ply to the king's confession — " Then Agrippa 
 said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to 
 be a Christian" — And Paul said, Would to 
 God this was completely the case with thy- 
 self and this whole assembly — " Would to 
 God that not only thou, but also all that hear 
 me this day, were not only almost, but alto- 
 gether such as I am, except these bonds." 
 
 Thus therefore he not only shows a con 
 sciousness of his Christianity, but the esti- 
 mation in which he held the privilege of his 
 state as a Christian. There was nothing he 
 could wish for others, by an infinite degree so 
 important and so valuable. For if they were 
 Christians, he knew — They would be safe : 
 for there is bo condemnation to them that are 
 in Christ Jesus. He knew — They would be 
 honourable: the excellent of the earth, kings 
 and priests unto God, the sons and daughters 
 of the Lord Almighty, the charge of angels, 
 who are all sent forth to minister unto them 
 that are the heirs of salvation. He knew— 
 They would be happy: attaining what all 
 others seek in vain : happy in hope, happy in 
 fruition, happy in their comforts, happy in 
 their duties, happy in their trials. He knew 
 — They would be useful : not only being 
 blessed in themselves, but proving blessings 
 toothers; the best benefactors of the human 
 race, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen 
 thereof, the salt of the earth, the light of the 
 world — 
 
 But see his benevolence as well as wisuom. 
 The spirit that is in us lusteth to envy. We 
 love things to be exclusively our own. The 
 child is pleased when no none has a bauble 
 but himself. The female is afraid that her 
 fashion should be known ; her mode would 
 lose half its value should the dress of another 
 be as new, and pretty, and fine as her own — 
 So it is with all ranks in life. But grace had 
 dethroned this spirit in Paul. See the be- 
 nevolence of his disposition in three things. 
 First — The extent of his wish. It reaches to 
 all. Yet some of his audience were not only 
 heathens and Jews, but his bitterest enemies. 
 Secondly, the degree of it — were not only 
 almost but altogether such as I am. It is well 
 to see people like the young man in the Gos- 
 pel, not far from the kingdom of God. It ig 
 well to see them hearing the word, convinced, 
 reformed. But they may be hearers of the 
 word and not doers ; convinced and not con- 
 verted ; reformed and not renewed. It is sad 
 to go far, and come short at last — To l>e almost 
 
MAY 28. 
 
 177 
 
 justified is to be condemned ; almost saved is 
 o be lost. Thirdly, the exception — The chain 
 he then wore, and which confined him to the 
 soldier as a sufferer or a criminal, would be 
 deemed painful or reproachful, and tend to 
 scandalize Agrippa : he therefore says, except 
 these bonds. This was a fine turn, and show- 
 ed Paul to be a man of education and address. 
 But it shows something more than his elo- 
 quence. He would not wish others to be tried, 
 especially at first, as he was. / would bear 
 willingly all my afflictions, till he for whom I 
 suffer is pleased to release me : but I do not 
 wish others to endure them. Let them have 
 my privileges without my persecutions. Sure- 
 ly the righteous is more excellent than his 
 neighbour ! What a noble soul was here ! 
 Little and mean spirits can never rise to this. 
 If they wish others to be equal to themselves, 
 they cannot wish others above themselves. 
 The Elder Brother could not bear the degree 
 of the Prodigal's reception — Thou never 
 gavest me a kid that I might make merry 
 with my friends — Yet for him thou hast killed 
 the fatted calf. But angels rejoice when a 
 sinner, by repentance, is brought into a con- 
 dition superior to their own. And we know 
 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when 
 he was rich, for our sakes became poor, that 
 we through his poverty might be rich. 
 
 But when Paul says, " would to God," that 
 this was the case, it is to be considered as a 
 real prayer, and shows not only his benevo- 
 lence in wishing their conversion, but his 
 belief and acknowledgment of Divine agency 
 as necessary to accomplish it He owned this 
 with regard to himself. It pleased God to re- 
 veal his Son in me. He called me by his 
 grace. By the grace of God I am what I am 
 — not I, but the grace of God which was with 
 me. He owned it always with regard to 
 others. Read what he says of the Ephesians : 
 " God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love 
 wherewith he loved us, even when we were 
 dead in sins, hath quickened us together with 
 Christ, (by grace ye are saved ;) for by grace 
 are ye saved through faith : and that not of 
 yourselves ; it is the gift of God : not of works, 
 lest any man should boast. For we are his 
 workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto 
 good works, which God hath before ordained 
 that we should walk in them." How can 
 it be otherwise 1 If in him we live and move 
 and have our being naturally, has the spirit- 
 ual life, called the life of God, any thing less 
 than a divine source for its origin and sup- 
 port? Hence the promise, "I will sprinkle 
 clean water upon them — I will put my Spirit 
 within them, and cause them to walk in my 
 statutes." 
 
 To him therefore for this influence let us 
 pray, not only for ourselves, but fo^ others — 
 for our families, friends, neighbours, all man- 
 kind. He is the God of all grace, and he an- 
 swers relative as well as personal praver. But 
 12 
 
 let one thing be remembered ; if our prayers 
 are sincere, it will appear in oi»- exertions; 
 for God uses means, and make? us the in- 
 struments of his agency. And ne that con- 
 verted a sinner from the error of his way 
 shall save a soul from death, and shall hide 
 a multitude of sins. 
 
 MAY 28. 
 
 " / have sinned ; what shall I do unto thee, O tfwu 
 preserver of men ?" — Job vii. 20. 
 
 Here is a confession, and an inquiry. 
 
 The confession seems to have nothing very 
 discriminating in it. The manner in which 
 it is used, and the sentiments from which it 
 proceeds, can alone therefore evince the state 
 of mind in him who employs it In true peni- 
 tence the confession will always be strictly 
 personal. We may often hear the expres- 
 sion, " God knows we are all sinners," but the 
 meaning of the exclaimers is to bring in others 
 for a share, rather than to condemn them- 
 selves ; and the universality of transgression 
 is owned to extenuate the individuality. But 
 says the real penitent, " Behold, / am vile, 
 what shall / answer 1" " My sin is ever be- 
 fore me." And he confesses not only the fact 
 of his sin, but the fault, the guilt, the desert — 
 " I am not worthy to be called thy son." 
 " Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and 
 done this evil in thy sight : that thou might- 
 est be justified when tbou speakest, and be 
 clear when thou judgest" And while he is 
 candid towards others, because he knows not 
 the extenuations which attach to their offences, 
 he will be severe towards himself, for he is 
 conscious of the aggravations of his own ini- 
 quities. And as sin is the transgression of 
 the law, and the law is spiritual, extending 
 to the state of his heart, and requiring his 
 principles and motives to be good as well as 
 his actions, and condemning omissions of duty 
 as well as positive crimes, with his growing 
 knowledge, his sins enormously multiply in 
 number, and he only speaks the words of truth 
 and soberness when he says, " Mine iniquities 
 have taken hold upon me, so that I am not 
 able to look up ; they are more than the hairs 
 of mine head : therefore my heart faileth 
 me." True confession is also always accom 
 panied with a broken heart and a contrite 
 spirit. Some speak of their sins, if not with 
 pleasure, yet with a kind of indifference. 
 But Ephraim bemoaned himself. The publi 
 can smote upon his breast. When Pete, 
 thought on his fall he wept bitterly. Of course 
 there is also a disposition to sacrifice the evi 
 deplored. Pharaoh and Saul more than once 
 said, " I have sinned," yet went on still in 
 their trespass. But he that confesseth and for- 
 saketh his sin, shall find mercy. He there- 
 fore will say, with Ephraim, "What have I 
 any more to do with idols 1" Lfe will even 
 
178 
 
 MAY 29. 
 
 pluck out a right eye, and cut off a right hand, 
 and cast it from him. Thus it was with the 
 Ephesian converts. " Many that believed 
 came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. 
 Many of them also which used curious arts 
 brought their books together, and burned 
 them before all men : and they counted the 
 price of them, and found it fifty thousand 
 pieces of silver." What a sum to lose ! 
 Many would have sold these books ; but these 
 persons said, Though they have poisoned us 
 they shall not infect others, and threw into the 
 flarftes what might have yielded them near 
 two thousand pounds. This was bringing 
 forth fruit meet for repentance. A man, too, 
 when divinely wrought upon, will in his con- 
 fession acknowledge evils of which natural 
 conscience never accuses us, such as spiritual 
 pride self-righteousness, and the neglect and 
 contempt of the provision made for the recovery 
 of sinners, by which we frustrate the grace 
 of God, and make Jesus Christ to be dead in 
 vain. When therefore the Saviour says, the 
 Spirit shall convince of sin, he adds, because 
 they believe not on me. And no guilt will 
 affect such a soul like this. And till we are 
 led to the evil heart of unbelief, we overlook 
 the root and the spring of our ruin, and stop 
 only at the branches and the streams. 
 
 But here is also an inquiry — I have sinned ; 
 what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver 
 of men ? It seems not at first view very in- 
 telligible. It may be taken two ways, re- 
 quiring very different answers. First, What 
 shall I do unto thee in a way of satisfaction 
 or reparation for the wrong I have committed ; 
 so as to prevent the consequences of my guilt, 
 and stop thy proceedings against me ? This 
 will be the immediate concern of the awaken- 
 ed sinner, and he will be able to give no sleep 
 to his eyes, or slumber to his eyelids^till he 
 finds a solution in his favour. Hence Micah 
 represents such a man as asking, " Where- 
 with shall I come before the Lord, and bow 
 myself before the high God ? shall I come be- 
 fore him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a 
 year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with 
 thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of 
 rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my 
 transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin 
 of my soul?" In reply to this, it must be said, 
 we can do nothing, offer nothing. The very 
 attempt would be adding insult to injury. 
 But cannot we repair the evil by future good 
 works and obedience ? In the first place, we 
 can only obey in the strength of God, and not 
 in our own. Secondly, all the obedience we 
 can render is always due to God, and there- 
 fore can never be meritorious in expia ion of 
 our offences : the payment of things present 
 will not wipe off the old score. To which also 
 we may add, that our obedience wiU be in- 
 complete, and therefore instead of recompens- 
 ing God any thing will fall short of his glory, 
 and require pardon for it defects. The man 
 
 soon sees this, and feels that he can make no 
 atonement himself, and that the redemption ol 
 his soul must cease for ever, if it depends on 
 any ransom he can furnish. And thus he 
 would lie down in absolute despair, but foi 
 the light of the Gospel, which breaks in and 
 shows him what in this case he can do. It it 
 not to go about to establish his own righteous- 
 ness, but to submit himself to the righteous 
 ness which is of God. It is not to toil, bu f 
 believe — " To him that worketh not, but be- 
 lieveth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his 
 faith is counted for righteousness." His only 
 course therefore is to appeal ; to take with 
 him in the hand of faith the Surety of the 
 new covenant, and to say, " Look upon the 
 face of thine Anointed." " Let thy hand be 
 upon the man of the right hand, upon the son 
 of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. 
 So will not we go back from thee : quicken 
 us, and we will call upon thy name." Nothing 
 else will avail ; nothing else is necessary ; but 
 coming in his name, pleading his sacrifice, 
 you will be accepted in the Beloved as if you 
 had never sinned, and God will rejoice over 
 you with joy. 
 
 Then, secondly, you will ask, what shall 1 
 do unto thee in a way of duty and thankful- 
 ness? And the inquiry thus made is not only 
 allowable but commendable, and as to the 
 feelings of the pardoned sinner unavoidable. 
 Though he has nothing to do unto God in 
 putting away sin, or bringing in a justifying 
 righteousness, he is infinitely indebted to his 
 goodness. He cannot discharge his obliga- 
 tions ; but he feels them, and therefore must 
 ask, " What shall I render to the Lord for 
 all his benefits towards me ?" What service 
 shall I present him, not as a peace-offering 
 but as a thank-offering ? How shall I obey 
 him, not as a slave, but a son ? not as a mer- 
 cenary, but as one who is blessed with all 
 spiritual blessings in heavenly places in 
 Christ 1 To him none of God's command- 
 ments are grievous. What he has to do all 
 the days of his life is to love his benefactor, 
 to fear to offend him, to pray that the words 
 of his mouth and the meditation of his heart 
 may be acceptable in his sight ; it is, by the 
 mercies of God to present his body a living 
 sacrifice, holy and acceptable ; and by him 
 only to make mention of his name. 
 
 MAY 29. 
 
 " Because ye are sons; God lurth sent forth thi 
 Spirit of his Son into your hearts." — Gal. iv. 6. 
 
 We have heard of benefactors ; and we 
 have seen a happy few who seem to value 
 their wealth only as the resource of kindness 
 and mercy ; and who make it the business of 
 their lives to do good. But God is love ; and 
 all benevolence vanishes from a comparison 
 
MAY 29. 
 
 179 
 
 with the excefcding riches of his grace in his 
 kindness towards us. None ever relieved 
 such numbers, succoured so freely, or gave so 
 richly. What are the greatest favours con- 
 ferred by human generosity ? Survey the 
 gifts of God. Consider only two of them — 
 The Son of his love, and the Spirit of his Son 
 -The one given for us ; the other to us — 
 The one peculiarly the promise of the Old 
 Testament ; the other of the New. Each of 
 these is equally necessary in the process of 
 our recovery. The Christian alike values 
 bc*h : and of both the Apostle here speaks : 
 " When the fullness of the time was come, 
 God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, 
 made under the law, to redeem them that 
 were under the law, that we might receive 
 the adoption of sons. And " because ye are 
 sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son 
 into your hearts." Let us attend to the lat- 
 ter of these. 
 
 Who are the recipients 1 " Sons" — a name 
 often given to the people of God in the Scrip- 
 tures. They are subjects, and he is their 
 Sovereign, and they owe him obedience ; 
 they are servants, and he is their master, and 
 they owe him attendance — But these relations 
 do not go far enough : they are not sufficiently 
 affectionate, and near, and privileged, to ex- 
 press the state of Christians. Behold what 
 manner of love the Father hath bestowed up- 
 on them — They are called the sons of God. 
 And now are they the sons of God. And they 
 are so, not only or principally because they 
 are the creatures of his power, but the par- 
 takers of his grace. And two ways the title 
 is applied to them exclusively: adoption, and 
 regeneration. For they are not only taken 
 into the household of faith, but they are new 
 born, born again, born of God. Among men 
 these sources of filiation are never united. 
 A man does not adopt those who are begot- 
 ten of him. And when he admits the off- 
 spring of others into family relation, and gives 
 them his name, he cannot convey to them 
 his qualities. He may be generous, and they 
 may be selfish ; he may be meek, and they 
 may be severe. He may indeed instruct and 
 admonish them, and exemplify his requisi- 
 tions in his own life : but this is all. But God 
 not only changes our state, but our nature. 
 He works in us to will and to do of his good 
 pleasure — He speaks ; he acts like himself— 
 " Behold, I create all things new." 
 
 What is the blessing? " The. Spirit of his 
 Son." There are several other places in 
 which the Spirit is held forth by this relation 
 to Christ But wherefore ] Peter, speaking 
 . of the prophets, says, " the Spirit of Christ 
 which was in them, testified beforehand the 
 sufferings of Christ and the glory that shoukl 
 follow" — Tt was employed in bearing witness 
 to him from the beginning. Our Saviour 
 also said, " He shall glorify me : for he shall 
 
 receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.' 
 He also personally possessed this Spirit, and 
 was always actuated by it " And the Spirit 
 of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of 
 wisdom and understanding, the spirit of coun- 
 sel and might, the spirit of knowledge and 
 of the fear of the Lord. But the principal 
 reason of the name is, that he procured this 
 Spirit for us by his sufferings and death ; the 
 whole dispensation of it was lodged in his 
 hands ; and from his fullness all we receive, 
 and grace for grace. Therefore he said to his 
 disciples, "If I depart, I will send him 
 unto you." " I will send you another Com- 
 forter, that he may abide with you for ever." 
 And Peter reports the accomplishment in a 
 most signal instance : " Therefore, being by 
 the right hand of God exalted, and having re- 
 ceived of the Father the promise of the Holy 
 Ghost, .-«. -ath shed forth this, which ye now 
 see and hear." It is therefore derived from 
 him to us — We have an unction from tb<? 
 Holy One." 
 
 Where does it reside? " Because 'we are 
 sons, he hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son 
 into our hearts." Here God begins ; " he 
 shines in our hearts, to give us the light of 
 the knowledge of his glory in the face of 
 Jesus Christ" Here he places the riches of 
 his grace, and " a good man out of the good 
 treasure of his heart bringeth forth good 
 things; for out of the abundance of the heart 
 the mouth speaketh. The Lord looketh at 
 the heart If this be for him, every thing else 
 will follow ; but all is nothing without this. 
 What is practice without principle, but a tree 
 without a root, or a stream without a spring ! 
 But when the divine laws are put into our 
 minds, and written in our hearts, our obedi- 
 ence is not only rendered certain, but natural 
 and delightful. God of all grace ! fulfil thy 
 covenant engagement in my happy experi- 
 ence — " And I will put my Spirit within you, 
 and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye 
 shall keep my judgments, and do them." 
 And may I " be filled with the Spirit" 
 
 We see from the whole the oneness there 
 is between Christ and his people. They are 
 predestinated to be conformed to his image, 
 that he might be the first-born among many 
 brethren. In all things indeed he has the 
 pre-eminence. He is the Son of God in an 
 unrivalled sense; but they also are sons. He 
 had indeed the Spirit without measure ; but 
 they have it in desrree ; for if any man have 
 not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his — 
 and it is the same Spirit that resides in both 
 — " Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth 
 the Spirit of his Son into your hearts." This 
 conformity extends to their future condition 
 as well as their present character. " When 
 he who is their life shall appear, they also 
 shall appear with him in glety." As they 
 now " bear the image of th? heavenly," S 
 
180 
 
 MAY 3U 
 
 naving in them the mina that was in him, so 
 they will hereafter corporeally resemble him ; 
 for " he shall change their vile body, that it 
 may be fashioned like unto his own glorious 
 body" — " It doth not yet appear what we shall 
 be ; but this we know, that when we shall 
 appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see 
 Iip i as he is." 
 
 MAY 30. 
 
 u Crying, Abba, Father."— Gal. iv. 6. 
 
 Such is the effect of the divine communi- 
 cation here spoken of — " Because ye are sons, 
 God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into 
 your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Every 
 thing depends upon our possessing this Spirit ; 
 for " if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, 
 he is none of his ;" But " as many as are led 
 by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God, 
 and if children then heirs." Hence it is 
 also called "the earnest of our inheritance." 
 
 We should therefore be anxious to ascer- 
 tain whether we have received the all- 
 important benefit. And it is possible to de- 
 termine this. For whenever the Spirit of 
 Christ takes possession of the heart, its resi- 
 dence will be evinced — It will operate there. 
 It finds us indeed in darkness, but it opens 
 the eyes of our understanding, and makes us 
 light in the Lord. It finds us earthly-minded 
 and cleaving to the dust, but it induces us to 
 seek those things that are above. The pre- 
 tensions of a man therefore are vain unless 
 he be made to difFer from what he once was. 
 The influence of the Spirit is compared to 
 leaven in the meal, and leaven will work ; to 
 fire, and fire will burn; to water, and the 
 spring will flow out in streams — If, says the 
 Apostle, " God hath sent forth the Spirit of 
 his Son into your hearts," it is not inactive or 
 silent there, but — crying, Abba, Father. 
 Let us observe the exercise, and the influence 
 that produces it 
 
 The exercise intended is prayer ; but the 
 representation is peculiar. It is not said what 
 they will pray for ; indeed it would be endless 
 to specify their wants and desires; and "for 
 all these things," says God, " will I be inquired 
 of by tho house of Israel to do it for them." 
 But we are told how they pray — Crying, 
 Abba, Father. Does not this intimate the 
 simplicity of their prayer ? " Because," says 
 Solomon, "God is in heaven, and thou upon 
 the earth, therefore let thy words be few;" 
 and how brief and free from every thing 
 studied and artificial are the prayers recorded 
 in the Scriptures, and which were offered by 
 persons under the most powerful and favoura- 
 ule impressions ! " Heal my soul, for I have 
 sinned against thee." " Lord, save, I perish." 
 " God be merciful to me a sinner." " Ijord, 
 
 what wilt thou have me to do 1" — Such is the 
 language of feeling — So it is when the hear* 
 
 Does it not intimate the confidence with 
 which they pray ? Among the Persians there 
 was a law that whosoever presented himself 
 before the king, unless he was first called to 
 go in, should be put to death. We have no 
 such prohibition. The golden sceptre to us is 
 always stretched forth. We have a general, 
 a universal invitation to draw near at all 
 times, and in all circumstances, in every 
 thing by prayer and supplication to make 
 known our requests unto God: and are au- 
 thorized to address him not as the Infinite, 
 the Eternal, the Almighty, the first cause 
 and the last end of all things ; but as our 
 Father, though he is in heaven. It is not the 
 spirit of bondage to fear, but the Spirit of 
 adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father. 
 It is not the address of a criminal to a judge ; 
 nor of a slave to a master : but of a child to a 
 Father, to whom he is most intimately related, 
 and who feels in him the claims of nature and 
 affection. " I write unto you, little children," 
 says John, " becaus? ye have known the 
 Father." Who is a child so likely to know 
 as his father? What is the first name he ut- 
 ters but "my father, or my mother?" To 
 whom is he so likely to flee in every danger? 
 On whom in every distress will he call so 
 freely for relief? He relies upon his care ; he 
 expects that he will teach him, and defend 
 him, and provide for him — And will not God 
 who stands in this endearing relation exem- 
 plify it ? And fulfil it perfectly and divinely ? 
 Let this therefore encourage and embolden 
 us in our approaches to him. 
 
 Does it not also imply earnestness? The 
 word " crying" would express this alone, but 
 here is added to it the reduplication, " Father, 
 Father!" This surely marks eagerness and 
 fervency. The importance of such importu- 
 nity our Saviour illustrates in the manner of 
 him who spake as never man spake — " Wh'cb 
 of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto 
 him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, 
 lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in 
 his journey is come to me, and I have nothing 
 to set before him? And he from within shall 
 answer and say, Trouble me not : the door is 
 now shut, and my children are with me in 
 bed ; I cannot rise and give thee. I say untc 
 you, Though he will not rise and give him, 
 because he is his friend, yet because of his 
 importunity he will rise and give him as 
 many as he needeth. And I say unto you. 
 Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye 
 shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
 you." He himself also was an example of this. 
 " In the days of his flesh with strong cryings 
 and tears he made supplications to him who 
 was able to save him from death :" and the 
 true condition, exigences, and dangers of his 
 
MAY 31. 
 
 1-1 
 
 followers when realized and felt will urge 
 them to pray in the same manner. 
 
 But does not this indicate the accordance 
 of their prayers ? Whatever distinctions pre- 
 vail among them, the Lord gives them one 
 aeart and one way. They all kneel before 
 the same mercy-seat ; and address the same 
 God. the God of all grace. " Abba" signifies 
 father ; but the word is Syriac ; and this was, 
 when Paul wrote, the common language of 
 the Jews. The word rendered father is 
 Greek in the original. And thus we see that 
 the same Spirit would actuate the inhabit- 
 ants of every country; Jews and Gentiles 
 would appropriate the same relation. " Is he 
 the God of the Jews only 1 is he not also of 
 the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also." 
 " For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believ- 
 eth on him shall not be ashamed. For there 
 is no difference between the Jew and the 
 Greek : for the same Lord over all is rich 
 unto all that call upon him." What father, 
 is, in China, in Tartary, or among the Esqui- 
 maux, we know not : but he who made them, 
 and gave his Son to die for them, understands 
 all their dialects; and the hour is coming 
 when " the Lord shall be king over all the 
 earth : in that day shall there be one Lord, 
 and his name one." 
 
 But we here see the source of all this — It 
 is the Spirit of God's Son in our hearts that 
 " cries, Abba, Father." It is therefore called 
 "tha Spirit of grace and of supplication." 
 And we are said to " pray in the Holy Ghost" 
 It is he that shows us our state, and causes 
 us to hunger and thirst after righteousness. 
 " Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirm- 
 ities : for we know not what we should pray 
 lor as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh 
 intercession for us with groanings which can- 
 not be uttered." He enables us to believe on 
 the Mediator, and thus gives us boldness and 
 access with confidence by the faith of him. 
 He makes us spiritually-minded, and renders 
 prayer our privilege; and we feel that it is 
 good for us to draw near to God. Hence we 
 are constant in the performance of it : for if 
 we delight ourselves in the Almighty, we 
 shall always call upon God. 
 
 A weighty inference is derivable from 
 hence. We cannot say too much in recom- 
 mendation of prayer with regard to our trials, 
 duties, and improvements. Prayer is the life 
 of religion — But what is the life of prayer? 
 " The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." Where- 
 fore, first, let us not grieve the Holy Spirit, 
 and cause him to withdraw or suspend his in- 
 fluences. And, secondly, let us pray for the 
 Spirit, that we may pray with it If there be 
 any inconsistency in this, our Saviour has 
 sanctioned it : " If ye then, being evil, know 
 how to give good girts unto your children : 
 how much more shall your heavenly Father 
 give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?" 
 
 MAY 31. 
 
 " That by two immutable things, i:~. which it was 
 impossible for God to lie, we might have a 
 strong consolation, who have Jled for refuge to 
 lay hold upon the hope set before us." — Heb. vi. 
 
 ia 
 
 One of these two things was his promise, 
 the other was his oath. The Apostle ac- 
 knowledges that both of them were immuta- 
 ble. Why then was the latter added to the 
 former? Not to constitute, but to show the 
 immutability of his counsel. It was not to 
 bind himself; but it was for our sakes, that 
 in the condescension of his kindness he might 
 remove from our minds all suspicion of his 
 veracity, by adopting the last mode of appeal 
 among men ; " For veriiy men swear by the 
 greater, and an oath for confirmation is to 
 them an end of all strife" — God therefore 
 swears, and because he could swear by no 
 greater, he swears by himself — "As I live, 
 saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the 
 death of him that dieth" — Their sins and 
 their iniquities will I remember no more" — 
 " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee — 
 as sure as I am God." Four things result 
 from hence. 
 
 We First see how hard it is to comfort the 
 conscience, and to inspire us with " a strong 
 consolation," not only while we are fleeing 
 for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before 
 us, but even after we have fled. We have 
 a controversy with God, and we know that 
 he has much ground against us ; and a con- 
 sciousness of guilt makes us timid and sus- 
 picious. Under a sense of our unworthiness, 
 the very greatness of the blessing will aston- 
 ish us into incredulity : " It is too good to be 
 true, at least with regard to such a wretch as 
 I am." Men are frail and false, and we our- 
 selves are weak and changeable ; and in 
 judging of him insensibly transfer something 
 of this to God, if we do not think him alto- 
 gether such an one as ourselves. How natu- 
 ral and justifiable it seems to give up persons 
 after numberless provocations of ingratitude 
 and vileness! Dark providences apparently 
 oppose the promises : deep and lengthened 
 afflictions depress and weaken the mind, 
 and betray us to think that God has 
 forgotten to be gracious. The blessing we 
 so much desire seems to recede as we ad- 
 vance after it; and hope deferred maketh 
 the heart sick. We look at our work and 
 our danger; and yet feel more of our igno- 
 rance and weakness. Experience can not 
 only attest all this, but also add much to the 
 representation. But here is enough to de- 
 press and intimidate — and we may be assured 
 that God does nothing in vain — but he who 
 knows what is in man, judged it necessary, 
 not only to speak, but to swear : " that by two 
 
162 
 
 JUNE 1. 
 
 Immutable things" he might comfort and 
 establish our hearts. 
 
 We see, Secondly, How concerned he is 
 tor the consolation of his people. He takes 
 pleasure in the prosperity of his servants; 
 and they never appear to such advantage as 
 when they walk in the light of his counte- 
 nance, rejoice in his name all the day, and in 
 his righteousness are exalted. It is then they 
 do honour to their religion, and commend the 
 ways of godliness to others — " Here are peo- 
 ple who are happy in this vale of tears. What 
 we seek after constantly, and never come in 
 sight of, they have found. Their hearts are 
 at rest. How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, 
 and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! Let me die 
 the death of the righteous, and let my last 
 end be like his." The joy of the Lord is 
 not only their ornament, but their strength. 
 It enlivens them in duty : they never run in 
 the way of his commandments so freely as 
 when God has enlarged their hearts. It em- 
 boldens them in their profession — It raises 
 them above the fear of man — It weans them 
 from the world — It bears them up under the 
 trials of life — It raises them above the fear 
 of death. He therefore that is infinitely con- 
 cerned for their welfare, and knows perfectly 
 wherein it consists, would have them not 
 only safe, but tranquil; not only holy, but 
 joyful ; not only walking in the fear of the 
 Lord, but in the comforts of the Holy Ghost ; 
 not only possessing real, but " strong conso- 
 lation." 
 
 We Thirdly perceive, What a foundation 
 is laid for the effectual solace of the subjects 
 of divine grace. What more could God have 
 done than he has done to meet their infirmi- 
 ties, and disperse all their discouragements'? 
 — We have not only his word but his oath. 
 Surely he has not only given them " a good 
 hope through grace," but provided amply for 
 " the full assurance of hope unto the end." 
 Surely confidence becomes them as well as 
 self-abasement. Surely they ought to attain 
 a certainty of mind, and to be filled with all 
 joy and peace in believing. And why are 
 they not decided! Why do they yet walk 
 mournfully before the Lord 1 
 
 " Whence then should doubts and fears arise ? 
 Why trickling sorrows drown our eyes? 
 Slowly, alas! our mind receives 
 The comforts that our Maker gives." 
 
 Lastly, we learn the perverseness and vile- 
 ness of unbelief. There is nothing of which 
 men are more tenacious than their reputation 
 for truth. The least imputation thrown upon 
 their veracity, rouses them to demand satis- 
 faction for the unpardonable offence — though 
 it has only regarded their mere word, and not 
 the added solemnity and sanction of an oath. 
 What has God, who is conscious that he is 
 faithfulness itself,— what has he to bear with 
 from us! Unbelief not only contradicts him; 
 not only gives him the lie, but accuses him 
 
 of perjury — " I no more depend tpon thy 
 oath than upon thy word" — And yet the thun 
 der stays ! 
 
 What do we in our retirement ! To how 
 little purpose do we humble ourselves, before 
 God, unless we principally grieve over our 
 slowness of heart to believe! Every thing 
 else will be hacking at the boughs with a 
 feather — We must " lay the axe to the root 
 of the tree" — an " evil heart of unbelief in 
 departing from the living God." "Lord, I 
 believe — help thou mine unbelief." 
 
 JUNE 1. 
 
 " Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto l may 
 continually resort." — Psalm lxxi. 3. 
 
 On what particular occasion this psalm was 
 composed it. would not be easy to determine. 
 Neither is it necessary ; or perhaps even de- 
 sirable. It is sufficient to see that David was 
 in much affliction, but well knew that God 
 was his refuge and strength, a very present 
 help in trouble. Therefore to him he turns 
 with this pathetic language ; " Be thou my 
 strong habitation, whereunto I may continu- 
 ally resort." 
 
 It is well to take advantage of our present 
 feelings and circumstances to aid us in our 
 communion with God. Many have supposed 
 that David was now suffering from the rebe - 
 lion of his son Absalom. If there be truth 
 in the notion, it is not difficult to imagine the 
 scene. Behold him greyheaded ; the fire of 
 youth that had heroically encountered the 
 lion, and the bear, and the Philistine, damped 
 by the dullness of age ; his chief counsellor 
 betraying him ; the hearts of the people stolen 
 from him; his army inadequate to his de- 
 fence ; himself forced from his palace ; flee- 
 ing from place to place, an exile in his own 
 country; and full of uncertainty as to the 
 issue — at such a time how natural, and suit- 
 able, and satisfying must it have been to re- 
 alize God as his hiding-place, resting-place, 
 dsvelling-place — the strength and the home of 
 his heart! 
 
 What so pitiable as a homeless wretch? 
 A Christain can never be in this condition. 
 There is nothing for which we should be more 
 thankful than domestic peace and comfort : 
 and there are some whose abode abounds with 
 every attraction and delight. But how differ- 
 ent is the state of others. They have been 
 stripped of " lover and friend :" those with 
 whom they " took sweet counsel together and 
 walked to the house of God in company, are 
 no more :" their means of hospitality and en- 
 joyment are reduced to straits and privation ; 
 or they feel some heart's bitterness known 
 only to themselves, and which they are not 
 at liberty to divulge — Thus "thorns are in 
 their tabernacle," and they are ready to cry 
 " O that I had wings like a dove, for ther 
 
JUNE 2. 
 
 183 
 
 would I flee away and be at rest" But you 
 need not flee from your condition ; rest may 
 be found tn 't — in the bosom of your God and 
 Saviour. And the less happiness you have in 
 the creature, the more you should repair to 
 his all-sufficiency. Your distresses are de- 
 signed to urge you to him ; and if they have 
 this effect, it will be good for you that you 
 have been afflicted. Thus fine weather leads 
 us abroad, and we sometimes take long walks : 
 but clouds and storms hasten us homeward. 
 
 David would find and enjoy God, not only 
 as his habitation, but as his " strong" habita- 
 tion — such an habitation as would not fall 
 by decay, nor be thrown down by violence, 
 nor be entered by any enemy ; in which the 
 inhabitant would not only be free from dan- 
 ger, but feel himself secure. But every 
 earthly strong-hold, however befriended by 
 nature, or indebted to art, is only a shadow of 
 the safety the believer finds in the perfections 
 and covenant-engagements of God. No force, 
 no stratagem of men or devils can prevail 
 to destroy or injure him who has made the 
 Lord his trust He is kept by the power of 
 God through faith unto salvation : and when 
 he can realize it by faith, his soul dwells 
 at ease ; and he is in quiet from the fear of 
 evil. 
 
 He would also make use of him under the 
 character of his strong habitation — " Where- 
 unto I may continually resort" Would he 
 then want to repair to him always? Our ne- 
 cessities, our work, our danger, require it con- 
 stantly. We are commanded to pray with- 
 out ceasing. And if while we acknowledge 
 and feel the obligation, we are renewed in 
 the spirit of our mind, we shall not lament it 
 Loving him as well as depending upon him, 
 we shall find it good to draw near to God, and 
 delight ourselves in the Almighty. And we 
 shall never find him when we want him in- 
 accessible. There is a way to our strong 
 habitation, and we know the way. There is 
 a door, and we have the key. No sentinel 
 keeps us back: the dwelling is oar own; and 
 who dares to forbid us all its accommodations 
 and contents] 
 
 Kings, however disposed, cannot be always 
 approachable. Owing to the multitude of 
 their claims, and the limitation of their pow- 
 ers, and the importance of keeping up a sense 
 of their dignity, they are only accessible at 
 certain times, and with stately formalities. 
 But the King of kings allows us to come bold- 
 ly to the Throne of grace ; and enjoins us in 
 every thing, by prayer and supplication, to 
 make known our requests unto him. We can- 
 not be too importunate, or by our continual 
 ' coming weary him. 
 
 Who is like unto thee among the gods] 
 Teach and enable me to improve my privi- 
 ege. Thou art the God of my salvation ; on 
 hee do I wait all the day. 
 
 JUNE 2. 
 
 " They went to Baal-peor, and separated them 
 selves unto that shame." — Hosea L\. 1 0. 
 
 That is, to that shameful idol. Many seem 
 disposed to consider idolatry rather as a fool 
 ish and harmless thing than as a serious evil. 
 But the Scriptures speak of abominable idol 
 atries, and always connect such worships with 
 the most infamous passions and vices. His- 
 tory attests the same fact; and the more 
 fully and faithfully the subject is examined, 
 the more will idolatry appear to be nothing 
 better than evil personified, the devil deified, 
 and hell formed into a religious establishment 
 What a force must revenge, cruelty, drunk- 
 enness, and sensuality acquire when not only 
 exempted from punishment but turned into 
 acts of devotion, and considered as services 
 which would render them acceptable to the 
 divinity adored ! We cannot enter into exem- 
 plifications — It were a shame to speak of 
 those things which were done of them in se- 
 cret Who would not encourage missionary 
 exertions ! Who would not cry, day and night, 
 Let thy way be known on earth, thy saving 
 health among all nations ! 
 
 But what is said of Baal-peor will apply to 
 any kind of transgression. When you addict 
 yourselves to sin, you separate yourselves to 
 shame. Hence, says God, "Thou shalt re- 
 member, and be confounded, and never open 
 thy mouth more, because of thy shame ;" 
 that is, thy sin. Sin is very properly called 
 shame, for it is the most scandalous business 
 in the world, and sooner or later will cover a 
 man with ignominy. It degrades every thing 
 pertaining to him, and makes him viler than 
 the earth. Indeed nothing else is truly shame- 
 ful. It is not shameful that you are obliged 
 to labour ; though it is shameful if you do no- 
 thing, or have nothing to do— I would rather, 
 says Seneca, be sick than idle. It is not 
 shameful that you are poor; unless your in- 
 digence is the offspring of vice. It is not 
 shameful to suffer, unless you are the martyrs 
 of Satan — But it is shameful to be a sinner. 
 Is it not shameful to go uncovered and naked 1 
 To possess reason, and play the part of an 
 idiot] To be a coward, and flee when no man 
 pursueth! To have liberty at command, and 
 submit to be a slave ] To be a thief, and a 
 robber of churches] To be a traitor to the 
 best of sovereigns ; a betrayer of the kindest 
 of friends] To be admitted by a benefactor 
 to his table, and enjoy every supply and in 
 dulgence; and then oppose him and endeav 
 our to stab him to the heart ] They who are 
 familiar with the word of truth know that 
 these and many other images are employed 
 by the sacred writers to express the disgrace- 
 fulness of the sinner's conduct 
 
 We may consider the shamefulness of sin 
 three ways. First, as a penal effect — Thi# 
 
184 
 
 J JNE 3. 
 
 m principally future. Of Israel we read, 
 ** They shall never be ashamed or confounded, 
 world without end." And John tells us that 
 Christians will " have confidence, and not be 
 ashamed before him at his coming-." But the 
 reverse is true of the wicked, and we are as- 
 sured that they will " rise to everlasting shame 
 and contempt" And no wonder — when they 
 find what they have sacrificed, and for what 
 they have parted with it; when they fincl 
 what they have incurred, and how they were 
 warned of it, and admonished against it, and 
 might have escaped it ; when they find how 
 they are laid open from every disguise and 
 concealment, and their secret sins published 
 in the hearing of men and angels as well as 
 of the Judge — Then will they call upon the 
 rocks and mountains, not so much to crush as 
 to hide them from the scorn of the universe. 
 But the penalty begins here; even here a 
 a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to 
 shame; and when secured from legal inflic- 
 tions, he draws upon himself disgrace, and 
 has " many a curse." 
 
 Secondly, as a natural emotion. Thus, 
 when Adam and Eve had transgressed, they 
 hid themselves among the trees of the garden ; 
 so closely did shame tread on the heels of sin. 
 This class of feelings may in a great mea- 
 sure be subdued by continuance in sin, which 
 is of a hardening nature. We read of some 
 who " hide not their sin as Sodom." Jeremiah 
 says, " Were they ashamed when they had 
 committed abomination 7 Yea, they were not 
 ashamed, neither could they blush." But 
 though shame is not a universal, it is a very 
 general sentiment ; and it is not easy, or per- 
 haps possible to get rid of it entirely. Before 
 their fellows men may profess what is very 
 inconsistent with their convictions alone : they 
 may pretend to laugh, and enjoy self-approba- 
 tion, while their understandings reproach 
 them as much as their consciences condemn. 
 Why do the wicked repair to corners and 
 elude observation, if they were not doing what 
 tended to their disparagement, for in many of 
 these cases they run no risk unless with re- 
 gard to their reputation. If not ashamed of 
 their practices, why attempt to deny or pal- 
 liate? why frame excuses and apologies? 
 why plead ignorance, mistake, surprise, tempt- 
 ation 7 why ascribe their sins to necessity, or 
 weakness, rather than inclination and choice, 
 unless they deemed them reproachful? — 
 Hence too the sinner cannot endure to be 
 alone ; and though naturally full of self-love 
 and admiration, he slips away from his own 
 presence, and shuns intercourse with his 
 greatest favourite, himself, because he can- 
 not bear reflecting upon his conduct. Hence 
 too after a while he renounces the moral 
 world, and mingles only with those of his own 
 quality, where mutual wickedness prevents 
 mutual accusation, and censure, and scorn. 
 
 Thirdly, as a penitential experience. This 
 
 is the result of divine grace. It regards not 
 so much the opinion of our fellow-creatures as 
 the judgment of God ; not so much our 
 character as our guilt; not so much the pun- 
 ishment as the pollution of sin ; not so much 
 its consequences as its odiousness and desert 
 And this extends to every thing sinful. For 
 some sins aro generally if not universally 
 offensive ; but all sin is the abominable thing 
 which the soul of a true penitent hates. 
 When a man is enlightened to see sin in the 
 glass of the law, and in connexion with the 
 glory and goodness of God, and in the cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, what self-condemna- 
 tion and reproach does he feel ! The pub- 
 lican " would not lift up his eyes to heaven, 
 but smote upon his breast." David cries, 
 " Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, 
 that I cannot look up." Ezra said, " O my 
 God, I am ashamed to lift up my face to thee, 
 for our iniquities are over our head, and our 
 trespass is grown up into the very heavens." 
 Blessed experience ! If painful, it is salutary. 
 It attracts the divine regard : it is a time of 
 love in which he says unto us, " Live." " He 
 looketh upon men, and if any say, I have 
 sinned, and perverted that which was right, 
 and it profited me not; he will deliver his 
 soul from going into the pit, and his life 
 shall see the light." "I have surely heara 
 Ephraim bemoaning himself thus ; Thou hast 
 chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock 
 unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou me, and 
 I shall be turned ; for thou art the Lord my 
 God. Surely after that I was turned, I re- 
 pented ; and after that I was instructed, I 
 smote upon my thigh : I was ashamed, yea, 
 even confounded, because I did bear the re- 
 proach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear 
 son 7 is he a pleasant child 7 for since I spake 
 against him, I do earnestly remember him 
 still: therefore my bowels are troubled for 
 him; I will surely have mercy upon him, 
 saith the Lord." 
 
 JUNE 3. 
 
 " Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of 
 God, was glad." — Acta xi. 23. 
 
 Grace means divine influence ; and is so 
 called because it is derived from the free and 
 undeserved communication of God. But is 
 not this grace an internal principle? How 
 then could Barnabas see it? He could see it 
 only in the effects. We cannot see life in 
 itself; but we can see the sparkling eye, and 
 the ruddy countenance, and the outstretched 
 arm, and the moving foot ! We need not cut 
 down a tree, and lay open the body, to see by 
 the grain of the wood of what sort it is. 
 There is another and a better way — It is 
 to judge by the bark, the leaves, the blos- 
 soms, the fruit ! " For a good tree bringeth not 
 forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt 
 tree bring forth good fruit For every tree is 
 
JUNE 3. 
 
 1H5 
 
 *nown by his own fruit For of thorns men 
 do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush 
 gather they grapes." God says, " I will put 
 my Spirit within you" — But how can this be 
 seen 1 " And cause you to walk in my stat- 
 utes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do 
 them" — This is discernible enough. James 
 says, " I will show thee my faith by my 
 works ;" this is, I will evince my creed in my 
 conduct, and my principles in my practice — 
 And this is the most satisfactory mode of show- 
 ing them. 
 
 God determines to get himself glory by his 
 people in this world ; and therefore it is said, 
 " all that see them shall acknowledge that they 
 are the seed which the Lord hath blessed." But 
 if his grace is to be thus seen and owned in 
 them, there must be something in them more 
 than experience. We are far from undervalu- 
 ing experience ; there is no real religion with- 
 out it ; and it is from your inward dispositions 
 you must chiefly assure your own minds 
 before God : but as to others, they cannot read 
 your hearts-r-but they can read your lives; 
 and therefore in your ljves your godliness 
 must appear. Therefore it is said " to the 
 prisoners, go forth ; to them that are in dark- 
 ness, show yourselves: they shall feed in the 
 ways, and their pasture shall be on all high 
 places." And again : " Let your light so 
 shine before men, that they may see your 
 good works, and glorify your Father which is 
 in heaven." 
 
 Much of the minds of persons may he dis- 
 covered, by the objects which awaken their 
 attention and desires when they first enter a 
 place. Some look after natural scenery. 
 Some after curiosities. Some after kinds and 
 modes of trade. Some after machinery, and 
 buildings, and libraries. They that are after 
 the flesh do mind the things of the flesh ; but 
 they that are after the Spirit, the Spirit. 
 Barnabas, as soon as he came to Antioch, 
 looked about for displays and instances of 
 divine agency ; and when he saw the grace 
 of God " he was glad." The sight would not 
 have been pleasing to all. The enemy of 
 souls would have been enraged at the pros- 
 pect. The elder brother would not go in to 
 share the joy of the father and the family ; 
 and was offended at the Prodigal's return and 
 reception. So are Pharisees now — 
 
 •' While the wide world esteems it strange, 
 Gaze and admire, and hate the change." 
 
 But salvation is "the pleasure of the Lord." 
 Angels, in the presence of God, rejoice over 
 one sinner that repenteth. And every con- 
 vert may say, with the Royal Penitent, 
 " They that fear thee will rejoice when they 
 see me, hecause I have hoped in thy truth" — 
 
 Love to God made Barnabas rejoice. What 
 is every sinner called by grace, hut an ac- 
 cession to his subjectj an enemy turned into 
 i friena ; who shall show forth his praise by 
 jving to his glory, and by be"ng 4 nwiument 
 
 of his mercy and po w er 1 " Instead of the 
 thorn shall come up tne fir tree, and instead 
 of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree : 
 and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an 
 everlasting sign that shall not be cut oft"' 
 
 Benevolence made him glad. And Barna- 
 bas was a good man, as well as full of the 
 Holy Ghost and of faith. What generous 
 mind can see without feelings of pleasure, 
 the hungry fed, the destitute clothed, the sick 
 recovered, the captive loosened from his 
 chains ] But what is every other deliverance, 
 compared with salvation from the evil of sin ? 
 What is every other acquisition, to the gain 
 of that godliness which is profitable unto all 
 things, having promise of the life that now is 
 to come ! He prospers whose soul prospers 
 and is in health. He is free indeed whom 
 the Son makes free. He is rich who has the 
 gold tried in the fire. And every subject of 
 divine grace is not only blessed in himself, 
 but is made a blessing to others. He is now 
 become one of those who, by their prayers, 
 example, and endeavours, are the greatest 
 benefactors of the human race. They are a 
 dew from the Lord ; as showers upon the 
 grass. " For them the wilderness and solitary 
 place shall be made glad, and the desert shall 
 rejoice and blossom as the rose." When we 
 see a sinner turned into the way of life, who 
 can imagine what he may beco.ne 1 That 
 persecutor now asking, Lord, what wilt thou 
 have me to do 1 may preach the faith that 
 once he destroyed. That profane tinker now 
 beginning to weep and pray, may become a 
 writer, and, by his Pilgrim's Progress and 
 Holy War, may charm and edify the Church 
 to the end of time. 
 
 Barnabas rejoiced as a minister. Some en- 
 ter the sacred calling, only looking after sup- 
 port, emolument, or fame. The salvation of 
 souls is nothing to them. But with " a man 
 of God" it is the end of his office, the answer 
 of his prayers, the reward of his labours, his 
 best hire. Such a man has the spirit of his 
 function ; and among all his tribulations 
 nothing comforts him like success in the con- 
 version and edification of his hearers — he 
 lives if they stand fast in the Lord. 
 
 But Barnabas, though a minister, had not 
 been the means of producing the grace of 
 God which he saw ; yet he was glad when 
 he saw it Some cannot rejoice in the good 
 done by others, especially by those who are not 
 of their own community. They would confine 
 the work of the Lord to the pale of their own 
 denomination; and are grieved rather than 
 pleased when they see another casting out 
 devils in his name, because he walketh not 
 with them. But a Barnabas can say, not only, 
 " Let him alone," but, " Grace be with all them 
 that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." 
 Let God employ and bless what instruments 
 he pleases — Therein I rejoice, yea, and will 
 rejoice. 
 
196 
 
 JUNE 4. 
 
 JUNE 4. 
 
 O my God, my soul is cast down within me : 
 therefore will I remember thee." — Psalm xlii. 6. 
 
 Afflictions are often in the Scriptures 
 salied temptations and trials. The reason is, 
 Decause they serve to prove and evince our 
 principles, dispositions, and resources. It is 
 natural, and almost unavoidable for men in 
 difficulties and distresses to repair to some- 
 thing that promises to afford deliverance, or 
 at least to temper the bitterness of sorrow. 
 And as every creature is insufficient to suc- 
 cour them, their applications are various and 
 numerous, and none of them are available. 
 Therefore at last disappointed and confounded, 
 they class the comforts with the crosses, and 
 the good with the evil, and acknowledge, " all 
 is vanity and vexation of spirit" 
 
 The believer has only one resource ; but 
 this is an adequate, and an infinite relief 
 And therefore instead of running up and 
 down the earth, asking, " Who will show me 
 any good V he says, " Return unto thy rest, 
 O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully 
 with thee." It is not improper, as a brother 
 is born for adversity, to go to a dear and 
 valued connexion, and pouring our tears into 
 his bosom, say, O my friend, my soul is cast 
 down within me — But it is better for the eye 
 to pour out tears unto God ! Far better to 
 look upward and say, with David, " O my 
 God, my soul is cast down within me" — 
 
 David claims God as his God. And how 
 desirable is it when we address him, especially 
 in trouble, to be able to deal with him on the 
 ground of assured interest in him ! It is there- 
 fore promised ; " I will bring the third part 
 through the fire, and will refine them as sil- 
 ver is refined, and will try them as gold is 
 tried : they shall call on my name, and I will 
 hear them : I will say, It is my people : and 
 they shall say, The Lord is my God." 
 
 Yet his claim does not hinder his complaint. 
 Many are perplexed by what, if properly 
 viewed, might rather encourage them. They 
 exclaim, " If I am his, why am I thus!" Not 
 considering that they are thus because they 
 are his. They are pruned because they are 
 vines; they are put into the furnace because 
 they are gold ; they are chastened because 
 they are sons — for what son is he whom the 
 father chastened not ! They think their de- 
 pressions are peculiar — But David was a man 
 after God's own heart, and had more experi- 
 mental religion than any individual before the 
 coming of Christ ; yet he was not only afflict- 
 ed, but his distress broke through to his mind, 
 and pressed it down to the ground — " My 
 sou. is cast down within me." While all is 
 calm and vigor within, the pressure of out- 
 ward calamity is easily borne. The spirit of 
 a man may sustain his infirmity; but a 
 wounded spirit who can bear ? — and who can 
 cure l Only the God of all grace, and the 
 
 God of all comfort Let us therefore go ta 
 him. He alone can alter the state and frame 
 of our minds who has access to them, and do- 
 minion over them. When a watch is disor- 
 dered, to have it examined and rectified we 
 naturally take it to the maker, who knows all 
 its powers and movements : so God is the 
 former of our spirits, and he can set them 
 right again—" Therefore" says David, "I 
 will remember thee." 
 
 Such a resolution is not natural to us. God 
 deserves indeed our remembrance, and is per- 
 petually demanding it. He addresses us by 
 his word ; he speaks to us by conscience — 
 but in vain. He endeavours to awaken our 
 attention and regard by a profusion of benefits 
 — but though the ox knoweth his owner, and 
 the ass his master's crib, we do not know, or 
 consider. He therefore tries a different ex- 
 pediency — " I will go and return to my place 
 till they acknowledge their offence and seek 
 my face ; in their affliction they will seek me 
 early." What we refused to see and hear 
 we are made to feel. His captivity led Ma- 
 nasseh to pray to the God of his father. The 
 famine made the prodigal think of his father's 
 house. What brought so many to our Sa- 
 viour in the days of his flesh but personal and 
 relative trouble] It is the same now. He 
 breaks up our earthly schemes, and then pre- 
 sents a better country to our pursuit Ha 
 removes the human arm on which we leaned, 
 and then offering his ov/n, says, "There — 
 take hold of my strength." He hedges up 
 our way with thorns, and makes a wall, that 
 we cannot find our paths while following, 
 after our lovers ; so that we have only one pas- 
 sage open — and this is to go back — and back 
 we must return — if we would find him whom 
 we had forsaken — for he remains where he 
 was — and instead of rejecting us, cries, "Re- 
 turn, ye backsliding children, and I will heal 
 your backslidings." 
 
 And thus the same method which brings 
 God to our remembrance at first is useful in 
 our after religious life for the same purpose 
 For we are not already perfect. Our affec- 
 tions are sometimes chilled, and our minds 
 are often turned away from our portion by 
 other things. And there is peculiar danger 
 of this in easy and prosperous circumstances. 
 It is when our gourd flourishes, and we sit 
 under its shadow with delight that we are 
 ready to say, " It is good for us to be here :" 
 and so " to forget our resting-place.' 1 But 
 God loves us too well to suffer us to take up 
 with any thing short of himself. He does 
 not stand in need of us ; but he knows that 
 without him we are miserable. He therefore 
 brings us into conditions which show us the 
 weakness and wretchedness of the creature 
 and induce us to inquire, " Where is God my 
 maker that giveth songs in the night?" Then 
 we think of him — And whom can we think 
 of so properly and efficiently in the hour of 
 
JUNE 5. 
 
 197 
 
 distress! When therefore our souls are cast 
 down within us. let us remember him. Let 
 us remember nis power. Is any thing too 
 hard for the Lord ! Let us remember his wis- 
 dom. He knows how to afflict ; and he knows 
 how to deliver. Let us remember his good- 
 ness. Our welfare is his aim in every dis- 
 pensation however trying. He spared not 
 his own Son. Let us remember his provi- 
 dence. He is always near us. He numbers 
 the hairs of our head. Let us remember his 
 holy covenant What promises does it con- 
 tain ! It insures every thing we need. This 
 was all David's salvation, and all his desire — 
 This is my comfort in my affliction ; thy word 
 hath quickened me — And how many can say 
 after him — 
 
 " Had not thy word been my delight, 
 When earthly joys were fled ; 
 My soul, oppress'd with sorrow's weight, 
 Had sunk amongst the dead." 
 
 JUNE 5. 
 
 "Set your hearts unto all the words which I tes- 
 tify among you this day." — Deut xxxii. 46. 
 
 " All these words" were the language 
 which he had just ended, the histories which 
 he had recapitulated, and the positive ordi- 
 nances and moral injunctions which he had 
 again laid before them. Now if Moses en- 
 joined the Jews to attend cordially to a por- 
 tion of Revelation comparatively small, how 
 much more does God require us to pay this 
 regard to the whole ! See then that ye refuse 
 not him that speaketh ; for if they escaped 
 not who refused him that spake on earth, 
 much more shall not we escape if we turn 
 away from him that speaketh from heaven — 
 And who is now saying, " Set your hearts 
 unto all the words which I testify among you 
 this day." 
 
 Set your hearts to hear all these words. 
 When you are forbidden to be hearers only ; 
 it supposes that you are hearers really: and 
 when you are admonished to take heed what 
 you hear, and how you hear, the practice it- 
 self is enjoined in the very regulation of the 
 mode. Hearing is not only a duty, but a 
 privilege. And when we consider not only 
 the adaptation there is in preaching to produce 
 the effect, but the blessing of God that at- 
 tends his own institution, we need not wonder 
 that " faith cometh by hearing." 
 
 Set your hearts to read all these words. 
 We cannot be hearing always ; and there are 
 times when we cannot hear at all. In such 
 cases reading is a substitute for hearing ; and 
 in all others reading must accompany and 
 follow hearing. We cannot dispense with it 
 at the family altar, or in our private retire- 
 ment, without injury and sin. Hale could 
 say in one of his letter?- to his children, " If 
 I omit reading a portion of the Scriptures in 
 
 the morning, nothing goes well with me 
 through the day." 
 
 Set your hearts to understand all these 
 words. " Let him that readeth understand" 
 — Without this the perusal will be little 
 more than a mere mechanical exercise. We 
 should endeavour to obtain clear and con- 
 sistent views of the subject that comes under 
 our notice; we should pause, and reflect 
 we should consider the design of the writer 
 in the paragraph ; observe the strain of his 
 language ; compare one part of the contents 
 with another; and pray for the Spirit that 
 leads into all truth. 
 
 Set your hearts to remember all these • 
 words. " By which," says the Apostle, " ye 
 are saved, if ye keep in memory what I have 
 written unto you." Our memory should be 
 like the ark in which were kept the golden 
 pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, . 
 and the tables of the law. Nothing can af- 
 fect us morally when it is out of the mind 
 Some, to excuse their recollecting so little of 
 what they read, and hear, complain of then 
 memory. Yet they recollect a multitude of 
 things without number — This shows the nat- 
 ural faculty is not wanting. "But we can 
 remember some things so much easier than 
 others." This adds to our censure. For what 
 things are they which you do remember most 
 easily! Are they not those with which you 
 are most familiar ! to which you are most 
 attentive and attached 1 and which are most 
 suitable to your taste ! And should not thia 
 be the case with the things of God ! Can a 
 woman forget her sucking child ! Can a maid 
 forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire ! 
 
 Set your hearts to the practice of all these 
 words. It cannot be imagined that they are 
 written only to amuse curiosity, or inform the 
 mind, or furnish materials for conversation 
 and controversy — What are its warnings un- 
 less we are cautioned by them ! or its prom- 
 ises unless we embrace them! In vain it 
 shows unto us the way of salvation, unless 
 we walk in it. It cannot profit us unless it 
 be mixed with faith : and it works effectually 
 in them that believe. " If ye know these 
 things, happy are ye if ye do them." "Bless- 
 ed are they„that hear the word of God and 
 keep it" 
 
 Set your hearts to recommend and diffuse 
 them. Begin at home. " Thou shalt teach 
 them diligently unto thy children, and shalt 
 talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, 
 and when thou walkest by the way, and when 
 thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 
 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon 
 thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets be- 
 tween thine eyes. And thou shalt write 
 them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy 
 gates." Hold forth the word of life wisely 
 in your discourse, accompanied with every 
 holy and lovely temper. Furnish with a copy 
 those who are destitute. Feel an anxiet 
 
188 
 
 JUNE a 
 
 nhat every human being may have a Bible. 
 For this purpose encourage and aid that glo- 
 rious institution whose godlike and only aim 
 is to spread the Scriptures at home and abroad, 
 till the earth is filled with the knowledge of 
 the Lord as the waters cover the seas. Thus 
 set your hearts unto all the words of this tes- 
 timony. It is the command of God ; and he 
 who lives in the neglect of it is a rebel as 
 much as a thief or a murderer. It is the 
 command of the great God who is able to en- 
 force it. It is the command of the good God, 
 who has conferred so many benefits, and has 
 so many claims upon you. It is the command 
 of the only wise God, who knows what is 
 good for you, and only demands what is a rea- 
 sonable service. 
 
 — All these words too are divine — All Scrip- 
 ture is given by inspiration of God. The very 
 name of some authors would be enough to 
 induce you to purchase and devour a publica- 
 tion. On the back of my Bible is inscribed, 
 The works of God. 
 
 They are also all important. They are not 
 a vain thing, but our life. They are our stand- 
 ard. Our rule. Our medicine. Our shield. 
 Our sword. Our bread. Our water. Our 
 sun. The charter of our everlasting privilege 
 — Who can tell what it has done for number- 
 less individuals] Tor communities'? For na- 
 tions ? — Who can tell what it will do in the 
 ages to come ? 
 
 JUNE 6. 
 
 u And Jacob was left alone ; and there wrestled 
 a man with him until the breaking of the day." 
 — Gen. xxxii. 24. 
 
 Jacob was now returning with a large 
 family and much abundance from Haran, and 
 the house of his infamous uncle Laban. Thither 
 he had fled from the face of his brother Esau, 
 till his fury should be abated. But his resent- 
 ment seems not to have yielded to time ; for 
 Jacob is informed of his approach, and four 
 hundred men with him, and no doubt with 
 murderous design. Here was an embarrass- 
 ment ! But God had said to him, " Return ;" 
 and he had also said, " I will surely do thee 
 good" — This was his encouragement. But 
 what was his conduct ? It equally expressed 
 prudence and piety. He sends forward a 
 present, with a soft answer, that turneth 
 away wrath ; and then he has recourse to 
 prayer. For except the Lord build the house, 
 they labour in vain that build it ; except the 
 I/ord keep the city, the watchman waketh 
 but in vain. When we have arranged our 
 plans, and secured our means, and done all 
 that we can do, we must cast our care upon 
 him that careth for us, and say, " O Lord, I 
 beseech thee, send now prosperity." Jacob 
 found prayer not only his duty, but his privi- 
 lege. How pitiable are those in trouble who 
 cannot say from experience, " It is good for 
 
 me to draw near to God." In the perpiexw 
 ties, dangers, distresses of life; in the loss 
 of relations, the failure of friends, the insuf- 
 ficiency of creature-helpere ; — how relieving 
 to the burdened spirit is it to say, " Thete 
 fore will I look unto the Lord ; I will wai. 
 for the God of my salvation, my God wili 
 hear me." 
 
 — Imagine Jacob s situation. He was left 
 alone. His family had been sent forward. 
 It was now past midnight. No noise was 
 heard. Perhaps no star was seen. He was 
 kneeling on the ground in prayer, with his 
 eyes closed, or raised towards heaven — when 
 he felt, the fingers of some one, seizing and 
 grappling him — and he started up and closed 
 with his antagonist — and endeavoured to 
 maintain his standing against him — There 
 wrestled a man with him until the breaking 
 of the day. Wrestling is a trying and close 
 combat, in which we can only engage per- 
 sonally, hand to hand ; it allows not of sec- 
 onds and helpers ; and the aim of each is to 
 throw the other upon the ground. Jacob's 
 opponent came as his friend ; but how could 
 Jacob think so at first, when instead of being 
 lulled to sleep, he was grasped and pulled to 
 and fro with violence? Though mercy brings 
 him, the Lord's coming to his people is often 
 alarming in appearance and apprehension. 
 He works by unlikely means, and in a way 
 the most strange. He impoverishes in order 
 to enrich ; wounds us in order to heal ; by 
 legal despair he brings us into the hope of 
 the gospel; and by death leads us to life 
 eternal. Let us welcome him in whatever 
 manner he may appear. Job could say, " He 
 hath taker, me by my neck, and shaken me 
 to pieces" — But he could say, " Though he 
 slay me, yet will I trust in him." 
 
 The affair was not a vision, but a real 
 transaction. We may however make two 
 inquiries. First; who was this mysterious 
 personage that strove with Jacob? Hosea 
 calls him the " the angel ;" he is here called 
 " a man" — yet the prophet says, Jacob " had 
 power with God :" and Jacob himself says, 
 " I have seen God face to face." What can 
 we do here, but have recourse to "the angel 
 of the covenant?" to him of whom Paul 
 speaks, when he says, " Being in the form of 
 God, he thought it not robbery to be equal 
 with God, but made himself of no reputation, 
 and took upon him the form of a servant, and 
 was made in the likeness of men :" to him 
 of whom John says, " In the beginning was 
 the Word, and the Word was with God, and 
 the Word was God ; and the Word was made 
 flesh, and dwelt among us." " His goings 
 forth were of old, from everlasting." " He 
 rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, 
 and his delights were with the sons of men." 
 Thus he often assumed a human shape, as an 
 emblem and earnest of his real incarnation in 
 the fullness of time. Secondly ; what was tho 
 
JUNE 7. 
 
 *9 
 
 nature of this wrestling 1 It was partly cor- 
 poreal, as is undeniable from the injury he 
 received in his thigh ; and partly spiritual, as 
 an inspired expositor tells us that " he wept 
 and made supplication unto the angel." 
 These are the severest trials in which God 
 at once exercises both the body and the mind. 
 Yet it is no unusual thing for sickness and 
 straits in circumstances to blend with inter- 
 nal conflicts — "Without," says Paul, "are 
 fightings, and within are fears:" and, says 
 David,"Heal me,for my bones are vexed ; my 
 soul is also sore vexed : but thou, O Lord, 
 how long ]" 
 
 It is from this exercise of Jacob's that 
 
 {irayer has been so frequently called wrest- 
 ing with God. Formalists know nothing of 
 the force of the image : but they know the 
 meaning of it, who feel their guilt, and are 
 pressed down by a sense of their unworthi- 
 ness and imperfections; who are in earnest 
 as to their object ; and whose cry is nothing 
 less than " Lord, save, I perish." 
 
 — We cannot determine how long the con- 
 test had lasted, but it seems to have been 
 several hours. During all this time, though 
 Jacob stood his ground, he got no advantage 
 until the breaking of the day — Then the 
 scene changed, and relief was obtained. The 
 Lord often tries the patience of his people ; 
 he delays their desires, and under the suspen- 
 sion, they sometimes are ready to say, Why 
 should I wait for him any longer] Hope de- 
 ferred maketh the heart sick, but when it 
 cometh it is a tree of life ; and come it will in 
 God's own time, and will not tarry a moment 
 beyond it " Weeping may endure for a night ; 
 but joy cometh in the morning." What ap- 
 plies to any particular dispensation will ap- 
 ply to life itself— What is it but wrestling 
 until the breaking of the day] But the night 
 is far spent, and the day is at hand. 
 
 JUNE 7- 
 
 " And when he saw that he prevailed not against 
 him, he touched the hollow of his thigh ; and the 
 hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he 
 torestled icith him. And he said, Let me go. 
 for the day breaketh."— Gen. xxxii. 25, 26. 
 
 It is wonderful that Jacob was able to 
 maintain the contest as he did. Never was 
 there such an unequal match. The wrestling 
 was between a poor worm and the Lord of 
 all. What would have been the consequence, 
 if tnings had taken their natural course, but 
 Jacob's overthrow ] How then did he stand ] 
 Not from his own sufficiency, but from the 
 condescension and kindness of his opponent, 
 who instead of striving against him with his 
 great power, put strength in him, and sus- 
 tained him in the encounter. 
 
 Yet the Lord would remind him of his 
 weakness. He therefore touched and dis- 
 
 jointed the hollow of his thigh. This was to 
 intimate that if he should gain the victory, he 
 was not, as he otherwise might have done, to 
 ascribe it to himself. Good men in their attain- 
 ments and successes are in danger of self-ela- 
 tion ; and it is necessary to keep them from 
 their purpose, and to hide pride from them. 
 Paul after his revelations had a thorn in the 
 flesh, lest he should be exalted above measure. 
 All our honours and comforts must have some 
 alloy. In sailing, the ballast is as necessary 
 as the sails, and the one must be in proportion 
 to the other. 
 
 But does not Jacob yield now] No; he 
 keeps on wrestling, though in pain, and even 
 lamed, and therefore obliged to grasp the 
 closer and firmer to keep him from falling. 
 So we are to cleave to the Lord with purpose 
 of heart, and to pray and not faint What- 
 ever discouragements we meet with, we are 
 not in our wrestling to give up; and when 
 we cannot pray as we would, we must pray 
 as we can, and not discontinue the exercise 
 because of infirmity and imperfections. 
 
 " Let me go," says the angel. Yet Arold 
 not he who by a touch only had disjointed 
 Jacob'6 thigh, have easily disengaged himself 
 from his hold ] And does he ask for permis- 
 sion to withdraw ] He gives intimation of hia 
 departure, to excite the more earnest suppli- 
 cation for his continuance. When he was 
 with the two disciples at Emmaus he made as 
 though he would have gone further : he de- 
 signed to enter with them — but not without 
 pressing; and they constrained him, saying, 
 abide with us — and he went in to tarry with 
 them. So much do they love him, and so 
 necessary is he to his people, that a hint of 
 going is enough to throw them into alarm, 
 and induce them to cry, "Cast me not away 
 from thy presence, and take not thy holy 
 Spirit from me." But the motion is designed 
 to show the power of prayer. " The king is 
 held in the galleries." "I held him and 
 would not let him go." " The violent take it 
 by force." The might of earth and hell can- 
 not restrain God, but prayer can. Two blind 
 men, begging by the way-side, hearing that 
 he was passing by, cried, "Jesus, thou Son 
 of David, have mercy on us." The multitude 
 deemed them offensive interrupters, and or- 
 dered them to hold their peace. But Jesus 
 stood still, and commanded them to be brought 
 — The sun in nature once stood still to enable 
 Joshua to finish his victory : and now a much 
 nobler Being cannot take another step till he 
 has paused, and heard, and relieved the tale 
 of distress. When God, provoked by the 
 idolatry of the Jews at Horeb, threatened to 
 destroy them, Moses interposed, and held 
 back his arm ; and Omnipotence itself said, 
 " Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath 
 may wax hot against them, and that I may 
 consume them: and I will make of thee a 
 great nation." Who would not value Draver ' 
 
19U 
 
 JUNE a 
 
 What an efficiency does it exert ! With God 
 all thinge are possible — and prayer has power 
 with God ! . 
 
 But the reason seems as strange as the re- 
 quest — Let me go, " for the day breaketh." 
 What are the distinctions of time to him 1 Is 
 it not the same to the Lord whether he is 
 with his people by night or by day ? " Dark- 
 ness and light are both alike to him." First, 
 the reason may respect the angel's unwilling- 
 ness that any should be spectators of the 
 scene. And so it tells us to avoid religious 
 notice ; and not, like the Pharisees, pray to 
 be seen of men — " The kingdom of God 
 cometh not with observation." When we 
 enter our closet we are not to leave it open, 
 but to shut to the door. But, secondly, the 
 reason rather refers to Jacob and his circum- 
 stances — " The morning comes, and we must 
 separate for thy sake — Thou must pursue thy 
 journey ; thy cattle, servants, and family will 
 require thy presence and aid." Religion is 
 not to call us off from our relative duties, or 
 even secular business. Every thing is beau- 
 tiful in its season. We must sometimes ex- 
 ercise even spiritual self-denial. The privi- 
 leges of the Sabbath must give place to the 
 trials of the week. It would be more pleas- 
 ing to continue an hour longer in retirement, 
 reading the Scripture, with meditation and 
 prayer ; but the calls of the household and 
 the claims of our callings bid us break off — 
 And we must " stand perfect and complete in 
 all the will of God." 
 
 JUNE 8. 
 
 * And he said, I will not let thee, go, except thou 
 bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy 
 name? And he said Jacob." — Gen. xxxii. 26, 27. 
 
 Jacob now, if not before, began to know 
 who his antagonist was ; and is therefore un- 
 willing to separate without a blessing. He 
 looks for a blessing from one that had opposed 
 him, struggled with him, and disjointed his 
 thigh. So must we " turn to him that, smi- 
 teth" us, and from the very hand that wounds 
 seek all our relief and deliverance. " Come," 
 says the Church, " and let us return unto the 
 Lord : for he hath torn, and he will heal us, 
 he hath smitten, and he will bind us up." 
 The blessing of the Lord maketh rich. It 
 can do all things for us. Creatures can only 
 wish us a blessing, but he commands and im- 
 parts it : and when he blesses none can re- 
 verse it. 
 
 Jacob uses no ceremony, but in reply to the 
 demand, " Let me go," abruptly says, " I will 
 not — except thou bless me." Was this a fit 
 answer for a servant to his Lord and Master 1 
 When we have a promise which gives us a 
 nold of him, we are to put him in remem- 
 brance, to plead with him, and to refuse to 
 take anv denial. There is nothing more 
 
 pleasing to him than this holy violence : no 
 loves to see us while trusting in his faithful 
 Word, disregarding the discouragements of 
 his Providence. The woman of Canaan was 
 sorely tried, first by his silence, then by hia 
 seeming exclusion and contempt of her — but 
 she persevered in her application, and was 
 more than successful. " O woman, great is 
 thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt." 
 And when God had threatened not to go with 
 the people, was he offended with Moses, who 
 said, I will not stir a step further without thy 
 presence? No; but he yielded, and said, 
 " My presence shall go with thee, and I will 
 give thee rest." Prayer is nothing without 
 earnestness and resolution. We ask and 
 have not, because we ask amiss ; we pour 
 forth words, but leave the heart behind. How 
 can we expect that God should regard suppli- 
 cations with which we are unaffected our- 
 selves 1 " If," says Bishop Hopkins, " the ar- 
 row of prayer is to enter heaven, we must 
 draw it from a soul full bent." This is what 
 Paul means by " praying with all prayer." 
 He, the very same Being, who here taught 
 Jacob importunity in prayer, teaches us also 
 at this moment the value and necessity of it. 
 " Which of you shall have a friend, and shall 
 go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 
 Friend, lend me three loaves ; for a friend 
 of mine in his journey is come to me, and I 
 have nothing to set before him 1 And he from 
 within shall answer and say, Trouble me not : 
 the door is now shut, arid my children are 
 with me in bed ; I cannot rise and give thee. 
 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and 
 give him, because he is his friend, yet because 
 of his importunity he will rise and give him 
 as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, 
 Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye 
 shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
 you." " And he spake a parable unto them 
 to this end, that men ought always to pray, 
 and not to faint ; saying, There was in a city 
 a judge, which feared not God, neither re- 
 garded- man : and there was a widow in that 
 city ; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge 
 me of mine adversary. And he would not for 
 a while : but afterward he said within him- 
 self, Though I fear not God, nor regard man ; 
 yet because this widow troubleth me, I will 
 avenge her, lest by her continual coming she 
 weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what 
 the unjust judge saith. And shall not God 
 avenge his own elect, which cry day and 
 night unto him, though he bear long with 
 them ?" — " Never man spake like this man." 
 Jacob specifies nothing in particular, but 
 only insists upon a blessing. His present con- 
 dition however would serve to explain his im- 
 mediate wish. And therefore, with a view to 
 this, the Lord said unto him, " What is thy 
 name 7" He could not ask to gain informa- 
 tion ; but upon the same principle that we 
 are required to confess our sins» and to spread 
 
JUNE 9. 
 
 191 
 
 )ur wants before him in prayer ; and which 
 is not to inform a Being who is perfectly wise, 
 but that we may be affected with our condi- 
 tion, and be prepared for the display of his 
 mercy. It is we who are changed by prayer, 
 not he : the land is not drawn to the boat, but 
 the boat to the land — the result of the con- 
 tact is the same. The Lord well knew Ja- 
 cob's name, but he would know it from him- 
 self; and therefore he said, " Jacob" — " The 
 same to whom thou saidst at Beth-el, when 
 fleeing from the face of my brother, I will 
 keep thee in all places whither thou goest : 
 the same to whom thou saidst, when leaving 
 my uncle Laban, Return to thy kindred, and 
 I will surely do thee good." We have the 
 same advantage in the question when we go 
 to his mercy's door, and he asks who we are. 
 " Lord, thou canst not be ignorant of me. I 
 am that swearer, that Sabbath-breaker, that 
 despiser of all that was good, whose feet thy 
 goodness turned into the path of peace, and 
 whose lips it taught to shew forth thy praise. 
 I am that backslider thy mercy reclaimed. I 
 am that sufferer who called upon thee in the 
 day of trouble, and was delivered — I have 
 tried thee too much ; and thou hast befriend- 
 ed me too often, not to be acquainted with all 
 I am'- 
 
 " Dost thou ask me who I am ? 
 Ah, my Lord, thou know'st my name! 
 Yet the question gives a plea. 
 And supports my suit with Thee. 
 
 " Thou didst once a wretch behold, 
 In rebellion blindly bold, 
 Scorn thy grace, thy power defy ; 
 That poor rebel, Lord, was I. 
 
 " Once a sinner, near despair, 
 Sought thy mercy-seat by prayer; 
 Mercy heard and set him free, 
 Lord, that mercy came to me. 
 
 " Many years have pass'd since then, 
 Many changes I have seen, 
 Vet have been upheld till now; 
 Who could hold me up but thou ? 
 
 " Thou hast help'd in ev'ry need, 
 This emboldens me to plead; 
 After so much mercy past, 
 Canst thou let me sink at last?" 
 
 JUNE 9. 
 
 " And he said, Thy name shall be called no more 
 Jacob, but Israel : for as a prince hast thou 
 power with God and, with men, and hast pre- 
 vailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell 
 mc, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, 
 Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my 
 name ? And he blessed him there." — Genesis 
 xxxii. 28, 29. 
 
 Thus he was knighted on the field. He 
 had two names, and both of them were gain- 
 ed by wrestling : the one by wrestling with 
 his brother in the womb ; the other by 
 wrestling with the angel at Peniel. Jacob 
 eignifies a supplanter ; Israel means a prince 
 with God — And the reason of the new name 
 
 was, that he had " power with God and with 
 men, and had prevailed." That is, he had 
 prevailed with God, and this was an assurance 
 that he would prevail with man — his brother 
 Esau, and every other foe. These go together. 
 If God refuses to hear us, creatures will help 
 in vain ; and if God be for us, who can be 
 against us! "When a man's ways please 
 the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be 
 at peace with him." How much is it our in- 
 terest to secure his favour who has all events 
 at his disposal, and every heart under his con- 
 trol ! Yet some, to engage the friendship of 
 mortals, will offend and provoke him who can 
 turn the wisdom of the wisest into foolish- 
 ness, and the strength of the strongest into 
 weakness. 
 
 We can hardly wonder that Jacob asked 
 and said, " Tell me, I pray thee, thy name." 
 Yet it appears to have been more curious 
 than wise. There is much of this tendency 
 in us all ; and it is a proof of our depravity, 
 that we are equally disposed to neglect what 
 is plain and useful, and to pry into things 
 which we have not seen, and which, if dis- 
 covered, could be of little avail to us. This 
 is a world of action rather than of science. 
 The humblest Christian will know more in a 
 moment after death than the most laborious 
 research can acquire now in months and 
 years. The Scripture therefore never in- 
 dulges a vain curiosity that would draw us 
 off" from the one thing needful. Instead of 
 gratifying Peter when he inquired after the 
 destiny of John, our Saviour rebuked him : 
 " What is that to thee 1 Follow thou me." 
 And when the Apostles would become stu- 
 dents of prophecy ; and asked, " Lord, wilt 
 thou at this time restore again the kingdom 
 to Israel ?" he said unto them, " It is not for 
 you to know the times or the seasons, which 
 the Father hath put in his own power." He 
 therefore here said unto Jacob, " Wherefore 
 is it that thou dost ask after my name ? And 
 he blessed him there." This furnishes us 
 with an opportunity to remark two things. 
 The first regards our infirmities in prayer. 
 We often know not what we ask. The sec- 
 ond, God's method in answering us. He 
 grants us while he denies. If he refuses us, 
 he gives us something better in exchange, 
 something better in itself, and better also for 
 us. It is better to prepare us for his coming 
 at any time, or in any way, than to inform us 
 of it It is better to make us meet for the in- 
 heritance of the saints in light, than to make 
 us acquainted with the nature of it. With 
 regard to the thorn in the flesh, the Apostle 
 was more than satisfied with the manner in 
 which his prayer for the removal of it was 
 answered, when, though it continued, he had 
 the assurance of all-sufficient grace under it, 
 and that the Saviour's strength should be 
 made perfect in his weakness — " Most gladly 
 therefore," says he, " will I glory in my in 
 
192 
 
 JUNE 10, 11. 
 
 ifrrnity, that the power of Christ may rest 
 upon me." He withholds abundanee, but he 
 teaches and enables us to be content with 
 tsuch things as we have. Let us leave our- 
 selves to his wisdom and goodness; a wisdom 
 that is infinite, a goodness that spared not his 
 own Son. He would not tell Jacob his name 
 — but he blessed him there. 
 
 JUNE 10. 
 
 • And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel : 
 for I have seen God face to face, and my life is 
 preserved. And as he passed over Fenuel the 
 sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his 
 thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not 
 of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the 
 hollow of the thigh, unto this day ; because he 
 touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew 
 that shrank." — Gen. xxxii. 30 — 32. 
 
 Here we have some of the immediate con- 
 sequences of this singular event. It is obvious 
 that Jacob apprehended the personage to be 
 Divine. Hence he wonders at his preserva- 
 tion. Human nature is weak, and can only 
 bear a degree of impression. Flesh and blood 
 cannot inherit the kingdom of God : and " no 
 man," said God himself to Moses, " can see 
 my face and live." Jacob therefore could not 
 have seen him face to face, unless in the hu- 
 man form which he had assumed. Thus in 
 the gospel God is manifest in the flesh. And 
 thus through the veil, that is to sa;" his flesh, 
 we are not only saved, but shall lave com- 
 munion with him for ever. Jacob's humility 
 also filled him with surprise, that he should 
 have been not only so supported, but so sig- 
 nalized and dignified above all mankind. 
 When we are in a proper frame of mind, di- 
 vine favours abase as well as encourage. 
 
 That the event might not be forgotten, he 
 calls the place by a new name, significant of 
 the manifestation. For the same reason after 
 a deliverance, Samuel had set up a stone, and 
 called it Ebenezer. And Joseph and Moses 
 had given their children names that would 
 serve to recall their trials and their mercies. 
 Nothing can affect us any longer than it is in 
 our thoughts ; we should therefore be careful 
 that we forget not all his benefits. Our grati- 
 tude and our confidence depend on remem- 
 brance. 
 
 Jacob knew that the best way to glorify 
 God is to serve him in the condition and cir- 
 cumstances wherein we are placed. He 
 therefore is not idle ; but as soon as the di- 
 vine visitant had left him, he went forward, 
 hastening to join his household, and to per- 
 form the duties of the husband, the father, 
 the master, and to prepare for the expected 
 interview. But as he passed over Penuel the 
 Bun rose upon him, and he halted upon his 
 thigh. He could not have travelled at all un- 
 less he who had lamed him had re-jointed 
 
 him. Yet il' not some pain, some weaunesj 
 was left ; and he limped for life. There was 
 doubtless a contraction of the muscle or ten- 
 don, for it is said, " therefore the children of 
 Israel eat not of the sinew that shrank, which 
 is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this 
 day ; because he touched the hollow of Ja- 
 cob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.'''' Was 
 this refusal founded in a superstitious con' 
 ceit ] It was rather the consequence of a di- 
 vine appointment, analogous to a ceremonial 
 and sensible dispensation of religion ; or the 
 disuse resulted from the veneration his pos- 
 terity entertained for the patriarch, and their 
 concern to memorialize this astonishing oc 
 currence. It would be saying, Our father 
 trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver him — 
 Say not to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in 
 vain. 
 
 But what a night was here ! What a 
 morning was here ! With what confidence 
 and peace would he now go forward, assured 
 of a safe and pleasant meeting with his bro- 
 ther, and that goodness and mercy would fol- 
 low him all the days of his life ! And oh ! 
 what a relation would he have to communi- 
 cate to his company as soon as he had over- 
 taken them ! They would wonder to see him 
 halting as he approached ; but they would 
 marvel far more when he had told them of all 
 that had happened unto him — of his wres- 
 tling ! and of his success ! 
 
 And how much shall we have to announce 
 to our company who have crossed the river 
 before us, and are waiting to receive us into 
 everlasting habitations, when we have reach- 
 ed them, not in a yet unfinished and trying 
 journey, but at home, in the rest that remains 
 for the people of God ! 
 
 " There, on a green and flowery mount 
 Our weary souls shall sit ; 
 And with transporting joys recount 
 The labours of our feet." 
 
 JUNE 11. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass, that when any shall 
 yet prophesy, then his father and his mother 
 that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt 
 not live ; for thou speakcst lies in the name of 
 the Lord : and his father and his mother that 
 begat him shall thrust him through when he 
 prophesicth." — Zech. xiii. 3. 
 
 As in money transactions the sterling coin j 
 gives rise to the counterfeit, so in religious 
 concerns, reality is followed by hypocrisy. 
 From the beginning there were in Israel true 
 prophets. Hence also there were false ones, 
 wearing the attire, and assuming the man- 
 ners of God's own servants ; pretending to 
 communications which they had never re- 
 ceived ; exercising and encouraging idolatry ; 
 and crying, Peace, peace, when there was no 
 peace. When therefore God intended mercy 
 to the country, he engages to sweep awav 
 
JUNE 12. 
 
 1U3 
 
 from the earth these emissaries of the devil, 
 and plagues and curses of the human race. 
 " In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, 1 will 
 cut off the names of the idols out of the land, 
 and they shall no more be remembered : and 
 I will cause the prophets, and the unclean 
 spirits to pass out of the land." And so af- 
 fected would the people be, and even their 
 relations and their nearest relations, that 
 rising above the feelings of nature, they 
 would themselves execute the judgment 
 threatened : "And it shall come to pass, that 
 when any shall yet prophesy, then his father 
 and his mother that begat him shall say unto 
 him, Thou shalt not live ; for thou speakest 
 lies in the name of the Lord : and his father 
 and his mother that begat him shall thrust 
 him through when he prophesieth." This 
 would be very trying to flesh and blood ; but 
 we are to love God supremely, and creatures 
 only in subordination to him. And this is no 
 more than Moses required : " If thy brother, 
 the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy 
 daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy 
 friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee 
 secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other 
 gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor 
 thy fathers ; thou shalt not consent unto him, 
 nor hearken unto him ; neither shall thine 
 eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither 
 shaft thou conceal him : but thou shalt surely 
 kill him ; thine hand shall be first upon him 
 to put him to death, and afterwards the hand 
 of all the people." It is no more than Levi 
 performed in the slaughter of the idolaters in 
 the camp at Horeb : " He said unto his father 
 and to his mother, I have not seen him ; nei- 
 ther did he acknowledge his brethren, nor 
 know his own children." How unlike this 
 was the conduct of Eli, who when his sons 
 made themselves vile, restrained them not, 
 but only gave them a gentle rebuke! And 
 what can we think of those parents who con- 
 nive at the delinquencies of their children ; 
 and instead of opposing them with the au- 
 thority and influence they possess, can rather 
 cherish their inclinations, and accompany 
 their steps] "He that loveth son or daughter 
 more than me is not worthy of me." 
 
 As the words from the immediately pre- 
 ceding and following context are allowed to 
 refer to the evangelical dispensation, some 
 have derived an argument fromthem in favour 
 of compulsion and persecution in religion. 
 But the Gospel sanctions nothing of this. 
 When James and John would have called for 
 fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans, 
 the greatest schismatics of the age, and who 
 had refused him a night's lodging, our Lord 
 rebuked them, saying, " Ye know not what 
 manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of 
 man is not come to destroy men's lives, but 
 to save them." Some therefore have solved 
 the difficulty by applying the prophecy exclu- 
 sively to the conversion of the Jews; and 
 13 
 
 supposing that when they become Christian! 
 they will at first act according to their former 
 usages, just as at the beginning of the Gospel 
 they for a while strove to bring in with Christ, 
 circumcision, and the observance of meats and 
 seasons. But the conjecture is improbable; 
 and the confinement of the words to this peo- 
 ple is groundless. The meaning is — that ef- 
 fects are here put for principles — Christians 
 should not indeed act in the same manner, 
 but have the same zeal the pious Jews had 
 when of old they showed themselves on the 
 Lord's side, and obeyed his commands, how- 
 ever expensive or painful the service — they 
 should display the most determined firmness 
 and fidelity in opposing error, and in spread- 
 ing divine truth — holding nothing dear but 
 the glory of God their Saviour — and forsaking 
 all they have to be his disciples. It is there- 
 fore another of the many instances in the Old 
 Testament, in which things Christian are ex- 
 pressed by Jewish allusions. The Prophets 
 could only use their own language, and em 
 ploy their own ideas and terms, even when 
 speaking of another and a future dispensation. 
 Nothing therefore can be more unwise, than 
 to build opinions and expectations upon so 
 weak a foundation as the names they often 
 give to persons, places, and objects taken from 
 their own economy. Surely if a Jewish pro- 
 phecy or promise be allowed to refer to Chris- 
 tian times, influences, and blessings, the phra- 
 seologies in which it is announced should be 
 taken, not in a Jewish, but in a Christian in- 
 terpretation. Admit the reverse, and we 
 should kill people, and think we did God ser- 
 vice from the words before us; and fetch a 
 thousand absurdities from other passages also. 
 
 JUNE 12. 
 
 " That we may be able to comfort them which are 
 in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we 
 ourselves are comforted of God." — 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 
 The Apostle mentions this as the purpose 
 for which God had comforted him and his 
 companions in all their tribulation. This is 
 very instructive and edifying. We see the 
 aim of God in the favours he confers upon us. 
 He means them not to terminate in ourselves, 
 but to extend to others, like the streams which 
 flow on andturn mill after mill, and refresh and 
 fertilize meadow after meadow. We are not 
 the proprietors, but only the stewards of the 
 manifold grace of God : and we are to con- 
 sider ourselves debtors, not only to him, but 
 to our fellow-creatures. If we are rich in 
 this world's goods, we are to be ready to dis- 
 tribute. If we are enlightened, we are to 
 arise and shine. If we are converted, we are 
 to strengthen our brethren — and if we are 
 comforted, we are to be comforters. 
 
 We also see how the Lord employs human 
 instrumentality. He is the God of all com 
 
194 
 
 JUNE 13. 
 
 fort; but though he is the source, we are *he 
 mediums. He could dispense with our :-er- 
 vices, but he wisely employs them; as he 
 thereby secures our own improvement ; pro- 
 motes brotherly love ; unites the giver to the 
 receiver by pity, and the receiver to the giver 
 by gratitude ; shows us that there is a con- 
 nexion between all ranks and degrees in so- 
 ciety ; that there is no such thing as independ- 
 ence; that every man has something to re- 
 ceive to teach him humility, and that every 
 man has something to impart to keep him 
 from discouragement. " If the foot shall say, 
 Because I am not the hand, I am not of the 
 body ; is it therefore not of the body 1 And 
 if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, 
 I am not of the body ; is it therefore not of 
 the body 1 But now are they many members, 
 yet but one body. And the eye cannot say 
 unto the hand, I have no need of thee : nor 
 again the head to the feet, I have no need of 
 you." 
 
 We therefore learn also, how free our 
 minds should be from that selfishness which 
 is satisfied with personal advantage and en- 
 joyment. " Look not," says the Apostle, 
 " every man to his own things, but every man 
 also on the things of others." And how well 
 does he exemplify his own admonition ! He 
 delights in the thought that the crown of 
 righteousness was secured for others as well 
 as for himself. He wishes that all his hear- 
 ers had all his blessedness without his bonds. 
 And we here see how he prized the consola- 
 tions he had enjoyed, not because he had been 
 comforted by them in his sufferings, but be- 
 cause they would render him useful to others 
 who are in any trouble. 
 
 Such as are " in any trouble" have peculiar 
 claims upon us ; and we are " able to comfort 
 them with those comforts wherewith we our- 
 selves have been comforted of God," three 
 ways. First, by excitement — They dispose 
 and stir us up to exertion and communication. 
 Pear unnerves : despondence makes us slug- 
 gish : and the mourner sitteth alone and keeps 
 silence, like the stricken deer that leaves the 
 herd. But divine consolation enlivens, actu- 
 ates, and discovers itself: and the language 
 of the happy receiver is ; " Come and hear, 
 all ye that fear God, and I will declare what 
 he hath done for my soul. I cried unto % him 
 with my mouth, and he was extolled by my 
 tongue." Silence would be enjoined in vain — 
 " If these should hold their peace, the stones 
 would cry out." " We cannot but speak the 
 things that wo have seen and heard." Sec- 
 ondly, by qualification. The heart teacheth 
 the lips. They can speak, in dealing with 
 others, more surely, more earnestly, more 
 suitably, more wisely. Having laboured and 
 been heavy laden themselves, they can speak 
 a word in season to him that is weary. Hav- 
 ing found relief themselves, they can lead 
 others to the same place of succour. Thirdly, 
 
 by example. If nothing were Sfr-d in words, 
 the fact itself would address lifters; and 
 evince what can be done, in sh/wing what 
 has been done. Here is actual experience. 
 Here are proofs that the Lord dcc3 not leave 
 his people comfortless ; that he is a very pres- 
 ent help in trouble ; that his grace is equally 
 free and powerful, that none who seek it shall 
 be disappointed, and none confounded tha. 
 trust in it. When the Lord's people sustain 
 losses in their endearments, and yet say, The 
 Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; 
 and blessed be the name of the Lord : when 
 they receive the word in much affliction, with 
 joy of the Holy Ghost : when, though walk- 
 ing in the valley of the shadow of death, they 
 fear no evil, but rejoice in hope of the glory 
 of God ; how many thank God and take cour- 
 age! 
 
 JUNE 13. 
 
 " Do not my words do good to him that walktth 
 uprightly ?" — Micah ii. 7. 
 
 They do evil and injury to many. Thou- 
 sands will curse for ever the hour they be- 
 came acquainted with the Scriptures; for 
 they derive from them only an increase of 
 guilt and of condemnation. But this is not 
 the effect of design or of natural tendency 
 in them ; for the Bible is intended and adapt- 
 ed to do us good only ; but is the accidental 
 result of depravity : and therefore it is con- 
 fined to those who pervert it, abuse it, and 
 neglect it ; and thus turn the blessing into a 
 curse. But his words do good to him that 
 walketh uprightly. They do good indeed to 
 others, and are the means of the conversion 
 of sinners. But the prophet is not speaking 
 of what the Scriptures do in bringing us into 
 a religious state, but of the benefit they ren 
 der us when we are in it. Our Saviour, in 
 the parable of the sower, does not explain how. 
 the ground is made good — this he has done 
 in other places ; but of the effect of the seed 
 in bringing forth thirty, sixty, or one hundred 
 fold, when falling where it is already good — 
 in distinction from its unprofitableness when 
 uniting with the way-side, and the stony and 
 thorny soil. The author of the origin of the 
 rain is another question ; but the Apostle is 
 speaking only of its influence according to 
 the subject imbibing it, when he says, that 
 coming upon the garden it bringeth forth 
 herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, 
 and receives a blessing from God : but in 
 other places it calls forth weeds, and thorns, 
 and briers, which are nigh unto cursing, and 
 whose end is to be burned. The Word of 
 God must operate according to the principles 
 and disjH)sitions it finds in us. If it be food, 
 it is nothing to the dead but to the living : it 
 is milk for babes, and strong meat for mea 
 If it be a rule, the benefit is only to them tha 
 
JUNE 14. 
 
 195 
 
 walk by it And we are never in so suitable 
 a state to be benefited by it as when con- 
 science is awake, and we are sincerely de- 
 sirous of knowing the will of God, and are 
 resolved to follow it, whatever difficulties may 
 lie in the way. Hence says James, " Where- 
 fore lay apart all tilthiness and superfluity of 
 naughtiness, and receive with meekness the 
 ingrafted word, which is able to save your 
 souls." And thus Peter also. " Wherefore 
 laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hy- 
 pocrisies, and envies, and all evil-speakings, 
 as new born babes, desire the sincere milk of 
 the word, that ye may grow thereby : if so 
 be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." 
 
 For we are not to expect that his words 
 will do us good mechanically, that is, without 
 our consciousness or activity; or that they 
 will act in us as physical causes operate in 
 the body, where the concoction of the food, 
 and the circulation of the fluids go on, when 
 we are asleep, as well as when we are awake, 
 being independent of our volitions and 
 thoughts. The Scriptures can only affect us 
 morally, in a way of motive, in the exercises 
 of the mind, and in the use of the means 
 which God has appointed. This does not su- 
 persede divine influence, but is the way in 
 which it works, and in which alone we are 
 authorized to look for it. If God's words are 
 to do us good, we must read them — we must 
 hear them — we must believe them — we must 
 understand them — we must reflect upon them 
 — we must speak of them — we must pray 
 over them. But what is the benefit they will 
 then do us ? It would be endless to describe 
 it They are profitable unto all things. 
 
 They will do us good in a way of informa- 
 tion. And for the soul to be without know- 
 ledge it is not good. But there is no know- 
 ledge like that which is derived from the 
 Scriptures. It is so clear, so full, so import- 
 ant, so blessed — it giveth life to them that 
 have it — 
 
 * When once it enters to the mind, 
 
 It spreads such light abroad, 
 The meanest souls instruction find, 
 And raise their thoughts to God." 
 
 What an advantage, in every duty, in every 
 perplexity, to be able to go to these lively 
 oracles, to learn what God the Lord has to 
 ■ay concerning us ; and to hear a voice say- 
 ing, This is the way, walk ye in it ! 
 
 They will do us good in a way of excite- 
 ment We often grow dull and formal in 
 religion. We have a name that we live, but 
 are dead ; or the things that remain are ready 
 to die. But when our souls cleave unto the 
 dust, he quickens us according to his word ; 
 and the effect endears it and enables us to 
 remember it : "I will never fbrsret thy pre- 
 cepts ; for with them thou hast quickened me." 
 
 They will do us good in a way of rebuke. 
 If they deal truly with us — and they will 
 never flatter ; they will — they must frequent- 
 
 ly reprove us. And if we are concerned fb 
 our real welfare, we shall not esteem them 
 our enemy, because they tell us the truth. 
 We shall cordially say, " Faithful are the 
 wounds of a friend ;" and falling in with their 
 wholesome severity, we shall fall upon our 
 knees and pray, Search me, O God, and know 
 my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, 
 and see if there be any wicked way in me, 
 and lead me in the way everlasting. How 
 improper is it to limit the benefit of the word 
 to encouragement; and to suppose that we 
 have never a good opportunity, as the phrase 
 is, when we attend upon it, unless it comforts 
 us ! What a blessing is it to be humbled, to 
 be emptied of self, to see more of our own 
 weakness and vileness, and to cry mightily 
 at the foot of the ctoss, " God be merciful to 
 me a sinner !" 
 
 Not that we undervalue comfort The joy 
 of the Lord is our strength ; and these words 
 he has spoken unto us, that his joy may be in 
 us, and that our joy may be full. They there- 
 fore do us good, by inspiring us with ever- 
 lasting consolation and good hope through 
 grace. They relieve the wearied, oppressed 
 with a sense of grief and unworthiness, by 
 leading them to tho Lamb of God, and giving 
 them access with confidence, by the faith of 
 him. They tell us what we are to do with 
 trouble ; and they tell us what trouble is to 
 do for us. Ah ! says the bereaved and deso- 
 late, unless thy law had been my delight I 
 should have perished in mine affliction. Ah ! 
 says the dying, I will fear no evil ; thy rod 
 and thy staff they comfort me. 
 
 We talk of benefactors ! of a Howard ; 
 of a Thornton ! What good has the Bible 
 done ! What millions has it blessed ! And in 
 what countless instances has it blessed each 
 of them ! How much do I owe it ! Bless the 
 Lord, O my soul. Thanks be unto God fo 
 his unspeakable gift ; and let the whole eart 
 be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen. 
 
 JUNE 14. 
 
 " Adam, where art thou ?" — Gen. iii. 9. 
 
 The question regards not so much the 
 place as the state in which Adam now was. 
 And it is not to be considered as indicating any 
 proof of ignorance ; for who can hide himself 
 from the view of Omniscience? But it im- 
 plies several things the result of knowledge. 
 
 It is the expression of surprise — " Adam, 
 where art thou !** As if he had said, " Before, 
 when I came, thou wert ready to meet me ; 
 and my presence was thy delight What in 
 so short a space of time has produced this 
 change 1 What have I done to cause this ali- 
 enation and flight from me !" If this seems 
 an unbecoming representation of God, let it 
 be remembered that he has himself furnished 
 it — " Be astonished, hearers, at this." " What 
 ttt Id have been done more to my vinevard 
 
196 
 
 JUNE 15. 
 
 that 1 have not done in if! wherefore, when 
 [ looked that it should bring forth grapes, 
 brought it forth wild grapes 7" He cannot, 
 indeed be imposed upon, but he has a right 
 to complain ; and speaks according to the 
 equity of the case. " Adam, where art thou !" 
 It is the language of upbraiding. " Is this 
 the return thou hast made for all the favours 
 with which I have indulged thee"! Is this the 
 use thou hast made of the noble faculties with 
 which I have endowed and ennobled thee "J Is 
 this thy kindness to thy friend ! Is this acting 
 the part of a faithful steward toward his pro- 
 prietor] of a dutiful child towards a good 
 father'! of an obedient servant towards the 
 best of masters! Did I envy thy welfare or 
 wish to abridge thy happiness S I only forbad 
 thee one tree in all the garden ; and even this 
 was forbidden for thy trial, and with a view 
 to thy honour and reward." 
 
 It is the lamentation of pity. He is not 
 only the just God, but the Saviour : he is not 
 only righteous in all his ways, and holy in all 
 his works, but full of compassion and slow to 
 anger. As, when our Lord, condemned by 
 the Pharisees for healing the withered arm 
 on the Sabbath-day, looked round upon his 
 audience " with anger, being grieved for the 
 hardness of their hearts ;" and as, when he 
 looked upon the backsliding Peter, and dis- 
 solved him into godly sorrow, there was not 
 only surprise and upbraiding in the glance, 
 but mercy and readiness to forgive : so here, 
 in the voice that addressed Adam, there was 
 not only alarm, but tenderness ; not only ab- 
 horrence of the crime, but pity for the crimi- 
 nal — " Poor Adam, what hast, thou done 1 
 What misery hast thou brought upon thyself! 
 I have no pleasure in the death of him that 
 dieth. How shall I give thee up! Adam, 
 where art thou !" 
 
 But the question admits of a universal ap- 
 plication; and we should bring it home to 
 ourselves ; and for three reasons. First, be- 
 cause of the relation there is between Adam 
 and ourselves. There is no other creature 
 with whom we are so intimately and influen- 
 tially connected. He was the father and the 
 natural head, and he was the representative 
 and the federal head of the whole human 
 race. " By one man's disobedience many 
 were made sinners." " By one man's offence 
 death reigned by one." " In Adam all die." 
 Secondly, because by personal transgression 
 we bring ourselves into the same state. All 
 sin is the same in its nature and tendency. 
 We sin and expose ourselves to danger — 
 Fear treads on the heels of guilt — Dread pro- 
 duces aversion — And we try to secure our- 
 selves instead of repairing to his feet, and im- 
 ploring mercy. In one respect we are worse 
 than Adam. He, after the first act of iniquity, 
 could not look God in the face ; while we go 
 en still in our trespasses ; often daringly enter 
 Bis presence and stand before him in his wor- 
 
 ship ; and seem to defy rather than enoeavour 
 to elude him — So men are hardened through 
 the deceitfulness of sin! — Thirdly, because 
 the inquiry may lead us to examine our state, 
 and apprehend our doom. And what a bless« 
 ing is it to be apprized of our danger while it 
 is in our power to escape ! Would not a mar: 
 have reason to be thankful, if a person should 
 break his slumber, however pleasing, while 
 sleeping in a house just ready to bury him in 
 the ruins ! Conviction of sin may be painful, 
 but it is" salutary, it is necessary. Without a 
 consciousness of the disease, a remedy will | 
 neither be valued or applied — " They that be 
 whole need not the physician, but they that 
 are sick." It was a blessed cry in the jailer, 
 when he exclaimed, " What must I do to be 
 saved!" It secured the direction and the 
 promise ; " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." 
 
 Nothing hinders our full relief as sinners 
 by the Gospel but our ignorant pride in refus- 
 ing to submit ourselves to the righteousness 
 which is of God. " To this man will I look, 
 even to him that is poor and of a contrite 
 spirit, and that trembleth at my word." 
 
 JUNE 15. 
 
 " Ye are now returned unto the Shepherd and 
 
 Bishop of your souls." — 1 Peter ii. 25. 
 
 For they were as sheep going astray — This 
 was their state by nature. But now they are 
 in a state of grace. And two things are ob- 
 served with regard to it. First, they enter it 
 by a return — Ye are returned. Grace never 
 leaves us as it finds us. It makes us the sub- 
 jects of a change — not a change from cne 
 class of opinions to another, or from one de- 
 nomination to another — not a change from 
 mere gross vices to moral duties ; but a change 
 of mind, of heart, and of life; and which em- 
 bodies the various representations given of it 
 in the Scriptures. It is a turning from dark- 
 ness to light, and the power of Satan unto 
 God. It is the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
 It is a new birth, a new creation. The work, 
 though always essentially the same, differs in 
 various individuals. The means also by which 
 it is produced are not the same in all instances. 
 In general, it is accomplished by the preach- 
 ing of the word ; but sometimes it is effected 
 by reading the Scriptures, by a good book, by 
 pious conversation, by affliction — " Lo ' al. 
 these things worketh God oftentimes with 
 man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be 
 enlightened with the light of the living." 
 
 But let us never suppose that the return is 
 owing to himself. It is supposed the Apostle 
 designed to express this by the form of his 
 expression. It is in the passive voice — not 
 ye — returned, but ye are returned — that is, 
 as if he had said, ye have been caused to re 
 turn. We would not however found a doc 
 trine of such importance on a mere gram 
 
JUNE 16. 
 
 107 
 
 maticism. The truth is expressly asserted. 
 M Not by works of righteousness which we 
 have done, but according to his mercy he 
 saved us." u For by grace are ye saved 
 through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it 
 is the gift of God : not of works, lest any man 
 should boast For we are his workmanship, 
 created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 
 which God hath before ordained that we should 
 walk in them." 
 
 Secondly, this return brings them to Christ 
 — " Ye are returned to the Shepherd and 
 Bishop of your souls." He is the personage 
 spoken of; and how <vell does he deserve the 
 titles — But observe, the grand thing in re- 
 ligion is our being brought to Christ. There- 
 fore he himself said, "Come unto me:" 
 " Every man therefore that hath heard and 
 learned of the Father cometh unto me." As 
 it pleased the Father that in him should all 
 f ullness dwell, " to him," it is said, " shall 
 men come." " To him shall the gathering 
 of the people be." It is with him we have 
 to do immediately in the concerns of the 
 soul. We want a mediator between God and 
 us ; but we want no mediator between Christ 
 and us — To him we must come as we are. 
 " In the Lord have I righteousness and 
 3trength." 
 
 Christians ! what gratitude becomes you ! 
 Ye were darkness, but now are ye light in 
 the Lord. Ye were in bondage, but are now 
 in the giorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 Ye were destitute of all spiritual good, but 
 are now blessed with all spiritual blessings. 
 How should your obligation to such infinite 
 goodness be discharged ? By a few languid 
 emotions or formal acknowledgments'? A soul 
 redeemed demands a life of praise. 
 
 Christians ! what confidence, what joy be- 
 comes you ! All hail, ye highly favoured of 
 the Lord — " Ye were as sheep going astray, 
 but are now returned unto the Shepherd and 
 Bishop of souls" — You are returned unto One 
 who loved you from eternity, and always bore 
 vou in his heart — You are returned to one 
 who saved you from a thousand dangers, and 
 preserved you by his providence till he called 
 you by his grace — You are returned to one 
 whose power is Almighty, whose heart is 
 made of tenderness, who never leaves you, 
 never slumbers nor sleeps — You are returned 
 to one who, lest any hurt you, keeps you 
 night and day, and has said, My sheep shall 
 never perish, neither shall any pluck them 
 out of my hand — You are returned to one 
 who will feed his flock like a shepherd ; who 
 will gather the lambs with his arm, and carrv 
 them in his bosom, and gently lead those that 
 are with young — who will make you to lie 
 down in green pastures, and feed you beside 
 the still waters, and restore your souls, and 
 lead you in the paths of righteousness for 
 his Name's sake. Yea, though you walk 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, 
 
 you need fear no evil, for he will be with you 
 his rod and his staff will comfort you. Ant 
 not on'y so, but he will bring you into Im- 
 manue ^s land and the heavenly places, where 
 the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne 
 shall feed you, and lead you to living fountains 
 of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears 
 from your eyes. 
 
 JUNE 16. 
 
 " I was wounded in the house of my friend:" 
 
 Zech. xiii. 6. 
 This seems literally the complaint of a 
 false prophet, who had been punished and re- 
 moved from his office. We cannot easily 
 perceive the relation between the treatment 
 of such a man and the suffering of the Sa- 
 viour. And yet the words both immediately 
 preceding and following can scarcely leave a 
 doubt of a reference to him. And of him the 
 complaint is true in every respect. True with 
 regard to the treatment he met with from the 
 Jews. He came to his own, and his own re- 
 ceived him not; but vilified and scourged 
 him ; crowned him with thorns, and nailed 
 him to the tree. True with regard to his 
 treatment from nis own Apostles. One of 
 them betrayed him with a kiss ; another de- 
 nied him with oaths and cursing ; and all for- 
 sook him and fled — He looked for some to 
 take pity and there was none, and for comfort- 
 ers but he found none. True with regard to 
 the professors of his religion in all ages. The 
 world is the house of his enemies. There his 
 day is profaned, his laws trangressed, his 
 name blasphemed, his truth denied, and his 
 followers contemned — There we look for 
 nothing else ; and though we censure and 
 condemn, we feel no surprise. But the 
 Church is the house of his friends : so he calls 
 them ; and it is their honour and privilege to 
 be such — yet here, even here, where he only 
 reckons upon behaviour becoming the rela- 
 tion, he is often dishonoured and injured — 
 " This is a lamentation, and shall be for a 
 lamentation." 
 
 But what is the conduct by which he is 
 aggrieved 1 It is negligent conduct — when 
 they disregard the means of grace and the 
 institutions of religion. These he has es- 
 tablished. He has commanded us not to for- 
 sake the assembling of ourselves together 
 He has promised to come unto us and bless us 
 in all places where his name is recorded. 
 What then can be more trying than io show 
 how little we regard his authority, or value 
 his presence 1 and to suffer trifles to keep us 
 from our engagements with him that would 
 not detain us from an appointment with any 
 of our fellow-creatures ? It is selfish conduct 
 — when we cannot deny ourselves, or make 
 any sacrifices for the relief of his members, 
 and the support and spread of his cause; 
 though we are often praying tnat his kingdom 
 
198 
 
 JUNE 17. 
 
 may come, and that h) v* '] may have free 
 course and be glorified. It is distrustful con- 
 duct — nothing hurts us more than a want of 
 confidence, especially after long intimacy and 
 tried fidelity. He is truth itself, and loves to 
 see us taking him at his word, and depending 
 upon his promises as firmer than heaven and 
 earth. Nothing in a friend atones for dis- 
 tance and concealment, and our learning 
 things not by communication but by event. 
 The Lord loves to be consulted ; and when we 
 venture to act without taking counsel of him, 
 and bring ourselves into difficulties and em- 
 barrassments, he may well chide us — " You 
 should have committed your way unto me." 
 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself] It 
 is timid conduct — when instead of going forth 
 to him without the camp we are ashamed of 
 him and of his words ; when instead of being 
 bold as a lion we shrink back or turn aside in 
 the path of duty, at every intimation of dan- 
 ger. The fear of man bringeth a snare. But 
 perfect love casteth out fear. It is gloomy 
 conduct — when we walk mournfully before 
 the Lord, and hang down our heads like a 
 bulrush, and sink in the day of adversity. We 
 then depreciate and misrepresent his religion, 
 and lead people to think it is a course of 
 cheerlessness and melancholy. Whereas, by 
 learning in whatsoever state we are, there- 
 with to be content ; and in every thing giving 
 thanks ; and rejoicing evermore ; we speak 
 well of his name, we recommend his service, 
 we invite others to seek him with us. It is 
 anholy conduct — when instead of putting to 
 silence the ignorance of foolish men, and 
 adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour, 
 and constraining others to glorify God by our 
 good works which they behold ; we cause, by 
 our miscarriages and falls, the way of truth 
 to be evil spoken of, and the adversaries of 
 the Lord to blaspheme. Woe to the world 
 because of offences. They harden the wicked ; 
 scandalize the weak; distress the strong; 
 weaken the hands of his servants ; and vex 
 and grieve his Holy Spirit. And though he 
 will not cast away his people whom he fore- 
 knew, their backslidings shall reprove them, 
 and he will make them know that it is not only 
 an evil but a bitter thing to forsake him. This 
 is the law of the house : "If his children for- 
 sake my law, and walk not in my judgments ; 
 if they break my statutes, and keep not my 
 commandments ; then will I visit their trans- 
 gression with the rod, and their iniquity with 
 stripes. Nevertheless my loving kindness 
 will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer 
 my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I 
 not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out 
 of my lips." Thus, because Moses and Aaron 
 did not sanctify him at the rock, he would not 
 suffc r them to go over Jordan. And though 
 Le put away David's sin i» the guilt of it, yet 
 the effects of it attended him through life. 
 A.nd if we turn from his history to his ex- 
 
 perience, in the fifty-first Psalm, we shah see^ 
 that in addition to distressing events without, 
 he had anguish enough within to induce him 
 ever after to pray, Hold thou me up, and I 
 shall be safe. 
 
 But while fear makes us prayerful, let 
 ingenuousness make us penitent. Let us be- 
 wail the ingratitude and vileness of our con- 
 duct towards such a benefactor. Let us hear 
 him say — Did not I suffer enough while on 
 earth] Must I now not only be crucified 
 afresh and put to an open shame among others ; 
 but be wounded in the house of my friends 1 
 Who when rich for thy sake became poor ] 
 By whose blood wast thou redeemed ] In 
 whose righteousness art thou accepted ] What 
 have I not done for thee ] And what have f 
 not engaged to do ] Have I not promised to 
 guide thee in all thy ways ] To keep thee in 
 all thy dangers] To supply all thy wants] 
 To make all things work together for thy 
 good ] And to receive thee at death to my- 
 self, that where I am thou mayest be also 1 
 
 IS THIS THY KINDNESS TO THY FRIEND V ' 
 
 " Forgive my guilt, O Prince of peace, 
 I'll wound my God no more; 
 Hence from my heart, my sins, begone. 
 For Jesus I adore." 
 
 JUNE 17. 
 
 " And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went 
 towards Haran" — Gen. xxviii. 10. 
 
 Esau's anger was fierce against Jacob for 
 having deprived him of his father's blessing. 
 His mother therefore advised him to flee to 
 her brother Laban, and tarry with him a few 
 days ; " until," said she, " thy brother's fury 
 turn away, and he forget that which thou 
 hast done to him ;" clearly intimating that his 
 concern would be of short duration, and that 
 levity would soon extinguish resentment 
 Whence we may learn that carnal men, for 
 such this profane person strikingly represents, 
 can easily resign what a believer would not 
 part with for a thousand worlds — The blessing 
 of his heavenly Father. 
 
 Dismissed by Isaac with admonition ana 
 prayer, "Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, 
 and went toward Haran." Though the sim- 
 plicity and manners of the age rendered 
 travelling less formidable than it appears to 
 persons unaccustomed to it now, yet the 
 journey must have been very trying to Jacob 
 — The distance was great — he was parting 
 with his parents — he was young — he had 
 been tenderly brought up, having been the 
 favourite of Rebecca — he had no beast to 
 carry him — he had no servant to attend him 
 — no guide to direct him — no guard to pro- 
 tect him — no companion to cheer him by 
 communion. Thus he goes forward solitary 
 and pensive, ruminating upon his sad condi- 
 tion, and conflicting with those apprehensions 
 which always attend untried and uncertain 
 
JUNE 17. 
 
 199 
 
 «ven' i. And " he lighted upon a certain 
 olaco, and tarried there all night, because the 
 sun was set." The road he travelled, if it 
 mig'<t be called a road, was in many places 
 s?.v'ge and dreary ; uninhabited of men, and 
 ipfrsted with wild beasts, which would now 
 be roving abroad : " Thou makest darkness, 
 and it is night : wherein all the beasts of the 
 forest do creep forth. The young lions roar 
 after their prey, and seek their meat from 
 God. The sun ariseth, they gather them- 
 selves together, and lay them down in their 
 dens." Jacob's safety therefore prevents his 
 going onward till the morning. Here there- 
 fore he must repose. But what will he do for 
 lodgings? There is no habitation near him. 
 And for want of materials he cannot pitch a 
 tent He is therefore obliged to expose his 
 body to the moist air of the night : the sky is 
 his tester ; the darkness his curtain ; the earth 
 his bed : " and he took the stones of that place, 
 and put them for his pillow, and lay down in 
 that place to sleep." And could he sleep in 
 such a condition ? The sleep of a labouring 
 man is sweet ; and he does not require del- 
 icate accommodations — But this was not all. 
 He hereby showed his inward serenity and 
 confidence. The wicked flee when no man 
 pursueth ; but the righteous is bold as a lion. 
 The Lord keeps in perfect peace the mind 
 that is stayed upon him. David, when the 
 rebellion of his son raged around him, said, 
 " I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep : 
 for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in 
 safety." And Peter, the night before his in- 
 tended execution, was sleeping so soundly 
 between the soldiers, that the angel, to awake 
 him, was compelled to strike him. How 
 happy in trouble, and how safe in jeopardy 
 are those who have an all-surficient Jehovah 
 to watch over them, and keep them by day 
 and by night ! 
 
 There cannot be a better evidence of our 
 belonging to God than the resignation of our- 
 selves to him in a way of providence. " How 
 may I know I do so !" We answer, by ac- 
 quiescing in his dispensations, and accommo- 
 dating yourselves to events. We find no 
 murmuring in Jacob, notwithstanding the 
 trying circumstances ho was in. The hope 
 of an agreeable scene for the future reconciled 
 him to his hard condition for the present. So 
 should it be with us while we are travelling, 
 not to Haran, but to heaven ; not to the house 
 of a cruel Laban, but to the dwelling of a 
 gracious Saviour. He will give us every 
 thing necessary for our journey, and a wel- 
 come and blessed reception at the end of it. 
 It becomes us therefore in patience to possess 
 our souls, and to go on our way rejoicing. 
 
 Jacob sleeps, but his heart waketh. It 
 would be unwarrantable to conclude that 
 Jacob had held no intercourse with God dur- 
 ing his iourney. We have every reason to 
 
 suppose that what he had been reflecting upon 
 during the day continued to occupy and im- 
 press his thoughts at night ; and therefore that 
 God took advantage of it in dealing with him 
 And though there was something extraordi- 
 nary in the affair before us, yet we are per- 
 suaded that if we were more with God when 
 we are awake, we should be more with God 
 when we are asleep — for " a dream cometh 
 through the multitude of business." 
 
 Jacob dreamed. The generality of dreams 
 are frivolous and vain ; and it is strange that 
 many good people should lay such stress upon 
 them as they often do. But the circumstances 
 of Jacob's dream are worthy our attention ; 
 because they have the signature of God upon 
 them. Observe what was 
 
 Seen. " Behold a ladder set upon the 
 earth, and the top of it reached to heaven." 
 Was this designed to intimate the providence 
 of God as observing all things, and keeping 
 up a perpetual correspondence between 
 heaven and earth 1 Rather read the language 
 of our Saviour to Nathanael : " Verily, verily, 
 I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven 
 open, and the angels of God ascending and 
 descending upon the Son of man." Here is 
 the true meaning of the ladder. And why 
 should this be deemed unlikely ? Was not he 
 always the consolation of Israel ? Here were 
 his divinity and humanity ; his humiliation, 
 and his exaltation ; the one extending to earth, 
 the other to heaven. He was a figure of the 
 medium of communications between the 
 upper and the lower world. He is the media- 
 tor between God and man. Every blessing 
 comes to us through his interposition : and 
 therefore the ministry of angels. Hence, 
 " Behold the angels of God ascending and 
 descending on it" For through him these 
 celestial beings " are all ministering spirits, 
 sent forth to minister unto them who shall be 
 heirs of salvation." They rejoice when they 
 are converted ; they encamp round about them 
 in their dangers, and deliver them ; they at- 
 tend their worshipping assemblies ; and at 
 last convey their departing spirits into Abra- 
 ham's bosom. These angels did not go up 
 and down the ladder after the manner of per- 
 sons amusing themselves : they ascended to 
 receive their orders, and descended to execute 
 them. Though they excel in strength, they 
 do his commandments, hearkening unto the 
 voice of his word. He says to one, Go, and 
 he goeth ; to another Come, and he cometh ' 
 and it is his pleasure they regard, and not the 
 nature of the employment; and if two of them 
 were summoned into his presence, and order- 
 ed, the one to govern an empire, and the other 
 to show some'Hagar a well, they would re- 
 pair to their posts with equal readiness and 
 delight— May his will be done on earth as it 
 is in heaven! What do we read further'' 
 " And, behold, the Lord stood above it * 
 
200 
 
 JUNE lw. 
 
 Standing was a posture of attention — He was 
 looking down to observe his weary-worn 
 pilgrim sleeping at the foot of the ladder, and 
 every way ready to appear for him. Observe 
 therefore what was 
 
 Heard. God repeats the covenant made 
 with his father, and ratifies it to himself, as- 
 suring him that the country in which he was 
 now reposing should be given to him and his 
 posterity for a possession; that his offspring 
 should be numerous and illustrious ; and that 
 one of his descendants should prove a bene- 
 factor to all mankind : " I am the Lord God 
 of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac : 
 the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give 
 it, and to thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as 
 the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread 
 abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the 
 north, and to the south : and in thee and in 
 thy seed shall all the families of the earth be 
 blessed." But God is a very present help in 
 trouble ; he therefore accommodates his prom- 
 ise to his present situation and circumstances: 
 " And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep 
 thee in all places whither thou goest, and will 
 bring thee again into this land ; for I will not 
 leave thee, until I have done that which I 
 have spoken to thee of!" He was alone, and 
 God engages to be with him — He was ex- 
 posed, and God engages to keep him — He was 
 an exile, and God engages to bring him home 
 again — And all this issuing from faithfulness 
 itself, and more to be relied on than the con- 
 tinuance of heaven and earth ! What could 
 Jacob desire more 1 
 
 And what was the impression the whole 
 made upon him 1 " Then Jacob awoke" — 
 Perhaps it was a short sleep, but it was long 
 enough. By the sweet dream attending it he 
 learned what he was ignorant of before he 
 slumbered ; namely, that God was there — 
 And he said, " Surely the Lord is in this 
 place, and I knew it not." How strikingly 
 does this ignorance represent, first, the igno- 
 rance of mankind in general. God is every- 
 where. He is about their path and their lying 
 down — But they do not know, they do not 
 consider, they do not realize it. If they did, 
 how differently would they speak, and act, 
 and live! Secondly, the ignorance of the 
 people of God themselves. How prone are 
 they to forget their privileges and principles ; 
 and to imagine they are left of God in partic- 
 ular situations and difficulties. But they can- 
 not be left, especially in their afflictions : for 
 he has not only said, I will never leave thee, 
 nor forsake thee — but " I will be with thee 
 in trouble ' — " When thou passest through 
 the waters, I will be with thee ; and through 
 the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when 
 thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not 
 be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle 
 upon thee." Yet after all this, divine mani- 
 festations often surprise us ; and we wonder 
 where we should only praise. 
 
 JUNE 18. 
 
 " And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful t$ 
 this place .' this is none other but the house of 
 God, and this is the gate of heaven" — Gen 
 xxviii. 17. 
 
 Such was the exclamation of Jacob after 
 his pleasing dream ; when he awoke from 
 sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this 
 place, and I knew it not. 
 
 It shows us that intercourse with God, in- 
 stead of favouring levity of mind, produces 
 the most serious impressions. The man that 
 felt no apprehension in the evening at lying 
 down in the open air, enveloped in darkness 
 and surrounded with danger, is afraid in the 
 morning — at what 1 The thought of a pres- 
 ent Deity. This was not indeed a slavish ter- 
 rifying dread, like that of Belshazzar, when 
 he saw the handwriting upon the wall, when 
 the joints of his loins were loosed, and his 
 knees smote one against another : but it was 
 reverence and godly fear ; such as Peter and 
 Isaiah and Job felt, at the manifestations of 
 the divine glory ; and such as the angels feel 
 when they veil their faces before him. Let 
 this rectify the mistake of those who imagine 
 that the doctrines of grace and the work of 
 the Spirit lead people to a kind of careless 
 and presumptuous freedom with God. The 
 experience of every believer gives the lie to 
 this. The nearer he draws to God's seat, and 
 the more intimately he deals with him, the 
 more he sees of his perfections, and the more 
 he feels his own vanity and vileness. And 
 the Scripture assures us that God is greatly 
 to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and 
 to be had in reverence of all them that are 
 about him. 
 
 Wherever God meets with his people, that 
 place deserves to be considered as his house. 
 This is conformable to his own language: 
 " The heaven is my throne, and the earth is 
 my footstool : where is the house that ye build 
 unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 
 For all those things hath mine hand made, 
 and all those things have been, saith the 
 Lord: but to this man will I look, even to 
 him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and 
 trembleth at my word." Observe also our 
 Saviour's conversation with the woman of 
 Samaria. Her countrymen supposed that 
 God must be preferably, if not exclusively 
 worshipped on Gerizim ; while the Jewg 
 thought the same of Jerusalem : but he re- 
 minded her that the worship of God did not 
 derive its excellency or acceptableness from 
 locality: "Woman, believe me, the hour 
 cometh, when ye shall neither in this moun- 
 tain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father 
 God is a Spirit : and they that worship him 
 must worship him in spirit and in truth." 
 
 God seldom receives any thing but formal- 
 ity from those worshippers, whose bigoted at- 
 tachment to any particular mode or building 
 
JUNE 19. 
 
 yoi 
 
 e*ds them to say, " The temple of the Lord, 
 ►he temple of the Lord, the temple of the 
 Lord are we." Nothing makes a people dear 
 to God but their resemblance of him; and 
 nothing makes any place sacred but the di- 
 vine presence — there can be no sanctity in 
 wood and stone — " This" says Jacob, of the 
 bare ground on which he had been lying, 
 having seen and heard God there ; '' this is 
 none other than the house of God." Our Lord 
 prayed and preached in private dwellings; in 
 the open air ; on the side of a mou ntain ; by the 
 way-side ; and from a fishing-boat, as well as 
 in the synagogue and temple. So did his Apos- 
 tles. It was not till the end of the third cen- 
 tury that Christians had edifices expressly 
 reared for their public worship. In three 
 cases this remark may encourage us. First, 
 when by accident, disease, relative affliction, 
 or civil engagement, we are detained from 
 the courts of the Lord! If the heart be there, 
 and we are unavoidably prevented, the Lord 
 will make up the loss, and we shall see his 
 power and glory as we have seen him in the 
 sanctuary. Secondly, if Providence should 
 fix our station where we have little or no ad- 
 vantage from the privileges of God's house. 
 John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, 
 though in exile, and far from the usual ap- 
 pendages of the Sabbath. " I will be," says 
 \Jod, "a little sanctuary to them in the midst 
 of the heathen." Thirdly, in the intervals 
 of public worship. We cannot be always, or 
 very frequently in the temple ; but we may 
 render every object and every event a preach- 
 er; and — 
 
 " Where'er we seek him he is found, 
 And every place is holy ground." 
 
 Again. The experience of good men even 
 here sometimes approximates them to the 
 world of glory. Jacob saw that he was not 
 in heaven, but in such communion and with 
 such manifestations, he thought it could not 
 be far off"—" This," says he, " is none other 
 than the gate of heaven." Carnal men think 
 of heaven (if ever they think of it at all) as 
 a place far off, and to be reached by ascend- 
 ing up thousands of miles through the skies. 
 But, says our Saviour, "the kingdom of God 
 is nigh you. The kingdom of heaven is 
 within you." And the believer's present ac- 
 quaintance with it and participations of it 
 convince him that heaven is a state rather 
 than a place — He is the first-fruits of the 
 Spirit, the earnest of inheritance- He has 
 come to the heavenly Jerusalem, and has 
 everlasting life. And we confine not this to 
 some extraordinary enjoyments in his private 
 and public devotional engagements — in tribu- 
 lation we have seen him "joyful in glory;" 
 and have heard him "shout aloud upon his 
 bed" of painful sickness, and dying anguish. 
 
 Finally, the house of God and the gate of 
 neaven are related to each other ; and there- 
 fore they are well an ntioned together. Not 
 
 that the connexion between them is insepara 
 ble ; or that all those who attend the one wil 
 enter the other — Far from it To some the 
 house of God will be the gate of heh, J>nd 
 open to them a passage into greater misery, 
 and the preaching of the Word will prove 
 the savour of death unto death. But this is 
 the effect of perversion or misimprovement 
 The means of grace are designed and adapts 
 to awaken and secure our attention to the 
 things which belong to our peace. In the 
 house of God many of his people are convert- 
 ed ; and all are comforted, improved, and es- 
 tablished. To them the Sabbath is an emblem 
 of, and a preparation for the rest that remains 
 when the busy week of life is over. They 
 are here learning and loving the song they 
 will sing for ever. The temple below only 
 precedes and introduces the temple above — 
 Thus the pious Philip Henry would often end 
 his " pleasant things" on the evening of the 
 Lord's day, by saying — " Well, if this be not 
 heaven, it must be the way to it." 
 
 JUNE 19. 
 " lam Alpha and Omega." — Rev. 1. 8. 
 
 Alpha and -Omega are the first and last 
 letters in the Greek alphabet; and therefore 
 stand for the commencement and termination 
 of any concern in question — Therefore it is 
 here added by way of explanation, " The be- 
 ginning and the ending." 
 
 It is proper to observe that this is the way 
 in which God characterizes himself: "Thua 
 saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his re- 
 deemer the Lord of hosts ; I am the first, and 
 I am the last ; and beside me there is no God" 
 — This is very decisive. And yet the Lord 
 Jesus applies this title to himself. " I am 
 Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
 ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which 
 was, and which is to come, the Almighty" — 
 We are not ignorant of the pretence of some, 
 that God the Father is here intended; but 
 nothing like evidence supports it; while the 
 attempt itself betrays a concession that if the 
 words were the words of our Saviour, his di- 
 vinity would be established. But read again : 
 " I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the 
 last : and, What thou seest, write in a book, 
 and send it unto the seven churches which 
 are in Asia. And I turned to see the voice 
 that spake with me. And being turned, I saw 
 seven golden candlesticks ; and in the midst 
 of the seven candlesticks one like unto the 
 Son of man, clothed with a garment down to 
 the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden 
 girdle. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet 
 as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me. 
 saying unto me, Fear not ; I am the first and 
 the last : I am he that liveth and was dead ; 
 and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen ; 
 and have the keys of hell and of death." And 
 

 
 202 
 
 JUNE 20. 
 
 again: "It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the 
 beginning and the end. I will give unto him 
 that is athirst of the fountain of the water of 
 life freely." "And, behold, I come quickly ; and 
 my reward is with me, to give every man ac- 
 cording as his work shall be. I am Alpha and 
 Omega, the beginning and the end, the first 
 and the last." Here he is undeniably the 
 speaker ; and equally is he so in our text 
 .Now if he had been thus called only in one 
 place, it would have been sufficient for our 
 purpose : but the frequency of the appropria- 
 tion of the title shows how necessary it is 
 that we always entertain proper apprehen- 
 sions of his greatness. 
 
 But what is the import of the title itself! 
 First, it regards his nature, and shows the 
 duration of it. It never began, and will never 
 end. Hence in another place he is said to be 
 " the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." 
 And Paul holds forth this truth by comparing, 
 or rather contrasting him with the creation — 
 He was before the world appeared ; and he 
 will be when it is no more : Thou, Lord, in 
 the beginning hast laid the foundation of the 
 earth ; and the heavens are the works of 
 thine hands : they shall perish ; h, tt thou re- 
 mainest ; and they all shall wax old as doth 
 a garment ; and as a vesture shalt thou fold 
 them up, and they shall be changed : but thou 
 art the same, and thy years shall not fail." 
 It is true that angels, and the spirits of just 
 men made perfect, and even their glorified 
 bodies, will be immortal. But they will not 
 continue like him. They are only streams, 
 he is the fountain of life. They are branches, 
 he is the vine that sustains them. In him 
 they will live, and move, and have their be- 
 ing for ever. If he should suspend his influ- 
 ence for a moment, they would return to their 
 original nothingness — "He only," therefore, 
 " hath immortality." 
 
 It also regards his agency — The continu- 
 ance and exclusiveness of it — That he is the 
 commencer and completer — That he is all in 
 all— In what 1 
 
 Let us look at creation. Modern science 
 has surprisingly enlarged our conceptions of 
 the magnitude and extent of the universe ; 
 but glorious and immense as it is — we use 
 only the language of Scripture : "All things 
 were made by him ; and without him was not 
 any thing made that was made." " By him 
 were all things created, that are in heaven, 
 and that are in earth, visible and invisible, 
 whether they be thrones, or dominions, or 
 principalities, or powers: all things were 
 created by him, and for him." Thus he is the 
 first cause, and the last end of the whole. 
 
 Let us look at providence. Preservation, 
 if it be not a continued creation, requires a 
 continual agency — "And he is before all 
 things, and by him all things consist." " He 
 upholdeth all things by the word of his pow- 
 er." How many creatures are there visible, 
 
 and what myriads of myriads more, that aro 
 invisible, in the air, the water, and the earth ! 
 .And the eyes of all wait upon him. He open- 
 eth his hand and satisfieth every living thing 
 He is the King of kings, and the Lord of 
 lords. He raises them up, and brings them 
 down, as he pleases : they fulfil his purposes, 
 and will appear at his tribunal. Empires are 
 formed or destroyed at his nod. All their 
 revolutions are connected with his cause ; 
 and the kingdom and nation that will not 
 serve him shall perish. He is the head over 
 all things to the Church which is his body ; 
 the fullness of him that filleth all in all. 
 
 Let us look at redemption. He trod the 
 winepress alone ; and of the people there was 
 none with him. By himself he purged our 
 sins. When he died he said, It is finished. 
 And by the one offering up of himself, we are 
 assured he hath perfected for ever them that 
 are sanctified. And he is not only the Alpha 
 and Omega in obtaining eternal redemption 
 for us, but in the application of it. He saves 
 us by the washing of regeneration and the 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost. We live in the 
 Spirit ; we walk in the Spirit ; and this Spirit 
 is " the Spirit of Christ," and derived only 
 from him. The Apostle therefore calls him 
 " the author and finisher of our faith." He is 
 all that faith sees, lays hold of, relies upon, 
 rejoices and glories in. Whose blood but his 
 cleanses us from all sin 1 Whose righteous- 
 ness but his can we mention in our approach 
 to God ] In whom alone are we free from all 
 condemnation ? He only lives to make inter- 
 cession for us. He only is our advocate with 
 the Father. In him all fullness dwells. Nei- 
 ther is there salvation in any other ; for there 
 is no other name given under heaven among 
 men whereby we must be saved. He pro- 
 duces also the grace of faith : he maintains 
 it : he perfects it : and therefore the Apostles 
 addressed themselves to him, saying, Lord, 
 increase our faith. And the same, by a parity 
 of reason, may be said of all our religious 
 principles and dispositions. He is the author 
 and finisher of our hope ; the author and fin- 
 isher of our patience ; the author and finisher 
 of our humility, our peace, our joy. There- 
 fore on him all believers alone depend, and to 
 him alone they ascribe the praise and glory 
 of all they possess. " Of his fullness have at. 
 we received, and grace for grace. 
 
 JUNE 20. 
 "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on befor* 
 the people, and take with thee of the elders 'of 
 Israel ; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest 
 the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, 
 I will stand before thee there upon the rock in 
 Horeb ; and thou shalt smile the rock, and 
 there shall come water out of it, that the people 
 may drink." — Exodus xvii. 5, 6. 
 
 We should learn two things from this in- 
 
JUNE 21. 
 
 203 
 
 terposition. The one regards the providence 
 of God. The other the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 It should teach us to rely on the providence 
 of God in our difficulties and straits. The 
 trial was great — They pitched in Rephidim, 
 and the people had no water to drink. Con- 
 sider how indispensable this supply was, in a 
 dry place, under a burning sun, and with 
 such an immense multitude of men, women, 
 children, and cattle ! What lowings of the 
 herds ! What piercing cries of the infants ! 
 What anguish is parching thirst ! — God could 
 have led them to a place where were wells 
 of water, or have rained down showers upon 
 them ; but this would not have been so sen- 
 sible and striking a display of omnipotence, 
 as bringing water at once by a stroke out of 
 a rock, which, as we learn from two other 
 passages of Scripture, was a rock of flint; 
 and in such abundant effusions. " He brought 
 streams also out of the rock, and caused 
 waters to run down like rivers." What a 
 foundation for their hope in God ! Yet see 
 their unbelief. We should have thought it 
 impossible for them, after such a proof of his 
 almightiness and all-sufficiency, to have ques- 
 tioned whether he could deliver or relieve 
 them : " yet they spake against God ; they 
 said, Can God furnish a table in the wilder- 
 ness ! Behold, he smote the rock, that the 
 waters gushed out, and the streams overflow 
 ed ; can lie give bread also 1 can he provide 
 fl^sh for his people ?" So it was with them. 
 But how was it with Moses, when God had 
 engaged to furnish the people with flesh for 
 a month ? Moses said, The people, among 
 whom I am, are six hundred thousand foot- 
 men ; and thou hast said, I will give them 
 flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall 
 the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to 
 suffice them 1 or shall all the fish of the sea 
 be gathered together for them, to suffice 
 them ? And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the 
 Lord's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now 
 whether my word shall come to pass unto 
 thee or not," How was it with our Lord's 
 own disciples 1 They had seen him from a 
 most scanty supply feed a vast multitude, so 
 that as distributors they had twenty-fold more 
 in their hands when they left off than they 
 began with : yet when they were in the boat, 
 they began to despond, because they had but 
 one loaf! And has not this been still more 
 the case with us ? Are we not always limit- 
 ing the Holy One of Israel, and ready to say, 
 "There is no hope," especially when the 
 usual expedients fail us? But we should re- 
 member that nothing is too hard for the Lord ; 
 and that if he does not find a way for our re- 
 lease or relief, he can furnish one. Our ex- 
 tremity is his opportunity. He does not pre- 
 vent darkness ; but to the upright there 
 ariseth light in tr > darkness : and it is often 
 darkest before br«.ak of day. He turneth the 
 
 shadow of death into the morning. He loves 
 to appear to our joy, when all prospect that 
 we should be saved is taken away. Let us 
 remember that what is impossible to us is 
 easy to him. Who ordered the fish to bring 
 Peter the tribute-money? Who multiplied 
 the widow's oil and meal? Who brought 
 Elijah bread and meat in the morning and in 
 the evening ? Who turned the rock into a 
 standing water, the flint into a fountain of 
 waters ? 
 
 It will readily be conceded that we are not 
 to look for miracles now. But we are to look 
 for him who performed them, who is a very 
 present help in trouble, whose hand is not 
 shortened that it cannot save, and whose ear 
 is not heavy that it cannot hear. He has said, 
 and the Scripture cannot be broken, "Thy 
 bread shall be given thee, and thy water shall 
 be sure ;" and " They that seek the Lord shall 
 not want any good thing." 
 
 But his work is perfect, his ways are judg- 
 ment. We do many things to accomplish one 
 purpose ; he accomplishes many purposes by 
 one thing. This interposition therefore not 
 only displays the Providential care of God, 
 and teaches us to trust in him in all difficul- 
 ties and exigences ; but it also furnishes an 
 emblem of the Saviour's grace. We love not 
 the spiritualizers of the Scripture. They give 
 it meanings which it never had, finding facts 
 in figures and figures in facts, just as it serves 
 their vain fancies, till sober-minded people are 
 tempted to think that it has no certain and 
 fixed sense in it. But here we follow our in- 
 spired guide — "And did all drink the same 
 spiritual drink : for they drank of that spirit- 
 ual Rock that followed them : and that Rock 
 was Christ." 
 
 JUNE 21. 
 
 " And did all drink the same spiritual drink : for 
 they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed 
 them : and that Rock was Christ." — 1 Cor. x. 4. 
 
 How was that Rock Christ? Not really, 
 but typically. How was it a spiritual Rock ? 
 Not by substance, but by signification ; not by 
 its quality, but by its use. We should not 
 press a metaphor beyond its lawful bounds. 
 But the analogy in the case before us holds 
 
 With regard to the Rock itself. A rock is 
 remarkable for its solidity, strength, duration, 
 support, shelter, and shade ; and so is a just 
 and striking emblem of Christ, who is so often 
 expressed by the name. It holds also 
 
 With regard to the striking. The Rock 
 was smitten ; and Christ once suffered, the 
 just for the unjust. The Rock was smitten 
 publicly in the sight of the elders and of the 
 people ; and Christ suffered at Jerusalem in 
 the presence of a similar multitude. Tht 
 Rock was smitten by Moses ; and the law, 
 of which he is the representative, inflicted 
 the death of Christ : he redeemed us from 
 
204 
 
 JUNE 22. 
 
 tne curse of the law, having been made a 
 curse for us. Till the Rock was thus smitten 
 it yielded no supplies; and Christ being made 
 perfect through suffering, became the author 
 of eternal salvation to all that obey him. 
 Who could have expected that the smiting 
 of a Rock would have furnished a flood of 
 living waters ] It was the Lord's doing, and 
 « marvellous in our eyes. And Christ cru- 
 Eified was to the Jews a stumbling-block, and 
 to the Greeks foolishness ; but to them which 
 are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the 
 power of God, and the wisdom of God. The 
 foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the 
 weakness of God is stronger than men — 
 Which things the angels desire to look into. 
 It also holds 
 
 With regard to the streams. What did 
 these serve to express J The blood of Jesus 
 which " is drink indeed" — The doctrines of 
 the Gospel, whose tidings to the distressed 
 conscience are like cold water to a thirsty 
 soul, and afford a refreshment and satisfaction 
 which no philosophy can furnish — The influ- 
 ences of the Holy Ghost, according to the 
 promise, I will pour water upon him that is 
 thirsty ; and floods upon the dry ground ; I 
 will pour rny Spirit upon thy seed, and my 
 blessing upon thine offspring:" and the invi- 
 tation, "If anyman thirst, let him come unto 
 me, and drink — This spake he of the Spirit, 
 which they that believe on him should re- 
 ceive." 
 
 One circumstance must not be overlooked. 
 The streams not only relieved their present 
 wants, but secured them future supplies ; for 
 it was in these, the rock followed them in 
 their journeys, so that they were constantly 
 refreshed by them. As long as we are in the 
 wilderness our spiritual wants will return ; 
 but the Saviour will never leave us : and as 
 our days so shall our strength be. Thus our 
 condition is softened ; and we can sometimes 
 sing the Lord's song in a strange land. But 
 soon the sun shall not light on us, nor any 
 heat, for the Lamb that is in the midst of the 
 throne shall feed us, and lead us unto living 
 fountains of water. 
 
 Let us read the Old Testament under the 
 extensions and applications of the New. It 
 was designed to furnish shadows of good 
 things to come ; but the body is Christ. 
 
 Let us bless him who was smitten that we 
 might drink of the river of his pleasure. The 
 rock in the wilderness was smitten uncon- 
 sciously ; but Jesus was exceeding sorrowful 
 even unto death : and he knew the expen- 
 siveness of his interposition on our behalf: 
 yet he more than consented to the condition 
 — he delighted in the sacrifice. 
 
 " Oh," said David, " Oh that one would 
 give me drink of the water of the well of 
 Bethlehem, which is by the gate !" And 
 three of his brave followers broke through the 
 garrison of the Philistines, and brought him a 
 
 supply. But, said he, " it is the price of 
 blood ;" and lie was too generous to drink 
 what had endangered life in the procuring. 
 Behold how they lcved him. But what waa 
 their love to their sovereign, compared with 
 the Saviour's love to us ! He actually poured 
 out his soul unto death, that we might live 
 through him, and with joy draw water out of 
 the wells of salvation. This is indeed the price 
 of blood, of blood divine ! Yet he is charmed to 
 see us partake of the costly privilege ! 
 
 As from the gushings of the rock there was 
 more than a sufficiency for all the multitude; 
 so in Jesus there is enough for all, and to 
 spare ; for it hath pleased the Father that in 
 him should all fullness dwell. 
 
 As all were welcome to drink of the abun- 
 dance, so none are forbidden here. " The 
 Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him 
 that heareth, say, Come. And let him that is 
 athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him 
 take the water of life freely." 
 
 We have met with a painting of this scene. 
 Some were represented as pressing close to 
 the fissures to catch the enlivening draught. 
 Others as falling down upon their knees to 
 drink of the bubbling flow. Fathers and 
 mothers were eager to impart to their 
 parched children who stretched out their 
 eager hands and necks. Others were hasten- 
 ing to bear relief to the lame, the sick, the 
 dying — It is the eagerness for relief and grat- 
 ification which explains the allusion of Moses: 
 " He made them ride on the high places of 
 the earth, that he might eat the increase of 
 the fields ; and he made him to suck honey 
 out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock. 
 It was not oil or honey ; but it was as good — 
 it tasted as rich as oil — as sweet as honey. 
 And did we but thirst as they did, such would 
 be our longings after the Saviour, so precious 
 would be a participation of his benefits, so 
 eager should we be, not only to obtain sup- 
 plies for ourselves, but to communicate them 
 to others also. 
 
 How well do those who refuse these rich and 
 blessed streams deserve the place where in 
 vain they will call for a drop of water to cool 
 their tongue ! This is the condemnation — " Ye 
 would not come unto me, that ye might have 
 life." 
 
 JUNE 22. 
 
 " Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of 
 king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of As- 
 syria came up against all the defenced cities 
 of Judah, and took them. And the king of As- 
 syria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusa- 
 lem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. 
 And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool 
 in the highway of the fuller's Jield." — Isaiah 
 xxxvi. 1, 2. 
 
 Herb was a great danger. The enemy 
 was powerful. He had subaued many other 
 
JUNE 22. 
 
 205 
 
 countries. He was now invading Judah ; and 
 carrying 1 every thing before him. He had 
 already taken every strong-hold in his way, 
 and was now come to the very gate of Jeru- 
 salem. The Lord frequently does not appear 
 for his servants till all hope that they should 
 be saved is taken away. Hence it has grown 
 into a proverb, that our extremity is God's 
 opportunity — " In the mount it shall be seen." 
 
 He does not hinder our sun from going 
 down ; but he prevents the darkness we fore- 
 boded, and at evening time it is light ! Thus 
 it was with Hezekiah. 
 
 Observe under this alarming trial what he 
 felt. " It came to pass, when king Hezekiah 
 heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered 
 himself with sackcloth." So Job, that exam- 
 ple of patience, when he had heard the suc- 
 cessive messengers of woe, " arose, and rent 
 his mantle, and shaved his head, a<nd fell 
 down upon the ground, and worshipped." A 
 natural hardihood, a stoical insensibility, is 
 not patience or submission ; yea, it renders 
 the exercise of them impossible. There is no 
 patience in bearing what we do not feel, or 
 resignation in giving up what we do not value. 
 The grace of God keeps us from despising the 
 chastening of the Lord, as well as from feint- 
 ing when we are rebuked of him : and afflic- 
 tions only yield profit to them that are exer- 
 cised thereby. 
 
 Observe also what he did. He betook 
 himself to prayer. It was his duty, it was 
 his privilege. It distinguished him from men 
 of the world, who have recourse to suicide, or 
 dissipation, or creature-assistance — God was 
 his refuge and strength, a present help in 
 trouble. " He went into the house of the 
 Lord." No doubt he retired and poured out 
 his soul before the Lord in his closet; but 
 God is known in his palaces for a refuge. 
 Hence he also sent a deputation to engage 
 the supplications of Isaiah the prophet: 
 "And they said unto him, Thus saith Heze- 
 kiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of re- 
 buke, and of blasphemy : for the children are 
 come to the birth, and there is not strength 
 to bring forth. It may be the Lord thy God 
 will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the 
 king of Assyria his master hath sent to re- 
 proach the living God, and will reprove the 
 words which the Lord thy God hath heard : 
 wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant 
 that is left." This shows the sense he had 
 of his own imperfections, and his confidence 
 that the fervent prayers of a righteous man 
 availeth much. Nor was he disappointed. 
 
 Observe what he gained — a complete de- 
 liverance. Who ever sought the Lord in 
 vain 1 How readily does he answer the cries 
 of his people ! What wonders has prayer 
 achieved ! Prayer is our best weapon — Hez- 
 ekiah conquered upon his knees. 
 
 The deliverance was not only in answer to 
 
 prayer, but it was foretold. ' Isaiah said 
 unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your mas- 
 ter, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the 
 words that thou hast heard, wherewith the 
 servants of the king of Assyria have blas- 
 phemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon 
 him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return 
 to his own land ; and I will cause him to fall 
 by the sword in his own land. Therefore 
 thus saith the Ix»rd concerning the king of 
 Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor 
 shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with 
 shields, nor cast a bank against it." By an- 
 nouncing a thing so improbable, the Lord not 
 only showed his foreknowledge, but afforded 
 Hezekiah an immediate ground of confidence. 
 He could have done all without promising it ; 
 but the word would prove the trial of his 
 faith. If he- believed it, his fears would be 
 forthwith removed, and his mind be kept in 
 perfect peace, being stayed upon God. 
 
 The deliverance was also founded in a re- 
 markable reason. The reason is two-fold. 
 First, says he, "I will defend this city for 
 mine own sake." The foe has been blas- 
 pheming me, as if I were one of the gods of 
 the heathen, whose worshippers he has con- 
 quered, weak as they, and unable to save 
 those who trust in me. But I will display 
 my perfections, and vindicate the glory of my 
 name. Accordingly Hezekiah had pleaded 
 this : " Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear ; 
 open thine eyes, O Lord, and see : and hear 
 all the words of Sennacherib, which hath 
 sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, 
 Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all 
 the nations, and their countries, and have cast 
 their gods into the fire : for they were no 
 gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and 
 stone : therefore they have destroyed them. 
 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from 
 his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth 
 may know that thou art the Lord, even thou 
 only." Secondly, I will do it " for my servant 
 David's sake." How honourable was this to 
 the character of the man after his own heart ! 
 A similar allusion was often made to Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob. From the beginning some 
 were blessed for the sake of others. It was 
 to show God's regard to "righteousness; to 
 enforce religion from its relative influence 
 and advantages ; and to prepare for a belief 
 in the mediation of the Messiah, for whose 
 obedience unto death all the families of the 
 earth are blessed. The deliverance also was 
 supernaturally accomplished : " Then the an- 
 gel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the 
 camp of the Assyrians a hundred and four- 
 score and five thousand : and when they arose 
 early in the morning, behold, they were all 
 dead corpses." What a destruction was here ! 
 And what an idea does it give us of the power 
 of these messengers of God, who excel in 
 strength and do his commandments! Hov 
 
20(5 
 
 JUNE 23. 
 
 safe and how happy are they who have the 
 Lord of hosts on their side ! If God be for us, 
 who can be against us ? 
 
 But woe to those who provoke a Being 
 whose word arms every creature against 
 them ! What will it be " when the Lord 
 Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his 
 mighty angels, in flaming fire taking ven- 
 geance on them that know not God, and that 
 obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : 
 when he shall come to be glorified in his 
 saints, and to be admired in all them that be- 
 
 JUNE 23. 
 
 " Where two or three are gathered together" — 
 Matt xviii. 20. 
 
 There are circumstances which are not 
 essential to the nature, acceptance, and use- 
 fulness of divine worship. Two of these our 
 Saviour here mentions. 
 
 The first regards place — " Where 1 '' — let it 
 be where it will — in the sanctuary, or in the 
 private dwelling, or in the barn, or in the 
 field — " Where two or three are gathered to- 
 gether in my name, there am I in the midst 
 of them." " The hour cometh, says Jesus to 
 the woman of Samaria, " when neither in this 
 mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, shall men 
 worship the Father;" that is, exclusively. 
 Thus he dwelleth not in temples made with 
 hands ; but wherever we worship him in 
 spirit and in truth we are accepted of him. 
 As to external sanctity, all places are alike to 
 him. It is his presence that confers sacred- 
 ness and dignity. And where has not this 
 been enjoyed! When Jacob on his journey 
 awoke in the morning, though there was no 
 edifice near, he said, " This is none other 
 than the house of God, and this is the gate of 
 heaven." Our Lord, in the days of his flesh, 
 not only worshipped in the temple, but in the 
 synagogues ; and preached by the side of the 
 mountain, and the way-side, and the sea-side, 
 and on board a barge: and he gives proof 
 now, that he is to be found wherever he is 
 sought Where the King is there is the 
 Court: but some think more of the place tharj 
 of the king. Their prejudice and bigotry 
 would confine his regards. But while they 
 cry, " The temple of the Lord, the temple of 
 the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we f he 
 graciously says, " In all places where I record 
 my name, I will come unto thee, and I will 
 bless thee." 
 
 The second regards number — " Where two 
 or three are gathered together in my name, 
 there am I in the midst of them." It was not 
 without design, that our Lord, instead of a 
 multitude, which seems imposing and striking, 
 specifies such a few. It would rectify the 
 mistake of the Jews, who contended that 
 there must be always fen persons present, at 
 
 least, to give efficacy to social prayer. It 
 would encourage his followers, both in cases 
 of choice and necessity. Some few may be 
 disposed to meet together for prayer, reading 
 the Scripture, pious conversation, or to ar- 
 range or execute plans of usefulness; and 
 why may they not expect that he will meet 
 with them ? Did not he join the two disci* 
 pies going to Emmaus, and made their hearts 
 burn within them ? Let us make him our sub- 
 ject, and he will become our companion. 
 W hen two or three fellow-citizens happen to 
 be in the same place abroad, they soon hail 
 each other and become acquainted ; they are 
 sure to meet together and commune concern- 
 ing the difference between their present resi- 
 dence and their own country ; and inquire 
 when they heard from home ; and when they 
 think of returning. How is it that Christians, 
 who are strangers and sojourners, do not of- 
 tener "meet and mingle?" and compare the 
 vanity of this world with the worth of their 
 own? and joyful, as the children of Zion in 
 their king, talk of the glory of his kingdom, 
 and abundantly utter the memory of his great 
 goodness? 
 
 But there are cases in which only a few 
 can meet together. Persecution formerly pre- 
 vented or dispersed the worshippers ; and only 
 small parties, in places of concealment, and in 
 the night, could assemble — Yet these wen 
 distinguished seasons and services. Wher 
 the Gospel now first enters a town or village 
 it frequently meets with opposition ; and feai 
 and shame restrain many from attending. 
 Yet let not the day of small things be despis- 
 ed. Some of our most flourishing Churches 
 arose from very inconsiderable beginnings — a 
 few from time to time passed along unnoticed, 
 or reproached, to some poor apartment, where 
 they claimed the Saviour's promise, and found 
 it good to be there — And now the little one 
 has become a thousand — What has God 
 wrought ! If the weather reduces the number, 
 let us not, if possible, be absent ourselves* — 
 The exertion and self-denial will not be in 
 vain — Them that honour him, he will hon- 
 our ; and they that despise him will be lightly 
 esteemed. 
 
 This also teaches ministers. Popular ex- 
 citement is pleasing. But multitude is not 
 essential to usefulness. A sportsman has fired 
 into a flight of birds, and not killed one of 
 them ; and he has killed one when he has had 
 only one to aim at. When tempted to excuse 
 himself from going, or to neglect preparation 
 because there is such a handful of poor rus- 
 tics, let the preacher remember the value of 
 a soul — Let him remember that there is joy 
 in the presence of the angels of God over one 
 sinner that repenteth — Let him remember 
 that a much greater than himself — the Lord 
 of all, will be there — " For where two or three 
 are gathered together in his Name, there is 
 he in the midst of them." 
 
JUNE 24, 25. 
 
 207 
 
 JUNE 24. 
 
 "In my Name." — Matt xviii. 20. 
 
 We have seen that no stress is to be laid 
 on the circumstances of the worship. But it 
 is otherwise with the nature of it The place 
 and the number of the assembly are nothing 
 — " where"'' — let it be where it will ; " two or 
 three" — if there be no more — " are gathered 
 together," it is enough — if they are " gathered 
 together in his Name." But this is essential 
 to Christian worship. What is the meaning 
 of the requisition ? 
 
 We cannot do it in his Name unless we do 
 it by his authority. This import of the phrase 
 is too obvious to require proof or exemplifica- 
 tion. Jesus is the Judge and the King in his 
 Church : his will is made known in his word : 
 to this our appeal is to be made, in all spirit- 
 ual concerns : it is the only rule by which we 
 are to walk. It matters not who enjoins it 
 if he forbids, or who forbids it if he enjoins — 
 To the law and to the testimony. Nothing 
 is binding on the conscience without his sanc- 
 tion: but his followers must say, "All the 
 Lord commandeth us we will do" — And be- 
 cause he commands it. 
 
 We cannot do it in his Name unless we do 
 it for his sake. When a speaker says, " in 
 the name of reason and common sense ;" he 
 means, by the respect which it is supposed 
 men are ready to pay to them. If in arguing 
 with a rebellious child I was to plead " in the 
 name of her who bore him," I should be un- 
 derstood to mean, by the affection he owed to 
 so dear a relation. And when our Lord speaks 
 of our " receiving a little child in his name," 
 he means from regard to himself — or because 
 we are desirous of serving and honouring him. 
 He always demands a supreme regard from 
 his disciples. He tells them that whoever 
 loves father, or mother, or wife, or child, more 
 than himself, is not worthy of him. And he 
 deserves what he requires. And when we are 
 brought to know him, we shall feel no reluc- 
 tance thus to regard his dear Name. " How 
 much do I owe him ! What has he not done 
 for me ? He has made, preserved, redeemed, 
 saved me. When I consider the state in which 
 he found me — the condition to which he has 
 advanced me — and the awful and expensive 
 manner in which he has accomplished my sal- 
 vation : I feel that I am not my own. Speak, 
 Lord, for thy servant heareth. Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?" And does he re- 
 quire us to sanctify his day, to repair to his 
 house, to hear his word, to address his throne, 
 to approach his table ; we shall not only do it, 
 but — it is the nature of love, we should do it 
 with pleasure ; and the duty will be found our 
 privilege 
 
 We cannot do it in his Name, unless we do 
 it in a dependence on his mediation. Now 
 tlieio are two things which we must rely 
 upon him for. The one is, assistance. We 
 
 can only serve him in strength derived from 
 him. These are his own words, " Abide in 
 me. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself 
 except it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, 
 except ye abide in me : for without me ye 
 can do nothing." Our work is great, and we 
 are weak ; but his grace is sufficient for us. 
 The service asks the utmost spirituality, and 
 we feel every tiling but a suitableness to it 
 when we engage : but " the preparation of 
 the heart, and the answer of the tongue, are 
 from the Lord." The supply of his Spirit 
 helpeth our infirmities, and keeps us under 
 our discouragements from giving up so poor 
 and defective a course of duty and devotion. 
 
 The other is acceptance. We are to come 
 unto God by him ; and by him we are to offer 
 up all our spiritual sacrifices. If we are ac- 
 cepted, it must be in the Beloved, not only as 
 to our persons, but services. A Christian 
 feels this. His imperfections are his afflic- 
 tions ; and he is conscious of so many defi- 
 ciencies, that he would have no delight nor 
 confidence in drawing near to God without 
 this hope. If, when he examines himself, and 
 the sins of his holy things appear, he feels re- 
 lief, it is by looking unto Jesus. But when 
 he views the infinite value of his sacrifice, 
 the perfection of his obedience, the prevalency 
 of his intercession and advocacy ; he has hum- 
 ble boldness and access with confidence by 
 the faith of him. And even originally he 
 could not have been so endeared to God as he 
 now is — thus coming in his name — sprinkled 
 with his blood — and making mention of hia 
 righteousness only. 
 
 What a difference is there between the 
 language of the Scripture concerning Christ, 
 and the sentiments entertained of him by some 
 who yet consider themselves to be Christians ! 
 They refer to him so rarely and so slenderly, 
 that their hearers may almost be considered 
 " as without Christ" But the Scripture tells 
 us that " we are complete in him" — That he 
 " is all and in all" — That whatsoever we do 
 in word or deed, we are to do all in the 
 Name of the Lord Jesus." 
 
 JUNE 25. 
 
 " There am I in the midst of them." 
 Matt xviii. 20. 
 
 A large portion of the Scripture is prom- 
 issory ; and the promises it contains are ex- 
 ceeding great and precious. Some of these, 
 as we would naturally expect, are designed 
 and adapted to excite and encourage us in 
 the exercises of divine worship. Accordingly, 
 the Lord said of old, " In all places where 1 
 record my name, I will come unto thee, and I 
 will bless thee." And if such was his lan- 
 guage to Jewish worshippers, what says he to 
 Christian assemblies? " Where two or three 
 are gathered together in my name, there am 
 
208 
 
 JUNE 26. 
 
 I in the midst or them." inis cannot be 
 understood of his corporeal presence ; for as 
 to this, he said, " I am no more in the world," 
 and no more will he be in the world, as to his 
 bodily presence, " till he should appear a sec- 
 ond time, without sin unto salvation." It is 
 also to be distinguished from his essential 
 presence ; for by this he is everywhere, 
 and fills heaven and earth. Whenever his 
 presence is spoken of in a way of promise, it 
 intends not the perfection of his nature, but a 
 privilege. Thus though he is not far from nny 
 one of us, yet it is said, " The Lord is nigh 
 unto them that are of a broken heart, and 
 saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." It is 
 of such a peculiar and gracious presence he 
 here speaks. 
 
 And thus he is with all his people. He is 
 with them in their own persons ; with them 
 in the closet ; with them in the family — But 
 " the Lord loveth the gates of Zion better 
 than all the dwellings of Jacob" — 
 
 " His mercy visits every house, 
 
 That pay their night and morning vows; 
 But makes a more delightful stay, 
 Where churches meet to praise and pray." 
 
 It is observable that he does not say what 
 he will do there, but only that he is there, in 
 the midst of them. This is assurance enough. 
 His presence is all his people can need ; for 
 with him is the fountain of life. Moses de- 
 sired nothing more than that his presence 
 should go with him. David was emboldened 
 by this to look into the valley of the shadow 
 of death — " I will fear no evil, for thou art 
 with me." What is heaven 1 To " be for ever 
 with the Lord." 
 
 Well, when they are gathered together in 
 his name ; there he is in the midst of them, 
 as a physician in the midst of his disordered 
 patients ; as a father in the midst of his family ; 
 as the sun is in the midst of the garden in 
 spring; as the soul is in the body, animating 
 every member, and penetrating every particle 
 of the frame. There he is, to enliven their 
 devotions, to hear their complaints, to relieve 
 their wants, to give them grace and glory, 
 and to withhold no good thing from them. 
 There he is, to pardon the guilty, to enrich 
 the poor, to comfort the mourners, to be the 
 father of the fatherless, and the judge of the 
 widow in his holy habitation. 
 
 Christians! you are his witnesses. This as- 
 surance you have often tried ; and it has now 
 become a matter of history and experience. 
 There he gave you these eyes to see, and 
 ears to hear, and hearts to feel. You know 
 the preacher could not have made you " a 
 new creature" — " the excellency of the pow- 
 er was of God" — " God was in the midst of 
 them cf a truth." There you have found him 
 in painful discoveries, which laid open the 
 chambers of imagery in the heart; and made 
 you cry, " Behold, I am vile ;" " wherefore I 
 abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." 
 
 There you have enjoyed him in the manifest- 
 ations of his love ; and have been convinced 
 that they were not the delusions of fancy, or 
 the ferments of animal nature, by their hum- 
 bling, holy, heavenly tendency. There he 
 has removed your perplexities and doubts; 
 freed your conscience of its galling load ; and 
 spoken many a word in season to your wearj 
 souls : so that you can now say, 
 
 " In every new distress, 
 
 We'll to his house repair; 
 We'll think upon his wond'rous grace. 
 And seek deliverance there" — 
 
 And go — always pleading this promise, a)<d 
 saying, " Do as thou hast said :" " Fulfil thy 
 word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast 
 caused me to hope." That hope will not, 
 cannot make you ashamed. Your expectation 
 is sustained not only by his goodness, but alsc 
 by his truth. You could not have bound him 
 but he has bound himself. He cannot be ab- 
 sent from your assembly, if you meet in h' 
 name — For he hath said, "Where two or 
 three are gathered together in my name 
 
 THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM." 
 
 JUNE 26. 
 
 " Where two or three are gathered together in 
 my Name, there am J in the midst of them "— 
 Matt xviii. 20. 
 
 Let me take this blessed assurance, and 
 consider it 
 
 As a demonstration of my Saviour's divini- 
 ty. Who less than God could have given 
 such a promise 1 He does not say, there shall 
 my blessing be, but myself: yea, not there 
 will I be, but there I am. This necessarily 
 supposes omnipresence. How else could ho 
 be in so many companies and places at once ? 
 How many assemblies are there on the Sab- 
 bath in the various parts of the earth ? And, 
 if there be truth or meaning in this promise, 
 he is in every one of them, attending to ah 
 the peculiarities of individual condition, and 
 affording the most suitable relief. Could an 
 angel do this] But 
 
 Let me consider it a standard by which to 
 estimate his condescension and grace. Here 
 I find David before me — " When," says he, 
 " I consider the heavens, the work of thy fin- 
 gers, the moon and the stars which thou hast 
 ordained ; Lord, what is man, that thou art 
 mindful of him, and the son of man that thou 
 visitest him 1" So felt also his son Solomon, 
 at the dedication of the temple. It was a glo- 
 rious scene ; and a common mind would have 
 been struck with the splendour of the build- 
 ing, the largeness of the audience, and the 
 sound of such a multitude of performers ; but 
 he, wondering that the Supreme Being should 
 deign to notice it, exclaims, " Will God in 
 very deed dwell with men upon the earth! 
 Behold, the heaven, even the heaven of hea- 
 vens cannot contain thee ; hew much less fhia 
 
JUNE 27. 
 
 20y 
 
 house which 1 have built l" See, O my soul, 
 he not only allows us to wait upon him, but 
 he waits upon us. Small as our number may 
 be, wherever we meet together he is in the 
 midst of us — however poor and unworthy — 
 and as often as they choose to assemble — and 
 he has been always doing this — and will con- 
 tinue to do it to the end of time ! " Who is 
 a God like unto thee 1" 
 
 Let it serve to bind me to a proper de- 
 meanour in his house. There is always some- 
 thing impressive in a company of human 
 beings, especially if there be in the midst of 
 them some very distinguished personage, 
 such as a hero, a philosopher, a king. " God 
 is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the 
 saints, and to be had in reverence of all them 
 that are about him." In his presence let 
 me guard against a roving eye; wandering 
 thoughts; drowsiness; hypocrisy; formality. 
 When I enter the sanctuary, I place myself 
 immediately under his view — and he sees me, 
 and knows whether my devotion be any thing 
 more than a form of godliness or a fair show 
 in the flesh. 
 
 Let it impress me with the importance of 
 social and public worship. Some ask, " May 
 we not read and pray and meditate at home J 
 And will not this equally answer the pur- 
 pose with our joining in the service of the 
 sanctuary !" But the Judge of all has de- 
 cided this, not only by his command that we 
 forsake not the assembling ourselves together, 
 but by his promise that he is in the midst of 
 us. Indeed, reason and experience will lead 
 us to the same result. In his house the greater 
 number of the Lord's followers are called by 
 grace ; and they who are not born, are nour- 
 ished there. It is thus excitement and allure- 
 ment are provided to call the ignorant and the 
 careless together. Nothing tends so much to 
 civilize and harmonize men as their frequently 
 uniting in such exercises ; and nothing tends 
 bo much to keep the distinctions of life from 
 excess and abuse. 
 
 Let it also prove a stimulation to the use 
 of the means of grace. Some think it is 
 needless for them to go to the sanctuary, be- 
 cause the minister can tell them no more 
 than they know already. This is very ques- 
 tionable. But allowing that the servant is 
 unable to do any thing more for them, is the 
 Master too ? I do not go only or principally 
 because the preacher is there, but because the 
 Saviour himself is there, whose sufficiency is 
 divine. How is the company of the great 
 courted ! If the Lord Jesus was now on earth, 
 should I not, if I had an opportunity, repair 
 to him ; and deem it a privilege to see him, 
 .hear him, and hold converse with him"? But 
 I know where he now is, waiting to be gra- 
 cious, and exalted to have mercy ; and I have 
 *ull and easy access to him. Let me then 
 Buffer nothing to keep me from the assembly 
 
 his saints. Let not the creature prevent 
 14 
 
 my serving and enjoying God. It' i had an 
 engagement with the king, should I not deem 
 it even an honour to be able to allege such a 
 reason for my refusing a person who called 
 at the appointed hour .' If I am indifferent to 
 the Lord's gracious presence on earth, what 
 right have I to expect his glorious presence 
 in heaven 1 But if I now love the habitation 
 of his house, and the place where his honour 
 dwelleth, at,death I shall only remove to his 
 temple above, where I shall worship him, not 
 with a few, but with the general assembly ; 
 not with infirmities which make me groan, 
 being burdened, but with powers equal to the 
 service ; not with long intervals between, and 
 the returns of worldly care and vexations, but 
 to be still praising hir 
 
 JUNE 27. 
 " Singing," — Ephes. v. 19. 
 
 All believe that hearing is a duty, anc 
 that prayer is a duty ; but some questior 
 whether this is the case with singing. Now 
 there is something in our very structure that 
 seems equal to a proof of the obligation. We 
 cannot imagine a faculty was given us which 
 was never intended to be used ; especially a 
 faculty from which so much pleasure and ad- 
 vantage can be derived and communicated. 
 We are fearfully and wonderfully made, and 
 this power of vocal music far surpasses all 
 mechanical performance : no instrument, how- 
 ever surprising or perfect, can express words : 
 but in singing, man can speak ; and inform 
 while he delights. How shameful is it that 
 such an unrivalled endowment should be per- 
 verted, or degraded to evil purposes ! But we 
 are not to argue against the use of a thing 
 from the abuse of it. Let us remember that 
 God is to be glorified in our body, as well as 
 in our spirit. Let us say with David, " Awake 
 up, my glory : I will sing unto the Lord as 
 long as I live ; I will sing praises to my God 
 while I have my being." 
 
 Singing is not a ritual duty. It preceded 
 the ceremonial law; and when our Saviour 
 had abolished the passover, and his own sup- 
 per had succeeded to it — "after supper he 
 sang a hymn." He thereby showed that 
 such a service belonged to the new state 
 which he had introduced, and was to be a 
 part of Christian worship. Accordingly the 
 sanction of his example, which had the au- 
 thority of a command, was not disregarded by 
 his disciples, either in practice or precept 
 Thus the apostles at Philippi not only prayed, 
 but sang praises in the prison, so that the 
 prisoners heard them. And Paul says to the 
 Ephesians; " Speaking to yourselves in psalms, 
 and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and 
 making melody in your heart to the Lord." 
 And James adds, "Is any merry 1 let him 
 sing psalms." 
 
210 
 
 JUNE 28. 
 
 How should singing be performed ? Some- 
 times when we are alone. David nad his 
 " songs in the night :" the solitary effusions 
 of pious excitement. In the life of Joseph 
 Alleine we find that he always sung in his 
 closet devotion, and which in the morning 
 was never later than five o'clock. 
 
 h should prevail where it can be establish- 
 ed in family worship. He does well, says 
 Henry, who with his house prays night and 
 morning ; he does better who prays and reads 
 the Scriptures ; but he does best who prays, 
 and reads, and sings too. I fear this holy 
 custom of our forefathers has been for a long 
 time on the decline. The observance of it 
 would tend much to exclude dullness and for- 
 mality; and be far more interesting to ser- 
 vants and children than long reading and 
 lengthened prayer. This should be done at 
 least on the Sabbath. An old author tells us, 
 he remembered the time when in numberless 
 houses, at certain hours on the Lord's day, 
 singing might be heard as you passed, from 
 one end of London to the other. The ninety- 
 second Psalm is called " a Song for the Sab- 
 bath-day ;" and, says David, " It is a good 
 thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to 
 sing praises unto thy name, O Most High : 
 to show forth thy loving-kindness in the morn- 
 ing, and thy faithfulness every night." 
 
 But when we enter the courts of the Lord, 
 and engage in public worship, the command 
 lays hold of us, " Serve the Lord with glad- 
 ness; and come before his presence with 
 singing." Here the singing should be con- 
 gregational. For this purpose few things 
 should be introduced which the people can- 
 not soon join in. Hence all persons should 
 learn to sing, at least decently, that when they 
 join, they may aid and not injure — The sing- 
 ing in family- worship would be a preparative 
 lor public devotion. What can be said for 
 those who are well able to help, and yet sel- 
 dom or never lift up their voice in this divine 
 exercise, from sloth, fastidiousness, or pride ? 
 Who introduced the mode of sitting we know 
 not ; but surely it does not appear the most 
 desirable one ; and though the posture is not 
 essential to the spirituality of our worship, 
 we should be governed even in the outward 
 acts, by what is most preferable, by being 
 most suitable, and becoming, and useful, and 
 scriptural. How often do we read of the 
 people standing up to praise the Lord ! What 
 should we think to see the choir sitting while 
 they perform ] And what can the choir think, 
 when they see us sitting during the psalmody 
 — but that we have nothing to do with it — 
 unless as an entertainment from them. 
 
 But what is to be said in recommendation 
 of this duty ? It is a very instructive ordi- 
 nance. How many important truths are we 
 mutually informed or reminded of by it, and 
 wl ich are also rendered peculiarly impressive, 
 bv the pleasing manner in which thiy are 
 
 again and again repeated — Hence says the 
 Apostle, " Let the word of Christ dwell in 
 you richly in all wisdom ; teaching and ad 
 monishing one another in psalms and hymns 
 and spiritual songs, singing with grace in 
 your hearts to the Lord." 
 
 It is also a very enlivening exercise. No- 
 thing is so adapted to excite holy affections. 
 Let any one, in order to prove this, read only, 
 and then sing the very same words ; and 
 what a difference will he feel in the effects 
 of the two 1 Nothing tends so much to ani- 
 mate to courage and confidence ; and there- 
 fore it has always been employed in warfare 
 On a similar principle, there never has been 
 a revival of religion, in any country, or in 
 any neighbourhood, but has been attended 
 with a fondness for psalmody. Luther knew 
 the force of it, and much and successfully 
 encouraged it in the beginning and progress 
 of the Reformation in Germany. 
 
 It is the most social ordinance. In preach- 
 ing and prayer one leads, and the rest silent- 
 ly join; but here all concur, and stimulate 
 each other. 
 
 To which we may add, it is the most per- 
 manent of our religious engagements. Our 
 other sacred employments will soon cease; 
 but we shall be still praising Him. In heaven 
 our harps will never be hung on the willows , 
 our hearts will never be untuned. We shall 
 perfectly and for ever sing the song of Mosei 
 and the Lamb. The work and the joy of 
 heaven are more represented by this service 
 than by any thing and by every thing else 
 
 JUNE 28. 
 
 " In those days teas Hezekiah sick unto death." 
 2 Kings xx. 1. 
 
 Sickness is one of the common calamities 
 of our nature, from the assailings of which 
 we shall never be secure till we enter Im- 
 manuel's land. There " the inhabitant shall 
 no more say, I am sick ;" for sin, the cause 
 of all our maladies, will be removed, and all 
 the moral purposes for which Providence em- 
 ploys them will be accomplished. And with 
 what bodies shall we come ! Bodies no longer 
 requiring the insensibilities of sleep ; no longer 
 feeling the cravings of animal appetite ; nc 
 longer exposed to accidents ; no longer suscep- 
 tible of disease. How trying and humiliating 
 the scene now ; for an immortal spirit to stand 
 and nurse a crazy fragment of flesh ; to be 
 tethered within a few yards of space ; to sus- 
 pend its operations and enjoyments in obe- 
 dience to a writhing foot, or an aching tooth ; 
 to view every thing through a dull and dis- 
 tracting medium, and approach God himself 
 through the wretched medium of shattered 
 nerves ! Oh what will it be to have a bod) 
 like the Saviour's own glorious body ; a body 
 far superior to the body of the earthly Adam 
 in paradise ; a body meet to be the companion 
 
JUNE 29. 
 
 21l 
 
 of the soul — not a disgiace to the soul, but 
 its ornament — not an encumbrance to the 
 soul, but its helper ; enlarging its sphere of 
 action and enjoyment by relating it again to 
 the material universe, to the new heaven, and 
 the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness! 
 
 Some have had little sickness. These 
 should admire and bless the care that has se- 
 cured to them so long the possession and in- 
 dulgence of health. Yet let them remember 
 the days of darkness, for they may be many ; 
 and let them sympathize with the sons and 
 daughters of bodily affliction. How many 
 are there at this moment drowning with 
 dropsy, burning with fever, oppressed with 
 asthma ! Some are made to possess months 
 of vanity, and have wearisome nights appoint- 
 ed unto them ; others are chastened also with 
 pain upon their bed, and the multitude of 
 their bones with strong pain, so that their life 
 abhorreth bread, and their soul dainty meat. 
 
 Hezekiah's sickness may be viewed three 
 ways. First, in connexion with his age — 
 He was between thirty and forty. He had 
 reached the perfection of manhood : and was 
 in the midst of life — but in the midst of life 
 we are in death — and forty is as mortal as 
 fourscore. 
 
 Secondly, in reference to his condition and 
 rank. He was a king and a mighty monarch. 
 " I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are 
 children of the Most High. But ye shall die 
 like men, and fall like one of the princes." 
 The great and noble too often despise those 
 who are below them. Wherefore ? Are they 
 not partakers of the same flesh and blood ! 
 subject to the same infirmities'! inheriters of 
 the same mortality ? Are not they also hast- 
 ening to the grave, where they will say to 
 corruption, Thou art my father, and to the 
 worm, Thou art my mother and my sister] 
 We are prone to envy the great and the 
 affluent But does a man's life consist in the 
 abundance of the things which he possesses ? 
 Can honour or titles terrify away, or bribe off 
 any of the ills that flesh is heir to? Can they 
 assuage the anguish of disease ? Yea, are not 
 the upper classes more liable to disorders? 
 and less qualified to bear them ? 
 
 Thirdly, with regard to his piety. For he 
 was a good man, and the friend of God. So 
 was Epaphroditus ; yet was he sick nigh unto 
 death. So was Lazarus; and therefore the 
 sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he 
 whom thou lovest is sick. And his love is 
 llmighty. Why then does he not exempt 
 the objects of it from every thing disagreeable 
 and distressing? Surely if by a mere volition 
 tee could ease the complaints of a beloved 
 connexion, we should instantly do it. But 
 his love is as wise as it is powerful. His ways 
 and his thoughts are as much above ours as 
 the heavens are higher than the earth. Say 
 not therefore, If we belong to him why are 
 v»e thus afflicted ? The correction results from 
 
 the relation : what son is he whom the father 
 chasteneth not? You are pruned because you 
 are vines. You are put into the furnace be- 
 cause you are gold. He has designs to an- 
 swer by such dispensations which will more 
 than justify them. He intends to wean them 
 from the world ; to make them witnesses for 
 himself; to display in them the truth of hk 
 word, the power of" his grace, the tenderness 
 of his care. As one whom his mother com- 
 forteth, so, says he, will I comfort you. The 
 mother disregards none of her offspring ; but 
 she arranges things with a peculiar view tc 
 her poor weak sickly infant. The knee ; the 
 bosom; the delicacy; the softest bed; the 
 breathless movement is for him. So has it 
 been, as Scripture and experience have testi- 
 fied in all ages, with Christians; as their suf- 
 ferings have abounded, their consolation has 
 abounded also. Perhaps they are never so 
 impressive as by the exercise and display of 
 the passive graces : never glorify God so much 
 as in the fires. For this they are concerned ; 
 and therefore when they are led into the 
 chamber of sickness, and laid on the bed of 
 languishing, their fears are awakened le6t 
 they should dishonour their profession: and 
 they pray to be examples of the reality, and 
 excellency, and efficacy of their religious 
 principles and resources. And he hears and 
 answers them. He is with them in trouble. 
 He enables them in patience to possess their 
 souls. He fills them with all joy and peace 
 in believing. They instruct, invite, and en 
 courage others ; while their own praise, won- 
 der, and confidence are excited; and they 
 can sing, 
 
 " Bastards may escape the rod. 
 Sunk in earthly vain delight: 
 But a true-born child of God 
 Must not— would not — if he might." 
 
 TUNE 29. 
 
 " Thou wilt recover me." — Isaiah xxxviii. 16. 
 
 And he did so. This is not always the 
 case. Sickness to some, yea, to many, is the 
 messenger, the forerunner, the beginning of 
 death. And Hezekiah's sickness seems to 
 have been in itself mortal, and would have 
 issued in his speedy dissolution, but for the 
 divine interposition — he " was sick nigh unto 
 death ;" and the Lord said unto him, " Set 
 thine house in order, for thou shalt die and 
 not live." But he was the subject of recov- 
 ering mercy ; and five things are recorded in 
 connexion with the event 
 
 It was in answer to prayer. " Then Heze- 
 kiah turned his face toward the wall, and 
 prayed unto the Lord, and said, Remember 
 now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have 
 walked before thee in truth and with a per- 
 fect heart, and have done that which is good 
 in thy sight And Hezekiah wept sore." One 
 of the designs of affliction is to bring us to 
 God ; and by prayer we obtain support unde» 
 
212 
 
 JUNE 30 
 
 it, and sanetificat.on by it, and deliverance 
 from it — " Call upon me in the day of trou- 
 ble, and I will deliver thee." And did any 
 ever seek him in vain 1 Did Hezekiah ] So 
 far from it, and to show how quickly prayer 
 reaches God, and brings down the blessing, 
 before Isaiah could get through the palace- 
 yard the word of the Lord came to him, say- 
 ing, "Go and say to Hezekiah ; I have heard 
 thy prayer, I have seen thy tea-rs." Thus he 
 not only hears and answers prayer, but fulfils 
 the word, " Ere they call I will answer, and 
 while they speak I will hear." 
 
 The second circumstance was the definite 
 prolongation of his life — " Behold, I will add 
 unto thy days fifteen years." This was a con- 
 siderable reprieve. Yet it was nothing more. 
 Eor so long a time he was raised up, but he 
 was left mortal. The sentence, " Dust thou 
 art, and unto dust shalt thou return," was 
 only suspended. Have any of you been re- 
 covered from the bed of sickness 1 Remem- 
 ber you are dying creatures still ; and you 
 have no assurance of your life. You know 
 not what a day, or an hour may bring forth. 
 The addition of fifteen years would not make 
 Hezekiah an old man ; and they would soon 
 pass away like a dream. He is the only per- 
 son who was previously informed how long 
 he had to live. Doubtless he was concerned 
 to improve the information ; and would often 
 say, " Well, there is another of the fifteen 
 years gone, and the remainder is rapidly go- 
 ing — So teach me to number my days that I 
 may apply my heart unto wisdom." Yet it 
 was awful for him to know the term of life. 
 None of us would know it, if it were in our 
 power. It is better for our comfort to be ig- 
 norant ; and it is better for our improvement. 
 As the shade upon the dial is useful as well 
 as the sunshine ; so our ignorance may be 
 rendered profitable — "Watch, for ye know 
 not at what hour the Lord doth come." 
 
 The third circumstance is the important 
 blessing that accompanied the announcement 
 of his restoration. He was pressed by the 
 Assyrian force which had entered the coun- 
 try, taken all the strong-holds in the way, and 
 was now besieging Jerusalem — What would 
 fifteen years have been had he passed them 
 in personal captivity, or in a subdued and de- 
 graded empire, Or in a state of constant alarm 
 or suspicion 1 But God perfects the mercy : 
 " And I will deliver thee, and this city, out 
 of the hand of the king of Assyria : and I 
 will defend this city." What would it be to 
 engthen out our existence, without our limbs, 
 our senses, our reason, our relative comforts ] 
 But God giveth liberally. He giveth us richly 
 all things to enjoy. 
 
 The fourth circumstance regards the su- 
 pernatural confirmation of it — " And this shall 
 be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the 
 Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken ; 
 behold, I will bring again the shadow of the 
 
 degrees, whicn is gone down in the sun-diJL 
 of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun 
 returned ten degrees, by which degrees it 
 was gone down." Why was this sign given* 
 Was not the word of a faithful God suffi- 
 cient'! The Lord does nothing in vain. He 
 saw the state of Hezekiah's mind : he knew 
 that there was something ready to faint i n 
 his faith and hope : and therefore he passes 
 by the infirmity, and indulges his wishes — 
 for he had said, "What is the sign that 1 
 shall go up to the house of the Lord !" Thus 
 he stoops, and accommodates himself to the 
 imperfections of his people. He does not 
 break the bruised reed, or quench the smoking 
 flax. And shall we despise the day of small 
 things] 
 
 The last circumstance is the employment 
 of means — " For Isaiah had said, Let them 
 take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plastei 
 upon the boil, and he shall recover." It is 
 well known that figs have a virtue to ripen 
 an imposthume, and bring it to a head, that 
 the peculency may be removed : but in the 
 case before us, from the nature and prevalen- 
 cy of the disease, no means would have avail- 
 ed without the peculiar agency of God. The 
 fact therefore is very instructive. We see 
 that prayer does not supersede the use of 
 means. We also see that the divine assurance 
 does not supersede the use of them : for no 
 sooner has Isaiah promised his recovery as a 
 prophet, than he prescribes for him as a phy- 
 sician. Yea, the very miraculousncss of the 
 cure does not supersede the use of them. 
 Miracles were never a waste of power ; never 
 intended to make people wonder only ; or to 
 save them the trouble of doing what they are 
 able to do for themselves. Miracles therefore 
 were never needlessly multiplied : and even 
 when they have been performed, there was 
 nothing in the degree of them that was un- 
 necessary or superfluous. The manna de- 
 scended from the clouds ; but the people were 
 to gather it. The angel opened the prison 
 door, and released Peter from his fetters; — 
 this he could not. do himself": but he did not 
 take him up in his arms, and carry him to the 
 house of Mary : but said unto him, Follow 
 me ; lor he had legs and feet, and why should 
 he not. employ them ? It is a great thing to 
 unite activity and dependence: to use means, 
 and not neglect to trust in God; and to trust 
 in God, and not neglect to use means. " I 
 lead," says Wisdom, "in the midst of tha 
 paths of judgment." 
 
 JUNE 30. 
 
 " The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when 
 he had been sick, and was recovered of hit 
 sickness.^ — Isaiah xxxviii. 9. 
 
 Many persons are afraid of their trials. It 
 would be wiser to fear their mercies. They 
 are in more danger from their friends than 
 
JUNE 30. 
 
 213 
 
 from their enemies; from their comforts than 
 from their crosses; from their health than 
 from their sickness. They often desire our 
 prayers when they come into affliction : but 
 they need them most when they are coming 
 out of it ; and are returning into scenes of 
 danger and temptation again. 
 
 Wicked and worldly men are only anxious 
 to escape from their troubles. But it ought 
 to be our concern to inquire whether we 
 " come forth as gold " — whether we are 
 brought nearer to God, or are left farther from 
 him, by the things we suffer. Constantine 
 the Great said, " I marvel that many of my 
 subjects, since they became Christians, are 
 worse than they were when they were Pa- 
 . gans." Young speaks of some as " worse 
 J for mending," and " washed to fouler stains." 
 ; And it is lamentable to think how many, 
 instead of being improved by their recovery 
 from disease, are injured by it They poured 
 out a prayer when God's chastening hand 
 was upon them, and confessed, and resolved, 
 and vowed unto the Lord : but when he re- 
 lieved and released them they turned again 
 to folly. Many think we are severe in our 
 reflections on death-bed changes; and won- 
 der that we think such conversions can never 
 be entirely satisfactory to the subjects of them, 
 or their surviving friends. Yet of how many 
 ministers have we inquired, all of whom 
 have affirmed, that they never knew such 
 converts, when recovered, living according 
 to their promises! yet had they died they 
 would have entertained a firm hope con- 
 cerning many of them. And it is probable 
 funeral sermons would have been preached 
 for some of them — and how would others 
 have been chronicled in the magazines ! 
 Even Jacob forgot the vow his soul made 
 when he was in trouble, till God said unto 
 him, "Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell 
 there: and make there an altar unto God, 
 that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest 
 Trom the face of Esau thy brother. " Then, 
 and not before, did the backslider say, " Let 
 us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will 
 make there an altar unto God, who answered 
 me in the day of my distress, and was with 
 me in the way which I went" 
 
 Hezekiah did better upon his recovery. 
 He wrote a song, and had it sung in the 
 temple-service. He might indeed, for this 
 purpose, have availed himself of one of 
 David's songs ; and we read that he appoint- 
 ed persons to sing the songs of his illustri- 
 ous ancestor in the worship of God. But he 
 composed one himself on this occasion, not 
 from vanity, but from sentiments of piety. 
 He wrote it in particular for three purposes. 
 First, to show the importance of the bless- 
 ing he had experienced. Read his language, 
 and you will find how much he valued life. 
 This lo some may seem strange. To a good 
 
 man, is it not gain to die 1 When a voyager 
 is entering the desired haven, is he so glad 
 and grateful for a wind that blows him back 
 again to sea? The fear of death is as much 
 a natural principle as hunger or thirst Every 
 good man, though always in a state to die, is 
 not in a frame to die. He may not have the 
 light of God's countenance, or the assurance 
 of hope. He may be also influenced by rela- 
 tive considerations. This was the case with 
 Hezekiah. He might have feared for the 
 succession ; for he had no offspring at this time : 
 Manasseh was only twelve years old at his 
 death, and therefore could not have been bora 
 till three years after his father's recovery. 
 The enemy was also at the gates of the capi- 
 tal. He had also begun a glorious reforma- 
 tion, and wished to see it carried on. Even 
 Paul, though he knew that to depart and to 
 be with Christ was far better, yet was more 
 than willing to abide in the flesh, for the ad- 
 vantage of the Philippians and others. 
 
 Secondly, to excite his gratitude. Hence 
 he so vividly recalls all his painful and gloomy 
 feelings in his late danger, that he might be 
 the more affected with the goodness of his 
 deliverer and benefactor — read the whole 
 chapter — Do as he did. Dwell upon every 
 thing that can give a relish, and add an im- 
 pression to the blessing you have received ; 
 and be ye thankful — and employ your tongues, 
 your pens, your lives, in praise of the God of 
 your mercies. Did the heathen upon their 
 recovery hang up tablets of acknowledgments 
 in the house of their gods'! Have Papists 
 built churches and altars to their patron- 
 saints? And will you do nothing for the 
 Lord your healer ? Yet so it often is ! The 
 physician is cheerfully rewarded ; the attend- 
 ants are paid for their trouble ; friends are 
 thanked for their obliging inquiries — only one 
 Being is overlooked — He who gave the phy- 
 sician his skill ; he who rendered the means 
 effectual; he who inspired the inquiring 
 friends with all their tenderness. 
 
 Thirdly, to insure a sense of his obligation 
 in future. The Jews soon forgot the works 
 of the Lord, and the wonders he had shown 
 them. And we are very liable to the same 
 evil. But we should say, with David, "Bless 
 the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his 
 benefits ;" and avail ourselves of every assist- 
 ance that can enable us to recover and pre- 
 serve the feelings we had at the time when 
 the Lord appeared for us. Thus the Jews 
 established the feast of Purim upon their 
 deliverance from the plot of Haman. Thus 
 Samuel raised a stone after his victory, and 
 called it Ebenezer. Joseph named his sons 
 Ephraim and Manasseh, to remind him of 
 the contrast between his former and present 
 condition. And thus Hezekiah would com- 
 pose this writing, that he might compare 
 himself with its sentiments, months and years 
 
•414 
 
 JULY 1. 
 
 after ; and that it might be a pledge of his 
 dedication to God ; and a witness against him 
 if his love should ever wax cold — 
 
 And how was it with him 1 Can I pro- 
 ceed 1 So far all is well. He is wise, humble, 
 grateful, resolved. But, alas ! how shall we 
 6ay it"! "After this Hezekiah rendered not 
 according to the benefit done him ; for his 
 heart was lifted up; therefore wrath came 
 upon him and upon all Judah." Lord, what 
 is man ! Who is beyond the danger of falling 
 while in this world 1 On what can we safely 
 •ely] He that trusteth in his own heart is 
 a fool. And he is not much better that trusts 
 in his own grace. It is not our grace, but 
 his grace that is sufficient for us. Let us 
 therefore be strong in the Lord, and in the 
 power of his might. Let us not insult over 
 others when they err in doctrine or in prac- 
 tice; but tremble for ourselves, and pray, 
 Lord, hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. 
 Blessed is the man that feareth always. 
 
 JULY 1. 
 
 " By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed 
 both the sons of Joseph ; and worshipped, lean- 
 ing upon the top of his staff." — Heb. xi. 21. 
 
 " Precious in the sight of the Lord is the 
 death of his saints." No wonder therefore 
 that he graciously appoints the time, the place, 
 and the manner of it ; that he honours it with 
 nis special presence; and calls upon us to 
 make it the subject of our contemplation : 
 " Mark the perfect man, and behold the up- 
 right ; for the end of that man is peace." For 
 this purpose he has often mentioned it in his 
 word, and has sometimes recorded it with cir- 
 cumstances the most striking and improving. 
 Let us convey ourselves into Egypt, find out 
 Goshen, inquire for the house of Jacob, and 
 enter his chamber of sickness. It will be 
 found none other than the house of God, and 
 the gate of heaven. He is " a dying :" and 
 observe how he dies. 
 
 First ; he " leans upon the top of his staff." 
 Thus he looks like a pilgrim. Had he re- 
 course to this action to aid such an impres- 
 sion 1 The Jews were to eat the passover with 
 their staves in their hand : and we should ob- 
 serve every ordinance, form every connexion, 
 enjoy every advantage, as those who have 
 heard the voice, Arise and depart hence, for 
 this is not your rest. Abraham wished to pre- 
 serve the recollection of this, and therefore he 
 " sojourned in the land of promise, as in a 
 strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with 
 Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the 
 same promise : for he looked for a city which 
 hath foundations, whose builder and maker 
 is God :" and it was thus " they con- 
 fessed themselves to be strangers and pilgrims 
 upon earth." Give me, says the dying trav- 
 eller, my staff— Was this staff' the same he 
 
 spoke of when he was returning from Haran, 
 " With my staff' I passed over Jordan, and 
 now I am become two bands ]" If so, and the 
 thing is very probable, how many feelings 
 would this companion of all his journeys re- 
 vive ! For after a length of time even inani- 
 mate things draw from us a strange kind of 
 regard, and affect us, if not by themselves, 
 yet by their associations. — But it was an 
 instance of his bodily decline and infirmity 
 He whose constitution had enabled him to 
 bear such travels and fatigues is now reduced 
 to the weakness of infancy and dependence ; 
 and leans upon the top of his staff'. " The 
 glory of young men is their strength :" but 
 let them remember their Creator in the days 
 of their youth ; for the evil days will come 
 when they shall say, We have no pleasure in 
 them ; when they that look out of the windows 
 shall be darkened, and the strong men shall 
 bow themselves, and the keepers of the house 
 shall tremble, and the grasshopper be a burden, 
 because man goeth to his long home. — It was 
 also a proof of his conscientiousness in duty. 
 He would place himself in the best posture of 
 devotion his infirmities would admit. We are 
 to glorify God in our bodies as well as in our 
 spirits ; and though he does not bind us down 
 to any corporeal forms, yet every thing in his 
 service should be expressive of reverence 
 and godly fear. The Seraphim veil their faces 
 with their wings. Our Lord kneeled three 
 times in the garden. So Jacob, aged as he 
 was, and under the debility of approaching 
 dissolution, when he would adore God, rose 
 upon his knees, though he was obliged to seek 
 support. Think of this, ye who in full health 
 and vigour, instead of kneeling or standing, 
 sit during the devotion of the sanctuary ; and 
 see how far you come short of the self-denial 
 and godliness of this patriarch. 
 
 Secondly, He "worshipped, leaning upon 
 the top of his staff"." He had been trained up 
 in the nurture and admonition of " the fear of 
 his father Isaac ;" and had long walked before 
 him ; but now he was ending the worship 
 of him on earth, to join in the worship of 
 him in heaven that would never end. This 
 worship doubtless included confession. Who 
 can say, I have made my heart clean, I am 
 pure from my sin? Some talk of looking 
 back upon a well-spent life. A good man, if 
 he has been distinguished from others, knows 
 who has made him to differ ; and sees in the 
 review of his obedience a thousand imperfec- 
 tions which humble him, and prevent all con- 
 fidence in the flesh. He feels that he is an 
 unprofitable servant, and says in his last ap- 
 proach still more than in all his former ones, 
 " I come, trusting not in my own righteous- 
 ness, but in thy manifold and great mercies." 
 It had also in it thanksgiving. He had ex- 
 perienced many personal and relative trou- ' 
 bles ; but out of them all the Lord had deliv ' 
 ered him. The angry storms of life were now 
 
JULY 1 
 
 215 
 
 blowi. oyer, and a serene evening had arrived. 
 He had escaped the difficulties and dangers of 
 i tiresome road, and was now in sight of the 
 journey's end, and of his father's house. It 
 is easy to imagine the grateful emotions of his 
 mind when he remembered his flight from the 
 face of his brother, the vision of Beth-el, and 
 the promise of God that he would be with him, 
 and keep him in all places, and never leave 
 him nor forsake him. All this had now been 
 accomplished. "Bless the Lord," would he 
 say, " Bless the Lord, O my soul : and all that 
 is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the 
 Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his bene- 
 fits." It contained also prayer. He would 
 implore mercy and grace to help in this time 
 of need ; for he had yet to die. O my God, 
 strengthen me this once. " O God, be not far 
 from me : O my God, make haste for my help. O 
 God, thou hast taught me from my youth : and 
 hitherto have I declared thy wonderous works. 
 Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O 
 God, forsake me not ; until I have showed thy 
 strength unto this generation, and thy power 
 to every one that isto come." And he prayed 
 not only for himself, but for others, especially 
 those of his own house. For, 
 
 Thirdly, he " blessed both the sons of 
 Joseph ; and worshipped, leaning upon the top 
 of his staff." The affair is recorded in the 
 book of Genesis with the most touching sim- 
 plicity. Understanding that his father was 
 sick, Joseph hastens to visit him: and he 
 takes his two sons with him. It was wise in 
 him to show these youths, who had been living 
 in splendour, such a solemn scene, and to 
 place them under the dying benediction of this 
 man of God. Jacob was overjoyed at their 
 arrival, and said, "Who are these 1 And 
 Joseph said unto his father, They are my 
 sons, whom God hath given me in this place. 
 And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto 
 me, and I will bless them." The feelings of 
 men towards their grandchildren are com- 
 monly very powerful : but every thing here 
 tended to increase affection. Manasseh and 
 Ephraim were the offspring of Joseph ; and 
 Joseph was his favourite son, endeared by his 
 loss and sufferings ; he was also the son of his 
 beloved Rachel. O could he have seen the 
 image and representatives of Rachel— her son 
 and— her grandsons ! But " the eyes of Israel 
 were dim for age, so that he could not see. 
 And Joseph brought them near unto him ; and 
 he kissed them, and embraced them. And he 
 blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom 
 my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the 
 God which fed me all my life long unto this 
 Jay, the Angel which redeemed me from all 
 evil, bless the lads; and let my name be 
 named on them, and the name of my fathers 
 Abraham and Isaac ; and let them grow into 
 a multitude in the midst of the earth. And 
 he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall 
 fe»nel bless, saying, God make thee as 
 
 Ephraim and as Manasseh. And he set 
 Ephraim before Manasseh." Let us endeav- 
 our to be useful as long as we continue here, 
 and do good, not only living but dying. It 
 will be well if we are able to say something 
 that shall bless survivors. Parting words are 
 peculiarly impressive and memorable. Chil- 
 dren who have disregarded the living coun- 
 sel of a father have followed his dying ad- 
 monitions: and the commendations of religion 
 which Christians have expressed, and the 
 comforts of the Holy Ghost which they h&\ e 
 experienced in the final hour, have frequently 
 rendered their departure a blessing to many. 
 It has encouraged the fearful. It has con- 
 vinced the unbelieving. It has induced even 
 a Balaam to say, " Let me die the death 
 of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
 his." 
 
 Finally ; " By faith he blessed both the 
 sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon 
 the top of his staff." We -allow there was 
 something extraordinary in this transaction. 
 Jacob was under a degree of divine inspira- 
 tion ; and this appears in the manner of his 
 blessing these children : for he not umy 
 poured forth the tenderness of his heart 
 towards them, but he admitted them, though 
 born in Egypt, into his family and the congre- 
 gation of Israel ; and constituted them, though 
 their mother was a Gentile, heads of tribes, 
 like his own offspring ; overruled the claims 
 of seniority, and pronounced their future 
 number and prosperity. Yet all his faith on 
 this occasion was not of this extraordinary 
 nature. The Apostle does not speak of him 
 as a seer, so much as a saint. He would tell 
 us that he brought forth fruit in old age: that 
 while the outward man perished, the inward 
 man was renewed : that while the eyes of his 
 flesh were dim, the eyes of his understanding 
 were enlightened : that he saw and acknow- 
 ledged not only the God of providence, but 
 the God of all grace : that he extended his 
 views beyond the bounds of time and sense : 
 that he recognized in Canaan a better, even 
 a heavenly country : that he hailed in his 
 seed the Shiloh that was to come, and in 
 whom all the families of the earth would be 
 blessed. What would his dying faith have 
 been, had he only proved the organ of Divine 
 omniscience concerning things to come'? 
 Balaam " had his eyes open, and heard the 
 words of God, and knew the knowledge of the 
 Most High :" and he said, " I shall see him, 
 but not now: I shall behold him, but not 
 nigh." But Jacob was an heir of promise: 
 Jacob could say, " I have waited for thy salva- 
 tion, O Lord." And this is the grand thing 
 — This is what we shall all want when, like 
 him, we are "a dying." When heart and 
 flesh fail, when we are leaving all that is dear 
 below, and entering an eternal state, we shall 
 require all the views, all the influences, all 
 the appropriations of faith. We have hoard 
 
216 
 
 JULY 2. 
 
 more than one saying, while engaged in it, 
 " dying is hard work." We shall all find A 
 so, if left to the resources of nature and reason 
 only. But faith can make dying work easy 
 work. " I can smile on death," said Dr. Gros- 
 venor, " because my Saviour smiles on me." 
 Simeon, with the babe in the arms of his flesh, 
 and the consolation of Israel in the arms of 
 his faith, said, " Lord, now lettest thou thy 
 servant depart in peace, according to thy 
 word : for mine eyes have seen thy salva- 
 tion, which thou hast prepared before the face 
 of all people." 
 
 O thou Author of all good, inspire my soul 
 with this all-important principle, to make me 
 meet for every season and condition. May 
 the life that I now live in the flesh be by the 
 faith of the Son of God. And may I finish 
 my course with joy, and be able to say, " O 
 death, where is thy sting ] O grave, where 
 is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin ; 
 and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks 
 be to God, which giveth us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ" 
 
 JULY 2. 
 
 u And he looked round about on them with anger, 
 being grieved for the hardness of their hearts." 
 — Mark iii. 5. 
 
 Every thing in the temper and conduct of 
 our Lord and Saviour is worthy attention ; 
 and the fact before us will be found very in- 
 structive and useful. 
 
 We see that the passions are not evil in 
 themselves. They are inherent in our very 
 nature. It is therefore impossible to divest 
 ourselves of them ; and if it were possible we 
 should only reduce ourselves to mere reason- 
 ing machines, and unimpressible intelligences. 
 The passions are the springs and impulses of 
 action. All that religion does is, to govern 
 and regulate them, and to furnish each of 
 them with an appropriate sphere, object, and 
 agency. 
 
 We learn that we may be angry and sin 
 not. This is the case when we are angry at 
 sin. This he who was the Holy One of God 
 felt and expressed. It is our duty and honour 
 to resemble him ; and it is a proof that we are 
 of one Spirit, if what offended him offends us, 
 and we cannot bear them that are evil. 
 
 Yet anger should be always attended with 
 grief. We should grieve to see men suffer- 
 ing, but we should grieve more to see them 
 sinning. We should feel more to see a man 
 proud than poor, to see him led captive by 
 vice than laid in irons. No character is so 
 truly pitiable as the wretch who is destroying 
 himself for ever. David felt this, and said, I 
 beheld the transgressors and was grieved: 
 nnd Jesus was here grieved at the hardness 
 of their hearts. Fools only make a mock of 
 
 sin. To laugh at a man who is inflicting 
 upon his soul the torments of hell, is far mor© 
 cruel than to turn into sport and merriment 
 the tortures of a fellow-creature on the rack. 
 Paul, in his climax, considers our " having plea- 
 sure" in the sins of others a greater instance 
 of depravity than "doing them" ourselves; 
 and the reason is, because we may have pow- 
 erful temptations to the one, whereas the 
 other results from pure congeniality : nothing 
 shows us more than that which can yield us 
 pleasure. So, on the other hand, the purest 
 grief is that which we feel for the sins of 
 others. Selfish respect may have some place 
 in concern for our sins, because they endanger 
 us ; but we shall not be punished for the sins 
 of others. When therefor* we suffer for 
 them, we sorrow after a godly sort ; we are 
 affected with sin as sin ; and evince the truest 
 benevolence. And so pleasing to God is 
 such a disposition, that in times of public ca- 
 lamity he ordered " a mark" of preservation 
 to be imposed "upon the foreheads of the men 
 that sighed and cried for all the abominations 
 that are done in the midst of the land." 
 
 In our Lord we see the finest moral har- 
 mony arising from the perfect union of diverse 
 feelings and affections. His zeal was not 
 without discretion ; his prudence was not 
 without fervour. His authority dignified his 
 condescension ; his kindness softened and en- 
 deared his power. His compassion was not 
 without censure; his censure was not with- 
 out pity. He distinguished between the sin 
 and the sinner; and at once displayed his dis- 
 pleasure and his distress — " He looked round 
 about on them with anger, being grieved for 
 the hardness of their hearts." So should it 
 be with us. 
 
 Let us beware that our tenderness does not 
 degenerate into connivance at evil. Adam 
 was too complaisant, even to a wife, when he 
 refused not the forbidden fruit, though pre- 
 sented by Eve. And what judgments did 
 Eli draw down upon himself and family, be- 
 cause his sons made themselves vile, and he 
 restrained them not ! The Scripture does not 
 speak with commendation of " men in whose 
 mouth are no reproofs." Yea, it says, " Thou 
 shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart : thou 
 shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and 
 not suffer sin upon him." 
 
 Let us also take heed that our faithfulness 
 does not deprive us of the meekness and gen- 
 tleness of Jesus Christ, or annihilate our con 
 cern for the offender in our hatred of the of- 
 fence. Some Christians are sadly defective 
 here. It might be supposed that they had 
 never read the injunction : " Brethren, if a 
 man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are 
 spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of 
 meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also 
 be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, 
 and so fulfil the law of Christ." 
 
JULY 3. 
 
 217 
 
 JULY 3. 
 
 ■ Then came Analek, and fought with Israel in 
 Rephidim." — Exodus xvii. 8. 
 
 Though God had relieved the people in 
 jieir pressure when there was no water for 
 them to drink, yet they had offended and pro- 
 voked him by their rebellious murmurings. 
 Moses therefore, to perpetuate the memory 
 of their guilt, as well as of their deliverance, 
 gave a new name to the place : " He called 
 .'t Massah and Meribah, because of the chiding 
 of the children of Israel, saying, Is the Lord 
 among us or not V — And may we not suppose 
 that the present attack upon them was per- 
 mitted of God, to rebuke and correct them for 
 their sin 1 For men are his instruments : he 
 controls them when they act most freely ; 
 and he employs them righteously when they 
 act against us unjustly. He can also punish 
 them, even when they fulfil his pleasure ; for 
 he judges them according to their motives 
 and designs, and not according to the effects 
 their actions produce by his overruling inter- 
 position. " O Assyrian ! the rod of mine an- 
 ger, and the staff in their hand is mine indig- 
 nation. I will send him against an hypocriti- 
 cal nation, and against the people of my 
 wrath will I give him a charge, to take the 
 spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them 
 down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit 
 he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart 
 think so ; but it is in his heart to destroy and 
 ^ut off nations not a few. Therefore shall the 
 Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat 
 ones leanness ? and under his glory he shall 
 kindle a burning like the burning of fire." 
 
 These Amalekites have been supposed to 
 be the descendants of Esau ; but we read of 
 them in the days of Chedorlaomer ; and Ba- 
 laam calls Amalek " the first of the nations." 
 They possessed at this time a large tract of 
 country, extending from the confines of Idu- 
 mea to the western shore of the Red Sea. 
 When therefore Israel crossed over, they 
 were obliged to approach their borders : but 
 they offered them no injury or provocation ; 
 and instead of invading their territory, they 
 were turning away from it. We know not 
 what actuated Amalek to assault them ; 
 whether it was the hope of plunder, or a wish 
 for military renown, or pure maliciousness. 
 But from the book of Deuteronomy it appears 
 that his conduct was as mean as it was wicked, 
 and as dastardly as it was cruel : for not darino- 
 to engage them in front, he waited his oppo£ 
 tunity. and smote the hindmost of them, even 
 all that were feeble behind them ; and when 
 they were faint and weary, alike incapable 
 of resistance or flight 
 
 Tne detail of the action on the part of Is- 
 rael is worthy our attention. They were not 
 only justified in having recourse to arms, but 
 they wisely managed the measure. Though 
 they were a people conducted by the Al- 
 
 mighty, who had miraculously saved them in 
 Egypt, and delivered them at the Red Sea, 
 and provided them with flesh at Zin, and 
 water where they now were, nothing super- 
 natural is here thought of: for miracles were 
 never intended to be employed where ordinary 
 means were at hand, and sufficient for the 
 purpose. " Moses said unto Joshua, Choose 
 us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: 
 to-morrow I will 6tand on the top of the hill 
 with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua 
 did as Moses had said to him, and fought with 
 Amalek : and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went 
 up to the top of the hill." Here we have a 
 fine example of activity and reliance: the 
 sword in the hand of Joshua : the rod in the 
 hand of Moses : the host fighting in the vale, 
 as if every thing depended on their strenu- 
 ousness; the interceder pleading on the hill, 
 as if all was to be accomplished by divine 
 agency. To use means without neglecting 
 trust in God, and to trust in God without 
 omitting the use of means — This is the test 
 of a proper state of mind in religion — This is 
 the union recommended by our Lord and his 
 Apostle. "Watch and pray, lest ye enter 
 into temptation:" "Work out your own sal- 
 vation with fear and trembling, for it is God 
 which worketh in you to will and to do of his 
 good pleasure." 
 
 Behold Moses and Joshua on this occasion 
 in their respective departments; and see in 
 what various and suitable ways God qualifies 
 and employs his servants. We should not 
 oppose good and useful men to each other, 
 or even improperly compare them together. 
 We should view them all in reference To their 
 ccmmission, their work, and their adaptation 
 — Then they are equally respectable. Each 
 has his own calling and work. It would be 
 absurd to extol the valour of Joshua at the 
 expense of piety in Moses; or to extol the 
 piety of Moses at the expense of valour in 
 Joshua. It was not for want of courage that 
 Moses prayed ; or for want of devotion that 
 Joshua fought — It was the same spirit that 
 actuated the supplicant and the warrior. But 
 " as we have many members in one body, and 
 all members have not the same office : so we, 
 being many, are one body in Christ, and every 
 one members one of another." If all were 
 the eye, where were the hearing ? and if all 
 were the ear, where were the seeing? It is 
 enough for the eye to see, and the ear to hear, 
 and the foot to walk. It would not be for the 
 beauty and welfare of society that every ex- 
 cellence should be found in the same individ- 
 uals ; a^ it will always be in vain to look 
 for it. 
 
 As nothing like our artille-y was then used 
 in fight, a person might safely place himself 
 near" enough to survey the scene — Tims 
 Moses was stationed on the brow of a rising 
 ground just by, and within view — And how 
 encouraging must it have been to Israel, as 
 
219 
 
 JULY 4. 
 
 they advanced to battle, to look up and see 
 him with his arms extended, and holding in 
 his hand the signal of omnipotence ! " Yon- 
 der," would they say, " Yonder is lifted up 
 the wonder-working rod which has performed 
 so many exploits for us. Yonder is the man 
 who has power with God, and can prevail, 
 imploring for us succour and success." 
 
 " And it came to pass, when Moses held up 
 his hand, that Israel prevailed : and when he 
 let down his hand, Amalek prevailed." This 
 was to show him that the excellency of the 
 power was of God, and not of them ; and that 
 means, however good and proper in them- 
 selves, are nothing without the concurring 
 agency of Heaven. 
 
 But where are the knees that never trem- 
 ble, and the hands that never, hang down? In 
 another world we shall serve God as we 
 ought, and as we would ; but in our present 
 state, and while we have these bodies of clay, 
 we cannot do the things that we would. The 
 spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We 
 are not weary of his service, but we are soon 
 weary in it, and need relief. " Moses' hands 
 were heavy ; and they took a stone, and put 
 it under him, and he sat thereon ; and Aaron 
 and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the 
 one side, and the other on the other side ; and 
 his hands were steady until the going down 
 of the sun." Here we learn of what use we 
 may be to each other. Not only did Moses 
 help Joshua, but Aaron and Hur helped Mo- 
 6e;r. Two are better than one: and a three- 
 fold cord is not quickly broken. We cannot 
 be independent of each other. We may often 
 feel our obligations to those who are in many 
 respects our inferiors. Jonathan was not equal 
 to his friend David in religious attainment 
 tnd experience : yet he went to him in the 
 wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 
 
 Need we wonder at the result of the con- 
 flict ? Joshua fought under many disadvan- 
 tages. His men had not seen war. They 
 were raw, undisciplined, and ill-armed. They 
 . had been living in bondage. Slavery renders 
 its subjects mean and pusillanimous. Having 
 been treated as brutes, it requires time to 
 make them feel that they are men. It is free- 
 dom that nourishes magnanimity and courage 
 — Yet " Joshua discomfited Amalek and his 
 people with the edge of the sword" — for the 
 Lord fought for Israel. So shall all thine ene- 
 mies perish, O God ; while they that love thee 
 shall be as the sun when he goeth forth in 
 his strength. 
 
 JULY 4. 
 
 * A bruised reed sliall he not break, and smoking 
 flax shall he not quench." — Matt xii. 20. 
 
 The terms of the imagery require some 
 .ittle explanation. What means a bruised 
 reed 1 Some take it for a musical pipe made 
 of reed, and formerly used bv shepherds. 
 
 Such an instrument could never be very en* 
 chanting; but when "bruised," would sound 
 inharmoniously and harshly, and would prob- 
 ably be broken to pieces and thrown aside. 
 Others take it for a reed stalk, commonly 
 found in marshy soils. This in its best estate 
 is slender and frail, but when bruised is una- 
 ble to bear any weight, is unavailing for any 
 useful purpose, and seems fit for nothing but 
 the fire. — And what is " smoking flax 1" 
 Here, says Campbell, by a figure of speech, 
 the cause is put for the effect : the smoking 
 flax means the wick of the torch, or candle, 
 made of this material : he therefore renders 
 it "the smoking taper." In this case the 
 flame is extinct ; but the tow retaining some 
 particles of fire, sends forth no useful light, 
 but only offensive effluvia. All this is obvi- 
 ously metaphor. But it will not be necessary to 
 endeavour to trace the analogy in various and 
 distinct articles of resemblance. It is enough 
 to seize the spirit and design of the figures. 
 This bruised reed and this smoking flax mean 
 certain characters to be found, not in the 
 world — there is no real religion there, but in 
 the Church. They are persons of very weak 
 and defective attainments in the divine life. 
 They may be described as defective in know- 
 ledge, and obscurely acquainted with the 
 things of the Spirit. Or as weak in faith, 
 and full of doubts and ft ars. Or as afflicted 
 with ou-ward troubles and inward conflicts, 
 while the consolations of God are small with 
 them. Or as the subjects of moral infirmities 
 appearing in their resolutions, temper, and 
 conduct, and concurring to disqualify them 
 for glorifying God, and serving their genera- 
 tion. 
 
 Yet low as they are in the eyes of others 
 — and they are lower in their own, the Sa 
 viour does not overlook or despise them : " A 
 bruised reed shall he not break, the smoking 
 flax shall he not quench." His regard is only 
 held forth negatively. But will he do nothing 
 more than not destroy, or not injure them 1 
 Much more is implied than is expressed. The 
 assurance is that he will sustain, strengthen, 
 and confirm the bruised reed; and rekindle 
 the smoking flax, and cause it to burn clear 
 and bright. And that this is the design is ob- 
 vious from the delightful addition in which 
 we are told that the work, though opposed, 
 shall be rendered triumphant, "till he send 
 forth judgment unto victory." So truly wae 
 it said of him in prophecy, " He shall gather 
 the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his 
 bosom, and gently lead those that are with 
 young." So well did he say of himself, " He 
 hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, and 
 to comfort all that mourn." 
 
 We may view the fact in four periods. 
 First, The period before his incarnation. His 
 " goings forth were of old from everlasting." 
 It was he who appeared to the patriarchs ; 
 but hear the testimony of a dying Jacob, 
 
JULY 5. 
 
 21 
 
 whose failings had boen many : " God before 
 whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac dia 
 walk, the God which fed me all my life long 
 unto this day — The Angel which redeemed 
 me from all Israel, bless the lads." He was 
 with the Church in the wilderness. And how 
 is his conduct towards them characterized? 
 'But he, being full of compassion, forgave 
 their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, 
 many a time turned he his anger away, and 
 did not stir up all his wrath. For he remem- 
 oered that they were but flesh ; a wind that 
 passeth away, and cometh not again." " In 
 all their affliction he was afflicted, and the 
 angel of his presence saved them : in his love 
 and in his pity he redeemed them ; and he 
 bare them, and carried them all the days of 
 old." 
 
 The second period takes in the days of his 
 flesh. For three-and-thirty years he dwelt 
 among men, and they beheld his glory, and 
 saw him " full of grace and truth." He had 
 compassion on the multitude, because they 
 were as sheep having no shepherd, and he 
 taught them many things. What was his 
 language ] " Come unto me, all ye that la- 
 bour and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest" He saw some faith in the nobleman 
 who applied to him on the behalf of his son , 
 but it was so weak, that he thought our Sa- 
 viour could not raise him when dead, and 
 that he could not even recover him while 
 living, without his bodily presence, ignorant 
 of the almigftu,;css of his word. But he 
 yields to his desire ; " Sir, come down, ere 
 my child die." What dull scholars were his 
 disciples ! But he endured their wayward- 
 ness, and taught them as they were able to 
 bear it. He tenderly apologized for the three 
 disciples in the garden, when, though he had 
 enjoined them, and was exceeding sorrowful, 
 even unto death, they could not watch with 
 him one hour — " The spirit indeed is willing, 
 but the flesh is weak." When he was ap- 
 prehended, they all forsook him and fled — 
 Yet he loved them unto the end — and beyond 
 it too — 
 
 Observe the third period, the season that 
 elapsed between his resurrection and his as- 
 cension. He rose with the same heart with 
 which he died. He instantly appeared to 
 Mary Magdalene, who was weeping, and 
 comforted her. He sent a message to his 
 cowardly and wavering followers, announcing 
 that he was risen. He mentioned Peter, who 
 was inconsolable, by name. He joined Cleo- 
 pas and his companion, as they were going 1 to 
 Emmaus,. and revived their dying faith and 
 hope. He entered the room where the eleven 
 •were assembled, and said to their drooping 
 fearful hearts, " Peace be unto you." He a(> 
 commodated himself with the most surprising 
 condescension to the wish of Thomas, and set 
 ais scruples at rest He took leave of them 
 
 all, and was parted from them in the very act 
 of blessing them. 
 
 The fourth period followed his return to 
 heaven. Out of sight, is often out of mind, 
 with us. The chief butler on his advance- 
 ment forgot Joseph. Years elapsed after he 
 was enthroned before David inquired after the 
 family of his friend Jonathan. But Jesus re- 
 membered his followers as soon as he came 
 into his kingdom. He immediately sent them 
 another comforter. He was touched with the 
 feeling of their infirmities ; and appeared in 
 the presence of God for them. He was seen 
 of the dying Stephen in glory ; and stood by 
 and strengthened Paul when before Nero. 
 And when he addressed the Seven Churches 
 in Asia, and justly leproved their faults, with 
 what readiness and kindness did he notice 
 and commend the least degree of excellence ! 
 Let us take what he said to the church of 
 Philadelphia, and remember that he is the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. " I 
 know thy works: behold, I have set before 
 thee an open door, and no man can shut if 
 for thou hast a little strength, and hast kep* 
 my word, and hast not denied my name." 
 
 JULY 5. 
 
 " Exceeding great and precious promises.'" 
 2 Peter i. 4. 
 
 Not only " great," but " exceeding great, 
 and precious" — Exceeding all example — ex- 
 ceeding all expression — exceeding all concep- 
 tion. 
 
 They are exceeding great in their con~ 
 tents. For what do these promises contain 1 
 or rather, what do they not contain 1 They 
 are adapted, and they are adequate to all our 
 woes, wants, and weaknesses. They include 
 all things pertaining to life and godliness; 
 time and eternity ; grace and glory. Let me 
 make a selection, and judge of the whole by 
 a part. Let me look at three of these prom- 
 ises — The first peculiarly the promise of the 
 Old Testament — The second of the New — 
 The third of both. The promised Seed. The 
 promised Spirit. And the promised Land. 
 
 my soul, let me dwell on each of these till 
 
 1 am filled with wonder; and constrained to 
 exclaim, " O how great is the goodness which 
 thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, 
 which thou hast wrought for them that trust 
 in thee, before the sons of men !" 
 
 They are exceeding precious in their estu 
 matron. This does not regard all to whom 
 these promises are addressed ; for many make 
 light of them, and neglect so great salvation. 
 But there are others in whom it is fully exem- 
 plified. The promises are exceeding precious 
 in the esteem of awakened and convinced sin- 
 ners. A sense of our wants is necessary, to 
 render all our supplies desirable and gratify- 
 ing. The full soul .oathes the honeycomb: 
 
'J20 
 
 JVLY 3. 
 
 out to the hungry every bitter thing is sweet. 
 It is owing to this that many read and hear 
 the word of God without impression, and 
 that the invitations of the Gospel, instead of 
 neing attractive, are rather offensive, being by 
 implication a kind of reflection, like the offer 
 of pardon to the innocent, or of alms to the 
 wealthy, or of liberty to those who say, We 
 were ne\er in bondage. But when we see 
 and feel that we are in the condition the dis- 
 oensation is designed to relieve, the tidings 
 will be glad tidings ; they will be like cold 
 water to a thirsty soul ; they will be the 
 break of day to one that watches for the morn- 
 ing. When weary and heavy laden, how pre- 
 cious is the voice that cries, " I will give you 
 rest." I am lost, but here is a Saviour. \ am 
 sick and dying, but here is a Physician. I 
 am guilty and weak, but here is One in whom 
 I have righteousness and strength. 
 
 They are also exceeding precious in the es- 
 teem of real and confirmed believers. Let us 
 go through the Scriptures, and we shall find 
 how the saints always delighted in them. 
 The patriarchs " embraced them" — kissed 
 them, as the word is ; " and confessed that they 
 were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." 
 Job said, " I have esteemed the words of his 
 mouth more than my necessary food." David 
 said, " I have taken thy testimonies as my 
 heritage for ever : for they are the rejoicing 
 of my heart." " More to be desired are they 
 than gold, yea, than much fine gold : sweeter 
 also than honey and the honeycomb." Jere- 
 miah said, " I found thy words and I did eat 
 them ; and thy word was unto me the joy and 
 rejoicing of mine heart." The noble army 
 of Martyrs overcame by the blood of the 
 Lamb and the word of his testimony, and 
 loved not their lives unto the death. And 
 now, in the soul of every Christian, " this is 
 the victory that overcomes the world" " even" 
 their " faith." 
 
 And no wonder they are in such estimation 
 with them* They do not judge of them by 
 report, but from experience. To a sense of 
 want they have added the relish of enjoy- 
 ment : and therefore as new-born babes, they 
 desire the sincere milk of the word, that they 
 may grow thereby, having tasted that the 
 Lord is gracious. They have tried these 
 promises, and can trust them. They repair 
 to them as to wells of salvation from which 
 they have derived refreshment in many a 
 fainting hour. They have had proofs, blessed 
 proofs of their influence and efficacy — First, 
 in preserving them from despair, in bringing 
 peace into their troubled consciences, and en- 
 abling them to joy in God under a sense of 
 their guilt, unworthiness, and imperfections. 
 Secondly, in supporting them amidst all the 
 tr als of life. For where is the Christian who 
 cinnot say, with David, "This is my comfort 
 in mine affliction ; thy word hath quickened 
 me " Thirdly, in animating them in all the 
 
 duties of religion. How often have they iound 
 " the joy of the Lord" which they have de- 
 rived from them their " strength ;" freeing 
 then from fear, depression, and formality , 
 and enlarging their heart to run in the way 
 of his commandments ! Fourthly, in pro- 
 moting their mortification and sanctification. 
 This is their ultimate design : " That by them 
 we may be partakers of the divine nature, 
 having escaped the pollutions of the world 
 through lust." For they are not only intend- 
 ed to afford us consolation, but to draw us 
 from earth to heaven, from the creature to 
 God, from the life of sense to the life of faith, 
 and from the life :;f sin to the life of holiness. 
 And Christians feel this effect from them far 
 more than from the dread of wrath, or the 
 authority of command, according to the lan- 
 guage of the Apostle : " Having therefore 
 these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse 
 ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and 
 soirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 
 
 Are you an heir of promise ? " O that I 
 was ! I know that these promises are exceed- 
 ing great and precious ; but they often make 
 me shudder, lest I should come short of them. 
 Oh that I knew whether I might claim them 
 as my own !" Wait on the Lord, and keep 
 his way. Pray for the testimony of his Spirit 
 as he imparts it by his work in the heart and 
 by his rule in the word. Observe the char 
 acters he has given of the subjects of his 
 grace. " To this man will I look, even to him 
 that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trem- 
 bleth at my word." " Blessed are the poor in 
 spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
 Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall 
 be comforted. Blessed are the meek : for 
 they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they 
 which do hunger and thirst after righteous- 
 ness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are 
 the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 
 Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall 
 see God. Blessed are the peace-makers : for 
 they shall be called the children of God" — 
 
 But if I am an heir, what is my duty with 
 regard to these " exceeding great and precious 
 promises V It is to believe them. They are 
 nonentities without faith. It is only by faith 
 they can live and operate in the soul. It is 
 to remember them. You should not have 
 your resources to seek when you want them 
 to use; but be of a ready mind to apply these 
 divine encouragements as your various exi- 
 gencies may require. It is to plead them bo- 
 fore God. They are good bills, payable at 
 sight. Present them, and say, Fulfil thy word 
 unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused 
 me to hope. It is to publish and recommend 
 them. It is a good day with you ; and if you 
 hold your peace, some evil will befall you. Go 
 therefore, and tell the king's household. Say 
 to your relations, friends, and neighbours ; 
 taste and see that the Lord is good ; blessed 
 is the man that trusteth in him. Yea, *o aL 
 
,ULY 6. 
 
 221 
 
 you find, say, with Moses to Hobab; "We 
 are journeying unto the place of which the 
 Lord said, I will give it you : come thou with 
 us, and we will di thee good : for the Lord 
 hath spoken good concerning Israel." 
 
 JULY 6. 
 
 " Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father- 
 in-law, the priest of Midian : and he led the 
 lock to the back-side of the desert, and came to 
 the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And 
 the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him." — 
 Exodus iii. 1, 2. 
 
 In the history of Moses we find three dis- 
 tinct periods. Each of them consisted of 
 forty years. The first he passed at the court 
 of Pharoah. The second as a shepherd in 
 Midian. The third as the leader and ruler of 
 Israel in the wilderness — So changeable often 
 is human life — So little do we know at the 
 commencement of our course what directions 
 it will take, or what designs the Lord has to 
 accomplish, either for us or by us ! He giveth 
 none account of any of his matters: but he 
 says, " I will bring the blind by a way that 
 they knew not; I will lead them in paths that 
 they have not known : I will make darkness 
 light before them, and crooked things straight. 
 These things will I do unto them, and not 
 forsake them." 
 
 Who can conjecture, when a child is born, 
 however disadvantageous the circumstances 
 in which he is placed, what are the destina- 
 tions of Providence that await him 1 What a 
 character was here ! What wonders did he 
 perform ! What a space does he fill in the 
 records of antiquity, as a deliverer, a com- 
 mander, a lawgiver, an historian, and a prophet 
 of the Lord ! What a tax erf admuation and 
 gratitude has he levied upon all ages ! Yet 
 all this importance was once hid for three 
 months in successive concealments, launched 
 m an ark of bulrushes on the Nile, and by a 
 concurrence cf circumstances, apparently the 
 most casual, discovered, saved, and advanced 
 to glory, honour, and immortality ! 
 
 God works like himself. He does indeed 
 employ means : but while men depend upon 
 their instruments, his instruments depend 
 upon him ; and he so uses them as to show 
 that the excellency of the power is not of 
 them, but from himself. When, without hire 
 or reward, a whole nation was to be released 
 from the iron grasp of the most powerful 
 tyrant of the day, Who appeared before him 
 with this sublime demand, " Let my people 
 go, that they may serve me?" Not a trained 
 soldier, not an experienced and renowned 
 . officer ; but a shepherd, with no sword by his 
 side, but only a crook in his hand, and no less 
 than eighty years old, when, according to the 
 language of his own beautiful psalm, pur 
 strength is labour and sorrow." 
 The place where he received this surprising 
 
 commission was the neighbourhood of Iloreb, 
 a place rendered afterwards so famous and 
 memorable. What a contrast between his 
 condition at the foot of the same mountain 
 then, and his state now! Now a solitary 
 keeper of a few sheep ; then king in Jeshu- 
 run, ascending up to meet the Most High face 
 to face ; receiving the mandates of infinite 
 purity and rectitude written with the finger 
 of God ; and subsisting forty days and forty 
 nights by the divine power ! This must have 
 been a most interesting spot to Moses. 
 
 It is worthy of observation that God in thit 
 manifestation found him usefully employed. 
 The occupation indeed was lowly ; but though 
 a very learned man, and delicately brought 
 up in a palace, he did not deem the keeping 
 of sheep beneath him, when called to it by 
 the providence of God. Humility is a lovely 
 and blessed endowment It enables a man 
 to accommodate himself to events, and teaches 
 him how to be abased, as well as how to 
 abound ; it leads him to exercise the graces, 
 and perform the duties of the condition. For 
 many who know what it is to be abased, do 
 not know how to be abased. Their minds do 
 not come down and harmonize with their cir- 
 cumstances. They are humbled, but not 
 humble; and would rather break than bend. 
 Yet is there any thing dishonourable in any 
 kind of honest labour X How much more re- 
 spectable is a profession, or a calling, however 
 common, than what Bishop Sanderson said 
 were the plague and disgrace of the country 
 in his day, (what would he have said had he 
 lived in ours!) beggary and shabby gentility? 
 Hands were given us not to be folded, but 
 used. Adam was placed in Eden to dress 
 and to keep the garden. Seneca says, "I 
 would much rather be sick than idle." As 
 the employment of Moses was not degrading, 
 neither, we are persuaded, was it found un- 
 comfortable. Lord Kaimes says, "there is 
 no drudgery upon earth but admits of more 
 enjoyment than the ennui resulting from in- 
 dolence and inaction." We have much reason 
 to believe that Moses felt these to be the 
 most privileged years of his life. How much 
 more free and happy was the shepherd of 
 Midian than the courtier in Egypt, and the 
 leader and commander in the wilderness ! 
 Here by the side of his innocent charge he 
 held communion with his God, was inspired 
 to write the book of Genesis, and to tell how 
 " the earth sprang out of chaos" — And here 
 some have concluded he composed the de- 
 lightful drama of Job, to encourage and com- 
 fort his suffering brethren in Egypt How 
 ever this may be, the subject adds another in- 
 stance to the numerous cases mentioned in 
 the Scriptures, in which, when the Lord ap- 
 peared to communicate a discovery, or confer 
 a distinction, the recipients were engaged in 
 discharging the duties of their stations in life 
 — Indeed where can we find an excentior 
 
2ti 
 
 JULY 7. 
 
 trom the rule? Satan loves to meet men idle. 
 God delights to honour diligence and fidelity. 
 He is with us while we are with him. " To 
 him that hath shall be given, and he shall 
 have more abundantly ; but from him that hath 
 not shall be taken away even that he hath." 
 
 JULY 7. 
 
 •* Ana the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Mm 
 in aflame of Jire out of the midst of a hush: 
 and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned 
 with Jire, and the bush was not consumed." 
 — Exodus iii. 2. 
 
 This exhibition was not only miraculous, 
 but very significant. It was intended to strike 
 the mind through the senses, and as an em- 
 blem to be instructive in at least four circum- 
 stances. Observe the substance of the figure. 
 Not a fine tall tree, not a cedar or cypress, 
 but " a bush," a mere bush — perhaps a bram- 
 ble bush. Such is the image of the Church. 
 If numbers, and riches, and splendour, and 
 power be the marks of the true Church, as 
 popery has often professed, where in many 
 ages of the world could it be found 1 Seldom 
 under the Old Testament dispensation ; never 
 under the New. At one time it was in the 
 ark, and there was a wicked Ham. At another 
 in the family of Abraham, and there was a 
 mocking Ishmael. It was now in Egypt, con- 
 sisting of slaves and brickmakers. If we go 
 forward, our Saviour had not where to lay his 
 haad. His followers were the common peo- 
 ple. 'His Apostles were fishermen. They 
 could say, years after they had been endued 
 with power from on high, " Even to this very 
 hour, we hunger, and thirst, and are buffeted, 
 and have no certain dwelling-place ; we are 
 accounted the filth and offscouring of all 
 things." Paul could make this appeal to the 
 Corinthians: "God hath chosen the foolish 
 things of the world to confound the wise ; and 
 God hath chosen the weak things of the world 
 to confound the things which are mighty ; 
 and base things of the world, and things 
 which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, 
 and things which "are not, to bring to nought 
 things that are : that no flesh should glory in 
 his presence." And when James addresses 
 the admirers of the golden ring and the good- 
 ly apparel, he shows them that if they would 
 follow God he would lead them in another di- 
 rection : " Hearken, my beloved brethren ; 
 Hath not God chosen the poor of this world 
 rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which 
 he hath promised to them that love him?" 
 The Church is indeed gkrious, but she is all 
 glorious within. Her excellences, like the 
 weapons of her warfare, are not carnal, but 
 spiritual. Natural men therefore do not dis- 
 cern her worth and dignity — "The world 
 knoweth us not." 
 
 Observe the condition of the bush. It 
 "burned wjth fire." Fire is one of the most 
 
 common things in the Scripture to denote 
 severe suffering. Hence it is said, " Glorify 
 ye the Lord in the fires." " I will bring the 
 third part through the fire." What was the 
 state of the Jews now in Egypt? They were 
 enduring every kind and degree of degrada 
 tion and anguish, and their lives were bittei 
 by cruel bondage. " The Lord said, I have 
 surely seen the affliction of my people which 
 are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by 
 reason of their taskmasters ; for I know their 
 sorrows." Yet what were their sufferings 
 compared with those of many of their breth- 
 ren in later ages 1 It is to the Jews the Apos- 
 tle refers when he says ; " Others were tor- 
 tured, not accepting deliverance; that they 
 might obtain a better resurrection : and others 
 had trial of cruel mockings and scourginjjs, 
 yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment : 
 they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, 
 were tempted, were slain with the sword : 
 they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat 
 skins ; being destitute, afflicted, tormented ; 
 (of whom the world was not worthy :) they 
 wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and 
 in dens and caves of the earth." And when 
 addressing the Hebrews who were converted 
 and christianized, the same writer says ; 
 "Call to remembrance the former days, in 
 which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured 
 a great fight of afflictions." We also should 
 do well to reflect on the condition of our an- 
 cestors, and be grateful for the exemptions 
 with which we are favoured. Yet there is a 
 sense in which if any man will live godly in 
 Christ Jesus he shall suffer persecution. With 
 us indeed the hand is tied ; but the tongue 
 can no man tame, and the carnal mind is en- 
 mity against God. And no toleration act can 
 prevent our having tribulation in the world ; 
 or preclude personal and relative afflictions : 
 and these may subserve the purposes of per- 
 secution properly so called. We have known 
 individuals who have suffered in private life 
 more than many martyrs; some of them en- 
 during the pressure of grief week after week, 
 and month after month, without notice ; and 
 others unable to divulge the source of their 
 distress — a heart's bitterness known only to 
 themselves. Christians are never to consider 
 " fiery trials" as strange things. Of how 
 many can God say, " I have chosen thee in 
 the furnace of affliction !" 
 
 Mark its preservation. Though burning, 
 " the bush was not consumed." What a com- 
 mentary on this part of the subject are the 
 words of the Apostle : " We are troubled on 
 every side, yet not distressed ; we are per- 
 plexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but 
 not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed ; 
 always bearing about in the body the dying 
 of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus 
 might be made manifest in our body. For 
 we which live are alway delivered unto death 
 for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesua 
 
JULY 8. 
 
 228 
 
 might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." 
 And what an exemplification of this language 
 is the history of the Church ! Though always 
 exposed and assailed, it has continued to this 
 day. Other cities have perished and their 
 memorials with them. Empires have disap- 
 peared. The four universal monarchies have 
 mouldered away, and their dust has been scat- 
 tered to the four winds. But the Church is 
 not only in being, but flourishing, and advanc- 
 ing, and going to fill the whole earth. The 
 oppositions it has met with have been over- 
 ruled for good, and have turned out rather to 
 the furtherance of the Gospel. As it was 
 with the natural Israel, so it has been with 
 the spiritual ; the more oppressed, the more 
 they multiplied and grew : and the blood of 
 the martyrs was the seed of the Church. 
 Our hearts never tremble for the ark of God. 
 It is in safe keeping. He whose cause it is, 
 is the Almighty; and he loves it infinitely 
 better than we do. We never sympathize 
 with the cry, " The Church is in danger." 
 We know it is not in danger — It cannot be in 
 danger while his word is true ; " On this rock 
 will I build my Church, and the gates of hell 
 shall not prevail against it" And this is as 
 true of every individual believer as of the 
 whole Church collectively. Not one child 
 from the family, not one sheep, not one Iamb 
 from the fold, ever has been or ever shall be 
 lost. " They shall never perish." Though 
 the righteous fall, they shall not be utterly 
 cast down. They may be chastened of the 
 Lord, but they cannot be condemned with the 
 wicked — There is no condemnation to them 
 that are in Christ Jesus. " Who shall sepa- 
 rate us from the love of Christ 1 shall tribula- 
 tion, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or 
 nakedness, or peril, or sword] Nay, in all 
 these things we are more than conquerors 
 through him that loved us." 
 
 Mark the cause of its security. Fire de- 
 vours, and the bush was combustible. Why 
 then was it not burnt ? The " angel of the 
 Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, 
 out of the midst of a bush ;" or, as it is sub- 
 sequently expressed, "The Ix>rd saw that 
 Moses turned aside to see, and God called 
 unto him out of the midst of the bush." 
 While this leaves no doubt of the divinity of 
 the Being who displayed himself, so it ex- 
 plains the mystery of the continuance of the 
 bush, and of the perpetuation of the Church 
 typified by it — " God is in the midst of her, 
 she shall not be moved ; God shall help her, 
 and that right early." " Cry out and shout, 
 thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy 
 One of Israel in the midst of thee." God's 
 . presence with his people is a delightful re- 
 flection ; and it is founded in the most perfect 
 certainty. He is with them always ; with 
 them in their lowest estate ; with them in all 
 their dangers and afflictions ; with them to 
 oity them, to assist them, to support them, to 
 
 preserve them, to deliver them. " For I am 
 the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, 
 thy Saviour : I gave Egypt for thy ransom, 
 Ethiopia and Seba for thee." To change the 
 metaphor of our text, but keep the meaning ; 
 when the storm arose in the lake of Galilee, 
 the disciples were thrown into a needless 
 alarm — " Carest thou not," said they, " that 
 we perish 1" Perish ! How could they per- 
 ish 1 Was not He on board 1 And if so, his 
 safety insured theirs. He could not sink, and 
 therefore they could not. And see how they 
 derived from his presence not only security 
 but immediate and full deliverance — " He 
 arose and rebuked the wind ; and there wat 
 a great calm." 
 
 We cannot conclude without adverting tc 
 the notice Moses takes of this event in the 
 dying benediction which he pronounced on 
 the tribes of Israel. Vv hen he came to Jo- 
 seph, he said, " Blessed of the Lord be his 
 land, for the precious things of heaven, for 
 the dew, and for the de r p that coucheth be- 
 neath, and for the precious fruits brought 
 forth by the sun, and lor the precious things 
 put forth by the moon, and for the precious 
 tilings of the e'.rth, and the fullness thereof, 
 
 and FOR THE G'JCD WILL OF HIM THAT DWELT 
 
 in the bush." The scone, though it had 
 passed forty years before, viv'dly rushed upon 
 his imagination, and he derives from it the 
 greatest good ho could implore, whether for 
 a nation or a man only. V/ l.nt pains we take, 
 and what sacrifices we mnxf:. to gain " the 
 good will" of a fellow-creu'u:e, which, if at- 
 tained, can do nolhrng for •>■& in our greatest 
 exigences and interests ! But " the good 
 will" of him that dwelt in the bush — a tried 
 God, a covenant God, a God who there said, 
 " I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and ot 
 Jacob" — this can sweeten every comfort soft- 
 en every sorrow, take the sting out of depth. 
 This can accomplish every hope. This satisfy 
 every desire. " Think upon me, O my God 
 for good." 
 
 JULY 8. 
 
 " I will gather them that are sorrowful for the 
 
 solemn assembly." — Zeph. iii. 18. 
 
 This " solemn assembly" was the convoca- 
 tion of the people for worship, especially in 
 the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of 
 weeks, and the feast of tabernacles. In these, 
 thrice a year, all the males were to appear 
 before God in the place which he should 
 choose. This was Jerusalem. It was there- 
 fore named "the city of their solemnities." 
 Here, at such seasons, they were always to 
 " rejoice before the Lord." The services in- 
 deed were all of the festive kind ; and " joj 
 bee nines a feast" — 
 
 " But we have no such lengths to go, 
 Nor wander far abroad ; 
 Where'er the saints assemble now 
 There is a house for God.' 
 
224 
 
 JULY & 
 
 Yes, we have our solemn assemblies as 
 well as they; and surely we have not less 
 reason than they had to be joyful, and to say, 
 '' Let us serve the Lord with gladness, and 
 come before his presence with singing." Yea, 
 if we are habitually strangers to pleasure in 
 religious services ; if we cannot call the Sab- 
 bath a delight; if we are not glad when they 
 say to us, Let us go into the house of the 
 Lord ; if we do not rejoice at his word as one 
 that findeth great spoil ; if spiritual duties 
 are not in some good degree spiritual privi- 
 leges, there is surely enough to awaken ap- 
 prehension of our state before God. 
 
 We never apply the term " solemn" to any 
 common or merely secular assembly ; but 
 only to one that has something in it sacred, 
 anCl capable of inspiring awe. And what can 
 be more venerable, grand, . and impressive, 
 than the assembling together of a number of 
 immortal beings, in the presence of the Lord 
 of angels, to engage not in any of the affairs 
 of this world, but in those which concern the 
 soul and eternity, and the consequences of 
 which will affect us for ever ! Well there- 
 fore may we exclaim with Jacob ; " How 
 dreadful is this place ! this is none other but 
 the house of God, and this is the gate of hea- 
 ven." " God is greatly to be feared in the 
 assembly of the saints, and to be had in rever- 
 ence of all them that are about him." Let us 
 impress ourselves with the thought when we 
 are repairing to the sanctuary. Nothing will 
 tent! more to preserve us from a roving eye, 
 and a wandering heart ; and nothing will con- 
 duce more to our profiting by the means of 
 grace, than our engaging with a serious and 
 thoughtful frame of mind. David therefore 
 said, " In thy fear will I worship towards thy 
 Holy Temple." It is the more necessary be- 
 cause of the frequent return of these solemni- 
 ties: if familiarity does not always breed con- 
 tempt, it must always tend to reduce venera- 
 tion. 
 
 But what caused these pious Jews to be 
 " sorrowful ]" See how they that are after 
 the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but 
 they that are after the Spirit, the things of 
 the Spirit. Their metropolis was destroyed, 
 their palaces were demolished, strangers pos- 
 sessed their fields and vineyards : but though 
 their calamities were great and numberless, 
 nothing distressed them in comparison with 
 the destruction of the temple, and the loss of 
 their sacred institutions. They were "sor- 
 rowful because of the solemn assembly." 
 This was now broken up and dispersed. Ah ! 
 said their aching hearts, "Thine enemies 
 roar in the midst of thy congregations." We 
 see not our signs: there is no more any 
 prophet : neither is there among us any that 
 knoweth how long." " Our holy and beauti- 
 ful house, where our fathers worshipped, is 
 burned with fire, and a) 1 our pleasant things 
 are laid waste." 
 
 Blessed be God, we cannot be thus sorrow- 
 ful for the solemn assembly. Our temples are 
 standing, our Sabbaths are continued, our 
 eyes see our teachers, our ears hear the joyful 
 sound ; we sit under our own vine and fig 
 tree, and none makes us afraid. Yet we 
 ought, and if we are spiritually minded, we 
 shall on many accounts be sorrowful for the 
 solemn assembly. Sorrowful when deprived 
 of opportunities of being found in it. This 
 may be the case owing to the calls of urgent 
 business, or accident, or sickness, or relative 
 affliction. When indeed we are thus provi- 
 dentially detained, the Lord will not leave us 
 comfortless : yet when we remember these 
 things, we shall pour out our souls in us ; for 
 we had gone with the multitude, we went 
 with them to the house of God, with the voice 
 of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept 
 holy day. Sorrowful that it is so little attend- 
 ed. Many so undervalue the privilege as to 
 suffer the most trifling expense or impedi 
 ment to keep them from the courts of the 
 Lord. Sorrowful that it is so little improved. 
 How many attend frequently and regularly 
 who receive the grace of God in vain, and 
 are no wiser and better for all their advan- 
 tages ! Sorrowful that it is so impoverished 
 and declining — That there is less spirituality 
 and fervour ; that we do not see the children 
 instead of the fathers ; that while the old arc 
 removed, so few in early life are coming for- 
 ward to fill their places ; that so few are led 
 to inquire what must I do to be saved ; that 
 so few increase with all the increase of God. 
 Sorrowful that it is dishonoured anddegraded 
 — By apostasies, backslidings, inconsisten- 
 cies, and falls in the members of it ; so that 
 the enemies of the Lord blaspheme, and the 
 way of truth is evil spoken of, and the Re- 
 deemer wounded in the house of his friends. 
 Hence it is here added, " to whom the re- 
 proach of it is a burden." All this " is a la- 
 mentation, and shall be for a lamentation." 
 
 Yet if we feel the distress, it is a token for 
 good. It is godly sorrow. And blessed are 
 they that thus sorrow — For, says God, " I will 
 gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn 
 assembly." This means, with regard to these 
 Israelites, that they should be united again 
 from their dispersion, and led back to enjoy 
 their former privileges, and again see his 
 power and glory as they had seen him in the 
 sanctuary. With regard to other sorrowers 
 the Lord will gather them in two ways ; 
 gather them for safety, and gather them for 
 glory. Moses said to Pharaoh, upon his an- 
 nouncing the plague of hail, "Send now, and 
 gather thy cattle, and all that is in the field ;' 
 that is, house them from the storm. Thus the 
 hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, 
 and affords them a safe and comfortable re- 
 treat from the weather and the birds of prey. 
 Our Lord uses this image ; and David had 
 also said, "He that dwelleth in the secret 
 
JULY 9 
 
 2-23 
 
 place ot the Most High shall abide under the 
 shadow of the Almighty." " He shall cover 
 thee with his feathers, and under his wings 
 shalt thou trust ; his truth shall be thy shield 
 and buckler." What an encouragement is 
 this in times of public and general calamity ! 
 Indeed without it we should not be able to 
 live a day in quiet from the fear of evil. The 
 husbandman, when the grain is ripe, gathers 
 the wheat into the barn. The bridegroom is 
 said to go " down into the garden to gather 
 lilies." It is thus the Lord, when they are 
 made meet, removes his saints from the 
 Church below to the Church above, and from 
 earth to heaven, by the hand of death. Thus 
 they are continually gathering one by one to 
 their own people. At length he will send 
 forth his angels, and will gather together his 
 elect from the four winds ; and the aggregate 
 will be perfect To this the Apostle refers, 
 when he says, " Now we beseech you, bre- 
 thren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and by our gathering together unto him." 
 
 Two things result from hence. First — 
 That sensibility attends genuine religion. 
 The Lord takes away the heart of stone out 
 of our flesh, and gives us a heart of flesh. 
 Secondly — Nothing is more pleasing to God 
 than a feeling, lively, public spirit, that will not 
 only allow of our looking on our own things, 
 but also on the things of others, and especially 
 the things that are Jesus Christ's. If we have 
 no concern for the welfare of Zion, we are 
 not living members of the mystical body. If 
 one member suffers, all the members suffer 
 with it " Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 
 They shall prosper that love thee." 
 
 JULY 9. 
 
 " Are the consolations of God small with thee. n 
 Job xv. 11. 
 
 They are not so in themselves, nor have 
 Jiey been so in the experience of many. 
 Many have found them sufficient to wean 
 their affections from the vanities and dissipa- 
 tions of the world, to set their hearts at rest, 
 and to sustain them under every loss : when 
 they have walked in the midst of trouble these 
 have been able to revive them ; and in the 
 multitude of their thoughts within them his 
 comforts have delighted their souls. Nor can 
 they be small in the estimation of any who 
 have tasted that the Lord is gracious. But 
 some know their fuller value from the want, 
 rather than from the possession. They have 
 had indeed relishes of them ; but as to habit- 
 ual enjoyment, the consolations of God are 
 email with them. 
 
 But is there not a cause 7 And should not 
 serious inquiry be made after it? The cause 
 cannot be found in the God of all comfort 
 We are not straitened in him. All the full- 
 ness of God is before us. " Have I been a 
 15 
 
 wilderness to loraell a land of darkness]" 
 Sometimes the reason is the indulgence of 
 something incompatible with the will of God. 
 This injures our peace and joy, as the worm 
 affected Jonah's gourd: the cause was not 
 visible, but it was real, and while the refresh- 
 ful shade was withering over his head, a worm 
 was working at the root. The boughs and 
 leaves were some way off from the mischief, 
 but they felt the influence in every pore, and 
 for want of vital communication could no 
 longer resist the scorching sun. If I regard 
 iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear 
 me. There was an Achan in the camp that 
 troubled Israel ; therefore they could not stand 
 before their enemies. Our obedience will be 
 imperfect as long as we remain here, but '* 
 must be impartial. We shall rue for any re- 
 serve we make : and can only be preserved 
 from shame if we have respect unto all his 
 commandments. When Joab was assaulting 
 Abel, he said to the wise woman, I do not 
 wish to destroy this mother city in Israel ; 
 but a man, Sheba by name, hath lifted up his 
 hand against the king — Throw his head over 
 the wall, and the siege shall be instantly 
 raised : and so it was. Let us therefore search, 
 and try our ways, and resolve to act faithfully 
 by the discovery. 
 
 "The deareBt idol I have known, 
 Whate'er that idol be ; 
 Help me to tear it from thy Throne, 
 And worship only thee. 
 
 " So shall my walk be close with God, 
 Calm and serene my frame; 
 So purer light shall mark the road, 
 That leads me to the Lamb." 
 
 And be it remembered that the evil we are 
 speaking of may regard not only some sin 
 committed, but some duty neglected. One 
 complainer perhaps holds back that which 
 restitution requires. Another perhaps forgives 
 not his brother his trespasses. A third does 
 not reprove his neighbour, though he sees sin 
 upon him. 
 
 Neglect in attending divine ordinances will 
 furnish a reason. When by the Providence 
 of God we are deprived of these, or of the 
 ability to repair to them, we shall find that 
 there is not an essential connexion between 
 grace and what we call the means of grace. 
 He will be with us in this trouble, and we 
 shall see his power and glory, so as we have 
 seen him in the sanctuary. But it is other- 
 wise when having the opportunity in oui 
 hands we are found absent. We then trans- 
 gress the command which forbids us to ftr- 
 sake the assembling of ourselves together; 
 we put a slight upon the Lord's own appoint- 
 ment ; and show a disregard to his presence 
 and blessing. The hand of the diligent maketh 
 rich : and they that wait upon the Lord shall 
 renew their strength. How much did Thomat 
 lose in being absent from the Apostles when 
 the risen Saviour appeared in the midst of 
 them ! How often have we heard persons re 
 
226 
 
 JULY 10. 
 
 mark, that when they have been absent from 
 their places, the text or the sermon has touched 
 the very subject they wished to hear ; and it 
 is not improbable that something was then 
 lost which might have confirmed or comforted 
 them through life. 
 
 Ignorance of their privileges has also its 
 influence. Many labour under great diffi- 
 culties for want of evangelical instruction; 
 and some who have many advantages are yet 
 very obscure and perplexed in their views of 
 the grounds of their acceptance before God, 
 and of the certainty of their persevering in 
 the divine life ; and also of the nature and 
 design of afflictive dispensations. Persons 
 may be safe, and feel little of the glorious lib- 
 erty of the sons of God ; for this depends on 
 knowledge: "ye shall know the truth, and 
 the truth shall make you free." "Blessed 
 are the people who know the joyful sound ; 
 they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy 
 countenance, in thy name shall they rejoice 
 all the day, and in thy righteousness they 
 shall be exalted." 
 
 To this we may add, separation from godly 
 intercourse. Ointment and perfume rejoice 
 the heart, so doth a man his friend by hearty 
 counsel. Paul was sad; but when he saw 
 the brethren, he thanked God and took cour- 
 age. " Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went 
 to David in the wood, and strengthened his 
 hand in God." Thus two are better than one. 
 A Christian will often be tempted to imagine 
 something singular in his views and feelings, 
 especially those of a sorrowful kind; but a 
 fellow believer will be able, by opening his 
 experience, to turn the stumbling-block into 
 a way-mark, and convince him that all the 
 subjects of divine grace have passed through 
 the same exercises. Having seen the treach- 
 ery of his own heart, a Christian is afraid of 
 any encouragement offered from that quarter, 
 till he has consulted with a wiser than him- 
 self in the things of God. His own prayers 
 seem not to deserve the name of grace or of 
 supplication, but he is cheered by learning 
 that he has an interest in the petitions of 
 those who have power with God, and can 
 prevail. 
 
 But finally, what says James 1 " Ye have 
 not, because ye ask not; ye ask and have 
 not, because ye ask amiss." And what said 
 the Saviour to his disciples'! "Hitherto ye 
 have asked nothing in my name : ask, and ye 
 shall receive; that your joy may be full." 
 Therefore open your mouth wide. Therefore 
 pray not according to the sense you have of 
 your unworthiness — this would strike you 
 dumb; but according to the exceeding riches 
 of his grace, m his kindness towards you by 
 Christ Jesus. Think of the unspeakable gift; 
 and having boldness and access with confi- 
 dence by the faith of him, say, " He that 
 pared not his own Son, but delivered him up 
 
 for us all, how shall he not with him a\w> 
 freely give us all things ? 
 
 JULY 10. • 
 
 " And so, after he had patiently endured, he c6 
 tained the promise." — Heb. vi. 15. 
 
 The person spoken of is Abraham. The 
 promise is contained in the preceding verses, 
 and was delivered in the form of an oath. 
 " For when God made promise to Abraham, 
 because he could swear by no greater, he 
 sware by himself, saying, Surely, blessing 1 
 will bless thee, and multiplying I will multi- 
 ply thee. And so, after he had patiently en- 
 dured, he obtained the promise." He had 
 obtained the promise itself long before ; but 
 the meaning is, that he at length obtained 
 also the fulfilment 
 
 Now they that are of faith are blessed with 
 faithful Abraham. He was called the friend 
 of God ; and they are all precious in his 
 sight, and honourable, and he has loved them : 
 and of each of the sons it will be said in due 
 time as it was of the father of the faithful ; 
 " And so, after he had patiently endured, he 
 obtained the promise." 
 
 The believer's dependence and expectation 
 are placed upon the promise of God. He 
 would have nothing to sustain his hope, but 
 for some divine intimation and assurance. 
 God therefore from the beginning spoke in a 
 way of promise ; and in a way of promise he 
 always deals with his people. He could have 
 done for them all that he purposed to do with- 
 out announcing it previously, but then they 
 could have derived no advantage from it be- 
 forehand ; and as they could not have known 
 it, they could not have trusted in it, and acted 
 upon it, and pleaded it in prayer, saying, " Do 
 as thou hast said." A promise is more than 
 a simple declaration : it is an express engage- 
 ment by which a man lays himself under an 
 obligation, and does not leave himself at lib- 
 erty to act indifferently. And this, with rev- 
 erence, applies to the conduct of the Supreme 
 Being. But it is obvious that God's promis- 
 ing must have originated in his own un- 
 deserved goodness : for not only are his 
 promises exceeding great and precious, but 
 we were not worthy of the least of all his 
 mercies and of all the truth which he has 
 showed unto his servants. Yea, while we 
 had no claims upon him, he had claims against 
 us; and could righteously have punished us 
 as transgressors. Let us only imagine that 
 God had not as yet spoken concerning us at 
 all, but was about to do it ; conscious of oui 
 guilt, we could have expected nothing but a 
 certain fearful looking-for of judgment; and, 
 like Adam and Eve, hearing the voice of God, 
 we should have endeavoured to hide ourselves 
 for fear. But be astonished, O heaven, at 
 
JULY 11. 
 
 227 
 
 this, and wonder, O earth; he is good and 
 ready to forgive ! and comes forward and as- 
 sures us that the thoughts he thinks towards 
 us are thoughts of peace, and not of evil ! 
 and that all things are provided and ready for 
 our relief! 
 
 As soon as we are born of God we are his 
 children, and if children, then heirs ; and as 
 such we have a title which no enemy can in- 
 validate to all the promises. But the promises 
 are not always immediately accomplished, 
 and hence a period of " patient enduring" is 
 necessary. God indeed is not slack concern- 
 ing his promise : he is never a moment be- 
 yond the appointed season. Yet, according 
 to our wishes and apprehensions, he seems to 
 delay : for ignorant of his time, we often fix 
 one ourselves, and thereby not only show our 
 folly and presumption, but expose ourselves 
 to disappointment When God promised 
 Abraham a son, foi many years he went child- 
 less. And how long did things grow more 
 dark and discouraging before Joseph could 
 see any probability of the fulfilment of his 
 dream ! It is often the same now in the his- 
 tory and experience wf believers. Their 
 prayers may seem disteg-rded. Their ini- 
 quities may prevail againrfi them in the sense 
 of their guilt, and in tho stirring of their 
 power. The battle may wax hotter and 
 fiercer, and victory apparently decline. The 
 land that is to be given them, measured by 
 their feelings and rears, seems very far off": 
 and they are frequently ready to say, " Hath 
 God forgotten to be gracious 1 Doth his prom- 
 ise fail for evermore 1" 
 
 This season of waiting is very trying, es- 
 pecially when the blessing is earnestly de- 
 sired, and we are pressed down by outward 
 trials. When it cometh, it is a tree of life ; 
 but hope deferred maketh the heart sick. 
 During the suspense the enemy is busy to 
 produce distrust and despair, and to lead us 
 to say, Why should I wait for the Lord any 
 longer'! But, in opposition to this, faith will 
 whisper, " Wait on the Lord," and, " Be of 
 good courage." It is good for a man not only 
 to hope, but " quietly wait for the salvation 
 of the Lord." It will keep him from enter- 
 taining those hard thoughts of God which al- 
 ways furnish bitter reflections after he has 
 appeared to our joy ; and also prevents our 
 using unhallowed means to help out our ea- 
 gerness — like Rebecca, who though she knew 
 the elder was to serve the younger, in her 
 impatience had recourse to injustice and lies 
 to accelerate the event He that believeth 
 maketh not haste. He remembers how long 
 he kept God waiting for him. He knows 
 that the Lord's time is the best time ; that 
 every thing is beautiful in its season; that 
 fruit is most wholesome and rich when it is 
 fully ripe. He is also sure that he cannot 
 wait in vain — for they shall not be ashamed 
 that wait for him. For 
 
 No uncertainty attends the final accom- 
 plishment of his word. This Abraham found: 
 " And so, after he had patiently endured, he 
 obtained the promise." This the Jews found. 
 At the end of four hundred and thirty years 
 they were to leave the house of bondage: 
 " And it came to pass at the end of the four 
 hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame 
 day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the 
 Lord went out from the land of Egypt" He 
 also engaged to give them Canaan for an in- 
 heritance. And therefore whatever difficul- 
 ties opposed their passage and their entrance, 
 it was at last acknowledged, " Thou in thy 
 mercy hast led forth the people which thou 
 hast redeemed : thou hast guided them in thy 
 strength unto thy holy habitation." " Behold," 
 says Joshua, " this day I am going the way 
 of all the earth : and ye know in all your 
 hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing 
 hath failed of all the good things which the 
 Lord your God spake concerning you ; all are 
 come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath 
 failed thereof." Solomon also at the dedica- 
 tion of the temple bore the same testimony to 
 the veracity of God : " Thou spakest with thy 
 mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, 
 as it is this day." 
 
 Let us then be strong in faith, giving glory 
 to God. Let us remember that all his prom- 
 ises are yea and amen in Christ Jesus ; and 
 that every thing in his nature and in his 
 character is a pledge for the execution. 
 " The vision is yet for an appointed time, but 
 at the end it shall speak and not lie : though 
 it tarry, wait for it ; because it will surely 
 come, it will not tarry" — And bring with it 
 the triumph and the song ; " Great and mar- 
 vellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; 
 just and true are thy ways, thou King of 
 saints." 
 
 JULY 11. 
 
 " When thou wast under the fig-tree, / saw 
 thee."— John i. 48. 
 
 Behold here the retired Israelite: — 
 " Thou wast under the fig-tree." 
 
 It is spoken of Nathanael. Some have 
 contended that he was the same with Bar 
 tholomew. Others, with less plausibility 
 have supposed that he was the bridegroom ot 
 the marriage at Cana in Galilee. He is once 
 mentioned, along with some of the disciples, 
 at the sea of Tiberias, in the close of this 
 Gjspel. With this exception, all we know 
 of him is from the chapter before us. Philip 
 had the honour of introducing him to the Son 
 of God : " Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith 
 unto him, We have found him of whom Moses 
 in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus 
 of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael 
 in reply said unto him, " Can there any good 
 thing come out of Nazareth'! Philip saith 
 unto him, Come and see." His objection 
 
228 
 
 JULY 1L 
 
 shows that his knowledge was small, and. his 
 prejudices vulgar. But his compliance proved 
 that he was open to conviction, and willing to 
 examine. And this accords with the charac- 
 ter given of him by our Lord. " Jesus saw 
 Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, 
 Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no 
 guile !" By calling him an Israelite he dis- 
 tinguished him from his own nation : for all 
 were not Israel who were of Israel. He was 
 a Jew inwardly, whose circumcision was 
 that of the heart in the spirit. He was not 
 free from infirmity, but devoid of hypocrisy, 
 and upright before God and man. Conscious 
 that he had never been with Jesus, he asks 
 with surprise, " Whence knowest thou me 7" 
 And Jesus answered, " Before that Philip 
 called thee, when thou wast under the fig- 
 tree." 
 
 The fig-tree was the place of his retreat. 
 It was probably in a garden, forming by its 
 foliage a kind of natural alcove. It was cho- 
 sen by Nathanael, not only because its large 
 leaves would screen him from the rays of the 
 sun, but conceal him from human inspection. 
 For he wished to be alone. We may be alone 
 in company. Who has not endured the soli- 
 tariness of being with persons of no conge- 
 niality with their own views and feelings, 
 who have checked and chilled every favourite 
 sentiment, and rendered every attempt to in- 
 troduce pious discourse like putting a tender 
 exotic plant out into the frost and snow? But 
 through desire, a man having separated him- 
 self seeketh and intermeddleth with all wis- 
 dom. The place is not always optional. The 
 poor are to he pitied who have no conveniency 
 for retirement ; and they are still more to be 
 pitied who, by reductions in life, have been 
 deprived of the accommodations they once 
 enjoyed — If they are Christians, there is no- 
 thing they will so much feel themselves. But 
 where it is optional, the place is indifferent, 
 any farther than it may usefully or injuriously 
 affect us as to the object of our withdrawment. 
 Many therefore prefer the apartment of a 
 room. But others, instead of being distracted 
 and diverted when abroad, are aided and im- 
 pressed ; their thoughts are quickened, their 
 fancy is enlivened by the displays of wisdom, 
 power, and goodness all around them; and 
 
 Ithey can easily rise from things seen and tem- 
 poral to those which are unseen and eternal — 
 They love the fig-tree; and the wood, the 
 corn-field, the meadow, and the garden will 
 bear witness to their devotion. Isaac was in 
 the field at evening-tide to meditate; and 
 Peter was praying on the house-top. 
 
 But what was Nathanael doing under the 
 fig-tree? It was something significant, and 
 which was instantly recalled. There are 
 facts in the lives of all which are easily sus- 
 ceptible of remembrance. Some of them may 
 be awful ; and only a hint given, or a circum- 
 stance mentioned, will call up the colour in 
 
 the cheek, or excite a pang in the conscience. 
 Such to the seduced must be any reference 
 to the place of allurement and ruin ; and to 
 the murderer the place stained with blood. 
 But to pious minds there are spots delightfully 
 and sacredly interesting, because they have 
 been no other than the house of God and the 
 gate of heaven. Such was Beth-el to Jacob, 
 and the hill Mizar to David, and the river of 
 Chebar to Ezekiel, and Patmos to John, and 
 the fig-tree to Nathanael. Though we know 
 not in particular what was Nathanael's en- 
 gagement, it was obviously something of a 
 religious nature. He was probably reading 
 the law and the prophets; or reflecting on 
 some divine subject; or praying to the God 
 of heaven : or more probably he was indulg- 
 ing in all these successively, or. intermingling 
 them together ; for this is the business of re 
 tirement.. 
 
 Nathanael we may be assured would not 
 turn his back on the temple of God, or for- 
 sake the assembling of himself together, with 
 those who keep holy day, as the manner of 
 some is ; and public worship has its own un- 
 deniable claims. But he found in secluded 
 devotion four advantages and recommenda- 
 tions. The first regarded frequency. Public 
 services are comparatively few, and they 
 should be few; and they require much time; 
 and the seasons must be fixed, and invariable, 
 and known, for general accommodation. But 
 opportunities for private devotion continually 
 occur, and ask only the momentary conveni- 
 ence of the individual himself. The second 
 regarded freedom. All company is a degree 
 of restraint upon intimate associates. Friend- 
 ship longs always to resign up itself more 
 fully to its own object. It therefore deals 
 much in secrecy : and this is peculiarly the 
 case with the friendship between God and 
 the soul. There are confessions proper only 
 for his presence ; petitions to be only poured 
 into his ear ; griefs to be lodged only in his 
 bosom. " The heart knoweth his own bitter- 
 ness ; and a stranger intermeddleth not with 
 his joy." The third was self-acquaintance. 
 Self-knowledge is the most important and dif- 
 ficult. Persons may live to be old, and vet 
 be ignorant of themselves ; and they may be 
 much alone, and never meet with their own 
 hearts, or morally converse with them. Yet 
 surely retirement affords the best opportunity 
 to try our state, to examine our character, to 
 detect our mistakes, to learn our dangers, and 
 to provide against them. The fourth was the 
 greater evidence of religious principle. Mo- 
 tives of less purity may induce us to repair to 
 places where there is much besides God to 
 attract and to entertain, especially in the 
 goodness of the singing or the eloquence of 
 the preacher. It is no unusual thing it O'li 
 day for the service of the sanctuarv rp ce 
 turned into an amusement. But it does ioo« 
 like conviction, like a regard for the dutv it 
 
JULY 12. 
 
 229 
 
 •eil, like real love to God, when we can read- 
 ily go where God only is to be found, and we 
 have only to transact business with hiiri. If 
 we were in company with a disliked individ- 
 ual, his presence would be tolerable if they 
 were to continue ; but if they were all to de- 
 part, and leave us alone with him, nothing 
 would be so desirable as the door. O my 
 soul, in similar circumstances would this be 
 ay case with regard to God and thee ! 
 
 JULY 12. 
 
 When thou toast under thefig4ree, I saw thee." 
 John i. 48. 
 
 Behold here the observing Saviour — 
 ■ I saw thee." 
 
 Here was a Divine observer. For how did 
 he see Nathanael in this concealment 1 Not 
 by an eye of sense; or from the testimony of 
 others ; but by the attribute of omniscience. 
 Accordingly it produced this belief in the 
 mind of Nathanael, who was forced to ex- 
 claim, " Thou art the Son of God ; thou art 
 the King of Israel." This perfection Peter 
 ascribed to him when he said, " Lord, thou 
 knowest all things." Nearness and distance, 
 darkness and light, publicity and secrecy, are 
 the same to him. How many proofs did he 
 give in the days of his flesh that he " needed 
 not that any should testify of man: for he 
 knew what w*as in man." He assured John, 
 " All the Churches shall know that I am he 
 which searcheth the reins and hearts." And 
 he evinced his entire acquaintance with all 
 their state, and the recesses of their experi- 
 ence. And in his times he will show that he 
 has been aboiSt our path and our lying down, 
 and acquainted with all our ways, words, and 
 thoughts; for he will bring every work into 
 judgment, with every secret thing, whether 
 it be good or whether it be evil. 
 
 Here was an approving observer. His 
 eyes run to and fro throughout the whole 
 earth : but much of what he sees he abhors. 
 He sees many alone, but God is not in all their 
 thoughts. They abstract themselves from 
 the world, but are still in it; and employ their 
 leisure in trifling or mischief, or, as Isaiah 
 expresses it, in •• weaving spiders' webs, or in 
 hatching cockatrice' eggs." But his heart 
 was with Nathanael. "Had his fellow-crea- 
 tures peeped through the leaves of the fig- 
 tree, and seen him now reading, now musing, 
 now kneeling, and praying with strong cry- 
 ings and tears, they would have pitied or de- 
 spised him. But the Lord looked on with 
 approbation: for "the Lord taketh pleasure 
 in them that fear him, in them that hope in 
 .lis mercy." Nathanael himself thought mean- 
 ly enough of his performances, and perhaps 
 reared they would be rejected. But " the 
 Lord is nigh unto all them that are of a bro- 
 ken 'leart ; and saveth such as be r f a con- 
 
 trite spirit" " I have surely heard Ephraira 
 bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chas- 
 tised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock 
 unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou me, ana 
 I shall be turned ; for thou art the Lord my 
 God. Is Ephraim my dear son 1 is he a plea- 
 sant child 1 for since I spake against him, 1 
 do earnestly remember him still: therefore 
 my bowels are troubled for him : I will surely 
 have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." " I 
 have seen his ways, and I will heal him : I 
 will restore comforts unto him and to his 
 mourners." 
 
 Here was an acknowledging observer. Ho 
 not only saw and approved, but avowed his 
 regard. He avowed it to Nathanael himself 
 How must he have been affected, when he 
 heard the sentence, " I saw thee !" Surely a 
 blush spread over his face — But how would 
 he be cheered and encouraged by such an as- 
 surance ! " Ah !" you say, " he could hear his 
 voice — But does he speak now 1" Not with 
 audible sounds in the air, or in visions and 
 dreams — There only enthusiasm is hearken- 
 ing after him. But he has access to the mind, 
 and bears witness with our spirits. Many 
 now living, like Enoch, have the testimony 
 that they please God — He has said to their 
 soul, "I am thy salvation" — "I have loved 
 thee." 
 
 And he not only avowed his regard for Na- 
 thanael, but he avowed it before others. He 
 might have taken him aside, or have whisper- 
 ed it to himself : but no ; he owns and com- 
 mends him in the presence of the whole party. 
 It was a testimony to a private transaction, 
 but it was publicly expressed ; and the atten- 
 tion of the company was turned towards him 
 previously for this very purpose, "Behold 
 an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." 
 " Before that Philip called thee, when thou 
 wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee" — What 
 an illustration was here of the truth of his 
 own words ! " When thou prayest, enter into 
 thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, 
 pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and 
 thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall re- 
 ward thee openly." Nathanael thus private- 
 ly sought; and was thus publicly acknow- 
 ledged — 
 
 And by whom 1 Not he who commendeth 
 himself is approved, but whom the Lord com- 
 mendeth. Seek the honour that cometh from 
 him ; and remember the way in which it is 
 to be obtained: "Them that honour me, I 
 will honour." He can make others take 
 knowledge of them. He can make the Spirit 
 of glory 'and of God to rest upon them. He 
 can distinguish them by the care of his provi- 
 dence in common calamities. He can own 
 them in their dying moments. And he will, 
 he must confess them before his Father and 
 the holy ansrels. The concealments of Chris- 
 tians are only partial and temporary. Their 
 day is coming: it is the manifestation of the 
 
£30 
 
 JULY 13. 
 
 ■ons of God. Yet a little while, and every 
 cloud will be dispersed, and they shall shine 
 forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Fa- 
 ther. Then the tears they have shed over 
 their sins and infirmities, while they were 
 deemed licentious in their principles; the 
 prayers they offered for those who hated and 
 persecuted them ; the alms in which they suf- 
 fered not the left hand to know what the right 
 hand did ; and all the sublime and the beau- 
 tiful of religion that passed under the fig-tree, 
 shall be not meritoriously, but graciously pro- 
 claimed before an assembled world. " There- 
 fore judge nothing before the time, until the 
 Lord come, who both will bring to light the 
 hidden things of darkness, and will make 
 manifest the counsels of the heart ; and then 
 shall every man have praise of God." 
 
 JULY 13. 
 
 " And round about the throne were four and 
 twenty seats : and upon the seats I saw four 
 and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white rai- 
 ment ; and they had on their heads crowns of 
 gold" — Rev. iv. 4. 
 
 A throne is for royalty, and reminds us of 
 a king. The King here is the King of kings, 
 and the Lord of lords. He " hath established 
 his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom 
 ruleth over all." He has indeed two thrones. 
 The first we approach on earth. It is the 
 throne of grace. This is the place of our 
 sanctuary, and the source of all our* relief. 
 The way to it we know ; and " we have bold- 
 ness and access with confidence by the faith 
 of him." The second we approach in hea- 
 ven. It is the throne of glory. This is too 
 bright and dazzling for us to behold in this 
 weak state of flesh and blood — for "flesh and 
 blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 
 But there is a relation between these two 
 thrones : and if we visit and value the one, 
 and can now say, " It is good for me to draw 
 near to God;" we shall soon be introduced to 
 the other, and " be for ever with the Lord." 
 
 These four and twenty elders were repre- 
 sentatives, not of the ministers, but of the 
 whole Church: the number being made up 
 of the twelve Patriarchs, and the twelve 
 Apostles; the former the emblems of the 
 Jewish, and the latter of the Christian part 
 of it 
 
 We may observe the position of these fa- 
 voured beings — Their seats " were round about 
 the throne." God is the supreme good. With 
 him is the fountain of life. He is therefore 
 the centre of their attraction ; and their hap- 
 piness arises from their nearness to him. 
 
 We see their posture — They were " sit- 
 ting." John also saw them " standing before 
 the throne," and " falling down before the 
 throne." All is necessary to do justice to the 
 subject Their standing is a posture of rea- 
 
 diness for service; and they serve him day 
 and night in his temple. Their falling down 
 is a posture of self-abasement, reverence, and 
 adoration. But sitting shows distinction and 
 privilege. Sitting in the presence of the king, 
 especially when upon his throne, was limited 
 to great favourites or near relations. " When 
 therefore Bath-sheba went unto king Solomon, 
 to speak unto him for Adonijah, the king rose 
 up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her v 
 and sat down on his throne, and caused a 
 seat to be set for the king's mother." And 
 the Lord Jesus not only calls his people his 
 friends, but his kindred — " The same is my 
 brother, and sister, and mother." Sitting is 
 refreshment and rest — we sit when we come 
 in from travelling or from toil. And they 
 who die in the Lord, " rest from their la- 
 bours." It is also the posture of festive en- 
 joyment — in allusion to which it is said, 
 " Many shall come from the East and from 
 the West, and shall sit down with Abraham, 
 and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of 
 heaven." 
 
 We have also their apparel — They were 
 " clothed in white raiment." They had com- 
 plied with the Saviour's invitation, who had 
 counselled them to buy of him white raiment, 
 that they might be clothed : and we are in- 
 formed what this was; "the fine linen is 
 the righteousness of saints." This is two-fold. 
 It is their justifying righteousness, of which 
 Paul speaks when he says, " that I may be 
 found in him ; not having mine own righteous- 
 ness, which is of the law, but that which is 
 of faith." In this righteousness believers are 
 not only absolved, but " exalted." They have 
 more to appear in than Adam < in Paradise: 
 his righteousness was finite, theirs is infinite ; 
 his was the righteousness of a creature, theirs 
 is "the righteousness of God." — And it is 
 their sanctifying righteousness. We are re- 
 quired to " put on the Lord Jesus Christ," by 
 a participation of his qualities, and an imita- 
 tion of his example. The Scripture speaks 
 of " the garment of praise :" and of being 
 "clothed with humility." When we read of 
 " keeping our garments," and " not defiling 
 our garments," the reference is to our religi- 
 ous principles, and actions, and habits, which 
 cover, and defend, and distinguish, and adorn 
 the mind, as vestures do the body. And to 
 these John refers, when ho says, " They have 
 washed their robes, and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb :" for the righteousness 
 of Christ needs no cleansing. But their obe- 
 dience is defective and polluted, and needs a 
 sacrifice to render it acceptable, and grace to 
 render it rewardable. 
 
 Finally ; we are informed not only of their 
 dress, but of their dignity. Persons may be 
 clothed and not crowned ; and they may be 
 crowned, but not with gold ! — But these " had 
 on their heads crowns of gold." The glory 
 to which they are advanced is of the higher 
 
JULY 14. 
 
 231 
 
 iegree, and of the most durable and valuable 
 quality — " Such honour have all his saints." 
 It shows the amazing goodness of God towards 
 them ; for originally they were nothing, and 
 viler than the earth. They were guilty and 
 depraved. But he not only spares them, but 
 forgives them; not only relieves them, but 
 enriches and dignifies them. What a contrast 
 between their lapsed, and their restored con- 
 dition ! How low the one, how elevated the 
 other ! " He raiseth up the poor out of the 
 dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dung- 
 hill ; that he may set him with princes, even 
 with the princes of hie people." 
 
 Here is scope and food for ambition — true 
 ambition — commendable ambition. Let us 
 despise the grovelling projects and pursuits of 
 men of the world, who have their portion in 
 this life, and, by patient continuance in well 
 doing, seek for glory, honour, and immor- 
 tality. 
 
 Oh ! says the Christian, the attainment 
 seems incredible — But, unworthy as 1 am, 
 it is not too great for me to expect — 
 
 There shall I wear a starry crown, 
 And triumph in almighty grace ; 
 While all the armies of the skies 
 
 •>in in my glorious Leader's praise." 
 
 JULY 14. 
 
 ■ O God, thou art my God ; early trill I seek 
 thee: my soul thirstethfor thee, my flesh long, 
 eth for tliee in a dry and thirsty land, where 
 no water is ; to see thy power and thy glory, 
 w as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." 
 
 Psalm Ixiii. 1, 2. 
 
 ** As the man is, so is his strength :" and as 
 the man is, so are his desires. " They that 
 are after the flesh do mind the things of the 
 flesh ; and they that are after the Spirit, the 
 things of the Spirit" Let persons therefore 
 judge of themselves religiously, by their de- 
 sires ; and if the stream does not rise so high 
 as they could wish, let them observe the di- 
 rection in which it flows. Let them ascertain 
 that their desire is to the Lord, and the re- 
 membrance of him ; and the promise assures 
 them, " Blessed are they that do hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness, for they shall be 
 filled.' 1 
 
 Natural men live without God in the 
 world. God is not in all their thoughts. If 
 he attempts to enter their alienated mind, 
 he is resisted as an intruder, and they say 
 unto God, Depart from us, we desire not the 
 knowledge of thy ways. But the spiritual 
 delight themselves in the Lord. Their lan- 
 guage is, "Where is God my Maker that 
 giveth songs in the night V " Whom have I 
 in heaven but thee, and there is none upon 
 earth that I desire beside thee." " It is good 
 for me to draw near to God." 
 
 We here see the strength of David's desire 
 after communion with God in the discoveries 
 
 and operations ot his glory and power in hi* 
 house and ordinances. Stronger terms could 
 not be employed to express it But two things 
 served to excite and enhance it 
 
 First, his present condition — " My soul 
 thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, 
 in a dry arid thirsty land where no water is." 
 He was now driven out of his country, exiled 
 from his inheritance, and deprived of the songs 
 and services of Zion. And in this condition 
 what does he only or chiefly mourn over? 
 Not the loss of his domestic and civil advan- 
 tages, but of his religious. " When I re- 
 member these things, I pour out my soul in 
 me: for I had gone with the multitude, I 
 went with them to the house of God, with the 
 voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that 
 kept holy day." How, says he, I envy the 
 Priests and Levites — " Blessed are they that 
 dwell in thy house, they will be still praising 
 thee." How I envy the companies that jour- 
 ney to Salim, whatever be the weather or the 
 road — "Blessed is the man whose strength is 
 in thee ; in whose heart are the ways of them , 
 who passing through the valley of Baca make 
 it a well ; the rain also filleth the pools. They 
 go from strength to strength, every one of 
 them in Zion appeareth before God." How I 
 envy the little birds that flee, and feed, and 
 build near the sacred place — " Yea, the spar- 
 row hath found an house, and the swallow a 
 nest for herself, where she may lay her young, 
 even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, 
 and my God." There would my nest be — 
 the home of my heart — " My soul longeth, 
 yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord ; 
 my heart and my flesh crieth out for the liv- 
 ing God." 
 
 It has grown into a proverb, that we never 
 know the worth of blessings till we know the 
 want of them : and the poet sings — 
 
 "How mercies brighten as they take their flight.' 
 
 Thus sickness endears health. The Jews, 
 who had always been murmuring against 
 Moses, mourned for him when dead many 
 days ; and no doubt sincerely, and even the 
 more because of their former conduct A 
 minister may not be neglected ; but it is when 
 his hearers look up, and see his figure no more 
 in the pulpit, and when they can no more 
 hang upon his lips — it is then they begin to 
 think how they have improved his labours, 
 and are prepared for the next interview ; it is 
 then they recall his sermons, and borrow, and 
 transcribe the notes which others have taken 
 down. Children may not have undervalued 
 a mo'her : but the full estimation of her im- 
 portance is not felt till her ears are closed to 
 all their complaints, and their cares find no 
 longer an asylum in her loved bosom — Upon 
 !his principle the Lord acts, and it will ac- 
 count for many of his dispensations. If we do 
 not esteem, and are not thankful for his bene- 
 fits, he suspends or withdraws them. He can 
 
232 
 
 FITLY 15. 
 
 easWv deprive you of any of those religious 
 opoortumties and advantages, from which you 
 now sutler the most trifling excuses frequent- 
 ly to keep you. By the loss of hearing he can 
 render you deaf to the voice of the charmer, 
 charm he never so wisely. Accident or 
 sickness may confine you from the place 
 where his honour dwelleth. Or a change of 
 business or residence may fix you in a dry 
 and thirsty land, where no water is — 
 
 Secondly, his former experience ; "To see 
 thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee 
 in the sanctuary." God is not confined to 
 temples made with hands. His presence fills 
 heaven and earth ; and David had seen his 
 power and his glory in all his works ; but he 
 knew the special grace of the promise, " In 
 all places where I record my Name I will 
 come unto thee, and I will bless thee." And 
 they who wait upon the Lord, and love the 
 habitation of his house, have always had proof 
 of this, and can say with David — " I have 
 seen him in the sanctuary. I am not to be dis- 
 puted out of the reality of my experience. I 
 have found him there, and communed with 
 him as a man talketh with his friend. The 
 influence and effect of the intercourse have 
 vouched for the nature of it. It was not delu- 
 sion, or enthusiasm. It has rendered sin 
 odious ; it has weaned me from the world ; it 
 has drawn me heaven-ward ; it has taught me 
 to rejoice in Christ Jesus, and to have no con- 
 fidence in the flesh." 
 
 Others are strangers to this experience. It 
 is what mere formalists and false apostates 
 never knew. But it is an incomparable ad- 
 vantage to the possessor. It confirms his con- 
 fidence in divine trutn : he has the witness in 
 himself! It tends to preserve him in the way 
 everlasting ; and serves to recall him when 
 ne backslides. For he may be allured and 
 drawn away for a time by other lovers ; but 
 he can never lose the relish he has had in the 
 enjoyment of his God and Saviour : and the 
 remembrance will excite him and reproach 
 him, and make him long for it to be with him 
 as in months past, when the candle of the 
 Lord shined upon his head, and when by his 
 light he walked through darkness ; when as 
 yet the Almighty was with him — " Then 
 shall she say, I will go, and return to my first 
 husband, for then it was better with me than 
 now." Yea, this will always serve as a 
 stimulus to urge him on in following hard 
 after God. A person might have been ready 
 to say, If David had seen God, why was he 
 not satisfied 7 But he was not satisfied because 
 he had seen him. He did not indeed want 
 more than God, but he wanted more of him. 
 His enjoyment only increased his appetite, 
 and his experience only provoked his desire 
 — " To see thy power, and thy glory, so as I 
 have seen thee in the sanctuary." 
 
 But what brings others to the temple 7 
 What brings you 7 Is it custom 7 or curiosity 7 
 
 Do you come to please your connexions T of 
 to appease conscience 7 It is surprising thai 
 some of you attend the service of the sanctu- 
 ary so regularly and constantly as you do 
 You never saw his power and glory there. 
 You never prayed to see them before you 
 went. You never inquired whether you had 
 seen them after you returned. This has been 
 the case with some of you twenty, forty years. 
 Will such an attendance do for a dying hour 7 
 Where now are all the ordinances you have 
 been favoured with 7 all the sermons you have 
 heard 7 In the record of your guilt and con- 
 demnation, ready to be produced at the last 
 day. 
 
 But a real Christian needs not threatening 
 and authority to constrain him to attend the 
 means of grace. He feels them attractive ; 
 he has found it good to be there — There he 
 has found the house of God, and the gate of 
 heaven, and can say — 
 
 " I 've seen thy glory and thy power, 
 
 Through all thy temple shine; 
 My God, repeat that heavenly hour, 
 
 That vision so divine ! 
 " Not all the blessings of a feast 
 
 Can please my soul so well, 
 As when thy richer grace I taste 
 
 And in thy presence dwell." 
 
 JULY 15. 
 
 f The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor 
 speak lies ; neither shall a deceitful tongue he 
 found in their mouth : for they shall feed and 
 lie down, and none shall make them afraid " — 
 Zeph. iii. 13. 
 
 Of the subjects of divine grace here spoken 
 of we may remark — 
 
 Their number : " a remnant." A remnant 
 is a small part compared with the whole. We 
 should be liberal in our opinions of men, but 
 we are not to sacrifice truth upon the altar of 
 candour: and we should always speak, not 
 from our feelings, but from our convictions ; 
 and always make our appeal to the law and 
 to the testimony. Some think few are wicked 
 enough to be turned into hell, and that very 
 little is required to constitute a claim to eter- 
 nal life. But the sentiment is very injurious. 
 It allows them to be satisfied with the state 
 they are in themselves, and keeps them from 
 endeavouring to save their fellow-creatures, 
 whom they view as safe already. Nor is it less 
 false. Take the characters of real Christians 
 as they are found in the faithful word, and 
 compare them with those who are living 
 around you, and how few will come up to the 
 representations 7 And does not the Scripture 
 tell us that they are "jewels," for their rare- 
 ness as well as worth ; that they are " a little 
 flock, in a large field ;" that they are " a gar- 
 den" in a vast wilderness ; that they are " as 
 the shaking of an olive tree, two or three 
 berries in the top of the uttermost bough, four 
 or five in the outmost fruitful branches there- 
 of 7" Strait is the gate and narrow is the wat 
 
JULY 16. 
 
 2tO 
 
 lhat leadeth unto life, and few there be that 
 find it Yet God has never left himself with- 
 out witness : he has always had a people for 
 his Name ; and this has been our case as a 
 nation ; " for except the Lord of hosts had left 
 unto us a very small remnant, we should 
 have been as Sodom, and we should have 
 been like unto Gomorrah. But though the 
 remnant has been small relatively, it has been 
 considerable in the aggregate; and is now 
 increasing; and will increase. We have 
 seen great things; and our children will see yet 
 greater ; for " he shall cause them that come 
 of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and 
 bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit" 
 
 Of their sanctity : " they shall not do ini- 
 quity." This must be taken with some restric- 
 tion. We would not plead for sin ; but we 
 must not oppose the testimony of God, which 
 assures us that " there is not on earth a just 
 man that doth good and sinneth not." " If 
 we say we have no sin," says John, "the 
 trutli is not in us." And James says, "In 
 many things we offend all." But they are 
 not " workers of iniquity," and " evil doers." 
 Sin does not reign in them ; they do not obey 
 it in the lusts thereof. There is no one sin 
 in which they knowingly live. They hate 
 every false way; and esteem all his com- 
 mandments concerning all things to be right 
 He that has " true holiness" cannot be satisfied 
 without perfect holiness. He therefore prays 
 to be sanctified throughout body, soul, and 
 spirit : and whatever falls short of this is mat- 
 ter of grief and humiliation to him. 
 
 Of their sincerity : " they shall not speak 
 lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found 
 in their mouth." A part is put for the whole ; 
 and the quality of their speech is designed to 
 express the inward temper of their minds. 
 They shall be Israelites indeed, in whom 
 there is no guile. Every thing is lies with 
 God that does not accord with the state of the 
 heart ; and only an upright spirit can main- 
 tain a deceitless tongue. The fruit partakes 
 of the nature of the tree. What is in the well 
 will be in the bucket : what is in the ware- 
 house will be in the shop. " A good man out 
 of the good treasure of his heart bringeth 
 forth good things ; for out of the abundance 
 of the heart the mouth speaketh." Infirmity 
 is not hypocrisy. They are not mere pre- 
 tenders. They do not draw on a fine white 
 glove over a filthy leprous hand. They are 
 not like a painted sepulchre, fair without, and 
 rottenness within. They are not mere actore 
 on a stage ; but are really what they appear 
 to be. Their integrity is peculiarly known 
 by this — there is nothin a of which they are 
 more afraid than self-deception. They there- 
 fore come to the light They examine them- 
 selves by the rule of the word. They implore 
 the inspection of God himself: " Search me, 
 O God, and know my heart: try me, and 
 know my thoughts : and see if there be any 
 
 wicked way in me, and lead me in the way 
 everlasting." 
 
 Of their privileges : " they shall feea and 
 lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 
 Thus their blessedness is expressed pastorally 
 and includes three things. First pasture ; 
 they shall "feed." As his sheep are men, 
 their food must be something intellectual a;id 
 spiritual ; and as they are new creatures, it 
 must be something congenial with their new 
 appetities. And we read of the provision of 
 God's house, and of his people being satisfied 
 with his goodness. The ordinances of religion 
 are the places in which they are fed, but they 
 are not the food itself. What says the 
 Saviour ? "I am the bread of life." " He 
 that eateth me even he shall live by me." 
 Secondly, repose ; and shall " lie down." In 
 an eastern climate, and in a warm day, how 
 desirable would the refreshment of rest be? 
 and therefore the Church says, Tell me, not 
 only where thou feedest, but " where thou 
 ' makest thy flock to rest at noon?" And this 
 David enjoyed and acknowledged ; he not 
 i only feedeth me beside the still waters, but 
 '■ he " maketh me to lie down in green pas- 
 i tures." I caunot explain this to you, if your 
 own experience does not. I cannot enable 
 | you to comprehend what that peace with God 
 i is which they feel who are justified by faith ; 
 | what that contentment is that springs from 
 communion with an infinite good ; what thai 
 '. dwelling at ease is which the soul realize* 
 that casts its burden upon the Lord, and is 
 careful for nothing. Thirdly, security : and 
 ', " none shall make them afraid." Sheep are 
 j the most timid of all animals ; even' ap- 
 j pearance and movement alarms them. And 
 this is too much the case with those they re- 
 present. But things are spoken of in the 
 Scripture according to their proper tendency 
 and effect The righteous are bold as a lion 
 — that is, they ought to be so; their duty re- 
 quires it : their principles justify it. Nothing 
 should make them afraid; because nothing 
 shall, nothing can injure them. God has amply 
 provided for their confidence ; and when they 
 can apprehend it by faith, they can be in quiet 
 from the fear of evil: they can "dwell safely 
 in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 
 Happy art thou, O Israel ! who is like unto 
 thee, O people saved of the Lord ' Visit 
 me, O Lord, with thy salvation ; ami let me 
 glory with thine inheritance. 
 
 JULY 16. 
 " Which hope we have as an anchor of the tout, 
 both sure and stedfast" — Heb. vi 19 
 Among the advantages by which a Chris 
 tian is distinguished, he is peculiarly churae 
 terized by the possession of hope. This hope 
 is called " a good hope through grace :" and 
 the goodness of it is to be seen in its utilitf 
 and certainty. 
 
234 
 
 JULY 16. 
 
 Tht useful less of it is here expressed by a 
 metaphor. W3 have this hope, as " an anchor 
 of the soul." It will be easy to show the 
 simple force of the comparison. The ship is 
 anchored even in the harbour or port to keep 
 it from being driven while lading or unlading : 
 and to this we liken the use of hope in the 
 common concerns and engagements of the 
 Christian life : without it we could not be 
 fixed trusting in the Lord, but should be all 
 luctuation and unsteadiness ; and instability 
 is incompatible with excellency — " Unstable 
 as water, thou shalt not excel." But the 
 main use of the anchor is to hold the vessel 
 in rough and tempestuous weather, when the 
 mariner is unable to steer without danger of 
 running on rocks or quicksands. This world 
 which we have to cross is a sea; and we shall 
 be piteously mistaken if we reckon upon 
 nothing but calms or breezes. Does the word 
 of God encourage such an expectation ? Does 
 it not forbid us to consider storms as strange 
 things'? In all ages have not the afflictions 
 of the righteous been many ? And what is 
 to secure them in persecutions, losses, trou- 
 bles personal and relative, conflicts without 
 and fears within ? 
 
 "Amidst temptations sharp and long, 
 My soul to this dear refuge flies ; 
 Hope is my anchor firm and strong, 
 When tempests roar, and billows rise." 
 
 He that walketh in darkness and hath no 
 light is to " trust in the Lord, and to stay upon 
 his God." This David recommended to others : 
 " Iiet Israel hope in the Lord." This he en- 
 joined upon his own soul: "Hope thou in 
 God." This he approved from his own expe- 
 rience, for he had found it available : " I had 
 fainted unless I had believed to see the good- 
 ness of the Lord in the land of the living." 
 
 We also read of the " patience of hope," 
 because hope is necessary to cheer ana sustain 
 it In nature there are wintery months be- 
 tween the sowing and the reaping. And in 
 the Christian there is the prayer of faith, the 
 work of faith, the fi<jht of faith, the life of 
 faith, the walk of faith, before he receives 
 "the end of his faith, the salvation of his 
 soul." Though all the promises of God are 
 faithful, many of them are not immediately 
 fulfilled. Here then patience is necessary, 
 and sometimes " long patience." But we are 
 naturally full of impatience ; and therefore we 
 should be in danger of giving up the case as 
 lost, and saying, with the unbelieving noble- 
 man, " What should I wait for the Lord any 
 longer?" Did not this hope whisper, "Wait 
 on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall 
 strengthen thine heart?" Wait I say on the 
 Lord. Though he delays, he cannot refuse. 
 The delay also is founded in kindness and in 
 wisdom. The Lord is a God of judgment ; 
 and blessed are all they that wait on him. All 
 will be well — all is well — " All the ways of 
 the Lord are mercy tnd truth." 
 
 But, says Cowper — 
 
 " Dangers of every shape and name 
 Attend the followers of the Lamb, 
 Who leave the world's deceitful 6hore 
 And leave it to return no more." 
 
 Many of them therefore do not regard surfer- 
 ing only — There are the perils of indulgence, 
 of ease, of agreeable connexions, of success 
 in business, of wealth, of fame : and we know 
 who hath said, "the prosperity of fools shall 
 destroy them." Here again " we are saved 
 by hope." What is the smile of a man to the 
 honour that cometh from God only ? What ia 
 earth to a better country, " even a heavenly ?" 
 How came Moses to refuse to be called the 
 son of Pharaoh's daughter ? " He had respect 
 unto the recompense of the reward." How 
 came Abraham to " sojourn in the land of 
 promise as in a strange country, dwelling in 
 tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs 
 with him of the same promise?" "He looked 
 for a city which had foundations, whose builder 
 and maker is God." Thus the Hebrews took 
 joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing 
 in themselves that they had a better and an 
 enduring substance. Thus it is that we are 
 preserved from the power of worldly tempta- 
 tions. Narrow and barren commons may 
 urge the sheep to wander ; but it is otherwise 
 with the green pastures and still waters. Fill 
 a Christian with all joy and peace in believ- 
 ing, and he has no room to " covet after evil 
 things" — His exposure is when "the consola- 
 tions of God are small with him." 
 
 But this hope, as an anchor of the soul, is 
 " sure and stedfast :" and as to certainty, the 
 truth far exceeds the figure. In other cases 
 the anchor does not always save the ship, but 
 the ship is driven from its holdings and dashed 
 to pieces. But this hope always secures the 
 Christian ; there never was an instance in 
 which it was known to fail. This is an in- 
 comparable recommendation. Nothing is so 
 wretched as the disappointment of hope. And 
 yet what is more common than the wreck of 
 human expectation, with regard to all earthly 
 things ? But nothing can equal the disappoint- 
 ment of that hope which regards the soul and 
 eternity ! How dreadful for a man to live in 
 expectation of all that God has promised, and 
 come short at last : to go with confidence to 
 the very door, and knock, Lord, Lord, open to 
 us ; and then hear from within, I never knew 
 you — Depart ! Yet such will be the issue of 
 every religious hope but this. It is this, and 
 this alone, that " maketh not ashamed ;" and 
 is as " sure and stedfast" as God himself can 
 make it. 
 
 And therefore the thing is, whether we 
 can say " which hope we have." It is not only 
 desirable, but possible to know this. Only, in 
 deciding, there is nothing concerning which 
 we should be more careful. What reason can 
 we show for having this hope in us? Have 
 we any better evidence than "a form of 
 
JULY 17. 
 
 235 
 
 knowledge," or " a form of go(. u iw.ss," while 
 we " deny the power thereof." How is this 
 hope founded 1 Is the Lord our righteousness 
 and strength its only basis 1 How does it ope- 
 rate 1 For a dead hope is no better than a dead 
 faith. The hope of Christians is a living and 
 a lively hope : it will induce us to value ; to 
 seek after ; and long to enjoy and resemble 
 the glorious object of it " He that hath 
 this hope in him purifieth himself even as he 
 is pure." 
 
 JULY 17. 
 
 * And when they had gone through the isle unto 
 Papkos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false 
 prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: 
 which was with the deputy of the country, Ser- 
 gius Paulus, a prudent man ; who called for 
 Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the 
 word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so 
 is his name by interpretation) withstood them, 
 seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 
 Then Saul, {who also is called Paul,) filled 
 with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and 
 said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, 
 thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all right- 
 eousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right 
 ways of the Lord ? And now, behold, the hand 
 of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be 
 blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And 
 immediately there fell on him a mist and a 
 darkness ; and he went about seeking some io 
 lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when 
 he saw wliat was done, believed, being aston- 
 ished at the doctrine of the Lord." — Acts xiii. 
 6—12. 
 
 When in their ministerial tour from Antioch 
 Paul and Barnabas reached Paphos, they not 
 only found there the celebrated temple of 
 Venus, with all the sensualities attached to 
 it ; but had to encounter another and a pecu- 
 liar adversary. There is no going on in the 
 cause of God without opposition — for 
 
 ' Satan rages at his loss, 
 And hates the doctrine of the cross." 
 
 And he never succeeds better than when he 
 throws himself into worldly professors and 
 false teachers ; and employs fraud rather than 
 force, and address rather than open persecu- 
 tion. When therefore Sergius Paulus, a pru- 
 dent man, called for the Apostles, being de- 
 sirous of hearing the word of God ; Elymas 
 the sorcerer withstood them, and sought to 
 turn away the deputy from the faith, that is, 
 from the hearing of it. A willingness to hear 
 is often a token for good, even if for the time 
 it does not arise from the best motive. It 
 brings people to the pool where they are in 
 readiness for the troubling of the water. 
 They are in the way of the means; and faith 
 cometh by hearing. We should therefore en- 
 deavour to brinp; people under the sound of 
 .he Gospel. We may learn our duty from 
 the enemy of our souls. He does all in his 
 power to keep people from hearing, especially 
 
 the great And with them he is often suc- 
 cessful. They think it is proper for others, 
 but excuse themselves, not considering thai 
 none need it so much because of their dangers, 
 and because of the influence of their ex- 
 ample. 
 
 — But what did Paul 1 Observe, First, his 
 reproof. " Full of the Holy Ghost, he set his 
 eyes on him, and said, O full of all' subtilty 
 and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou 
 enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not 
 cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord 1" 
 We are not fond of hard names and harsh 
 language; and there is nothing we should 
 more guard against than mingling our pas- 
 sions in the cause of truth : " for the wrath 
 of man worketh not the righteousness of God." 
 The same actions require not only the same 
 circumstances, but the same warrant When 
 therefore the Samaritans would not receive 
 our Saviour when he was going up to Jerusa- 
 lem, and James and John seeing this said, 
 " Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to 
 come down from heaven, and consume them, 
 even asEliasdid?" he turned, and rebuked 
 them, and said, " Ye know not what manner 
 of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is 
 not come to destroy men's lives, but to save 
 them." Paul not only knew the depravity of 
 this wretch, how he misrepresented their doc- 
 trine, and calumniated their designs ; but he 
 was " filled" with the Spirit as " a spirit of 
 judgment and of burning;" he spoke in the 
 name of the Lord, and as a prophet, whose 
 appeal was sanctioned by the event. Observe, 
 secondly, his denunciation. " And now, he- 
 hold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and 
 thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a 
 season. And immediately there fell on him a 
 mist and a darkness ; and he went about seek- 
 ing some to lead him by the hand." The doom 
 had five characters. It corresponded with the 
 crime — Here was blindness for blindness ; ju- 
 dicial blindness for criminal blindness. It was 
 suddenly inflicted — "Immediately there fell 
 on him a mist and a darkness." It was com- 
 paratively mild — It was only the loss of 
 sight: but Ananias and Sapphira were struck 
 dead. It was temporary — He was not to " see 
 the sun for a season." It was useful — Like 
 other judgments at the beginning of the Gos- 
 pel, it was to guard Christianity from abuse, 
 and to awaken attention, that others might 
 hear and fear, and turn unto the Lord. And 
 as this was the design, so this was the effect 
 of it— 
 
 — And we see that the word of the Lord 
 is not bound. Men may show their malignity 
 to it, but they cannot hinder its spread or its 
 efficacy. Yea, their oppositions will be more 
 than harmless, and turn out rather unto the 
 furtherance of the Gospel. Thus we here find 
 the wrath of man praising God, by giving rise 
 to a miracle which produced a growing eflect 
 on the mind of Sergius Paulus. Whxt 
 
 
2V> 
 
 JULY 18. 
 
 th'.s effect 7 " Then the deputy, when he saw 
 what was done, believed, being astonished at 
 the doctrine of the Lord." 
 
 First, " he believed." We know that there 
 is a faith which is not saving and influential. 
 It is the effect not of principle, but impression ; 
 evidence for the time overpowering doubt, 
 out leaving the heart unchanged. James 
 speaks much of this belief! And our Saviour 
 often met with it. Thus " when he was in 
 Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, 
 many believed in his name, when they saw 
 the miracles which he did. But Jeeus did not 
 commit himself unto them, because he knew 
 all men, and needed not that any should tes- 
 tify of man : for he knew what was in man." 
 How many are there now living who admit 
 every truth their ministers teach into their 
 judgments ; but there they lie like bodies in 
 coffins, dead being alone. We hope, how- 
 ever, this was not the case here; but that 
 the deputy believed to the saving of the 
 soul ; not only assenting, but acquiescing, 
 trusting in the Lord Jesus, and becoming his 
 follower. 
 
 Secondly, he was also " astonished at the 
 doctrine of the Lord." Every thing was 
 adapted to produce this feeling in him. The 
 doctrine was perfectly novel. We who are 
 familiar with it from our youth up, cannot 
 well imagine how it must strike the mind of 
 tnose to whom it is introduced for the first 
 time ! They may well be said to be called out 
 of darkness into marvellous light. Yet there 
 is a degree of this in every converted soul. 
 Experience is very different from theory: and 
 when we are taught of God we have other 
 views of those very things of which we have 
 read and heard before. The nature of it 
 surprised him. It contained the deep things 
 of God. Great is the mystery of godliness — 
 God manifest in the flesh — One dying for all 
 — He who knew no sin, made sin for us, that 
 we might be made the righteousness of God 
 in him — Christ dwelling in our hearts by 
 faith ! How mysterious the scheme ! And yet 
 as pure as it is deep, requiring us to cleanse 
 ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and 
 spirit, and to avoid the very appearance of 
 evil. The efficiency also would strike him. 
 He now viewed the Apostles as the oracles 
 of God, and considered what they said as his 
 word — and so it was — and he saw it was. For 
 no sooner had Paul spoken than it was super- 
 naturally accomplished. And this could be 
 justly extended to every thing else : for " the 
 word of God is quick and powerful." How 
 much more of this can we see than he saw ! 
 Since then how mightily has it grown and 
 prevailed ! How has it banished idolatry — 
 tamed the savageness of the multitude — com- 
 forted the desponding — changed the disposi- 
 tion of the ungodly — and enabled those who 
 have every thing to enslave them to earth, 
 
 to live with their conversation in heav*n 
 What other doctrine has ever been so > '( ': 
 rified 7" 
 
 And this is the word which by the Gosne 
 is preached unto us. Many despise it ana 
 turn from it. How do we regard it 7 Do we 
 believe it? And does our life vouch for our 
 faith 7 Can we say with David, " Thy testi- 
 monies are wonderful, therefore thy servant 
 loveth them." Some would consider a re- 
 gard that rose to admiration and astonishment 
 as weakness of mind. But it is more than 
 justified by prophets, by angels, by God him- 
 self, who has magnified his word above all his 
 name. How little and mean are other things 
 at which we wonder ! Here is enough to fix, 
 and fill, and employ the mind for ever ! But 
 let us not be found in the number of those 
 who " wonder and perish." Let us pray that 
 the Holy Spirit may lead us into all truth, 
 that we may know the excellency of it from 
 its influence in ourselves, and recommend- 
 ing it to others, be able to say with John, 
 "That which we have seen and heard de- 
 clare we unto you, that ye also may have 
 fellowship with us : and truly our fellowship 
 is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 JULY 18. 
 
 " And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas 
 Let us go again and visit our brethren in 
 every city where we have preached the word of 
 the Lord, and see how they do." — Acts xv. 36. 
 
 Nothing can be more pleasing to a Chris- 
 tian than to study the life of our Saviour ; to 
 follow him from place to place ; to hear him 
 preaching the Gospel of the kingdom ; to see 
 him feeding the hungry, opening the eyes of 
 the blind, raising the dead, and going about 
 doing good. We may feel a considerable de- 
 gree of the same pleasure in reading the acts 
 of the Apostles. The Apostles in the Church 
 of God were next to him in order of time, 
 and next to him in dignity, and next to him 
 in supernatural endowments, suffering, and 
 usefulness. But in all things he must have 
 the pre-eminence. He is fairer than the 
 children of men. In following him we find 
 nothing to scandalize or to distress. No cen- 
 sure ever attaches to his temper or conduct; 
 he is always in character with himself as the 
 Holy One of God ; and we exclaim with the 
 multitude, "He hath done all things well." 
 But it is otherwise when we follow men, good 
 men, great men, inspired men — "the best oi 
 men are but men at the best." 
 
 An instance of which comes before us this 
 evening in the dispute between Paul and 
 Barnabas. It will yield us several instructive 
 meditations. 
 
 We begin with Paul s proposal to Barnabas 
 
JULY 18. 
 
 237 
 
 — *• Let us go again and visit our brethren in 
 every city where we have preached the word 
 of the Lord, and see how they do." The 
 manner in which he speaks of the persons re- 
 garded is observable: he calls them "our 
 brethren." Our Lord h#d said to his disci- 
 ples, Call no man master, and be not ye called 
 masters, for one is your master, even Christ, 
 and all ye are brethren. And they strictly 
 adhered to the command. Paul does not avail 
 himself of his office, talents, or success, to 
 lord it over God's heritage. He exercised no 
 dominion over their faith, but was a helper 
 of their joy. The fraternal relation results 
 from our very nature ; for God has made of 
 one blood all the nations of men, and they 
 are all derived from one father, the first man, 
 Adam — so that wherever I see a human be- 
 ing I see a brother. But the Apostle here re- 
 fers to the subjects of divine grace. They are 
 new creatures; they are born again ; but they 
 are born of the same Spirit, they are redeem- 
 ed by the same blood, justified by the same 
 righteousness, heirs of the same glory : and 
 while partaking of " the common salvation," 
 a communion subsists between them, unaf- 
 fected by any difference of opinion, or dis- 
 tinction of circumstances. 
 
 These were universally esteemed by Paul ; 
 and he could say, " Grace be with all them 
 that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." 
 But the persons he now wished to see were 
 known to him and Barnabas. They had been 
 blessed under their former ministry; for they 
 had preached to them the word of the Lord 
 before. It is natural for those who are spirit- 
 ual fathers to feel a peculiar affection for they- 
 own offspring. If we have planted a tree, we 
 feel interested in its life and growth. What 
 wonder then that Paul should wish to water 
 what they had planted ; or that having sown 
 the seed, he wished to see the blade, the ear, 
 and full corn in the ear. And the state of 
 things required their inspection. The first 
 Churches were exposed to a thousand dis- 
 couragements and dangers. How soon were 
 the Galatians "bewitched" from the truth, 
 and lost the blessedness they had spoken of! 
 There were deceitful workers at Corinth, and 
 one wretch, as specious as he was injurious, 
 who transformed himself into an angel of 
 light At Ephesus, from among themselves 
 arose men, speaking perverse things, and 
 drawing away disciples after them. Wher- 
 ever the good seed was sown, the enemy was 
 eure to sow tares. It was natural therefore 
 that Paul should be concerned to visit " every 
 city" where they had laboured, to know their 
 estate, to refute any error in doctrine, to op- 
 pose any corruption in practice, to warn the 
 unruly, to comfort the feeble-minded, to up- 
 ioid the weak ; and to help them much who 
 nad believed through grace — How well could 
 ae say, " That which cometh upon me daily, 
 
 the care of all the Churches. Who is weak, 
 and I am not weak 1 who is offended, and 1 
 burn not]" 
 
 See the zeal of this man of God — " Let us 
 go again and visit our brethren in every city 
 where we have preached thi word of the 
 Lord, and see how they do" — He was never 
 weary in well-doing. He made the end of 
 one good work the beginning of another ; and 
 considered nothing done while any thing re 
 mained to be done. What he said of himself 
 as a Christian applied equally to his character 
 as a preacher and an apostle : " I count not 
 myself to have apprehended : but this one 
 thing I do, forgetting those things which are 
 behind, and reaching forth unto those things 
 which are before, I press toward the mark for 
 the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
 Jesus." To those who were ignorant of the 
 principle that actuated him in these " labours 
 more abundant, and deaths oft," he appeared 
 deranged ; and he was so, when judged by 
 the wisdom of the world, which is foolishness 
 with God. But, says he, " Whether we be 
 beside ourselves, it is to God : or whether we 
 be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of 
 Christ constraineth us ; because we thus judge 
 that if one died for all, then were all dead ! 
 and that he died for all, that they which live 
 should not henceforth live unto themselves 
 but unto him which died for them, and rose 
 again." Hence too when he mentions his 
 losses and persecutions he adds, "For the 
 which cause I also suffer these things : never- 
 theless I am not ashamed : for I know whom 
 I have believed, and am persuaded that he is 
 able to keep that which I have committed 
 unto him against that day." 
 
 But Paul's zeal was always according to 
 knowledge. Like the healthful heat of the 
 body, it made him glow, but did not like a fe- 
 ver burn up his brain. No person of so much 
 natural sanguineness of temper, and so much 
 spiritual fervour, ever had so much prudence, 
 or was so authorized from his own example 
 to say to others, " Be ye not unwise, but un- 
 derstanding what the fear of the Lord is" — 
 Hence his wish here not to go alonp, but to 
 take Barnabas with him as before. He knew 
 that two were better than one. If one fell, 
 the other would lift him up again. If one was 
 tempted, the other could warn him. If one 
 was distressed, the other could comfort him. 
 If one was perplexed, the other could counsel 
 him. He remembered that his Lord and Mas- 
 ter, in the mission of the Seventy, had " sent 
 them forth two by two, into every city ana 
 place whither he himself would come." He 
 also had said, " If two of you shall agree on 
 earth as touching any thing that they shall 
 ask, it shall be done for them of my Father 
 which is in heaven. For where two or three 
 are gathered together in my name, there am 
 I in the midst of them." 
 
JULY 19, 20. 
 
 JULY 19 
 
 "And Barnabas determined to take with them 
 John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul 
 thought not good to take him with them, who 
 departed from them from Pamphylia, and went 
 not with them to the loorfc." — Acts xv. 37, 38. 
 
 We have heard Paul's proposal to Barnabas 
 to revisit together the scenes of their former 
 travels and labour. Here we see the difficulty 
 that occurred in the execution of it. The oc- 
 casion of it was Mark, not Mark the evan- 
 gelist, but John Mark. He was the son of the 
 sister of Barnabas. When Barnabas and Paul 
 carried alms from Antioch to Jerusalem, they 
 brought this young man back with them : and 
 when they were sent forth from Antioch to 
 spread the Gospel, they also took him along 
 with them. But when they came to Perga in 
 Pamphylia, he left Paul and his uncle to pur- 
 sue their journey, and returned to Jerusalem. 
 
 On the present occasion Barnabas wished 
 to take him again : but Paul was unwilling. 
 Both had their reasons. Barnabas hoped he 
 had been humbled for his fault, and that in 
 this second excursion he would wipe off the 
 disgrace of the first. Besides, he was his 
 nephew ; and relative affection will often 
 plead very hard. Paul reflected on our Lord's 
 words ; " No man having put his hand to the 
 plough and looking back is fit for the king- 
 dom of God." He felt a very different spirit 
 in himself; and deemed it right to notice a 
 misconduct which, if tolerated in a public 
 character, might be injurious by example. 
 Perhaps both these good men erred a little ; 
 the one being too partial, and the other too 
 severe. But with regard to the young man 
 himself, we may observe two things. "First, 
 though we know not the particular "reason for 
 his delinquency, whether it was the attrac- 
 tion of home, (for he had a mother living in 
 Jerusalem,) or the dread of difficulties and 
 dangers in such a missionary life; he had 
 done wrong in going back ; and his declen 
 sion not only affected his own reputation, but 
 laid the ground of this disagreement and dis- 
 cord. How much depends often upon one 
 mistake ! We can never calculate the evils 
 that may arise from it as to ourselves or 
 others. Let us therefore walk circumspectly ; 
 and ponder the path of our feet, that our go- 
 ings may be established. 
 
 Secondly, the severity of Paul and the 
 kindness of Barnabas were probably blessed 
 to him. It is certain that he acted a better 
 part afterwards ; for Paul had subsequently a 
 good opinion of him ; and was not backward 
 to express it Hence he says to Timothy, 
 " Take Mark, and bring him with thee, for 
 he is profitable to me for the ministry." «♦ And 
 Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, 
 and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touch- 
 fng whom ye received commandments,) if he 
 come unto vou receive him." Hence we in- 
 
 fer — That we should be moderate in our cen- 
 sures. We may have cause to blame an in- 
 dividual ; but we know not what he may be- 
 come. He that is now like a bruised reed 
 may prove like a cedar in Lebanon ; and he 
 that is now only as smoking flax may flame 
 for God, and kindle many others. We also 
 learn — That those we have censured for their 
 faults we should be forward to encourage and 
 recommend upon their improvement. Many, 
 when they have reflected upon a character, 
 are delighted to find their reflections justified. 
 This shows a littleness of mind and a vile- 
 ness of heart. A man in proportion as he is 
 truly good and great, will be glad to learn 
 that he was mistaken in his moral forebodings. 
 "Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but re- 
 joiceth in the truth." 
 
 JULY 20. 
 
 " And the contention was sharp between them." 
 Acts xv. 39. 
 
 This was sad. Persons may differ, but 
 agree to differ, leaving each other to be fully 
 persuaded in their own mind. Abraham and 
 Lot differed : but " Abraham said unto Lot, 
 Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between 
 me and thee, and between my herdmen and 
 thy herdmen ; for we be brethren." And the 
 one nobly gave up ; and peace was the re- 
 ward. But here neither would yield ; and 
 "the contention was sharp between them." 
 Good men are often less persuadable and man- 
 ageable in disputes than others ; and it is to 
 be accounted for from their conscientiousness, 
 and the greater importance they attach to 
 their opinions. In these cases they may be, 
 and very often are mistaken ; but while they 
 think the cause of truth, the advancement of 
 religion, and the honour of God are involved 
 in the side they take, we need not wonder 
 that they feel a kind of martyr-firmness as 
 well as zeal. None of our passions assume 
 so much the pretence of rectitude as our an- 
 ger : but when we are jealous for the Lord 
 of hosts, what fervour and faithfulness should 
 we not display ! Even the advocates of the 
 religion of the Lamb of God have pleaded 
 with pens dipped in gall, and tongues which 
 seemed set on fire of hell. But the wrath of 
 man worketh not the righteousness of God. 
 " The wisdom that is from above is first pure, 
 then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreat- 
 ed, full of mercy and good fruits, without par- 
 tiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit 
 of righteousness is sown in peace of them 
 that make peace." 
 
 Good men, and men eminently pious have 
 their infirmities and imperfections. Even 
 Moses spake unadvisedly with his lips. Elias 
 also was a man subject to like passions as we 
 are. When Paul and Barnabas had healed 
 the cripple at Lystra, and were in danger o c 
 
JULY 21. 
 
 230 
 
 being worshipped, they rent their clothes, and 
 said, "Sirs, why do ye these things? We 
 also are men of like passions with you." And 
 had these intentional idolaters been now pres- 
 ent, and witnessed this angry contention, they 
 would have had proof of it; and have no 
 longer said, " The gods are come down in the 
 likeness of men." Many a sacrifice of praise 
 and confidence that we are ready to offer to a 
 fellow-creature would be spoiled by a little 
 more intimacy with them — " He that increas- 
 eth knowledge increaseth sorrow." 
 
 Here we see, what we have many occasions 
 to remark, the impartiality and fairness of the 
 sacred writers. They give us no " faultless 
 monsters ;" but describe the failings as well 
 as the excellences of the dearest servants of 
 God. They are never afraid of the honour 
 of religion on this account ; neither should 
 we — 
 
 But let us remember for what purpose such 
 faults are recorded in the Scriptures. It is 
 not to render us careless in our walk, or to 
 palliate our miscarriages; but to warn and 
 admonish us. I am not to say, when irritated 
 into asperity, " Why Paul and Barnabas were 
 hot and fierce too;" but to reflect on the 
 weakness of human nature, and to learn my 
 own danger — " If such men erred, let me be- 
 ware." " Hold thou me up, and I shall be 
 safe." Let him that thinketh he standeth 
 take heed lest he fall. Happy is the man that 
 feareth always. 
 
 JULY 21. 
 
 u They departed asunder one from the other : 
 and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto 
 Cyprus ; and Paul chose Silas, and departed, 
 being recommended by the brethren unto the 
 grace of God. And he went through Syria 
 and Cilicia, confirming the churches." — Acts 
 xv. 39—41. 
 
 Nothing could have been more unlikely or 
 painful than this separation. Barnabas was 
 of a most affectionate and tender disposition, 
 and was called " the son of consolation." It 
 was he that introduced Paul to the Christians 
 at Jerusalem, and convinced them of his con- 
 version when they were all afraid of him. 
 They were peculiarly attached to each other. 
 They had always been companions in travel- 
 ing and preaching. How often had they taken 
 sweet counsel together, and gone to the house 
 of God in company ! How frequently had 
 they united in holy exercises ! Like David 
 and Jonathan, they were knit together in love, 
 and seemed to have but one heart and one 
 soul-*- Yet they differ, contend sharply, and 
 part ! Who has not said in his haste, All men 
 are liars! What can equal the pain that re- 
 sults from the disruption of friendship! 
 
 Yet the Lord can make the wrath of man 
 to praise him. The separation of Paul and 
 Barnabas was overruled for good, and " turned 
 
 out rather k the furtherance of the Gospel." 
 Two missions now issued forth instead of one. 
 
 For the breach between them did not take 
 them oft" from their work, or relax their zeal 
 in the noble cause to which they were 
 pledged. Only it is observable, not only that 
 they moved widely from each other, but that 
 each repaired to his native country ; Barna- 
 bas sailing for Cyprus, and Paul travelling 
 through Syria and Cilicia. Were they, in 
 taking these directions, guided by the Holy 
 Ghost, or did they follow their own prudence 
 and inclination 1 The latter might not have 
 been inconsistent with the former. The Spirit 
 of inspiration often availed itself of common 
 occurrences, and fell in with the natural 
 views and feelings of the individuals favoured 
 with it. Partial affections are not incompati- 
 ble with general benevolence; but may be 
 the very means of aiding it. A peculiar re- 
 gard for a land in which we were born and 
 trained up, among all the endearments of life, 
 is natural and unavoidable, and deserving of 
 encouragement: and it is certain that we 
 cannot show our love to it in any way so no- 
 bly and importantly, as by endeavouring to 
 promote the spread and success of the Gospel 
 in it. 
 
 The manner in which they were dismissed 
 to their new scenes of labour, reminds us of 
 the practice and principles of the first Chris- 
 tians. They were men of prayer. They 
 knew that our sufficiency for every trial and 
 for every work was of God ; yea, that even 
 an Apostle could only be strong in the Lord 
 and in the power of his might — and there- 
 fore " the brethren recommended them unto 
 the grace of God." 
 
 But because this is spoken of Paul and 
 Silas at their departure, and not also of Bar- 
 nabas and John, some have inferred that the 
 church of Antioch sided with Paul, thinking 
 him in the right in this dispute, and blaming 
 Barnabas for opposing him. But we are per- 
 suaded the sacred historian intended no such 
 inference. Luke mentions only the dismis- 
 sion and recommendation of Paul, because it 
 was his history he was engaged to write. 
 But we have every reason to believe that they 
 did the same for Barnabas when he left them, 
 as they did for Paul. They would know that 
 in every difference there is mutual, though 
 there may not be equal blame. They would 
 be alive to the excellences of both these men 
 of God : they would be tender towards both ; 
 they would pray for both. They had perhaps 
 endeavoured to be mediators, but they took 
 care not to be partisans. There are cases in 
 which neutrality is a virtue; and a man's 
 greatest wisdom and excellency is to do no- 
 thing. And it is a very unreasonable thing 
 when persons disagree, to think that others 
 must be drawn into their quarrel ; instead of 
 retaining a regard for both, as far as each ap- 
 pears estimable. Let this remark be applied 
 
240 
 
 JULY 22. 
 
 not only to religious dissensions, but to quar- 
 rels among neighbours. Let us remember the 
 words of the wise man, " He that passing by, 
 mcddleth with strife not belonging to him, is 
 like a man that taketh a dog by the ears" — 
 He will soon grow. weary of holding him 
 back, and if he lets him go, he will be snap- 
 ped at 
 
 — Did Paul and Barnabas part at Antioch 
 to meet no more ? We are not able to deter- 
 mine this. It appears, however, that if they 
 did not meet again, they were reconciled ; for 
 some years after Paul thus speaks of him ; 
 "or I only and Barnabas, have not we power 
 to forbear working?" Yea, we are persuaded 
 they were reconciled before they parted. An- 
 ger may enter the mind of a wise man, but it 
 " resteth only in the bosom of fools." Paul, 
 who said to others, " Let not the sun go down 
 upon your wrath," would not separate from 
 Barnabas, perhaps for ever as to this life, 
 without expressions of renewed attachment. 
 And who, that ever tasted the pleasures of 
 reconciliation, but wondered that he ever 
 lived a day or an hour in the gall of bitter- 
 ness and resentment 1 ? — Wherefore let us as 
 much as possible live peaceably with all men. 
 And if, as offences will come, a breach at any 
 time is made, let us hasten to heal it, remem- 
 bering that he who soonest yields is the con- 
 queror, and that it is the glory of a man to 
 pass by a transgression. " Let all bitterness, 
 and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil- 
 speaking, be put away from you, with all 
 malice : and be ye kind to one another, ten- 
 der-hearted, forgiving one another, even as 
 God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." 
 
 JLLY 22. 
 
 "Sanctify them through thy truth." 
 John xvii. 17. 
 
 / As the Saviour intercedes for this sanctifi- 
 cation, it shows us the importance of it. As 
 he asks it for his own disciples, who were al- 
 ready ^called by his grace, and had continued 
 in his word, we learn. that it is a progressive 
 work, and that we should not be satisfied with 
 any present advancements we have made in 
 it. Hence the admonition of the Apostle : 
 " Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness 
 of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the 
 fear of God." God is the source and author 
 of this sanctification ; and therefore his agen- 
 cy is implored. But we are here reminded 
 of the instrumentality he employs : " Sanc- 
 tify them through thy truth." There is an 
 emphasis in the appropriation — thy truth : for 
 it is not every kind of truth that sanctifies; 
 but the truth of God ; " the truth as it is in 
 Jesus." This is the means of our conversion, 
 and therefore it is said, "Of his own will 
 begat he us with the word of truth." And 
 this also is the means of our progress in the 
 
 divine life; and hence we read, "As new 
 bom babes desire the sincere milk of the 
 word, that ye may grow thereby." The 
 Gospel conduces to our sanctification several 
 ways: 
 
 First, by replenishing the soul with holy 
 objects of contemplation. These, by filling 
 the mind, keep out other things, and by their 
 residing in it, produce assimilation. For we 
 are always affected with subjects with which 
 we are constantly familiar. When we are 
 among little children, and fields, and mea- 
 dows, and lambs, we acquire feelings of 
 simplicity and innocency, to which we are 
 strangers in our intercourse with the world. 
 A man that dwells much upon gloomy images 
 is soon tinged with depression and despond- 
 ency. The miser by poring always on " sor- 
 did dust" becomes contracted, and mean, and 
 base. Who does not feel his levities checked, 
 and a soft sympathy seizing his frame, when 
 he enters the house of mourning, and, for the 
 time at least, knows, that " by the sadness of 
 the countenance the heart is made better?" 
 Ideas of grandeur tend to elevate, and of pu- 
 rity to refine our sentiments. Hence one of 
 the secrets of sanctification is to be very con- 
 versant with "the things of God," by reading 
 hearing, and reflection. 
 
 Secondly, by presenting powerful motives. 
 And what motives does it not employ ? It ad- 
 dresses our fear, and lays all hell before the 
 conscience. It appeals to our hope, and tells 
 us of the things which God has prepared for 
 them that love him. It speaks to our ingen- 
 uousness and gratitude. If we sin, it is 
 against our best Benefactor and Friend. If 
 we offend and grieve him, it is in sight of his 
 dying anguish. Can I hear him saying, All 
 this I freely endure for thee, and not cry, 
 " Lord, I am thine, save me ?" " Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?" 
 
 Thirdly, by the Spirit of holiness that at- 
 tends it. His influence is necessary to the 
 success even of his own word. Without it 
 the suitableness and excellency of the means 
 will be unavailing. The best objective repre- 
 sentations and rational arguments will be 
 counteracted by the depravity of the human 
 heart, unless the Lord works with them. 
 When the Apostles came to Antioch, " preach- 
 ing the Lord Jesus," it was not the goodness 
 of the subject that produced their success — 
 " The hand of the Lord was with them ;" and 
 hence " a great number believed and turned 
 unto the Lord." And Paul acknowledges the 
 same in his epistle to the Thessalonians : 
 " Our Gospel came to you, not in word only, 
 but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, arid in 
 much assurance." Now this influence is con- 
 fined to God's truth. This testimony he only 
 gives to the word of his grace. And there- 
 fore the Apostle asks the Galatians : " This 
 only would I learn of you, Received ye the 
 Spirit by the works of the law. or bv the hear 
 
JULY 23. 
 
 241 
 
 ing of faith ?" So we may ask any believer 
 who is a new creature in Christ, What is it 
 that proved the power of God to your salva- 
 tion ? What was it that humbled you in the 
 dust, and yet enabled you to rejoice in Christ] 
 That at once relieved you under a sense of 
 guilt, and yet rendered you the enemy of sin ? 
 That raised you above the world, and yet 
 made you content and useful in it? Blessed 
 are the people that know the joyful sound. 
 
 Let us hourly praise the Father of lights, 
 that to us is the word of his salvation sent. 
 There is no true sanctification separate from 
 it Men may be amiable, and civil, and moral, 
 and superstitious without it, but not holy. 
 The truth and the life of God go together. 
 We do not like a religion that r^sts in the 
 word; and we suspect a religion, that can 
 dispense with it — "Sanctify them through 
 thy truth." 
 
 JULY 23. 
 
 ■ In that day sing ye unto her, / -r.neyard of red 
 wine. I the Lord do keep it ; I will water it 
 every moment : lest any hurt it, 1 will keep it 
 night and day." — Isaiah xxvii. 2, 3. 
 
 God hath both enemies and friends in the 
 world. Hence his word abounds with threat- 
 enings and with promises: for he will deal 
 with the one according to their desert, and 
 they will have no reason to complain ; and 
 with the other according to the riches of his 
 mercy and grace, and they will have much 
 reason to be thankful. " In that day the Lord 
 with his sore and great and strong sword, 
 shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, 
 even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he 
 shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." But 
 the dooming of the wicked need not alarm the 
 Church : yea, destruction to the one is deliv- 
 erance to the other — 
 
 Therefore it is added ; " In that day sing 
 ye unto her." Thus we see that the Lord is 
 concerned for the welfare and encouragement 
 of his people : " Comfort ye, comfort ye my 
 people." But knowledge must precede com- 
 fort. How can they rejoice in privileges or 
 prospects of which they are ignorant? Hence 
 " it is a good thing that the heart be estab- 
 lished with grace ;" that is, with the doctrine 
 of the Gospel. They that know his name will 
 put their trust in him. Therefore it is said, 
 " Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem." And 
 here, " Sing ye unto her. She is sometimes 
 unable in a strange land to sing the Lord's 
 song herself — Let others sing unto her — and 
 as a babe is sung to sleep, let her fears, and 
 cares, and griefs be soothed away — Let min- 
 isters — Let her fellow members cheer her — 
 Let the public songs of Zion make her joyful 
 in my house of prayer, that she may be filled 
 with all joy and peace in believing." 
 
 TJolievinsr wnat? Wha* she \s — nnr] uW 
 Ifi 
 
 she may expect First, what she is : " Sing 
 ye unto her, a vineyard of red wine." A vine- 
 yard is one of the most common figures by 
 which the Church is held forth in the Scrip- 
 tures ; and it is easy, just, and striking. It is 
 to intimate that they are severed from the 
 world, and formed a peculiar people. They 
 are made to differ from others as wheat differs 
 from tares, as flowers from noxious weeds, as 
 a vineyard from a rude, barren wilderness. 
 A vineyard is private property ; in which the 
 owner delights, and from which he derives 
 profit. And the Lord's portion is his people. 
 He has chosen them for his own inheritance. 
 He has set them apart as godly for himself. 
 He takes pleasure in them ; and derives his 
 praise from them. He is glorified when they 
 bear much fruit 
 
 But they are a vineyard of "red wine." 
 That is, a vineyard whose vines yield the best 
 fruit, and from which is extracted the richest 
 juice, called in another place " the pure blood 
 of the grape." The people of God are always 
 spoken of in language which marks their 
 value. Every thing is not only peculiar, but 
 superior. They are more excellent than their 
 neighbours. Have they peace ? It is a peace 
 which passeth all understanding. Have they 
 joy? It is joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 The religion of others is only the produce of 
 nature ; and that which is of the flesh is flesh, 
 But the Lord's people are spiritual. They are 
 partakers of God's holiness. They follow the 
 Lord fully. Their conversation is in heave?!* 
 Their speech drops as a honeycomb. 
 
 Secondly, what she may expect : " I the 
 Lord do keep it; I will water it every mo- 
 ment : lest any hurt it, I will keep it night 
 and day." As the word feed, when applied 
 to the Lord as a shepherd, intends not only 
 his furnishing his sheep with food, but per- 
 forming all the pastoral office; so keeping 
 the vineyard here denotes all the work of 
 the husbandman. Vines are very dependent 
 growths ; they require much attention. They 
 must sometimes be pruned. The useless and 
 injurious suckers, which would draw off the 
 sap from the bearing boughs must be lopped 
 off. I one day saw the gardener at this work 
 — he seemed to be very free with the knife — 
 and rather fearing for the vine, I inconsider- 
 ately said, "Are you not taking away too 
 much ?" " Sir," said he, ," I know what I am 
 doing." And recovering my confidence in 
 him I left the execution to his own skill ; and 
 I had no reason to complain : the clusters jus- 
 tified him. Why do we not trust in the God 
 of all grace? He does not afflict willingly 
 but for our profit. His work is perfect, his 
 ways are judgment. But observe what he 
 here engages to do. His vineyard needs re- 
 freshing, reviving, and increase. And he will 
 " water it ;" water it by his word, his ordi- 
 nances, and his Spirit — and water it "every 
 mnniput" No o*h(* vinevard needs this*- 
 
242 
 
 JULY 24. 
 
 but what would be the consequence if God 
 was ever to withhold the influence of his 
 prace from us ? His vineyard is exposed : 
 and to what purpose would the culture of it 
 be, if the fences were broken down, and wild 
 beasts of the desert could enter and devastate ? 
 But they have a vigilant and almighty Pro- 
 tector, who, u lest any hurt it, will keep it 
 night and day." Keep it constantly — night 
 and day. Keep it completely — lest any hurt 
 it — not only lest any destroy it, but injure it ! 
 How well are they kept who are kept by the 
 power of God ! 
 
 What condescension and kindness are here ! 
 — That the Lord will do all this ! Lord, what 
 is man that thou shouldest magnify him — that 
 thou shouldest set thine heart upon him ! 
 
 Remember me, O Lord, with the favour 
 thou bearest to thy people. " If I am a vine 
 in thy vineyard, no one seems so low, so 
 weak, so unflourishing, so unpromising as I 
 am. Return, I beseech thee, O God — Look 
 down from heaven — and Behold and — Visit 
 this vine." 
 
 JULY 24. 
 
 " Th'. Father lovcth the Son."— John iii. 35. 
 
 This is obviously spoken in a way of em- 
 phasis and distinction. " God is love." We 
 find in him a love of common bounty — This 
 leads him to provide for us as creatures that 
 he has made; for the eyes of all wait on him ; 
 and he satisfieth the desires of every living 
 thing. We find in him a love of benevolence, 
 called in the Scripture mercy and grace — 
 This regards us as fallen creatures, and ap- 
 pears in the provision he has made to relieve 
 our guilt, misery, and helplessness. We see 
 in him also a love of complacency — In this he 
 respects us as renewed creatures. For com- 
 placency takes in approbation, and esteem, 
 and delight: and this God can only feel to- 
 wards the regenerate : for what fellowship 
 hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and 
 what communion has light with darkness"? 
 But the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear 
 him, in them that hope in his mercy. And 
 they stand in the same bond, and will share 
 in the same condition with the Saviour him- 
 self — They are "joint-heirs with Christ" — 
 they " shall be glorified together." And there- 
 fore in his prayer for his followers, he says, 
 " I have declared unto them thy Name, and 
 will declare it, that the love which thou hast 
 towards me may be in them." 
 
 Yet though the love of the Father to his 
 people be the same with the love he bears to 
 his Son, it is the same m kind only, not in de- 
 gree — He is " the first born among many 
 brethren," and " in all things he must have 
 the pre-eminence." There is therefore a pe- 
 culiar significaacy in the assertion; "The 
 Father loveth the Son." This love is founded 
 
 in three things. First, likeness. A measure 
 of this resemblance is found in all Christians. 
 Hence they are said to be "renewed after 
 the image of him that created us in righteous- 
 ness and true holiness." But the likeness is 
 not complete. There are remains of depravity 
 in all of them, while they are here ; and they 
 acknowledge and mourn over their deficien- 
 cies. But he was the image of the invisible 
 God : the express image of his person. " In 
 him was no sin." The prince of this world 
 came, but found nothing in him to work upon. 
 The stirring up of the water brought up no 
 mire and dirt, because there was nothing but 
 purity at the bottom. 
 
 Secondly, obedience. He was the ten com- 
 mandments embodied, and alive, walking up 
 and down the earth for three-and-thirty years 
 — " I delight," said he, " to do thy will, yea thy 
 law is within my heart." " My meat is to do 
 the will of him that sent me." And as his 
 obedience was cheerful, so it was unvarying. 
 " He that sent me is with me ; the Father 
 hath not left me alone ; for I do always those 
 things that please him." He relaxed not 
 when the divine pleasure required him to 
 agonize in the garden, and die upon the cross. 
 And therefore he said as he was closely mov- 
 ing towards them : " That the world may 
 know that I love the Father ; and as the Fa- 
 ther gave me commandment, even so I do. 
 Arise, let us go hence." He was sensible to 
 the suffering, but he turn?d not away his 
 back : he said, " Father, if i; be possible, let 
 this cup pass from me :" but ho prayed, " nev- 
 ertheless, not my will, bit thine be done." 
 Well therefore could he say at last, " I have 
 glorified thee on the earth, I have finished 
 the work which thou gavest me to do." 
 
 Thirdly, the devoting himself to die for the 
 recovery of sinners. " As the Father knoweth 
 me, even so know I the Father : and I lay 
 down my life for the sheep. Therefore doth 
 my Father love me, because I lay down my 
 life, that I might take it again." It was 
 an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet- 
 smelling savour. God has no pleasure in the 
 destruction of the wicked. He delighteth in 
 mercy. He loves to see us relieving the 
 needy, and visiting the fatherless and the 
 widows in their affliction. He is still more 
 pleased to see us reclaiming the vicious, and 
 saving souls from death : and he tells us that 
 they who turn many to righteousness shall 
 shine like stars for ever and ever. How then 
 did the Father of mercies, the God of all grace, 
 regard him who, self-moved, without our de- 
 sert or desire, interposed to redeem a guiAy 
 world from the curse of the law ; and gave 
 himself a lansom for all ! " The Father lov- 
 eth the Son"— 
 
 — And can we want proof of this? Wha< 
 may we not bring forward as an evidence of 
 it? Witness his expressions. At his trans- 
 figuration a voice came out of the cloud, sav- 
 
JULY 25. 
 
 243 
 
 tag, " This is my beloved Son : hear ye him." 
 At his baptism a voice from heaven said, 
 " This is my beloved Son, m whom I am well 
 pleased." Yea, ages before, he said, by his 
 holy Prophet, " Behold my servant whom I 
 uphold : mine elect in whom my soul delight- 
 eth." Witness all the arrangements he made 
 previously to his birth. All had a designed 
 reference to him. If a succession of prophets 
 was raised up, it was for his sake. " To him 
 gave all the prophets witness ;" and " the tes- 
 timony of Jesus was the spirit of prophecy." 
 If an economy of numberless sacrifices and 
 ceremonies was established, it was for his 
 sake — every thing prefigured him : " the law 
 was a shadow of good things to come, of 
 which the body was Christ*" If revolutions 
 convulsed the world or the Church, it was for 
 his sake — " I will shake the heavens, and the 
 earth, and the sea, and the dry land, and I 
 will shake all nations, and the desire of all 
 nations shall come, and I will fill this house 
 with glory, saith the Lord." All the dispen- 
 sations of providence and grace, like so many 
 streams, flowed intc this confluence, and made 
 his appearance the fullness of time. Witness 
 the supernatural attestations by which he was 
 honoured. In his birth, in his life, in his death, 
 in his resurrection, he " was approved of God 
 by miracles, and wonders, and signs." Wit- 
 ness the intimate revelations made him, and 
 by which, though he never learned letters, he 
 surpassed all the human race, and had in him 
 all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 
 " For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth 
 him all things that himself doeth : and he will 
 show him greater works than these, that ye 
 may marvel." Witness God's appointment 
 that all blessings should come to us through 
 him, and that we should always implore them 
 for his sake and in his name. " Verily, verily, 
 I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the 
 Father in my name, he will give it you." In 
 your applications remind him of me, and he 
 will never deny you. "Hitherto have ye 
 asked nothing in my name : ask, and ye shall 
 receive, that your joy may be full." Witness 
 the exaltations to which he has advanced him, 
 and the treasures he has conferred upon him. 
 He has "crowned him with glory and hon- 
 our ;" and " set him at his own right hand in 
 the heavenly places, far above all principali- 
 ty, and power, and might, and dominion, and 
 every name that is named, not only in this 
 world, but also in that which is to come. For 
 the Father judgeth no man, but hath com- 
 mitted all judgment unto the Son : that all 
 men should honour the Son, even as they hon- 
 our the Father. He that honoureth not the 
 Son honoureth not the Father which hath 
 sent him." " The Father loveth the Son, and 
 hath given all things into his hand." 
 
 Let us then love him, and be followers of 
 God as dear children. He cannot lead us 
 astray : and we must walk in the light as he 
 
 is in the light How blind must we be to see 
 no comeliness or beauty in One whom he 
 values infinitely more than the universe ! How 
 depraved must we be to feel indifferent to a 
 Being possessed of such greatness and good- 
 ness, and who has done and suffered so much 
 for us ! What wonder the Apostle should 
 say, " If any man love not the Lord jesus 
 Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha." 
 But if I loved him, should I not think of him? 
 should I not speak of him 1 should I not love 
 to hold communion with him 1 should I not 
 love to please and serve him 1 
 
 JULY 25. 
 
 - He exhorted them all, that with purpose oj heart 
 they would cleave unto the Lord." — Acts xi. 23. 
 
 Though Barnabas was the son of consola- 
 tion, he not only aimed to comfort his hearers, 
 but could say, " I beseech you, brethren, suf- 
 fer the word of exhortation." He had seen 
 the grace of God in the Christians at Antioch, 
 and was glad. But he knew that it was not 
 enough to begin well. The end proves and 
 crowns all : he only that endureth to the end 
 the same shall be saved. But if any draw 
 back, God's love shall have no pleasure in 
 him. He believed in the stability of the 
 everlasting covenant, and was confident that 
 he who had begun a good work in them 
 would perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ; 
 but he knew how to apply his own principles. 
 He knew that the appointment of the end in- 
 sured the use of the means, and as much 
 precluded a diversion from the one as the 
 failure of the other. He knew also that 
 those who cannot apostatize may backslide. 
 On every ground he knew warnings and ad- 
 monitions to be proper, useful, and necessary ; 
 and therefore he exhorted them — 
 
 Observe the aim of the exhortation — He ex- 
 horted them all, that with purpose of heart 
 they would cleave unto the Lord. With the 
 first preachers of the Gospel he was all in all; 
 and the subject of all their practical addresses 
 therefore was, " As ye have received Christ 
 Jesus the Lord, so continue to walk in him." 
 " Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher 
 of faith." They knew that he alone was equal 
 to all their exigences, and that their religion 
 prospered only as they maintained an habitual 
 and supreme regard to him. Had we heard 
 Barnabas explaining his admonition, we 
 should have found him urging the brethren 
 to adhere to him — as their teacher, who should 
 lead them into all truth; as their Saviour, 
 whose blood cleansed them from all sin, and 
 whose righteousness justified them before 
 God, and gave them access with confidence ; 
 as their helper in every duty and conflict, 
 without whom they could do nothing, and 
 through whose strength they could do all 
 things ; as their comforter, the consolation of 
 
*14 
 
 JU1A 20. 
 
 Israel, the man who is the peace when the 
 Assyrian ccmeth into the land ; as their ex- 
 ample, whose life was to be made manifest in 
 their mortal bodies ; and as their master, who 
 had every claim upon them, having bought 
 them with a price, and rescued them from 
 their enemies, and to whom as their rightful 
 owner they had given themselves, body, soul, 
 and spirit. 
 
 Observe the nature of the exhortation — He 
 exhorted them all that with purpose of heart 
 they would cleave unto the Lord. Religion is a 
 poor business unless the heart be in it. God 
 therefore demands it : My son, give me thine 
 neart. If this be not given, nothing else will be 
 given, unless reluctantly, and therefore unac- 
 ceptably. But everything will follow the heart; 
 and where there is first a willing mind, and a 
 concern to please, imperfections in the manner 
 will be overlooked in the motive ; and if the 
 deed be hindered, it will be accepted according 
 to what a man hath, and not according to what 
 he hath not. Yet there is much truth in the 
 proverb, Where there is a will there is a way. 
 Nothing often is wanting as to efficiency but 
 resolution ; and a fullness of resolution is most 
 likely to arise from a fullness of inclination. 
 Love gives ardour and boldness ; love is strong 
 as death ; many waters cannot quench love, 
 neither can the floods drown it. While the 
 slothful sees thorns; and the coward cries, 
 There is a lion in the way, I shall be slain in 
 the streets ; purpose of heart founded not in 
 our own strength, but in the strength of the 
 Lord (and in a Christian it is always so 
 founded), clears away difficulties, or is 
 roused by them into greater vigour and stren- 
 uousness. 
 
 Observe also the extent of the exhortation 
 — He exhorted them all that with purpose of 
 heart they would cleave unto the Lord — Not 
 only the young, but the old : not only those 
 who were just entering a religious course, but 
 those who had been walking in it : not only 
 the weak and the wavering in the faith, but 
 the strong and established. Who is secure 
 from temptation] Who is entitled to live 
 without caution 1 None must put off his 
 armour till he has quitted the field. If any 
 one thinks the admonition unnecessary with 
 regard to him, he is the individual who wants 
 it most A haughty spirit goes before a fall. 
 Be not high-minded, but fear. 
 
 JULY 26. 
 
 H God is glorified in him" — John xiii. 31. 
 
 To glorify is taken two ways in the Scrip- 
 ture. It sometimes signifies to confer glory 
 on a being destitute of it before — In this sense 
 God glorifies us. At other times it intends 
 acknowledging or displaying the glory of one 
 already possessed of it — and thus God is said 
 to be glorified. And there is no other way in 
 
 which he can be glorified. As to his essentia. 
 excellency, it admits of no addition, being in- 
 finite : but it allows of manifestation. 
 
 And thus the heavens declare the glory of 
 God ; and all his works praise him. But he 
 has magnified his word above all his name ; 
 and of the work of creation compared with 
 the work of redemption we may say, " even 
 that which was made glorious hath no glory 
 by reason of the glory that excelleth." In 
 every Christian God is glorified, both passive- 
 ly and actively. He even calls his people his 
 glory : " I have placed salvation in Zion for 
 Israel my glory." But the light of the know- 
 ledge of his glory is chiefly seen in the face 
 of Jesus Christ. There we behold the bright- 
 ness of his glory — the express image of his 
 person. " No man hath seen God at any time ; 
 the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom 
 of the Father, he hath declared him." And how 
 has he declared him ] Not only by his charac- 
 ter, and life, and teaching, and doctrine, but 
 especially in his sufferings and death ; and in 
 them not only by the graces which they dis- 
 played, but the principles they implied, and 
 the purposes they accomplished. 
 
 To these he here refers ; and therefore in 
 his last prayer he said, " I have glorified thee 
 on the earth, I have finished the work which 
 thou gavest me to do ;" thus intimating the 
 connexion there was between these, and 
 showing that the one resulted from the other 
 — he glorified God by the work he accom- 
 plished when he expired on the cross. And 
 truly never was the glory of God so displayed 
 as in this event : and therefore it was typified 
 from the foundation of the world ; and there- 
 fore the whole Gospel is called the preaching 
 of the cross; and therefore an ordinance is 
 established to show it forth ; and therefore the 
 praises of the heavenly state regard the Lamb 
 as worthy, because he was slain ; and there- 
 fore the angels desire to look into these things, 
 as discovering more of the perfections of deity 
 than is to be seen in nature or providence. 
 The law of God was more magnified and 
 made honourable in the precept and penalty 
 by his obedience and sacrifice, than it would 
 have been by the obedience of all mankind, 
 had they never sinned ; and by their suffer- 
 ings had they all perished. What a display 
 of his wisdom was here ! Think of the diffi- 
 culties to be overcome ! The oppositions to be 
 harmonized! The immense interests to be 
 secured ! Well does the Apostle speak of the 
 manifold wisdom of God ; and of His abounding 
 towards us in all wisdom and prudence. What 
 a display have we here of His holiness and 
 justice ! Without shedding of blood there 
 could be no remission. Rather than that sin 
 should go unpunished, he required a surety, 
 and was pleased to bruise him, and put him 
 to grief, and make his soul an offering for sin ; 
 thus declaring his righteousness, that he 
 might be just, and the justifier of the ungodlv 
 
JULY 27. 
 
 245 
 
 Uml; bolievcth in Jesus. What a display have 
 we here of his power, in preparing a body for 
 him, in raising him up from the grave, and 
 giving him glory ; and in the renovation and 
 resurrection of all his followers ! Paul there- 
 fore prays that we may know " what is the 
 exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward 
 who believe, according to the working of his 
 mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, 
 when he raised him from the dead, and set him 
 at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 
 far above all principality, and power, and 
 might, and dominion, and every name that is 
 named, not only in this world, but also in that 
 which is to come : and hath put all things under 
 his feet, and gave him to be the head over all 
 things to the Church." What a display have 
 we here of his truth and faithfulness, in ful- 
 filling the assurance given in Paradise four 
 thousand years before, and bringing forth the 
 seed of the woman according to the time, the 
 place, the nation, the tribe, the family, the in- 
 dividual, foretold ! This is the theme of 
 Zechariah's song ; " He hath raised up an horn 
 of salvation for us in the house of his servant 
 David ; as he spake by the mouth of his holy 
 prophets, which have been since the world 
 begun : to perform the mercy promised to our 
 fathers, and to remember his holy covenant ; 
 the oath which he sware to our father 
 Abraham." But above all, " herein is love." 
 Uer> " God hath commended his love towards 
 us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ 
 died tor us." Every view of this dispensation 
 shows the exceeding riches of his grace, and 
 justifies the all-encouraging conclusion ; " He 
 that spared not his own Son, but delivered 
 him up for qs all, how shall he not with him 
 alw fr°"ly give us all things]" Here I see 
 tnat love is not only his attribute — but his 
 character — his nature. " God is love." 
 
 What wonder the Christian should say, 
 " God forbid that I should glory, save in the 
 cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." He not only 
 derives relief from it, but delight. He is some- 
 timgs carried away in his contemplations, till 
 he is enraptured and inspired with the sub- 
 ject, even in this vale of" tears, and in this 
 body of death ! What will be his views of it, 
 when that which is perfect shall come, and 
 that which is in part shall be done away ! 
 
 • For evfir his dear sacred Name 
 Shall dwell upon our tongue ; 
 And Jesus and salvation be 
 The close of every song." 
 
 JULY 27. 
 
 ** Thou shalt have treasure- in heaven" 
 Mark x. 21. 
 
 We shall not enlarge on the excellency 
 and security of such treasure ; but only in- 
 quire what is our relation to it, and whether 
 this assurance can be claimed by us. Now 
 
 there are four classes of persons, under which 
 every individual before God may be compre- 
 hended. 
 
 There are some who have no treasure either 
 in heaven or earth. They are spiritually and 
 corporeally poor: poor for eternity, and poor 
 for time : in this world they have only a vale 
 of tears ; and in another, " lamentation, and 
 mourning, and woe." You cannot suppose, 
 unless you imagine the preacher a barbarian, 
 that he can say this without feeling. But he 
 may feel, and yet be faithful ; and how indeed 
 could he express his concern for your welfare 
 if he were to allow you to remain under a 
 delusion the most dangerous? You think 
 perhaps that your hardships and trials will 
 recommend you to God ; and you are often 
 heard to say, " It is better to suffer here than 
 hereafter." But you will suffer in both if you 
 reject the counsel of God against yourselves, 
 and adjudge yourselves unworthy of ever- 
 lasting life. Christianity has indeed a most 
 tender and a peculiar aspect towards the sons 
 and daughters of want and woe — " The poor 
 have the Gospel preached unto them." But 
 you must receive it in order to be benefited 
 by it. Then indeed your privations will be 
 sanctified ; the Lord will bless your bread and 
 your water; and your humble dwelling will 
 become one of the palaces of Zion. 
 
 There are some who have treasure on 
 earth, but not in heaven. We inquire not 
 how you obtained it. We will presume that 
 the acquisition has left no stain upon your 
 character, or sting in your conscience ; and 
 that you remember the Lord your God, that 
 he it is that giveth you power to get wealth. 
 Neither do we wish to depreciate the com- 
 mon bounties of his hand, as if they were not 
 good in themselves, though so often abused. 
 Some purposes they can answer ; but it is not 
 true without restriction that " money pro- 
 cureth all things." It cannot purchase health, 
 or bribe off disease. Riches profit not in the 
 day of wrath. They cannot purify the pas- 
 sions, or heal a wounded spirit. " A man's 
 life consisteth not in the abundance of the 
 things which he possesseth." Yea, it renders 
 him more responsible ; excites envy and oppo- 
 sition ; exposes him to temptations and many 
 foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in 
 destruction and perdition. "The love of 
 money is the root of all evil: which while 
 some coveted after, they have erred from the 
 faith, and pierced themselves through with 
 many sorrows." I pity the man of the world 
 who has his portion in this life, and no interest 
 in a better. He is daily and hourly leaving 
 behind him all he loves and idolizes, while he 
 has nothing before him to excite hope or 
 desire ; what wonder therefore that his death 
 is the effect of reluctance and compulsion ? 
 " He shall be driven from light into darkness, 
 and chased out of this world " The rabbin* 
 
246 
 
 JULY 28. 
 
 cal Jews say that some of tne words of Scrip- 
 ture, with which the angels receive the soul 
 at death, and sing it down to hell, are these : 
 " Lo, this is the man that made not God his 
 strength ; but trusted in the abundance of his 
 riches, and strengthened himself in his 
 wickedness." We have no notion that these 
 benevolent beings derive pleasure from the 
 misery of any one, or that they would insult 
 even a lost spirit. But every one at death 
 will be clothed with shame who has preferred 
 the mammon of unrighteousness to the true 
 riches. 
 
 There are some who have treasure in hea- 
 ven, but not on earth. This is the case with 
 not a few of our Lord's followers : " I will 
 leave in the midst of thee a poor and an af- 
 flicted people." Silver and gold they have 
 none. And they need not despair, or mur- 
 mur, as if all importance, excellency, useful- 
 ness, and enjoyment were denied them with 
 wealth. The Apostles themselves could say ; 
 " Even unto this present hour we both hun- 
 ger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffet- 
 ed, and have no certain dwelling-place." 
 Even Jesus the Lord of all had not where to 
 lay his head ; and received the ministrations 
 of widows. You have the honour of resem- 
 bling the Saviour in condition, and the ad- 
 vantage of living more immediately by faith 
 upon his providence, while he gives you day 
 by day your daily bread. He also says to you, 
 as he did to the Church of Ephesus, " I know 
 thy poverty ; but thou art rich." Rich in faith 
 and hope : rich in the exceeding great and 
 precious promises : rich in the earnests and 
 foretastes of life eternal. Angels are your at- 
 tendants ; you feed on the hidden manna ; he 
 has covered you with the robe of righteous- 
 ness as a brdegroom decketh himself with 
 ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself 
 with her jewels. And as far as they can sub- 
 serve your welfare, all things are yours : 
 "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or 
 the world, or life, or death, or things present, 
 or things to come ; all are yours ; and ye are 
 Christ's ; and Christ is God's. 
 
 But there are some who have treasure in 
 heaven and on earth too. The lines have 
 fallen to thorn in pleasant places : they have 
 a goodly heritage. The streams of the upper 
 and of the, nether springs flow within their 
 borders. Is it nothing that you have not 
 only the necessaries, but the conveniences, 
 comforts, and indulgences of life ? Is it no- 
 thing that you can largely enjoy the plea- 
 sures of benevolence ? That you can draw 
 down upon you the blessing of him that is 
 ready to perish ? That you can make the 
 widow's heart to sing for joy? That you can 
 aid in diffusing the Scriptures? in sending 
 abroad the Gospel ? and in every good work ? 
 Fall upon your knees, and thank the Giver 
 of all good for the blessings of the life that 
 'low ia And then thank him far more that 
 
 he has not put you off* with these ; or suffered 
 you to be satisfied in them — " Blessed be the 
 God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 which according to his abundant mercy hath 
 begotten us again unto a lively hope by the 
 resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.* 
 
 JULY 28. 
 
 " For now shall he be great unto the ends of the 
 earth." — Micah v. 4. 
 
 This certainly refers to the Messiah, the 
 Lord of glory, the Lord of all. He is always 
 great in himself: and therefore is not ag- 
 grandized by accession, but by discovery. He 
 must be known, and he only needs to be 
 known, in order to be great. A prophet is not 
 without honour, save in his own country, and 
 among his own kindred. Upon the same prin- 
 ciple it has been said that domestic greatness 
 is unattainable. All feel a decrease of vene- 
 ration, if not of love, from acquaintance and 
 intimacy. But the more lie is known, the 
 more will he be admired and adored. The 
 reason is, because he is perfect, and divine. 
 His excellences therefore are unbounded and 
 infinite, and will admit of endless attention 
 and praise. 
 
 This subject deeply concerns his people. 
 They know the importance of the revelation 
 of the Lord Jesus to their perishing fellow- 
 creatures. It is by his knowledge that he is 
 to justify many. They are justified indeed by 
 faith : but how can they believe on him of 
 whom they have not hc;:rd ? Faith cometh 
 by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 
 Their benevolence therefore leads them to 
 pray that his way may be known on earth, his 
 saving health among all nations. His people 
 also love him supremely ; and love delights in 
 the glory of its object. When they consider 
 what he is, and what he has done and suffer- 
 ed, every impulse of their heart cries, " Let 
 the whole earth be filled with his glory." 
 
 What affects them is not that they a« so 
 little known or noticed — for what are they 7 
 but that He is so unknown, and neglected, 
 and despised. He is great indeed already in 
 the views and esteem of some, and they hope 
 the number is increasing ; but his admirers 
 have been always few, compared with the 
 multitude, and they are so still. ' Thousands 
 and millions have never yet heard of him. 
 Down to this hour, even where his religion is 
 professed, the majority in no one county or 
 village has been actuated by the true spirit 
 of Christianity. At the thought of this two 
 things comfort them. First, that it is not so 
 in another world now. There he attracts 
 every eye, and employs every tongue. A 
 multitude which no man can number of glo- 
 rified saints, and ten thousand times ten thou- 
 sand and thousands of angels, are continually 
 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is th« 
 
JULY 29. 
 
 247 
 
 I^amb that was slain, to receive power, and 
 riches, and wisdom, and strength, and hon- 
 our, and glory, and blessing." 
 
 Secondly, that it will not be so in this 
 world always. For it is written, and the 
 Scripture cannot be broken, that " From the 
 rising of the sun to the going down of the 
 same, his name shall be great among the 
 Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be 
 offered unto him, and a pure offering." Then 
 the nations of them that are saved shall walk 
 in the light of the Lamb — He shall sprinkle 
 many nations — Yea, all nations shall fall 
 down before him, and all kings shall serve 
 him. O blessed day, when there shall be a 
 godly prince on every throne, a godly judge 
 on every bench, a godly pastor in every pul- 
 pit, a godly master in every family — when 
 every author will write, and every merchant 
 trade for Him — when the melody of his praise 
 shall soften the labourer's toil, and the poor 
 of the people shall trust in him. O glorious 
 hour when it shall be said, without a figure, 
 " Behold, the world is gone away after him !" 
 
 But who shall live when God doeth this ! 
 We often now exclaim, " Why are his chariot 
 wheels so long in coming'! Why does the 
 whole creation groan and travail in pain to- 
 gether until now 1" How many are there 
 waiting for an event that will loosen the last 
 cord of life, and lead them to exult, " Lord, 
 now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, 
 according to thy word : for mine eyes have 
 seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared 
 before the face of all people." Yet the morn- 
 ing is spread upon the mountains. The day 
 has dawned. Numberless agencies are in ac- 
 tion, which, by the ordinary blessing of God 
 upon them, must produce mighty results. 
 
 But who shall live when God doeth this ! 
 It is probable, even if he cut short his work 
 in righteousness, that the clods of the valley 
 will be sweet about many of us. Yet we 
 shall die in faith, fully assured that he who 
 ' 1 ied on the cross shall see his seed, and pro- 
 long his days, and that the pleasure of the 
 Lord shall prosper in his hands. Perhaps we 
 shall be permitted to look down, and see his 
 spreading greatness. If not, we shall be ac- 
 quainted with the beautifying fact. We shall 
 be where the acclamation will commence 
 which will be re-echoed back from earth : 
 " Hallelujah, for the kingdoms of this world 
 are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
 his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and 
 ever." 
 
 JULY 29. 
 
 1 Receive with meekness the ingrafted word." 
 
 James i. 21. 
 
 Nothing is spoken of in the Scripture 
 more commonly or with more commendation 
 than meekness. It is often made the subject 
 
 of promise. We read, " Thft meek will he 
 guide in judgment : The meek will he teach 
 his way :" " He will beautify the meek with 
 salvation :" " The meek shall inherit the 
 earth, and shall delight themselves in the 
 abundance of peace." It is also frequently 
 enjoined in a way of duty. Indeed it woulu 
 seem that no part of our Christian calling can 
 be perfectly or properly discharged without 
 it If we would heal the backslider, we are 
 to do it " in the spirit of meekness." If we 
 would teach gainsayers, " in meekness we are 
 to instruct those that oppose themselves." 
 And if we would receive the ingrafted word, 
 we must receive it " with meekness." This 
 regards the understanding, the heart, and the 
 life. 
 
 It requires the acquiescence of the under- 
 standing, with regard to the mysteries of the 
 Gospel — This will keep us from proud cavils 
 and reasonings ; and cast down imaginations 
 and every high thing that exalteth itself 
 against the knowledge of God, and bring into 
 captivity every thought to the obedience of 
 Christ After God has spoken we shall not 
 ask, " How can these things be 1" All our 
 concern with the Scripture will be to inquire, 
 Is this the word of God ] and what does it 
 really contain ] For nothing should then re- 
 main but the most implicit assent. We make 
 God a liar if we do not believe what he af- 
 firms ; and because he affirms it. Our faith 
 does not honour his testimony if it must he 
 founded on knowledge. If on your reporting 
 any thing, concerning, for instance, a place, 
 a person should say, I will believe it as soon 
 as I have been there and seen for myself; 
 would you not deem this an insult, either to 
 your knowledge or veracity? Yet if we be- 
 lieve the testimony of man, the testimony of 
 God is greater. Men may delude us ; but it 
 is impossible for God to lie. We must there- 
 fore "receive the kingdom of heaven as a 
 little child ;" who never sets up himself 
 against the judgment of his father, or ques- 
 tions the truth of his decisions : or, as the 
 Apostle says, we must " become fools that we 
 may be wise." Is this degrading my under- 
 standing ] It is improving, perfecting it ; it 
 adds God's intelligence to my own — " In his 
 light we see light" 
 
 It requires also the submission of the heart, 
 as to the provisions of the Gospel. Speaking 
 of the Jews, the Apostle says, "They did not 
 submit themselves to the righteousness which 
 is of God ; for Christ is the end of the law 
 for righteousness to every one that believeth." 
 The word seems strange. Should we say, 
 a subject did not submit himself to accept of 
 an invitation to the king's table 1 Was there 
 ever an instance in which, when a rebel 
 taken in arms, and condemned to die, was 
 presented with a pardon, accompanied with a 
 promise of more than restoration to all his 
 
248 
 
 JULY 30. 
 
 former estate, he refused the mercy ? and his 
 sovereign was constrained to send his servants 
 and his son to beseech him to submit ? Yet 
 God beseeches sinners by us; and we pray 
 them in Christ's stead to be reconciled unto 
 God. And herein appears not only the insen- 
 sibility of man, but the pride of his yet self- 
 righteous heart He wishes to be saved in 
 his own way, and to be his own Saviour. He 
 revolts at the thought of being received on 
 the same terms with the chief of sinners ; to 
 have nothing to glory in before God ; to have 
 no hand meritoriously in the work, and no 
 share of the glory ; to declare, when he has 
 done all that is commanded, I am an unprofit- 
 able servant ; and to cry to the last, God be 
 merciful to me a sinner — He stumbles at this 
 stumbling-stone. Did Naarnan receive with 
 meekness the order to wash seven times in 
 Jordan and be clean ! Did not the homely 
 simplicity of the remedy fill him with resent- 
 ment ; so that he was turning away in a rage, 
 and would have missed the cure had not his 
 servants prevailed upon him to submit — And 
 he washed and was healed. It is no easy 
 thing to induce men to bow to the sovereign 
 and abasing method which God has appointed 
 for our relief: but when we are pressed with 
 a deep sense of the absolute necessity of the 
 plan, and we are enabled to see a little of its 
 infinite excellency, we willingly and grate- 
 fully accept of the grace — approve of it — 
 glory in it — and resolve to glory in nothing 
 else. 
 
 It no less requires the obedience of the life, 
 as to the authority of the Gospel. For the 
 Gospel not only assails self, but sin : it has 
 not only the relief of a remedy, but the force 
 of a law ; and " whoso looketh into the per- 
 fect law of liberty, and continueth therein, 
 he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of 
 the word, this man shall be blessed in his 
 deed." We naturally affect independence; 
 and our language is, " Who is the I^ord that 
 we should obey his voice?" "With our 
 tongues will we prevail, our lips are our 
 own; who is Lord over us?" But this dispo- 
 sition must be subdued. We must deny our- 
 selves, and choose the Lord for our master. 
 We must resign ourselves entirely to his 
 pleasure, asking, Lord, what wilt thou have 
 me to do? And without dictation, without 
 murmuring or repining, without choice or 
 preference as to the way in which we are to 
 serve him, we shall implicitly refer ourselves 
 to his will, and say, " Speak, Lord, for thy 
 servant heareth." 
 
 To us i9 the word of this salvation sent 
 We have it ; we read it ; we hear it. Do we 
 thus meekly receive it? Do we honour it 
 with our confidence? Do we bend to its de- 
 signs ? Do we yield to its demands ? Do we 
 obey from the heart the form of doctrine de- 
 livered us? Or do we receive the grace of 
 God in vain? 
 
 JULY 30. 
 
 " I will give unto him that is atkirs. of thejoun. 
 tain of the water of life." — Rev xxi. C. 
 
 And what can this fountain be, but himself? 
 He is not a vessel or a reservoir, which, how- 
 ever capacious, is yet limited, and would soon 
 be drained dry by continual drawing. But he 
 is a fountain always full, always flowing, al- 
 ways fresh. For the streams poured forth 
 from a fountain are very distinguishable from 
 the stagnant contents of a pool : the latter 
 are dead ; the former, living water. And 
 what is this water of life which springs from 
 himself, but the blessings of the Gospel, the 
 influences of his Holy Spirit, or, as the Scrip- 
 ture calls it, "the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ?" Between this and living water there 
 is an obvious and striking analogy. Each is 
 of unspeakable importance : the one is as es- 
 sential in the moral as the other in the ma- 
 terial world. Yea, the one is more necessary 
 to the soul than the other is to the body. 
 There have been instances in which physical 
 life has been maintained for a long time (as 
 in the case of Moses and Elias) without 
 drinking, as well as without eating: but for 
 the spiritual life to exist for a moment without 
 the grace that is in Christ Jesus, is a miracle 
 which never has been, and never will be ac- 
 complished. Does water soften ? His grace 
 makes the heart soft; and turns the very 
 stone to flesh. Does water purify ? "I will 
 sprinkle," says he, "clean water upon you, 
 and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness 
 and from all your idols will I cleanse you." 
 Does water fertilize ? The man whose hope 
 the Lord is, is likened to a tree planted by the 
 waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by 
 the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, 
 but her leaf shall be green ; and shall not be 
 careful in the year of drought, neither shall 
 cease from yielding fruit." In what a condi- 
 tion would the earth be if the springs were 
 exhausted, and the rivers dried up, or if rain 
 was withholden for a few months only ! No- 
 thing can equal the barrenness of a soul de- 
 void of divine grace — But this water of life 
 quickens what was dead before, and produces 
 all the fruits of righteousness. The compari- 
 son could be pursued — But the particular al- 
 lusion in our text remains. How welcome is 
 cold water to a thirsty soul ! How comfortable 
 to the Jews, who had been three days and 
 without water to drink, were the gushings 
 from the rock ! Moses therefore says, " He 
 brought them honey out of the rock, and oil 
 out of the flinty rock" — He speaks in refer- 
 ence to their feelings — It was not oil or honey; 
 but it was as sweet as the one, and as rich as 
 the other, to persons dying with thirst. " I 
 opened my mouth and panted," says David, 
 "for I longed for thy salvation." "As the 
 hart panteth for the wator brroks, so panteth 
 my soul after thee, O God." Such desires aa 
 
JULY 31. 
 
 249 
 
 those, grace is necessary to satisfy : and grace 
 can satisfy them. " He that believeth on me 
 shall never thirst." He will never thirst in 
 vain for the blessings he desires; while his 
 thirst after other things, for which he raged 
 before, is quenched, and he learns, in what- 
 soever state he is, therewith to be content 
 
 Even the image is encouraging. By employ- 
 ing water to hold forth the blessings of salva- 
 tion, our Lord intimates that they are plen- 
 teous, and open to approach without money 
 and without price. Surely a nobleman would 
 not forbid a poor traveller, in his weary 
 journey, to kneel down and drink of the am- 
 ple river that meandered through his estate. 
 But Jesus says, I will " give" of the fountain 
 of the water of life — yea, he goes further, 
 and says, I will give "freely." Surely this is 
 enough — Yet it is not too much for the pur- 
 pose. He knows the disposition there is in 
 man, who, ever since the Fall, is as proud as 
 he is poor; and always thinks of deserving ; 
 and would rather buy than beg. He also 
 knows what strong consolation is necessary to 
 relieve the conscience of an awakened sinner, 
 pressed down by a sense of depravity and 
 guilt He feels that he has nothing to pay or 
 to promise — And he is assured that he needs 
 nothing. " As yonr penury is such that you 
 have no price to offer, my greatness, my good- 
 ness is such that I disdain to require any. 
 You are as welcome as you are unworthy. 
 My blessings are too valuable to be purchased 
 —I give them freely." 
 
 Hence too we may observe the' only requi- 
 site in the receiver. It is not the performance 
 of any hard condition, nor the possession of 
 any meritorious qualification — It is only want 
 and desire ; to him that " is athirst" I will 
 give of the fountain of the water of life 
 freely. This is indeed specified ; but not in a 
 way of desert or recommendation. It is not 
 mentioned as the cause of the relief, but the 
 character of the relieved. And it is wisely 
 specified. Such persons as these are the very 
 persons who are likely to exclude themselves, 
 fearing, as they feel their unworthiness, the 
 blessing cannot be designed for them. He 
 therefore mentions them, so to speak, even by 
 name; and in addressing them, seizes the 
 very thing from which they despond, to min- 
 ister to their hope. To which we may add, 
 that without this thirst the promise would be 
 no promise; the blessing no blessing — For 
 such only can value it The full soul loatheth 
 the honeycomb ; but to the hungry soul every 
 bitter tnmg is sweet. What is a physician to 
 them that are whole I or a refuge to them 
 that are safe 1 Water is every thing to the 
 thirsty ; but to others the stream runs by un- 
 invitingly and in vain. And how many are 
 there who have no sense of their wants, and 
 no desire after the Saviour ! 
 
 But the cry of others is, Remember me, O 
 Lord, with the favour thou bearest unto thy 
 
 people, and visit me with thy salvation. No 
 voice but his can relieve your fears. JVo joy 
 but his can satisfy your souls. You long for 
 him as the Sanctifier as well as the Redeemer; 
 and you wait for him more than they that 
 watch for the morning. This is a proof of 
 something good, and a pledge of something 
 better. Refuse not to be comforted. Go im- 
 mediately and drink. And drink largely. 
 There is enough, and to spare. And while 
 you partake, invite others, and bring them to 
 drink of the rivers of his pleasures. And look 
 forward to the hour when you shall ascend to 
 the spring-head itself. There you shall hunger 
 no more, neither thirst any more ; neitheT 
 shall the sun light on you, or any heat — For 
 the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne 
 shall feed you, and shall lead you unto foun- 
 j tains of waters — And God shall wipe away 
 all tears from your eyes." 
 
 JULY 31. 
 
 " And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a 
 memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears 
 of Joshua : for I will utterly put out the re- 
 membrance of Amalek from under heaven." ■ 
 Exod xvii. 14. 
 
 This is the first time any mention is made 
 in the Sacred History of writing. It was not 
 known in the earlier ages. It does not appear 
 that the Patriarchs were acquainted with it. 
 And simple and familiar as the art now seems, 
 it is difficult if not impossible to account for 
 it without a divine origin. Wake^eld, a fine 
 scholar, though an erroneous divine and a 
 radical politician, and far from any leaning to 
 enthusiasm, yet after much reflection has con- 
 tended that it must have been derived at first 
 from a divine communication. However this 
 may be, it was a most wonderful invention. 
 What pleasures and advantages have been 
 derived from it! How has the lover blessed 
 the use of letters! How thankful has friend- 
 ship been for news from a far country, which 
 has been like cold water to a thirsty soul ! By 
 alphabetical characters improvements have 
 been preserved from age to age, and additions 
 been constantly making to the general stock 
 of knowledge. But how much do we owe to 
 it as Christians ! What is the " Scripture" 
 but the writing ? All that relieves our spirit- 
 ual wants and supports our eternal hope has 
 reached us, and continues to delight us by 
 means of what holy men wrote as they were 
 moved by the Holy Ghost — 
 
 " Our nation reads his written word, 
 That book of life, that sure record: 
 The bright inheritance of heaven 
 Is by the sweet conveyance given." 
 
 It is probable that from this time Moses began 
 to keep a journal of striking and useful oc- 
 currences. Great men have frequently done 
 the same for intellectual, and good men for 
 religious purposes. Diaries were formerly 
 
250 
 
 AUGUST 1. 
 
 much more common among pious people than, 
 they now are. This is to be lamented ; for 
 though their frequent publication was un- 
 necessary, and their minuteness often render- 
 ed them exceptionable, they served to promote 
 self-attention and acquaintance ; and recorded 
 events and circumstances with the impressions 
 they produced at the time, which could not 
 be reviewed without some utility. Whatever 
 may be said of the particular mode, the thing 
 itself is of importance. If we are to be af- 
 fected with past transactions, and views, and 
 feelings, they must be in some way secured 
 and retained: when buried in forgetfulness 
 they can have no influence to reprove or en- 
 courage, to excite gratitude or to increase 
 confidence. And as, like the Jews, we are 
 liable, and alas ! prone to forget the works of 
 the Lord and the wonders which he has 
 shown us, we should write them, if not as 
 Moses was enjoined to do, in a book, yet in 
 the fleshly tables of our hearts. " O my peo- 
 ple," says God, " remember now what Balak 
 king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam 
 the son of Beor answered him from Shittim 
 unto Gilgal ; that ye may know the righteous- 
 ness of the Lord." And when his disciples 
 seemed ready to despond because they had 
 only one loaf on board, our Lord said to them, 
 " Remember ye not the miracle of the five 
 narloy loaves and the two small fishes, and 
 how many baskets full of fragments ye took 
 up ?" " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget 
 not all his benefits." 
 
 A reason is assigned for the recording and 
 rehearsing of this transaction in a dreadful 
 menace : " For I will utterly put out the re- 
 membrance of Arnalek from under heaven." 
 So highly did God resent the injury intended 
 against his people. So dear are they to him, 
 and so truly are they one with him, that he 
 who toucheth them toucheth the apple of his 
 eye. Let those who oppose them tremble — 
 " I will curse him that curseth thee." 
 
 The threatening was executed partially by 
 Saul ; but fully by David, after whose time 
 we read no more of the Amalekites as a peo- 
 ple. For some stragglers of course escaped 
 and survived, and were to be met with in va- 
 rious countries. Haman, whose mortified am- 
 bition led him to contrive the destruction of 
 the Jews, was one of this detested and ex- 
 terminated nation. 
 
 The Scripture cannot be broken. What- 
 ever improbabilities appear, whatever diffi- 
 culties stand in the way, whatever delays in- 
 tervene, God's counsels of old are faithfulness 
 and truth ; and heaven and earth shall pass 
 away sooner than one jot or tittle of his word 
 shall fail. This applies to the destruction of 
 the wicked, as well is to the salvation of the 
 righteous. And it applies not only to nations, 
 but to individuals. Behold a signal instance. 
 ^'And Joshua adjured them at the time, say- 
 ing, Cursed be the man before the I-ord. that 
 
 riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he 
 shall lay the foundaticn thereof in his first- 
 born, and his youngest son shall he set up the 
 gates ot it." And what says History more 
 than four hundred years after, in the reign of 
 Ahab? "In his days did Hiel the Bethelite 
 build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof 
 in Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates 
 thereof in his youngest son Segub, according 
 to the word of the Lord, which he spake by 
 Joshua the son of Nun." 
 Lord, increase our faith. 
 
 AUGUST 1. 
 
 " For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully 
 for good : hid evil came down from the Lord 
 unto the gate of Jerusalem.' 1 '' — Micah i. 12. 
 
 This refers to the invasion of the Assyrian, 
 the rod of God's anger. He had subdued and 
 ravaged Israel, and now entered the kingdom 
 of Judah. The prophet laments the horrors 
 and miseries of the scene ; and describes the 
 effects of them upon the places lying in the 
 line of his march. The village of Maroth 
 was one of these. It was very interior, and 
 was situated nigh Jerusalem ; for which 
 reason probably the inhabitants themselves 
 thought that they were safer than those who 
 lived on the borders of the country: "For 
 the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for 
 good : but evil came down from the Lord unto 
 the gate of Jerusalem." This may serve to 
 remind us— »of the disappointments of life — 
 of the source of calamity — and the season of 
 deliverance. 
 
 They " waited," waited " carefully for 
 good ;" but in vain : " evil came" — Is such a 
 disappointment a strange or an unusual thing 1 ? 
 What is there in life that is not uncertain, 
 and does not expose the hope that is resting 
 upon it 1 Is it substance 1 Is it health? la 
 it children ? Is it friends ? — Does the Scrip- 
 ture only cry, " All is vanity ;" and, " Cease 
 from man, whose breath is in his nostrils?" 
 Does not all history, observation, and experi- 
 ence tell us the same? Let therefore the 
 young, let those who are entering into new 
 connexions and conditions, let all be sober in 
 their expectations from every thing earthly. 
 It is the way to escape the surprise and the 
 anguish of disappointment. And let us make 
 the Lord our hope. He will not deceive us : 
 he cannot fail us. If creatures are broken 
 reeds, he is the rock of ages — " Blessed are 
 all they that put their trust in him." 
 
 See also the source of calamity — "Evil 
 came down from the Lord." This at first 
 seems strange: we should have been ready 
 to say, " evil came up from another being." 
 We are assured that "every good gift and 
 every perfect gift is from above, and enmeth 
 down from the Father of lights." But " let 
 no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempt- 
 
AUGUST 2. 
 
 251 
 
 ed of God ; for he cannot be tempted with 
 evil, neither tempteth he any man." And 
 this is true of moral evi\ or the evil of sin- 
 ning. But Micah speaks of natural evil, or 
 the evil of suffering. And what calamity in 
 there that the Scripture has not ascribed to 
 Godl Is it a storm at seal "He breaketh 
 the ships of Tarshish with an east wind." Is 
 it barrenness of soil 1 " He turneth a fruitful 
 land into barrenness, for the wickedness of 
 them that dwell therein." Is it the loss of 
 connexions 1 " Lover and friend hast thou 
 put far from me." " Is there an evil in the 
 city and the Lord hath not done it?" — War 
 is the evil here peculiarly intended. We 
 often connect this more with the follies and 
 passions of men than other evils; but the 
 hand of God is no less really in it He has 
 "created the waster to destroy." "Out of 
 him came forth the corner, out of him the 
 nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him 
 every oppressor together." Let us never 
 view our sufferings, public or private, personal 
 or relative, abstractedly from God. Especially 
 let us beware that instruments do not lead us 
 to overlook his agency. They could have no 
 power at all against us, except it was given 
 them from above. The Chaldeans and the 
 Sabeans spoiled Job: but says he, "the Lord 
 hath taken away." 
 
 The question is, how this evjl Comes from 
 him 1 Much injury is done by our separating 
 what the Scripture has joined together. Some 
 view God's mercy as separate from his jus- 
 tice; and some his justice as separate from 
 his mercy: the one of these partial views 
 genders presumption, the other despair. These 
 extremes would be avoided by our consider- 
 ing God as at once the righteous governor 
 and the tender father. Every thing in his 
 present administrations is adapted to show the 
 union of his holiness and goodness, and to 
 awaken both our fear and our hope. The 
 evils he sends are the effects of sin ; yet they 
 are the fruits to take away sin. We deserve 
 them, and we need them ; the one shows that 
 we have no right to complain, the other that 
 we have no reason to complain. What is re- 
 quired of a Christian is a ready and cheerful 
 submission ; but this can only be produced by 
 our seeing the reference our affliction has not 
 only to our desert, but to our improvement. 
 The thought of God as a sovereign may re- 
 press murmuring; but it is the^ belief not 
 only that his judgments are rlyht, but that 
 in faithfulness he afflicts, and in love corrects 
 us, that enables us to acquiesce, and say, " Here 
 I am, let him do what seemeth him good." 
 
 Mark also the time of deliverance. Though 
 God saves his people, he may permit the de- 
 struction to draw very nigh. This was the 
 case here. He could have hindered the ca- 
 lamity at the frontier, but evil came down 
 from the Lord " unto the gate of Jerusalem." 
 So far the overflowing did come ; and the in- 
 
 sulting foe encamped in the fullers' fie d ad 
 joining the city ; but no further. Hero were 
 his proud waves stayed. Here ended his 
 power and triumph Hezekiah conquered 
 him upon his knees. The Lord put his hook 
 into his nose, and his bridle into his jaws, and 
 drew him back. Yea, the angel of the Lord 
 slew in his camp in one night upwards of one 
 hundred and eighty-four thousand of his troops 
 — Showing us not only that God can deliver, 
 in the greatest straits, but that he frequently 
 does not interpose till the evil has reached its 
 extremity. Thus Peter was not released from 
 prison till a few hours before his appointed 
 execution : and Abraham had bound Isaac, 
 and seized the knife, and stretched out his 
 hand, before the voice cried, Forbear. When- 
 ever therefore he seems indifferent to our 
 welfare, and does not immediately, or even 
 for a length of time interpose in our behalf, 
 let us not accuse him of unfaithfulness and 
 inattention. Let us distinguish between ap- 
 pearance and reality. His kindness, wisdom, 
 and power, are secretly at work for our good. 
 The delay is not abandonment He is only 
 waiting to be gracious; and the season in 
 which he will appear to our joy will display 
 his glory, and draw forth our praise. In the 
 mean time let our minds be kept in perfect 
 peace, being stayed upon God ; and let us re- 
 member, if things are gloomy and discour- 
 aging, that the lower the ebb of the tide, the 
 nearer the flow. It is often darkest just be- 
 fore the break of day. " In the mount rr 
 
 SHALL BE SEEN." 
 
 AUGUST 2. 
 
 " J will consider in my dwelling-place like a clear 
 heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in tin 
 heat of harvest." — Isaiah xviii. 4. 
 
 Preachers should be very sparing of tneir 
 animadversions on the translation of the Scrip- 
 tures in common use; not only because they 
 tend to shake confidence and awaken suspi- 
 cions in their hearers, but because they are 
 generally needless. It is not illiteracy that 
 commends the present version ; the ablest 
 scholars are the most satisfied with it upon 
 the whole. Yet while the original is divine, 
 the rendering is human; and therefore we 
 need not wonder if an occasional alteration is 
 necessary. This is peculiarly the case where 
 the sense is very obscure or even impercepti 
 ble without it. 
 
 If the words as they now stand in the text 
 remain, his " dwelling-place" is heaven, and 
 the meaning is, that he would there consider 
 how to succour and bless his people, for he 
 careth for them : but a word must be supp.ied 
 to show the import — "I will consider in my 
 dwelling-place" how I can prove " like a clear 
 heat upon herbs, and like a cloud cf dew in 
 the heat of harvest." But the margin, and 
 
252 
 
 AUGUST 3. 
 
 Lowth, and every modern expositor make his 
 "dwelling-place" not the place of his consid- 
 eration, but the object ; and read, " / will re- 
 gard my dwelling-place like a clear heat 
 upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the 
 heat of harvest." Now what his dwelling- 
 place was we can easily determine. It was 
 Zion — " Whose dwelling is in Zion." " This 
 is my rest for ever, here will I dwell, for I 
 have desired it." And Watts has well added — 
 
 " Tbe God of Jacob chose the hill 
 Of Zion for his ancient rest ; 
 And Zion is his dwelling still. 
 His Church is with his presence blest." 
 
 And his concern for the welfare of the one is 
 far surpassed by his regard for the other. And 
 how is this regard exercised 1 Here are two 
 images. 
 
 First, " like a clear heat upon herbs." The 
 margin again says, " Like a clear heat after 
 rain ;" and I wish, says the excellent trans- 
 lator of Isaiah, who has adopted it, that there 
 was better evidence in support of it. The 
 reason is, that he probably feared, as others 
 in reading it may fear, that " a clear heat upon 
 herbs" would be rather unfavourable, and cause 
 them to droop if not to die. And this would 
 be the case in some instances; but no' in all ; 
 and it is enough for a metaphor to have one 
 just and strong resemblance. Read the dying 
 words of David ; " And he shall be as the 
 light of the morning, when the sun riseth, 
 even a morning without clouds; as the ten- 
 der grass springing out of the earth by clear 
 shining after rain." Now after rain, "the 
 clear shining," or "a clear heat upon herbs" 
 would produce immediately fresh vigour and 
 shootings. Even in our own climate the effect 
 upon the grass and plants is soon visible ; but 
 in the east the influence is much more sud- 
 den and surprising, and the beholders can 
 almost see the herbage thrive and flourish. 
 Thus the Lord can quicken his people in his 
 ways, and strengthen in them the things that 
 remain and are ready to die. And when after 
 the softening comes the sunshine, they grow 
 in grace and in the knowledge of their Lord 
 and Saviour. Their faith groweth exceed- 
 ingly, and the charity of every one of them 
 towards each other pboundeth. They bear 
 much fruit. Thus we read of " increasing 
 with all the increase of God" — This figure 
 therefore expresses growth and fertility. 
 
 But the second holds forth refreshment, 
 seasonable refreshment; "like a cloud of dew 
 in the heat of harvest." How cooling, useful, 
 welcome, delightful such an appearance is, 
 ask the labourer in the field, in the eastern 
 field, bearing the burden and heat of the day. 
 Gcd, as the God of all comfort, realizes the 
 truth and force of this image in the experi- 
 ence of his tried followers — First, in their 
 spiritual exercises and depressions arising 
 from the assaults of temptation, a sense of 
 their unworthiness and imperfections, and 
 
 fears concerning their safety and perseve 
 ranee. And, secondly, in their outward afliic 
 tions. These may be many; and if our 
 strength is small, we shall faint in the day of 
 adversity. But when we cry, he answers us, 
 and strengthens us with strength in our souls. 
 He gives us a little reviving in our Dondage 
 and in the multitude of our thoughts within 
 us his comforts delight our souls. He is able 
 and engaged to comfort us in all our tribula- 
 tion. By the supply of the Spirit of Jesus 
 Christ; by his word; by his ordinances; by 
 the preaching of a minister ; by the conver- 
 sation of a friend ; by a letter, a book, a par- 
 ticular occurrence of Providence, a time of 
 refreshing may come from the presence of the 
 Lord — and a cloud of dew be furnished in the 
 heat of harvest. 
 
 Such is the God of love to his people. Are 
 his consolations small with us? O that we 
 were better acquainted with his perfections, 
 his covenant, his promises, and the joy of his 
 salvation ! — Let creatures help out our medi- 
 tations of him. We lose much in not using 
 nature as an handmaid to grace. Let us aid 
 our faith even by our senses. What a state 
 will that be where God will be all in all • 
 
 AUGUST 3. 
 
 " / said, Lord, be merciful unto me : heal my 
 soul ; for I have sinned against thee." — Psa.m 
 xli. 4. 
 
 This is an excellent prayer. The man 
 that utters it confesses that he is a sinner : 
 " I have sinned against thee." " If we say 
 we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and 
 his word is not in us ;" and the reason is, be- 
 cause his word declares that " all have sinned, 
 and come short of the glory of God." Sin is 
 the transgression of the law; and to judge of 
 the one we must understand the other. By 
 the law therefore is the knowledge of sin : 
 and when the commandment comes in its 
 purity and spirituality, and we see that it 
 extends to the heart as well as to the life, to 
 the motive as well as to the action ; when 
 we see that desire is adultery, and anger 
 murder; sin revives; forgotten offences are 
 remembered ; and a thousand transgressions 
 and aggravations are discovered of which we 
 htod no apprehension before. The conviction 
 of our sinfulness may commence with some 
 one gross sin first striking tbe conscience: 
 but we are soon led on from one iniquity to 
 another. From the more gross we pass to 
 the more refined ; and from the streams we 
 ascend to the fountain — till we find the heart, 
 and see that this is deceitful above all things, 
 and desperately wicked. But the greatest 
 sin of which we are convinced is unbelief — 
 " He shall convince the world of sin, because 
 they believe not on me." "He is despised 
 and rejected of men — and of me: I have 
 
AUGUST 4 
 
 •J53 
 
 trampled under foot the Son of God, who loved 
 me, and gave himself for me. O let me look 
 upon him whom I have pierced, and mourn 
 for him."— 
 
 He also considers sin as the disease of the 
 soul. " Heal my soul ; for I have sinned 
 against thee." Sin affects the soul as disease 
 affects the hody. In bodily disease the parts 
 of the system do not properly and freely per- 
 form their office ; there is always some ob- 
 structi- Ji or derangement ; and therefore the 
 man is said to be disordered. It is the same 
 in the sinner ; the powers and functions of the 
 soul are injured and interrupted. Does dis- 
 ease deprive the body of beauty, and appetite, 
 and freedom, and strength ! So does sin the 
 soul. Does disease tend to the death of the 
 body ] Sin issues in the death of the' soul. 
 But the death of the one is temporal ; while 
 the death of the other is eternal. Who can 
 tell the import of eternal death 1 It is a fear- 
 ful thing to fall into the hands of the living 
 God. Yet the result is no more dreadful 
 than it is certain — The soul that sinneth it 
 shall die. The end of those things is death. 
 He also views God as the only physician 
 — Therefore to him he applies : " Lord — heal 
 my soul; for I have sinned against thee." 
 This disease, like the leprosy under the law, 
 is inaccessible to human remedies. We can- 
 not heal our own soul. Creatures cannot 
 heal us. The sooner we have this persuasion 
 the better. All other physicians to whom we 
 may apply, though they may cost us much, 
 will be found physicians of no value. But 
 he comes forward and says, " I am the Lord 
 that healeth thee." How 1 How does he heal 
 the soul meritoriously 1 By the sufferings and 
 death of his own Son : " by whose stripes we 
 are healed." How does he heal it efficiently 1 
 By the influence of his Spirit : " we are saved 
 by the washing of regeneration, and by the 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost." He does not 
 cure like an empiric who only strikes in the 
 disorder, checking the effects and retaining 
 the cause, soothing the pain and undermining 
 the patient — if any man be in Christ, he is 
 a new creature. His very dispositions are 
 changed. He is not only restrained from sin, 
 but mortified to it. And how can he who is 
 dead to sin live any longer therein 1 How 
 does he heal the soul instrumentally 1 By his 
 word; by preaching; by the ordinances of 
 religion; by Ihe dispensations of his provi- 
 dence. Afflictions, though the effects of sin, 
 are the fruits to take away sin. The suffer- 
 ings of the Christian are not penal inflictions, 
 but fatherly chastisements — or, to keep to the 
 metaphor, they are medicinal applications, 
 and, like other medicines, we are to judge of 
 them not by the unpalatableness of the taste, 
 but the sanativeness of the operation. 
 
 He is also persuaded that nothing but mercy 
 in God will induce him to undertake the. 
 mire: "I said, Lord be merciful unto me: 
 
 heal my soul ; for I have sinned against thee." 
 Here is the only source of our hope. We 
 have no claims upon him, even for his pity. 
 We are not only miserable, but criminal ; and 
 as children of disobedience, we lie entirely at 
 his mercy. It is for this to determine whether 
 we shall die or live. To this therefore our 
 recovery must be ascribed, and to this the 
 Scripture always ascribes it — "according to 
 his mercy he saved us." And in this case 
 we read of his abundant mercy ; and of hi? 
 being rich in mercy. 
 
 Indeed the mercy he displays in our recov- 
 ery is not only real, but pre-eminent. In na- 
 ture and providence his mercies are new 
 every morning. It is mercy that feeds us and 
 clothes us; it is mercy that refreshes us in 
 our sleep, and comforts us in our friends. But 
 the salvation of the soul is the mercy of 
 mercies ! 
 
 AUGUST 4. 
 
 " / will remember thee from the land of Jordan 
 and of the Htrmonites,from the hill Afizar."— 
 Psalm xlii. 6. 
 
 There are two ways of understanding 
 this; each of them instructive and profitable 
 and both of them perhaps included in the 
 full import of the words — For what, says 
 Bishop Home, we call the different senses of 
 a Scripture are often but the different parts 
 of the complete sense, which, being unable to 
 take in at one view, we are compelled to sur- 
 vey successively and separately. 
 
 It may be considered as an expression of 
 determined remembrance of God, should he 
 ever be found in such places and conditions. 
 Believers can suppose the worst, and yet hope 
 for the best ; for they have a resource which 
 can meet even every possible exigency. Hence 
 the prophet could say : " Although the fig- 
 tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be 
 in the vines; the labour of the olive shall 
 fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the 
 flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there 
 shall be no herd in the stalls : yet I will re- 
 joice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my 
 salvation." The Church did the same, in the 
 words to which Luther was so attached : for 
 when the less courageous Melancthon was 
 ready to sink at any unfavourable appearances 
 or reports, " Come," would he say, " Come, 
 brother, let us sing the forty-sixth psalm, and 
 let Rome and hell do their worst :" " God is 
 our refuge and strength, a very present help 
 in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though 
 the earth be removed, and though the moun- 
 tains be carried into the midst of the sea." 
 So David imagined scenes which would have 
 appalled others, and yet could maintain his 
 faith and hope in God — " Yea, though I walk 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, 1 
 will fear no evil ; for thou art with me, thy 
 rod and thy staff, they comfort me." " From 
 
254 
 
 AUGUST 5. 
 
 the ends of the earth will I cry unto thee, 
 when my heart is overwhelmed." " I will 
 remember thee from the land of Jordan, and 
 from the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar" — 
 as if he should say, " If I am exiled from my 
 palace, and the sanctuary; if my enemies 
 drive me eastward, or southward, or in any 
 other direction, no distance can exclude me 
 from access to thee: wherever I am I will 
 think of thee, and be encouraged." It is then 
 a resolution to exercise confidence in God, in 
 present difficulties, distresses, and dangers, 
 whatever they may be. 
 
 But the language may be considered as an 
 expression of encouragement derived from 
 reflection. He had been in these situations 
 and circumstances; and had experienced in 
 them displays of divine providence and grace. 
 What these were he does not mention ; but 
 they would always in review strengthen his 
 trust in God. It is therefore much the same 
 as he resolves in another psalm : "This is my 
 infirmity : but I will remember the years of 
 the right hand of the Most High. I will re- 
 member the works of the Lord : surely I will 
 remember thy wonders of old." 
 
 This shows the advantage of years. The 
 old Christian has not a better God than the 
 younger one ; but he has had better op- 
 portunities of knowing him; and they that 
 know his Name will put their trust in him. 
 And we see what is our duty and privilege 
 with regard to God's dealings with us ; it is, 
 to observe them and treasure them up in our 
 minds: for they are designed not only for 
 present relief, but for future improvement; 
 that when we meet with new trials our con- 
 fidence may spring forth afresh at the recol- 
 lection of former mercies. " Because thou 
 hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of 
 thy wings will I rejoice." 
 
 We know a good deal of the geography 
 of the land of Judea. We can find the land 
 of Jordan, and of the Hermonites; but what 
 or where was this hill Mizar] The word, as 
 you see in the margin, signifies " the little 
 hill:" and it would have been better so to 
 have translated it. It seems to have been a 
 spot rendered very dear to David, by the oc- 
 currence of something very interesting and 
 encouraging there. I have been always led 
 to conjecture that it was the place in which 
 he had been so wonderfully saved from the 
 lion and the bear. He was then a shepherd. 
 Suppose him some clear starry night watch- 
 ing over his flock. While leaning on the 
 edge of the fold, he looks and sees a bear 
 creeping round the base of the hill : suppose 
 him on another evening attending late his 
 fleecy charge: and as soon as he had laid 
 down his harp he heard a lion growling as he 
 issued from a neighbouring wood : and in each 
 instance he had thrown himself upon the foe, 
 and slain him, and rescued the lamb that he 
 bad seized ! what an impression would this 
 
 have made upun his imagination; and now 
 could he ever have recurred to it without 
 gratitude and confidence 1 If there be proba- 
 bility in this conjecture, his language will be 
 much the same as his avowal to Saul when 
 going to engage Goliath. 
 
 All places are the same to God, but they 
 are different to us. If we were going over 
 the land of Judea, and imagined that one spot 
 of the ground was intrinsically holier than 
 another, it would be superstitious : but what 
 could be thought of us if we did not peculi- 
 arly feel as we stood in Bethlehem where 
 Jesus was born, or on Calvary where he died ! 
 What an interest must individuals feel in 
 particular places ! How awful to a murderer 
 must be the spot where his brother's blood is 
 still crying unto God from the ground ! How 
 affecting to a soldier must be the field of bat- 
 tle where he was exercised with the intonsest 
 anxieties that were ever felt ! We have read 
 of an Irishman who, when oppressed with a 
 sense of his guilt and danger, entered a wood, 
 and earnestly prayed under a tree, till he ob- 
 tained a hope of deliverance. Some time 
 after, meeting with a poor creature distressed 
 in the same way, he pressed him to go with 
 him to the spot. It was not the place but 
 the exercise that had procured for him the 
 relief; but the force of the association could 
 be easily accounted for, especially on a rude 
 and ignorant mind. Happy they who not 
 only love to walk in woods, and fields, and 
 by running streams, but can refer to spots 
 made sacred by meditation, and in which 
 they have exclaimed, " This is none other 
 but the house of God ; and this is the gate 
 of heaven." 
 
 Who has not places to which he can ad- 
 vert, in which God has turned the shadow of 
 death into the morning, broken the snare of 
 temptation, commanded for him deliverance, 
 or afforded him some support and consolation 
 which have enabled him to go on his way 
 rejoicing'! O! these "little hills;" they are 
 worth their weight in gold ! Let them never 
 be forgotten. 
 
 " Here to these hills my soul will come 
 Till my Beloved lead me home." 
 
 AUGUST 5. 
 
 " J have finished the work which thou gavest m* 
 
 to do. 1 " — John xvii. 4. 
 
 This work was the redemption of the 
 Church. It was no secular purpose that 
 brought him into the world. He came not to 
 act the merchant, the philosopher, the states- 
 man, much less the warrior; but to be the 
 Redeemer of sinners. And " in him we have 
 redemption through his blood." 
 
 For to him was the execution of this work 
 intrusted — It was " given him to do." Great 
 undertakings require great qualifications and 
 abilities. And here was an enterprise to 
 
AUGUST 6. 
 
 25ft 
 
 which all the angels in heaven, though they 
 excel in strength, would have been found in- 
 adequate. But help was laid on One that is 
 mighty. He had every thing that could fit 
 him for the work. It was necessary that he 
 should be human, bone of our bone, and flesh 
 of our flesh ; and " the Word was made flesh 
 and dwelt among us." It was necessary that he 
 should be innocent ; and " he did no sin ;" " he 
 was manifested to take away our sin, and in 
 him was no sin." It was necessary that he 
 should be voluntary, for there is no value in 
 undesigned or constrained mercies; and he 
 made himself of no reputation, he laid down 
 his life of himself, he loved us and gave 
 himself for us. It was necessary that he 
 should be divine, his divinity was required to 
 sustain his humanity, and to add value to his 
 doings and sufferings ; and " in him dwelt all 
 the fullness of the Godhead bodily." 
 
 He therefore fully accomplished this work, 
 and could say — " I have finished the work 
 which thou gavest me to do." Yet how was 
 this true 1 For though his active as well as 
 passive obedience was included in his engage- 
 ment, and though he lived the man of sorrows 
 for us, yet without shedding of blood there 
 was no remission ; and it was by the sacrifice 
 of himself that he made an end of sin, and 
 brought in everlasting righteousness : but as 
 yet he had not agonized in the garden, nor 
 died on the cross. We answer ; the thing was 
 as good as done — It was near at hand — It was 
 absolutely certain. Purpose and fulfilment are 
 the same with God. Hence the language of 
 prophecy and promise announces things future 
 as present, and even as past. "Unto us," 
 said Isaiah, "a child is born," ages before the 
 incarnation of the Messiah ; and earlier still, 
 David represented him as saying, "They 
 pierced my hands and my feet : they parted my 
 garments among them, and cast lots for my 
 vesture." Let us, therefore, distinguish be- 
 tween redemption and salvation. Salvation 
 was not accomplished on earth, but in heaven. 
 We are reconciled unto God by the death of 
 his Son ; but we are saved by his life. He is 
 exalted at God's own right hand, to be a 
 Prince and a Saviour. This work he has not 
 finished, but is still carrying on, and will be 
 carrying on, till all his people are called and 
 glorified. Accordingly it is said, "They 
 shall be saved;" and, "he will appear the 
 second time without sin unto salvation." But 
 redemption was his work on earth : and he 
 said when he expired, "It is finished:" and 
 he ' entered into the holy place, having ob- 
 tained eternal redemption for us." 
 
 The Apostle infers the inefficacy of the 
 legal sacrifices from their repetition, justly 
 arguing that if tiey could have put away sin 
 they would have ceased to be offered, and the 
 worshippers once purged would have had no 
 more conscience of sins : but Christ was once 
 flffered, to bear the sins of many ; and once was 
 
 sufficient. By the one offering up of himself 
 he hath perfected for ever them that are sanc- 
 tified. His resurrection was an undeniable 
 proof of the completeness of his satisfaction , 
 it was, so to speak, a receipt in full, given to 
 our Surety to prove that he had paid our debt, 
 and set us free for ever. 
 
 What an indignity is put upon him by any 
 attempt to add to his work ! Yet some talk of 
 "filling up that which is behind of the afflic- 
 tions of Christ." But the Apostle, in these 
 misapplied words, refers to the sufferings of 
 his servants in his cause and for his sake, and 
 not to the sufferings he personally endured, 
 when atoning for our sins he bore our grief, 
 and carried our sorrows. What can be " lack- 
 ing" here 1 What can be added to that which 
 is not only perfect, but infinite? 
 
 "The death of Christ shall still remain, 
 Sufficient, and alone." 
 
 We want no penance, no purgatory — His 
 blood cleanseth from all sin. We want no 
 mediator, no patron — but our Advocate with 
 the Father, who is the propitiation for* our 
 sins ; and not for ours only, but also for the 
 sins of the whole world — We make mention 
 of his righteousness only. 
 
 Let his finished work relieve and encourage 
 us under all our imperfections. We complete 
 nothing ; in every thing we come far 6hort of 
 the glory of God ; and even our duties would 
 condemn us, as well as our sins, if God should 
 deal with us according to our desert. We 
 ought to be humbled for our deficiencies, and 
 we shall deeply bewail them before God if 
 our hearts are right with him. But the 
 foundation of our hope lies not here. We 
 glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 He redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
 being made a curse for us. We live through 
 him. We are accepted in the Beloved. We 
 are complete in him. " There is therefore 
 now no condemnation to them which are in 
 Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, 
 but after the Spirit" 
 
 AUGUST 6. 
 
 " Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eye* 
 lofty : neither do I exercise myself in great 
 matters, or in things too high for me."— Psalm 
 exxxi. 1. 
 
 This address was a proof of David's sin 
 cerity. His aim was not to be heard of men, 
 but of God, " the Judge of all." He there- 
 fore does not speak of him, but to him. Rash 
 and daring appeals to God are the last refuge 
 of impudent falsehood, and never make an im- 
 pression in favour of a man's truth on any re- 
 flecting mind. But if in your retirement, 
 when you are alone with the Supreme Being, 
 you can look up to Omniscience, and say, 
 " Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowes* 
 that I love thee ;" if you can kneel before him 
 
2&8 
 
 AUGUST 6. 
 
 and pray, " Search me, O God, and know my 
 heart, try me, and know my thoughts, and 
 see if there be any wicked way in me :" — 
 this is coming to the light ; this yields one of 
 the best evidences of our uprightness. 
 
 There are various cases in which such an 
 appeal to God is more than allowable. Let 
 us notice one only It is when we lie under 
 the misconception of friends, the censure of 
 neighbours, and the reproach of enemies, and 
 we have not the opportunity or power of re- 
 moving them. How pleasing and satisfying 
 is it then to turn from ignorance, prejudice, and 
 cruelty, to the God of our righteousness ! 
 Thus Job, when condemned as a hypocrite, 
 whose sins had now found him out, said, " Be- 
 hold, my witness is in heaven, and my record 
 is on high ;" and made no scruple to say, 
 "Thou knowest that I am not wicked." 
 There are instances in which we may act with 
 the greatest conscientiousness, and yet be 
 unable to induce another into our views, or 
 make him feel the pressure of those circum- 
 stances, the aggregate of which decides our 
 own minds. Herein appears the advantage 
 of reputation ; for when a man's character is 
 well established, he ought to have, and he 
 commonly will have credit given him for a 
 doubtful or unexplained occurrence : for 
 though a tree is known by its fruit, where the 
 fruit cannot be seen, it may be judged of by 
 the tree, which is known. — David was accused 
 by Saul, and his courtiers, and follower^, as a 
 restless and proud young man, who wished to 
 work himself out of privacy into notice and 
 power. But his rejcicing was this, the testi- 
 mony of his conscience, that in simplicity and 
 godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but 
 by the grace of God, he had had his conver- 
 sation in the world ; and more abundantly to 
 them-ward. For the best witnesses in our 
 favour are those who are most about us, and 
 know us best. Can we appeal to our wives 1 
 Can we appeal to our children? To our 
 servants ?— Can we appeal to our own hearts ? 
 — Can we appeal to God, who is greater 
 than our hearts, and knoweth all things ? 
 "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine 
 eyes lofty : neither do I exercise myself in 
 great matters, or in things too high for me." 
 
 "Yet did ho not rise from a cottage into a 
 palace V This was not from himself, but from 
 the appointment of Him who putteth down 
 one and setteth up another, and giveth no ac- 
 count of any of his matters. The elevation 
 was not his planning, his seeking, his choice. 
 He gained nothing from it as to enjoyment. 
 He was never so happy as when a shepherd 
 in Bethlehem. It was not till he had left that 
 peaceful retreat, he exclaimed, " Oh that I 
 had wings .ike a dove ! for then would I fly 
 away, and be at rest." But it was the will 
 of God that made him what he was, leading 
 him, as blind, by a way that he knew not, and 
 in paths that he had not known. The Lord 
 
 also who raised him qualified him for liis 
 station and his work : and no one could have 
 conducted himself, after such an amazing 
 change, with more humility and modesty. 
 
 Let his language be remarked and improv- 
 ed by us. Let us learn from it not to soar, 
 unless in spiritual concerns. We may set our 
 affections on things above ; and ought to have 
 our conversation even in heaven ; but as to 
 temporal things, let us learn, in whatsoever 
 state we are, therewith to be content; and 
 abide in the callings in which we have been 
 called of God. " Seekest thou great things 
 unto thyself? Seek them not." Aspire not 
 to fill places and offices above your capacity. 
 Some render it obvious enough to others that 
 they do exercise themselves in great matters, 
 and in things too high for them. And when 
 persons have not sense enough to discern 
 their inadequacy themselves, is it not desira- 
 ble that some of their friends should have 
 faithfulness enough to tell them ; and thus 
 save them from exposure and ridicule 1 At 
 public meetings, chairmen and speakers com- 
 monly begin by avowing their insufficiency 
 and unfitness — But if they believe what they 
 say, why do they engage 1 Such apologies in 
 general (for there are exceptions) go for 
 nothing, or are considered only as anglings 
 for praise, with the bait of humility. 
 
 Paul tells every man that is among us not to 
 think of himself more highly than he ought to 
 think ; but to think soberly, according as God 
 hath dealt to every man the measure of faith 
 There are mysteries and difficulties in religion 
 Is it not much more consistent with lowliness, 
 of mind to keep near what is plain and use- 
 ful than to roam after things beyond our 
 reach? What have we to do with the fate of 
 idiots and heathens'? We know our own 
 danger — " How shall we escape if we neglect 
 so great salvation 1" What have we to do 
 with the decrees of God 1 But his commands 
 and invitations meet our duties and our 
 wants. Secret things belong unto God ; but 
 things that are revealed are for us and for 
 our children. Yet how fond are we of at- 
 tempting what is incomprehensible or ab- 
 struse ! Where other parts of Scripture have 
 had one interpreter, the Canticles and the 
 Apocalypse have had twenty. " Where angels 
 tremble, fools break through and gaze." Our 
 Saviour said, even to his apostles, " It is not 
 for you to know the times or the seasons, 
 which the Father hath put in his own power." 
 Yet what a rage has there often been for 
 prophetical discussions ! And though no one 
 useful truth has been discovered, or practi- 
 cal advantage gained by all the stirs which 
 have been made in these troubled waters: 
 though all the schemes, which occasioned 
 such a noise for a time, have proved after 
 awhile visionary, and left their founders and 
 advocates ashamed of their confidence ; others 
 rise up with equal zeal and equal assurance 
 
AUGUST 7. 
 
 257 
 
 in Mipport of new theories. But they also 
 will have their day. The ferment soon sub- 
 sides. These speculations and conjectures 
 cannot operate as principles, for want of cer- 
 tainty. Yet though they do no good they 
 may do evil, by occupying the attention, and 
 drawing off' the mind from the main thing; 
 by injuring the temper; and by producing 
 self-conceit and a contempt of others — for peo- 
 ple are never more confident than when they 
 are uncertain ; or more eager to make converts 
 than when they need an accession of suffrage, 
 to support their hypothesis and recommend it. 
 We should be able also to make David's 
 appeal as to the dispensations of Providence. 
 His way is in the sea. The reasons of his 
 conduct are inscrutable. Let us not attempt 
 to correct what cannot be imperfect; or to 
 criticise what we do not understand. Let us 
 be still, and know that he is God. " O the 
 depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
 knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are 
 his judgments, and his ways past finding out ! 
 For who hath known the mind of the Lord 1 
 or who hath been his counsellor !" 
 
 AUGUST 7. 
 
 " Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a 
 child that is weaned of his mother : my soul is 
 even as a weaned child." — Psalm cxxxi. 2. 
 
 Weaned from whatl Self-sufficiency, self- 
 will, self-seeking. From creatures and the 
 things of the world — Not indeed as to their 
 use, but as to any dependence upon them for 
 his happiness and portion. The desire of his 
 soul was to the Lord, and the remembrance 
 of his Name ; and his language was, " Whom 
 have I in heaven but thee 1 and there is none 
 on earth that I desire beside thee" — " As for 
 me, I will behold thy face in righteousness : I 
 shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy 
 likeness" — "There be many that say, Who 
 will show us any good 7 Lord, lift thou up the 
 light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast 
 put gladness in my heart, more than in the 
 time that their corn and their wine increased" 
 — No wonder he could say, " My soul is even 
 as a weaned child." 
 
 Yet this experience is no easy attainment 
 The very form of expression — "I have be- 
 haved and quieted myself" reminds us of 
 some risings which were with difficulty sub- 
 dued. There is a difference here between 
 Christ and Christians. In him the exercise of 
 grace encountered no adverse principles ; but 
 in them it meets with constant opposition. 
 The flesh lusteth against the Spirit; and 
 when we would do good, evil is present with 
 us — Hence the warfare within. So it is with 
 " the child that is weaned." The task to the 
 mother is trying and troublesome. The infant 
 cries and seems to sob out his heart — He 
 thinks it very hard in her, and knows not 
 what she means by her seeming cruelty ; and 
 17 
 
 the mother's fondness renders all her firmness 
 necessary to keep her to the process — and 
 sometimes she also weeps at the importunity 
 of his dear looks, and big tears, and stretched 
 out hands. But it must be done — And there- 
 fore, though she pities, she perseveres — and 
 after a while he is soothed and satinfied ; for- 
 gets the breast ; and no longer feels even a 
 hankering after his former pleasure. 
 
 But how is the weaning of the child ac- 
 complished 1 By embittering the member to 
 his lips — By the removal of the object in the 
 absence and concealment of the mother — By 
 the substitution of other food — By the influ- 
 ence of time. So it is with us. We love the 
 world, and it deceives us. W r e depend on 
 creatures, and they fail us and pierce us 
 through with many sorrows. We enter for- 
 bidden paths, and follow after our lovers : and 
 our way is hedged up with thorns — and we 
 then say, Return unto thy rest, O my soul — 
 and now, Lord, what wait I for 1 My hope is 
 in thee. And what says the Saviour? He 
 that cometh to me shall never hunger ; and 
 he that believeth in me shall never thirst: 
 meaning, not only that they shall not hunger 
 and thirst after spiritual blessings in vain ; but 
 also that they shall not hunger and thirst after 
 other things, as they once did, before they 
 tasted that the Lord is gracious. The enjoy- 
 ment of a greater good subdues the relish of 
 a less. What are the indulgences of sin, or 
 the dissipations of the world, to one who is 
 abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God's 
 house, and is made to drink of the rivers of 
 his pleasure 1 
 
 This is the blessed state we should seek- 
 after. The want of this weanedness is the 
 source of apostasy and backsliding. It was 
 because her heart was left in Sodom that 
 Lot's wife looked back. It was because he 
 loved the present world that Demas forsook 
 the apostles. Owing to the want of this we 
 have so many inconsistencies in professors of 
 religion. They are yet attached to things 
 from which they are restrained ; and in the 
 sight of God they are considered as still pur- 
 suing them. Give me a Christian that is 
 weaned from them, having found something 
 infinitely superior. He who lives most in the 
 enjoyment of his heavenly privileges will be 
 the most secure from the evil of temptation, 
 and walk most worthy of the vocation where- 
 with he is called. 
 
 We should also be concerned to exemplify 
 this disposition with regard to our state and 
 circumstances in life. The secret of happi- 
 ness is not the enlargement of our means, but 
 the limitation of our desires. Let us consider 
 ourselves as only strangers and pilgrims oi« 
 earth. Let us say with the Shunamite, " 1 
 dwell among my own people." Let us learn 
 in whatsoever state we are, therewith to be 
 content. Let us say, " The Lord shall choose 
 our inheritance for us" — leaving- all to hii 
 
358 
 
 AUGUST 8. 
 
 wisdom and goodness — and desiring nothing 
 that he withholds — 
 
 " Pleas'd with all the Lord provides : 
 Weaned from all the world besides." 
 
 AUGUST 8. 
 
 4 There shall be i root of Jesse, which shall stand 
 for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the Gen- 
 tiles seek." — Isaiah xi. 10. 
 
 These words lead us to observe three things 
 with regard to the Messiah. First, his com- 
 ing in the flesh. " There shall be a root of 
 Jesse." Some contend that the expression 
 establishes the divine nature of our Lord, and 
 refer to his own authority when he said, " I 
 am the root and the offspring of David." As 
 a root bears the stem, and not the stem the 
 root, so, say they, our prophet would signify 
 that he is the source of Jesse's being, and not 
 that he derives his being from him. If we do 
 not yield to this reasoning, it is not from a dis- 
 belief of our Saviour's divinity, or because 
 we think it of little importance in the Chris- 
 tian scheme ; but because we are persuaded 
 every passage of Scripture should have its 
 own proper meaning, and no more stress 
 should be laid upon it than it was designed to 
 bear; for a bad argument always injures a 
 good cause. If we wished to prove what we 
 fully believe, that he had a divine nature, ac- 
 cording to which he made Jesse and all other 
 creatures, we would go at once to the testi- 
 mony of John — "All things were made by 
 him, and without him was not any thing made 
 that was made ;" or to the decision of Paul — 
 " By him were all things created, that are in 
 heaven, and that are in earth, visible and in- 
 visible, whether they be thrones, or domin- 
 ions, or principalities, or powers: all things 
 were created by him, and for him." But " a 
 root of Jesse" means a scion, a shoot spring- 
 ing out of one of his roots ; or as it is ex- 
 pressed in the beginning of the chapter, 
 " There shall come forth a rod out of the stem 
 of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his 
 roots." The phrase marks the family from 
 which he should arise. This was not known 
 for a long time, and was the effect of a grad- 
 ual discovery of him. First, he was revealed 
 as the seed of the woman or a partaker of 
 human nature, then as of the seed of Abra- 
 ham, then as of the tribe of Judah, and, lastly, 
 as of the house of David ; and this was so 
 familiarly known when he was on earth, that 
 beggars addressed him as the son of David. It 
 also shows his humble estate. The Scripture 
 often sets forth the various degrees of human 
 condition by trees and plants. We find Nebu- 
 chadnezzar's greatness represented by a tree, 
 whose height reached to heaven, and whose 
 Bhadow covered the earth : while his abase- 
 ment was expressed by the cutting it down to 
 J»e ground, and leaving only the stump in 
 
 the ground. Jesus is not described as a fine 
 tall tree, full of boughs and leaves, but as a 
 sucker from an unpromising, and seemingly 
 dead root. He was poor and mean in the esti- 
 mation of the world ; for though he had real 
 and unspeakable worth, though in him were 
 found all the treasures of wisdom and know 
 ledge, and in him dwelt all the fullness of the 
 Godhead bodily, all this is less than nothing 
 and vanity by the side of guineas and ribbons, 
 in the eyes of the multitude. Therefore says 
 our Prophet, " He shall grow up before him 
 as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry 
 ground : he hath no form nor comeliness ; and 
 when we shall see him, there is no beauty 
 that we should desire him." Hence it is not 
 said, " a root of" David who had been a mighty 
 monarch, but of "Jesse" whose name was 
 unrenowned ; implying that at the time of his 
 appearing the house of his lineage would be 
 reduced to its original obscurity. And so it 
 was. Joseph, that son of David his reputed 
 father, was a carpenter, and his mother a pool 
 virgin, probably working with her hands when 
 her honours were announced to her by tht 
 angel. Thus the King of kings and Lord ot 
 lords was born — not in the city of Jerusalem 
 but in a village in the north of Galilee, little 
 among the thousands of Judah — not in a 
 palace, but in a stable. Thus, as he advanced 
 in life, he had not where to lay his head ; his 
 hearers were the common people; and the 
 ministers of his kingdom, fishermen from the 
 lake of Galilee. This has always scandalized 
 the pride of reason : but " Jesus rejoiced in 
 spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord 
 of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these 
 things from the wise and prudent, and hast 
 revealed them unto babes: even so, Father, 
 for so it seemed good in thy sight." 
 
 Secondly, his destination — "Which shall 
 stand for an ensign of the people." Here is a 
 new metaphor, for no single image will do 
 him justice; yea, all that we can employ 
 must fall short of his glory. But each figure 
 aids our conception of some particular part of 
 his character and office. Of old it was cus- 
 tomary in time of war for the prince or com- 
 mander to erect an ensign on a mountain or 
 hill, there to summon the inhabitants of the 
 province to place them in military condition, 
 by furnishing them with arms, training them, 
 assigning them their rank and place, and giv- 
 ing them their orders. Thus Jesus was lifted 
 up on the cross that he might draw all men 
 unto him; and thus he is lifted up in the 
 preaching of the Gospel, that he might gather 
 together in one, the children of God that are 
 scattered abroad. Therefore it was said, " to 
 him shall men come ;" " to him shall the 
 gathering of the people be" — as the inhabit- 
 ants of a town gather together at the only 
 well that supplies them — as pupils assemble 
 around the only master that can teach them — 
 as soldiers repair to *be oriflamb suspended 
 
AUGUST 9. 
 
 259 
 
 over the chiefs teat The allusion is just and 
 suitable. The religious life is a warfare. 
 Christians are good soldiers of Jesus Christ 
 He is the Captain of their salvation, the 
 Leader and Commander of the people. He 
 conducts them not to carnage and infamy, but 
 to glory, honour, and immortality. His war- 
 fare is not carnal, but spiritual ; and it is a 
 good warfare ; and they need not be afraid to 
 follow his movements ; he cannot err. With 
 him they are always safe. He will teach their 
 hands to war and their fingers to fight ; he 
 will renew their strength ; he will make their 
 way prosperous — Yea, in all these things they 
 are more than conquerors through him that 
 loved them. 
 
 Thirdly, his successful influence — "To it 
 shall the Gentiles seek." In his quotation of 
 the words, the Apostle varies the language, 
 and says, "In his Name shall the Gentiles 
 trust" But there is no inconsistency between 
 this seeking and this trusting ; the one is the 
 cause, the other the effect ; or rather each is 
 alternately both cause and effect too. Because 
 we trust in him we seek him ; and when we 
 seek him we find how worthy he is of our 
 trust, for they that know his name will put 
 their trust in him. The trusting is the seek- 
 ing in the principle ; and the seeking is the 
 trusting in the exercise. 
 
 But who were to be the subjects attracted ? 
 " The Gentiles." Nothing could have been 
 more unlikely when this assurance was giv- 
 en. The whole world was lying in wicked- 
 ness, and abandoned to the most abominable 
 idolatries, " without Christ being aliens from 
 the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers 
 from the covenants of promise, having no 
 hope, and without God in the world." What 
 probability was there that these should believ.e 
 in one who was crucified, and become follow- 
 ers of the meek and holy Jesus 1 But it had 
 been announced, and it was to a surprising 
 extent accomplished. We may see the change 
 in our own country. We were heathens, led 
 away of dumb idols, and enslaved by comfort- 
 less and cruel superstitions. But what a 
 prevalence, and what triumphs, for ages, has 
 the Gospel attained here ! And yet without 
 miracles ; and by the blessing of God upon 
 means far inferior to those we possess, and 
 upon exertions made under far greater disad- 
 vantages than we have to contend with. How 
 groundless is missionary discouragement ! 
 What has been done — may be done. Is any 
 thing too hard for the Lord ? 
 
 And we here ree not only the power of 
 God, but we see the nature of the Gospel dis- 
 pensation. It forbids none, however unfavour- 
 able their condition and character. It cries, 
 Peace, Peace, to him that is far off, as well as 
 to them that are nigh. The Gentiles were 
 called dogs by the Jews; and our Saviour 
 himself speaks of them as inhabiting the 
 highways and hedges, and as the poor, and 
 
 the maimed, and the halt and the blind. Yet 
 for these there wls room. These were to be 
 compelled to come in. The Saviour excludes 
 none but those who exclude themselves ; and 
 he even complains of their conduct — "Ye 
 will not come to me that ye might have life." 
 Let the vilest of the vile, let the chief of sin- 
 ners seek to him, and try the graciousness 
 and truth of the promise that has been the 
 sheet-anchor of thousands — " Him that com- 
 
 ETH ONTO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT." 
 
 AUGUST 9. 
 
 u The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places , 
 yea, I have a goodly heritage" — Psalm rvi. 6. 
 
 We may put this acknowledgment into the 
 mouth of an indulged child of Providence. 
 
 David seems to refer to the division of the 
 land of promise by Lot What fell to the 
 share of his tribe had some special advan- 
 tages, for which he expresses himself with 
 gratitude and joy. He had also been raised 
 up from an obscure and contracted station to 
 the possession of honours and resources, 
 which filled him with wonder and praise, and 
 led him to exclaim, " Lord, what am I, and 
 what is my father's house, that thou hast 
 brought me hitherto ?" There are many who 
 are similarly favoured, though not in an equal 
 degree. They have independence ; or if they 
 have not abundance, they have competency, 
 which Agar deems far preferable. They have 
 an agreeable calling. Business prospers, and 
 exceeds their wants. They have a peace- 
 ful dwelling and affectionate connexions. 
 They have health, and power to relish the 
 beauties of nature, the bounties of earth, and 
 the endearments of social life — 
 
 " Not more than others they deserve. 
 Yet God has given them more — " 
 
 And far more — Their cup runneth over. 
 
 Only let them remember that these indul 
 
 gences are not " the one thing needful ;" and 
 
 that it becomes them to say, with Watts, 
 
 ** Without thy graces and thyself, 
 I were a wretch undone." 
 
 Or, with Cowper, 
 
 "Give what thou canst, without thee we are poor. 
 And with thee rich, take what thou wilt away." 
 
 Whatever these outward blessings may do 
 for them, they cannot reach their principal 
 exigences. They profit not in the day of 
 wrath, nor deliver from death, nor evince the 
 friendship of God, nor relieve the burdened 
 conscience, nor heal the wounded spirit, nor 
 content the cravings of an immortal mind. 
 Yea, they should also remember, that iney 
 are in peculiar danger from these enjoyments. 
 The peril is, that they trust in uncertain 
 riches, and not in the living God, who giveth 
 us richly all things to enjoy — That they make 
 the creature a substitute for the Creator — 
 That they lose the heart of a stranger — That 
 
2lK) 
 
 A GUST 10. 
 
 they forget their resting-place — That their 
 thoughts are drawn off from home by the 
 agreeableness and delights of the way — That 
 their table becomes a snare ; and their pros- 
 perity destroys them. The writer, some years 
 ago, in a neighbouring city, received in the 
 milpit the following note : " The prayers of 
 this congregation are earnestly desired for a 
 man who is prospering in his worldly con- 
 cerns." And if he did this sincerely, and 
 there is no reason to question it, the man 
 showed an acquaintance with the weakness 
 and depravity of human nature. He had stu- 
 died himself; he had observed others. He 
 had also read his Bible to purpose, which in- 
 formed him how Joseph, in the court of Pha- 
 raoh, swore " by the life of Pharaoh ;" how 
 David in his prosperity said, " I shall not be 
 moved ;" how Hezekiah, delivered, recovered, 
 honoured, "rendered not according to the 
 benefit done him, for his heart was lifted up ;" 
 how Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked — " then 
 he forsook God which made him, and lightly 
 esteemed the Rock of his salvation." 
 
 Yet these things are good in themselves ; 
 and display the bounty and kindness of God ; 
 and yield us a thousand comforts and advan- 
 tages. And who could imagine they were 
 bestowed upon those who are not worthy of 
 the least of all his mercies ; yea, upon rebels 
 who deserve his wrath 1 Surely it becomes 
 the possessors to be thankful, and to say, 
 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not 
 all his benefits." Surely they must be the 
 vilest of all beings, whose feelings do not 
 often produce the acknowledgment, "The 
 lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, 
 I have a goodly heritage." 
 
 " But all are not thus indulged : all cannot 
 use this language." Yet more might use it : 
 and more would use it if they were more sen- 
 sible of their desert, more humble, more dis- 
 posed to compare conditions not with those 
 above them, but with those below them. For 
 while they are injured in their circumstances, 
 others are ruined. While they have lost one 
 child, others have been bereaved of all their 
 offspring. While they have occasional in- 
 firmities and ailments, others are bedridden, 
 made to possess months of vanity, and have 
 none assurance of their life. We do not won- 
 der that persons are dissatisfied with their 
 portion, who send out pride and fancy to ex- 
 plore it ; who dwell on the dark side of their 
 condition only, and never look at the bright 
 one ; and suffer the impression of a single 
 trial to render them insensible to the claims 
 of a thousand comforts. 
 
 And we leave those whom Jude calls 
 " murmurers and complainers ;" or, as the 
 word is, blasphemers of their lot. Haman 
 goes home to his wife, and states all his 
 greatness, but adds, "Yet all this availeth 
 me nothing, so long as Mordecai the Jew sit- 
 teth at the king's gate." Ahab, in a palace, 
 
 cannot eat and drink ; and turns sick ; and 
 takes to his bed ; because one of his subjects 
 will not sell him a few yards of garden 
 ground. One is mopish and melancholy be- 
 cause he cannot get a particular place or of- 
 fice. Another is sour or spiteful because all 
 the neighbourhood will not bend to his hu- 
 mour, or think him so great a man as he im- 
 agines himself to be — we do not wish the 
 cravings of such groaners to be indulged ; if 
 would only carry them the further still from 
 contentment. But we pray tliat they may ex 
 change " the sorrow of the world which work 
 eth death," for that "godly sorrow which 
 worketh repentance unto life, and needeth 
 not to be repented of." 
 
 AUGUST 10. 
 
 " The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; 
 yea, I have a goodly heritage." — Psalrn xvi. 6. 
 
 We may put this acknowledgment into 
 the mouth of an inhabitant of this fa- 
 voured COUNTRY. 
 
 People are naturally attached to a land in 
 which they were born and brought up, and 
 with which all their earliest recollections and 
 feelings are associated. It has pleasures and 
 charms for them that others know not of. 
 And who would be cruel enough to deprive 
 them of their preference? and make them 
 miserable by comparison'! Rather, who would 
 not rejoice that there is no region so abso- 
 lutely dreary and barren as to have no flow- 
 ers and attractions scattered over it by the 
 kindness of Providence, to bind them to theii 
 native soil, and to make it painful to leaves 
 their own country and their father's house "? 
 
 Yet we need not confound things that dif- 
 fer ; and it would be the strangest inconsid- 
 eration and ingratitude, were we, as English- 
 men, to be unaffected with the advantages we 
 enjoy in this highly distinguished and indulg- 
 ed country. We refer not to our extensive 
 dominion, far surpassing the Roman world, 
 having more than sixty millions under our 
 sway, in one part of our dominion only. Nei- 
 ther do we admire the manner in which our 
 dominion has sometimes been acquired and 
 enlarged ; though we are persuaded the con- 
 querors will prove h'essings to the conquered. 
 In a thousand instances we are far from fault- 
 less. But, 
 
 " England, with ail thy faults I love thee still !" 
 
 And how much is there, whatever view 1 
 take, to induce the acknowledgment, " The 
 lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, 
 I have a goodly heritage !" Let me think of 
 our insular situation, in consequence of which 
 we are open to commerce ; guarded from in- 
 vasion ; and even in war itself know so little 
 of its ravages, never hearing the confused 
 noise of warr'ora, or seeing garments diooed 
 
AUGUST 11 
 
 261 
 
 m blood Let we think of the temperature 
 of our atmosphere, in which we are not frozen 
 to statues, or dissolved in heat. Let me think 
 of our freedom from tornadoes, hurricanes, 
 earthquakes, pestilences. Let me think of a 
 country where the seasons regularly return 
 and melt into each other — where are the 
 sweet interchanges of hill and vale, and wood 
 and lawn — where the pastures are clothed 
 with flocks and herds — where the fields and 
 valleys stand thick with corn — where we are 
 fed with the finest of the wheat Let me 
 think of a country whose merchants are 
 princes, and whose traffickers are the honour- 
 able of the earth — a country ennobled by the 
 zeal of patriots, enriched by the blood of mar- 
 tyrs, endeared and sacred by the dust of a 
 pious multitude without number — a country 
 illustrious by every kind of genius, and by 
 every improvement in science and in art — a 
 country in whose well-balanced Constitution 
 are blended the advantages of monarchy, aris- 
 tocracy, and democracy, without their defects 
 — a country whose government is equally 
 averse to tyranny and anarchy ; where none 
 are above law and none below it ; where lib- 
 erty has so long fixed her abode ; where reli- 
 gious opinions produce no civil disabilities; 
 where all persecution is excluded ; and where 
 every man sits under his own vine and vine- 
 yard, and none can make him afraid. Let me 
 think of a country where charity and com- 
 passion reign not only in numberless personal 
 acts, but in a thousand institutions to meet 
 every kind of distress, and lessen the sum of 
 human woe. Let me think of a country pos- 
 sessing not only so many natural, intellectual, 
 civil, and social advantages, but so many 
 moral and religious privileges; where not 
 only the darkness of paganism, but of super- 
 stition is past, and the true light shineth ; 
 where the Scriptures are found in our own 
 language, and all are allowed to read them, 
 and able to procure them ; where the word 
 of life is preached, and we can hear the joyful 
 sound of the truth as it is in Jesus ; where 
 the Gospel of Christ is not only spreading 
 widely among ourselves, but zealous and per- 
 severing efforts are making by individuals 
 and communities to convey it to others — 
 Where shall I end ? And can I glance at all 
 this, and not say, "It is a good" land which 
 the Lord our God hath given us!" Ought I 
 uot to be thankful to him who determines the 
 bounds of my habitation, and performeth all 
 things for me? Ought I not to bear with pa- 
 tience and cheerfulness a few difficulties and 
 trials inseparable from a condition so favoured 
 and indulged ? Ought I not to be concerned 
 to improve my privileges, and to fear the dan- 
 ger arising from so great a responsibility? 
 Where much is given, will not much be re- 
 quired ? Was not Capernaum that was ex- 
 alted unto heaven thrust down to hell ? Did 
 »>' God say to the Jews. You only have I 
 
 known of all the families of the earth ; there- 
 fore you will I punish ? And ought I nut to 
 dwell in the land, and to do all in my power 
 to promote the righteousness which exalteth 
 a nation ! And should not I pray for its safety 
 and peace, and prosperity ? " Let thy v -rk 
 appear unto thy servants, and thy glory >uito 
 their children. And let the beaut\ of the 
 Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou 
 the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work 
 of our hands establish thou it" 
 
 AUGUST 11. 
 
 u The lines are fallen unto me tit pleasant places , 
 yea, I have a goodly heritage." — Psalm xvi. 6. 
 
 We may put this acknowledgment into the 
 mouth of a Christian with regard to hu 
 
 8PIRITX'AL CONDITION. 
 
 Read the preceding verse : " The Lord is 
 the portion of mine inheritance and of my 
 cup : thou maintainest my lot" What won- 
 der then that the possessor should exclaim, 
 "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant 
 places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage." He 
 uses but one word in describing his estate, 
 but it is the most comprehensive. Had he 
 written volumes, and enumerated all the trea- 
 sures of heaven, and earth, and sea, he would 
 have said less, and to far less purpose, than in 
 saying, " The Lord is the portion of mine in- 
 heritance." The greater includes the less 
 If He be mine, what is the substance of my 
 portion but his fullness? and the measure of my 
 portion but his immensity? and the duration 
 of my portion but his eternity ? Yet this is 
 the truth of the case ; in the everlasting cov- 
 enant ordered in a things and sure, he has 
 been pleased to make over himself to his peo- 
 ple, with all he is, and all he has. " I will be 
 thy God. I will pardon thy sins. I will sanc- 
 tify thy nature. I will supply all thy need. 
 I will be light to thy darkness. I will be 
 strength to ^iy weakness. I will bless thy 
 bread and thy water. All my ways towards 
 thee shall be mercy and truth. All things 
 shall work together for thy good. I will guide 
 thee with my counsel, and afterward receive 
 thee to glory." 
 
 This is no more than the meanest Christian 
 may claim and exult in. Meanest did we say ? 
 We retract the term. A Christian may be 
 afflicted and poor ; but he cannot be mean — 
 He is one of the excellent of the earth, of 
 whom the world is not worthy. Let the rich 
 and the great bring together all their claims, 
 and make their boast the poorest Christian 
 beggars them all ; for he can say, " God is the 
 strength of my heart, and my portion for 
 ever." And he ought to preserve a sense of 
 this in his mind. He ought to live nobly. He 
 ought to feel contentedly in whatsoever state 
 he is. He ought not to envy others their good 
 things; nor sink like others under losses and 
 trials. When their lamps are put out they 
 
Xtl 
 
 AUGUST 12. 
 
 ire in utter darkness , out the San of righte- 
 ousness arises upon him. When their vessels 
 are broken, all their comforts are gone ; but 
 he has the fountain of living waters — They 
 have no God ; but " the Lord is the portion 
 of his inheritance." 
 
 If, from viewing his state essentially, he 
 examines it comparatively, he will have fresh 
 reason to exclaim, "The lines are fallen to 
 me in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly 
 heritage." For what should we value a heri- 
 tage 1 We should commend it for healthful- 
 ness. No heritage would be deemed pleasant 
 and goodly that was injurious to health, with- 
 out which we can relish nothing. The ap- 
 prehension of losing this all-important blessing 
 would alone induce us to resign any situation, 
 unless we were compelled to remain in it. 
 But such is the Christian's heritage, that all 
 those who have lived upon it, however disor- 
 dered before, have been restored to a miracle, 
 and each of them could say, I am a wonder 
 unto many. We should commend it for fer- 
 tility. Hence Moses extols Canaan as a land 
 flowing with milk and honey, and in which 
 there was no scarceness. In like manner he 
 says of Joseph ; " Blessed of the Lord be his 
 land, for the precious things of heaven, for the 
 dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, 
 and for the precious fruits brought forth by 
 the sun, and for the precious things put forth 
 by the moon, and for the chief things of the 
 ancient mountains, and for the precious things 
 of the lasting hills." No earthly inheritance 
 can yield the possessor every thing he wants ; 
 but God's riches in glory by Christ Jesus can 
 supply all the Christian's need. We should 
 commend it for safety. The best heritage 
 would fetch little that had no defence, but 
 was open to invasion and injury. There is 
 nothing that adds so much to the enjoyment 
 of a possession as a sense of security : sitting 
 under our own vine and fig-tree, and none 
 making us afraid. Upon all tire Cnristian's 
 glory there is a defence. His soul dwells at 
 ease : and he is in quiet from the fear of evil. 
 An heritage would not be deemed pleasant or 
 goodly, if cut off from the privilege of inter- 
 course. Christians have the communion of 
 saints. There is an open and constant com- 
 munication between them and heaven. : Their 
 fellowship is with the Father and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ. 
 
 Blessed are the people that are in such a 
 case : yea, happy is the people whose God is 
 the Lord. 
 
 AUGUST 12. 
 
 " They shall cry unto the Lord because of the op- 
 pressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and 
 a great one." — Isaiah xix. 20. 
 Let us consider these words in the noblest 
 
 exemplification of which they are susceptible ; 
 
 and let us remark what they say of the saved, 
 
 and what thev say of the Saviour. 
 
 What they say of the saved: "They shai' 
 cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors.' 
 The representation includes their state — They 
 are oppressed, and their oppressors are worse 
 enemies than any of the conquerors who have 
 enslaved nations. They are more base, and 
 vile, and cruel, and reduce their vassals to far 
 greater wretchedness and ruin. And we can- 
 not mistake who these tyrants are, when we 
 know that " the Son of God was manifested that 
 he might destroy the works of the devil," thai 
 he " might deliver us from this present evil 
 world," that he might " turn every one of us 
 away from our iniquities," that he might " save 
 his people from their sins." It includes their 
 sensibility. Many are unwilling to own their 
 condition ; and resemble the Jews, who, when 
 our Lord spoke of making them free, exclaim- 
 ed, " We were never in bondage to any man," 
 though they had been captives to every neigh- 
 bouring power, and were then a Roman prov- 
 ince. But these are awakened to consider, and 
 enlightened to see their deplorable estate. 
 This is what divines call conviction of sin , 
 and which commonly operates in the following 
 order. The man first feels the effects of his 
 sin. The prodigal began to be in want: ] 
 here perish with hunger : I will arise. Then 
 he feels the guilt of sin, and learns that what- 
 ever miseries he has brought upon himself 
 here, they are only the beginnings of sorrow, 
 and a small part of his desert. The soul tha* 
 sinneth it shall die. It is a fearful thing tc 
 fall into the hand of the living God. Who can 
 dwell with everlasting burnings] At last he 
 becomes sensible of the pollution of sin, as 
 the defilement of the soul, and as rendering 
 him unfit for communion with a holy God — 
 "Behold, I am vile: wherefore I abhor my- 
 self, repenting in dust and ashes." It include; 
 also their disposition — " They cry unto th< 
 Lord" for relief and deliverance. Convictioi 
 of sin always issues in earnest prayer : am. 
 such prayer cannot be in vain — 
 
 "He shall send them a Saviour" — And 
 what is said of him ? A single distinction i? 
 given him : but how much does it contain ! 
 and how suitable, how necessary is it to meet 
 our wants! Our case is beyond expression 
 difficult ; yea, it is desperate in itself, and also 
 with regard to " the help of men and angels 
 joined." Every kind of saviour therefore will 
 not do for us ; he must be mighty to save : 
 and our help is laid on one that is mighty — 
 He shall send tRem a Saviour ; " and a great 
 one." He is so in four respects. A great one 
 if we consider the dignity of his person. The 
 grandest titles are not withholden from him 
 in the Scriptures of truth. There he is not 
 only the child born, and the son given, but 
 the mighty God. There he is not only the 
 man and the sufferer, but the maker of al' 
 things : " all things were created by him and 
 for him." Can we think «.oo highly of such a 
 Saviour 1 Can we confide in him too confi- 
 pently ] Can our interestb ever fail in Buca 
 
august ia 
 
 263 
 
 lands ] " I know," says Paul, " whom I have 
 believed, and am persuaded that he is able to 
 keep that which I have committed to him 
 against that day." 
 
 A great one, if we consider the immensity 
 of the number he saves. These have been 
 commonly few, compared with their contem- 
 poraries : yet the aggregate of them from the 
 beginning is a countless multitude. But when 
 we look to the future, we read of the nations 
 of them that are saved. It is said, he shall 
 sprinkle many nations. Yea, all nations shall 
 be blessed in him : all flesh shall see the sal- 
 vation of God. 
 
 A great one, if we consider the vastness of 
 the deliverance he achieves. It is called "so 
 great salvation :" inexpressibly, inconceivably 
 great What are all other salvations com- 
 pared with this ? They free us from some 
 evils, this saves us from all evil. They confer 
 some advantages, this secures every advan- 
 tage. They are temporal, this is eternal: 
 " Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an 
 everlasting salvation ; they shall not be asham- 
 ed or confounded, world without end." 
 
 A great one, if we consider that his suf- 
 ficiency reaches beyond every extremity. 
 Hence, says the Apostle, " He is able to save 
 unto the uttermost." His blood cleanses from 
 the greatest guilt. His grace can enlighten 
 the darkest understanding, and soften the 
 hardest heart, and subdue the most rebellious 
 will — Nothing is too hard for the Lord. 
 
 But some may be ready to say, You need not 
 enlarge here. VVe do not question his ability 
 — but his readiness to save. Is he a trilling 
 Saviour ! In answer to this, we observe, First, 
 That the assurance of his ability is an impli- 
 cation of his willingness: for it would be use- 
 less, it would be worse than useless, it would 
 tantalize and torment us, were we informed 
 that our perishing condition was within the 
 compass of his power, but not within the reach 
 of his pity. And, Secondly, the sacred writers 
 would think his compassion was taken for 
 granted, and that no one could possibly doubt 
 the inclination of his heart Who, without 
 our solicitation, remembered us in our low es- 
 tate, and said, Deliver from going down into 
 the pit I have found a ransom ? Who took 
 upon him flesh and blood, and ca«ne into the 
 world to save sinners] Who, when rich, for 
 our sakes became poor ] Who died for the 
 ungodly] Who has said', and confirmed it 
 by his oath, by his blood, and by every in- 
 stance of his conduct " him that cometh unto 
 me, I will in no wise cast out ]" — " Lord, I 
 believe ; help thou mine unbelief" 
 
 AUGUST 13. 
 
 1 And Moses built an altar, and called the name 
 of it JEHOVAH-nissiS—Exod. xvii. 15. 
 
 It was upon the defeat of Amalek and his 
 people that Moses built this altar for sacrifice 
 
 and thanksgiving. But what is the import 
 of the name he gave it ; jehovah-nissi ] The 
 Lord my banner. A banner is a military flag, 
 standard, or ensign, commonly coloured and 
 figured, carried in war, and displayed to col- 
 lect regulate, and encourage the troops. It 
 would be needless and absurd to run a paral- 
 lel between a banner and God. It is enough 
 to observe, that it is not only applied to him 
 metaphorically, but by a figure of speech, 
 which puts a part for the whole : and intends 
 that he is every thing to his people in the 
 character of warriors. 
 
 It therefore reminds us that the Christian 
 life is a warfare. There is no image by which, 
 in the Scriptures, it is more frequently ex- 
 pressed. And though it be called "a good 
 warfare," it is the most serious and trying in 
 which we can ever be engaged ; and every 
 partaker of Divine grace can say, with Paul, 
 " So fight I not as one that beateth the air." 
 The persons and things of the present evil 
 world, the armies of aliens in his own heart 
 and the principalities, and powers, and spirit- 
 ual wickednesses in high places, constrain 
 him often to exclaim, " Lord, how are they 
 increased that trouble me ! Many are they 
 that rise up against me. Many there be which 
 say of my soul. There is no help for him in 
 God." But the Lord is his banner ! How full 
 and significant is the language of Revelation. 
 Not only, says David, does he enlighten and 
 save me, but " the Lord is my light and my 
 salvation." Not only, says the Church, does 
 he aid and inspire me, but " the Lord Jeho- 
 vah is my strength and my song." A true 
 Israelite not only says, " Thou hast given a 
 banner to them that fear thee, that it may be 
 displayed because of the truth ;" but my ban- 
 ner is Divine — is Deity itself: Jehovah-nissi ! 
 We acknowledge and honour him as such four 
 ways.- 
 
 First, by voluntarily and inflexibly adhering 
 to him as our Leader and Commander. " The 
 Lord is my banner." I disclaim every other 
 chief. I bring all my resources into his ser- 
 vice. I am ready to stand or fall with him — 
 His cause is my cause ; and his enemies my 
 enemies. If others desert, I will cleave to 
 him with purpose of heart I will follow him 
 in all changes, and whithersoever he goeth. 
 He shall choose my station, and show me 
 where I shall contend ; whether in private or 
 in public life; whether with *he evils of pros- 
 perity or adversity — I am not at my own dis- 
 posal — Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ] 
 
 Secondly, by confessing him the Author of 
 every success with which we have been 
 crowned. It is no easy thing when we suc- 
 ceed, to beat off all arrogance and self glory- 
 ing. We love to sacrifice to our own wisdom 
 and our own strength. How much has God 
 to do to hide pride from us ! The army oi 
 Gideon must be reduced from more than thir 
 ty thousand to four thousand men; and thee* 
 
264 
 
 AUGUST 14. 
 
 oe armed only with lamps and pitchers, " lest 
 Israel vaunt themselves ;" and to compel them 
 to exclaim, " His right hand and his holy arm 
 have gotten him the victory." The most be- 
 coming state of mind we can be in is to feel 
 that we are nothing, and that God is all in 
 all. And to this the Christian will be brought, 
 and be ready to lay down all his honours at 
 his feet. " I look back, and see many who 
 have become a prey to their enemies, who once 
 promised fairer than I have ever done. How 
 is it that 1 have stood in the evil day ; and yet 
 stand ] Not unto me, O Lord, not unto me. 
 By thee I have run through a troop ; and by 
 my God have I leaped over a wall. Thou 
 hast also given me the shield of thy salva- 
 tion; and thy right hand hath holden me 
 up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. 
 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, 
 that my feet did not slip. For thou hast 
 girded me with strength unto the battle: 
 thou hast subdued under me those that rose 
 up against me. Bless the Lord, O my 
 soul." 
 
 Thirdly, by our courageously trusting in 
 him to enable us to overcome in every future 
 conflict. Knowing the vast, the infinite con- 
 sequences depending on the issue of the war, 
 it would be awfully discouraging and de- 
 pressing to the Christian to fight uncertainly. 
 But he does not, at least he should not, need 
 not There is a holy kind of confidence and 
 triumph, more than allowed him, which 
 nothing should shake. It is founded not in 
 his own skill and resources, but in the perfec 
 tions and engagements of his covenant God. 
 " Has he not said, No weapon that is formed 
 against thee shall prosper 1 Has he not said, 
 Thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee, 
 and thou shalt tread upon their high places'? 
 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. In 
 myself I am very unequal to the work; but I 
 am not alone. The Lord is on my side. I 
 am nothing, compared with my foes ; but they 
 are nothing, compared with the Lord of 
 nosts. Infinitely greater is he that is for me 
 than all that are against me. He will furnish 
 me with supplies. He will well arm me for 
 the field. He will teach my hands to war, 
 and my fingers to fight. He will renew 
 my strength, and make my way prosper- 
 ous. Though a worm, I shall thresh the 
 mountains. In all these things we are more 
 than conquerors through him that loved 
 us." 
 
 Fourthly, by looking to him for the re- 
 muneration of victory at last. The soldier 
 warreth in hope : and it is not wrong for the 
 Christian, like Moses, to have respect unto 
 the recompense of the reward. The reward 
 is indeed of grace ; but it is a far more ex- 
 ceeding and eternal weight of glory. And 
 while we-look for it as the fruit of his mercy, 
 we can claim it on the ground of his truth ; 
 for he has said. " Be thou faithful unto death, 
 
 and I will give thee a crown of life." •' He 
 that overcometh shall inherit all things j and 
 I will be his God, and he shall be my u>.i." 
 
 AUGUST 14. 
 
 " Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, and thy ex- 
 ceeding great reward." — Gen. xv. 1. 
 
 Our misery or happiness depends upon the 
 relation in which God stands to us. What an 
 adversary must he be, who is everywhere 
 present, who is Almighty, who has the com- 
 mand of every creature, and the direction of 
 every event ! Have we an arm like God, or 
 can we thunder with a voice like his? If he 
 be against us, who can be for us I And if he 
 be for us, who can be against us ] Blessed are 
 the people whose hope the Lord is ; and who 
 can claim Him as their helper, their guide, 
 their guard, the strength of their heart, their 
 portion for ever — their shield, and their ex- 
 ceeding great rewa rd — " Say unto my soul, 1 
 am thy salvation." 
 
 " Fear not, Abram." But had Abram ex- 
 pressed any fear ? God seeth the state of the 
 mind. He knows the apprehensions which 
 his people feel, and are ashamed to utter ; and 
 he provides for their relief; and from the 
 remedy we may always infallibly infer the 
 disease. Abram feared the presence of evil 
 — Therefore says God, " I am thy shield." 
 And he feared the absence of good — and 
 therefore says God, "I am thy exceeding 
 great reward." But what is this to us? Every 
 thing. God is the same in all ages; and they 
 that be of faith are blessed with faithful 
 Abram. They also have their fears. But are 
 they exposed 1 Do they live in the midst of 
 dangers 1 Are they conscious of inability to 
 defend themselves 1 They are not defence- 
 less. Their defence is of God — Their defence 
 is God. He is interposed between them and 
 all evil — " I am thy shield" — a shield too 
 solid for any weapon to penetrate ; and so 
 capacious as to leave no valued and endeared 
 interest uncovered. The truth of this fact 
 constitutes their security ; but the belief of it 
 creates their confidence : and it should be 
 their concern to realize and apply it by faith ; 
 that their souls may dwell at ease, and be in 
 quiet from the fear of evil. 
 
 But do they feel not only dangers which 
 require a powerful preserver ; but exigences 
 which call for a munificent benefactor 1 Let 
 these exigences be as numerous and as great 
 as they may, their sufficiency is of God — " 1 
 am thy exceeding great reward." The 
 language of the Scripture is peculiarly strong 
 David does not say, the Lord enlightens ana 
 defends me ; but, the Lord is my light and my 
 salvation. Isaiah does not say, Thy God, thy 
 glorifier ; but Thy God, thy glory. And the 
 Lord does not say here, I will reward thee, 
 but I am thy reward. The meaning, however, 
 is not so much, I will recompense thee for 
 whatever thou doest for me ; as I will supply 
 
AUGUST 15. 
 
 2K 
 
 all thv need only in a way of condescension 
 ne calls these bestowments by a word which 
 would seem to intimate as if we deserved or 
 earned them. But we must not suffer his 
 glory to be injured by his goodness. A crea- 
 ture can never merit any thing from his crea- 
 tor. A sinner only deserves punishment A 
 Christian will acknowledge that he is not 
 worthy of the least of God's mercies — if a re- 
 ward be of grace, it is a free benefaction, 
 ♦ whatever service it may be connected with. 
 Hence the vastnese of the good — not only thy 
 reward, but thy great, thy exceeding great 
 reward ; surpassing all example, all repre- 
 sentation, all conception. We therefore never 
 need be afraid of the participation of others; 
 for there is enough, and to spare. And we 
 may give full scope to our own desires and 
 hopes. Whatever spiritual wisdom, or 
 strength, or comfort we need, we are com- 
 manded to ask and receive, that our joy may 
 be full. In temporal things too, we should re- 
 member that the silver and the gold are his. 
 We should learn, in whatsoever state we are, 
 therewith to be content ; assured that if any 
 wish be denied us, it is from wisdom in our 
 generous Friend, and not from a want of love 
 or a deficiency in his resources. Let us 
 honour him, by living on his fullness in the 
 failure of. every creature succour. When 
 Paulinus heard of the sacking of Nola by the 
 Goths, and the destruction of all his property, 
 he lifted up his eyes and said, " Thou knowest 
 where my treasure has long been." And 
 what says the Church 1 " Although the fig- 
 tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in 
 the vines ; the labour of the olive shall fail, 
 and the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock 
 shall be cut off" from the fold, and there shall be 
 no herd in the stalls : yet I will rejoice in the 
 Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." 
 Let us think of the full possession and en- 
 joyment of our supreme good. There is a 
 medium here between impatience and indif- 
 ference. When a Christian is in a proper 
 frame of mind, he will be content to live, if 
 the pleasure of God requires it; but he will 
 be ready to go. " What is my condition here, 
 but a vale of tears, a wilderness of briers and 
 thorns, an enemy's country ? I cannot pray 
 without distractions. 1 cannot sing without 
 some jarring notes. When I would do good 
 evil is present with me. How partial always, 
 and how often interrupted, is my communion 
 with God. How remotely do I now feel from 
 that state, in which we shall behold his face in 
 righteousness, and be for ever with the 
 rd"— 
 
 AUGUST 15. 
 
 *lf ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be 
 established." — Isaiah vii. 9. 
 
 This closes the address of Isaiah to Ahaz 
 and his people on a very interesting occasion. 
 
 It was this. Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, 
 king of Israel, had confederated together to 
 invade and destroy Judah. They had begun 
 their march, and were spreading desolation 
 and terror: and when Ahaz heard, " his heart 
 was moved, and the heart of his people, as the 
 trees of the wood are moved with the wind." 
 The figure is uncommonly expressive, and 
 shows the restlessness and bendings of their 
 minds under the violence of fear. Isaiah was 
 ordered to go and encourage him, not for his 
 own sake, for he was a very wicked prince, 
 but for the sake of the house of David. Two 
 things are observable. First, he was to take 
 along with him his son Shear-jashub. The 
 reason for this does not appear ; unless there 
 was a reference to the import of his name, 
 which signified, a remnant shall return. 
 Secondly, the very spot is specified where he 
 should meet Ahaz ; " At the end of the con- 
 duit of the upper pool in the high-way of the 
 Fullers' Field." Perhaps he was there to 
 order the water-works, so as to secure them 
 from the enemy ; or perhaps he was to be 
 there passing by accidentally. If so, we see 
 that occurrences and movements the most 
 minute and contingent with regard to us lie 
 open to God's view, and the greatest conse- 
 quences hinge upon them. 
 
 But what was he to say to him? "Take 
 heed, and be quiet ; fear not, neither be faint- 
 hearted for the two tails of these smoking fire 
 brands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with 
 Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because 
 Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have 
 taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let 
 us go up against Judah and vex it, and let us 
 make a breach therein for us, and set a king 
 in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal 
 thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, 
 neither shall it come to pass." Yea, the as- 
 surance goes on to announce not only that the 
 designs of these adversaries should be defeat- 
 ed, but that they themselves would be speedi- 
 ly destroyed. All this however, is closed 
 with a very significant reflection : " If ye 
 will not believe, surely ye shall not be estab- 
 lished." 
 
 This betrays an apprehension that the mes- 
 sage was not likely to be readily and firmly 
 credited — Such fools, and so slow of heart are 
 we to believe all that the prophets have 
 spoken ! It also shows that God does not re- 
 gard us as merely passive in religion. We are 
 not under his influence like timber under the 
 saw, the chisel, and plane, unconscious and 
 inactive. He does not work upon us, but in 
 us; and he works in us to will and to da 
 What he does for us, he does also by us. 
 Neither is his operation like the agency of a 
 charm, whose process no one can explain, and 
 during which the patient may as well sleep 
 as wake. If we are taught, we must under- 
 stand and receive : we are not carried, but 
 led into all truth. If he blesses us, he stirs ua 
 
at*} 
 
 AUGUST 16. 
 
 ap to value and seek after his favours ; and 
 the asking is as necessary as the giving — yea, 
 the one is the medium of the other. 
 
 It might seem here as if faith was in our 
 own power. It is not so in every respect; 
 and it is not so in any respect as to nature. 
 But what is impossible to nature is possible to 
 grace. Without Christ we can do nothing; 
 but through his strengthening of us we can do 
 all things. And therefore as his grace is 
 sufficient for us, and attainable by us, we are 
 commanded to be filled with the Spirit ; and 
 he said to Thomas, Be not faithless, but be- 
 lieving; and he said to his disciples, "Have 
 faith in God ;" and he upbraided them for 
 their unbelief. 
 
 But the principal thing is the essentiality 
 of faith to religious stability : " If ye will not 
 believe, surely ye shall not be established." 
 There are three kinds of stability in the 
 Christian life. A stability of judgment — This 
 refers to the truths of religion. A stability of 
 practice — This refers tothe duties of religion. 
 And a stability of hope — This refers to the 
 comforts of religion. Fach of these faith is 
 able to produce: but faith alone can produce 
 them. Let us reflect upon all this 
 
 And then we shall soon see enough to con- 
 demn and bewail in unbelief, not only as it 
 dishonours God, but as it robs the soul, and 
 leaves it stripped, wounded, and half dead ; 
 a prey to error, temptation, and grief. Who 
 can imagine the aggregate of the good which 
 it has prevented in our experience, ever 
 since we have known God, or rather, have 
 been known of him? Oh what characters 
 might we have been! — how firm, how free, 
 how happy, how useful, how ennobled ! And 
 what has kept us fcac'.: from all this honour? 
 " An evil heart of nnbenef, in departing from 
 the living God." Lord increase our faith. 
 
 AUGUST 16. 
 
 u We know that if rnir earthly house of this taber 
 nacle were dissolved, we have a building of 
 God, an house not made with hands eternal in 
 the heavens." — S* Cor. v. 1. 
 
 Some things in these words are very plain ; 
 others may involve a little difficulty. The 
 Apostle obviously intends the body when he 
 speaks of " the earthly house of this taber- 
 nacle :" and nothing can be a juster repre- 
 sentation of it. Man is not a machine ; or a 
 mere mass of organized matter. He has 
 something more than flesh and blood. There 
 is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the 
 Almighty giveth him understanding. What we 
 see is not the agent, but only the instrument ; 
 not the inhabitant, but the dwelling. The 
 body is called " an house" for its accommoda- 
 tion. The soul might have had another resi- 
 dence given it, and a very inferior one. In- 
 jured as the structure is :y sin, it has enough 
 
 of excellence yet in it to excite admiration, 
 and induce us to say, "I am fearfully and 
 wonderfully made." Galen, a physician 
 atheistically inclined, after examining the 
 body in the number, the perfection, and 
 the exquisite adaptation of all the parts, was 
 fully convinced of the being of God, and com- 
 posed a beautiful hymn to his praise. No 
 mechanism will bear a comparison with that 
 of the animal economy. It would be much 
 more reasonable to suppose that a watch made*- 
 itself, than that the eye, in which there are 
 such marks and proof of design and contri- 
 vance, should be the effect of chance. But it 
 is an "earthly" house — earthly in its com- 
 position ; earthly in its support ; earthly in its 
 destination — "Dust thou art," says the sen- 
 tence, and " unto dust shalt thou return." It 
 is the case not only with the body of the pea- 
 sant, but of the prince — " His breath goeth 
 forth, he returneth to his dust." And so it 
 must be with the relics of the most endeared 
 connexion. The beauty of Sarah, who had 
 endangered kings, was soon despoiled of its 
 charms, and after a wish, how natural ! to 
 keep even the lovely shrine a little longer, 
 Abraham was compelled to say, "Bury my 
 dead out of my sight" — So the bereaved go, 
 and inscribe over the grave of the once spark- 
 ling eye, and the once ruby lip, and the once 
 fascinating tongue — 
 
 " How lov'd, how valued once avails thee not, 
 To whom related or by whom begot: 
 A heap of dust alone remains of thee, 
 'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be"— 
 
 It is also the earthly house of this " taber- 
 nacle." This reminds us of its weakness, \ 
 frailty, and danger. A tabernacle, though 
 covered, has no foundation ; it has no naila 
 fastened in a sure place ; but pins and cords 
 instead; it is a movable, temporary, slender 
 abode, soon taken down, and easily destroyed 
 — The Apostle therefore speaks of its being 
 " dissolved." 
 
 But what means "a building of God, an 
 house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens 1" Some suppose that it is a descrip- 
 tion of the resurrection-body. The body, 
 when glorified, may well be thus expressed : 
 but the reference here is to something nearer, 
 something to be found at death, and enjoyed 
 before the revival of the body ; aswe see in the 
 verses immediately following. It is therefore 
 a representation of the blessed condition into 
 which the soul enters as soon as it leaves 
 " dull mortality behind." The Apostle would 
 intimate that the soul does not die with the 
 body. It does not resemble Job's sons ; when 
 the house fell with them, they were crushed 
 in the ruins ; but here, while the house is de- 
 stroyed, the resident escapes. The believer at 
 death is not like an ejected tenant, forced out 
 of his present dwelling without having another 
 provided to receive him. " I go," said Jesus. 
 " to prepare a place for you :" " where I am 
 
AUGUST 17. 
 
 267 
 
 there shall also my servant* be." This bless- 
 ed abode is characterized by four articles. 
 The first tells us that it is solid. It is not a 
 tabernacle, but "a building." The second 
 that it is reared by a divine agency. It is a 
 building "of God," and "not made with 
 hands." The third marks its permanence. It 
 is u eternal." The fourth shows its situation. 
 It is "in the heavens." We must arise and 
 depart hence to enjoy it 
 
 But here is a confidence expressed with 
 regard to it : " We know that if our earthly 
 house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we 
 have a building of God, an house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens." The 
 confidence is twofold : the confidence of faith 
 and the confidence of hope. The first regards 
 the reality of the thing. The belief of this 
 is necessary. Some deny it ; others doubt it : 
 but Christians know it This knowledge was 
 not possessed by the heathens. None of them 
 ever thought of the restoration of the body : 
 but many suppose that they believed in the 
 immortality of the soul. Yet what was their 
 belief? Did they ever teach the doctrine pub- 
 licly ? Did they ever reason from it as a prin- 
 ciple 1 Did they ever urge it as a motive in 
 their morals] They could not; they were 
 not convinced themselves. Seneca dared not 
 decide whether death destroyed the soul or 
 delivered it And he who, of all their phi- 
 losophers, spake the best upon the subject 
 left suspicions at death that his mind was not 
 satisfied. But as Paley says, among a thou- 
 sand conjectures one of them happened to be 
 right; and with them it was nothing better 
 thaji conjecture — they had no proof of the 
 thing itself: and if, as he justly adds, nothing 
 more is known in religion than is proved, 
 "life and immortality were brought to light 
 through the Gospel." Now every Christian, 
 however poor and illiterate, admits it as a 
 fact; and though he cannot evince the cer- 
 tainty of his belief, as many did in the first 
 ages, who suffered the loss of all things, yet he 
 acts upon it and in the whole course of the 
 religious life " walks by faith, and not by 
 sight" 
 
 There is also the confidence of hope. This 
 regards not the reality of the state onlv, but 
 our own claim to the possession of it " The 
 one of these does not necessarily produce the 
 other. How many, alas ! are there, who be- 
 lieve there is such a glorious state, who have 
 either no expectation of enjoying it, or an un- 
 founded one that will issue in the most dread- 
 ful disappointment They never, how strange ! 
 give themselves a moment's concern about it ; 
 though nothing can be of equal importance; 
 and they know it .' And know that if they do 
 not receive a happy immortality they must 
 endure a miserable one ; and thus the great- 
 est blessing will prove the greatest curse ! 
 
 Yet all the partakers of divine grace do not 
 •ossess this confidence equally. We read of 
 
 the full assurance of hope, which supposes 
 inferior degrees of it We may also observe 
 that no degree of it, however established, is 
 free from fluctuations- The confidence of 
 appropriation therefore, even in the Lord's 
 own people, is not so extensive as the confi- 
 dence of belief. Neither is it essential to 
 their safety — Yet how necessary is it to then- 
 comfort ! How desirable is it amidst the trou- 
 bles of life, and the growing infirmities of 
 nature, to know that " when the earthly house 
 of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, we shall 
 have a building of God, an house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens." "Say 
 unto my soul, I am thy salvation :" and " give 
 me a token for good." 
 
 What a question then arises here — " Who 
 shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, and 
 who shall dwell in his holy place!" The 
 best way to ascertain your tide to the inherit- 
 ance of the saints in light is, to look after 
 your meetness for it Your hope of the one 
 without the other is presumption and mad- 
 ness : for can you imagine that God wll bring 
 you into a condition which it is impossible for 
 you to fill or enjoy 1 But if he has prepared 
 you for the blessedness, be assured he has pre- 
 pared the blessedness for you. It is a holy 
 state — and if you now love holiness, it is a 
 state in which Christ is all in all — and if you 
 are now rejoicing in him as your portion. 
 " He that hath wrought you for the self-dame 
 thing is God, who hath also given you tho 
 earnest of the Spirit" 
 
 AUGUST 17. 
 
 " And Jesus went before them : and they wen 
 amazed; and, as they followed, they were 
 afraid." — Mark x. 32. 
 
 They were now, it is said, in the way going 
 up to Jerusalem, where he was to suffer and 
 die upon the cross, after enduring every kind 
 of insult and crueltyf But a circumstance is 
 added which is worthy of our attention — 
 "Jesus went before them: and they were 
 amazed; and, as they followed, they were 
 afraid." That this is not mentioned without 
 design may be inferred from the brevity of 
 the Evangelists. Had every thing pertaining 
 to the history of our Lord been recorded, the 
 world could not have contained the books 
 that would have been written. But when it 
 is necessary to comprise much in a little, a 
 writer, if wise, will introduce nothing that is 
 insignificant and uninteresting — The incident 
 therefore is mentioned to show how far he 
 was from being unwilling to advance to the 
 post of danger. The action intimates how 
 full of zeal and courage he was; and that in 
 the knowledge of all that lay before him he 
 was eager to engage in the conflict. Many 
 have vapoured away while the enemy was 
 not at hand : and the children of Ephraim, 
 carrying bows and spears, yet turned then 
 
268 
 
 AUGUST 18. 
 
 Dack in the day of battle — Such a difference 
 is there between an imaginary and a real, be- 
 tween a prospective and a present encounter. 
 But this distinction does not apply to him. He 
 who in the beginning said, " Lo, I come to do 
 thy will, O God, I delight to do thy will ; yea, 
 thy law is within my heart," could also say as 
 the scene approached, " I have a baptism to 
 be baptized with ; and how am I straitened 
 till it be accomplished !" and after adminis- 
 ter 'ng the memorials of his death, he arose 
 from the table, and said, "That the world 
 ir. jy know that I love the Father ; and as the 
 Father gave me commandment, even so I do. 
 Arise, let us go hence." Oh ! if we were as 
 willing to receive the blessings of his great 
 salvation as he was to procure them for us by 
 anguish and blood, we should all be able im 
 mediately to rejoice in him with joy unspeak 
 able and full of glory ! 
 
 At other times he seemed to give his dis- 
 ciples the precedence. When any advantage 
 was to be gained he followed them. It is an 
 honour and a privilege to preach the word 
 first in any place : and this privilege and 
 honour he conferred on his disciples; for he 
 sent them " before his face into every city and 
 place whither he himself should come." But 
 when the call was to suffer and die, he went 
 before them, to stimulate, encourage, and em 
 bolden them, by his own example — And who 
 would not follow where he leads the way? 
 How well may we glory in any fellowship 
 with him ! How fully may we be assured of 
 the goodness of the cause ! How confidently 
 may we reckon upon our succour and success ! 
 " Lord," by thy grace " I will follow thee 
 whithersoever thou goest." 
 
 But " they were amazed." It is not won- 
 derful that his disciples expressed so much 
 surprise, but so little: for things had never 
 been seen " on this fashion ;" and they were 
 every day in the midst of something peculiar, 
 remarkable, and even ntiraculous. But many 
 of their feelings are not recorded ; and what 
 is marvellous and extraordinary, by repetition 
 and continuance, becomes familiar, and ceases 
 to strike. The Jews, after a few weeks or 
 days, gathered the manna from heaven with 
 as little reflection as our rustics reap the corn, 
 and viewed the pillar of fire as thousands do 
 the sun, that is, without any surprise or one 
 thought of the agency of God ! — On this oc- 
 casion, perhaps they were amazed to see him 
 bo cheerful and ful of ardour, in view of so 
 menacing an expedition — Perhaps, indeed, at 
 the thought how he could suffer at all. No- 
 thing had ever occurred like it before. Many 
 had suffered; our earth had always been a 
 vale of tears ; but every sufferer before had 
 sinned — whereas he did no sin, did nothing 
 amiss, did all things well, and was " the only 
 begotten of the Father, full of grace and 
 truth." " If he suffers, where is Providence ? 
 Where is the God of judgment, if he is spit 
 
 upon, and scourged, and crucified ' We aiso 
 trusted that this was he which should have 
 redeemed Israel!" At present their know- 
 ledge was very limited and indistinct. They 
 resembled the blind man when half enlight- 
 ened, who " saw men as trees walking." 
 They were unable as yet to comprehend the 
 spirituality of his empire, the nature of his 
 salvation, and especially the giving his flesh 
 for the life of the world. They were in a 
 kind of dawn, and "the light was neither 
 dark nor clear." Their glimmerings and their 
 doubts kept them in a degree of surprise, con 
 jecture, and confusion, significant of the ex- 
 perience of many with regard to various 
 things which, all through life, keep them in 
 a sort of amazement. 
 
 Though he was ready, they were not so 
 forward ; they required drawing on — " And 
 as they followed, they were afraid." The 
 fear we conceive was not only or principally 
 on his behalf, but on their own — " If he is ap- 
 prehended and put to death, how shall we es- 
 cape? What will become of us?" As yet 
 they were not sufficiently mortified to the 
 world, and willing to deny themselves. They 
 preferred a whole skin to a scar. It was not 
 till the Holy Ghost was given that they were 
 able to rejoice and glory in tribulation. But 
 as their knowledge, and faith, and hope in- 
 creased, none of these things moved them, 
 neither counted they their lives dear. It was 
 enough that Christ was magnified in their 
 body, whether by life or by death. 
 
 Do we not here see how worthy the Scrip- 
 tures are of our confidence? How honestly 
 they report facts ! The writer of this Gospel 
 was himself one of those who appeared to so 
 little advantage on this occasion, compared 
 with their Lord and Master. Yet he makes 
 no scruple to tell us all their fears and faults, 
 regardless of consequences. Truth was his 
 only concern ; and his very manner com- 
 mends it to every man's conscience in the 
 sight of God. 
 
 AUGUST 18. 
 
 " Which entereth into that urithin the veil ; tohi- 
 tker the forerunner is for us entered, even 
 Jesus."— lieb. vi. 19, 20. 
 
 In the preceding words the Apostle speaks 
 of the Christian's hope. He likens it to an 
 anchor; and commends it as sure and sted- 
 fast. But the anchor to secure the vessel has 
 a place of holding, so has this hope. Yet 
 mark the resemblance and the difference be- 
 tween them ; for every image applied to spir- 
 itual purposes teaches both by comparison and 
 disparity. The anchor searches after some- 
 thing invisible ; it does not rest in the water, 
 but searches the bottom — and this hope re- 
 gards something beyond our sight. The an- 
 chor is cast downward — but this hope ascends 
 
AUGUST 19. 
 
 The anchor grasps the ground — but this hope 
 seizes something in heaven. What is it 1 It 
 is Jesus — " Whither the forerunner is for us 
 entered, even Jesus." 
 
 He is called, expressly called, " our hope," 
 and " the hope set before us." Every thing, 
 as perishing sinners, we need, is to be found 
 in him, and only in him : for " it hath pleased 
 the Father that in him should all fullness 
 dwell ;" and we are blessed " with all spirit- 
 ual blessings in heavenly places in him ;" and 
 he alone can encourage and justify our hope 
 — He is the only ground of it — There would 
 be no more hope for sinners than for devils 
 were it not for his incarnation and atonement, 
 who " took not on him the nature of angels, 
 but the seed of Abraham," and " was in all 
 points made like unto his brethren, that he 
 might be a merciful and faithful High Priest 
 in things pertaining to God, to make recon- 
 ciliation for the sins of the people." But 
 what are we not authorized to hope for when 
 .ve think of him, and thank God for his un- 
 speakable gift? "He that spared not his 
 own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 
 shall he not with him also freely give us all 
 things ]" 
 
 But the Apostle here particularly fixes our 
 hope upon him — as being within the veil — 
 and as having entered as our forerunner for us. 
 
 In truth, if our hope entered within the 
 veil, and found he had not entered there — it 
 would find nothing in heaven itself to fasten 
 upon, and must shrink back in despair. But 
 it is enough — it is every thing to find him 
 there. Then we see that he is in a condition 
 and a capacity to save and bless us ; and we 
 resemble Jacob, when he heard that Joseph 
 was alive, and lord of all the land of Egypt. 
 Then we also see that he has accomplished 
 his mediation on earth. He had taken our 
 place ; our iniquities were laid on him ; and 
 he became answerable for them as our surety. 
 But how could we know the ransom was 
 paid unless he was released ? We know he 
 died, but unless he is risen again, and gone 
 unto the Father, our faith is vain, and we are 
 yet in our sins. Therefore, says Peter, God 
 "raised him from the dead, and gave him 
 glory ; that our faith and hope might be in 
 God." For then we know that he has accom- 
 plished the work that was given him to do ; 
 that he has put away sin by the sacrifice of 
 himself; that he has made peace by the blood 
 of his cross ; and opened the kingdom of hea- 
 ven to all believers. 
 
 But there is an additional confirmation of 
 our hope in the character under which he en- 
 tered heaven. Enoch and Elias ascended to 
 heaven embodied ; but they entered for them- 
 selves ; and it did not follow because they en- 
 tered that we should enter also. We might 
 have inferred the possibility of our following 
 them, but not the certainty : they entered be- 
 fore us, but were not our forerunners — But 
 
 Jesus as "our forerunner entered br us." 
 There was a joy set before him ; and he wan 
 received up into glory ; and had a name given 
 him above every name : but the Apostle here 
 does not speak of his entering for himself, but 
 for us. Had a forerunner entered for him, it 
 would not have been so wonderful : but as if 
 we were the grand party, the forerunner is 
 for us — and he that forerunner himself! Now 
 this shows a connexion between his entering 
 and ours; and a relation of a peculiar kind ; 
 and containing nothing less tnan a pledge. A 
 forerunner was a harbinger, one that preceded 
 the rest, to awaken attention, to arrange 
 things for those behind, and to be in readinesa 
 to receive them v In other cases the forerun- 
 ner was inferior to the company for which he 
 acted. Thus John, the forerunner of the 
 Messiah, acknowledges that he was not wor 
 thy to stoop down and unloose the latchet of 
 his shoes. But here the forerunner is infi- 
 nitely the greatest, and the whole transaction 
 can only be resolved into the grace of oui 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who though he was rich, 
 for our sakes became poor, and made himself 
 of no reputation, but took upon him the form 
 of a servant. Oh ! wonder of wonders ! The 
 forerunner, the King of kings, and Lord ot 
 lords — Was ever such condescension display 
 ed ! The company represented and provided 
 for ; the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, 
 and the blind — Was ever such honour con- 
 ferred ! Yet such honour have all his saints. 
 Because it was expedient for them, he went 
 away ; and entering the holy place, he said, 
 " I am come — and all my people are coming 
 — I am come to prepare a place for them — 
 and where I am, there they shall be also." 
 
 AUGUST 19. 
 
 " And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.'" 
 Matt. xiv. 10. 
 
 John was pronounced by the Judge of all 
 to be greater than they who had been born 
 of women before him ; and to be more than a 
 prophet. He wrought indeed no miracle, but 
 he ushered in the Messiah; and baptized 
 him ; and proclaimed him to the multitude as 
 the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin 
 of the world ; and cheerfully said, He must 
 increase, but I must decrease. 
 
 Who can help grieving that this burning 
 and shining light should not have gone out 
 naturally, instead of being suddenly extin- 
 guished in full blaze? Yet so it has oftei 
 been. Many of the Lord's most eminent ser- 
 vants have been removed in the midst of their 
 days and usefulness — Perhaps to tell us that 
 his cause does not depend on any instru 
 ments, however necessary as well as desirable 
 they seem to us — but upon himself, who has 
 the residue of the Spirit. John not only died 
 early, but puffered a violent death. It was th« 
 
270 
 
 AUGUST 20. 
 
 consequence of his fidelity. Herod (the son 
 of Herod the Great) tetrarch of Galilee, a 
 dissolute prince, in his journey to Rome had 
 been entertained at the Court of his brother 
 Philip, tetrarch of Trachonitis. While there 
 he formed a criminal intrigue with his bro- 
 ther's wife. He was now living incestuously 
 with her in defiance of all shame, when John 
 ,iad an interview with him. John acquitted 
 Himself with unflinching integrity. He told 
 him that rank did not excuse crime, and that 
 kings are no more above law than their sub- 
 jects — " It is not lawful for thee to have her." 
 From that hour his doom was determined ; 
 and he was only spared for a season, from the 
 tyrant's fear of the people.. It is probable 
 however that Herud would not have put him 
 to death, had he been left to himself, for he 
 seems to have had a veneration for John. But 
 when a man has a mistress he is no longer 
 his own ; he is a servant, he is a slave — and 
 engaged in a course of iniquity, he proceeds 
 from evil to evil — and finds one sin necessary 
 to another. 
 
 Nothing can equal the revenge, the rest- 
 lessness, and the cunning of an imperious 
 whorish woman. With her, when there is a 
 will a way will soon follow. Herodias seizes 
 an opportunity for her foul purpose on the 
 king's birthday; she introduced her daughter 
 to dance — the dance it is presumed was what 
 they now call waltzing. It excited and 
 charmed Herod, "whereupon he promised 
 with an oath to give her whatsoever she 
 should ask. And she, being before instructed 
 of her mother, said, Give me here John Bap- 
 tist's head in a charger. And the king was 
 sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and 
 ihem which sat with him at meat, he com- 
 manded it to be given her." Not a person 
 present, male or female, interposed a word on 
 his behalf! The barbarous deed was done 
 without even the form of a trial ; done pri- 
 vately, and in prison ! When God shall make 
 inquisition for blood, and the earth shall no 
 more cover her slain, what scenes of horror 
 will be brought to light ! Perhaps John was 
 praying ; perhaps sleeping, when the execu- 
 tioner arrived — But he was ready for the 
 event, and the axe would only release him 
 into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 Yet the head, the veins bleeding, the hair 
 clotted with gore, the eyes all wan and half 
 opened, was brought in a charger, and given 
 to the damsel ; and she brought it to her mo- 
 ther, who, according to Josephus, stuck the 
 tongue full of needles — what tenderness and 
 delicacy — and yet these females had often af- 
 fected to tremble at the shaking of a leaf! 
 But there is no ground for general reflections 
 here. A virtuous woman need not feel her- 
 self dishonoured by wretches who have dis- 
 owned her sex, and renounced her very na- 
 ture. We do not think the worse of the elect 
 angels because some of their order, and cre- 
 
 ated at the same time with thern, became 
 devils. 
 
 Let us turn from the master to his disci 
 pies. Two things they did. " They took up 
 the body, and buried it." Whether his head 
 was returned for interment with his body, or 
 whether the ladies kept it for further enter- 
 tainment and insult, we know not : but doubt 
 less the disciples obtained it if they could. 
 Respect is due to the remains of God's ser- 
 vants. Stephen's corpse, stoned with such 
 malice and fury, must have been a dreadful 
 spectacle ; but devout men carried him to his 
 burial, and made great lamentation over him. 
 It is probable Zechariah and Elizabeth were 
 dead, and none of his other relations were at 
 hand ; but his disciples felt a deep interest in 
 him, and performed the last rite — It required 
 courage thus to espouse and honour one the 
 king had first imprisoned and now slain : hut 
 perfect love casteth out fear. 
 
 Again. " They went and told Jesus." He 
 needed not the information, but they did right 
 to lay the sorrowful case before him : it was 
 their duty; it was their privilege. While 
 John was living, these disciples were jealous 
 and envious of his successor and superior ; 
 and were much concerned to keep up a sepa- 
 rate interest. But they have now dropped 
 their prejudices and strife ; and are willing 
 to go over to him, and become his followers. 
 And thus we already see their loss turned 
 into gain. Whatever brings us to him is a 
 blessing. 
 
 AUGUST 20. 
 
 " Blessed is the man that walketh not in the coun- 
 sel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of 
 sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 
 But his delight is in the law of the Lord ; and 
 in his law doth he meditate day and night." — 
 Psolin i. 1, 2. 
 
 Happiness is "our nature's end and aim." 
 All seek it : and David here tells us whe 
 finds it. To prevent mistake, and to secure 
 impression, he describes his character nega- 
 tively and positively. 
 
 First, he says, "Blessed is the man that 
 walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, 
 nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth 
 in the seat of the scornful." Here we see 
 not only continuance but progression. Ac 
 cordingly not only the Scripture, but all ob- 
 servation shows us that the wicked proceed 
 from evil to evil, and wax worse and worse. 
 One sin often pleads for another, and often 
 renders another necessary, either for the pur- 
 pose of assistance or concealment: while 
 every fresh act of transgression weakens the 
 restraints of fear and shame, and adds to the 
 force of habit. — The sinner's course is here 
 accurately traced. He begins with evil com- 
 pany, and is flattered by their maxims, ex 
 cited by their entreaties, encouraged by their 
 
commendations, and emboldened by their ex- 
 ample — " He walks in the counsel of the un- 
 godly." Evil communications corrupt good 
 manners. Bad principles lead to bad prac- 
 tice ; and having tampered with danger, he 
 exposes himself to temptation, and by his 
 heedlessness and position even invites it — 
 " He stands in the way of sinners." At last 
 ite feels a comparative rest from those unea- 
 sinesses of conscience and doubts of mind 
 that once frequently disturbed him, and can 
 scoff as well as sin, reviling the good, and 
 mocking at tilings sacred — "Thus he sits 
 in the seat of the scornful." He who has 
 reached this distance may judge of his pro- 
 gress; he may see how far he has gone, 
 and how far he has to go — which indeed is 
 very little ; for " the scorner's chair," says 
 old divinity, " is placed very near the door of 
 hell." 
 
 " But all this is negative." And in a world 
 like this, and with such a nature as ours, no 
 small part of religion consists in avoiding that 
 which is evil All the Ten Commandments 
 are prohibitory with the exception of two. 
 " Honour thy father and mother" — this is pos- 
 itive. And " Remember to keep holy the Sab- 
 bath day" — this is positive — yet a part, even 
 of this command, is interdictory : but all the 
 other mandates tell us what we are not to do : 
 and " God having raised up his own Son, sent 
 him to bless us, by turning away every one 
 of us from our iniquities." But negative re- 
 ligion is not sufficient "Cease to do evil, 
 and learn to do iceZZ," is the requisition of 
 that God who not only forbears to punish, but 
 enriches and dignifies ; who not only saves 
 from hell, but exalts to heaven. The tree that 
 was ordered to be cut down and cast into the 
 fire brought forth no good fruit : and the ser- 
 vant that was condemned to outer darkness 
 was wicked because unprofitable. A man may 
 not swear, but does he pray? He may not 
 rob the poor, but does he relieve them ? 
 We are to be zealous of good works. There- 
 fore, 
 
 Secondly, he says — " But his delight is in 
 the law of the Lord : and in his law doth he 
 meditate day and night" If the law here 
 spoken of be what we call the moral law, it 
 is true, that every partaker of Divine grace, 
 with Paul, delights in it How indeed can 
 it be otherwise ! since the essence, the whole 
 of it is to love ; to love God supremely, and 
 his neighbours as himself. But it here means 
 the word of God. It is called his law because 
 it is "not opinion, counsel, or advice, but the 
 will of God, from which lies no appeal, and 
 the authority of whose decisions the day of 
 judgment will ratify. David could here speak 
 From his own sentiments and feelings. There 
 is nothing in which he seems to have found 
 bo much delight as in the Scripture. " I re- 
 joice at thy word," says he, " as one that find- 
 eth freat spoil." "Thy testimonies are the 
 
 AUGUST 21. 271 
 
 rejoicing of my heart" "1 love them ex- 
 ceedingly." "More to be desired are they 
 than gold, yea, than much fine gold : sweeter 
 also than honey and the honeycomb." Yet Da- 
 vid had but a small portion of revelation. How 
 much has been added since! No wonder, 
 therefore, that every believer is distinguished 
 by his attachment to this blessed volume 
 What renders it so attractive is, that it meets 
 him with discoveries, promises, invitations, 
 suited to all his wants. As lost, he is here in- 
 formed of a Saviour, and a great one. As 
 guilty and weak, he here finds righteousness 
 and strength. As having nothing, he is here 
 replenished with all the unsearchable riches 
 of Christ His experience, also, as he ad- 
 vances in the divine life, adds to its precious- 
 ness. He has tried it in every condition ; it 
 has often relieved his fears, refreshed his 
 weary spirit, revived him in the midst of 
 trouble; and he can say to the praise of 
 its glory, " Unless thy law had been my 
 delight, I should have perished in mine afflic- 
 tion." 
 
 Hence, in this " law he meditates day and 
 night." It is the peculiar, yet common sub- 
 ject of his thoughts. He not only sets apart 
 frequent seasons for the more express per- 
 formance of the duty, but his mind naturally, 
 and readily and pleasingly returns to the ex- 
 ercise, whenever it is disengaged. For the 
 thoughts follow the affections. Where the 
 treasure is, there will the heart be also. If my 
 meditation be sweet it will be frequent ; and I 
 shall be able to say, " How precious are thy 
 thoughts unto me, O God ! how great is the 
 sum of them ! If I should count them, they are 
 more in number than the sand : when I awake, 
 I am still with thee." 
 
 AUGUST 21. 
 
 u Little children."— 1 John ii. 12. 
 
 This is a mode of address which, if not en- 
 tirely peculiar to our Apostle, is employed by 
 him with such frequency, that it may be of 
 use to inquire what he would imply or express 
 by the appellation. When you meet with it, 
 therefore, remember that it may intimate four 
 things. 
 
 First, his advanced age. He had now " the 
 hoary head :" and it was " a crown of glory," 
 because it was " found in the way of righte- 
 ousness." 
 
 Secondly, the affectionateness of hie dispo- 
 sition. He was not only " the beloved," but 
 " the loving" disciple : and seems to have im- 
 bibed very largely of the spirit of him on 
 whose bosom he leaned. It would be well if 
 all who are engaged in the sacred office, were 
 distinguished by more of " the meekness and 
 gentleness of Jesus Christ" Instead of in- 
 sulting, scolding, and menacing, it would be 
 better for love's sake to entreat, and endea 
 vour to win. Indeed, there is no gaining the 
 
Z72 
 
 AUGUST 22. 
 
 heart any other way. T t cannot be forced — 
 but it may be won — and " he that winneth 
 Bouls is wise." This was the original method 
 — " We were gentle among you, even is a 
 nurse cherisheth her children : so being affec- 
 tionately desirous of you, we were willing to 
 have imparted unto you, not the Gospel of 
 God only, but also our own souls, because ye 
 were dear unto u&" 
 
 Thirdly, the effect of his usefulness. Many 
 of them were his converts. He had begotten 
 them through the Gospel ; and he regarded 
 them as his spiritual progeny : the most im- 
 portant and interesting of all offspring. Such 
 children are indeed a heritage of the Lord — 
 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of 
 them : he shall not be ashamed, but shall 
 speak with the enemy in the gate. 
 
 Fourthly, the character they were to dis- 
 play. He would have them resemble the 
 qualities of little children. He would have 
 them receive the kingdom of God like little 
 children, who implicitly confide in their Fa- 
 ther's declarations. He would have them, like 
 little children, to depend on their father's care 
 to provide for them : and be free from all 
 anxiety and fear. In malice he would have 
 them children retaining no resentments, and 
 if angry easily pacified. He would have them 
 free from pride and disdain; condescending 
 to men of low estate, not ambitious and 
 worldly minded. 
 
 Whatever we may think of these things, 
 we know how they are regarded by the Judge 
 of all. " The disciples came unto Jesus, say- 
 ing, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of 
 heaven ? And Jesus called a little child unto 
 him, and set him in the midst of them, and 
 said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be con- 
 verted, and become as little children, ye shall 
 not enter into the kingdom of heaven." From 
 this Divine decision it is first obvious — that 
 these attributes are not natural to us, but the 
 effect of conversion ; we become such. And 
 secondly — that the change producing them is 
 indispensably necessary to our hope; for ex- 
 cept we be converted, and become as little 
 children, we shall not enter the kingdom of 
 heaven — We are without title and without 
 preparation, and as the same authority tells 
 us in another passage, "we cannot see the 
 kingdom of God." 
 
 The conformity, however, is not to be uni- 
 versal. You are not to " be children in un- 
 derstanding," but " full grown men." You 
 are to be " no more children, tossed to and 
 fro, and carried about with every wind of 
 doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning 
 craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to de- 
 ceive." Little children are fond of trifles, and 
 will cry and fight for toys — But, says the 
 Apostle, it shall not be so among you — " Lit- 
 tle children, keep yourselves from idols. 
 Amen." 
 
 AUGUST 22. 
 
 " David served his own generation by the will of 
 God." — Acts xiii. 36. 
 
 Example has a thousand advantages over 
 every other mode of tuition. Hence God — 
 for none teacheth like him — has filled his 
 word, not by documents and dissertations, but 
 facts ; and spreading before us the lives and 
 actions of men, commands us not to be sloth- 
 ful, but followers of them, who, through faith 
 and patience, inherit the promises. 
 
 We have here a noble testimony concern- 
 ing David. In his early days he was in ob- 
 scurity, being the son of a plain yeoman, in 
 the village of Bethlehem, and employed in 
 the humble occupation of a shepherd. But he 
 was soon called to expose himself in the field 
 of battle, and obtained for his countrymen an 
 easy victory, by killing the wonder and ter- 
 ror of the age. After this — for as he rose he 
 suffered — we find him in exile, under the per- 
 secutions of Saul, wandering and hiding him- 
 self in wildernesses for his safety, and hunted 
 like a partridge upon the mountains. At 
 length, through much tribulation, he entered 
 his kingdom, and was crowned, first over Ju- 
 dah, and then over all Israel. But after dis- 
 tinguishing himself as a warrior, and a ruler, 
 he was compelled by the rebellion of Absalom 
 to leave his palace and his capital, and ascend, 
 weeping and barefooted, the Mount of Olives, 
 where his son, and his Lord the Messiah, 
 ages after, agonized and triumphed. Then 
 we find him re-established in more power and 
 authority than ever, and reigning in safety, 
 peace, and honour — and at last we find him 
 anxious to build a temple for the name of the 
 Lord, amassing an abundance of materials, 
 and sparing no expense ; so that he could say, 
 " The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." 
 From this glance at his life, we see that it 
 was very eventful and singularly diversified. 
 But in every period, and in every relation, 
 and in every scene, he displayed principles 
 and dispositions which rendered him not only 
 civilly, but morally and religiously useful. In 
 youth ; in manhood ; in obscurity ; in splen- 
 dour ; in adversity; in prosperity; by his 
 wealth ; by his power ; by his authority ; by 
 his wisdom ; by his inspiration as a prophet ; 
 by his genius as a poet and a musician ; in all 
 his resources he constantly served his gene- 
 ration. 
 
 But he also served his oion generation. Not 
 indeed exclusively ; for he has served every 
 generation since. He is now serving" the 
 present. Christians now living bless God for 
 his writings. Who has not found in them a 
 treasury of experience 1 a flame at which he 
 has often lighted his torch? -a harp that has 
 often driven away his evil spirit? There are 
 some who not only serve their own age, but 
 lew a tax of admiration and gratitude upop 
 
AUGUST 23. 
 
 273 
 
 every future one. Such were the reformers. 
 Sucli were Luther, and Calvin, and Knox, and 
 otheft. And nothing can be more unjust than 
 to censure these men who did so much, be- 
 cause they did no more; or diminish their 
 fame by reoroaching them with a few faults, 
 which were rather the errors of the times 
 than of the men. Such were those patriots 
 who resisted unto blood striving against sin, 
 and procured for us the invaluable blessings 
 of civil and religious freedom. Such were 
 the translators who gave us the original 
 Scriptures in English. Such have been the 
 writers who have defended the truth of the 
 Gospel, and furnished materials for private 
 and domestic devotion. How useful is Watts, 
 even now, by his Psalms and Hymns, in which 
 millions bless God; and by his songs for chil- 
 dren, which out of the mouths of babes and 
 sucklings perfect praise ! No man indeed 
 knows how any good he does may be perpetu- 
 ated and enlarged. 
 
 But if we cannot serve other generations 
 let us serve cur own. Some strain too much 
 after distant objects, and overlook what is im- 
 mediately before them. Some leave large 
 sums when they die — they had better be their 
 own executors, and see and enjoy the applica- 
 tion of their own liberality. They had better 
 convince the world that they act from choice ; 
 for at death they can retain nothing, but must 
 part with all they possess. The endowments 
 bequeathed by many of our good forefathers 
 have operated rather injuriously than other- 
 wise ; retaining the support of error in some 
 places of worship, and relaxing the zeal and 
 generosity of congregations in others ; for 
 people have an amazing keenness in perceiv- 
 ing when their assistance is not wanting. 
 The cause of the poor and the cause of God 
 will be hereafter committed to others; they 
 are now intrusted to us ; let nothing draw us 
 off from present duty. 
 
 He also served his own generation by the 
 will of God. Nothing comes by chance in our 
 affairs. The Lord determines the bounds of 
 our Habitations, appoints us our stations and 
 offices, and assigns us our talents and oppor- 
 tunities. How obviously was it his pleasure 
 that David should be what and where he was. 
 [t was all without his design or thought. And 
 therefore when Saul's courtiers reproached 
 him that he was a restless ambitious youth, 
 who, dissatisfied with a private condition, 
 Bought to work himself into notice and emi- 
 nence , he could appeal and say, " Lord, my 
 heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty : 
 ^neither do I exercise myself in great matters, 
 >r in things too high for me. Surely I have 
 behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is 
 weaned of its mother : my soul is even as 
 a weaned child." Others too, without any 
 purpose on the part of their friends or their 
 own, have been laid hold of by the hand of 
 Providence, and conducted forward so as to 
 18 
 
 exemplify the promise "I will bring the blind 
 by a way that they knew not: I will lead 
 them in paths that they have not known : I 
 will make darkness light before them, and 
 crooked things straight." 
 
 But it was not only by his providential wih 
 that David served his own generation, but 
 also by his revealed will. This he made the 
 rule of his conduct. "Lead me," said he, "in 
 thy truth, and guide me, for thou art the God 
 of my salvation, on thee do I wait all the day" 
 — like a servant, to receive and obey the or- 
 ders of his master. We must not follow our 
 own fancies, or do that which is most agreea- 
 ble to our feelings ; but what God requires of 
 us. For this purpose we must repair to his 
 holy oracles, and ask, " Lord what wilt thou 
 have me to do 1" A woman is not to usurp 
 authority, and to teach in the church. A man 
 is not to assume the office of the magistrate 
 under a notion that he could discharge it bet- 
 ter, if a village preacher on the Sabbath 
 leaves his own family without control and 
 without instruction, he may be serving his 
 own generation, but not according to the will 
 of God. God enjoins us to abide in our own 
 callings. If we step aside from them, we may 
 be useful; but the effect is often equivocal, 
 the good is more than counterbalanced by the 
 evil arising from the violation of order, and 
 God asks who hath required this at your hand ! 
 
 Let this example induce our imitation. We 
 all have it in our power to be useful ; and kt 
 us see to it, that we decline not doing what 
 we can, because we cannot do what we 
 would. Let us immediately and earnestly 
 call into action whatever influence we pos- 
 sess, to serve our own generation by the wil] 
 of God. Our generation serves us. None of 
 us liveth to himself. All the endowments 
 conferred upon us look beyond ourselves : and 
 as good stewards, we are to minister the 
 manifold grace of God. It is as much our 
 privilege as our duty. It enthrones us in the 
 esteem of our fellow-creatures, and with such 
 sacrifices God is well pleased. When a 
 Christian comes to die, he must be humble 
 in looking back upon his imperfections : but 
 he will have reason to be thankful, if by the 
 grace of God he hopes that he has not wholly 
 lived in vain. I, said the learned Dr. Donne 
 to his friends when dying, I repent of all my 
 life, but the part of it I have spent in commu- 
 nion with God, and doing good to men 
 
 AUGUST 23. 
 
 " And he said, Draw not nigh hither, put off thy 
 shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon 
 thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, 
 I am the God of thy father, the God of Abra- 
 ham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." 
 — Exod. iii. 5, 6. 
 This address of God to Moses contains 
 
 an admonition to restrain and regula f .e him ; 
 
274 
 
 AUGUST 23. 
 
 md an assurance to estab.idi and encourage 
 him. 
 
 The admonition may he understood and 
 improved as a check to vain curiosity. Here 
 was much to excite the notice and surprise 
 of Moses. The bush was burning, but he saw 
 no fire near it, or lightning from heaven to 
 kindle it. He also saw what was more un- 
 accountable still, that though it kept flaming, 
 not a spray or a leaf was consumed. It does 
 not therefore appear wonderful, that he should 
 have been tempted to turn aside to see this 
 great sight. Yet it would seem he was not 
 free from blame. He should have been satis- 
 fied with the prodigy, and have waited in 
 adoration the development of the design : but 
 he was learned in all the wisdom of the 
 Egyptians, and wanted perhaps philosophi- 
 cally and speculatively to explore " Why it 
 was not burned." And therefore the voice 
 cries to him, " Draw not nigh hither." This 
 curious desire of knowing things that do not 
 concern us, is too natural to all. But we 
 should endeavour to repress it rather than in- 
 crease it by indulgence. In the common 
 affairs of life, and the concerns of our fellow- 
 creatures, it is an impertinent, troublesome, 
 offensive disposition, and is sure to fix upon a 
 person in time the odious character " of a tat- 
 tler and a busy body in other men's matters." 
 But it is yet more to be guarded against in 
 religious affairs. Nothing can be more incon- 
 sistent with, and injurious to, that spirit of 
 childlike submission which a Christian is to 
 cherish. We have no time in the concerns 
 of our souls for nice and useless speculation. 
 One thing is needful, and whatever draws us 
 off from this, even if it be something true 
 and good in itself, will be an error and an evil 
 to us. The grand principles of the Gospel 
 are few and plain ; and they are always held 
 . forth in their practical bearings, and no fur- 
 ther. "The secret things belong unto the 
 Lord our God: but those things which are 
 revealed belong unto us and to our children 
 for ever ; that we may do all the words of 
 this law." Let us therefore be satisfied with 
 the words the Holy Ghost useth, without re- 
 quiring human definitions of them. Let us 
 improve the parts of the Scripture as they lie 
 before us, without systematizing them. Let 
 us distinguish between the uses and the es- 
 sences of the subjects the Gospel reports. Let 
 us take the religion of the facts, and leave the 
 philosophy. When the man asked, " Are 
 there few that be saved 1" did our Lord re- 
 buke or gratify the inquirer? When even 
 his disciples asked, "Wilt thou at this time 
 again restore the kingdom to Israeli" did 
 he not answer, " It is not for you to know the 
 times or the seasons, which the Father hath 
 put in his own power?" In all such cases 
 did he not invariably say, " Draw not nigh 
 hither!" 
 The admonition would also remind us of 
 
 the humility and awe with which we should 
 approach where God is. And in all our wor- 
 ship we come before him. Outward tokens I 
 of respect and reverence vary in different 
 ages and countries. In the East, unshoeing 
 of the feet was the same as uncovering the 
 head with us ; and Solomoi. refers to it when 
 he says, " Keep thy foot when thou goest to 
 the house of God." The act enjoins the 
 principle which it is intended to express and 
 cherish. Bodily exercise profiteth little ; but 
 we are complex beings, and we are to honour 
 God in our bodies as well as in our spirits. 
 Holiness becometh his house for ever. God 
 will be sanctified in all that come nigh him. 
 He is greatly to be feared in the assembly of 
 the saints — " Put off thy shoes from oft' thy 
 feet, for the place whereon thou standest is 
 holy ground." 
 
 But what says the assurance ? "I am the 
 God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the 
 God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God 
 has always bestowed his favours in a way 
 which showed a regard for righteousness : he 
 often therefore did good to some for the sake 
 of others : and thus men were prepared to 
 regard the importance of the Messiah, in 
 whom all the families of the eavth were to 
 be blessed. When the Assyrians were press- 
 ing Jerusalem, " I will deliver it," says God, 
 " for my servant David's sake." When Job's 
 three friends had offended God by their im- 
 proper speeches, God said to them, " Take 
 unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, 
 and go to my servant Job, and offer up for 
 yourselves a burnt-offering ; and my servant 
 Job shall pray for you : for him will I accept : 
 lest I deal with you after your folly." How 
 often does he express himself, in addressing 
 the Jews, as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob, because the covenant made with them 
 was for their descendants: therefore, says 
 Moses, " Only the Lord had a delight in thy 
 fathers to love them, and he chose their seed 
 after them, even you above all people, as it is 
 this day." "Not for thy righteousness, or for 
 the uprightness of thine heart dost thou go t ; 
 possess their land ; but that he may perform 
 the word which the Lord sware unto thy fa- 
 thers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." But the 
 better covenant, of which all the spiritua. 
 Israel shall glory, was made with One whe 
 was before Abraham, whose goings forth were 
 from of old, from everlasting : and they are 
 blessed " with all spiritual blessings in hea- 
 venly places in Christ" Hence in the New 
 Testament the language is changed, and wc 
 are constantly reminded of " the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Surely even at this early period a future 
 state was not unknown. When God said to 
 Abraham, " I am thy* shield, and thy exceed- 
 ing great reward ; I will be a God to thee ;" 
 he must have referred to something beyond 
 the present life; how else was it fulfilled* 
 
AUGUST 24. 
 
 275 
 
 Accordingly the Apostle tells us that Abra- 
 ham " sojourned in the land of promise, as in 
 a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles 
 with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of 
 the same promise: for he looked for a city 
 which hath foundations, whose builder and 
 maker is God." Yea, says he, " These all 
 died in faith, not having received the prom- 
 ises, but having seen them afar off, and were 
 persuaded of them, and embraced them, and 
 confessed that they were strangers and pil- 
 grims on the earth. For they that say such 
 things "declare plainly that they seek a coun- 
 try. And truly, if they had been mindful of 
 that country from whence they came out, 
 they might have had opportunity to have re- 
 turned. But now they desire a better country, 
 that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not 
 ashamed to be called their God : for he hath 
 prepared for them a city." And hear how 
 our Saviour argues with the Sadducees : 
 " Now that the dead are raised, even Moses 
 showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord 
 the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, 
 and the God of Jacob." The relation was 
 even then existing, though their flesh had 
 Been corruption. Our Lord therefore applies 
 it not only to prove an intermediate state, but 
 also the resurrection of the dead : " For he 
 is nnt the God of the dead, but of the living : 
 for all live unto him ;" now, as to their 
 spirits ; and hereafter, as to their bodies : for 
 purpose and accomplishment are the same 
 with him. 
 
 Let us apply this to our own case. Have 
 we been bereaved of pious connexions 1 The 
 relation between them and their God and our 
 God remains the same. Where now are 
 their dear spirits? With himself in glorv. 
 Where are their dear bodies? Sleeping in 
 the grave. But his covenant is with their 
 dust : and the inviolable union into which he 
 has entered with them, assures thee — thy 
 brother — thy child — thy mother shall rise 
 again. We shall be, we are still one with 
 him and with each other — 
 
 "The saints below and all the dead, 
 But one communion make ; 
 All join in Christ their living head, 
 And of his grace partake." 
 
 AUGUST 24. 
 
 ■ Renew a right spirit within me" — Psalm li. 10. 
 
 This Psalm will always show the reality 
 and decree of the author's repentance ; and 
 will afford sentiments and language peculi- 
 arly suited to the sinner in his conversion to 
 God at first ; and to the believer, in his re- 
 turn after any departure from him through life. 
 
 The words which we have read, speak of 
 ■ u a right spirit." " A right spirit" is such a 
 spirit as God requires, and takes pleasure in ; 
 and such a spirit as becomes the condition of 
 ♦hose who profess to be his followers. It 
 
 would be easy to prove that such a spirit 
 must — be a spirit of faith and trust: a spirit 
 of contrition and humility : a spirit of thank- 
 fulness : a spirit of love : a spirit of patience 
 and submission : a spirit of zeal : and a spirit 
 of firmness and constancy. Such is the spirit 
 produced in all the subjects of divine grace. 
 
 But this right spirit may be injured and 
 reduced. We see this was the case with 
 David in consequence of his fall ; and it was 
 in a measure the case with him before ; for 
 we read of his " first ways ;" and the words 
 intimate that these were in some respects his 
 best Hezekiah, after his two great deliver- 
 ances, which he felt so much at the time, 
 " rendered not again according to the benefit 
 done unto him; for his heart was lifted up." 
 Jeremiah was to cry in the ears of Jerusalem, 
 " Thus saith the Lord ; I remember thee, the 
 kindness of thy youth, the love of thine es- 
 pousals, when thou wentest after me in the 
 wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Is- 
 rael was holiness unto the Lord, and the first- 
 fruits of his increase." The church of Ephe- 
 sus had left her "first love," and is called 
 upon to remember from whence she was 
 " fallen," and to do her " first works." Hence 
 we have so many cautions and admonitions 
 against declension in religion. And when 
 we consider how adverse every thing within 
 us and without us is to our better principles, 
 and how the enemy of our souls employs all 
 his devices to injure them, we need not won- 
 der at the frequency of our hindrances and 
 declinings. The defections sometimes appear 
 in gross falls : but let us not think too well 
 of ourselves if we have been preserved from 
 these, or suppose that backsliding consists 
 only in foul and outward misconduct. There 
 is " the backslider in heart," as well as the 
 backslider in life; and while we stand fair 
 with our fellow Christians and our ministers, 
 we may have much to lament before God in 
 the loss of that spirituality, and fervour, and 
 confidence, and delight in ordinances which 
 once distinguished our experience. 
 
 We also see that it is necessary when it 
 is impaired to have it renovated. Nothing is 
 right in religion if" the heart" be not "right 
 with God ;" and, therefore, says Solomon, 
 " Keep thine heart with all diliarence, for out 
 of it are the issues of life." We may go on 
 in the performance of duty, but if " the right 
 spirit" be wanting, the mere action is of little 
 worth. The Lord looketh to the heart. Two 
 donors may give alms ; one from a principle 
 of charity, the other from vanity : two attend- 
 ants may repair to the same sanctuary, the 
 one to seek and serve the Lord, the other, 
 led only by custom or curiosity: but how 
 differently do they appear in the view of 
 God, and how differently are they regarded 
 by him ! We act in the same manner towards 
 our fellow-creatures as far as our knowledge 
 extends. In what they do for us, we are af 
 
276 
 
 AUGUST 25. 
 
 fected by our apprehension of the spirit with 
 which they are influenced. If we think the 
 favour conferred be from esteet n, or love, or 
 gratitude, we prize it, however small ; while, 
 if it appears to originate in selfish design, we 
 cannot value it, however great. But the want 
 of a right spirit affects our comfort as well as 
 our duty. We consider it an unfavourable 
 sign in some professors, that they are so lively 
 and cheerful. We should have much more 
 hope concerning them if they felt fear and 
 distress : we are sure that if they belonged 
 to God, he would reprove them in their de- 
 fective walk, and improper temper, and hide 
 his face from them till they acknowledged 
 their offence. A Christian may get into a 
 wrong spirit, but how differently does he feel ! 
 What a loss of peace and satisfaction does he 
 sustain ! How is his communion with God in- 
 terrupted ! and his delight in devotion dead- 
 ened! He becomes also fretful with regard 
 to others : fretfulness is generally the offspring 
 of guilty sensation, arising from some neglect 
 or misdoing. Then, uneasy within, we are 
 pleased at nothing without ; and so storm in 
 passion, or ooze in peevishness, like a con- 
 tinued dropping in a rainy day. We are 
 never happy but as we have a right spirit 
 within us. 
 
 But we here learn that when it is impair- 
 ed it is God alone who can renew it. He 
 giveth more grace : he is the God of all grace. 
 As he begins so he carries on the good work. 
 He strengthens that which he has wrought in 
 us : he perfects that which concerns us. 
 
 And therefore, lastly, we must go to him 
 for this purpose, and pray, as David did, " Re- 
 new a right spirit within me." A life of de- 
 pendence must be a life of application. A 
 religion of grace must be a religion of sup- 
 plication. If I want certain things, and must 
 be supplied, and cannot derive them from 
 myself, I shall surely repair to him who is 
 able and willing to succour me — especially 
 if the exercise itself exerts an influence 
 every way conducive to the revival and in- 
 crease of religious principle ; and this is the 
 case with prayer ; and if he has established 
 it as the medium of his communications, and 
 said, " For all these things will I be inquired 
 of;" and if he has pledged himself that we 
 shall not call upon him in vain. And is not 
 this his own promise, " Ask, and it shall be 
 given you ; seek, and ye shall find 1" " O 
 thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all 
 flesh come." 
 
 AUGUST 25. 
 * The revelation of Jesus Christ." — 1 Pet. i. 13. 
 
 The display of him is every thing. Be it 
 therefore observed that " the revelation" of 
 him is fourfold : and though the last of these 
 manifestations be here intended, all of them 
 
 may be properly and usefully noticed in tneir 
 order. 
 
 The first revelation of him we call scrip- 
 tural. This began very early, even in Para 
 dise. There the Sun of Righteousness dawn- 
 ed, and from thence shone more and more 
 unto the perfect day. He was announced ae 
 the seed of the woman, and the bruiser of the 
 serpent's head — Then, as the seed of Abra- 
 ham, in whom all the families of the earth 
 were to be blessed — Then, as the Shiloh of 
 Judah, to whom the gathering of the people 
 should be — Then, as the Son of David, and 
 his Lord. Of him, Moses, in the Law, and 
 the Prophets, did write. He was held forth 
 not only in words but types. He was seen in 
 Moses as a prophet, in Aaron as a priest, in 
 Joshua as a conqueror, in Solomon as the 
 Prince of Peace, in Jonah as dying and rising 
 again. Every bleeding sacrifice expressed 
 him as an offering for sin ; the manna from 
 heaven, and the water from the rock, as the 
 bread and water of life ; the tabernacle and 
 temple, as the residence of the divinity, in 
 whom dwelt all the fullness of the godhead 
 bodily. This exhibition of him may be liken- 
 ed to a perfect portraiture of a most distin- 
 guished and endeared personage, at full 
 length, rolled up on the side of a room, and 
 which the owner gradually opens to the be- 
 holders, till the whole figure stands disclosed 
 — So God gradually revealed the Desire of 
 all nations, while his delighted and wondering 
 church exclaimed "He is fairer than the 
 children of men" — "yea, he is altogether 
 lovely." 
 
 The second revelation of him is incarnate. 
 " God was manifest in the flesh." " For this 
 purpose the Son of God was manifested, that 
 he should destroy the works of the devil." 
 " We know that he was manifested to take 
 away our sins, and in him was no sin." Thus 
 he was not only declared, but perceived. He 
 appeared not in vision, but in person. Not 
 tremendously, as in the giving of the Iaw, 
 when even Moses said, " I exceedingly fear 
 and quake;" but familiarly, "clothed in n 
 body like our own." Not transiently, as when 
 he paid visits to his people of old, but by a 
 continuance of three-and-thirty years — for 
 " the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among 
 us — full of grace and truth." 
 
 The third revelation of him is spiritual. 
 And we call it spiritual because it is produced 
 by the spirit of God in the spirit of man. It 
 is expressed by sight — Not a carnal sight of 
 him ; not a sight of him by the eye of sense, 
 but by the eye of faith, according to the 
 words of our Saviour : " He that seeth the 
 Son, and believeth on him, hath everlasting 
 life." It is such an acquaintance with him 
 as draws forth our admiration, excites our 
 love, gains our confidence, and secures oui 
 obedience. It is what P»ul means when he 
 
AUGUST 26. 
 
 277 
 
 says, "It pleased God to reveal his Son in 
 me" — and which he prayed for an increase of 
 when he said, " That I may know him, and 
 the power of his resurrection, and the fellow- 
 ship of his sufferings, being made conform- 
 able unto his death." 
 
 The fourth revelation of him is final and 
 glorious. For after all he is now much con- 
 cealed. There are hundreds of millions of 
 our fellow-creatures who know nothing even 
 of the existence of such a Being. Even where 
 he is professedly known, there are multitudes 
 to whom he has no form nor comeliness, nor 
 any beauty, that they should desire him. Even 
 among those who wear the name of Chris- 
 tians there are many to be found who deny 
 his divinity, renounce his redemption, and 
 ridicule the operations of his Spirit Thus he 
 is despised and rejected of men. This, to 
 those who know his name, and put their trust 
 in him, is humbling and distressing. But they 
 are relieved and cheered with the thought 
 that it will not be so always. They believe 
 that the number of his admirers is increasing. 
 They are sure that he will be exalted and ex- 
 tolled, and be very high ; that he will sprin- 
 kle many nations ; that all nations shall fall 
 down before him ; and the whole earth be 
 filled with his glory. They know also that 
 there is a day approaching, called by way of 
 distinction, " the day of Christ :" " the reve- 
 lation of Jesus Christ." He will then appear 
 the second time without sin unto salvation. 
 He will come in his glory, and all the holy 
 angels with him. We shall see him as he is. 
 He will be glorified in his saints, and admired 
 in all them that believe. Then his grandeur 
 will be acknowledged. Then his love, power, 
 patience, and truth ; his character as a Sa- 
 viour; his tenderness as a friend ; his domin- 
 ion as Lord of all will be developed : and he 
 will enter, accompanied by a glorious church, 
 not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, 
 a world where he will attract every eye, and 
 engage every tongue ; and saints and angels 
 will unite with a loud voice, " Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slain, to. receive power, and 
 riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, 
 and glory, and blessing." 
 
 But what is to be expected at the revela- 
 tion of Jesus Christ 1 " The grace' that is 
 
 TO BE BROUGHT UNTO YOU." 
 
 AUGUST 26. 
 
 • The grace that is to be brought ento you at 
 the revelation of Jesus Christ." — 1 Peter i. 13. 
 
 Two inquiries may here arise. 
 
 What does "the grace" here spoken of 
 mean ? Jt comprehends the fullness of the 
 promise, " I will come again and receive you 
 to myself, that where I am, there ye may be 
 ilso" — His changing their vile bodies, and 
 fiLshioning them like untu his own glorious 
 
 body — His absolving and acknowledging them 
 before an assembled world — His commenda- 
 tion ; " Well done, thou good and faithful ser- 
 vant" — His invitation ; " Come ye blessed of 
 my Father" — His placing them in a state of 
 blessedness, which far transcends all out 
 powers of expression and conception. After 
 all our knowledge derived from Kcnnture 
 and experience, it doth not yet appear what 
 we shall be — "Eye hath not seen, nor ear 
 heard, neither have entered into the hearts of 
 man, the things which God hath prepared for 
 them that love him." It is a glory which shall 
 be revealed. 
 
 But why is it called grace 1 Why is it not 
 said, " The glory that is to be brought unto 
 you at the revelation of Jesus Christ V May 
 it not be — first to exclude merit from all share 
 in attaining it 1 There is only one Being who 
 reigns in heaven by his own right Jesus de- 
 served his throne, and could claim it on the 
 ground of worthiness. But we are not worthy 
 of the least of all God's mercies. How then 
 could we claim an immensity, an eternity of 
 riches and honour ? If we look for a reward, 
 it must be a reward of grace. Our work bears 
 no proportion to the recompense. If our obe- 
 dience was perfect, it could not be meritori- 
 ous, because it is due to God : but our ser- 
 vices are really full of defects and defilement, 
 and therefore if they were dealt with accord- 
 ing to their desert, they would be rejected. 
 To which we may add, that all our good 
 works are performed in the strength of the 
 Lord : we live and walk in the Spirit. Every 
 one therefore that knows himself, will say 
 with the Apostle, " By the grace of God 1 am 
 what I am : not I, but the grace of God which 
 was with me." And we are sure the top stone 
 of the spiritual temple will be brought forth 
 "with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it" 
 
 And secondly, may it not be so called to 
 show the identity of grace with glory 1 They 
 are not only so intimately and inseparably 
 connected, but so greatly resemble each other, 
 and are so essentially the same, that the one 
 is interchangeably used for the other in the 
 Scripture. Thus Paul calls glory grace, when 
 he says, " We are changed into the same im- 
 age, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of 
 the Lord ;" meaning advancement from one 
 degree of glory to another ; or as it is else- 
 where expressed, being "renewed day by 
 day," or going "from strength to strength"' 
 in the divine life. And here Peter names 
 glory grace. In fact gr ace is glory in the 
 bud, and glory is grace in the flower. Grace 
 is glory in the dawn, and glory is grace in 
 the day. But the morning and noon are pro- 
 duced by the same sun : and the bud and 
 flower issue from the same plant 
 
 Let us remember this — That glory is no- 
 thing but the completion of what grace be- 
 gins. It is the perfection of those principles, 
 dispositions, services, and enjoyments, by 
 
are 
 
 AUGUST 27. 
 
 which Christiana are distinguished even m 
 this world. Have we anything of heaven in 
 us already ] It will be a state of sinless purity 
 — Do we delight in holiness now? It will 
 consist in the society of the godly — are they 
 our dearest companions now "J Death changes 
 our place, but not our state, not our nature. 
 The change to a Christian, is a change not in 
 quality, but degree. He has the foretastes of 
 the bliss ; the first-fruits of the harvest ; the 
 earnest of the inheritance — " He that hath 
 wrought us for the self-same thing is God, 
 who hath also given to us the earnest of the 
 Spirit." 
 
 What then is our duty in the prospect of 
 the event] For the grace that is to be 
 brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ, " Gird up the ixmns of your mind, 
 
 BE SOBER, AND HOPE TO THE END." 
 
 AUGUST 27. 
 
 "Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, 
 and hope to the end for the grace that is to 
 be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ.*— 1 Peter i. 13. 
 
 Our duty with regard to this event is ex- 
 pressed three ways. First, confirmation of 
 principles — " Gird up the loins of your mind." 
 The loins are the seat of physical strength. 
 It is said of Behemoth, " his strength is in 
 his loins." If the loins of a man yield, his 
 body soon fails. When therefore he is weary, 
 nature instinctively teaches him to put his 
 hands on his loins, as if to support them. And 
 hence the bandage or girdle worn about the 
 loins by those who would prepare for strenu- 
 ous exertion of any kind. In reference to 
 which says another Apostle, " Let your loins 
 be girt about with truth." It is not necessary 
 that a man should make up his mind firmly 
 upon every inferior opinion ; but if he hie 
 loose in his leading principles in religion, he 
 will never excel. There may be a foundation 
 without a superstructure; but there can be 
 no solid and safe superstructure without a 
 foundation. Wherein does the profiting of 
 those appear who think it is a matter of little 
 importance what a man believes? And how 
 do we read the Scriptures 1 " Buy the truth 
 and sell it not." "Exhorting them to con- 
 tinue in the faith." "Be not carried about 
 with divers and strange doctrines, for it is a 
 good thing that the heart be established with 
 grace." 
 
 Secondly, temperance of attachment — " Be 
 sober." Some would think to enforce such 
 an article as this was not preaching the Gos- 
 pel — and it may not be preaching their gos- 
 pel : but when Paul spake "concerning the 
 faith in Christ," he "reasoned concerning 
 righteousness, temperance, and judgment to 
 come." Others think this order only regards 
 excess in eating and drinking. Sobriety in- 
 
 tends nothing less than this, but it comprOi 
 hends much more, at least in the Scripture. 
 One would suppose that common decency, 
 and a regard for life and health, would re- 
 strain a man from gluttony and drunkenness. 
 But a Christian is to moderate all his appe- 
 tites and passions. He is not to be indulgent 
 in sleep ; nor suffer this downy foe to rob him 
 of so much of his time. He should consider 
 sleep an infirmity rather than a privilege. It 
 is humbling to think of dying half our time 
 to be alive the rest — Angels are nobly free 
 from this mortifying necessity. We should 
 be sober in all our affections and pursuits as 
 to earthly things. Our Lord speaks of om 
 hearts being overcharged, not only with sur- 
 feiting and drunkenness, but the cares of this 
 life — These may morally intoxicate. And as 
 wine oppresses the senses, disturbs reason, 
 and hinders us from any thing useful ; so 
 worldly anxieties besot the mind, and unfit 
 us for every good word and work. Paul ex 
 horts " young men to be sober-minded." And 
 we see how well they are exemplifying this 
 — How suspicious they are of their own judg- 
 ments — How disposed they are to consult the 
 aged and the experienced — And how back- 
 ward they are to decide or speak upon every 
 difficult subject ! He also admonishes women 
 to " adorn themselves in modest apparel, witb 
 shamefacedness and sobriety." And how wel. 
 it is to see this also so fully verified " in wo 
 men professing godliness." 
 
 Thirdly, constancy of expectation — " And 
 hope to the end." There is nothing more de- 
 sirable or necessary than this. We not only 
 rejoice in hope ; but " we are saved by hope." 
 It keeps our hearts and minds from the allure- 
 ments and seductions of the world : and it 
 sustains us in trouble ; being, as an anchor of 
 the soul, both sure and stedfast. Where is 
 the Christian but has often said — 
 
 " Amidst temptations sharp and long, 
 My soul to this dear refuse flies- 
 Hope is my anchor firm and strong. 
 While tempests blow and billows rise." 
 
 Yet it is no easy thing to maintain the full 
 exercise of hope ; especially under those try- 
 ing dispensations, which seem as if the Lord 
 was angry with us to destroy : and also under 
 a sense of our unworthiness, arising from our 
 unprofitableness and deficiencies. These 
 ought to humble us; but we must not cast 
 away our confidence, which hath great recom- 
 pense of reward. There is enough to bear up 
 our hope in every change of condition, and 
 under every moral infirmity, in the promises 
 of the Gospel, and the fullness of the Redeem- 
 er. And the time of trial is limited. Though 
 we are to hope to the end, the end is not far 
 off; "for yet a little while, and he that «hu'l 
 come will come, and will not tarry." Then 
 the burden will be removed from the shoulder. 
 Then the warfare will be accomplished. Then 
 we shall be with him, where he is to behold 
 
AUGUST 28. 
 
 279 
 
 (us glory, and be filled with all the fullness 
 of God. " Be patient, therefore, brethren, 
 unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the 
 husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of 
 the earth, and hath long patience for it, until 
 he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye 
 also patient ; stablish your hearts : for the 
 coming of the l^ord draweth nigh." 
 
 AUGUST 28. 
 
 *■ Ana he sluill be like a tree planted by the rivers 
 of water, that bringeth farth his fruit in his 
 season ; his leaf also shall not wither ; and 
 whatsoever he doeth sliall prosper." — Psalm 
 i. J. 
 
 The heir of this promise is described in the 
 preceding verses : "Blessed. is the man that 
 walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, 
 nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth 
 in the seat of the scornful. But his delight 
 is in the law of the Lord ; and in his law 
 doth he meditate day and night." " //e" is 
 the person whose condition and prospects are 
 here displayed by images the most pleasing 
 and instructive. 
 
 "He shall be like a tree planted by the 
 rivers of water" — Here we see how he came 
 to be found in a situation so favoured. He 
 was not there naturally, but " planted" there. 
 And this was done by a Divine hand : " for 
 they shall be called trees of righteousness, 
 the planting of the Lord, that he might be 
 glorified." 
 
 But see the advantage of the situation 
 itself — He is planted " by rivers of waters." 
 It means an affluence of resources necessary 
 to growth. The deficiencies of Christians 
 cannot be charged on Christianity. They are 
 not straitened in their condition, but only in 
 themselves. These rivers of waters mean 
 two things. First, the means of grace. 
 Though these would not be efficient of them- 
 selves, there is a subjective suitableness and 
 tendency in thejn to do us good ; and they are 
 appointed for this very purpose ; and we may 
 look for the Divine blessing in the use of 
 them. They who undervalue prayer, reading 
 the Scriptures, private meditation, Christian 
 intercourse, the preaching of the word, and 
 the table of the Lord, show little concern for 
 soul-prosperity : but they who are diligent in 
 the proper use of them will be fat and flour- 
 ishing, and not only have life but have it more 
 abundantly. Secondly, the Spirit of Grace. 
 Divine ordinances are good, but Divine influ- 
 ences are better. Every Christian has what 
 the Apostle calls " the supply of the Spirit of 
 Jesus Christ" And so ample and rich as well 
 as necessary is this supply, that we are said 
 to " live in the Spirit," and " walk in the 
 Spirit," and to be " filled with the Spirit" 
 
 Of such a privileged individual three things 
 are here spoken. First • " He bringeth forth 
 
 his fruit in Ins season." From a tree planted 
 in dry and scorching sand it would be unrea- 
 sonable to look for produce ; but not if plant- 
 ed by rivers of waters. As God provides for 
 the fertility of his people, he expects it, and 
 he is not disappointed. They have all the 
 fruit of the Spirit ; love, joy, peace, long-suf- 
 fering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 
 temperance. He finds it indeed in various 
 degrees ; for all the trees are not of the same 
 size and age ; but there is not one barren 
 among them. A tree has his time for bear- 
 ing ; and it is enough if he bringeth forth his 
 fruit in his season, his natural, proper, and ap- 
 pointed season. So it is with a Christian. He 
 is required indeed to be always abounding in 
 the work of the Lord ; but this does not hin- 
 der the special claims of particular periods. 
 As we have opportunity we are to do good. 
 We are to be humble when we are applaud- 
 ed ; to be liberal when riches increase upon 
 us; to possess our souls in patience in adver- 
 sity: and under bereavements to say, The 
 will of the Lord be done. 
 
 Secondly, "His leaf also shall not wither." 
 The leaf is a part of the composition of a tree 
 in its perfect state. It is produced and nour- 
 ished by the same sap that feeds the fruit It 
 even aids the fruit by moisture and by shade, 
 and adds to the beauty of the tree, which, 
 without it would appear naked, cheerless, and 
 uninviting. We read of trees whose leaves 
 are for healing. The leaves of others afford 
 a covering from the heat, so that persons may 
 sit under their shadow as well as partake of 
 their fruit. Here we approve of the applica- 
 tion of " the sweet Psalmist" of our Israel 
 
 " Green as a leaf, and ever fair, 
 Shall his profession shine ; 
 While fruits of holiness appear 
 Like clusters on the vine." 
 
 In trees bearing fruit, leaves are not sufficiein 
 without it; but as accompaniments and addi- 
 tions they are valuable. A form of godliness 
 is nothing without the power, but the power 
 cannot properly dispense with the form. When 
 profession results from principle it is not orna- 
 mental to religion, but useful to ourselves and 
 others. And when the Christian appears what 
 he really is, when he not only gives himself 
 to the Lord, but to his people, by the will of 
 God, when he not only believes with the 
 heart, but confesses with the mouth, and holds 
 fast not only the reality but the profession of 
 his faith without wavering, he is the tree 
 whose "leaf also shall not wither." We 
 have evergreens ; but none of our fruit-bear- 
 ing trees are such. All these with us at the 
 approach o*" winter drop their verdure, and 
 remind us jf our decay and mortality ; " We 
 all do fade as a leaf." But in warmer cjimeu 
 there are trees which retain their foliage by 
 constant and fresh vigour all the year. And 
 there are Christians that exemplify this. The 
 profession of many is undurable: it has no 
 
•260 
 
 AUGUST 29 
 
 root in themselves : it is not sustained by any 
 internal and vital succour: it is influenced 
 only by outward excitements which often fail ; 
 and thus even all their pretensions are given 
 up. But God puts his Spirit within his peo- 
 ple, and thus causes them to walk in his stat- 
 utes. The water he gives them is in them, 
 and springs up into everlasting life. One of 
 the finest sights in the world is a Christian at 
 the end of a long course with an unsullied 
 reputation, not only sincere, but without of- 
 fence, and still alive to the things of God — 
 His hair may be white, but his leaf is green 
 — and the hoary head is a crown of glory be- 
 ing found in the way of righteousness. 
 
 Thirdly ; " Whatsoever he doeth shall pros- 
 per." Here the metaphor ends. Exertion 
 cannot be ascribed to a tree. Some indeed 
 would carry on the figure, alleging that the 
 word "doeth" admits of being rendered "bear- 
 eth ;" and so they would read, " And whatso- 
 ever he beareth shall prosper," that is, it shall 
 not be blasted or blighted, but shall reach ma- 
 turity. But this had been previously insured. 
 Our translators saw no propriety in this 
 change. They knew that God's word is not 
 bound by the rules of human criticism ; and 
 that metaphors should not be carried too far. 
 t is wise to know when to drop them. The 
 assurance addresses itself to a common feed- 
 ing in our nature — It is hope of success that 
 induces men to labour. Who, if he knew it, 
 would exert himseif in vain 1 To a Jew such 
 an address would be peculiarly suited ; as on 
 his obedience, prosperity was invariably to 
 attend. With regard to the Christian, the 
 promise cannot be taken without some dis- 
 tinction. In his temporal enterprises, he 
 is not authorized to look for success in all 
 he does. His plans and wishes may often fail ; 
 but his welfare requires this ; and all things 
 work together for good to them that love God : 
 while success is sure to attend him in his 
 spiritual affairs. There he cannot labour in 
 vain. He prays, and he shall prosper in it : 
 " for he that seeketh findeth." He fights, and 
 he shall prosper in it ; for " his enemies shall 
 be found liars unto him, and he shall tread 
 upon their high places." He sows, and he 
 shall prosper; for "they that sow in tears 
 9hall reap in joy" — And whatsoever he 
 
 DOETH SHALL PROSPER. 
 
 AUGUST 29. 
 " JPor thou hast a little strength." — Rev. iii. 8. 
 
 This is the language of Christ to the 
 Church of Philadelphia. It is obviously spoken 
 in a way of commendation and encourage- 
 ment. Though they were distinguished by 
 no great attainments, there was something in 
 them really goal and spiritual ; and therefore 
 he would not deprive them of the privileges 
 they enjo ?d, but would even enlarge them : 
 
 "I have set before thee an open door, and 
 no man can shut it — for thou hast a little 
 strength, and hast kept my word, and not de- 
 nied my name." It is thus he comes down 
 like rain on the mown grass. It is tnus he 
 verifies the prediction, " a bruised reed shall 
 he not break, and smoking flax shall he not 
 quench, till he send forth judgment unto vic- 
 tory." 
 
 It would be an abuse of this passage were 
 we, in consequence of it, to become remiss in 
 duty, and, as the Scripture says, "to settk 
 upon our lees." It shows a low aim, and i,< 
 even an unfavourable proof of a man's sinceri 
 ty, when he only seeks to be satisfied of the 
 existence of his religion and of his eternal 
 safety. We ought to be anxious, not only to 
 have life, but to have it more abundantly. 
 We should be concerned for the honour of 
 God, and our usefulness to men. By the weak- 
 ness of our grace we lose much in a way of 
 evidence and comfort. We are commanded 
 to " grow in grace ;" and are assured that 
 God " giveth more grace." Indeed the prin 
 ciple naturally urges the progress, and they 
 who have tasted that the Lord is gracious 
 will desire the sincere milk of the word, that 
 they may grow thereby. 
 
 But the declaration does afford " strong con- 
 solation." And such consolation the Apostle 
 tells us is necessary, not only to them that are 
 fleeing, but " to them that have fled for refuge 
 to lay hold of the hope set before them." It 
 is no easy thing when persons are pressed 
 down by a sense of their vileness and imper- 
 fections, to keep them from fearing that they 
 have no part nor lot in the matter, and that 
 their hearts are not right in the sight of God. 
 They are prone to judge of the truth of their 
 grace by the degree of it ; and lose the com- 
 fort derivable from what they have, in think- 
 ing of what they have not. Comparing them- 
 selves with saints of great eminence, and 
 dwindling into nothing before them, they for- 
 get that in the household of faith there are 
 various ages and statures ; and. that those who 
 are not " full-grown men" may be " little chil- 
 dren." The fold of the heavenly Shepherd 
 contains not only sheep but lambs, and he 
 gathers the lambs with his arm, and carries 
 them in his bosom. 
 
 The weakness of our grace should there- 
 fore humble us, but not drive us to despair : 
 and while we lament that we have not more, 
 we should be thankful that we have any. 
 Though the mixture is lamentable, the Lord 
 will not reject the ore for the dross adhering 
 to it; and will in due time separate the one 
 from the other. As soon as it is sown, we 
 say, This is a field of wheat. The blade is 
 not the full corn in the ear, but it will become 
 so — " Four months and then cometh harvest." 
 If it be but the dawn with us at present, the 
 dawn, though less than the day, is better than 
 the nigh* and proves that the sun is rising 
 
AUGUST 30. 
 
 281 
 
 and at hand ; and what shall stop his course, 
 or turn him aside ? And " the path of the 
 just is as the shining light, that shineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day." 
 
 What a lovely Being have we before us ! 
 He is fairer than the children of men ! Let us 
 *ive him all the confidence of our hearts. 
 Let us admire, and praise, and recommend 
 aim. 
 
 And let us be concerned to imitate him. 
 Hence it is said, " Be ye followers of God as 
 dear children; and walk in love, as Christ 
 also loved us." Is he forgiving, and meek, 
 and condescending, and tender, and compas- 
 sionate 1 As the professors of his Name, let 
 the same mind also be in us : and let us re- 
 member, that if any man have not the Spirit 
 of Christ, he is none of his. If we resemble 
 him, we shall not despise the day of small 
 things. In our social state as a church we 
 shall not exact perfection, and if we have not 
 all the satisfaction we could desire, we shall 
 lean to the side of candour, and receive one 
 another as Christ receives us. If we are 
 strong we shall bear the infirmities of the 
 weak, and not please ourselves. We shall 
 give up things in which we could conscien- 
 tiously indulge ourselves, lest we offend the 
 consciences of our weaker brethren. We shall 
 not press young beginners with high and 
 difficult doctrines, but patiently wait till ex- 
 perience prepares for the admission of them. 
 He taught his disciples as they were able to 
 bear it Milk is for babes : who could think 
 of giving them not only strong meat, but the 
 bones of controversy, which, if they happen to 
 have a little flesh upon them, or marrow in 
 them, are beyond their use. If a brother also 
 be overtaken in a fault, let us restore such an 
 one in the spirit of meekness, considering 
 ourselves, lest we also be tempted, and think- 
 ing of him who took our infirmities and bore 
 our sicknesses. Let us always have a word in 
 season for the weary. Let us comfort the 
 feeble-minded. Let us make straight paths 
 for our feet, lest that which is lame be turned 
 out of the way ; but let it rather be healed. 
 Blessed Jesus! Beholding as in a glass thy 
 glory, may we be changed into the same 
 image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of 
 the Lord. 
 
 AUGUST 30. 
 
 ' He shdl sit and rule upon his throne.'''' 
 Zech. vi. 13. 
 
 A throne is literally the seat of a king, and 
 tnerefore the emblem of royalty. Solomon's 
 throne was made of ivory and sfold ; it was 
 six steps high ; and had the same number of 
 lions on each side of it ; so " that there was 
 none like it in any kingdom." But a greater 
 than Solomm is here. And a greater than 
 
 angels — " Of the angels he saith, WWv.iaketh 
 his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of 
 fire : but unto the Son he saith, Thy throne 
 O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of 
 righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom 
 Thou hast loved righteousness and hated ini 
 quity ; therefore God, even thy God, hath 
 anointed thee with the oil of gladness above 
 thy fellows." In the year that Uzziah died, 
 says the Prophet, "I saw the Lord sitting 
 upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train 
 filled the temple" — And the Evangelist makes 
 no scruple to add, " These things said Isaiah 
 when he saw his glory and spake of him." 
 
 Yet however sublime and unrivalled, it is 
 his throne. He has dearly earned it ; and he 
 se*es in it the travail of his soul — Because his 
 soul was made an offering for sin, he sees his 
 seed, and prolongs his days, and the pleasure 
 of the Lord prospers in his hand — Because he 
 humbled himself, and became obedient unto 
 death, even the death of the cross, God hath 
 highly exalted him, and given him a name 
 above every name. But it is his, not only by 
 Divine ordination, but by the suffrage of his 
 people. They are all made willing in the 
 day of his power. They all acknowledge with 
 shame and sorrow, " O Lord, other lords be- 
 side thee have had dominion over us :" but 
 they can all avow, " Henceforth by thee only 
 will we make mention of thy name" — 
 
 " Jesus is worthy to receive 
 Honour and power divine; 
 And blessings more than we can give 
 Be, Lord, for ever thine." 
 
 Faith is our amen to God's testimony, es- 
 pecially as it concerns the record that he hath 
 given to us eternal life, and that this life is in 
 his Son. It brings us into his views and 
 designs : and by enabling us to adopt them it 
 makes them our own acts and deeds — And 
 hence we are considered as doing what he 
 himself does : " The children of Judah and 
 the children of Israel shall be gathered 
 together, and appoint them one head, and they 
 shall come up out of the land." 
 
 Many, if they ascend a throne, can hardly 
 be said to sit and rule there. They are soon 
 hurled from it by violence, or drop from it by 
 weakness. And if they continue awhile in it, 
 they have little pleasure or repose : they are 
 filled with cares and fears, and cannot do the 
 things that they would. The sovereign of a 
 hundred and twenty-seven provinces labours 
 hard till the going down of the sud to save 
 his prime minister, but in spite of him Daniel 
 is thrown into the lions' den. What a wretch 
 is Ahab, who, though king of Israel, is sick, 
 and can neither eat or drink, because he cannot 
 get a few feet of garden ground from a faithfu. 
 subject whose principle he ought to have ad- 
 mired — But Jesus " shall sit and rule upon 
 his throne." This intimates successful govern- 
 ment, established dominion, continued posses- 
 sion, full enjoyment The King of Zion will 
 
282 
 
 AUGUST 31. 
 
 never be t eposed ; will never die. Nothing 
 can impede him ; nothing shall perplex him ; 
 nothing shall induce him to change his pro- 
 ceedings — His enemies shall be made his 
 footstool. He has enemies ; but he rules in the 
 midst of his enemies. It comports with his 
 plan to suffer them to continue and to oppose 
 him for a time ; but he has them in derision, 
 and can more easily destroy them than a giant 
 can dash in pieces with a rod of iron a pot- 
 ter's vessel. He will display his wisdom and 
 power in correcting their designs ; he will 
 make all their efforts to subserve his own pur- 
 poses — The wrath of man shall praise him ; 
 and the remainder of wrath will he restrain. 
 
 For though his spiritual empire at present 
 be limited, yet let two things be remembered 
 — First, his real dominion is universal. He 
 is not only the King of saints, but the King 
 of kings, and the King of nations. All crea- 
 tures are his servants, from a worm to an 
 archangel. Not only are the treasures of grace 
 his, but the elements of nature, and all the dis- 
 pensations of Providence. He has power 
 given him over all flesh, that he should give 
 eternal life to as many as the Father hath 
 given him. He is head over all things to the 
 Church. And this was necessary ; for unless 
 all things were put under him, how could he 
 make them all work together for the good of 
 his people. Yet this is the case; and it will 
 be a noble part of our future employment and 
 pleasure to trace the correspondences, and to 
 acknowledge that all his ways have been 
 mercy and truth. 
 
 Secondly, though at present his spiritual 
 kingdom be limited, and the subjects who 
 obey him from the heart be comparatively 
 few, it will not be so always, nor will it be so 
 long. He shall have the heathen for his in- 
 heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth 
 for his possession. " Yea all kings shall fall 
 down before him, all nations shall serve him." 
 
 Let the prospect and the assurance enliven 
 our exertions and encourage our hope — " Let 
 the children of Zion be joyful in their King." 
 
 AUGUST 81. 
 
 " And he shall be a priest upon his throne." 
 Zech. vi. 13. 
 
 In the Jewish economy, kings were not 
 priests, nor priests kings. The offices were 
 always separated. God divided them between 
 two tribes and two families : the diadem was 
 given to Juda, and the censor to Levi ; the 
 one belonged to the house of David, the other 
 to the house of Aaron. And so evil and dan- 
 gerous was it to unite them, that when 
 Jehoash dared to burn incense his hand with- 
 ered, and he was taken out of the temple a 
 Bpectacle of Divine displeasure. But Jesus is 
 
 anointed with the oh of gladness above hi» 
 fellows: he combines these functions and 
 dignities ; and is " a Priest upon his throne."' 
 
 Something of this kind had indeed occurred 
 before the Law, in the case of Melchisedec 
 He was priest of the Most High God ; and he 
 was also king of righteousness, and king of 
 Salem, which is, king of peace. Hence the 
 Apostle considers this wonderful character as 
 a greater type of the Messiah than any of the 
 Aaronical order — because he was not only tc 
 officiate as a priest, but to rule as a king. " 
 
 Now let us look after the fact ; and we shall 
 see that he never appeared in one of these 
 offices without exemplifying the other. Do we 
 view him when he was more peculiarly the 
 priest 1 That is, in the days of his flesh, when 
 his whole life seemed a sacrifice, and he died 
 upon the cross'! But do we here see the 
 priest only 1 Does not the king also appear ? 
 Did not the wise men from the East come to 
 worship him as born King of the Jews ] Did 
 not the winds, and waves, and diseases, and 
 devils, yield him subjection 1 And when he 
 poured out his soul unto death, did not the 
 sun, and the earth, and the rocks, and the 
 graves adore him J Did he not by a look turn 
 the heart of Peter ? Did he not promise the 
 dying thief a place in Paradise with himself] 
 And did he not rise the Lord both of the dead 
 and living? Or do we view him when he 
 seems more peculiarly the king] That is, 
 after he was received up into heaven, and was 
 crowned with glory and honour, and had a 
 name given him above every name 1 But do 
 we here see the king only J Does not the 
 priest also appear"! Did not John see him 
 " clothed with a garment down to the foot, 
 and girt about the paps with a golden girdle ?" 
 Did he not see Jesus " in the midst of the 
 throne as a lamb that had been slain ?" Did 
 he not hear the songs of the blessed, saying 
 " Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us unto 
 God by thy blood?" Do not his ministers 
 preach him as crucified 1 Does not his. own 
 supper show forth his death 1 Yea, says the 
 Apostle, if he were on earth he would not be 
 a priest. There he performed the sacrificial 
 part of the office : but he performed the inter- 
 cessory and benedictory above, where he ever 
 liveth to make intercession for us, and com- 
 mands the blessing even * life for evermore — 
 Thus he is a Priest upon his throne. 
 
 Whence, O my soul ! see the nature of our 
 condition since the fall. How necessitous is 
 it ; and how various as well as numerous are 
 our wants ! We are ignorant and need en- 
 lightening ; enslaved and need redemption ; 
 guilty and need pardon; unholy and need 
 renovation; lost and need all the salvation 
 of the cross and the throne. 
 
 — And what a multiplicity of excellences 
 and influences do I behold in the Lord Jesus! 
 " Thou art fairer than the children of men." 
 
SEPTEMBER 1. 
 
 283 
 
 SEPTEMBER 1. 
 
 " And he came to Nazareth, where he had been 
 orought up : and, as his custom was, he went 
 into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and 
 stood up for to readr — Luke iv. 16. 
 
 To a man of reflection, feeling, and piety, 
 It will be always interesting and impressive 
 to come to the place where he had been 
 brought up. How many events will revive, 
 and rush over his mind ! It will be well if he 
 be not afflicted with instances of early depra- 
 vity, and be made to possess the iniquities of 
 his youth. He must be grateful — "Here I 
 was sustained in infancy, and preserved in 
 childhood." Here " the length of my days" 
 made the outgoings of my mornings and even- 
 ings to rejoice. The scenery remains the 
 same, the river, the hills, and the vale, the 
 wood and the lawn — but how changed am I 
 in my connexions, prospects, opinions, and 
 feelings — and how many who once knew me, 
 know me no more for ever ! 
 
 No being ever returned to such a place, 
 and with such sentiments as he who was fair- 
 er than the children of men. 
 
 What was Nazareth? A small country 
 town among the Zebulonites in Galilee, sev- 
 enty-two miles north of Jerusalem, and west 
 of mount Tabor. It was so reputeless for 
 achievement and excellency, that when Philip 
 said to Nathanael, We have found him of 
 whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets 
 did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of 
 Joseph ; Nathanael incredulously exclaimed, 
 " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth V 
 
 But how came he to be brought up in this 
 place 1 Here indeed he had been conceived 
 of the Holy Ghost : for Mary lived at Naza- 
 reth when the angel Gabriel came unto her 
 and said, Hail thou that art highly favoured, 
 the Lord is with thee : blessed art thou among 
 women. Yet he was born in Bethlehem Ju- 
 dah, according to the prophecy of Micah. 
 " But the angel of the Lord appeared to Jo- 
 seph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the 
 young child and his mother, and flee into 
 Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee 
 word : for Herod will seek the young child to 
 destroy him. When ne arose, he took the 
 young child and his mother by night, and de- 
 parted into Egypt : and was there until the 
 death of Herod. But when Herod was dead, 
 behold, an angel of die Lord appeareth in a 
 dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and 
 take the young child and his mother, and go 
 into the land of Israel : for they are dead 
 which sought the young child's life. And lie 
 arose, and took the young child and his mo- 
 ther, and came into the land of Israel. But 
 when he heard that Archelaus did reign in 
 Judea, in the room of his father Herod, he 
 was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, 
 being warned of God in a dream, he turned 
 
 aside into the parts ol Galilee : and he came 
 and dwelt in a city called Nazareth : that it 
 might be fulfilled which was spoken by the 
 prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." 
 
 And how was he here brought up 1 The 
 Scripture is little adapted to gratify our curi- 
 osity. A veil is thrown over the private life 
 of Jesus, which it is impossible to draw aside. 
 Nothing can be more idle and absurd than 
 the Popish legends concerning his infant man- 
 ners and miracles. "And when he was 
 twelve years old he was found in the temple, 
 in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them 
 and asking them questions ; and all that heard 
 him were astonished at his understanding and 
 answers" — "And he said unto Joseph and 
 Mary, How is it that ye sought me ] wist ye 
 not that I must be about my Father's busi- 
 ness 1" " And he went down with them, and 
 came to Nazareth, and was subject unto 
 them." " But his mother kept all these say- 
 ings in her heart" " And Jesus increased in 
 wisdom and stature, and in favour with God 
 and man" — This is all the Holy Ghost ha* 
 seen fit to communicate concerning the thirty 
 first years of his life. He had no public edu- 
 cation ; and therefore it was asked by those 
 who could not be ignorant of the fact, " How 
 knoweth this man letters, never having learn- 
 ed V And as Joseph and Mary were poor, 
 it is not likely that he lived in indolence : 
 nothing is so inconsistent with a Christian 
 life, as doing nothing and having nothing to 
 da His reputed father was a carpenter, and 
 once the name is applied to himself. We are 
 sometimes amazed, considering the brevity 
 of his life, that he should not have entered on 
 his ministry till his thirtieth year. But it was 
 the same with his forerunner John, whose life 
 was yet shorter. God's thoughts are not our 
 thoughts : and we are unable to assign, -with- 
 out presumption, full and precise reasons for 
 any of his dispensations. But surely we may 
 learn that importance and usefulness are not 
 confined to publicity — thatwe must be willing 
 to be hid as well as displayed — that a great 
 work requires much preparation — and that 
 before we teach we must learn — " not a nov- 
 ice, lest, being lifted up with pride, he feL 
 into the condemnation of the devil." 
 
 But seeing this was the place where he 
 was brought up, why is it said " and he came 
 to Nazareth V Because he had been absent. 
 He went to Bethabara, beyond Jordan, to be 
 baptized of John. After this he was forty days 
 and forty nights in the wilderness, tempted 
 of the devil. Then he " returned in the 
 power of the Spirit into Galilee : and there 
 went out a fame of him through all the re- 
 gion round about. And he taught in their 
 synagogues, being glorified of all." The case 
 was this. Though he was full of courage, he 
 was to deal prudently. He knew that a 
 prophet is not without honour, save in his owr 
 
284 
 
 .SEPTEMBER 2. 
 
 ountry, and among his own kindred. Famil- 
 iarity, if it does not produce contempt, re- 
 duces veneration. They who have seen a 
 man in his youth, and mingled with him in 
 common life, are less likely to reverence 
 him as a teacher of religion. It might have 
 been supposed that our Lord would have fur- 
 nished an exception to this proverb, owing to 
 his wisdom and sanctity — But what, to many, 
 are wisdom and sanctity — Yea, and divinity 
 too, if unconnected with worldly recommend- 
 ations? He knew what was in man, and 
 was acquainted with the prejudices of the 
 Nazarenes against him. And therefore he 
 did not begin his public career at home. For 
 a considerable time he visited other parts; 
 till, by his preaching and miracles, he had ac- 
 quired a renown which would serve favoura- 
 bly to introduce him among his townsmen 
 and relations — Thus he came to Nazareth, 
 where he had been brought up — 
 
 And what did he there? "He went into 
 the synagogue on the sabbath day." Surely 
 his example has the force of a law to all his 
 followers ; especially as we are here informed 
 that it was "his custom" to do this. But do 
 all who wear his name constantly observe 
 " the holy of the Lord," and repair to " the 
 place where his honour dwelleth," for devo- 
 tion and instruction ? Are they not often de- K 
 tained by trifling excuses, which they know,* 
 and their domestics know, would keep them 
 from nothing — but the sanctuary ! Surely 
 these things are as proper for us as for him ; 
 and we need the frequency of them as much 
 as he did — 
 
 " And he stood up for to read." Reading 
 the Scriptures was always a part of the syna- 
 gogue service: and it tended much to main- 
 tain the knowledge of Moses and the prophets. 
 It deservedly and commendably occupies a 
 large share of the Liturgy of the Established 
 Church. It should be a part of our employ- 
 ment whenever we assemble and meet to- 
 gether for the worship of God. It is a great 
 advantage to the ignorant and illiterate who 
 cannot read for themselves. It honours the 
 written Word as the supreme authority in our 
 religion. It removes prejudice, by showing 
 the people where the preacher finds his doc- 
 trine, and that even his language harmonizes 
 with the words the Holy Ghost useth. It sol- 
 emnizes the mind, and prepares the heart for 
 devotion and instruction. 
 
 Let us be always in time for this part of di- 
 vine service. 
 
 And let us love the Scriptures, and read 
 them more than we have done in our closets 
 and in our families. They are the charter of 
 our privileges, the warrant of our hopes, our 
 guide and guard through the wilderness, our 
 6ong in the house of our pilgrimage. ." More 
 to be desired are they than gold, yea, than 
 much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey and 
 the honeycomb." " This book of the law shall 
 
 not depart out of thy mouth ; but thou shall*, 
 meditate therein day and night, that thou 
 mayest observe to do according to all that is 
 written therein : for then thou shalt make thy 
 way prosperous, and then thou shalt have 
 good success." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 2. 
 
 " The people that do know their God sluill be 
 strong, and do exploits." — Daniel xi. 32. 
 
 These words stand in the midst of a pro- 
 phecy respecting Antigonus, that bitter ene- 
 my of the Jews. A recital of his cruelties 
 would harrow up all our feelings. Suffice it 
 to observe, that God would never permit such 
 wretches to exist, could he not bring good out 
 of evil, and make the wrath of man to praise 
 him. ' k O Lord, thou hast ordained them for 
 judgment ; and, O mighty God, thou hast es- 
 tablished them for correction." As fire sepa- 
 rates the dross from the ore, and the fan ex- 
 pels the chaff from the wheat, so persecution 
 serves to distinguish between the true ser- 
 vants of God and mere professors. Hence 
 this tyrant would discover the faithless Jews : 
 " And such as do wickedly against the cove- 
 nant shall be corrupt by flattery" — But not so 
 with the upright in heart. Their piety would 
 be unyielding and invincible, resisting his 
 usurpations, and bearing his menaces and suf- 
 ferings: " But the people that do know their 
 God, shall be strong, and do exploits." 
 
 " Exploits" are rare, difficult, remarkable, 
 and illustrious actions. And for these God's 
 people are prepared by their knowledge of 
 him, and the strength they derive from him. 
 They are not common characters, but a pe- 
 culiar people. They " do more than others;" 
 they " are men wondered at." Noah builds an 
 ark, and sails over a deluged earth. Moses 
 divides the Red sea, and fetches water out of 
 a flinty rock. Elisha made iron to swim. 
 Elijah carried the key of the clouds for three 
 years and six months, and drought and rain 
 came at his bidding. Joshua ordered the sun 
 to stand still while he finished his victory. 
 " And what shall I more say 1 for the time 
 would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, 
 and of Samson, and of Jephthae : of David 
 also, and Samuel, and of the prophets : who 
 through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought 
 righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the 
 mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, 
 escaped the edge of the sword, out of weak 
 nes3 were made strong, waxed valiant in 
 fisfht, turned to flight the armies cf the aliens. 
 Women received their dead raised to life 
 again : and others were tortured, not accept- 
 ing deliverance ; that they might obtain a 
 better resurrection : and others had trial of 
 cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover 
 of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, 
 they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were 
 slain with the sword : they wandered about 
 
SEPTEMBER 2. 
 
 2* 
 
 in sneepskins and goatskin'; ; being destitute, 
 afflicted, tormented ; of whom the world was 
 not worthy." 
 
 They have done, therefore, exploits as suf- 
 ferers. And here we need not refer to the 
 book of martyrs, but to common and private 
 life. The afflictions of the righteous have 
 oeen often many, and peculiarly trying ; but 
 they have surprised the world, who were rea- 
 dy to deem their experience and conduct un- 
 der them unaccountable and incredible. They 
 have not only submitted, but acquiesced ; they 
 have not only exercised patience, but "all 
 long-suffering with joyfulness." " When trou- 
 bled on every side," they have "not been 
 distressed." Yea, they have " gloried in tribu- 
 lation also :" and been able " in every thing 
 to give thanks." We admire those who mag- 
 nanimously bear the necessary excision of a 
 limb. But the Christian himself is the opera- 
 tor, as well as the subject : he plucks out his 
 right eye ; he cuts off his right hand ; he cru- 
 cifies the flesh with the affections and lusts. 
 
 They have done exploits as scholars. It 
 would be deemed no easy thing to acquire an 
 entirely new language, especially when ad- 
 vanced in life. But we have known Chris- 
 tians, even after they have been old, acquiring 
 " the language of Canaan," not a word of 
 which they knew before, and speaking it flu- 
 ently, and with little of their native dialect 
 Deciphering is a difficult art Dr. Wallis, 
 the celebrated mathematician, was many 
 months ascertaining from the characters the 
 sense of a French dispatch which had fallen 
 into our hands. But Christians can read and 
 explain the most perplexing dispensations of 
 Providence, and can discern the salvation of 
 God, even in the hand which seems lifted up 
 to destroy — " Though he slay me, yet will I 
 trust in him." ■ To'the upright there ariseth 
 light in the darkness." 
 
 They do exploits as merchants. They traf- 
 fic not for time, but eternity. They trade not 
 to the ends of the earth, but beyond the hea- 
 vens. They deal not in corruptible things, 
 such as this world's goods, but in all spiritual 
 blessings. They run no risks, but are sure to 
 gain unsearchable riches. One bargain alone 
 is enough to signalize and immortalize them ; 
 " The kingdom of heaven is like unto a mer- 
 chant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when 
 he had found one pearl of great price, went 
 and sold all that he had, and bought it" 
 
 They do exploits as travellers. The march 
 of the ten thousand Greeks under Zenophon ; 
 the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to 
 Canaan under Moses ; the return of the Jews 
 from Babylon to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel, 
 were in the eye of the angels far inferior to 
 the passage of a soul from a state of nature 
 into the glory that shall be revealed. What 
 a distance to reach ! What difficulties to pass 
 through ! What an end to attain ! 
 
 They do exploits as warriors. It is a grea 
 thing to take a city 1 But " be that is slow to 
 anger is better than the mighty, and he that 
 ruleth his own spirit than he that taketh a 
 city." Is it a thing of renown to take a king 
 dom 1 But " the kingdom of heaven 6ufiereth 
 violence, and the violent take it by force." 
 "Who is he that overcometh the world 1 
 He that believeth that Jesus is the Son of 
 God." Yet this is only one of his adversaries : 
 " for he wrestles not against flesh and blood, 
 but against principalities, against powers, 
 against the rulers of the darkness of this 
 world, against spiritual wickedness in high 
 places." A victor has sometimes barely van- 
 quished ; another conflict would have ruined 
 him. But the Christian having done all, stands, 
 and could defeat as many more — Yea, in all 
 these things he is more than conqueror. 
 
 They have often also distinguished them- 
 selves as donors and benefactors. Witness 
 J the Israelitish women at the erection of the 
 tabernacle. " Moses made the laver of brass, 
 and the foot of it of brass, of the looking 
 glasses of the women which assembled at the 
 door of the tabernacle of the congregation.*' 
 Wfien we consider the value of a looking- 
 glass to a female, that it is the first and last 
 object she regards as she enters and leaves 
 an apartment how desirable it is that she 
 should impress, and how necessary it is to be 
 able to adjust every article ; what self-denial 
 was here ! For we are to judge of things, not 
 by their intrinsic worth, but the estimation in 
 which they are holden — It was saying, we 
 care not how we appear, if the service of God 
 be provided for. What immense treasures 
 did David lay up in his lifetime and leave at 
 his death for the building of the temple, as 
 you may see in the last chapter of the first 
 book of the Chronicles. And read what Paul 
 speaks of the poor Macedonians : " In a great 
 trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, 
 and their deep poverty, abounded unto the 
 riches of their liberality. For to their power, 
 I bear record, yea, and beyond their power, 
 they were willing of themselves : praying us 
 with much entreaty, that we would receive 
 the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of 
 the ministering to the saints." But see the 
 people at the treasury. Many gave, and the 
 rich cast in much ; but a poor widow cast in 
 two mites; and this was the exploit of the 
 day. For they gave of their abundance ; but 
 she gave all she had, even all her living. 
 There may be wonders and prodigies of kind- 
 ness and liberality where very little is given, 
 if there be a willing mind. The Lord looketh 
 to the heart 
 
 These exploits therefore are not confined 
 to any particular rank. No condition, how- 
 ever humble, is excluded from moral and re- 
 ligious distinction. The poor as well as the 
 rich, servants as well as masters, can be Irulx, 
 
286 
 
 SEPTEMBER S. 
 
 great. Tliey can be " great in the sight of 
 the Lord," and can obtain " the honour that 
 Cometh from God only." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 3. 
 
 " Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth in~ 
 iquity ?" — Micah vii. 18. 
 
 To whom will ye liken me 7 or shall I be 
 equal 7 saith the Holy One. God is a being 
 incomparable in his essence, his perfections, 
 his works, and his ways. Hence the sacred 
 writers are constantly expressing their ad- 
 miration of him. Sometimes they extol the 
 displays of his wisdom ; sometimes those of 
 his power ; sometimes those of his holiness. 
 But they never utter themselves more forcibly 
 and feelingly than in the praise of his good- 
 ness. Hence David exclaims : " Oh ! how 
 great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up 
 for them that fear thee ; which thou hast 
 wrought for them that trust in thee before 
 the sons of men !" And if this be exemplified 
 in the provisions of nature and providence, 
 how much more in !' the exceeding riches of 
 his grace 7" " Herein is love." " Who is a 
 (rod like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity?" 
 
 — Pardon regards guilt. Guilt is obnox- 
 iousness to the penalty of the law we have 
 transgressed : for the soul that sinneth it shall 
 die. Pardon frees us from the sentence of 
 condemnation, absolves us from all liableness 
 to suffer: and gives us the security arising 
 from innocency. Now in the exercise of this, 
 God is supreme and unrivalled. None par- 
 dons like him. 
 
 None so peculiarly. He displays at once 
 his justice and his mercy : his justice with re- 
 gard to our surety, his mercy with regard to 
 us. He laid on him the iniquity of us all ; 
 and was pleased to bruise him, and put him 
 to grief, and make his soul an offering for sin. 
 Thus he magnifies his law, preserves the 
 honour of his government, declares his right- 
 eousness, and shows himself just in justifying 
 the ungodly ; and the offender is not allowed 
 to escape without being reminded that he had 
 forfeited his life, and owes every thing he has 
 to mere favour. For with regard to himself 
 this pardon is an act of mercy. The,law was 
 holy, and just, and good, and entirely worthy 
 of God ; and this was true of the penalty as 
 well as of the precept. He could righteously 
 nave inflicted the penalty upon the person of 
 the transgressor; and his willingness to re- 
 lease him, and admit a substitute, was an ex- 
 ercise of pure grace, to which he was not 
 obliged. Besides, if he required an atone 
 ment he provided the propitiation, and it was 
 his own Son, whom he spared not. How won- 
 derful is thig ! A king cannot thus at once 
 equally display his justice and his mercy. If 
 he punishss the rebel he shows his justice, if 
 tie spares him he shows his mercy ; but he 
 
 cannot equally evince both in the same in- 
 stance — This is the prerogative of God only 
 —But 
 
 " Here the whole Deity is known , 
 Nor dares a creature guess, 
 Which of the glories brightest shone 
 The justice or the grace " 
 
 None pardons like hirn — None so readily. 
 Men, if not implacable, are yet commonly 
 backward to forgive. They often assume airs 
 of haughtiness ; require the offender to feel 
 the effects of his misconduct ; exact from him 
 the most trying humiliations; and always 
 think it enough to comply after they have 
 been frequently and earnestly implored. 
 Every thing shows that it is their strange 
 work, and not natural to them. But the Lord 
 not only waits to be gracious, and is exalted 
 to have mercy, but is ready to forgive. It is 
 true that he requires confession and submis- 
 sion — and must require them ; but it is equally 
 true that he himself encourages and excites 
 them. The first advance is always from him ; 
 and he not only makes the overture, but be- 
 seeches us to be reconciled. 
 
 None pardons like him — None so perfectly. 
 He forgives our trespasses, however numer- 
 ous, and however aggravated. " Come," says 
 he, " and let us reason together ; though your 
 sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as 
 snow ; though they be red like crimson, they 
 shall be as wool." In confirmation of this as- 
 surance he has added examples, and shows ua 
 in his word characters the most criminal and 
 hopeless obtaining mercy. He also tells us 
 that in this dispensation he is not to be judged 
 of by a human standard ; men's usages and 
 conceptions with regard to forgiveness being 
 infinitely below his own : " Let the wicked 
 forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
 thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, 
 and he will have mercy upon him ; and to 
 our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For 
 my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither 
 are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For 
 as the heavens are higher than the earth, so 
 are my ways higher than your ways, and my 
 thoughts than your thougbts." So he pardons 
 fully and for ever. As far as the East is from 
 the West, so far he removes our transgres- 
 sions from us. He throws them behind his 
 back. He casts them into the depths of the 
 sea. If sought for they shall not be found. 
 He not only forgives them, but forgets them ; 
 he remembers them no more for ever. He 
 retains no anger, no indisposition towards us. 
 He delights in us as if we had never sinned. 
 He restores us to the most intimate friend- 
 ship. He allows us not only to dwell in his 
 house, but to lean upon his arm, and repose 
 on his bosom. 
 
 There are some who not only believe all 
 this, but know the truth of it from their own 
 experience. They were once children of 
 wrath, even as others ; but they were made 
 to see and feel their desert, and to cry, with 
 
SEPTEMBER 4. 
 
 287 
 
 the publican, God be merciful to me a sinner. 
 And they were heard and accepted in the Be- 
 loved. They are now passed from death unto 
 life, and their grateful hearts are saying, " 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 ; I will trust, and not be afraid : for 
 the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my 
 song ; he also is become my salvation." 
 
 Blessed are they whose iniquities are for- 
 given ! But how dreadful is the condition of 
 those who are strangers to this remission ! 
 You lie open every moment to all the afflic- 
 tions of life, the sting of death, and the 
 damnation of hell. How is it you can enjoy 
 any thing like pleasure by day, or sleep at 
 night, while you know that lying down and 
 rising up the wrath of God abide th on you 1 
 But if willing to return you need not despair. 
 There is forgiveness with him. O hear his 
 voice. Come and seek a share of this blessed- 
 ness for yourselves. He will in no wise cast 
 you out. But the time wherein he may be 
 found is short and uncertain. Therefore seek 
 ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye 
 upon him while he is near. "Behold, now is 
 the accepted time ; behold, now is the day of 
 salvation." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 4. 
 
 " And David was greatly distressed" 
 1 Sam. xxx. 6. 
 In a fit of despondency and imprudence, 
 having resolved to escape into the land of the 
 Philistines, David went to Achish king of 
 Gath. iifter dwelling some time in the royal 
 city, ht lequested the king to give him some 
 place in the country for his residence : and 
 Achish jave him Ziklag. After dwelling 
 there a fi.il year and four months, war broke 
 out between the Philistines and the Israelites, 
 and he was called upon by Achish to accom- 
 pany him to battle, and was made the com- 
 mander of his body guard. Here he was 
 thrown into the utmost perplexity. He found 
 himself und» r obligation to Achish ; yet could 
 not serve liim without violating his con- 
 science. If he fought against Israel, where 
 were his patriotism and piety'! And if he 
 turned against the Philistines, where were 
 his fidelity to his master, and his gratitude to 
 his benefactor ? God, who is always better to 
 us than our fears, and has all hearts under 
 his control, extricated him from this dilemma, 
 through the jealousy of the lords of the Phil- 
 istines, who insist on his being sent back. 
 Be/, while cvulting in his escape from one 
 difficulty, another befalls him : and we need 
 not wonder at his being "greatly distressed" 
 when we glance at the ingredients and cir- 
 cumstances of the affliction. 
 
 For when be arrived at Ziklag the "Amal- 
 ekites had (»«wcten it ana burnt it with fire." 
 
 It is never safe to boast of to-morrow ; tor w 
 know not what a day may bring forth. Little 
 can we imagine, when at any time we leave 
 our home, what may occur before we return. 
 It is a mercy if no evil befalls us, and no 
 plague comes nigh our dwelling, and we find 
 our tabernacle in peace. But Naomi, when 
 her neighbours were congratulating her upon 
 her return, exclaimed, " Call me not Naomi, 
 call me Marah ; for the Lord hath dealt very 
 bitterly with me. I went out full, and the 
 Lord hath brought me home again empty." 
 And David, when he returned to his resi- 
 dence, found his house and all his property 
 consumed to ashes ! Nor was this all — 
 
 They had taken away the women and the 
 children captives. Persons may be tried not 
 only in their circumstances, but in their con- 
 nexions; and relative distress is frequently 
 keener than even personal. Some of us have 
 been bereaved, but it was in the course of na- 
 ture. The objects of our attachment died in 
 peace. We watched their bed of languishing 
 with tenderness ; we closed their eyes ; we 
 laid them in the grave ; and have often re- 
 paired to the spot that contains their endeared 
 dust. But David's family was carried off by 
 an infamous and cruel banditti to be sold, or 
 used as slaves. Yea, he knew not at the time 
 but they had been degraded, violated, tor 
 tured, or even put to death. 
 
 The complicated calamity was also perfect- 
 ly unthought of- — " For man also knoweth no* 
 his time : as the fishes that are taken in an 
 evil net, and as the birds that are caught in 
 the snare ; so are the sons of men snared in 
 an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon 
 them." After a march of three days, cheered 
 by every step that brought him nearer home, 
 and rejoicing in the eager hope of finding 
 rest in his dwelling, and delight in the em- 
 braces and hailings of his household, all this 
 mass of misery meets him like a spectre in- 
 stantly rising up in the road. He knew, he 
 suspected nothing of the whole, till his eyes 
 told him by the ruins, and his ears by the tale 
 of the roofless sufferers, of the captivity of 
 his family. We are prepared for what comes 
 on gradually, and to be forewarned is to be 
 forearmed. But what befalls us unawares often 
 upsets the mind, and we have hardly the 
 power of reflection, through which alone re- 
 ligion can operate. When the sky is lower- 
 ing, and the waves begin to curl, and rise, 
 and roll, the mariner takes in the sail : but 
 here the storm burst without a signal. 
 
 In addition to all this, he had to bear the 
 reproaches and menaces of his attendants 
 and townsmen : " for the people spake of 
 stoning him, because the soul of all the peo- 
 ple was grieved, every man in his sons and in 
 his daughters." We can excuse their grief, 
 but what can we say of the brutality of their 
 purpose 1 How unenviable are the situations 
 of public and official characters ! If ever ther 
 
5*9* 
 
 SEPTEMBER 5. 
 
 «I jep, it is seldom on beds of roses ; or if they 
 do, the roses retain their thorns, and the fra- 
 grance ill pays for the piercings. Is good ac- 
 ■omplished or a glory gained .' They divide 
 .with others, or share it with chance. Does 
 lisaster or calamity occur 1 All is imputed 
 .o them, even to the result of pure accident. 
 They are made answerp.ble, not only for wis- 
 dom and diligence, but for success, for events, 
 yea, for the seasons and elements themselves. 
 How often did the Jews talk of stoning Mo- 
 ses ! If they wanted bread, or water, or met 
 with any difficulty, he was the cause or the 
 occasion of it. Vulgar and ignorant minds 
 must always have some object at hand against 
 which to vent their feelings. 
 
 Finally, we see the deep impression the 
 catastrophe made upon the mind of David — 
 " Then David and the people that were with 
 him lifted up their voice and wept, until they 
 had no power to weep." He wept thus 
 though a brave man : true courage is always 
 tender. And he wept thus though a good 
 man : grace does not deprive a man of sensi- 
 bility: resignation and patience cannot be 
 exercised without much feeling. The degree 
 of grief is not always to be judged of by 
 cries and tears. Irt general noisy sorrow is 
 superficial, as the deeper stream is the more 
 silent. But it wag otherwise here — " David 
 was greatly distressed" — 
 
 Yet he was a man after God's own heart. 
 If it were a rare thing for the godly to suffer, 
 we might draw from our sufferings suspicions 
 concerning our relation to God. But what 
 son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 
 Since through much tribulation the heirs of 
 glory must enter the kingdom, these trials 
 should rather be viewed as way-marks. They 
 are really the effects and tokens of love. We 
 shall see this hereafter; we should believe it 
 now : and till we walk by sight we should be 
 concerned to walk by faith. 
 
 " They all are most needful ; not one is in vain." 
 
 They are to try our trust, to exercise and 
 strengthen our principles, and to bring us to 
 the throne of the heavenly grace. And well 
 will it be if we are led to follow the example 
 of David, as it will appear in the next article 
 — But " David encouraged himself in the 
 Lord his God." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 5. 
 
 " But David encouraged himself in the Lord his 
 God." — 1 Sam. xxx. 6. 
 
 It was a dreadful day for David and his 
 fellow-sufferers, as we have seen in the fore- 
 going article. But if the rest had no God in 
 this time of evil he had one; David encour- 
 aged himself in the Lord his God. He sel- 
 dom addressed him in the Psalms without 
 saying, " My God." The same privilege have 
 11 his people : they have a God who claims 
 
 them, and a God whom they claim — " God, 
 even our own God shall bless us." " This 
 God is our God for ever ; he will be our guide, 
 even unto death." 
 
 " All people will walk every one in the 
 name of his God." All have some rock ; but 
 " their rock is not as our rock, our enemies 
 themselves being judges." They who love 
 and serve the creature more than the Creator 
 are really worshippers of idols; and whal 
 wonder if the God they have forsaken for 
 very vanity should say to them, in their dis- 
 tress, " Where are thy gods that thou hast 
 made thee ? Let them arise if they can save 
 thee in the time of thy trouble." Hence 
 they faint in the day of adversity. All their 
 resources are found worse than nothing. A 
 Christian would rather perish than think of 
 such comforters and deliverers — " God," says 
 he, " is the strength of my heart, and my 
 portion for ever" — " It is good for me to draw 
 near to God." So it is with David — " David 
 encouraged himself in the Lord his God." 
 
 But in what pertaining to the Lord his God 
 did he encourage himself? and in w T hich all 
 his followers may encourage themselves also? 
 He encouraged himself in his relations. One 
 of these he has mentioned, describing the 
 confidence he derived from it : " The Lord is 
 my "shepherd ; I shall not want. He maketli 
 me to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth 
 me beside the still waters. He restoreth my 
 soul : he leadeth me in the paths of righteous- 
 ness for his name's sake. Yea, tnough I 
 walk through the valley of the shadow of 
 death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with 
 me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort roe." 
 He encouraged himself in his perfections. 
 How relieving is the thought of a Beinr 
 whose mercy endureth for ever; whose ua 
 derstanding is infinite; whose power is al 
 mighty ; whose presence is everywhere 
 He encouraged himself in his engagements. 
 They are great and numberless. They arc 
 adapted to all that we can feel or fear. They 
 insure grace and glory ; and withhold no goot' 
 thing from us. And they are all yea and 
 Amen, in Christ Jesus. And therefore David., 
 for their certainty, calis them a covenant, 
 which used to be confirmed by oath and sa 
 crifice ; and says, " although my house be not 
 so with God, yet hath he made with me an 
 everlasting covenant, ordered in all things 
 and sure; for this is all my salvation, and all 
 my desire, although he make it not to grow.' 
 He encouraged himself in the belief of his 
 providence. He knew that a sparrow falleth 
 not to the ground without our heavenly Fa- 
 ther, and that the hairs of our head are all 
 numbered. All my times, said he, are in his 
 hand. I will cry unto God most high ; unto 
 God that performeth all things for me. He 
 encouraged himself in the review of his deal- 
 ings. First, his dealings with others. " Oui 
 fathers trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver 
 
SEPTEMBER 6. 
 
 2-0 
 
 theiu. Secondly, his- dealings with himself. 
 " O my God, my soul is cast down within me : 
 therefore will I remember thee from the land 
 of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the 
 /ull Mizar. Because thou hast been my help, 
 therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I 
 rejoice." 
 
 Ah ! Christian, know your resource. Hear 
 your God saying. Call upon me in the day of 
 trouble; 1 will deliver thee; and thou shait 
 glorify me. Make use of him as your " hiding- 
 place," your " resting-place," your "dwelling- 
 place." Beware in your distress of crooked 
 policy, of unlawful means of relief, of impa- 
 tience, of dejection. By nothing can you so 
 much please God as by your confidence in 
 him ; and by nothing can you so recommend 
 your religion as by showing the peace of God, 
 which passeth all understanding, keeping 
 your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. 
 Check therefore every tendency, not only to 
 murmuring, but to despondency; and after 
 the example of your model this evening, say, 
 " What time I am afraid I will trust in thee." 
 " Why art thou cast down, O my soul ] and 
 why art thou disquieted within me] Hope 
 thou in God : for I shall yet praise him, who is 
 the health of my countenance, and my God." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 6. 
 
 The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among 
 us." — John i. 14. 
 
 There is something peculiar in this name 
 -" The Word." John is the only one that 
 Applies it to the Messiah. Yet it is not on 
 this account the less entitled to regard, for 
 John wrote as he was moved by the Holy 
 Ghost ; and he has supplied many things 
 omitted by the three former Evangelists. But 
 the origin of the title has given rise to much 
 inquiry. Some have supposed John derived 
 it from Plato the philosopher, and some from 
 Philo the Jew. Yet why should we suppose 
 that he borrowed the term at all ? Why not 
 consider it as one of the words the Holy 
 Ghost useth? and which it is possible the 
 writer did not fully understand himself] 
 
 Yet what is the term designed to intimate ? 
 His office and designation] That as by his 
 reason and speech a man displays his mind 
 and will, so Jesus makes known the mind 
 and will of God ] " No man hath seen God 
 at any time ; the only begotten Son, which 
 is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de- 
 clared him." Three things may be safely 
 observed. 
 
 First, John uses it to express a person. 
 Nothing would be more forced and false than 
 to suppose " the Word" means an attribute 
 only, that is, the wisdom of God. Of what 
 use would it be to tell us that the wisdom 
 of God was in the beginning with him] Could 
 it ever have been separate from him ] And 
 19 
 
 how could this wisdom be made flesh, and 
 dwell among us] 
 
 Secondly, That this person had a being 
 previously to his birth. For in saying the 
 Word was made flesh, John intimates that h 
 was something before this took place. Yea, 
 he fully expresses this — "In the beginning 
 was the Word" — Tn the beginning of what 1 
 The Gospel ! No, bu' tne world — The crea- 
 tion of all things. How useless and absurd 
 to say that he was in the beginning of kit 
 own ministry! 
 
 Thirdly, That his pre-existence was a JJi 
 vine existence. Observe the name uf God is 
 given to him — and " the Word was God." 
 And the creation is ascribed to him : " All 
 things were made by him ; and without him 
 was not any thing made that was made. In 
 him was life; and the life was the light- of 
 men." Could all this be affirmed of him, 
 without the possession of Deity ] Had he been 
 but a man, an angel, a super-angelical crea- 
 ture, would John have expressed himself in 
 a way so proper to lead men into error and 
 idolatry — telling us not or.ly that he was 
 with God, but that he was God, and making 
 him the fountain of all life and being ] Is not 
 this enough to entitle him to all adoration and 
 praise ] 
 
 But " the Word was made flesh." Some- 
 times flesh signifies the corruption of human 
 nature ; as when it is said, " So then they 
 that are in the flesh cannot please God." And 
 " the flesh lusteth against the Spirit" At 
 other times it intends only the composition or 
 constitution of humanity. Thus we read. 
 " Except these days should be shortened, no 
 flesh could be saved ;" that is no human being. 
 And thus it is to be understood here : and as 
 the Jews used the term flesh for man, there 
 would be nothing strange or harsh in the 
 phrase, " The Word was made flesh :" it was 
 precisely the same as saying, The Word be- 
 came man — Campbell therefore renders it, 
 " The Word became incarnate." 
 
 But did he cease to be what he was, in be- 
 coming what he was not] Here was union, 
 but not transformation. He was God before 
 he was in the flesh, and he was God after; 
 but he assumed our nature into personal sub- 
 sistence with his own. Because the children 
 were partakers of flesh and blood, he likewise* 
 himself also took part of the same. He took 
 not on him the nature of angels, but of the 
 seed of Abraham. Hence in the Scripture 
 many things are ascribed to him which will 
 neither agree with his divinity or humanity 
 separately. " Unto us a child is born ;" this 
 does not belong to him as Divine. And his 
 name shall be called " the mighty God ;" this 
 does not belong to him as man. Man is a 
 spiritual and a material being ; spiritual as to 
 his soul; material as to his body. Yet no 
 confusion is produced, by this conjunction: 
 both retain their respective properties. It is 
 
290 
 
 SEPTEMBER 7 
 
 not the body that thinks and reasons ; and it 
 is not the soul that eats and drinks. It is not 
 the humanity of our Lord that is everywhere 
 present ; and it was not his divinity that was 
 crucified. He died as man ; he fills all things 
 as God. We pretend not by these reflections 
 fully to explain the subject : but they are suf- 
 ficient to show that there is no contradiction 
 or absolute impossibility of conception in the 
 case. But we allow with the Apostle, that 
 " God manifest in the flesh is a great mystery" 
 — And what is not mysterious] Who can ex- 
 plain the most ordinary appearances and the 
 most indeniable operations of nature"! But 
 this is also " a great mystery of godliness.' 1 '' 
 It meets our condition. It brings down Deity 
 to our reach. It renders him our example, 
 our sympathizing friend, and the propitiation 
 for our sins. And — 
 
 " While Jews on tlieir own law rely, 
 And Greeks of wisdom boast; 
 I love the Incarnate Mystery, 
 And there I fix my trust." 
 
 "And dwelt among us." This adds to his 
 lumiliation — " Will God in very deed dwell 
 «vith man upon the earth?" He might have 
 oeen incarnate, and have dwelt in heaven, and 
 among angels. But he dwelt among us. And 
 not in the highest style of our being. Some 
 of our race live in palaces; but he had not 
 where to lay his head. They travel in ease 
 and sp.endour ; he travelled on foot, and was 
 "weary with his journey." We only read 
 of his ;iding once, and then it was on a colt, 
 the foal of an ass. They are attended with 
 officers of state ; he was despised and reject- 
 ed of men. They come to be ministered unto, 
 but he to minister, and to give his life a ran- 
 som for many. Dwelling expresses perma- 
 nent residence. He had appeared of old, and 
 had visited the children of men, but he soon 
 again disappeared. But now he took up his 
 abode with us for thirty-three years, well 
 satisfied to keep v out of heaven, and to remain 
 here as long as there was any thing for him 
 to do or suffer. This shows intercourse. He 
 occasionally retired ; but it was to prepare by 
 privacy for publicity. He never refused so- 
 ciety. He was present at the marriage of 
 Cana in Galilee. He accepted the invitation 
 of Levi when he made a great feast and bade 
 many. He also received sinners, and did eat 
 with them. There was nothing in him like 
 extravagance, or sinful indulgence ; but there 
 was nothing monkish, abstemious, and aus- 
 tere, as we learn from the comparison and the 
 reflection : " John came neither eating nor 
 drinking, and rney say He hath a devil. The 
 Son of man came eating and drinking, and 
 they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a wine 
 bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." 
 This was a slander, but as he went about 
 doing good, so he never by his example taught 
 nis followers to shun, their fellow-creatures, 
 and exclaim, " Stand by thyself, come not near 
 
 to me , I am holier than thou." The irud) 
 is, we are to be in the world, but not of it. 
 The religion of the Gospel calls us both out 
 of the world and into the world — out of the 
 world as to its maxims and temper — into it 
 as a field of labour and a sphere of useful- 
 ness, where we are to be diligent in business, 
 to relieve the distressed, to teach the igno- 
 rant, to reclaim the vicious. We are to fill 
 our days; and live as long as we breathe. 
 When Calvin was requested to leave off 
 writing and correcting, What, said he, shall 
 the master come and find me doing nothing? 
 And Philip Henry's remark is well known, 
 who, when desired to spare himself, said, 
 What are candles for but to burn out ' 
 
 SEPTEMBER 7. 
 " J will Jill this house with glory." — Haggai ii. 7. 
 
 Two things are certain. First, that " this 
 house" means the temple reared by the Jews 
 after their return from Babylon. Secondly, 
 the "glory" with which it was to be filled 
 was to arise from the coming of the Messiah 
 to dignify it — " For thus saith the Lord of 
 hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will 
 shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, 
 and the dry land; and I will shake all na- 
 tions, and the desire of all nations shall come 
 — and I will fill this house with glory." This 
 was to be more than a substitute for all the 
 distinguished articles that were found want- 
 ing in the second temple, compared with the 
 first : and to account for the assurance, " The 
 glory of this latter house shall be greater 
 than that of the former." 
 
 Accordingly he appeared on earth while 
 this house was standing, and was often found 
 in it. The first time we read of his being 
 there was as an infant to be presented to the 
 Lord. The offering that accompanied the 
 dedication was "a pair of turtle doves, or two 
 young pigeons." As this was the sacrifice 
 allowed for the poor, in lieu of any thing 
 more valuable, it shows the lowly condition 
 into which he had entered. Few, therefore, 
 for want of splendour, would notice the event. 
 But this was not the case with all ; and an- 
 other kind of greatness was displayed. " There 
 was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was 
 Simeon ; and the same man was just and de- 
 vout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: 
 and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it 
 was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, 
 that he should not see death, before he had 
 seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the 
 Spirit into the temple : and when the parents 
 brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after 
 the custom of the law, then took he him up 
 in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, 
 now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, 
 according to thy word : for mine eyes have 
 seen thv salvation, which thou hast prepamf 
 
SEPTEMBER 8. 
 
 291 
 
 oefore tne face of all people ; a light to lighten 
 the Gontiles, and the glory of thy people Is- 
 rael." " And there was one Anna, a prophet- 
 ess, and she coming in that instant gave 
 thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of 
 him to all them that looked for redemption in 
 Jerusalem." At the age of twelve we find 
 him in the temple, " sitting in the midst of 
 the doctors, both hearing them and asking 
 them questions. And all that heard him were 
 istonished at his understanding and answers." 
 How was his glory shed abroad when he 
 " went into the temple of God, and cast out 
 all them that sold and bought in the temple, 
 and overthrew the tables of the money- 
 changers, and the seats of them that sold 
 doves, and said unto them, It is written, My 
 house shall be called the house of prayer; 
 but ye have made it a den of thieves." And 
 " the blind and the lame came to him in the 
 temple ; and he healed them. And when 
 the chief priests and scribes saw the won- 
 derful things that he did, and the children 
 crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna 
 to the son of David ; they were sore dis- 
 pleased, and said unto him, Hearest thou 
 what these say ? And Jesus saith unto them, 
 Yea ; have ye never read, Out of the mouth 
 of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected 
 praise f 
 
 Here was now found in the temple the 
 body, of which the law was a shadow : the 
 reality of all the types ; the accomplishment 
 of all the prophecies; the fulfilment of all the 
 promises; the consolation of Israel. Many 
 eminent characters had entered the former 
 temple : but he was fairer than the children 
 of men ; and higher than the kings of the 
 earth. Think of his innocency. The former 
 temple had seen good men, but never a sin- 
 less one. But he was harmless, holy, unde- 
 fined, separate from sinners: in him was no 
 sin. Think of his devotion. What faith ! 
 what trust ! what spirituality of mind ! what 
 fervour of love ! what ardour of zeal ! Such 
 worship had never been rendered in Solomon's 
 temple — no, nor by Adam in Paradise ; nor by 
 the angels in heaven. Think of his preach- 
 ing there. "I have preached righteousness 
 in the great congregation ;" and in him were 
 hid all the treasures of wisdom and know- 
 ledge ; and he spake as never man spake. O 
 to have heard him, when early in the temple 
 he said, " I am the light of the world : he that 
 folio weth me shall not walk in darkness, but 
 shall have the light of life." O to have heard 
 nim at the passover, when, on the last, the 
 great day of the feast, he stood and cried, "If 
 any man thirst let him come unto me and 
 drink." Other teachers received a measure 
 of the Spirit ; but he was full of grace and 
 truth. Think of his divinity. He could say, 
 " There is one in this place greater than the 
 temple." In him dwelt all the fullness of 
 
 the Godhead bodily. He was the Lord of al 
 — Well might he fill the house with glory. 
 
 The temple once thus honoured has long 
 since been consumed. But there are temples 
 sacred to his service now : and the Saviour's 
 presence is the glory of them. And every 
 believer loves the habitation of his house; 
 and repairs to it, not for the stateliness of the 
 edifice, the superbness of the decorations, or 
 the effect of the ceremonies — if there was 
 every thing in it that was Jewish, Pagan, or 
 Popish, it would all be nothing, less than no- 
 thing and vanity, unless he could see the 
 beauty of the Lord ; but because he has said, 
 " Where two or three are gathered together 
 in my Name, there am I in the midst of them." 
 And they find him faithful to his word. They 
 hear his voice ; see his goings in the sanctu- 
 ary ; taste that he is gracious ; and are made 
 joyful in his house of prayer : and though it 
 may be a private room, or an upper chamber, 
 when thus blessed and ennobled, it is none 
 other than the house of God and the gate of 
 heaven. 
 
 Christians themselves are a building fitly 
 framed together, and growing unto a holy 
 temple in the Lord. Know ye not, says the 
 Apostle, that ye are the temple of God, and 
 that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you 1 And 
 he is all in all as to his church : " For I, saith 
 the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round 
 about, and will be the glory in the midst of 
 her." 
 
 There is yet another temple ; and this too 
 is filled with the same glory — " Therefore are 
 they before the throne of God, and serve him 
 day and night in his temple : and he that sit- 
 teth on the throne shall dwell among them. 
 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any 
 more; neither shall the sun light on them, 
 nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the 
 midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall 
 lead them unto living fountains of waters, 
 and God shall wipe away all tears from then- 
 eyes." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 8. 
 
 " For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will 
 yet choose Israel, and set them in their own 
 land: and the strangers shall be joined with 
 them, and they shall cleave to the house of Ja- 
 cob." — Isaiah xiv. 1. 
 
 The Jews were carried away captive tc 
 Babylon. But they were not to be destroyed 
 there, or to remain. " After seventy years 
 be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, 
 and perform my good word toward you, in 
 causing you to return to this place. For I 
 know the thoughts that I think toward you. 
 saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of 
 evil, to give you an expected end." With re- 
 gard to this restoration, two things are men- 
 tioned in the words before us. 
 
892 
 
 SEPTEMBER 8. 
 
 Tlie one is the source of it — mercy, free 
 and undeserved mercy : ' I will have mercy 
 on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set 
 them in their own land." And this is the 
 principle which always, as far as good is con- 
 cerned, whether in possession or hope, leads 
 him to deal with us. 
 
 The other is the consequence. Many, 
 leaving their own country and their idols, 
 would return along with them ; others would 
 unite with them after their return : " And the 
 strangers shall be joined with them, and they 
 shall cleave to the house of Jacob." And here 
 we see a little of the design of God in their 
 captivity. It was indeed to punish them for 
 their sin ; but his "punishments are correc- 
 tions ; and he does not afflict willingly, nor 
 grieve the children of men. He would hum- 
 ble them, and prove them, and reclaim them ; 
 and not only do them good, but render them 
 useful to others. And who can tell how many 
 have had reason to bless God for the dispen- 
 sation ! For when they were conquered and 
 enslaved, they carried the elements of their 
 religion along with them, diffusing their in- 
 spired writings, and spreading the knowledge 
 of the true God. Many pious characters rose 
 to distinguished eminence and influence dur- 
 ing their stay in Babylon. Several very glo- 
 rious and publicly witnessed miracles were 
 performed on their behalf. Thus God plead- 
 ed the cause of his people, and showed that 
 though he chastised them, they were the seed 
 which the Lord had blessed. And their de- 
 liverance was so wonderful, and attended with 
 such unparalleled circumstances, that it not 
 only at first seemed to themselves more like 
 a pleasing dream than a reality, but induced 
 the very heathen to say among themselves, 
 " The Lord hath done great things for them." 
 Hence many became proselytes, and professed 
 the God of Israel. 
 
 Thus the Lord can change the darkest 
 skies, and turn the shadow of death into the 
 morning ; yea, and by our sufferings not only 
 bless us, but make lis a blessing. The little 
 girl that waited on Naaman's wife had been 
 torn from her parents, and carried away cap- 
 tive, but she was the means of honouring the 
 God of Israel. The persecution which scat- 
 tered the brethren from Jerusalem spread the 
 Gospel in all the directions in which they fled. 
 The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the 
 churches. The dreary imprisonment of Bun- 
 yt?.n for twelve years, occasioned his writing 
 the Pilgrim's Progress and the Holy War. 
 The works of many other authors, whose 
 praise is in all the Churches, were the pro- 
 duce of their privations and hardships. Who 
 can tell in how many ways we may be able 
 to say, " It is good for me that I have been 
 afflicted ?" 
 
 But we here see that religious conviction 
 produces attachment to the people of God. 
 Man is bv nature a social beinir. When sin 
 
 falls in with this disposition, it is corrupted 
 and becomes a most powerful auxiliary of in- 
 iquity ; but when grace meets with it, the 
 bias is sanctified, and operates after a godls 
 sort. The new creature feels the want of new 
 associations ; and here, as in every thing else, 
 like attracts like. Hence Ruth, though a 
 Moabitess, said to her Israelitish mother-in- 
 law : "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to re- 
 turn from following after thee : for whither 
 thou goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest 
 I will lodge : thy people shall be my people, 
 and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will 
 I die, and there will I be buried : the Lord do 
 so to me, and more also, if aught but death 
 part thee and me." And as soon as Saul of 
 Tarsus came to Jerusalem, he "assayed tc 
 join himself to the disciples." So it is with 
 all true converts; they easily abandon the 
 sons and daughters of vanity and vice tc 
 " take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew 
 saying, I will go with you, for I have heard 
 that God is with you." They can now say, 
 "lama companion of all them that fear thee." 
 In them " is all my delight." They will be 
 joined with them, and cleave to them in their 
 assemblies as fellow-worshippers ; in their 
 communion as Church members; and in their 
 practice and experience as joint workmen in 
 God's building, labourers in his husbandry, 
 soldiers in his army, and followers in his 
 ways. 
 
 Here is a good test by which you may judge 
 yourselves. What would make you most hap- 
 py in your retirement 1 Would it be this con- 
 fidence of faith] "Thou hast given me the 
 heritage of them that fear thy name." What 
 is your principal desire when you consider 
 your own condition and that of others 1 Is it 
 this? " Look thou upon me, and be merciful 
 unto me, as thou usest to do unto them thai 
 love thy name V* 
 
 Happy they who can pray "Deliver me 
 from men of the world, who have their por- 
 tion in this life !" I ask not to be numbered 
 with the rich, the mighty, and the noble. 
 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where 
 thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to 
 rest at noon. I long for their Shepherd, their 
 pasture, their repose — 
 
 " O may I see thy tribes rejoice, 
 And aid their triumphs with my voice, 
 This is my glory. Lord, to be 
 Joined to thy saints, and near to thee." 
 
 And if the subjects of divine grace may bf 
 the mediums of it too, how much depends on 
 our character and conduct ! He that winneth 
 souls is wise. Let us therefore walk in wis- 
 dom towards them that are without. Let \u> 
 do every thing in our power to remove u'leir 
 prejudices. Let every thing in our rengion 
 be, not repulsive, but alluring ; not only im- 
 pressive, but amiable. Let us so hold forth 
 the word of life as to be perpetually saying 
 " We are journeying unto the place of which 
 
SEPTEMBER 9. 
 
 293 
 
 me liord said, I will give it you : come thou 
 with us, and we will do thee good : for the 
 Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel." 
 And if we are the means of bringing one in- 
 dividual from the world into the Church of 
 the living God, we have done more than any 
 conqueror who has delivered a whole nation 
 from civil bondage. " There is joy in the 
 presence of the angels of God over one sinner 
 that repenteth." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 9 
 
 To the law and to the testimony." 
 Isaiah viii. 20. 
 
 The " law" and " the testimony" are a fine 
 representation of the Scripture. Both these 
 names are often applied to it, especially in the 
 book of Psalms. They are both significant 
 and striking. It is called the law, to remind 
 us of its authority, equity, promulgation, and 
 penalty. It is called the testimony, because 
 it contains the mind, the judgment, the depo- 
 sition — the witness of God himself concern- 
 ing all those subjects, which it is of import- 
 ance for us to be acquainted with, especially 
 concerning the way of salvation by our Lord 
 Jesus Christ The whole Gospel is therefore 
 ?alled " the witness which God hath testified 
 of his Son." And our Saviour, speaking of 
 the writings of the Old Testament, says, 
 'They are they that testify of me." 
 
 To this word we are to appeal. We are to 
 appeal to it only — "To the law and to the 
 testimony," and to nothing else. This in 
 various instances is eluded. A Jew admits 
 the Scriptures of the Old Testament to be of 
 God ; and could you lead him to these only 
 you might easily convert him to Christianity. 
 But in his case they are surrounded with 
 Talmadical and Rabbinical appendages, the 
 errors, falsehoods, follies and absurdities of 
 which can scarcely be conceived. These ren- 
 der Moses and the prophets almost inaccessi- 
 ble, or pervert their meaning ; and little can 
 be done unless you separate the vile from the 
 precious, and lead them at once to the law 
 and the testimony. A Papist admits the 
 Scriptures of both the Old and New Testa- 
 ment to be divine : and could vou contend 
 with him upon this ground only, a victory 
 would be easily obtained. But he admits 
 a^ong with these the Apocrypha, tradition, the 
 decrees of councils ; and the word of truth ^s 
 approached, if not through these, yet in full 
 company with them, and can only speak as 
 they approve. And there are Protestants 
 who invite you into the temple of Revelation, 
 but you must enter leaning on Calvin, or Ar- 
 minius, or some other interpreter, who is to 
 tell you how the responses of the sacred ora- 
 cles are to be taken ; for yon cannot be trust- 
 ed alone. Hence articles, and creeds, and 
 svstems, are drawn up by fallible men, who 
 
 have no Dther sources of information than 
 ourselves, and these are to be taken as includ- 
 ing all the faith once delivered to the saints. 
 But however large the vessel they may con- 
 struct, it will not contain the ocean. Chris- 
 tianity is " all the fullness of God." If these 
 formularies are designed and used as human 
 and limited aids to help in arranging, remem- 
 bering, or understanding the divine record, 
 they may be not only unexceptionable, but 
 useful. But how apt are they to grow in 
 their claims, so that in time they are virtually 
 regarded by many as of paramount importance 
 with the Scripture itself. But to the law and 
 to the testimony. If they speak not accord- 
 ing to this word, it is because there is no light 
 in them ; and they are to have no dominion 
 over your faith. Stop nowhere on this side 
 the .great Teacher sent from God. If Moses 
 and Elias were to appear with him in glory, 
 the voice would cry, " Hear ye Him." If I 
 called myself after any human leader, it should 
 be an inspired one. I would call myself a 
 Johnite after John, or a Paulite after Paul. 
 But was Paul crucified for me 1 or was T bap- 
 tized in the name of Paul ? Let it be enough 
 for me to be called a Christian after Christ 
 Every thing more is forbidden by himself: 
 " Call no man master upon earth, .for one is 
 your master, even Christ, and all ye are 
 brethren." 
 
 As we should appeal to it only, so we 
 should appeal to it wholly — To the law and 
 to the testimony, with every thing religious. 
 We say religious, for this is the subject in 
 question. Other things may bo carried to 
 other tribunals. In matters of learning, sci- 
 ence, and commerce, reason may fill the 
 judgment-seat But here, in all cases, the 
 authority of Scripture must decide. Four 
 things in particular we must always take to 
 this standard. 
 
 First, take your state to the law and to the 
 testimony. Some never examine themselves. 
 Others are satisfied to live year after year 
 trembling between hope and fear. Others 
 draw a conclusion in their favour, but it is a 
 groundless one, and will terminate in the bit- 
 terest disappointment and anguish. It is a 
 very serious thing to determine your condi- 
 tion before God. And yet how desirable is it ! 
 Even if you find yourself condemned already ; 
 it is well to learn it while deliverance is yet 
 possible: and if you are justified by the Sa- 
 viour's blood, how much will the knowledge 
 of it conduce to the glory of God and your 
 own comfort ? But by what can you safely 
 determine your state? The word is to judge 
 you in the last day. Judge yourselves by it 
 now. 
 
 Spcondly, take your principles to the law 
 asA to thetestimony. I need not inform you 
 of what importance just sentiments in reli- 
 gion are : you are therefore commanded to 
 
294 
 
 SEPTEMBER 10. 
 
 Duy the (ruth and sell it not. But great dif- 
 ferences with regard to what truth is prevail 
 among those who call themselves Christians, 
 and they cannot all be right. There are di- 
 verse and strange doctrines ; but it is a good 
 thing for the heart to be established with 
 grace, by which the Apostle means the doc- 
 trines of grace. And here all our satisfaction 
 must be derived from the conformity of our 
 creed with the written word. Bring there- 
 fore your views of sin, of the fall, of the per- 
 son and work of the Lord Jesus, the founda- 
 tion of our acceptance with God, and the or- 
 der and stability of the everlasting covenant ; 
 bring them all, and weigh them in the bal- 
 ance of the sanctuary. Like the Bereans, 
 search the Scripture daily to see whether 
 these things are so. Prove all things, and 
 hold fast that which is good. 
 
 Thirdly, take your experience to the law 
 and to the testimony. Some ridicule all the 
 various feelings in religion. But the subjects 
 of Divine grace are well acquainted with 
 them. And Christianity must be an experi- 
 mental thing, for it must enter the mind, and 
 affect the conscience and the heart, before it 
 pervade the conversation and life. There is 
 however much that is fanciful, and enthusias- 
 tical, aud wild ; and therefore it is necessary 
 to bring all' the influences and operations of 
 this kind, and compare them with the work 
 cf the Spirit, and the effects of Divine truth 
 in the soul, as described by the sacred writers. 
 
 Fourthly, take your practice to the law 
 and to the testimony. Your religion is no- 
 thing without this. See whether your con- 
 duct — with regard to God — with regard to 
 your fellow-creatures — and with regard to 
 yourselves, be such as this word describes and 
 enjoins. If you thus fairly appeal to the 
 Scripture, it will doubtless censure and con- 
 demn you in many things; but do not con- 
 sider it your enemy because it tells you the 
 truth. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. 
 The discoveries you will make may be, and 
 often will be humbling; but the sacrifices of 
 God are a broken heart You will be gain- 
 ers by a process, though painful, that checks 
 self-righteousness, that induces you to rejoice 
 in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the 
 flesh, and urges you to pray for more of that 
 grace which is alone sufficient for you. In- 
 deed the very willingness to come to this 
 standard is a token for good. " Every one 
 that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh 
 to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 
 But he that doeth truth cameth to the light, 
 tint his deeds may be made manifest, that 
 they are wrought in God." Blessed is 
 the man that can kneel and pray, " Search 
 me, O God, and know my heart : try me, and 
 know my thoughts : and see if there be any- 
 wicked way in me, and lead me in the way 
 everlasting.'' 
 
 SEPTEMBER 10. 
 
 " Sit thou at my right hand." — Psalm ex. 1 
 
 It will be remembered how our Saviour 
 perplexed the Pharisees, by showing thai 
 these words were addressed by the Father tc 
 the Messiah, vvhom David calls his " Lord," 
 though he was his " son." But let us notice 
 the expression itself, and the more so because 
 the expression occurs so frequently in the 
 Scriptures. It may be considered as import- 
 ing repose and refreshment after all his exer- 
 tion and toil. For he did labour, as he said, 
 " I must work the works of him that sent me, 
 while it is day: the night cometh, wherein 
 no man can work." At the close of life there- 
 fore he could acknowledge, "I have glorified 
 thee on the earth : I have finished the work 
 which thou gavest me to do." And though 
 from the state of his mind and heart, to do 
 the will of him that sent him and to finish his 
 work, was his meat and drink, yet he was no 
 stranger to weariness and suffering. But he 
 hath entered into his rest, having ceased from 
 his own works as God "did from his. He 
 bleeds, he " dieth no more." " For the joy 
 that was set before him he endured the cross, 
 despising the shame, and is set down at the 
 right hand of the throne of God." 
 
 Sitting at the right hand denotes pre-emi- 
 nence. At the last day the saints are repre- 
 sented as at the right hand of the Judge. Jo- 
 seph wished the right hand of his father to 
 be imposed upon the head of Manasseh his 
 first-born. At Solomon's right hand sat the 
 queen, in gold of Ophir. The greatest hon- 
 our a king can show to any person is to seat 
 him at his right hand. Hence all the glories 
 of empire therefore were to descend from this 
 station, as we see in the Psalm before us. 
 From thence his enemies were to be made his 
 footstool ; from thence he should send forth 
 the rod of his strength out of Zion, and rule 
 in the midst of his foes ; from thence, in the 
 day of his power, he should obtain a willing 
 people, numerous as the dew of the morning ; 
 and from thence he should strike through 
 kings in the day of his wrath, drmk of the 
 brook in the way, and lift up his head as more 
 than a conqueror. Hence the Apostle con- 
 siders it the extreme of dignity : " To which 
 of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my 
 right hand, until I make thine enemies thy 
 footstool .'" And again ; " He set him at his 
 own right hand in the heavenly places, far 
 above all principality, and power, and might, 
 and dominion, and every name that is named, 
 not only in this world, but also in that which 
 is to come : and hath put all things under his 
 feet." 
 
 Much of this is at present unrealised. But 
 we see Jesus, for the suffering of death, 
 crowned with glory and honour. And the 
 view should gratify out affection Love do- 
 
SEPTEMBER 11. 
 
 2ife 
 
 lghts in the glory of its object If therefore 
 we love him in sincerity, after sympathizing 
 with him in the garden, and smiting on our 
 oreast at the cross, what a satisfaction shall 
 we feel to view him possessed of power over 
 all flesn, all power in heaven and in earth, 
 and exalted far above all heavens, that he 
 might fill all things ! John could not go on 
 with his description of him without pausing 
 to express the adoration of his heart ; " To 
 him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. 
 Amen." 
 
 Let the view also encourage our hope. 
 We are deeply interested in his elevation. It 
 was expedient for us that he went away. In 
 his ascension he received gifts for men. As 
 glorified he gives the Holy Ghost. As exalt- 
 ed he is a Prince and a Saviour to rule and re- 
 lieve his people, and to make all things work 
 together for their good. " Who is he that con- 
 demned? It is Christ that died, yea rather, 
 that is risen again, who is even at the right 
 hand of God, who also maketh intercession 
 for us." He is our head and representative, 
 and by reason of our union with him we are 
 " quickened together with Christ, and raised 
 up together, and made to sit together in hea- 
 venly places in Christ." 
 
 And let it wean us from the earth. Where 
 the treasure is, there will the heart be also. 
 But he is your treasure, and he is in heaven. 
 W 7 hy seek ye the living among the dead ? 
 He is not here. He is risen. Follow him ; 
 and " seek those things that are above, where 
 Christ sitteth at the right hand of God." 
 W T hat an inducement was it to Jacob, at a pe- 
 riod when nature dislikes a change, to leave 
 his own country, and go down into Egypt, 
 when he heard the message, " Thus saith thy 
 son Joseph, God hath made me ruler through- 
 out all the land of Egypt : come down unto 
 me, tarry not . and thou shalt dwell in the 
 land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto 
 me — and there will I nourish thee." At once 
 his aversion and fears gave way. " And Is- 
 rael said, It is enough ; Joseph my son is yet 
 alive : I will go and see him before I die." 
 And what says Jesus to his people ? Come 
 up hither. I am Lord of all the region into 
 which ye shall enter — Come, and be near me 
 — Come, and be for ever with the Lord. 
 
 And let it embolden us, while here, to ac- 
 knowledge and honour him. Were we to be 
 ashamed of him, or to deny him, we should 
 be far guiltier than Peter. For we run no 
 such risk in confessing him as he did — He 
 trembled for his life. And when he disowned 
 him, his Lord was a prisoner at the bar, and 
 going to be crucified, under a charge of blas- 
 phemy and sedition — But we deny him on 
 the t.irone, angels, principalities, and powers 
 being subject unto him, and every name that 
 is named, not only in this world, but in the 
 world to come. "Seeing then that we hava 
 
 a great high priest, that is passed into the 
 heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold 
 fast our profession." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 11. 
 
 " Fear thou not ; for I am with thee. 
 Isaiah xli. 10. 
 
 There are more than sixty admonitions 
 against fear addressed in the Scripture to the 
 Lord's people. And what do all these imply, 
 but their proneness to apprehension, and the 
 groundlessness of their alarms 1 Hence the 
 injunction is never unaccompanied with an 
 argument to enforce it For whatever the 
 men of the world may think, religion is wis- 
 dom, and its children are able to give a rea- 
 son of the hope that is in them. Hence know- 
 ledge always befriends a Christian. It is in- 
 jurious to the comfort of many, because their 
 comfort is founded in delusion : they think 
 themselves safe while their house is built 
 upon the sand ; and therefore a discovery of 
 the truth must tend to distress them : but 
 though the Christian may fear, every thing is 
 safe and right with him ; and therefore the 
 more he truly examines his condition, the 
 more he must be satisfied with it : his doubts 
 are mistakes, his apprehensions are misappre- 
 hensions — He only needs to be informed of 
 things as they really are, and he is free in- 
 deed. Hence nothing can be of more im- 
 portance to the subjects of divine grace than 
 just and clear views of their state and privi- 
 leges ; for though their safety does not de- 
 pend upon the degree of their knowledge, 
 their consolation is much affected by it — 
 They that know his name will put their trust 
 in him. 
 
 The presence of God is the most effectual 
 resource against the fears of his people : 
 " Fear thou not ; for I am with thee." This 
 does not intend the essential presence of God 
 by which he is everywhere. When his pres- 
 ence is spoken of in a way of promise, it re- 
 fers not to a perfection of his nature (though 
 this is always implied), but to his peculiar 
 nearness and influence as their Saviour and 
 their friend. He is in one place as lie is not 
 in another. He is in heaven as he is not on 
 earth ; and he is with his Church as he is not 
 with the world — "The Lord is nigh unto 
 them that are of a broken heart, and saveth 
 such as be of a contrite spirit" 
 
 What the Lord says to all his people lie 
 says to each of them individually, " Fear thou 
 not; for I am with thee." And what fear 
 will not this assurance prevent or remove ? 
 
 Do your temporal exigences excite your 
 fear 1 Fear thou not, for he is with thee to 
 provide for thee. He sustained the Jews with 
 manna from the clouds, fed Elijah by ravens, 
 and multiplied the widow's oil and meal. You 
 are not to look for miracles ; but you may 
 
29ti 
 
 SEPTEMBER 12. 
 
 >ook for the Lord, who performed these won- | Jacob shall thresh mountains. If Gxi be for 
 ders of old. Ht is with you ; and his hand is | us, who can be against us ? 
 not shortened that he cannot save, nor his ear 
 heavy that he cannot hear — 
 
 " And sooner all nature shall change, 
 Than one of his promises fail" — 
 
 And what has he promised ? Thy bread shall 
 be given thee, and thy water shall be sure. 
 O fear the Lord, all ye his saints, for there is 
 no want to them that fear him. The young 
 lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they 
 that seek the Lord shall not want any good 
 thing. " Behold the fowls of the air : for 
 they sow not, neither do they reap, nor 
 gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father 
 feedeth them. Are ye not much better than 
 they?" 
 
 Do your perplexities excite your fears! 
 Fear thou not, for he is with thee to guide 
 thee. The Jews had before them a wayless 
 desert ; but to relieve them from their anxie- 
 ties, the Lord furnished them with a pillar 
 of cloud by day and of fire by night. As this 
 paused they rested, and as this moved they 
 followed straight on, or turned to the right 
 hand, or to the left, according to the direction 
 of their leader, till it brought them to a city 
 of habitation. You have the same advantage. 
 You have the world before you, through 
 which you must pass to reach a better, even 
 a heavenly country. How much depends 
 upon your course, yea, and upon every move- 
 ment ! And the way of man is not in himself, 
 it is not in man that walketh to direct his 
 steps. Neither is it necessary, if he knoweth 
 the way that you take, and will direct you 
 with his eye. And he is with you for this 
 very purpose: "I will bring the blind by a 
 way that they knew not ; I will lead them in 
 paths that they have not known : I will make 
 darkness light before them, and crooked things 
 straight. These things will I do unto them, 
 and not forsake them." 
 
 Do your duties excite your fears? Fear 
 thou not, for he is with thee to aid thee. You 
 are indeed called to deny all ungodliness and 
 worldly lusts ; to forgive injuries ; to walk by 
 faith; to have your conversation in heaven. 
 You will not quarrel with these demands; 
 you will acknowledge them to be just and 
 good : but you will lament your want of con- 
 formity to them : and sometimes they may 
 discourage you — They must indeed always 
 dismay you, if you view them only in connex- 
 ion with yriur own strength. Bu. your suf- 
 ficiency is of God. His almighty Spirit shall 
 nelp your infirmities. He giveth power to 
 the faint, and to them that hath no might he 
 increaseth strength. His strength is made 
 perfect in weakness. 
 
 Do your dangers excite your fears? Fear 
 Jiou not, for he is with thee to keep thee. It 
 cannot, be denied that you are surrounded 
 with enemies, compared with which you are 
 nothing in yourselves. But though a worm, 
 
 " A thousand savage beasts of prey 
 Around the forest roam 
 But Judah's lion guards the way, 
 And guides the traveller home." 
 
 Do trials excite your fears ? Fear thou not, 
 for he is with thee to comfort thee. " I, even 
 I, am he that comforteth you." "As one 
 whom his mother comforteth, so will I com- 
 fort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusa- 
 lem." And his consolation is not only tender 
 but strong consolation, sufficient to bear up 
 the mind under any burden, and to cheer the 
 heart in every distress. " Yea," says one who 
 had often been revived in the midst of trouble, 
 " yea, though I walk through the valley of 
 the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for 
 thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff' they 
 comfort me." Death is a trying hour ; but it 
 should not appal you. You are not to judge 
 by your present feelings what your experience 
 will be when the season arrives. He is pe- 
 culiarly with his people in their afflictions, 
 and his grace is proportioned to the time of 
 need— He will not, he cannot fail you in your 
 last extremity : and you may say, with Dr. 
 Grovenor, "I can smile on death, if God 
 smiles upon me." 
 
 Well, here is enough in every penoa, in 
 every condition, in every circumstance, to 
 embolden and animate us — if we can but lay 
 hold of it. But what is all this without faith? 
 Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief 
 
 SEPTEMBER 12. 
 
 " O thou preserver of men." — Job vii. 5JU. 
 
 The word may be rendered, and in some 
 versions has been rendered, " O thou observer 
 of men." And it is a true and an awful re- 
 flection, that " his eyes are upon the ways of 
 men, and he seeth all their doings: there 
 is no darkness nor shadow of death where the 
 workers of iniquity may hide themselves." 
 He is an unerring observer; an observer 
 whose glance nothing can escape ; an observer 
 who records all he witnesses, and records it 
 with a view to exposure and trial : for " God 
 shall bring every work into judgment, with 
 every secret thing, whether it be good or 
 whether it be evil." — It has been contended 
 too, that the connexion in which the term is 
 found requires this translation: "I have 
 sinned, what shall I do unto thee, O thou ob- 
 server of men ?" But in this, as in almost 
 every other instance, we deem the present 
 rendering preferable, and preferable even on 
 account of the connexion. Here is a peniten- 
 tial confession ; but in all repentance, at least 
 in all repentance that is unto life, a view of 
 the g-wdness of God is necessary, both to ex- 
 cite hope, and to produce godly sorrow : and 
 it is here seen and acknowledged : for " it is 
 of the Lord's mercies that we are not con- 
 
SEPTEMBER 13. 
 
 297 
 
 suuied. because his compassions fail not ; they 
 are new every morning" — 
 
 We need not endeavour to prove that man 
 needs preservation. As he did not make him- 
 self, so he has no sufficiency of his own to 
 sustain himself. If left to himself for a mo- 
 ment, he would relapse into nothing. He lives, 
 arid moves, and has his being in God. He is 
 constantly surrounded with dangers, yet he is 
 tiot sensible of even one in a thousand of them, 
 and he is unable to ward off those he appre- 
 hends. And who among his fellow-creatures 
 is interested enough, wise enough, powerful 
 enough, always near enough, patient enough, 
 to watch over and secure him ? But God is 
 infinitely qualified for the office, and he gra- 
 ciously condescends to assume the character 
 of "the preserver of men" — Let us bring 
 this home to ourselves. 
 
 Why died we not from the womb ? Why 
 dropped we not when babes, from the hands 
 of a heedless or unfortunate nurse, and, like 
 Mephibosheth, become a cripple for life 1 
 Why fell we not a prey to the perils of infan- 
 cy, childhood, and youth 1 How many victims 
 of accident, of disease, and of mortality have 
 we known ] But we are the living, to praise 
 him as it is this day. And wherefore ? Ebe- 
 nezer ! " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." 
 
 And if the Preserver demands gratitude 
 for the past, he authorizes our confidence and 
 comfort with regard to the future. Let us 
 think of him, under this endearing relation, 
 and in all the uncertainties before us, be en- 
 couraged — encouraged when we lie down, 
 and have to pass through the darkness and 
 dangers of the night season — encouraged 
 when we rise in the morning, and have to go 
 through the businesses and perils of the day 
 — encouraged when we travel at the call of 
 duty, or for the purpose of friendship or health : 
 ,et us say, as we advance, "O Lord, thou 
 preservest man and beast ;" and as we return 
 let us remember the promise, " Thou shalt 
 know also that thy tabernacle is in peace, and 
 thou shalt visit thy habitation and not sin" — 
 Yea, in all the parts and passages of that life, 
 in the midst of which we are in death, and 
 Know not what a day or an hour will bring 
 forth, let us strengthen and cheer ourselves 
 with the persuasion that nothing can befall us 
 by chance, that all our times are in his hand, 
 and that we are immortal till our work is 
 done. A sparrow falleth not to the ground 
 without our heavenly Father; and the very 
 hairs of our head are all numbered. 
 
 But thp subject has a peculiar bearing upon 
 Christians. For while he is the Saviour of all 
 men he is especially so of them that believe. 
 A man takes more care of his jewels, than 
 ol his common property; and is more con- 
 cerned for the safety of his wife and children, 
 than of his cattle. God's people are to him 
 more than these images imply. Accordingly, 
 we are assured that he takes pleasure in them 
 
 that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy 
 He keeps them as the apple of his eye. Lest 
 any hurt them, says he, I will keep them 
 night and day. r l his is the promise made to 
 every Israelite indeed ; " Behold, he tha 
 keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep 
 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy 
 shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall 
 not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 
 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : 
 he shall preserve thy soul." And the soul is 
 the main thing. JNow this is absolutely se- 
 cured. Other things are only secured con- 
 ditionally. The Christian may sutler from 
 the strife of tongues, he may lose his sub- 
 stance, his health, and even his lite — but fie 
 can never lose his soul. With regard to his 
 eternal all, he can say, " I know whom I have 
 believed, and am persuaded that he is able to 
 keep that which I have committed to him 
 against that day." Thus he is not afraid of 
 evil tid frigs, for his heart is fixed, trusting in 
 the Lord. My enemies are numberless and 
 formidable, and I amas weak as I am exposed , 
 but " the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, 
 and my deliverer ; my God, my strength, in 
 whom I will trust ; my buckler, and the horn 
 of my salvation, and my high tower. I will 
 call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be 
 praised : so shall I be saved from mine ene- 
 mies." Thus it is said, "They shall dwell 
 safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the 
 woods." How lonely, dreary, terrifying the 
 situation ! But amidst the howlings of the 
 wilderness, and the horrors of the woods, they 
 shall dwell safely there and sleep soundly 
 there. So David, when Absalom had driven 
 him from his palace, and he had few troops 
 to support him in the field, garrisoned him- 
 self in God : " I will both lay me down in 
 peace, and sleep : for thou, Lord, only makest 
 me dwell in safety." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 13. 
 
 " For we must needs die, and are as water spilt 
 on the ground, which cannot he gathered up 
 again; neither doth God respect any person, 
 yet doth he devise means, tltat his banished be 
 not expelled from him." — 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 Joab was resolved to reconcile David to 
 Absalom. For which purpose he "sent to 
 Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, 
 and said nnto her, I pray thee, feign thyself 
 to be a mourner, and put on now mourning 
 apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, bul 
 be as a woman that had a long time mourned 
 for the dead." Though she is called " wiae,'' 
 she seems very little deserving of the appel- 
 lation, unless she displayed more wisdom on 
 former occasions, than she does in the present 
 instance. For there is scarcely one article in 
 the whole of her long wordy address that per- 
 tinently and justly bears upon the subject 
 
298 
 
 SEPTEMBER 14. 
 
 Joab indeed furnished her with the leading 
 part of her story — for it does not deserve the 
 name of reasoning. But he had an unjustifia- 
 ble measure to accomplish, and therefore he 
 did as well as he could, to make the worse 
 appear the better cause. He was also aware 
 " that the king's heart was toward Absalom." 
 He knew what tune pleased David, and 
 therefore he depended not on the goodness of 
 the music, but the nature of the effect. And 
 accordingly, weak and irrelevant as the state- 
 ment was, it succeeded ! For, as 
 
 " He that'3 convinced against his will. 
 Is of the same opinion still;" 
 
 So when a man is inclined to a particular 
 course, a little child may lead him. 
 
 We may here remark, and it is of impor- 
 tance in reading the Scriptures to observe it, 
 that the Holy Ghost does not sanction as 
 righteous, or as true, every thing recorded in 
 them. The sacred writers relate facts as they 
 occurred, leaving us to employ our reason in 
 distinguishing things that differ. We are not 
 to believe all the arguings of Job's friends, 
 because they are found in the book of Job: it 
 is obvious that they sometimes laid down 
 wrong principles, and at other times drew un- 
 fair inferences from right ones. And in the 
 Ecclesiastes, Solomon more than once utters 
 sentiments not as matters of his own credence, 
 but as the language of worldlings, or liber- 
 tines, whose objections he would answer. 
 
 Let us apply this to the case before us. 
 The woman having by a kind of parable drawn 
 from David a sentence of censure and con- 
 demnation, which, as she supposed, affected 
 himself, she makes an application of it — " Let 
 thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word 
 unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on. 
 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast 
 thou thought such a thing against the people 
 of God ] for the king doth speak this thing as 
 one which is faulty, in that the king doth not 
 fetch home again his banished." And then, 
 to enforce her suit, she adds, " The word of 
 my lord the king shall now be comfortable : 
 for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king 
 to discern good and bad : therefore the Lord 
 thy God will be with thee." She adduces 
 two arguments. The first drawn from man's 
 mortality : " For we must needs die, and are 
 as water spilt on the ground, which cannot 
 be gathered up again : neither doth God re- 
 spect any person" — As much as to say, Am- 
 non would have died, if he had not been slain 
 by his brother. Absalom will die, and severity 
 may hasten the event. Thou, David, though 
 a king, art dying, and wilt become as one of 
 the people — This was a poor reason for dis- 
 pensing with civil justice, against a murderer 
 and a fratricide. Yet the argument is true in 
 itself; and there are cases on which it will 
 be found to bear — cases of private and per- 
 Bonal injury, and where we are required not 
 to avensre ourselves. Has a fellow-creature 
 
 offended you 1 The offender will soon oe m» 
 capable of receiving forgiveness, and you will 
 soon be beyond the power of exercising it 
 Whatsoever therefore thine hand findeth to 
 do, do it with thy might ; for there is no 
 work, nor device, knowledge, repentance, or 
 wisdom in the grave whither thou goest. Re- 
 member that anger resteth in the bosom of 
 fools. Let not the sun go down upon your 
 wrath. Especially, let not life close upon you 
 before you are reconciled to your brother 
 Would you enter the presence of God impla- 
 cable ) Yet there is but a step between you 
 and death — Boast not thyself of to-morrow ; 
 for thou knowest not what a day may bring 
 forth. 
 
 The second is drawn from God's goodness : 
 " Yet doth he devise means that his banished 
 be not expelled from him" — And therefore, 
 as if she would say, Resemble him and be like 
 him not only in power, but in clemency and 
 kindness." This again is a poor plea in favour 
 of the impunity of a public malefactor. We 
 are not to spare those who deserve to suffer 
 by the laws of the land, because God is mer- 
 ciful and gracious. The minister of God is 
 not to bear the sword in vain. He is set for 
 the punishment of evil-doers, as well as for 
 the praise of them that do well. Yet the ar- 
 gument is true in itself; and applies to cases 
 of private and personal office. There we are 
 required to exercise forgiveness; and it ia 
 enforced by this very motive. Hence says 
 the Apostle : " Let all bitterness, and wrath, 
 and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, 
 be put away from you, with all malice : and 
 be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, 
 forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's 
 sake hath forgiven you." To which we add 
 the parable of the Saviour: "Then came 
 Peter to him and said, Lord, how oft shall my 
 brother sin against me, and I forgive him ] till 
 seven times'? Jesus saith unto him, I say not 
 unto thee, Until seven times ; but, Until sev- 
 enty times seven. — So likewise shall my hea- 
 venly Father do also unto you, if ye from 
 your hearts forgive not every one his brother 
 their trespasses." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 14. 
 
 " We must needs die, and are as water spilt on ■ 
 the ground, which cannot be gathered up again : 
 neither doth God respect any person." 
 
 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 Here we are reminded that we are under 
 a necessity of dying ; that the effect is irre- 
 trievable ; and the stroke without partiality. 
 
 — " We must needs die." The necessity- 
 was not original, but induced by the Fall. It 
 resulted not from nature, but sin — " By one 
 man sin entered into the world, and death by 
 sin, and so death hath passed upon all men, 
 because all have sinned." All creatures die 
 
SE1TEMBEP 15. 
 
 299 
 
 yet we never speak of a mortal bird or a mor- 
 tal beast, but only of a mortal man. He only 
 deserves the epithet as a reproach. He only 
 was made immortal, but he degraded himself 
 from the dignity, and being in honour abode 
 not, but made himself like the beasts that 
 perish. Now it is appointed unto men once 
 to die. It is the present law of their nature : 
 and from history, observation, and experience ; 
 from the numberless accidents and diseases 
 to which they are exposed ; and from the in- 
 firmities and decays they feel in their bodies, 
 the living know that they shall die : 
 
 — " And be as water spilt on the ground, 
 which cannot be gathered up again." When 
 we see our little family asleep we are not 
 alarmed or concerned, though they are un- 
 conscious of our presence, and for the time 
 know not any thing ; because we have it in 
 our power to restore the sensibility when we 
 please ; yea, nature, if left to itself, will soon 
 recover it But while suspended over the 
 breathless corpse, in vain we watch to see a 
 movement — we speak in vain — and touch the 
 cold cheek in vain — and we bury our dead 
 out of our sight We are not denying a fu- 
 ture state of existence, but we have no re- 
 storation from the grave here. " O spare me," 
 says David, " that I may recover strength be- 
 fore I go hence and am no more." " In the 
 morning," says Job, " ye shall seek me — but 
 I shall not be." Ah ! could we regather their 
 precious remains, and inspire and revive them ; 
 Rachel would no longer " weep for her chil- 
 dren, and refuse to be comforted, because they 
 were not ;" Jacob would no longer say, " Jo- 
 seph is not ;" at the domestic table " David's 
 seat" would no longer be "empty;" nor 
 would the lonely friend heave any more at 
 the thought, " we took sweet counsel together, 
 and walked to the house of God in company." 
 But in vain we seek them — They are gone 
 the way whence they shall not return — The 
 places that knew them shall know them no* 
 more for ever. 
 
 — " Neither doth God respect any person." 
 He does not overlook the little, or fear the 
 great He does not spare the poor from pity 
 or the rich from favour. He is not moved by 
 the venerableness of age or the charms of in- 
 fancy. He gives the destroyer a universal 
 commission, and orders him to strike impar- 
 tially as to time, place, and manner. Youth, 
 and beauty, and strength, and learning, and 
 wisdom, and usefulness, lie down equally in 
 the dust " No man knoweth either love or 
 hatred by all that is before them. All things 
 come alike to all : there is one event to the 
 righteous, and to the wicked ; to the good and 
 to the clean, and to the unclean ; to him that 
 sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as 
 is the good, so is the sinner; and he that 
 eweareth, as he that feareth an oath." 
 
 ' But the wide difference that remains. 
 Is endless joy or endless pains " 
 
 SEPTEMBER 15. 
 
 " He did that ichich was evil in the si^ht of the 
 Lord." — 2 Chron. x.xxiii. 2. 
 
 Manasseh, of whom these words are 
 spoken, is a name proverbial for wickedness. 
 This indeed is not invariably a sure rule to co 
 by. A man cannot always be judged of by 
 his infamy, any more than by his fame. Sub- 
 jects have been called rebels when they have 
 been only maintaining their lawful rights. 
 Christians, because they were not understood 
 by their calumniators, hove been deemed en- 
 thusiasts when they have only spoken the 
 words of truth and soberness. A public chari- 
 ty wears the dishonoured name of Magdalene, 
 as if she had been a prostitute of the grossest 
 description before she became a follower of 
 our Lord, and ministered to him of her sub- 
 stance: whereas, however we explain her 
 case as having been dispossessed of seven 
 devils, it imports nothing against her previous 
 virtue — But Manasseh well deserves all the 
 infamy attached to his character. Witness 
 the portrait given us by the pen of inspiration. 
 Witness his oppression and cruelty — "Manas- 
 seh shed innocent blood very much, till he had 
 filled Jerusalem from one end to the other." 
 The language is doubtless hyperbolica . But 
 take it in the lowest sense consistent with 
 truth, and how many persons under false pre- 
 tences must have perished from public or pri- 
 vate assassination, to gratify his avarice, am- 
 bition, or revenge. For it was not the blood 
 of criminals, but innocent blood that he pour- 
 ed out in such torrents : and we have reason 
 to believe that a great portion of the victims 
 suffered for the sake of religion. Early ec- 
 clesiastical history asserts, we know not on 
 what foundation, that Isaiah was sawn asun- 
 der by his order. Witness his idolatries — 
 " He built again the high places which Heze- 
 kiah his father had broken down, and he rear- 
 ed up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and 
 worshipped all the host of heaven, and served 
 them." Witness his superstition — " And he 
 caused his children to pass through the fire in 
 the valley of the son of Hinnom :" that is, he 
 either sacrificed his offspring to Moloch, or 
 dedicated them to the service of the idol, to 
 be employed in the execrable rites of his wor- 
 ship. Witness his infernal alliances — " He 
 observed times, and used enchantments, and 
 used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar 
 spirit, and with wizards." Witness his open 
 contempt of every thing sacred — "And he 
 built altars for all the host of heaven in the 
 two courts of the house of the Lord. And he 
 set a carved image, the idol which he had 
 made, in the house of God, of which God had 
 said to David and to Solomon his son, In tin's 
 house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen 
 before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my 
 name for ever." Witness his concern and 
 zeal to corrupt others — " So Manasseh made 
 
300 
 
 SEPTEMBER lb. 
 
 Juilah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, 
 and to do worse than the heathen, whom the 
 Lord had destroyed before the children of Is- 
 rael." From the parallel passage in the book 
 of Kings, it is said, " He seduced them." His 
 example, being in high life, would be very in- 
 fluential ; but he exerted himself to lead 
 others astray ; and what means and resources 
 could such a man employ ! Witness the ag- 
 gravations of his guilt. He was piously de- 
 scended. His father was the good Hezekiah. 
 The palace in which he had been brought up 
 was none other than the house of God and 
 the cate of heaven. He had been under the 
 careof pious priests and prophets. How much 
 had he to unlearn ! But he could not unlearn 
 it; he had therefore to fight with conviction, 
 md to overcome all the remonstrances, and 
 to get rid of all the uneasinesses of con- 
 science. He was also divinely warned from 
 time to time : this is the meaning — " And the 
 Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: 
 but they would not hearken." And this im- 
 penitence crowned and confirmed all his in- 
 iquity— 
 
 And now what think you of this represent- 
 ation, on the truth of which we can perfectly 
 rely ? Is it not painful and humiliating to re- 
 flect upon if! Yet this man was a partaker of 
 our own nature ; and if we do not resemble 
 him, are we to glory in ourselves? Yea, 
 ought we not to be thankful ? All have not 
 the same opportunities and temptations. Who 
 can tell what we might have been had we en- 
 countered the perils in which others have 
 been wrecked 1 What would any of us have 
 been in a world like this without Divine re- 
 straints? " There goes John Bradford, but for 
 the grace of God," would the martyr exclaim 
 when he beheld the transgressor. Our Lord 
 therefore leads us from the effects to the hid- 
 den cause, and fixes on the human heart. 
 "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, 
 murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false 
 witness, blasphemies." According to this de- 
 cision the principles of the blackest crimes in 
 practice lie in the recesses of many a charac- 
 ter that appears fair to men. They are not 
 suffered to spring up, but who will not hon- 
 estly own that he has felt them in their most 
 secret workings ? Anger is the germ of mal- 
 ice; lust of sensuality; covetousness of theft. 
 A desire to conceal the excellences of an- 
 other from ourselves, or from the world, gen- 
 ders false witness. Hard conceptions of God 
 lead to blasphemy. Ah ! how little permis- 
 sion of Providence, or encouragement from 
 circumstances, do the evils of our nature re- 
 quire, to bring them into exercise, and to de- 
 grade us to a level with the vilest of the vile ! 
 — Lord, what is man ? 
 
 And what think you of the pardon and reno- 
 vation of such a sinner? "Is not this a brand 
 plucked out of the fire ?" Should we not, in 
 
 reading his history, have expected that no 
 would perish a spectacle to the world, to an- 
 gels, and to men? But God's thoughts and 
 God's ways are not ours. Where sin abound- 
 ed grace did much more abound — Manasseh 
 is saved ! 
 
 When the elder brother heard of the re- 
 ception of the prodigal, he was angry and 
 would not go in. And such mercy as Manas- 
 seh experienced mny be offensive to some 
 now, who trust in themselves that they are 
 righteous and despise others. " Of what use 
 are our good breeding and morals? What, 
 are the dregs of depravity to be saved as well 
 as we ? and to enter into life with us?" Yes; 
 and if you .ad the mind of Christ, and if you 
 were like angels, who rejoice when a sinner 
 repenteth, you would gladly hail any of your 
 fellow-creatures who were the subjects of 
 such free and sovereign goodness, and mag- 
 nify the God that displays it. Every penitent 
 may say with David, when recovered from 
 his fall, "They that fear thee will be glad I 
 when they see me, because I have hoped hi j 
 thy truth." 
 
 Such mercy may be abused; and it is 
 abused by those who continue in sin that 
 grace may abound ; who hope that God, who 
 is so ready to pardon, will not be severe to 
 mark what they do amiss, but that when they 
 can sin no longer, he will, by some extraor- 
 dinary interposition, subdue their * nwilling- 
 ness, and deliver them from the c^jndition in 
 which they now voluntarily continue. But 
 how dreadful is it to be evil because God is 
 good ! Is this likely to gain his favour? He is 
 merciful, but his mercy is exercised in har- 
 mony with all the perfections of his nature. 
 And his goodness is designed to lead us to re- 
 pentance. And now is the accepted time, 
 now is the day of salvation. His Spirit is 
 now striving with you, but if you refuse to 
 fall in with his motions he may righteously 
 decline to address you in " future, and hide 
 from your eyes the things that belong to your 
 peace. You cannot deserve his grace, but 
 you may provoke his wrath, and nothing is so 
 sure to provoke it as your " doing despite unto 
 the Spirit of grace." 
 
 But such an instance of mercy should en- 
 courage you if you are disposed to return to 
 the Lord. Then, however guilty, you have 
 no reason to despair. " Come," says he, " and 
 let us reason together ; though your sins were 
 as scarlet they shall be white as snow, though 
 they were red like crimson they shall be as 
 wool." 
 
 And let it animate us in our concern fcr 
 others. Whatever lengths they have gone, 
 let us never consider any of our fellow- 
 creatures abandoned, so as to give up prayer 
 and the use of means' — And let us use them 
 in the faith of him who is mighty to save- 
 Is any thing too hard for the Lord * 
 
SEPTEMBER 16. 
 
 301 
 
 SEPTEMBER 16 
 
 H 1 wis wounded in the house of my friends." 
 Zech. xiii. 6. 
 
 Friendship is a boon which has always 
 been highly valued and extolled. It has been 
 i-alled the charm of life, and the balm of grief. 
 He is deeply pitiable who has not a friend ; 
 and he is in a most privileged condition who 
 has never had reason to complain, "I was 
 wounded in the house of my friends." 
 
 We are formed for society ; we love so- 
 ciety ; we need society ; we derive much of 
 our happiness from society ; and yet in one 
 way or another our connexions are very ex- 
 pensive things. There are here, so to speak, 
 four kinds of wounds. First, those tha"t arise 
 from the honest anc} salutary reprehensions of 
 our friends. Solomon commends these by 
 way of contrast: "faithful are the wounds 
 of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are 
 deceitful." Instead of complaining of these, 
 we shall be thankful for them, if we are like- 
 minded with David ; " Let the righteous smite 
 me, it shall be a kindness ; and let him re- 
 prove me, it shall be an excellent oil which 
 shall not break my head : for yet my prayer 
 also shall be in their calamities." 
 
 Secondly, Those that result from their suf- 
 ferings. Paul speaks of the comforts of love : 
 but it has its sorrows too. If I love another, 
 and in proportion as I love him, I shall make 
 his case my own : I shall weep when he 
 weeps : I shall bear his burden when he is 
 oppressed : and perhaps suffer as much by 
 sympathy as he himself suffers, when I hear 
 him cry, " Pity me, pity me, O ye my friends, 
 for the hand of God hath touched me." 
 
 Thirdly, Those which are produced by our 
 being bereaved of them. There are few but 
 have felt these losses ; while some have had 
 peculiar reason to sigh, " I sit, and am alone, 
 as a sparrow upon the house-top" — "Lover 
 and friend hast thou put far from me, and 
 mine acquaintance into darkness." Oh ! the 
 anxieties that precede — the anguish that ac- 
 companies — the dreariness that follows — the 
 feeling of heart-desolation that arises at the 
 sight of the walks in which we communed 
 with them, the seats they occupied, the books 
 they folded down, the flowers they planted — 
 the nightly visitations of thought when dark- 
 ness and wakefulness let in busy memory, to 
 recall the past, and open the wounds afresh 
 which time had tried to heal ! 
 
 Fourthly, Those which are inflicted by 
 their improper conduct Even the sincere are 
 imperfect ; and may wound us by ignorance, 
 rudeness, wayward temper, misapprehension, 
 and censure without cause. But some are 
 altogether vanity and lies. Their friendship 
 is a mere flash of feeling. It is the working 
 of selfishness, during which they make you 
 their scaffolding, and then lay you aside. 
 They only elevate to depress : they only flat- 
 
 ter to spread a snare for your feet : they only 
 insinuate themselves into your bosom to prove 
 the viper there. 
 
 Thus therefore we often hear of being 
 wounded in the house of friends. But though 
 many make the complaint, few seern con- 
 cerned to improve it And thus they bleed in 
 vain, while it is possible for them to derive a 
 remedy for the poison, and to turn their losset 
 into gain. In al) these murmurings or la- 
 mentations about friends, we should do well 
 to inquire whether we have aone nothing to 
 deserve what we suffer : for often we may 
 trace our sin in our trials. The blame is not 
 always on the side of the censured: the most 
 complaining is frequently the most culpable. 
 He that will have friends must show himself 
 friendly ; and attachment must be supported 
 in the same way that it was gained. 
 
 We should also consider whether we do 
 not complain without just cause. We talk of 
 irte wounds we have received, when perhaps 
 they are hardly incisions skin deep. We are 
 not to look tor perfection ; but remember, that 
 as every relation in life is filled with fallen 
 creatures, so it will necessarily partake of 
 human infirmity. And what, are we to exact 
 from others a faultlessness which they never 
 met with in us 1 Neither should we become, 
 in these cases, misanthropic ; harbourers of 
 suspicion ; and railers against our fellow-crea* 
 tures at large. David said, "All men are 
 liars ;" but it was " in his haste ;" and he 
 acknowledged his rashness and injustice. 
 
 We may, however, regulate and modify 
 our regard, and especially our dependence 
 and expectation : and we ought to hear the 
 voice of the word, when it is feelingly en 
 forced by events : " Cease from man, whose 
 breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to 
 be accounted of]" 
 
 " Then let us trust the Lord alone, 
 And creature-confidence disown : 
 Sure as on creatures we depend, 
 Our hopes in disappointment end.' 
 
 Blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord ; 
 and whose hope the Lord is. He will not, he 
 cannot fail us. See the use the Prophet made 
 of what he was compelled to acknowledge — 
 "Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not con- 
 fidence in a guide : keep the doors of thy 
 mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For 
 the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter 
 riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in- 
 law against her mother-in-law ; a man's ene 
 mies are the men of his own house. There 
 fore I will look unto the Lord ; I will wai! 
 for the God of my salvation : my God wil 
 hear me." 
 
 Should we not also do well to make the 
 conduct of our fellow-creatures towards us a 
 glass in which to contemplate our conduct 
 towards God 1 Then must our severity feu. 
 upon ourselves much more heavily than upor 
 others. For what are our claims uoon o>. . 
 
sua 
 
 SEPTEMBER 17, 18. 
 
 connexions compared with God's claims upon 
 us ] And what are the forgetfulness, and in- 
 gratitude, and perverseness, and unkindness, 
 nnd treachery of those we have befriended, 
 compared with the instances of vileness which 
 our infinite Benefactor has constantly to wit- 
 ness in us 1 Jt is a good turn which Watts 
 gives to our reflections upon the state of the 
 Jews — 
 
 " Great God ! how oft did Israel prove, 
 By turns, thine anger and thy love! 
 There in a glass our hearts may see, 
 How fickle and how false they be." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 17. 
 
 ** As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye 
 holy in all manner of conversation." — 1 Peter 
 i. 15. 
 
 Christianity is not only, as we see in the 
 preceding verses, a system of grace, but of 
 holiness also ; and however the term may be 
 abused or despised, the professors of the Gos- 
 pel are to be distinguished as saints. Observe 
 the extent and the enforcement of the obliga- 
 tion they are under. 
 
 They are to be " holy in all manner of con- 
 versation." The word conversation, as now 
 used, signifies discourse; and no little of our 
 religion consists in the sanctification of our 
 speech : but the term never has this accepta- 
 tion in the Scripture. There it always in- 
 tends carriage, deportment, the course of ac- 
 tion. It would be easy to prove this ; but it 
 is needless. Let us rather observe that no 
 part of a Christian's conduct is to be uninflu- 
 enced by sanctity. He is to be holy " in all 
 manner of conversation." His holiness is to 
 be universal with regard to times, with re- 
 gard to places, with regard to conditions, and 
 with regard to circumstances. It is to appear 
 not only in devotional exercises, but in com- 
 mon actions ; and whether he eats or drinks, 
 or whatever he does, he is to do all to the 
 glory of God. Not that he can be always dis- 
 tinctly thinking on this end ; but by making 
 the word of God his rule in all things, all he 
 does has this tendency and effect. Paul at- 
 tended to a thousand claims, yet as he made 
 all his actions conduce to the same purpose, 
 he speaks as if he had but one engagement ; 
 "This one thing I do." The husbandman 
 manures, ploughs, sows, weeds, reaps, gathers 
 into barns, threshes, fans, and sells ; yet all 
 he does is one thing ; and that is comprised 
 ' in husbandry. Even real religion is defective 
 in its degree, but it is always impartial in its 
 regards ; and enables the possessor to say, " I 
 : esteem all thy commandments concerning all 
 Jiings to be right ; and I hate every false 
 way." 
 
 The reason why we are to be thus holy is 
 "because he who called us is holy." We 
 must therefore resemble him. He every- 
 where proposes himself as our example ; we 
 
 are commanded to be followers of him aa 
 dear children ; and we are renewed after the 
 image of him that created us. Observe the 
 excellency of holiness — It makes us like God 
 — and like him in his highest excellency ! 
 
 As we cannot be conformed to him, so nei- 
 ther can we love him without holiness. They 
 are only the " saints of his" that can " rejoice 
 and give thanks at the remembrance of his 
 holiness." But they, being partakers of his 
 holiness, feel congenial with his very nature, 
 and delight in his law, his gospel, his ordi- 
 nances, his people, as they all appear in the 
 beauties of holiness. 
 
 Without holiness, too, it is impossible for 
 us to # enjoy him. How can two walk together 
 except they be agreed ? What communion 
 hath righteousness with unrighteousness 1 
 Without holiness no man shall see the Lord 
 — no man can see him : he is wholly unpre- 
 pared for the state, the work, the pleasure. 
 But the holiness which makes us meet for the 
 inheritance of the saints in light insures the 
 blessedness. God does nothing in vain ; but 
 he has thus wrought us for the self-same 
 thing, and given to us the earnest of the 
 Spirit. 
 
 It is therefore no easy matter to be a Chris- 
 tian indeed. Yea, it is an impossible one as 
 to ourselves. But with God all things are 
 possible. There are not only millions around 
 the throne, but multitudes now living, who 
 are his workmanship. "This people," says 
 he, "have I formed for myself, they shall 
 show forth my praise." Instead of endeavour- 
 ing to fetch holiness out of yourselves, pray, 
 with David, to the God of all grace : " Create 
 in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a 
 right spirit within me." 
 
 Christians ! under many of your present 
 feelings, you are ready to conclude that your 
 holiness will never be perfect. But be not 
 dismayed. Consider what he has done for you 
 already. How unlikely was it once that you 
 should ever have valued what you now es- 
 teem, and have ever desired what you now 
 above all things seek after! Had he been 
 minded to kill you, he would not have shown 
 you such things as these. He who gave you 
 the will, thereby also furnished you with the 
 pledge of the power. And 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. Soon — what a prospect ! 
 you will be sinless, faultless ! " It doth not 
 yet appear what you shall be, but this you 
 know, that when he shall appear, you shall 
 be like him, for you shall see him as he is " 
 
 SEPTEMBER 18. 
 "Lest any of you be hardened." — Heb. iii. 13. 
 
 Let us take some views of the evil againsl 
 which we are here admonished. It mav be 
 
SEPTEMBER 19. 
 
 30S 
 
 considered in reference to its seat. In many 
 places it ia spoken of as •« the heart." " They 
 hardened their hearts." " All the house of 
 Israel are hard-hearted." It is sometimes re- 
 presented as "the neck." Nothing can be 
 more common than the expression of harden- 
 ing the neck. The idea is taken from a re- 
 fractory ox refusing the yoke, and expresses 
 disobedience to the commands and rejection 
 of the service of God. At other times it is 
 -epresented as " the face." " They have 
 nade their face harder than a rock, they have 
 refused to return." This marks insolence, 
 impudence, shamelessnes6. But these are all 
 related. The hardness of — the heart — of the 
 neck — and of the face follow each other. Sin 
 is always progressive ; and transgressors wax 
 worse and worse. 
 
 We may consider the hardness as natural 
 and as acquired. The heart, though naturally 
 hard, admits of an increase of hardness. Thus 
 Paul says to the Hebrews, " Harden not your 
 heart, as in the provocation." Every call of 
 God we refuse renders us more callous. 
 Every act of sin we commit reduces our awe 
 of God's authority, and prepares us for an- 
 other commission. The young man first 
 dreads evil company, then endures it, then 
 delights in it. Habits are formed by the repe- 
 tition of actions ; and " as well might the 
 Ethiopian change his skin, and the leopard 
 his spots, as they learn to do good who are 
 accustomed to do evil." The hardening of 
 the heart is like the hardening of ice. When 
 the water begins to freeze it will not bear the 
 weight of a pin, but after some hours, or some 
 days, it is capable of sustaining the heaviest 
 
 . pressure. 
 
 * We may also observe in this hardness the 
 concern of the sinner, and the concern of 
 God. We read that " Pharaoh hardened his 
 heart," and at the time it is said that " God 
 hardened his heart." There is no doubt 
 therefore that there is a part that belongs to 
 God in this business. But what is it 1 And 
 what can it be to accord with the perfections 
 of his nature, and the language of his word ] 
 He cannot properly and absolutely harden 
 the heart. But First, by his Providence he 
 can expose men to thoso temptations which 
 meeting with innate and indulged depravity 
 will aid their impenitence. And Secondly, 
 he can deny them the means of grace, or 
 withhold or withdraw from them the influ- 
 ence that can alone render them efficacious. 
 Thus God is said to give men up to " a repro- 
 bate mind ;" and " to strong delusion to be- 
 lieve a lie." But he never acts thus judicially 
 and penally, but as the effect of deep provoca- 
 tion. He never says, " Let them alone," till 
 "they are joined to idols." "Israel would 
 none of me, so I gave them up unto their 
 own heart's lusts ; and they walked in their 
 own counsels." "Son of man, these men 
 have set up their idols in their heart, &r** ,»ut 
 
 the stumbling-block of their iniquity before 
 their face : should I be inquired of at all bv 
 them ?" 
 
 Again : we may distinguish this hardness as 
 entire and as partial. Christians are renewed 
 in the spirit of their mind. The stony hear) 
 is taken away, and a heart of flesh is given. 
 Yet our Lord said to his own disciples, " Have 
 ye your heart yet hardened 1" "And he up- 
 braided them with the hardness of their 
 heart" And Christians may be less lively in 
 their religious duties and affections, not only 
 than they ought to be, but even than they I 
 once were. It is indeed well if we feel this ; 
 it is a proof that all is not hard within : but 
 the want of more sensibility of heart is a 
 great practical evil; and will much lessen our 
 comfort. And the evil is induced by sin ; and 
 by little sins as well as by great ones ; and by 
 omissions of duty as well as by actual trans- 
 gression. We are peculiarly liable to this 
 evil when we are indulged — "Because they 
 have no changes, therefore they fear not God." 
 What a difference do we perceive between 
 David as an exile, persecuted from place to 
 place, and as a reigning monarch ! With re- 
 gard to the former he had such tenderness 
 that his heart smote him, when he had only 
 cut off the skirt of his enemy's garment : but 
 see the insults and miseries the King inflicted 
 upon the Ammonites, after taking the city 
 from its brave defenders. Who can bear suc- 
 cess and gratification without injury? "Je- 
 shurun waxed fat, and kicked : thou art wax- 
 en fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered 
 with fatness; then he forsook God which 
 made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of 
 his salvation. Wherefore keep yourselves 
 in the love of God. Take heed, brethren, 
 lest there be in any of you an evil heart of 
 unbelief, in departing from the living God." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 19. 
 
 " The sin which doth so easily beset us." 
 Heb. xii. 1. 
 
 Bv this we are to understand, according to 
 Owen, what our divines call indwelling sin. 
 Sin reigns in the children of disobedience. 
 But this is not the case with the godly : sin 
 shall not have dominion over them, for the} 
 are not under the law, but under grace. Bui 
 though it is dethroned in them, it is not as yet 
 destroyed. It still exists and exerts itself. 
 And it may well be called "the sin which sc 
 easily besets us," being always near us to as- 
 sail us in the world, the family, the church, 
 the closet; yea, always in us, working our 
 departure from the living God, vexing our 
 orace, spoiling our performances, and render- 
 ing us susceptible of injury from external in- 
 fluences — " The sin," says the Apostle, " that 
 dwelleth in me;" "another law in my mem 
 hers wars against the law of my mind ;" and 
 
804 
 
 SEPTEMBER 20. 
 
 the effects of which make me groan, " O 
 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver 
 me from the body of this death ?" This, as 
 the principle of corruption, and the source of 
 all other evils, we should seek to subdue and 
 destroy. And whoever would see this subject 
 practically and evangelically treated, should 
 read the admirable work of Owen, on " the 
 mortification of sin in believers." 
 
 But there are various ways in which the 
 same innate depravity may operate. Isaiah 
 speaks of our all going astray, but says, " We 
 have turned every one to his own way." And 
 the expression of the Apostle has given rise 
 <o the notion of some particular sin to which 
 we are more exposed or addicted than to an- 
 other : and thus we often hear of a man's be- 
 setting sin, and easily besetting sin. And it 
 is undeniable, that by outward circumstances, 
 or natural temperament, some are more in- 
 clined to peevishness and fretfulness, some to 
 anger and revenge, some to pride and vanity, 
 some to intemperance and sensuality. 
 
 We should imagine that every one must 
 be acquainted with his own peculiar propen- 
 sity, especially after some course of years. 
 But what is habitual is naturalized ; we are 
 blind to our own faults; self-love covers a 
 multitude of sins, and this among the rest. 
 Yet in many cases a man's ignorance, owing 
 to the power and prevalence of the evil, must 
 be mere affectation. 
 
 A man's easily besetting sin is — that to 
 which he is most frequently tempted — and 
 which he is most anxious to conceal — and the 
 discovery and reprehension of which most 
 mortifies and offends him. 
 
 Such a sin, unsearched after, unbewailed, 
 unopposed, is incompatible with " simplicity 
 and godly sincerity." If we regard the safe- 
 ty and welfare of our souls, however painful 
 the result may be, we shall faithfully examine 
 ourselves. And when we see where we have 
 been most easily overcome, or drawn aside, 
 we shall peculiarly watch and pray, lest we 
 enter into temptation. " A right spirit" will 
 lead us to pass the time of our sojourning 
 here in fear — " Blessed is the man that fear- 
 eth always." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 20. 
 
 " Mastxr, I have brought unto thee my son." 
 Mark ix. 17. 
 
 This is the commencement of a very in- 
 teresting and instructing narrative. The lead- 
 ing circumstances were these. 
 
 The man was in affliction. The affliction 
 was indeed relative ; but there are cases in 
 which relative trials are more severely felt 
 than even personal. And what relation is 
 more susceptible of this than the parental? 
 Ft was a child — an " only" child — possessed 
 by " a dumb spirit," the distressing and fear- 
 ful effects of which are thus described : — 
 
 " wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him, 
 and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth 
 and pineth away; and ofttimes it hath cast him 
 into the fire and into the waters to destroy 
 him." And this had been the case with the 
 unhappy child from his infancy. As nothing 
 is said of his mother, it is prooable she was 
 dead, or surely she would have accompanies 
 this application. 
 
 But who does not feel for the pitiable con- 
 dition of the father ? And yet who knows 
 what is good for a man in this vain life? But 
 for thi3 calamity perhaps this suppliant had 
 never known or addressed the Saviour. How 
 often is the valley of Achor the door of hope \ 
 How many can say, " It is good for me that I 
 have been afflicted !" How often does trouble 
 send us in search of the friend of sinners ! Il 
 is the merciful design of it. It is the effect 
 of it when sanctified, both in the conversion 
 of the soul, and in renewed applications to 
 the throne of grace all through life — 
 
 But observe the man's mistake. At first he 
 goes and applies to the servants instead of the 
 master : but the disciples " could not cast him 
 out." And do not we often err in the same 
 way ? Do not our ignorance, carnality, and 
 impatience lead us to stop at instruments? 
 But they are nothing without God ; and the 
 sooner we are convinced of this the better, 
 that we may not weary ourselves for very 
 vanity. " In returning and rest shall ye be 
 saved ; in quietness and confidence shall be 
 your strength." What can ministers do for 
 you ? If you come looking only to us, you 
 will return as empty as you came. The excel- 
 lency of the power is of God, and not of us. 
 " Who is Paul, and who is Apollos, but min- 
 isters by whom ye believed, even as the Lord 
 gave to every man ? So then neither is he 
 that planteth any thing, neither he that water- 
 eth ; but God that giveth the increase." The 
 heathens made gods of every thing that af- 
 forded them profit or pleasure : and we are 
 paganish in the same way. But we are more 
 criminal than they, because we know him, 
 and know that with him is the fountain of life. 
 And God is jealous of his glory, and is always 
 provoked to destroy or render useless the in- 
 strument that robs him of his praise. 
 
 Despairing of all other help, the man now 
 comes to Jesus himself — But see with what 
 low apprehensions, and how full of suspicion 
 and fear. " If thou canst do any thing, have 
 compassion on us, and help us." Faith admits 
 of various degrees, and we see it in the views 
 and feelings of those who applied to him in 
 the days of his flesh. How free from hesita- 
 tion was the Centurion ? " Speak but the 
 word," says he, " and ray servant shall be 
 healed." The leper seemed to question his 
 willingness to act : he " worshipped, saying, 
 Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." 
 But this man seems to doubt his power. And 
 we sometimes do the same. We are not ii> 
 
SEPTEMBER 21. 
 
 30ft 
 
 deed always aware of this. We presume 
 that it is only his willingness to help that we 
 question : but if we fully trusted in his power, 
 how is it that our confidence sinks or wavers 
 as ordinary means fail, or difficulties multiply 1 
 Is any thing too hard for the Lord 1 Are we 
 ever straitened in him ] Yet the Jews, after 
 all the displays of his omnipotence, said, 
 " Can God furnish a table in the wilderness ? 
 Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters 
 gushed out, and t l, e streams overflowed ; can 
 he give bread also 1 can he provide flesh for 
 his people V* And even Moses himself stag- 
 gered at the promise of God through this un- 
 belief: " The people, among whom I am, are 
 six hundred thousand footmen ; and thou hast 
 said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat 
 a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds 
 be slain for them, to suffice them 1 or shall all 
 the fish of the sea be gathered together for 
 them, to suffice them 1 And the Lord said 
 unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed short ! 
 thou shalt see now whether my word shall 
 come to pass unto thee or not." Let us be- 
 ware of this evil. Let us bring our faith to 
 'Jie ap^>i >hension of his power. Let us be- 
 . ieve- that we may see the glory of God. 
 
 Our Lord both reproves and encourages 
 him. The reproof was general in the ex- 
 press" % but it was designed to bear upon 
 himself: "He answered him, and said, O 
 fa it Mess generation, how long shall I be with 
 yo» t how long shall I suffer you 1 Bring him 
 unto me." The encouragement was condi- 
 tional; but it precisely met his case. "If thy 
 son be not recovered, the blame will lie at thy 
 own door ; it will be owing to no inability in 
 me, but a want of faith in thyself: Jesus said 
 unto him, Jf thou canst believe, all things are 
 possible tr him that believeth." Thus he as- 
 cribes a land of omnipotence to faith. And 
 it is certain that faith can prevail with God. 
 It can obtain the pardon of all sins. It can 
 make us more than conquerors over all our 
 enemies. It can bring us supplies for all our 
 wants. 
 
 But let us observe the effect of our Sa- 
 viour's declaration on the mind of the poor 
 father. Loving his child, and longing for his 
 deliverance ; and knowing that every thing 
 now depended upon his believing, and feeling 
 in himself a sad struggle between faith and 
 unbelief, he " straightway cried out, and said 
 with tears, Lord, I believe ; help thou mine 
 unbelief." — Let this be the subject of the fol- 
 lowing exercise 
 
 SEPTExMBER 2L 
 "And straightway the father of the child cried 
 out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe ; help 
 thou mine unbelief." — Mark ix. 24. 
 
 We have reviewed the narrative ; but we 
 may consider the words now read as the com- 
 mon language of religious experience. For 
 20 
 
 what Christian is there that does not " cry 
 out, and say with tears, Lord, I believe ; help 
 thou mine unbelief?" Four things are ob- 
 servable in the speaker. 
 
 First : he acknowledges his faith — " Lord, 
 I believe" A man may be conscious of his 
 own grace. Grace brings evidence along 
 with it It does not operate like a charm ; 
 nor are its operations to be classed with those 
 occasional and superficial emotions which give 
 no character to the person, or fixed bias to the 
 disposition. It enlightens the understanding 
 it renews the heart, and becomes a governing 
 principle in the life. Faith without works is 
 dead. Living faith works by love. — Neither 
 should we be unwilling to own what we ex- 
 perience; for the praise does not belong to 
 ourselves; neither will it ever be claimed by 
 any of the real subjects of it. Paul says, " I 
 laboured more abundantly than all the apos- 
 tles ;" yet this was not the language of pride, 
 but praise ; for he adds, " Yet not I, but the 
 grace of God which was with me." The 
 fault of most is, that they deny their sin ; but 
 there are some who deny their grace. If 
 they would do justice to their views and 
 feelings, they must be constrained to own, 
 that under all their complaints they have 
 been made to differ from others, and that 
 there is something which they have received. 
 " If repentance consists in having the heart 
 broken for sin, and from sin, — Lord, I repent. 
 If love to thee is determined by a supreme 
 desire to enjoy thee, and a fear to offend thee 
 — Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. If 
 faith is self-renunciation, and a reliance upon 
 thyself only for salvation — Lord, I believe." 
 
 Secondly ; he confesses the imperfection of 
 his faith — " Help thou mine unbelief." A 
 man may be alive and not in full health. A 
 Christian, though renewed in the spirit of his 
 mind, is not free from infirmities. Sin does 
 not reign in his mortal body, but he feels a 
 law in his members warring against the law 
 of his mind, so that he cannot do the things 
 that he would. We read, therefore, of" weak 
 faith :" and our Saviour, addressing his own 
 immediate disciples, said, " Why are ye -fear- 
 ful, O ye of little faith 1" Now as far as faith 
 is wanting, unbelief prevails. 
 
 Thirdly ; he speaks of his unbelief with 
 sorrow — " He said with tears, Lord, I believe ; 
 help thou mine unbelief." It is pleasing to 
 see sensibility in religion : and the Christian 
 has a heart of flesh. His defects are his dis- 
 tresses; he groans under them, being bur- 
 dened. Even his views of the love of Christ 
 render his failures the more grievous. — He is 
 not only affected with gross and scandalous 
 offences visible to his fellow-creatures, but 
 mourns over evils that are never noticed by 
 natural men : such as dullness in duty, wan- 
 derings of thought in devotion, backslidings 
 in heart, and the weakness ind waverings of 
 his faith and hope in God.— There is nothing 
 
306 
 
 SEPTEMBER 22. 
 
 ne more deplores than the remains of his un- 
 belief; to these he can no more be reconciled 
 than a convalescent can be reconciled to the 
 remains of an offensive and painful disorder . 
 such a man is thankful for returning health, 
 but he sighs to be entirely well. 
 
 Fourthly, he applies to the Saviour for suc- 
 cour — " He cried, and said with tears, Lord, 
 I believe ; help thou mine unbelief." In the 
 same way " the Apostles said unto the Lord, 
 Increase our faith." Had this prayer been 
 improper, the receiver ought to have rebuked 
 it; but he encouraged it. Let us not be 
 afraid, with all the first Christians, and im- 
 mensely the majority ever since, to call upon 
 his name. Let us bring all our complaints to 
 him. He is the author and finisher of faith. 
 He has the words of eternal life. He quick- 
 eneth whom he will. He alone can relieve 
 us ; but in him all fullness dwells. You will 
 make no progress in the Divine life if you 
 think of advancing without him. Your growth 
 in grace is not the offspring of your own reso- 
 lutions and exertions, but your being under 
 his agency, and receiving the supply of his 
 Spirit — your living in the Spirit — walking in 
 the Spirit. " Wherefore also we pray always 
 for you, that our God would count you worthy 
 of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure 
 of his goodness, and the work of faith with 
 power: that the name of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, 
 according to the grace of our God and the 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 22. 
 
 Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness 
 
 for the poor" — Psalm lxviii. 10. 
 The acknowledgment refers to the gracious 
 attention of God to Israel his pensioners, 
 while they sojourned in the wilderness. They 
 were destitute of all ordinary supplies, but 
 " he commanded the clouds from above, and 
 opened the doors of heaven, and rained down 
 manna upon them to eat, and gave them of 
 the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels' 
 food : he sent them meat to the full." We 
 are not to look for miraculous provision ; but 
 God has not forsaken the earth, nor forgotten 
 to be gracious. Let us observe the nature 
 of this goodness, and the subjects for whom 
 it is prepared. 
 
 Tiie goodness of God appears in the pro- 
 duce of the ground, not only for man, but 
 beast. Indeed man is concerned in the brute 
 creation, and a deficiency with regard to them 
 would materi illy affect his own welfare. But 
 while the Lord cares for oxen, and causes the 
 grass to grow for the cattle, he provides corn 
 for the more immediate service of man. This 
 forms, owing to our dependence upon it, what 
 the Scripture calls " the whole stay and staff 
 of bread." Judea was famous for this noble 
 untduction. Moses calls it " a land of wheat." 
 
 By a boldness of metaphor he speak? of * the 
 kidneys of wheat." In the restored prosperity 
 of this highly-favoured people, this commodity 
 is not overlooked : " They shall flow together 
 to the goodness of the Lord for wheat" — 
 " The barns shall be full of wheat" — 
 
 But let us pass from Judea to our own 
 country; a land the Lord careth for, and 
 whose inhabitants are " fed with the finest 
 of the wheat" Who that has lately watched 
 the springing of the earth, seen the valleys 
 standing thick with corn, heard the little hills 
 rejoicing on every side, and shouted as the 
 precious treasure was safely conveyed into 
 the garner, can help exclaiming, " Thou, O 
 God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the 
 poor." And shall we expose ourselves to the 
 reproach of the prophet, " Neither say they 
 in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord oui 
 God, that giveth rain, both the former and the 
 latter, in his season : he reserveth unto us thn 
 appointed weeks of the harvest." 
 
 Two things in this case may hinder or 
 weaken the impression of his goodness. The 
 one is the constancy of its return. It is easy 
 to see that this is really an argument for 
 greater thankfulness, unless we are to be evil 
 because God is good ; for surely the common- 
 ness of benefits multiplies them, and increases 
 our obligation in a corresponding degree. Yet 
 what is usual ceases to strike ; what is fre- 
 quently repeated, and returns continuously in 
 a fixed and known regularity, arrives without 
 emotion, and is regarded as a thing of course. 
 When the manna first fell upon the ground 
 every eye would be turned towards heaven 
 but it soon became " this light food." AnJ 
 one reason why God sometimes withdraws 
 or suspends an enjoyment is, that we may 
 learn to feel the worth by the want of the 
 blessing. 
 
 The other is, the means he employs. These 
 keep us from seeing his hand ; yet that hand 
 worketh all in all. Away with the semi-infi- 
 delity of philosophers — He has established no 
 mechanical laws which render his continual 
 presence unnecessary. Instruments are no- 
 thing without his agency. If they succeed, it 
 is only because he uses them. Second causes 
 are moved by the first : " I will hear, saith 
 the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they 
 shall hear the earth ; and the earth shall hear 
 the corn, and the wine, and the oil ; and they 
 shall hear Jezreel." David therefore fixes 
 our eye at once upon God ; and says, " Thou 
 visitest the earth, and waterest it ; thou great 
 ly enrichest it with the river of God, which 
 is full of water: thou preparest them corn, 
 when thou hast so provided for it. Thou wa- 
 terest the ridges thereof abundantly; thou 
 settlest the furrows thereof; thou makest it 
 soft with showers ; thou blessest the springing 
 thereof; thou crownest the year with thy 
 goodness ; and thy paths drop fatness." 
 
 Miraces rouse attention for the moment. 
 
SEPTEMBER 23. 
 
 307 
 
 but the ordinary workings of Divine Provi- 
 dence are no less truly wonderful in them- 
 selves : yea, the instant and immediate pro- 
 duction of an effect develops less of his per- 
 fections, and the securing of it by various 
 and numberless combinations, not one fail- 
 ing:. We admire the word that multiplied 
 five loaves into a sufficiency to feed a large 
 multitude ; but whose operation is it that an- 
 nually increases the seed that is sown " and 
 dies," thirty, sixty, and one hundred fold ? If 
 we have faith enough to see God only in ex- 
 traordinary events, our godliness will be very 
 occasional and limited. But there are some 
 who live in his presence, who " walk with 
 God," who confess him in every trial and com- 
 fort, and are preparing for that heaven where 
 God is " all in all." 
 
 If some things would prevent our gratitude, 
 others are adapted to excite and strengthen it. 
 Let us, if we would be impressed with this 
 goodness, think, 
 
 First, how easily he could have destroyed 
 our hopes. All was suspended upon his will. 
 War might have ravaged and desolated our 
 fields. Insects, blasts, and mildew, were at 
 his nod. The heavens over us might have 
 been as brass, and the earth under us as iron, 
 through continued and scorching heat Ex- 
 cessive rains might have deluged the soil, 
 injured the ripening of the corn, and hindered 
 the ingathering. 
 
 Secondly, let us reflect how dreadful the 
 effects of dearth would have proved. God 
 has favoured us in a thousand instances. He 
 has not only relieved, but indulged us. With 
 how many sounds, and perfumes, and colours, 
 and relishes, has he gratified our senses ! But 
 these might have been withholden without 
 annihilating human support. We never feel 
 in viewing a flower as we do at the sight of 
 an ear of corn. It is when we lean on the 
 stile and see the waving bounty, or when we 
 walk through the pathway of the standing 
 ears ; it is then we exclaim, " Thou, O God, 
 
 fhast prepared of thy goodness for the poor." 
 It is not difficult to convince men of the im- 
 portance of what relates to their bodies. The 
 flesh cries out, and if denied ease or food will 
 he heard. Animal appetites often return, 
 and the relief of them is even essential to 
 the preservation of life. What so powerfu] 
 as the cravings of hunger ? We have also 
 relations to be provided for as well as our- 
 selves. Many have families : some have large 
 families. What is it for a mother to hear a 
 child cry for want, and have no sustenance to 
 give it ! 
 
 Thirdly, we must not forget how much we 
 have deserved his displeasure. We cannot 
 estimate properly his goodness without con- 
 sidering our un worthiness of the least of all 
 nis mercies. Here there is a difference be- 
 tween us and other crea'.ures. The eyes of 
 
 all wait upon him, and he giveth them their 
 meat in due season. But they have never 
 offended him, they have always fulfilled the 
 end of their being. But we have renounced 
 our allegiance to him, we have followed 
 idols, we have joined in alliance with his 
 foes, and have daily and hourly provoked him 
 to his face — What claim has a rebel upon 
 his gracious sovereign ? or a runaway servant 
 who has robbed him, upon a kind master? 
 Where is the henefactor who would continue 
 his bounties after numberless proofs of ingrat- 
 itude, and enmity, and insult? Where then 
 should we have been if God had rewarded us 
 according to our iniquities? Our guilt has 
 been aggravated beyond that of any other 
 country, by reason of our pre-eminent advan- 
 tages. Surely it is of the Lord's mercies 
 that we are not consumed, because his com- 
 passions fail not Surely at the end of another 
 harvest we are constrained to exclaim, " Not 
 unto us, O Lord, not unto us ; but to thy name 
 give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's 
 sake." 
 
 But we are here reminded not only of the 
 nature of his goodness, but the subjects of it: 
 " Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness 
 for the poor." It is not for them exclusively. 
 " The king is served by the field." A supply 
 for the poor is of course a supply for the 
 rich ; and it is easy to see that a suspension 
 of the Divine goodness would involve all 
 ranks. The rich can no more create than 
 the poor ; and should the course of vegeta- 
 tion be stopped by him who has power to 
 destroy as well as to produce, what profit 
 would a man have of all the wealth he pos- 
 sessed ? Wealth would be nothing if it could 
 not be laid out ; and if the time ever came, 
 which the Lord forbid ! in which there was 
 neither earing nor harvest, the proprietor, as 
 well as the peasant and the pauper, would 
 perish. But it is spoken in reference to the 
 poor, because, 
 
 First, they are the larger mass of mankind, 
 and whatever pride may think, in the eye of 
 reason, policy, and revelation, by far the most 
 important, useful, and necessary part. 
 
 Secondly, they would be more peculiarly 
 affected by deficiency. Dear purchases can 
 be made by the rich, who, as the price of pro- 
 visions advances, can follow it ; but the poor 
 are speedily straitened, and become a prey to 
 scarceness; and every door is shut against 
 them but that of precarious charity. 
 
 Thirdly, to encourage those in humble and 
 trying life to depend upon him. What he did 
 formerly he does now. He prepares of his 
 goodness for the poor. He may try you, and 
 require proof of your confidence, before he 
 communicates relief: but " the neeay shall 
 not always be forgotten, the expectation of 
 the poor shall not perish for ever." " Trust ir. 
 the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, 
 
3U8 
 
 SEPTEMBER 23. 
 
 and verily thou shalt be fed." And " a little 
 that a righteous man hath, is better than the 
 riches of many wicked." 
 
 Fourthly, to enforce our attention to them, 
 from the Divine example. We see how he 
 had his eye upon the poor in the Jewish 
 economy. It is delightful to read the various 
 provisions concerning them in the law of Mo- 
 ses. All the earth spontaneously yielded, the 
 seventh year, belonged to the poor. At har- 
 vest the owners were not to cut down the cor- 
 ners of their fields, they were to scatter some 
 handfuls behind them for the gleaner, and if 
 they dropped a sheaf they were not to go back 
 for it. See what is said with regard to their 
 borrowing, and pledges : " If thou lend money 
 to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou 
 shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt 
 thou lay upon him usury. If thou at all take 
 thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt 
 deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth 
 down : for that is his covering only, it is his 
 raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? 
 and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto 
 me, that I will hear; for I am gracious." 
 Again : " Ye shall not afflict any widow, or 
 fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any 
 wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will 
 surely hear their cry." Hear James calling 
 men away from the gold ring and gay cloth- 
 ing : " Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath 
 not God chosen the poor of this world rich in 
 faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath 
 promised to them that love him ? But ye have 
 despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress 
 you, and draw you before the judgment-seats'!" 
 And, " Behold, the hire of the labourers who 
 have reaped down your fields, which is of you 
 kept back by fraud, crieth : and the cries of 
 them which have reaped are entered into the 
 ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." We inveigh 
 not against the distinctions and ranks of life ; 
 yea, we would maintain them, and are per- 
 suaded the invasions of them are no more ad- 
 vantageous to inferiors than to their superiors. 
 Yet they may be carried to an extreme. Nei- 
 ther would we wish to relax for one moment 
 the apostolic law, that " if any man will not 
 work, neither shall he eat." It was never 
 the design of Providence, that the poor should 
 be fed without labour; but if they are willing 
 to labour, and cannot procure a decent and 
 comfortable support for themselves, something 
 must be wrong somewhere, in the state of the 
 community; and rulers and subjects should 
 remember the awful admonition : " Behold, is 
 it not of the Lord of hosts that the people 
 shall labour in the very fire, and the people 
 shall weary themselves *for very vanity 1" 
 " For the oppression of the poor, for the sigh- 
 ing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the 
 Lord ; I will set him in safety from him that 
 puffeth at him." 
 
 Every season shows his goodness on behalf 
 01 the poor. Let us be mercifu. as our hea- 
 
 venly Father is merciful; and followers »» 
 God as dear children. " If the clouds be ful. 
 of rain, they empty themselves upon the 
 earth." What a responsibility attaches to the 
 affluent! What a disgrace, what a curse 
 will their abundance be without diffusion ! 
 "Charge them that are rich in this world 
 that they be not high-minded, nor trust in un- 
 certain riches, but in the living God, who 
 giveth us richly all things to enjoy ; that they 
 do good, that they be rich in good works, 
 ready to distribute, willing to communicate ; 
 laying up in store for themselves a good 
 foundation against the time to come, that they 
 may lay hold on eternal life." Let us thue 
 fall in with the designs of God, in befriending 
 the necessitous. The poor we have always 
 with us, and their distresses are great. Let 
 us feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, 
 and cheer those who are ready to perish, and 
 cause the widow's heart to sing for joy : and 
 be so many little images of him who prepares 
 of his goodness for the poor. It will be one 
 of the best ways in which we can nhow our 
 gratitude on the present occasion — But let us 
 sing a song of praise to the Author of all 
 good, in the language of David, so bemi'ifhlly 
 versified by Watts — 
 
 " Good is the Lord, the heavenly King. 
 Who makes the earth his cate, 
 Visits the pastures every spring, 
 And bids the grass appear. 
 
 " The clouds, like rivers rais'd on high, 
 Pour out, at thy command, 
 Their watery blessings from the sky, 
 To cheer the thirsty land. 
 
 "The soften'd ridges of the field 
 Permit the corn to spring; 
 The valleys rich provision yield, 
 And the poor labourers sing. 
 
 " The little hills on every side 
 Rejoice at falling showers; 
 The meadows, drest in all their pride, 
 Perfume the air with flowers. 
 
 "The barren clods, refresh'd with rain, 
 Promise a joyful crop; 
 The parched grounds look green again, 
 And raise the reaper's hope. 
 
 ' The various months thy goodness crown* 
 How bounteous are thy ways ! 
 The bleating flocks spread o'er the down* 
 And shepherds shout thy praise." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 23. 
 
 " And in this mountain shall the Lord of hostt 
 make unto all people a feast of fat things, a 
 feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of 
 marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." 
 
 Isaiah xxv. 6. 
 We might remark here the author of tin 
 entertainment ; and the place where it wat 
 to be made ; and the richness of the provision . 
 but let us notice only the universality of the 
 design. When men make a feast, they in- 
 vite only their relations and friends, or theit 
 rich neighbours, who can bid them again, and 
 make a recompp-^.. But there is one feast 
 
SEPTEMBER 24. 
 
 309 
 
 which are invited the occupiers of the high- 
 ways and hedges, and the poor, and the maim- 
 ed, and the halt, and the blind. Belshazzar 
 the king made a great feast; but it was to 
 "a thousand of his lords." Ahasuerus made 
 a great feast; but it was " unto all his princes 
 and servants ; the power of Persia and Media, 
 the nobles and rulers of the provinces being 
 before him." It is true, that at the close of 
 t M the king made a feast unto all the people 
 that were found in Shushan the palace, both 
 unto great and small, seven days in the court 
 of the garden of the king's palace." But how 
 large soever the court of the garden was, it 
 could contain on'y a few thousand partakers, 
 while millions in his one hundred and twen- 
 ty-seven provinces, were excluded from the 
 festivity. But in this mountain the Lord 
 makes " unto all people a feast of fat things, 
 a feast of wines on the lees ; of tat things full 
 of marrow, of wines on the lees well re- 
 fined." 
 
 That he was able to do this, shows his 
 greatness and all-sufficiency. That he is will- 
 ing to do this shows the exceeding riches of 
 his mercy and grace. It serves to distinguish 
 Christianity from Judaism. The provisions 
 of the latter were chiefly confined to one peo- 
 ple, and comparatively a very small nation : 
 but here there is no difference between Jew 
 or Greek. Jesus is the Saviour of the world : 
 in his name shall the Gentiles trust ; in him 
 all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 
 
 It displays the unchristianism of monopoly. 
 It is lamentable to 'think how fond some are 
 of inclusion, and still more, if possible, of ex- 
 clusion. If God was to sanction the anathe- 
 mas of his rash and erring creatures, how few 
 would be saved ! But if, though they should 
 call upon him as long and as loud as the wor- 
 shippers called upon Baal, he will not hear 
 them. And if they were fairly to consult his 
 word, his word would tell them that they 
 know not what manner of spirit they are of. 
 If they were in a good frame of mind, though 
 they would not wish to sacrifice truth to can- 
 dour, they would rejoice in the thought that 
 others, all others are invited as well as them- 
 selves, and that for all there is enough, and to 
 spare. 
 
 This universality should also check despond- 
 ency. " I feel my need of these blessings, more 
 than of my necessary food, and long, above all 
 things, to partake of them. And O my soul, 
 what hinders me 1 If the feast be made for 
 all, why may not I come, and partake freely ? 
 The inviters were ordered to bid as many as 
 they should find, both bad and good, to the 
 marriage., It would therefore be, not humility, 
 but even disobedience, to refuse the command 
 of the king. And this is his commandment, 
 that we believe on the name of his Son Jesus 
 Christ" 
 
 Here too, is the annihilation of excuse. You 
 will be abh hereafter to plead no peculiarity 
 
 in your circumstances as a reason for your ir- 
 religion. You will see persons at the rig; 
 hand, of the, same country, connexions, calling, 
 condition ; and of the same nature, weakness, 
 passions, and depravity too, with yourselves. 
 Truth will not allow you to say, I perished 
 because there was no Saviour able or ready to 
 save me ; because no redress adequate to my 
 relief was proposed to my hope, and placo'' 
 within my reach. I sought deliverance, but 
 could not obtain it. He turned away my 
 prayer, and said, You are an exception — the 
 benefit was free for all — but you. No. You 
 will have no cloak for your sin. No allevia- 
 tion of your misery. This will be the hell ol 
 hell — You would not come to him that you 
 might have life. You were soul-suicides. 
 You destroyed yourselves. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 24. 
 
 " Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath 
 learned of the Father, cometh unto me." — John 
 vi. 45. 
 
 Many perhaps have never particularly ob- 
 served this expression. But it is very in- 
 structive. 
 
 It shows us what faith is — It consists in 
 coming to Christ He is no more in the world, 
 so as to be known after the flesh. The com- 
 ing to him could not mean a corporeal ap- 
 proach, without excluding all now living, and 
 all who have lived ever since, from the pro- 
 mise, " Come unto me, all ye that labour and 
 are heavy laden, and I will give you rest : 
 and him that cometh to me I will in no wise 
 cast out" Yea, when he was on earth, this 
 coming intended much more than a bodily ac- 
 cess to him, for he complained of those who 
 were then near him and followed him, " ye 
 will not come to me that ye might have life ;" 
 "ye also have seen me and believed not" 
 But it is a representation of faith by its ope- 
 ration and effect Faith is not a mere notion 
 or belief, but such a belief as is accompanied 
 with an application to him for all the purposes 
 of salvation — Therefore coming to him, and 
 believing on him, are used by himself as sy- 
 nonymous with each other. 
 
 It reminds us also of the reasonableness of 
 faith. Faith is not the offspring of presump- 
 tion or ignorance : it flows from instruction, 
 from divine teaching — " Every one, therefore, 
 that hath heard, and hath learned of the Fa- 
 ther, cometh unto me." A fool only would 
 intrust something immensely valuable to a be- 
 ing with whom he was unacquainted. I have 
 ventured, says the Christian, such an inter- 
 esting, such an infinite treasure in the hands 
 of Christ, that I should be the most miserable 
 of all creatures had I any suspicion concern- 
 ing him. "I know whom I have believed, 
 and am persuaded that he is able to keep that 
 which I have committed to him against that 
 
310 
 
 SEPTEMBER 25. 
 
 day." And every believer is ab.e to give a 
 reason of the hope that is in him. His house 
 is great and weighty, and the fall would in- 
 volve not only the "urniture, but himself; and 
 many a rain and many a flood will arise, and 
 be sure to try it ; but he feels secure, because 
 lie is conscious that it is founded on a rock. 
 It is therefore said, " they that know thy 
 Name will put their trust in thee, for thou, 
 Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." 
 We see also the entire importance of the 
 Lord Jesus. We cannot infer the value of a 
 thing from the aim of men ; they may attach 
 themselves to a trifle, and expend their labour 
 and sacrifices on a thing of naught But the 
 Lord is a God of knowledge ; by him actions 
 are weighed. And if God fixes upon an end, 
 and always keeps it in view ; and if, in all he 
 says and does, he seeks the promotion of it, 
 we may be assured that the object is un- 
 speakably excellent and necessary. Now we 
 here see that all the teaching of God, both in 
 the revelation of the word and in the work 
 of his Spirit, is designed to make us feel our 
 need of Christ; and to induce us to desire 
 him, and to repair to him. This is telling us 
 plainly enough, that 
 
 " None but Jesus 
 Can do helpless sinners good." 
 
 That there is salvation in none other ; that in 
 him all fullness dwells ; that he is all, and in 
 all, 
 
 Here is a rule for ministers to go by. If 
 they would conform to the mind and method 
 of God himself — and none teaches like him — 
 every one that hears and learns of them will 
 be guided to Christ, and will hear nothing 
 but the call, " Behold the Lamb of God." 
 This is not the case with all preachers. If 
 we were to hear and learn of some, they 
 would lead us far enough from him ; we 
 should be conducted to Epictetus, or Moses, 
 or referred to our poor and wretched selves 
 for righteousness and strength, instead of be- 
 ing left looking only unto Jesus, and crying, 
 Lord, save, or I perish. 
 
 Finally, here is a test by which we may 
 judge of our spiritual state. If we are a peo- 
 ple of no understanding, he that made us will 
 not have mercy on us, and he that formed us 
 will show us no favour. Am I then taught 
 of God 1 Have I heard and learned of the 
 Father ? How shall I answer this question, 
 so essential to my peace and comfort 1 How 
 do I stand with regard to Christ ? Have I 
 forsaken the world, and do my thoughts and 
 desires reach out after him ? Is it the pre- 
 vailing concern of my heart to win Christ? 
 to be found in him 1 to know the power of his 
 resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffer- 
 ings, and to be made conformable to his death ? 
 Am I coming to him as unto a living stone, 
 disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God 
 and precious 1 This, this is the test — Every 
 one that hath heard and learned of the Fa- 
 
 ther, cometh unto him and every one th*» 
 cometh unto him hath heard and learned of 
 the Father. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 25. 
 
 " And Ids disciples came, and took up the body 
 and buried it, and went and told Jesus." — 
 Matt. xiv. 12. 
 
 While you sympathize with them in their 
 loss, and applaud their conduct on the occa- 
 sion, you are perhaps ready to envy them the 
 privilege they enjoyed. " Ah ! happy disci- 
 ples, to be able to repair to Jesus, and tell 
 him your grief!" But you may do the same. 
 He has said, Lo ! I am with you alway, even 
 unto the end of the world. And therefore 
 though he is no longer on earth corporeally, 
 he is here spiritually. Though you cannot 
 see him, you can approach him, and find him 
 a very present help in trouble. Yea, you 
 have the advantage of those who lived in the 
 days of his flesh. He was not then in every 
 place, but, 
 
 " Where'er we seek him he is found, 
 And every place is holy ground." 
 
 They often had to go to a distance. Martha 
 and Mary had to call in a servant, and send 
 to him beyond Jordan, saying, " Lord, behold 
 he whom thou lovest is sick." But you can 
 instantly fall upon your knees, and cry, " Lord, 
 I am oppressed, undertake for me ;" and 
 prayer will reach him in a moment, in the 
 twinkling of an eye — "Before they call I wil. 
 answer, and while they call I will hear." 
 
 Realize therefore the privilege ; and re- 
 member that the best thing you can do with 
 your trouble is to take it to him. This is 
 sanctioned by the highest authority : " Is any 
 afflicted 1 Let him pray." 
 It is recommended by experience : 
 
 " What various hindrances we meet 
 In coining to a mercy-seat : 
 Yet who that knows the worth of prayei, 
 But wishes to be often there ?" 
 
 Of all the millions that have tried it, thei^. is 
 not one but will say, " It is good for mc to 
 draw nigh to God :" and also add, " Wait on 
 the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall 
 strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the 
 Lord." 
 
 There is nothing like the influence of the 
 exercise, in calming the ruffled mind, healing 
 the broken spirit, and preserving us from all 
 the unhallowed feelings to which we are lia- 
 ble in the hour of distress. 
 
 To whom can we be so encouraged to go 
 as unto him ? Others are often wanting in 
 kindness. Their patience is soon exhausted. 
 By our continual coming we w^ary them. 
 They may be in a selfish or pettish frame. 
 They may be too busy to attend to our com- 
 plaint. It may be deemed beneath their no- 
 tice when they deign to regard us — What 
 airs they give themselves— what difficulties 
 
SEP I'. AIBER 26. 
 
 311 
 
 tliey urge — what delays they require- - hr w 
 they love to make us feel our depended ?e — 
 and how sure are they to remind us oi our 
 faults ! But he ubpraideth not. Ho r'.f.spises 
 not the prayer of the destitute. Hf >. full of 
 condescension and long-suffering, 'lis heart 
 is the dwelling-place of pity. Hr presses us 
 to make free with him — " Come vnto me, all 
 ye that labour and are heavy laJ. j n, and I will 
 give you rest." 
 
 If men were kind, they arc often power- 
 less. If their ear is open to \nir, their hand 
 is shortened that it cannot rave. They may 
 weep when we weep, and weep most of all 
 that their resources can':) A aid their affec- 
 tions. But nothing is too hard for the Lord. 
 As to the trouble you tike to him, he can ex- 
 plain it, and show you wherefore he contend- 
 eth with you. He can support you under it. 
 He can deliver you from it He can turn it 
 into a blessing. He can enable you to say, 
 " It is good for - xe that I have been afflicted." 
 
 Therefor? w> and tell Jesus. It is not in 
 all cases vA in all respects improper to un- 
 bosom y?j'falves to a fellow-creature, and 
 especia 1 !'/ a /cllow-Christiaji ; some solace and 
 relie: mp.y be obtained : but, says Cowper — 
 
 •' VYre half the breath thus vainly spent, 
 To heaven in supplication sent ; 
 The cheerful cry w ojld oft'ner be, 
 * Hear what the Lord hath done for me." " 
 
 fiave you, like thejo disciples, been to the 
 grave, and left your hope arid comfort in the 
 dust I Go and teil bim who wept himself at 
 the grave of La^arns, and who can be belter 
 to you than ten sons. 
 
 Have you received intelligence that alarms 
 or distresses you '.' Do as Hezekiah did — He 
 went and sprep.d the letter before the Lord. 
 
 Have you a heart's bitterness, known only 
 to yourself, and which you feel not at liberty 
 to divulge to any earthly connexion ? There 
 is nothing but you may communicate to hiin. 
 He enjoins you in every thing to make known 
 your requests unto him. 
 
 Are you a backslider, and after knowing 
 the evil of sin, and tasting that the Lord is 
 gracious, have you turned again to folly? 
 Have you sa d, I have loved idols, and after 
 them will T go] "Oh! turn; turn again." 
 "Take with you words, and turn unto the 
 Lord." You will find him where, and what 
 he was — the change has been only in you — 
 
 " Behold, great God, we come to thee, 
 Though blushes veil our face ; 
 Constraint our last retreat to seek 
 In thy much injur'd grace." 
 
 And O thou sinner, just awakened to look 
 into thy condition ; and pressed with a sense 
 of thy guilt, and depravity, and danger, art 
 asking, " What must I do 1" Go thou to him. 
 Wait for nothing to recommend thee — He 
 looks for nothing. Throw thyself at his foot- 
 stool. Say, " Lord, mine is a pressing case ; 
 I must >btain relief, or be undone for ever. 
 
 Other refuge have I none. In thee is my 
 help — Leave not my soul destitute." And he 
 will not, he cannot reject thee ; for he has 
 said — Him that cometh unto me, I wiu 
 
 IN NO WISE CAST OUT. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 26. 
 
 u He hath given all things into his hand. 
 John hi. 35. 
 
 Love is always generous. It delights to 
 heap" favours upon its object ; and never 
 thinks it has done enough. But what munifl 
 cence is here ! " The Father loveth the Son, 
 
 and HATH GIVEN ALL THINGS INTO HIS HAND !' 
 
 How far does this universality reach ! If 
 we compare the assertion with other passages 
 of Scripture, especially with the words of our 
 Saviour after his resurrection, "All power is 
 given unto me in heaven and in earth ;" and 
 with the words of Paul, " He ascended up 
 far above all heavens, that he might fill all 
 things :" we shall see that it cannot be taken 
 too extensively. 
 
 It takes in all in nature. To him, as we 
 learn from the application of the Apostle, in 
 his Epistle to the Hebrews, David refers 
 when he says, " Thou madest him to have do- 
 minion over the works of thy hands ; thou 
 hast put all things under his feet: all sheep 
 and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field ; 
 the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, 
 and whatsoever passeth through the paths of 
 the seas." Accordingly in the days of his 
 flesh all creatures confessed and obeyed his 
 power. He made summer and winter. The 
 day is his, the night also is his. The silver 
 and the gold are his, and the cattle upon a 
 thousand hills. The world is his, and the 
 fullness thereof — He is unworthy the name 
 of a Christian who does not acknowledge his 
 rights and agency in all the scenes of crea- 
 tion around him ; walk with him in the boun- 
 ties of the field ; and the beauties of the gar- 
 den ; see him in the rose of Sharon, and the 
 lily of the valleys ; and hear him in the voice 
 of every bird, and the breeze of every wind. 
 
 It takes in all in Providence. All that is 
 devised and carried on in our world is under 
 his rule. The government is upon his shoul- 
 der. There is not a being to be found but is 
 either his servant or his slave ; who does not 
 obey him voluntarily or by constraint. He 
 doth according to his own will in the army 
 of heaven and among the inhabitants of the 
 earth, and none can stay his hand. He 
 changes the times and the seasons. He re- 
 moveth and setteth up kings. While they 
 deal proudly, he is above them. While they 
 follow their own passions they lulfil his de- 
 signs. When they move in the line of his 
 purpose they are resistless ; and when they 
 turn from it, ana attempt to go forward, he 
 has a hook for their nose, and a bridle for 
 

 
 312 
 
 SEPTEMBER 27. 
 
 their jaws. The wrath of man praises him, 
 and the remainder of wrath he restrains — 
 like the owner of the mill, who admits the 
 water as long as the grinding requires, and 
 then drops the hatch. In all our temporal 
 concerns he decides our successes or disap- 
 pointments. 
 
 " If light attends the course I run, 
 'Tis ht provides the rays ; 
 And 'tis his hand that veils my sun, 
 When darkness clouds my days." 
 
 Sickness and health, the changes of life, the 
 time, place, and manner of our death, are all 
 regulated by him who " careth for us." 
 
 It includes all in grace. The resources of 
 the natural and providential worlds are his, to 
 enable him to accomplish the work of grace. 
 He could not make all things work together 
 for the good of his people, unless they were 
 put under him, and subjected to his control. 
 But they are. He has power given him over 
 all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as 
 many as the Father hath given him. He is 
 made head over all things to the Church. 
 Hence all his ways towards them are mercy 
 and truth. He is also king in Zion. Every 
 thing there is committed to his authority. 
 He is the only Lord of conscience. He has 
 the appointment of his own ordinances. He 
 has given prophets, apostles, pastors, evangel- 
 ists, teachers. All the influences of the Spirit 
 are dispensed by him, and from him. Par- 
 don and peace, righteousness and strength 
 are in him — in him all fullness dwells. There- 
 fore to him shall men come : to him shall the 
 gathering of the people be. 
 
 It includes all in glory. At death he comes 
 and receives the souls of his people to him- 
 self, that where he is there they may be also. 
 At the last day he raises their bodies, con- 
 fesses them before his Father and the holy 
 angels, and ushers them into the joy of their 
 Lord. That better world he viewed as his 
 own, even here, and disposed of every thing 
 in it as the owner and governor. " I appoint 
 unto you," said he to his disciples, " a king- 
 dom, as my Father hath appointed me." 
 " This day," said he to the dying thief, " thou 
 shalt be with me in Paradise." The right- 
 eous Judge, says the Apostle, shall give me 
 the crown of righteousness : and all the re- 
 wards bestowed upon the churches in Asia 
 were conferred by him — " The Father hath 
 given all things into his hand." 
 
 Therefore let his adversaries tremble. 
 They may make war with the Lamb ; but the 
 Lamb shall overcome them, for he is King of 
 kings, and Lord of lords. Escape is impossi- 
 ble. Resistance is vain — but submission is not. 
 
 And therefore if the Father has given all 
 things into his hand, let us do the same. He 
 is worthy of the surrender, and our interest 
 requires it. Let us give ourselves into his 
 hand ; and let us do this three ways or for 
 three purposes — First, to be saved. Secondly, 
 
 to be employed. And Thirdly, to be governed 
 by him. 
 
 Then we may be joyful in him ; and rejoice 
 with joy unspeakable, and full of glory, ex- 
 ulting in the thought that he who is infinitely 
 dear tn us is so exalted, and that he on whom 
 we entirely depend is so mighty. Then we 
 shall have nothing to fear, but every thing to 
 expect Our welfare is involved in his ad- 
 vancement : and because he lives we shall 
 live also. We are the followers, the friends, 
 the children, the bride, the members of him 
 who is higher than the highest — He is Lord 
 
 OF ALL. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 27. 
 
 " We icould not be unclothed, but clothed upon, 
 
 that mortality might be swallowed up of life." 
 
 —2 Cor. v. 4. 
 
 Here we seo that it was not death they 
 desired, but the result of it. They wished to 
 resemble those who will be found alive at the 
 last day, who will not sleep, but be changed : 
 or to be privileged like Enoch and Elias, who 
 went to heaven without dissolution, and were 
 glorified soul and body together. They longed 
 to be clothed, without being found naked — to 
 be clothed upon — that this corruptible might 
 put on incorruption, and this mortal immor- 
 tality — that their mortality, instead of being 
 lodged in the grave and devoured of worms 
 might be swallowed up of life, as the rivulet 
 is swallowed up of the river, and the outline 
 is swallowed up of the finished picture, and 
 the dawn is swallowed up of the day, and the 
 child of the man. That is, they wished, if it 
 were possible and allowable, to reach their 
 completeness gently and insensibly, without 
 such a disruption and tearing to pieces as 
 death. Three things may be remarked from 
 hence. 
 
 First. The primitive Christians were not, 
 as we sometimes imagine, peculiar beings, 
 and strangers to many of our feelings. They 
 were men of like passions with us, and en- 
 compassed with infirmities. Tney had nature 
 in them as well as grace. They were holy, 
 but human : spiritua,, but not divine. 
 
 Secondly. A dislike of death is no proof 
 of the want jf religion. The forerunners and 
 the accompaniments, " the pains, the groans, 
 the dying strife," may sometimes deeply affect 
 a pious mind. No man ever yet hated his 
 own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it No 
 creature can like its own dissolution. We 
 see this in the animals ; though they have no 
 dread of futurity, they yet struggle for life 
 The fear of death is as naturally inherent in 
 us as hunger, thirst, and sleep ; and only re 
 quires to be governed. Adam had it in the 
 state of innocency, otherwise the words, " in 
 the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
 surely die," would have been no threatening. 
 Our Saviour, thoigh his humanity was sin 
 
SEPTEMBER SB. 
 
 313 
 
 fesa feared it, and prayed to him who was 
 able to save him from death, with strong cry- 
 ings and tears, Father, if it be possible, let 
 this cup pass from me ; nevertheless, not my 
 will but thine be done. We may covet a 
 thing, and not like the mode in which it is to 
 be obtained. The husband and the father 
 longs to see and embrace his family on the 
 American shore, yet shrinks back at the 
 thought of the Atlantic which he has to cross. 
 A man is confined with a diseased member, 
 and his recovery depends upon the removal 
 of it ; now what he longs for is not the am- 
 putation, but the cure ; and no one questions 
 whether he wishes to be well because he 
 shudders at the operation. 
 
 Yet, thirdly, since dying is the way, and 
 the only way, to life everlasting, we should 
 endeavour to rise as much as possible above 
 the dread of it And faith can accomplish 
 what is impossible to flesh and blood. Let us 
 view the subject under all the softenings given 
 it in the Scripture. Let us remember that 
 Jesus has taken away the sting of death, 
 though the stroke remains ; and that the 
 stroke itself will not only be harmless, but 
 beneficial, infinitely beneficial — To die is 
 gain. Keep your eye not on what lies imme- 
 diately before you, but on the glory and bless- 
 edness beyond. If the passage be trying, it 
 opens into a wealthy place — and it is short 
 — and safe — and you will not be alone in it. 
 He has said, " I will never leave thee nor for- 
 sake thee." Therefore thank God, and take 
 courage, and sing — 
 
 " While he affords his aid, 
 t cannot yield to fear; 
 Though I should walk through death's dark shade, 
 My Shepfferd 's with me there." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 28. 
 
 •* To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disal- 
 lowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and 
 precious." — 1 Peter ii. 4. 
 Every attentive observer. must be led to 
 acknowledge the truth of Isaiah's words con- 
 cerning the Messiah, " He is despised and re- 
 jected of men." When we look around us, 
 we find the multitude rising early, and sitting 
 up late, and eating the bread of sorrow, but 
 not seeking after Jesus. Rejoicing in the 
 work of their own hands, but not glorying in 
 the Lord. This is a fact peculiarly painful to 
 Christians, who, ever since the eyes of their 
 understanding were opened, have been pray- 
 ing, " Let the whole earth be filled with his 
 glory." But let them remember that he is 
 not universally undervalued. There are some 
 who know his name ; yea, they have many 
 and distinguished associates in their estima- 
 tion of him. 
 
 They can claim God the judge of all — To 
 him he is precious. " This is my beloved 
 Son " says he, " in whom I am well pleased." 
 
 " Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine 
 elect in whom my soul delighted." Do we 
 need proof of this 1 " The Father loveth the" 
 Son, and hath given all things into his hands." 
 He forgives us " for Christ's sake ;" and as- 
 sures us that whatsoever we ask " in his 
 name" we shall receive. 
 
 They can claim the innumerable company 
 of angels. Though these glorious beings have 
 not been redeemed by him, they know that 
 he is their Maker and Preserver ; and they 
 know that he is the Saviour of their younger 
 brethren. He was seen of angels as his at 
 tendants and admirers in the days of his flesh. 
 They rejoice, because it is an accession to his 
 subjects, over every sinner that repenteth. 
 The sufferings of Christ and the glory that 
 should follow, are the things into which they 
 desire to look. And what is the burden of 
 their songs? "I heard the voice of many 
 angels round about the throne and the beasts 
 and the elders : and the number of them was 
 ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou- 
 sands of thousands ; sayin? with a loud voice, 
 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 
 power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
 and honour, and glory, and blessing." 
 
 They claim all the partakers of Divine 
 grace. In whatever age and country they 
 live ; and whatever distinctions prevail among 
 them, there is no difference here. Here -ney 
 are of one heart and of one soul — For to fhem 
 that believe he is precious. 
 
 In what degree ? This neither the tongue 
 of men or of angels can express. But two 
 things we may affirm. He is universally pre- 
 cious. There are some who may be termed 
 Christ-dividers. They would be made the 
 partakers of Christ, but partially. They like 
 his cross but not his sceptre ; his sacrifice but 
 not his service. But a real believer, when he, 
 so to speak, examines Christ all over, acqui- 
 esces and delights in the whole of him. He 
 is precious, says he, in his person, precious in 
 his characters, precious in his relations, pre- 
 cious in his offices, precious in his life, pre- 
 cious in his death, precious in his doctrine; 
 precious in his promises, precious in his com- 
 mands — " Yea, he is altogether lovely." And 
 he is supremely precious. Indeed we do not 
 love him sincerely, unless we love him above 
 all. No other regard becomes his claims. He 
 is the king and the husband of his church ; 
 and majesty and marriage allow of no com- 
 petition of right, or rivalry of attachment. 
 Children are dear, health is dear, life is dear; 
 but they are not to be compared with him. 
 There is no one whose authority sways liks 
 his ; there is no one whose frown I dread, or 
 whose presence I long for like his. Whom 
 have I in heaven but thee ; and there is none 
 upon earth that I desire beside thee — 
 
 " All my rapacious powers can wish, 
 In thee most richly meet ; 
 Nor to mine eyes is light so dear 
 Nor friendship half so sweet." 
 
au 
 
 SEPTEMBER 29. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 29. 
 
 * Itrt mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab ; be 
 thou a covert to them from the face of the spoil- 
 er : for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler 
 ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the 
 lund." — Isaiah xvi. 4. 
 
 The Assyrians were going to invade 
 Judea ; in consequence of which some of 
 the people would flee for shelter to Moab, a 
 neighbouring country. In the words we have 
 read, God bespeaks protection on their behalf 
 during their exile ; and intimates that their 
 distress would be only short, owing to the 
 destruction of the destroyer. Thore are 
 several things here noticeable and instruc- 
 tive. 
 
 We see that Israelites may be " outcasts." 
 They are not outcasts from God, for he does 
 not cast away his people whom he foreknew. 
 Fear may indeed lead them to say, " I am 
 cast out of his sight;" and to ask, "will the 
 Iiord cast off for ever, and will he be favoura- 
 ble no more]" But this is their infirmity. 
 What says the promise 1 " Lo, I will com- 
 mand, and 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." But they may be outcasts with 
 regard to others. Outcasts by national dis- 
 tress ; for in this respect all things come alike 
 to all. Thus it was with the good Shunam- 
 ite, whose son had been restored to life : Eli- 
 jah said, "Arise, and go, thou and thine 
 household, and sojourn wheresoever thou 
 canst sojourn : for the Lord hath called for a 
 famine ; and it shall also come upon the land 
 seven years." So in the time of the Judges 
 the same calamity prevailed ; and " a certain 
 man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in 
 the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and 
 his two sons." The want of employment 
 also, as well as of provision, may compel to 
 such a step. We have no pity on idlers : they 
 that will not work should not eat : but it is 
 hard to be willing to work, and be able to get 
 nothing to do. A native country is dear, and 
 a trifling cause will not, and should not in- 
 duce us to leave it. Duty says, " Dwell in the 
 land" as long as hope says, " Verily, thou shalt 
 be fed :" but necessity has no law. Outcasts 
 by the violence of persecution. Thus when 
 the poor man, born blind, confessed the Sa- 
 viour, and recommended his Benefactor, the 
 Pharisees, it is said, "cast him out;" they 
 drove him from the assembly and excommu- 
 nicated him. At the time of Stephen's death 
 " there was a great persecution against the 
 Church which was at Jerusalem ; and they 
 were all scattered abroad throughout the re- 
 gions of Judea and Samaria, except the Apos- 
 tles." But those though spared lorthe time, 
 were also soon dispersed. How many out- 
 casts were there from France upon the infa- 
 mous revocation of the edict of Nantz ! And 
 
 how many, before the rights of conscience 
 were acknowledged, left this country and 
 fled to America, carrying liberty and religion 
 with them ! And though now persecution is 
 entirely unsanctioned not only by one consti- 
 tution, but government, and no man can be 
 made legally afraid, even whr-n he calls his 
 neighbour under his vine and under his fig- 
 tree, yet hardships are still endured by indi- 
 viduals from the carnal mind, that is enmity 
 against God : and we have known "'ives that 
 have been abandoned; children that have 
 been disinherited ; tradesmen that have been 
 deserted; servants, mechanics, and tenants, 
 that have been dismissed from their places, 
 employment, and farms, because they adhered 
 to their religious convictions. Outcasts by 
 reproach. Where the person is not injured, 
 and individuals are not deprived of their lib- 
 erty or substance, the name may be cast out 
 as an evil. They may be viewed as hypocrites, 
 as enthusiasts, as deranged, as melancholy, 
 and be excluded from parties and circles as 
 unworthy of their company, and fit only for 
 scorn or pity. " Hear the word of the Ix)rd, 
 ye that tremble at his word ; Your brethren 
 that hated you, that cast you out for my 
 name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified : 
 but he shall appear to your joy." For he that 
 gathereth the outcasts of Israel — 
 
 Is not ashamed to own them as his — " My 
 outcasts." Instead of despising them, he is 
 the more ready to confess them when they 
 suffer for his sake, or peculiarly need his fa- 
 vour. And though they may be poor, afflicted, 
 and contemned, yet under every outward dis- 
 advantage they are more excellent than their 
 neighbours, and he deems them .his peculiar 
 treasure. " When there were but a few men 
 in number ; yea, very few, and strangers in 
 it. When they went from one nation to an- 
 other, from one kingdom to another people ; 
 he suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, 
 he reproved kings for their sakes; saying, 
 Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets 
 no harm." When they were brickmakers in 
 Egypt, he "gave Egypt for their ransom." 
 When they were captives in Babylon, he gave 
 " Ethiopia and Seba for them." " Since," 
 says he, " thou wast precious in my sight, thou 
 hast been honourable, and I have loved thee : 
 therefore will I give men for thee, and people 
 for thy life." But read the language of the 
 Apostle. "They were stoned, they were 
 sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with 
 the sword : they wandered about in sheep- 
 skins and goatskins ; being destitute, afflicted, 
 tormented ; they wandered in deserts, and in 
 mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth" 
 — Yet adds he, " Of whom the world was not 
 worthy." 
 
 He can raise up for them friends even 
 among strangers and enemies. The Moabites 
 were old, and had been often very cruel foes 
 to Israel — yet says God, " Let mine outcasts 
 
SEPTEMBER 30. 
 
 sua 
 
 dwell witii thee, Moab ; and be thou a covert 
 to them from the face of the spoiler." The 
 people of the world ought to be kind to the 
 people of God, for they owe much to them ; 
 they derive many exemptions and many ad- 
 vantages from their influence and prayers. 
 But the world knoweth them not ; and from 
 their principles and dispositions we could look 
 only for hatred and opposition. And yet, " the 
 earth helped the woman." The servants of 
 God have often been succoured by persons as 
 unlikely to serve them, as the ravens were to 
 bring Elijah food in the morning and in the 
 evening. When you wish to carry a measure 
 with your fellow-creatures, put the case into 
 the hands of the Lord of all. Never limit his 
 power or his goodness. He has not only all 
 events, but all hearts under his control ; and 
 he turneth them like rivers of water. The 
 grand thing is to approve ourselves unto him : 
 for when a man's ways please the Lord, he 
 maketh also his enemies to be at peace with 
 him. This Jacob found, after prayer, in meet- 
 ing Esau. Nehemiah prayed to the God of 
 heaven, and the heathen monarch was in- 
 duced to favour his wish on behalf of his 
 country. And at the three annual festivals of 
 the Jews, when all the males were drawn to 
 Jerusalem, and invasion seemed easy and in- 
 viting, he suffered none of the surrounding 
 nations even to desire their border. 
 
 Finally, It is not long the Lord's sufferers 
 will need assistance or protection. This was 
 the case here ; and we know how it was ac- 
 complished. The danger was great; the ene- 
 my had taken all the strong holds of Judah, 
 and had encamped against Jerusalem itself. 
 But there he was arrested and destroyed. 
 This God foresaw, for he had purposed and 
 promised it; and therefore he speaks of it as 
 done already : " For the extortioner is at an 
 end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are 
 consumed out of the land." The same may 
 be said of all those that distress or alarm the 
 Christian. He may be delivered from many 
 of his difficulties and afflictions before death. 
 But it is only during life he can want or suf- 
 fer. How short therefore the season of trial ! 
 And much of this is gone already. Every day 
 and hour your salvation is nearer than when 
 you believed. A few more sighs, and all sor- 
 row and sighing shall cease. A few more 
 tears, and all tears shall be wiped from your 
 eyes. Weeping may endure for a night, but 
 joy cometh in the morning ; a morning ob- 
 scured by no cloud, and followed by no night. 
 Yea, faith in the sure word of promise, real- 
 izing not only the nearness, but the certainty, 
 considers the salvation as accomplished — " It 
 is done." " Return unto thy rest, O my soul ; 
 for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. 
 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, 
 mine eyes from tears, and my feet from fall- 
 ing." 
 
 SEPTEMBER 30. 
 
 "Seeing we also are compassed about with so 
 great a cloud of witnesses." — Hebrews xii. 1. 
 
 — We should be encouraged to go on in 
 our Christian course, or, as the Apostle ex- 
 presses it, " lay aside every weight, and the 
 sin which doth so easily beset us." Let us 
 notice the fact, and see how it bears as an ar- 
 gument Some suppose that Paul here refers 
 to spectators, rather than examples. Persons 
 in running a race had many gazing on them, 
 and the presence of the lookers-on, as well aa 
 the prize itself, served to animate them. 
 From hence, if successless, they were morti- 
 fied as well as disappointed ; if crowned, they 
 were not only rewarded but applauded. It is 
 a solemn truth, that we are never unseen in 
 religion; many eyes are upon us: and we 
 should pray to be led in a plain path, because, 
 as the margin reads it, of our observers. The 
 world and the church, our fellow Christians 
 and our ministers, behold us ; we are a spec- 
 tacle to angels as well as to men; we are 
 seen by the Judge of all. But though this be 
 a truth, we are persuaded the Apostle alludes 
 not to spectators, but examples. He refers to 
 the characters he had recorded in the prece- 
 ding chapter, commencing with pious Abel, 
 and reaching down to the close of the Mac- 
 cabean period of the Commonwealth of Is- 
 rael. 
 
 These he says, "encompass us about." 
 Their bodies were long ago laid in the grave, 
 while their spirits returned to God who gave 
 them ; and in this state it is commonly, perhaps 
 justly, supposed that they have no intercourse 
 with the affairs of this lower world ; Abraham 
 is ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledges us 
 not. But, rescued from oblivion, their names, 
 words, and deeds are found in the Scriptures ; 
 and by perusing these writings, we bring 
 them around us from every quarter; they 
 strike us in every direction. We seem to 
 see them looking anxiously on us, and seem 
 to hear them saying, " We were once in the 
 same state with you, and you will soon be in 
 the same glory with us. Wherefore, gird 
 up the loins of your mind, be sober, and 
 hope to the end for the grace that is to be 
 brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 He remarks their number — " a cloud," " a 
 great cloud of witnesses." They were few 
 compared with their contemporaries of the 
 same age ; but collectively considered, they 
 were a multitude which no man could num- 
 ber. In the most degenerate period, the 
 Lord had a people for his Name ; and they 
 often exceeded the estimation of hope. When 
 Elijah supposed he was the only true wor 
 shipper in the land, the Lord had reserved 
 unto himself seven thousand men who hai 
 not bowed the knee to the image of Baa^ 
 
316 
 
 OCTOBER 1. 
 
 and whose lips had not kissed him. But if 
 the aggregate was great when Paul wrote 
 this Epistle, what has it become since I And 
 what is it nowl How many millions have 
 been added, since, to the general assembly 
 and church of the first-born ! — In whose fel- 
 .owship we reckon up not a few of our own 
 connexions, with whom we have taken sweet 
 counsel together, and gone to the house of 
 God in company ! 
 
 He gives this number a name — They are 
 u great cloud of " witnesses" — This name 
 God gives to all his people : " ye are my wit- 
 nesses." According to the Apostle, these 
 glorified beings testified to the nature of faith, 
 and proved it to be " the substance of things 
 hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 
 They testified to the truth and the cause of 
 God ; and they testified by their lips and lives, 
 and especially by their sufferings. They at- 
 tested from experience, that religion was a 
 practicable thing, for they exemplified it, 
 though they had been men of the same nature, 
 passions, and infirmities with others. They 
 showed also from their own experience, that 
 religion was not an unprofitable thing ; they 
 never served him in vain; but were always 
 more than indemnified for every sacrifice they 
 made. They all found it good to draw near 
 a) God. He was always better to them than 
 their fears. He not only delivered, but in- 
 dulged them. They were troubled on every 
 side, yet not distressed. They trod on briers 
 and thorns, but their shoes were iron and 
 brass. They had arduous services and trials, 
 but as their days so was their strength. They 
 always complained of themselves, but never 
 of their Lord and Saviour — They spake well 
 of his name, and have left this confirmed, this 
 inviting testimony behind them, " O taste and 
 see that the Lord is good : blessed is the man 
 that trusteth in him." "Lo this, we have 
 searched it, so it is ; hear it, and know thou 
 it for thy good." 
 
 OCTOBER 1. 
 
 * As for me, I will behold thy face in righte- 
 ousness" — Psalm xvii. 15. 
 
 This is the language of a man whose mind 
 is made up ; who has decided for himself; who 
 does not suspend his conduct upon the reso- 
 lution of others. "This is my choice, my 
 hope, my relief, my comfort If the whole 
 world should go another way, this is mine. I 
 would draw others, I would draw all into the 
 same course, for I know the blessedness of it 
 —But I dare not Jbe governed by them — As 
 for me, 1 will behold thy face in righteous- 
 ness." 
 
 It is the language of a man rising in life; 
 and with great prospects before him. From 
 r mere shepherd, he had become a hero and 
 
 a conqueror ; he had married into the roya 
 family, and knew he was to fill the throne of 
 Israel. All this he overlooks, like a true son 
 of Abraham, who " by faith sojourned in the 
 land of promise, as in a strange country, 
 dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, 
 the heirs with him of the same promise : for 
 he looked for a city which hath foundations, 
 whose builder and maker is God." This is 
 the victory that overcometh the world, even 
 our faith. The sun conceals the stars, not by 
 a diffusion of darkness, but of superior splen- 
 dour. To one who has looked within the 
 veil, and seen the glory that shall be revealed, 
 what are all earthly honours, riches, and do- 
 minion. " Men of the world have their por- 
 tion in this life — as for me, I will behold thy 
 face in righteousness." 
 
 It is the language of a Jew. Though the 
 Jews lived under a dispensation abounding 
 with carnal ordinances, some of them were 
 far from being carnal men. Many of the 
 promises addressed to them regarded the life 
 that now is, and they had an obscurer revela- 
 tion of a future state than we. Our Saviour 
 tells his disciples that many prophets and 
 kings had desired to see the things which 
 they saw, and did not see them ; and Paul 
 says, that life and immortality were brought 
 to light through the Gospel. But this is tc 
 be taken comparatively, and not absolutely. 
 In Judah was God known : his name was 
 great in Israel. Jacob said, " I have waited 
 for thy salvation, O Ixird ;" but what salva- 
 tion could he look for in death, unless a salva- 
 tion beyond the grave ? Moses " had respect 
 unto the recompense of the reward." And 
 David said, " As for me, I will behold thy 
 face in righteousness." 
 
 The source from which he derived his 
 prospect of blessedness was God, in whose 
 presence there is fullness of joy. If we do 
 not make him the strength of our heart, and 
 our portion for ever, we may seek happiness, 
 but we shall never find it. Had a capacity 
 to make us happy been placed in any crea- 
 ture, we should have been necessarily at- 
 tached to idolatry, by the very law of our 
 being. 
 
 The beholding of God's face signifies two 
 things. First, the enjoyment of his favour. 
 In the Scripture, to seek his favour is to seek 
 his face: and for God to make his face to 
 shine upon us, is to be gracious unto us. 
 Hence, says David, "There be many that 
 say, Who will show me any good ? Lord, 
 lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon 
 us." What can equal the expression of his 
 love? In his favour is life. Secondly, Inti- 
 mate communion with him. David was so 
 far reconciled to Absalom, as to allow of his 
 return to Jerusalem ; but he said, " Let him 
 turn to his own house, and let him not see 
 my face. So Absalom dwelt two full years 
 
OCTOBER 2. 
 
 317 
 
 in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face." 
 Angels are represented as '• always beholding 
 the face of our heavenly Father." And thus 
 it is said of the glorified saints, "They shall 
 serve him, and they shall see his face." That 
 is, they shall enjoy the most perfect acquaint- 
 ance and intimacy with him. 
 
 Of this beatifical vision we know very lit- 
 tle, and very little can we know till the voice 
 cries, " Come and see." But one thing we 
 know — It is the way in which the blessedness 
 will be realized ; " I shall behold thy face in 
 righteousness." Righteousness is not a casual 
 or usual concomitant of the privilege, but an 
 essential requisite to it It is indispensable in 
 two respects — as to merit or title — and as to 
 meetness or preparation. The former is de- 
 rived from the righteousness of another, in 
 which Paul wished to be found, and which he 
 calls the righteousness of God by faith ; and 
 which is for all and upon all them that be- 
 lieve. The latter is from a righteousness of 
 our own ; by which we mean, not that it is 
 ours derivatively, but subjectively, being 
 wrought in us by the* influence of the Holy 
 Spirit. The one is the righteousness of justi- 
 fication, the other the righteousness of sanc- 
 tification : the one is a relative change, or the 
 change of our state ; the other a personal 
 change, or the change of our nature. They 
 are very distinguishable from each other, but 
 they are always united, and they are equally 
 necessary. A title to a thing is not a meet- 
 ness for it : but the Apostle blesses God who 
 had made them meet for the inheritance of the 
 saints in light That can never make us 
 happy which is not adapted to our disposition. 
 We cannot even hope for an object unless we 
 value it and desire it : but our wishes follow 
 our convictions and our feelings. No one 
 longs for the heaven of a Christian, but he 
 who is renewed in the spirit of his mind ; 
 and he alone is capable of enjoying it — Except 
 a man be born again, he cannot see the king- 
 dom of God. 
 
 Therefore the decision is, Blessed are the 
 pure in heart, for they shall see God : with- 
 out holiness no man shall see the Lord. And 
 the subjects of Divine grace do not feel this 
 a hardship : they do not groan, What a sad 
 thing it is that we cannot go to heaven unless 
 we are sanctified ! they love sanctification, 
 and pray to be delivered from all their iniqui- 
 ties. Suppose a man had the promise of an 
 estate, and was assured he should be put in 
 possession of it as soon as ever he was recov- 
 ered from sickness, would he, while suffering 
 the effects of his vile and painful disease, say, 
 How lamentable it is that I cannot be put into 
 the enjoyment of my estate till I am well ! 
 He would feel that he could not enjoy it 
 while the malady continued ; and would long 
 for his health, even for its own sake, if no 
 inheritance followed the invaluable blessing 
 itself. 
 
 OCTOBER 2. 
 
 "And he began to say unto them, This Jay it 
 this scripture fulfilled in your ears A nd all 
 bare him witness, and wondered at the gra 
 cious words which proceeded out of his mouth 
 And they said, Is not this Joseph's son ?" — 
 Luke iv. 21, 22. 
 
 This is all we have of his wonderful ser- 
 mon at Nazareth. And who can fill up the 
 outline 1 But while we want the matchless- 
 ness of his own exemplification, we have the 
 text, and are able to discern something of the 
 truth and force of the words in their bearing 
 on him who spake as never man spake — 
 " And there was delivered unto him the book 
 of the prophet Esaias. And when he had 
 opened the book, he found the place where it 
 was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon 
 me, because he hath anointed me to preach 
 the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to 
 heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance 
 to the captives, and recovering of sight to the 
 blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 
 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 
 It is useless to inquire, because it is impos- 
 sible to determine, whether this scripture was 
 one of the appointed lessons for the day, or 
 whether he chose it purposely for the occa- 
 sion, or whether it was the first passage that 
 presented itself to his eye when he unfolded 
 the roll. The latter would seem probable; 
 yet, were this to be conceded, we must re- 
 member that he did nothing casually ; acci- 
 dental circumstances subserved his pleasure 
 and were parts of his plan. But he asserts 
 his qualification for his work and the design 
 of his office. His mission was all mercy. He 
 came not to condemn the world, but to seek 
 and to save that which was lost. The state- 
 ment more than implies the fallen perishing 
 condition of mankind. The truth of the hu- 
 miliating fact is the dark ground on which 
 alone the glory of the Gospel can be displayed 
 to advantage. If we deny it, the Gospel has 
 nothing to do with us, and we shall have little 
 to do with the Gospel. But happy are they, 
 however painful the conviction, who feel that 
 they are in the state of wretchedness which 
 the Gospel is intended to relieve. To them 
 it will be indeed glad tidings. They will see 
 that it is every way suitable to their woes 
 and wants, and entirely adequate to their 
 relief. 
 
 Draw near, and lay open your complainta 
 Are you " poor 1" Envy not those who have 
 an abundance of this world's goods. Let not 
 your privations induce you to murmur or de- 
 spair. You may be rich in faith, and heirs of 
 the kingdom which the Lord hath promised 
 to them that love him. The poor have the 
 Gospel preached unto them : and if you re- 
 ceive the message, it will bless your bread 
 and your water; it will turn your humble 
 dwelling into a heavenly oalace it will fill 
 
ais 
 
 OCTOBER 3. 
 
 you with all the fullness of God — " He hath 
 anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor." 
 
 Are you " broken-hearted V pressed down, 
 crushed with fear and sorrow, arising from a 
 sense of sin and guilt 1 A wounded spirit 
 who can bear 1 But he healeth the broken in 
 heart, and bindeth up all their wounds. In 
 other cases people are said to die of a' broken 
 heart ; but here they will only die of a whole 
 one. He is nigh unto them that are of a 
 broken heart, and saveth such as be of a con- 
 trite spirit — "He hath sent me to heal the 
 broken-hearted." 
 
 Are you enslaved ! There is no bondage 
 like the bondage of corruption : no vassalage 
 .ike the slavery of the soul under the domin- 
 ion of sin, and when taken captive by the 
 devil at his will. Have you felt the degrada- 
 tion and misery, and do you sigh for deliv- 
 erance 1 Turn, ye prisoners of hope, to him 
 who can make you free indeed — " He is sent 
 '• to preach deliverance to the captives." 
 
 Are you " blind" as well as bound 1 This 
 was the case with Samson and Zedekiah ; 
 their oppressors having put out their eyes. 
 We have known persons deprived of bodily 
 sight who were able to see clearly the things 
 of God : but multitudes who have corporeal 
 vision are alienated from the life of God 
 through the ignorance that is in them, be- 
 cause of the blindness of their heart. They 
 see no beauty nor comeliness in him who is 
 fairer than the children of men. But he can 
 open the eyes of the understanding, and make 
 us wise unto salvation — He is sent " for the 
 recovering of sight to the blind." 
 
 Are you not only bound, and blind, but 
 "bruised?" Here is no tautology or excess 
 — every word adds to the picture. Joseph's 
 " feet were hurt with fetters ; he was laid in 
 irons." The magistrates commanded Paul 
 and Silas to be " beaten ;" and they were not 
 only cast into prison, but " had many stripes 
 laid upon them." Who can describe the in- 
 juries and sufferings of sinners ! But he 
 " sets at liberty them that are bruised." 
 
 Or are you in the condition of any or of 
 all those among the Jews who were compas- 
 sionated by the Jubilee, which returned every 
 fiftieth year ; when silver trumpets proclaim- 
 ed through the land, " ye servants, you are 
 now free from your masters. Ye debtors, you 
 are now discharged from your creditors. Ye 
 forfeiters of your estates, you have now your 
 inheritances restored ]" How would such an 
 announcement be longed for— how "accept- 
 able" would such a season prove to all who 
 were to be relieved and enriched ! " Blessed 
 are the people that know the joyful sound" — 
 He preaches "the acceptable year of the 
 Lord.' The whole continuance of this dis- 
 pensation, however, is only a year — and each 
 of you has only a day of it — " Behold now is 
 the accepted time ; behold now is the day of 
 salvation." 
 
 What effect has this discourse upon tne 
 audience 1 They were struck with admira- 
 tion. But it is feared with nothing else — " all 
 bare him witness, and wondered at the gra- 
 cious words which proceeded out of his 
 mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's 
 son 1" They seem not firmly to have believed 
 his declarations, or seriously to have consid- 
 ered his doctrine, or to have received the love 
 of the truth, that they might be saved. If 
 they had convictions they were ineffectual 
 ones ; or if their feelings were excited they 
 were overpowered by their vain and worldly 
 prejudices and passions: and therefore they 
 begin caviHing, not indeed at his teaching, 
 but at the meanness of his extraction. " Have 
 we not lately seen him labouring like one of 
 us ? Are we to bow to his authority 1" 
 
 " Lord, what is man !" How are the best 
 means and opportunities rendered useless '. 
 Is it strange if modern ministers should com- 
 plain of the want of acceptance and success, 
 when even he could say, " I have spent my 
 strength in vain 7" 
 
 Yet we sometimes hope, though outnum- 
 bered by a vile majority whose astonishment 
 soon issued in malignity, a few admired from 
 other and better principles, and were ready to 
 lift up their voice and cry, "Blessed is the 
 womb that bare thee, and the paps which 
 thou hast sucked." So must it be with us, if 
 we would not "wonder and perish." How 
 glorious his person ! How divine his conde- 
 scension ! How full of grace and truth ! We 
 must love him. We must confide in him. We 
 must apply to him for every purpose he is ap- 
 pointed to accomojish. We must feel the ten- 
 dency of every view we take of his charac- 
 ter, changing us into the same image, from 
 glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. 
 
 The gracious words which proceeded out 
 of his mouth are enough to relieve every per- 
 plexity, to banish every fear, to surpass every 
 hope, and to fill us with joy unspeakable, and 
 full of glory — But they cannot profit, unless 
 they are mixed with faith in those that hear 
 them. 
 
 OCTOBER 3. 
 
 " Upholding all things by the word of his power.' 
 Heb. i. 3. 
 
 This is unquestionably spoken of the Lord 
 Jesus. It shows us what is the nature and 
 condition of creatures : they cannot subsist 
 without support. They can no more of them- 
 selves continue in existence than they couid 
 give themselves life. In him they live, move, 
 and have their being. " Thou hidest thy face, 
 they are troubled : thou takest away their 
 breath, they die, and return to their dust." 
 Preservation therefore is a divine work ; and 
 in a sense it is a continued creation. Yet he 
 is equal to this ; he does it ; and observe — 
 
 The extent of his sustentation : he upholds 
 
OCTOBER 4. 
 
 319 
 
 "a 1 things." This takes in nothing less than 
 our earth and the multitudes of beings at- 
 tached to it And what myriads of these are 
 ..here ! And the eyes of all wait upon him ; 
 anJ he openeth his hand and satisfieth the de- 
 sire of every living thing. Yet what is our 
 earth compared with the immensity of space ? 
 And what is the aggregate of creatures ad- 
 hering to this mole-hill globe to the inhabit- 
 ants of all other regions in the universe ? Yet 
 all — every worm — and every world is from 
 him, and by him all things consist. 
 
 And see the ease and efficiency of his 
 agency : he upholdeth all things " by the 
 word of his power." A man, however pow- 
 erful, can do but little. A complication of 
 concerns perplexes and bewilders him. The 
 exertion of a few hours wearies and exhausts 
 him. Impose upon him an increase of burden, 
 and he founders and sinks. But " is anything 
 too hard for the Lord V " If it be marvellous 
 in your eyes, should it be marvellous in mine 
 eyes? saith the Lord." Rulers accomplish 
 their wishes without moving : they can act by 
 an order. The centurion was only an inferior 
 officer, yet he could say to one of the soldiers 
 under him, Go, and he went ; to another, 
 Come, and he came ; and to his servant, Do 
 this, and he did it And he spake this in 
 reference to the Lord Jesus with regard to a 
 particular case, and to show his confidence in 
 his powerfulness — that disorders come and go 
 at his bidding. We read that " he sent his 
 word and healed them," that is, he command- 
 ed the cure, and thereby produced it. "At 
 my rebuke," says he, "I dry up the sea." 
 "He rebuked," it is said, "the winds and the 
 waves, and there was a great calm." With 
 the same facility and majesty he made the 
 world ; " He spake, and it was done ; he com- 
 manded, and it stood fast" "He said, Let 
 there be light and there was light." So will 
 it be hereafter with all the millions of the 
 dead ; "all that are in their graves shall hear 
 his voice, and come forth." What difficulty, 
 then, can lie in his way ! Who art thou, O 
 great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt 
 become a plain. It is only for him to speak, 
 and the heathens shall cast their idols to the 
 moles and to the bats, and Mahometanisni 
 shall perish, and the Jew look upon him whom 
 he has pierced, and mourn, and the man of 
 sin be destroyed, and in the churches of the 
 faithful, every plant which our heavenly Fa- 
 ther hath not planted shall be rooted up — And 
 "he that sitteth upon the throne saith, Be- 
 nold, I make all things new." 
 
 And is this spoken of him who lay in the 
 manger and died upon the cross ? Can he then 
 be any thing less than " the Lord of life and 
 giory," " in whom dwelleth all the fullness 
 of the godhead bodily?" 
 
 It is this that displays and magnifies his 
 condescension. His greatness was unsearch- 
 able, but he made himself of no reputation. 
 
 Widows ministered to him of their substance. 
 " Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesu* 
 Christ that though he was rich, yet for our 
 sakes he became poor, that, we through his 
 poverty might be rich." 
 
 OCTOBER 4. 
 
 "Is this thy kindness to thy friena" 
 2 Sam. xvi. 17. 
 
 This was the inquiry or complaint of Ab 
 salom, addressed to Husliai, because he wenl 
 not with him. Let us transfer it to a nobler 
 being, and apply it to a juster occasion. 
 
 Jesus sustains the character here expressed, 
 towards all his people. He gives them num- 
 berless proofs of a friendship, the most sin- 
 cere, efficient, faithful, durable, and disinter- 
 ested : he is " a friend that sticketh closer 
 than a brother." But they often act towards 
 him in a manner very unbecoming the rela- 
 tion, and induce him to ask, " Is this thy kind- 
 ness to thy friend ?" 
 
 It will be allowed that we can never dis- 
 charge the obligations we owe him. We 
 must lie for ever under the burden ; but the 
 " burden is light." Nothing is more painful 
 than to be obliged to an enemy ; but we feel 
 otherwise when favoured by a benefactor we 
 much regard and esteem. If I could save 
 myself; if I could renew, keep, and glorify 
 myself, I would infinitely rather my Lord and 
 Saviour accomplished it; as it would show 
 his love for me, and his presence with me ; 
 and I should endlessly feel myself indebted to 
 him, and say, Worthy is the Lamb that was 
 slain. But though we cannot discharge our 
 obligations, we ought to be sensible of them, 
 and evince that we are willing to make him 
 suitable returns, and, like the woman in the 
 Gospel, to do what we can. Here, alas ! he 
 is often disappointed. He cannot indeed be 
 disappointed as to fact, because his understand- 
 ing is infinite ; but he can be disappointed as 
 to right. Surely he has a right to expect a 
 certain kind of conduct from those he has so 
 indulged; and not meeting with it he has 
 surely reason to complain — and he does com- 
 plain. " What more," says he, speaking of 
 the Jewish church, " could have been done 
 for my vineyard, and I have not done it? 
 Wherefore, when I looked that it should 
 bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild 
 grapes?" And speaking of the same people 
 under the emblem of a fig-tree, " These trxee 
 years," says he, " I come seeking fruit, and 
 find none." 
 
 Surely, as our friend, he has a right to ex 
 pect that we should readily obey him. If ye 
 love me, keep my commandments. He that 
 hath my commandments and keepeth them, 
 he it is "that loveth me. And as none of these 
 commandments are unreasonable or unprofit 
 able, and as they afford expressions of oui 
 
320 
 
 OCTOBER 5. 
 
 Attachment to him, tkey ought not to be 
 grievous. But have we never drawn back, 
 or turned aside ; or been partial, or reluctant 
 in duty] Have we always asked, with Saul 
 of Tarsus, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
 do f ' or resolved with Samuel, " Speak, Lord, 
 for thy servant heareth ?" 
 
 Surely, as our friend, he has a right to ex- 
 pect that we should own him, speak well of 
 his name, and recommend him to others. 
 Have we sought his glory'! Have we laboured 
 to advance his cause in the world 1 Have we 
 endeavoured to make him known and en- 
 deared in the circle of our own connexions ] 
 Have we not in some companies blushed to 
 have found out what we profess to believe"? 
 Have we not been ashamed of him and of 
 his words'! He, though passed into the hea- 
 vens, is not ashamed to call us brethren : and 
 shall we deny him before men] 
 
 Surely, as our friend, he has a right to ex- 
 pect that we should credit his word. We 
 cannot offer a greater indignity to another 
 than to disbelieve his declarations. The af- 
 front would be aggravated if he was a person 
 remarkable for veracity, and we ourselves had 
 always seen nothing in him but truth and 
 faithfulness. But suppose he had added an 
 oath, which ends all strife, to his promises ! 
 By disbelieving him then, we should charge 
 him not only with falsehood but perjury. 
 And is not this applicable to us] How should 
 we tremble at the nature and consequences 
 of unbelief! Ah ! my Lord, I hear thee say- 
 ing, Is this thy kindness to thy friend 1 Yes ; 
 I have not only contradicted thee — I have 
 not only given thee the lie — but made thee 
 to forswear thyself! and I cry out with tears, 
 " Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief." 
 
 As our friend he expects that we should 
 lay aside formality and reserve — that we 
 should treat him with freedom and openness 
 — that we should feel it not a task but a plea- 
 sure to come to his house — that we should 
 never be afraid of offending him by the large- 
 ness of our applications, or wearying him by 
 the frequency of our importunities. For he 
 has commanded us to come boldly to the 
 throne of grace ; in every thing to make 
 known our requests ; to open our mouths 
 wide ; to ask and receive, that our joy may 
 be full. But though we are not straitened 
 in him, how straitened are we in ourselves ! 
 How cold, and distant, and suspicious, and 
 fearful, often is our intercourse with him. 
 How little do we honour him by our con- 
 fidence ! 
 
 As our friend he expects that we regard 
 his connexions. " Is there any left of the 
 house of Saul," said David, "that I may 
 show him kindness for Jonathan's sake]" 
 Jesus has brethren and sisters on earth, who 
 are afflicted and poor, and feel all the exi- 
 gences of life. But we may ask, " Since 
 they are so nearly related to him, why does 
 
 he permit their want and distress]" Jt is 
 partly for our sakes. He deputes them to 
 live among us, to receive the tokens of our 
 attachment to himself. We cannot sigh for 
 opportunities to testify our regard, by saying, 
 " Oh, if he were in the world again as he 
 once was, how would I minister unto him ; 
 how would I open my doors and entertain 
 him" — For he is in the world. The poor we 
 have always with us. What we do unto one 
 of the least of these his brethren, we do it 
 unto him. 
 
 As our friend, if he has left us a memento 
 to recall him to our minds, he expects that 
 we should prize and observe it. Have we 
 ever closed the eyes of a much-loved con- 
 nexion, and have we in our possession a pic- 
 ture of him ] How much do we value, and 
 how often do we contemplate the inanimate 
 shadow ! But suppose the painting should 
 represent him in the attitude of dying, and 
 dying for us, while endeavouring to save us 
 from fire, or water, or the stroke of the mur- 
 derer — What is his own supper but such a 
 likeness] Does it not show forth his death] 
 Is he not before our eyes, evidently set forth 
 crucified among us, and sacrificed for us '! Do 
 this, he said, in remembrance of me. And 
 can we undervalue it] Can we neglect it] 
 Neglect it constantly ] Neglect it often ] Is 
 this thy kindness to thy friend ] 
 
 Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Let 
 us not be unwilling to receive the rebuke. 
 It is indeed humbling; but he that humbleth 
 himself shall be exalted. 
 
 Let us learn to demean ourselves towards 
 him in future more properly. Let us watch 
 and pray, lest we enter into temptation. Let 
 us search and try our ways, and turn again 
 unto the Lord. Let us look on him whom we 
 have pierced, and mourn. Let us grieve that 
 he is wounded in the house of his friends. 
 Above all, let us grieve that we ourselves 
 ever grieved his Holy Spirit. Indeed, if 1 
 am his, and in a proper state of mind, nothing 
 will affect me like this — " I have acted an 
 unworthy, an ungrateful part" — I have sinned 
 against my best friend — 
 
 " Sure were not I most vile and base, 
 I could not thus my friend requite ; 
 And were not he the God of grace, 
 He 'd frown and spurn me from his sight." 
 
 OCTOBER 5. 
 
 " Now about that time Herod the king stretched 
 forth Ids hands to vex certain of the Church 
 And he killed James the brother of John with 
 the sword. And because he saw it pleased the 
 Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also.'" 
 —Acts xii. 1, 2, 3. 
 
 Persecution is a thing of which we hap- 
 pily know very little from experience. We 
 are a sinful people, but blessed be God, per 
 secution is not a national crime with us; vea, 
 
OCTOBER 5. 
 
 321 
 
 it is even punishable ; and conscientiousness 
 is placed under legal protection. But while 
 we rejoice in our privileges, and pray that 
 God would preserve and prosper a country in 
 which we sit under our own vine and fig-tree, 
 and none can make us afraid ; we do welL 
 to call to remembrance the former times, in 
 which others endured a great fight of afflic- 
 tions. — Four things are remarked concerning 
 the persecution before us. 
 
 First, the season — " Now about that time" 
 — What time ] When, as we see from the 
 conclusion of the preceding chapter, a great 
 dearth prevailed throughout all the world, in 
 the days of Claudius Caesar. Every public 
 calamity is a judgment for sin, and calls men 
 to repentance : but it is dreadful when the 
 design of Providence is frustrated, and men 
 go on in their trespasses, and instead of re- 
 turning to him that smiteth them, sin more 
 and more against God. Yet so it was here. 
 God's hanil was lifted up, but they would not 
 see : and while famine was stalking among 
 them, and they had cleanness of teeth in all 
 their borders, they are fighting against God, 
 in the guilty and cruel business of persecution. 
 
 Secondly, the author — "Herod the king." 
 Not the Herod under whom our Saviour was 
 born : nor Herod the tetrarch of Galilee, who 
 beheaded John: but Herod Agrippa, father 
 of the king Agrippa whom Paul had almost 
 persuaded to be a Christian. We know but 
 little of him; and that little only shows his 
 vileness. He reigned seven or eight years, 
 and then departed disgracefully to meet a 
 Being who will have a dreadful account to 
 settle with tyrants and persecutors. Such 
 wretches seldom die a timely and natural 
 death. Here is the end of* this child of the 
 devil and enemy of all righteousness: "Upon 
 a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, 
 sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto 
 them. And the people gave a shout, saying, 
 It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 
 And immediately the angel of the Lord 
 smote him, because he gave not God the 
 glory : and he was eaten of worms, and gave 
 up the ghost." 
 
 Thirdly, the victims. Some of them are 
 only adverted to — He stretched forth his hands 
 to vex " certain of the Church :" and nothing 
 more is said of them. We have the names 
 of many of the sufferers for Christ, together 
 with some of their dying words, and letters, 
 and works, and which savour fragrantly of 
 the prison ; but a very large portion of the 
 noble army of martyrs are unnoticed in the 
 annals of history. They are indeed recorded 
 in the book of life, and Jesus will confess 
 •them before his Father and the holy angels: 
 Dut they were driven into exile, or pined 
 away by disease in their dungeons, or were 
 secretly dispatched, a spectacle to angels, but 
 not to the world and to men. One of these 
 victims howpi'T is here named. " He killed 
 21 
 
 James the brother of John with the sword." 
 James was a preacher. In the Church of God 
 the post of honour has always been the post 
 of danger : and he was the more likely to be 
 laid hold of, as he was one of the two apostles 
 called Boanerges, or sons of thunder, because 
 they were rousing, bold, and fearless in their 
 manner. He was also one of the two who 
 wished to call for fire from heaven to consume 
 the Samaritans, and would thus have been 
 (Lord, what is man !) a persecutor himself: 
 but " Jesus rebuked them, and said, Ye know 
 not what manner of spirit ye are of: for the 
 Son of man is come not to destroy men's lives, 
 but to save them." He was also one of the 
 two sons of Zebedee, who persuaded their 
 mother to desire a certain thing of our Lord : 
 " Grant that these my two sons may sit, the 
 one on thy right hand, and the other on thy 
 left, in thy kingdom." But Jesus answered, 
 " Ye know not what ye ask : are ye able to 
 drink of the cup I drink of, and to be baptized 
 with the baptism I am baptized with ? They 
 say unto him, We are able. And he saith 
 unto them : Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, 
 and be baptized with the baptism I am bap- 
 tized with" — Looking forward in spirit at 
 that very moment, and seeing John banished 
 to the Isle of Patmos, and James beheaded of 
 Herod! 
 
 P'ourthly, the continuance^r-" And because 
 he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded 
 further to take Peter also." And did it please 
 the Jews 1 Then were they equally guilty. 
 They who connive at the wickedness of others 
 — who excite and encourage it, and feel a 
 satisfaction in it, have fellowship with the un- 
 fruitful works of darkness, and are partakers 
 of other men's sins — Yea, according to the 
 Apostles, they are the most criminal " who 
 take pleasure in them that do such things." 
 The perpetrators may be strongly tempted, 
 but the beholders can plead no such excuse ; 
 their delight shows congeniality with the 
 wickedness itself. 
 
 But here we see how alive men are to the 
 opinion and applause of their fellow-creatures. 
 Even the great can inhale incense from the 
 vulgar : and even the wise are not senseless 
 to the flattery of fools. What enemies are 
 men to men ! How they influence and cor- 
 rupt one another ! Alone the individual feels 
 well ; and resolves ; and abides by his resolu- 
 tion — till he gets into company. Alone he 
 feels the evidence of truth — Why then does 
 he not hear it, follow it, avow it 1 A frown, a 
 sneer, a laugh, a name ! Did Felix think the 
 Apostle deserving imprisonment 1 No. " But 
 willing to show the Jews a pleasure, he left 
 Paul bound." Why did not many among the 
 Pharisees believe on him whose miracles they 
 could not deny 1 They did believe on him. 
 but " feared to confess him, lest they should 
 be put out of the synagogue ; for they loved 
 the praise of men more than the Draise of 
 
a& 
 
 OCTOBER (5. 
 
 God." Let us learn to act from principle ; 
 and dare to be singular if the course of duty 
 demands it. Let this desire of approbation 
 turn us towards God. Let us seek to please 
 
 jhim. The attempt will involve us in no mean 
 .compliances ; and it will be sure to succeed. 
 
 We also see how, in a bad course, men 
 proceed from evil to evil, and wax worse and 
 worse. One sin renders another necessary ; 
 or prepares the way for it, and renders it 
 
 . easier. Let us guard against beginnings. 
 Let us crush the egg before it becomes a fiery 
 flying serpent. " When lust hath conceived, 
 it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is 
 finished, bringeth forth death" — " He proceed- 
 ed to take Peter also." 
 
 OCTOBER 6. 
 
 " Let us run with patience the race that is set be- 
 fore us, looking unto Jesus." — Heb. xii. 1, 2. 
 
 The language is allusive, and in the style 
 of the Apostle, the comparison is familiar. As 
 one of the games, celebrated with so much 
 pomp among the Grecians, was running in a 
 race, he often borrows an idea from it, to ex- 
 press in a measure the nature of the Christian 
 life. It is a " race." It is needless to multi- 
 ply articles of resemblance. It is easy to see 
 the impression Paul would make : no prize 
 without running : no heaven without dili- 
 gence and zeal. Religion demands the full 
 exertion of all our spiritual powers, and allows 
 of no indolence, no repose. Whatever view 
 we take of it, whether as it regards our prin- 
 ciples or our conduct, what we have to abolish 
 or establish, to avoid or to pursue ; or whether 
 M it includes the duties we owe to God, our 
 fellow-creatures, and ourselves ; — it must ap- 
 pear a very active, laborious, and trying 
 scene. It is a disgrace to the character of a 
 Christian, and a contradiction to his profes- 
 sion, not only to turn aside or draw back, but 
 to stand still, or look back, or even seem to 
 come short. Advancement is not more 
 obviously implied in the accomplishment of a 
 race than progression is necessary in a course 
 of godliness. We are therefore required to 
 grow in grace. And Paul, exemplifying in 
 his experience what he recommends in doc- 
 trine, says, ** I count not myself to have ap» 
 prehended : but this one thing I do, forgetting 
 .nose things which are behind, and reaching 
 forth unto those things which are before, I 
 press toward the mark for the prize of the 
 iigh calling of God in Christ Jesus." 
 
 This race is "set before us" — It is prescrib- 
 ed, marked out, made evident in the Scrip- 
 ture. It is not a concern into which we drop 
 by chance ; neither is it a course of our own 
 devising. Religion is not will-worship, human 
 inventions, the traditions and commandments 
 of men. No authority is binding here but 
 Divine. We have always one question only 
 
 to ask, " Lord, what wiit thou have me to 
 do?" And he has in his word made things 
 plain, in proportion as they are important, sc 
 that the wayfaring man, though a fooi, shall 
 not err therein, and he may run that readeth. 
 He has also set before us the difficulties 
 attached to his course, so that if we suffer we 
 have no reason to complain. If, when wo 
 meet with them, we are tempted to despond 
 or decline, we may say, O my soul, ought I 
 to be surprised? Am I deceived ? When 1 
 gave in my unworthy name to become his 
 follower, did he hide any thing from me! 
 Did he not assure me that in the world i 
 should have tribulation? Did he not say, If 
 any man will be my disciple, let him deny 
 himself, and take up his cross and follow me ? 
 This race set before us is to be " run with 
 patience." We shall constantly need this 
 grace. We shall meet with provocations and 
 injuries ; and we are not to revenge ourselves, 
 or even render railing for railing; but contra- 
 riwise, blessing. We shall suffer afflictions 
 of various kinds and degrees; and we are not 
 to murmur and repine, but in patience to pos- 
 sess ourselves, and to pray for all long-suffer 
 ing with joyfulness. We may be exercised 
 with delays; and these will often be peculiar- 
 ly trying, for hope deferred maketh the heart 
 sick. God hides his face. Prayer seems un- 
 noticed. The promise appears gone for ever- 
 more. We have little success in our spiritual 
 warfare. Iniquities prevail against us in the 
 sense of their guilt and the feeling of their 
 power. The way is long. Heaven looks at a i 
 awful distance, and seems to advance from us 
 as we advance. Without are fightings, and 
 within are fears — But we must persevere, 
 and "by patient continuance in well-doing, 
 seek for glory, honour, and immortality." It 
 is not the first, but the last step in the race that 
 brings the candidate to the goal. He only 
 that endureth to the end shall be saved. 
 
 This race set before us we are thus to run 
 with patience, " looking unto Jesus." The 
 Apostle had mentioned a great cloud of wit- 
 nesses before as exciting and encouraging us 
 by their example : but he now passes from the 
 saints to the Saviour ; from the servants to 
 the Master ; from the witnesses of faith to 
 " the author and finisher of faith." He him- 
 self had an appointed course ; he had difficul- 
 ties to overcome, and much to endure : but he 
 was not impeded or dismayed — "For the joy 
 that was set before him he endured the cross, 
 despising the shame, and sat down at the 
 right hand of the throne of God." That the 
 Apostle immediately refers to him as our ex- 
 ample is obvious not only from the foregoing 
 words, and the words I have just recited, but 
 from the application following : " For consider 
 him that endured such contradiction of sinners 
 against himself, lest ye be wearied and fainf 
 in your minds" —So Watts — 
 
OCTOBER 7. 
 
 323 
 
 "Our glorious Leader claims our praise, 
 For his own pattern given ; 
 While the long cloud of witnesses 
 Show the same path to heaven." 
 
 But does this exclude any other reference 1 
 Are we to regard him as an example onlyl 
 We cannot indeed be Christians without re- 
 sembling him. "If any man have not the 
 Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." "He that 
 saith he abideth in him ought himself also so 
 to walk even as he walked." And every 
 Christian loves his example, and prays to be 
 like-minded with him. Yet what is the true 
 exigency of our easel We are guilty — 
 Where is the sacrifice that puts away sin 1 
 "We joy in God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, by whom we have now received the 
 atonement." We want righteousness and 
 strength — Where are we to find them ? 
 " Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I 
 righteousness and strength." How are we 
 to bs able to trace his dear steps as he goes 
 before us in duty and suffering? " Without 
 me," says he, "ye can do nothing:" but "my 
 grace is sufficient for thee." We must there- 
 fore run, looking unto Jesus as delivered for 
 our offences, as raised again for our justifica- 
 tion, as one who ever lives to make interces- 
 sion for us, as one in whom all fullness dwells, 
 and from whose fullness we are to receive 
 grace for grace. To him we are to look in every 
 period, in every relation, in every engagement, 
 in every trouble, in every danger, while we 
 live — To him we are to look as we pass 
 through the valley of the shadow of death — 
 And then we are to go and behold him in the 
 midst of the throne, where he attracts every 
 eye, fills every heart, and employs every 
 tongue. 
 
 OCTOBER 7. 
 
 " And prayed unto him." — 2 Chron. xxxiii. 13. 
 
 Few individuals ever surpassed Manasseh 
 in depravity and wickedness. Yet he, even 
 he, obtained mercy. And we here see the 
 means employed for his conversion. Divine 
 Providence so ordered things, that the enemy 
 invaded Judah, and succeeded : " Wherefore 
 the Lord brought upon them the captains of 
 the host of the king of Assyria, which took 
 Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him 
 with fetters, and carried him to Babylon." 
 There thus despoiled, degraded, and distress- 
 ed ; there the seeds of truth early sown in his 
 mind began to revive ; there the prayers of a 
 pious father began to be answered — " and 
 prayed unto him." 
 
 Affliction alone never converted one soul. 
 ' We have known fools who have been brayed 
 in a mortar, yet has not their folly gone from 
 them. Ice may be broken and not dissolved : 
 rock may be broken, and the fractions retain 
 the same hardness as before. Yet there is a 
 natural suitableness m affliction to produce 
 
 the effect It shows what an evil and bitter 
 thing sin is, as the procuring cause of all our 
 sufferings. It cuts the man off* from present 
 temptation ; and affords him time and leisure 
 for reflection ; and the want of thought is the 
 greatest obstacle to religion : hence the Scrip- 
 ture says, " Consider your ways :" and hence 
 David acknowledges, "I thought on my 
 ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimo- 
 nies." It shows the vanity of the world, and af- 
 fords opportunity to introduce the proposal of 
 a better portion ; and to urge the resolution, 
 " Therefore will I look unto the Lord, I will 
 wait for the God of my salvation." It befriends 
 confession and prayer ; therefore says God, " 1 
 will go and return to my place, till they ac- 
 knowledge their offence, and seek my face : 
 in their affliction they will seek me early.' 
 The bemoaning and repenting Ephraim had 
 been chastised. The famine made the Prodi- 
 gal think of heaven, and resolve to throw him- 
 self upon his Father's mercy. 
 
 Here is therefore a very instructive fact. 
 It teaches us that prosperity is no proof of 
 Divine favour ; and that adversity is not in- 
 compatible with the love of God, but may 
 even flow from it. We congratulate our 
 friends on their successes and risings in the 
 world; but frequently if we could see all, we 
 should rather bewail them ; for we should see 
 their table becoming a snare, and their pros- 
 perity destroying them. On the other hand, 
 we go and mourn with them over their losses 
 and trials, when, if we could look forward, 
 we should rather rejoice and be thankful ; for 
 we should see the valley of Achor given them 
 for a door of hope ; the ploughshare breaking 
 up the fallow ground to prepare it for the 
 seed of the kingdom; the way hedged up 
 with thorns to keep the traveller from going 
 astray. How should we have pitied Manas- 
 seh, had we seen him reduced from all his 
 greatness, and thus indignantly and cruelly 
 treated ! But he soon acknowledged, with his 
 pious ancestor, " It is good for me that I have 
 been afflicted ;" and he is now blessing God, 
 not for his crown, but for his fetters — not for 
 his palace, but for his dungeon — " This man 
 was born there." 
 
 Let us always look hopefully towards the 
 afflicted. While the physician yet administers 
 medicine, we do not deem the case absolutely 
 hopeless: while the husbandman prunes the 
 tree, and digs about it, and manures it, we 
 conclude he has not yet said to the feller, 
 " Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground V 
 
 O what fools are we to look shy upon our 
 troubles, and be afraid of our trials, instead 
 of viewing them as some of the means of 
 grace which God has ordained to bring us tc 
 himself! Let us not think of the bitterness of 
 the draught, but of the sweetness of health 
 which it is designed to produce. " We have 
 had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, 
 and we gave them reverence : shall we not 
 
324 
 
 OCTOBER 8. 
 
 much rather be in subjection unto the Father 
 of spirits, and live 1 For they verily for a few 
 days chastened us after their own pleasure ; 
 but he for our profit, that we might be par- 
 takers of his holiness. Now no chastening 
 for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
 grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth 
 the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto 
 thein which are exercised thereby." 
 
 OCTOBER 8. 
 
 n Verily I say unto you, That many prophets and 
 righteous men have desired to see those things 
 which ye see, and have not seen them ; and to 
 hear those things which ye hear, and have not 
 heard them." — Matt. xiii. 17. 
 
 Some may suppose that our Lord here uses 
 what scholars call an anticlimax, and be ready 
 to say, Surely " a prophet" is above " a right- 
 eous man." Yet there is wisdom and design 
 in the order in which he has mentioned these 
 characters. A prophet was not necessarily a 
 righteous man. Balaam prophesied, but fol- 
 lowed the wages of unrighteousness. And 
 the Saviour assures us that he will disown 
 many in the last day as workers of iniquity, 
 who prophesied in his name, and in his name 
 did many wonderful things. And when the 
 Apostle exhorts the Corinthians to covet ear- 
 nestly the best gifts, he adds, And yet I show 
 unto you a more excellent way — adding, 
 " Though I speak with the tongues of men 
 and of angels, and have not charity, I am be- 
 come as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 
 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and 
 understand all mysteries, and all knowledge ; 
 and though I have all faith, so that I could 
 remove mountains, and have not charity, I 
 am nothing. Charity never faileth: but 
 whether there be prophecies, they shall fail ; 
 whether there be tongues, they shall cease ; 
 whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish 
 away. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, 
 these three; but the greatest of these is 
 charity." So superior is grace, not only to all 
 natural, but even supernatural endowments 
 and capacities. He that humbleth himself as a 
 little child, the same is greatest in the king- 
 dom of God. O that we were wise, that we 
 understood this ! But here we see the folly of 
 men, who are eager to enjoy those distinctions 
 which are confined to fe;v, and never insure 
 eternal life, while they disregard those privi- 
 leges which always accompany salvation, and 
 lie open to all. And we see the goodness of 
 God in rendering what is essential to our 
 highest welfare universally accessible. All 
 cannot amass wealth, but all may be rich in 
 faith : all cannot rise in the state, but all may 
 sit with Christ in the heavenly places; all 
 have not opportunity or capacity to acquire 
 human learning, but all may become wise 
 
 unto salvation. None can be " prophets" now, 
 but all may be " righteous men." 
 
 We here see that the desires of the great 
 and the good are not always gratified. We 
 think it hard when the schemes on which we 
 set our fond hearts are denied us. But we 
 must learn to leave our wishes with God, and 
 refer them to his goodness and wisdom. There 
 may be reasons, for the refusal of which'we 
 have no apprehension. He is often constrain- 
 ed to say to us, " Ye know not what ye ask." 
 Let the Lord choose our inheritance for uh. 
 And let us not murmur or complain if we aie 
 called to drink of the same cup with the most 
 dear and eminent of his servants. Moses, whe 
 had conducted his charge for forty years, and 
 brought them to the border of the promised 
 land, was forbidden to enter, and no importu- 
 nity could revoke the mortifying sentence. 
 David, who so anxiously longed to build the 
 temple of the Lord, and for which he had 
 been preparing materials all through life, was 
 not allowed the pleasure. " And many prophets 
 and righteous men have desired to see those 
 things which ye see, and have not seen them; 
 and to hear those things which ye hear, and 
 have not heard them." 
 
 They who have known something of the 
 cause and glory of Christ will long to see 
 and hear more. These persons had been fa- 
 voured with some information concerning the 
 Messiah, otherwise they could not have ex- 
 pressed these desires; for we cannot desire 
 what we are entirely ignorant of: but the 
 glimpse made them eager for the vision, and 
 the dawn for the full day : the assurance made 
 them eager for the reality, and the foretastes 
 for the fui' fruition. It is always so. Know- 
 ledge keeps the possessor from self-satisfac- 
 tion : and the more proficiency a man makes 
 in any art or science, the less will he be dis- 
 posed to say, " I have attained, I am already 
 perfect." It was a man who had seen more 
 of the glory of God than any human being, 
 who cried, "? teseech thee, show me thy 
 glory." Let a Christian know as much of 
 Christ as Paul did, and he will think he 
 knows nothing, and exclaim, " That I may 
 know him." 
 
 In the knowledge God communicates to his 
 creatures there are various degrees. The pa- 
 triarchs knew more than the descendants of 
 Seth before the Flood. The Jews under Moses 
 and the Prophets knew more than the patri- 
 archs. John's disciples knew more than the 
 Jewish Church before them. The disciples of 
 Jesus knew more than the disciples of John : 
 and he that was least in the. kingdom of 
 heaven was greater than John himself. And 
 how much more did the Apostles themselves 
 know after the effusion of the Holy Ghost 
 than before, according to the intimation and 
 promise of the Saviour ! " I have yet many 
 things to say unto you, but ye cannot bea- 
 
OCTOBER 9. 
 
 320 
 
 Jiem now : howbeit, when he, the Spirit of 
 truth is come, he shall guide you into all 
 truth." And the same remark holds with re- 
 gard to personal experience. There are many 
 classes of scholars in the same school of Christ. 
 How wise are some Christians! how clear, 
 tmd full, and influential are their views of 
 Divine truth ! How cloudy and indistinct are 
 the conceptions of others ! they resemble the 
 half-enlightened patient in the Gospel, who 
 " saw men a3 trees walking." The stations 
 and callings of men differ; and some require 
 more knowledge than others. We are like 
 the members of the body, all are necessary, 
 but all have not the same office. The eye is 
 for seeing, the hand for working : the one re- 
 quires light ; the other strength. 
 
 Above all we should learn from hence to 
 compare our advantages with those of others. 
 If superior, their pre-eminence should be ap- 
 plied to three purposes. First, to produce 
 gratitude. " He hath not dealt so with any 
 nation : and as for his judgments, they have 
 not known them. Praise ye the Lord." Not 
 that our gratitude is to turn on the destitution 
 of others : but we need contrasts to excite 
 our feelings. Thus to induce us the more to 
 be thankful for health, we compare ourselves 
 with those who are made to possess months 
 of vanity, and have wearisome nights appoint- 
 ed unto them. And thus we teach our chil- 
 dren to say, 
 
 *' Not more than others I deserve, 
 Vet God hath given me more ; 
 For I have food while others starve, 
 Or beg from door to door." 
 
 And did we deserve our religious privileges ? 
 Did it depend upon us in what country we 
 should be born, whether heathen or Christian, 
 popish or Protestant ? Or from what parents 
 we should descend, whether such as would 
 neglect our souls or bring us up in the nur- 
 ture and admonition of the Lord ? Who sent 
 us an evangelical ministry? Why have we 
 been fed with the choicest of the wheat, and 
 with honey out of the rock have we been 
 satisfied ? " Not unto us, O Lord, but unto 
 thy name be glory." Secondly, to promote 
 holiness. It would be shameful if persons be- 
 low us in means and advantages should be 
 above us in attainment and practice. Surely 
 there is to be a corr^pondence between priv- 
 ilege and duty. He who holds the largest 
 farm riiust expect to pay the largest rent. 
 Where much is given much will be required. 
 "What do ye more than others?" The Lord 
 does not look for much where he bestows lit- 
 tle; and he will not accept of little where he 
 bestows much. Thirdly, to awaken fear. 
 "That servant, which knew his lord's will, 
 and prepared not himself, neither did accord- 
 ing to his will, shall be beaten with many 
 stripes." "To him that knoweth to do good, 
 and doeth ; t not, to him it is sin." And what 
 ignorance can "e plead 1 Or what want of 
 
 motive? Or what refusal of assistance? "Lei 
 us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us 
 of entering into his rest, any of you should 
 seem to come short of it." How did our 
 Saviour upbraid the cities in which he had 
 done so many miphty works, because they 
 repented not ! " Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! 
 woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the mighty 
 works which were done in you, had been 
 done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have re- 
 pented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But 
 I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for 
 Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than 
 for you." 
 
 OCTOBER 9. 
 
 "All the house of Israel are hard-hearted. 
 Ezekicl iii. 7. 
 
 How is this charge to be taken ? There 
 are two things in which hardness of heart is 
 to be known ; insensibility and inflexibleness. 
 
 A hard heart is an insensible heart. The 
 Apostle speaks of "men being past feeling." 
 This is to be restrained to its subject. He 
 does not refer to inhumanity, but impiety. 
 Persons may have feeling in other things, but 
 here the senselessness regards " the thinps of 
 the Spirit." Feeling, though not the noblest 
 of our senses, is the most necessary and ex- 
 tensive : other senses are confined to partic- 
 ular parts, but feeling is diffused over the 
 whole body. When there is no feeling in a 
 member, there is no more intercourse of the 
 animal and vital spirits: and where feeling 
 is totally absent, there are no remains of life. 
 There may be life where other senses are 
 wanting. A man may be deaf and alive, 
 blind and alive, scentless and alive; but if he 
 has no feeling he must be dead. Upon the 
 same principle the Apostle says men are 
 " dead in trespasses and sins ;" and as a dead 
 body is insensible to material things around 
 it, so it is with the unrenewed soul ; it meets 
 all the objects and agencies of the spirit- 
 ual world with indifference and unconcern. 
 Though he is charged with numberless trans- 
 gressions, and the wrath of God abideth on 
 him, he is sensible of no burden, and though 
 destruction and misery are in his ways, he is 
 secure and unalarmed. 
 
 A hard heart is an inflexible heart. 
 
 It does not yield to the dictates of his word. 
 At this a good man trembles. As he turns to 
 the Scriptures he says, I will hear what God 
 the Lord shall speak : but the hardened sin- 
 ner says, with Pharaoh, "Who is the Lord 
 that I should obey his voice ?" He may not 
 indeed in so many terms, but he really says 
 unto God, " Depart from us, for we desire not 
 the knowledge of thy ways." Though God 
 reproves, encourages, asserts his authority, 
 displays the reasonableness of his commands, 
 addresses our hope and our fear, draw s back 
 
 ir-v w 
 
OCTOBER 10. 
 
 the veil that hides the eternal world, and sets 
 life and death, blessing and cursing before 
 them, they turn away from him that speaketh, 
 and reject the counsel of God against them- 
 selves. 
 
 It does not yield to the dispensations of his 
 providence. God begins perhaps with others ; 
 and a good man, when he sees their visitations, 
 Bays with David, " My flesh trembleth for fear 
 of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments." 
 It is the design of them: "I have cut off* the 
 nations : their towers are desolate ; I made 
 their streets waste, that none passeth by : 
 their cities are destroyed, so that there is no 
 man, that there is none inhabitant. I said, 
 Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive 
 instruction ; but they rose up, and corrupted 
 all their doings." He then comes nearer, and 
 strikes themselves. He afflicts them in time, 
 that they may not be condemned for ever. 
 But they regard the suffering as the effects 
 of chance ; they feel the pain, but never think 
 of the procuring cause, which is sin, or the 
 final cause, which is their spiritual profit. 
 Yea, sometimes instead of falling in with the 
 design, they directly oppose it ; when stricken 
 they strike again : they rush upon the thick 
 bosses of his buckler, and "say in the pride 
 and stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen 
 down, but we will build with hewn stones ; 
 the sycamores are cut down, but we will 
 change them into cedars." Nothing can be 
 more offensive to God than such stubbornness 
 as this: — "In the time of his distress did he 
 trespass yet more against the Lord : this is 
 that king Ahaz." It is equally inflexible to 
 kindness and mercy. Other creatures live 
 upon God, but they are incapable of knowing 
 the source of their supplies; but the inspira- 
 tion of the Almighty giveth man understand- 
 ing, and enables him to see the cause and 
 author of all good : and a tender heart would 
 love and acknowledge the donor in his boun- 
 ties. They are designed to encourage and 
 allure us : they are cords of a man and bands 
 of love, by which he would draw us to him- 
 self. And " the ox knoweth his owner, and 
 the ass his master's crib : but Israel doth not 
 know, my people doth not consider." 
 
 It yields not to the motions of his Spirit. 
 When Paul reasoned before Felix of right- 
 eousness, temperance, and judgment to come, 
 Felix trembled ; but instead of cherishing the 
 conviction he endeavoured to get rid of it, by 
 dismissing Paul till a more convenient oppor- 
 tunity ; and carefully avoiding the topic when 
 they met. Israel not onlv rebelled, but " vex- 
 ed his Holy Spirit" The old world, by the 
 preaching of Noah, was addressed and often 
 excited, as we find implied in the words " My 
 Spirit shall not always strive with man upon 
 the earth." Who has not felt motives which 
 have almost persuaded him tobeaChristi.in 1 
 Who has not formed resolutions to abandon 
 .he world, and cleave to the Lord with pur- 
 
 pose of heart? Who has net had softenings 
 of heart, in which he was drawn ii.to retire- 
 ment, and pouring out tears unto God, said, 
 Lord, I am thine, save me ? What difficulties 
 have many had to overcome before they could 
 advance in a sinful course ! They had to 
 break through mercies and judgments ; to 
 throw down friends and parents who kindly 
 opposed them ; yea, to trample under foot the 
 Son of God, and do despite unto the Spirit of 
 grace — 
 
 O seek deliverance from this evil, if you 
 are the subjects of it. Remember that it is a 
 most dreadful curse, and will be sure to trea 
 sure up wrath against the day of wrath. But 
 reflect still more upon its vileness, and say, 
 O what a hateful heart is mine that feels no- 
 thing! Yields to nothing! Pray earnestly. 
 And be encouraged by the promise, "I will 
 take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, 
 and I will give you an heart of flesh." Place 
 yourselves near the cross; and look on him 
 whom you have pierced. 
 
 And if you are saved from this evil, be 
 thankful. "But I know not that I am saved 
 from it. I feel such unsuitableness to duty, 
 and such dullness, such deadness in it !" But 
 if you were impenitent, how could you feel 
 this? You should rather say, with Cowper 
 
 "Cold as I feel this heart of tan#, 
 Yet, since I feel it so, 
 It yields some hope of life divina 
 Within, however low " 
 
 OCTOBER 10. 
 
 "All thy children shall be taught of tkt Lord™ 
 Isaiah liv. 13. 
 All therefore want tuition. We are na- 
 turally ignorant, as well as guilty, and de- 
 praved, and helpless. Knowledge is not in- 
 nate, but acquired. Some are always extol- 
 ling nature at the expense of art : yet what 
 would the earth be without cultivation ? 
 What would a garden be if left without keep 
 ing and dressing, but a little wilderness of 
 barrenness and rudeness, of weeds and thorns? 
 Such would a child be if left to himself. What 
 makes the greatest difference between one 
 man and another? Not the body, the limbs, 
 the senses — In all these the savage may have 
 the advantage : but the difference is in their 
 minds : and the difference in their minds is 
 chiefly owing to education. Few indeed will 
 deny this ; but many are unwilling to acknow- 
 ledge their spiritual ignorance, and in the con- 
 cerns of religion suppose that the way of man 
 is in himself, and that it is in man that walk 
 eth to direct his steps. Yet though vain mafl 
 would be wise, he is born like a wild ass'e 
 colt. The world by wisdom knew not God , 
 with all their advances in civilization and sci- 
 ence, professing themselves to be wise, they 
 became fools. " And what is the fact with re- 
 ward to everv unconverted sinner! He ia 
 
OCTOBER 11. 
 
 327 
 
 alienated from the life of God through the ig- 
 norance that is in him, and because of the 
 blindness of his heart. To enable a blind 
 man to see, it is necessary not only to bring 
 the lamp, but to open his eyes: and the Scrip- 
 ture speaks of opening the eyes of the under- 
 standing, and giving us the Spirit of wisdom 
 and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. 
 
 God's teaching therefore is twofold. First, 
 external. He thus teaches us by all his 
 works, which praise him. The heavens de- 
 clare his glory, the firmament showeth his 
 handy work, and there is no speech nor lan- 
 guage where their voice is not heard. But 
 lie has magnified his word above all his name. 
 The Scripture is given by inspiration of God. 
 The knowledge of the grand truths in the 
 Gospel depended entirely on the sovereign 
 pleasure of the Almighty. We had sinned, 
 and were left to his mercy; and it was for 
 him to determine whether we should be saved, 
 and in what way. And how could this de- 
 termination be discovered] Not by any pro- 
 cess of reasoning, but by testimony, and his 
 own testimony : " As it is written, 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 
 God hath revealed them untc us by his Spirit : 
 for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the 
 deep things of God. For what man knoweth 
 the things of a man, save the spirit of man 
 which is in him? even so, the things of God 
 knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." And 
 this book contains all the information God 
 chooses to afford us on this side the irradia- 
 tions of eternity. Jesus, near two thousand 
 years ago, was the finisher as well as the 
 author of faith, and a curse was annexed to 
 the man who should add to the words of the 
 book, as well as to him who should take away. 
 As we look for no new doctrine, prophecy, 
 promise, or precept, so we need none. Here 
 is information enough, if we understand, and 
 feel, and practise it. And it is the office of 
 the Spirit to lead us into all truth — 
 
 And thus the Lord teaches internally. For 
 revelation does not supersede our dependence 
 on the agency of divine grace. David, who 
 had the word, yet prayed, " Open thou mine 
 eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out 
 of thy law." Here is the book, but who 
 teaches us to read ? Who removes our care- 
 lessness, and fixes our minds? Who subdues 
 jur prejudices, and gives us a holy taste, so 
 that our delight is in the law of the Lord, and 
 we meditate in it day and night? Who shows 
 us not only the reaiity, but the beauty and 
 ijlory of divine things, and gives them by faith 
 a residence and an empire in the soul ? What 
 a difference is there between speculation and 
 experienpe ! Between the convictions of the 
 judgment and the decisions of the will and 
 the ardour of the affections ! The knowledge 
 he imparts descends from the head into the 
 
 heart. The illumination he spreads is not the 
 cold barren light of the moon, but the shining 
 of the spring sun, which not only enlightens, 
 but warms and enlivens, and fills the earth 
 with fertility and beauty. 
 
 Let this direct and encourage us. It is the 
 Lord alone that teaches us to profit : he alone 
 can render the most common truth impressive 
 and influential. Moses had seen the Egyptians 
 destroyed in the Red Sea, and all the multi- 
 tudes of his brethren buried in the wilderness. 
 And needed he to be taught the doctrine of 
 mortality ? Knew he not that the days of our 
 years are threescore years and ten ? and that 
 the period of human life is as uncertain as it 
 is short ? Yet he felt that no less a teacher 
 than God was necessary to instruct him prop- 
 erly : and therefore he prays, " So teach us to 
 number our days, that we may apply our 
 hearts unto wisdom." And do we not see the 
 need of this continually? Our neighbours 
 fall around us. Death enters our houses. We 
 feel the attacks of disease ; and the decays of 
 nature ; and yet how do we live ? as dying 
 creatures ? or as those who suppose they are 
 to live here always? 
 
 But while we feel our need of this teach 
 ing let us remember that he gives his holy 
 Spirit to them that ask him. If we perish f° r 
 lack of knowledge, our sin will lie at our own 
 door. "If any lack wisdom, let him ask of 
 God, that giveth to all men liberally, and up- 
 braideth not ; and it shall be given him." We 
 are incapable of conducting ourselves, but 
 here is an infallible Director, who oilers to 
 accompany us, and would never leave us nor 
 forsake us, and requires nothing but our sub- 
 mission — May the language of my heart be, 
 " Lead me in thy truth, and teach me : for 
 thou art the God of my salvation ; on thee do 
 I wait all the day." 
 
 OCTOBER 11. 
 
 " Man diethr— Job xiv. 10. 
 
 But how came he to die? He was no>. 
 made mortal like the beasts that perish. "By 
 one man sin entered into the world, and death 
 by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, be- 
 cause all have sinned." 
 
 But now there is not a day, or an hour, or a 
 moment in which man dieth not. The fre- 
 quency of the occurrence hinders much of the 
 force and seriousness of the impression it is 
 otherwise so adapted to produce. " They are 
 destroyed from morning to evening: they % 
 perish for ever without any regarding it." 
 And not only the commonness, but the irk- 
 someness of the event is unfriendly to consid- 
 eration. The subject is too gloomy and re- 
 pulsive to engage the thought of the general- 
 ity of mankind : and the main concern of 
 thousands is to keep it, or banish it from their 
 minds. Yet their putting the evil day far off 
 
328 
 
 OCTOBER U 
 
 is not putting 1 it away The way to die safe- 
 ly is to die daily. Young says, " Familiar 
 thoughts will smooth the road to death :" and 
 the royal preacher tells us " sorrow is better 
 than laughter; for by the sadness of the coun- 
 tenance the heart is made better. It is bet- 
 ter to go to the house of mourning than to go 
 to the house of feasting : for that is the end 
 of all men ; and the living will lay it to his 
 heart." 
 
 We often see a fellow-creature in situations 
 and circumstances peculiar to himself, and in 
 which we shall not be called to follow him : 
 but when we see man dying we behold an 
 emblem and an instance of our own destiny ; 
 and we should bring home the case, and say, 
 by-and-by I shall require these attentions — 
 What I now hear and see I shall experience 
 — My soul will refuse dainty meat — a shiver- 
 ing will seize my trembling limbs — and the 
 world will recede from my view, and appear 
 like land to the mariner entering the ocean. 
 Infinitely diversified as human conditions are, 
 they all terminate in the same result. All 
 are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 
 Death is the way of all the earth — 
 
 And what is it for man to die? It is an 
 event the most solemn and affecting, what- 
 ever view we may take of it. It is the ter- 
 mination of all his busy concerns in life, and 
 Buffers him to interfere no more in any thing 
 that is done under the sun. It is his farewell 
 to earth with all its possessions and attrac- 
 tions ; his eye will no more see good. It is 
 the disruption of all his ties of friendship and 
 kindred here; to say to corruption, Thou art 
 my father, and to the worm, Thou art my 
 mother and my sister. It is the destruction 
 of his body, so fearfully and wonderfully 
 made, and the reducing of it to such a state 
 of loathsomeness, as compels the survivors to 
 bury their dead out of their sight, and to in- 
 scribe over the sepulchre — 
 
 " How loved, how valued once avails thee not, 
 To whom related, or by whom begot : 
 A heap of dust alone remains of thee, 
 'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be." 
 
 It is his entering into a new and untried mode 
 of being ; his transition from a course of ac- 
 tion to a state of retribution. It is a thing 
 that cannot be repeated, and the consequences 
 of which are irreversible : it is appointed unto 
 men once to die, but after this the judgment. 
 So far one event happeneth to all: but 
 there is a vast difference in men's dying, ac- 
 cording as they are morally and religiously 
 Considered. The wicked is driven away in 
 Ms wickedness. His death, indeed, is not 
 always very dreadful in the manner. There 
 is sometimes a strange senselessness that at- 
 tends it. Frequently even the danger of 
 dissolution is concealed from him, and he dies 
 "a slow sudden death." The poet's words 
 are not true, " Fools men may live, but fools 
 they cannot die:" for observation shows us 
 
 that commonly men die as they live. .The 
 Scripture says of many of them, "They hav* 
 no bands in their death, but their strength 1? 
 firm." This is sometimes indeed affected 
 rather than real. When they have died with 
 a kind of levity and sportiveness, it has been 
 by way of diversion. They would indeed 
 have it supposed to be a proof of the absencp 
 of fear ; but it is the effect of its prevalence — 
 So the school-boy passes the churchyard 
 " whistling aloud to keep his courage up." I 
 have heard from dying lips exclamations of 
 anguish and horror, which I should not like 
 to publish. These are often attributed to 
 disease ; and the poor wretch is supposed <e 
 be under the influence of delirium — and it 
 may be so — But whatever may be the mannei 
 of departure, as to those that die in their sins, 
 the consequences are dreadful beyond imagi- 
 nation. If they even fall asleep as gently as 
 lambs, they awake with the devil and his 
 angels. 
 
 But the dying chamber of the children of 
 God and the heirs of immortality is none other 
 but the house of God and the gate of heaven. 
 We are affected to see them going ; it would 
 be criminal not to feel, and to pray, Help, 
 Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for tin 
 faithful fail from among the children of men. 
 We lose much by their removal ; but oui 
 loss is their gain. Dying to them is but rest 
 ing from their labours ; is but departing to be 
 with Christ, which is far better — The righte- 
 ous hath hope in his death. " I know," says 
 he, " whom I have believed. Mine eyes have 
 seen his salvation. The warfare is accom- 
 plished. Let me go forth and take the crown 
 of glory that fadeth not away. Let me leave 
 this vale of tears and enter into the joy of my 
 Lord"— 
 
 " O glorious hour, O bless'd abode, 
 I shall be near, and like my God ; 
 And flesh and sense no more control 
 The sacred pleasures of my soul." 
 
 Do all the Lord's people die in rapture'? By 
 no means. Various circumstances may affect 
 their views and feelings, but they all die 
 equally safe, and the issue is equally glorious. 
 And in general the Lord is peculiarly in- 
 dulgent to his dying followers. Their peace 
 is compared to a river, and that river enlarges 
 as it approaches the sea — Mark the perfect 
 man, and behold the upright, for the end of 
 that man is peace. Peace not only compared 
 with the end of others, but with much of his 
 own previous course. As to his condition and 
 experience, the day was dark and distressing 
 but at eventide it was light. All this the 
 Christian may safely commit unto the Lord. 
 It is his duty and privilege to take no thought 
 for the morrow. Sufficient for the day is the 
 evil thereof, and also the good. And these 
 shall be proportioned to each other by him 
 who has commanded us to seek for grace to 
 help in time of need, and has promiseJ tfa 
 as our day is so shall our strength be 
 
OCTOBER 12. 
 
 329 
 
 But we thus see that though the religion 
 )f Jesus does not exempt us from dying as 
 nen, it prevents our dying like them. It 
 prepares us for the change. It turns the curse 
 into a blessing. It brings to pass the saying 
 that is written, " Death is swallowed up in 
 victory. O death, where is thy sting 1 O 
 grave, where is thy victory 1 The sting of 
 death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the 
 law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us 
 the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 Lord, so teach us to number our days, that 
 we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 
 
 OCTOBER 12. 
 
 " Full of grace and truth." — John i. 14. 
 
 In another place it is said, " grace and truth 
 came by Jesus Christ." But things may 
 come by a person who is not possessed of 
 them ; or he may possess them and not be 
 filled with them — But he was " full of grace 
 and truth." 
 
 "Grace" peculiarly signifies goodness, 
 kindness, tenderness, mildness. And was he 
 not full of these ? We cannot tell what kind 
 of person he had, but we are sure of his 
 temper and disposition. It was prophesied of 
 him that he should come down like rain upon 
 the mown grass ; that he should gather the 
 lambs with his arm, and earry them in 
 his. bosom, and gently lead those that were 
 with young; that a bruised reed should he 
 not break, and a smoking flax should he not 
 quench — And follow him in the days of his 
 flesh. See him having compassion upon the 
 multitude, because they had nothing to eat. 
 Hear him saying to the poor and afflicted, 
 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Ask 
 the woman who was a sinner whether he was 
 not full of grace, when he said, " Go in peace, 
 thy sins are forgiven thee." Ask the widow 
 of Nain whether he was not full of grace, 
 when he met her at the funeral of her only 
 son, and said unto her, Weep not, and restor- 
 ed her last comfort to her embrace? See him 
 in sight of Jerusalem weeping over it, not at 
 the thought of the sufferings they were going 
 to inflict upon himself, but of the miseries 
 they were drawing down upon their own 
 heads. 
 
 The influences of the Spirit are often called 
 grace, because they flow from the free and 
 undeserved favour of God. Of these he was 
 **ull. He had every moral excellency in him, 
 . ind in a perfect degree. All his people have 
 the same spirit in measure, but he had it 
 without measure. He was anointed with the 
 oil of gladness above his fellows. If the 
 holiest man on earth were to dwell with you, 
 you would find a deficiency in his grace. But 
 Jesus wr° fill of orrace. Grace was poured 
 
 into his lips, into his life: il filled cvc-y thing 
 he said, every thing he did. 
 
 And he was replenished not only for him- 
 self but for us. It pleased the Father that in 
 him should all fullness dwell. And in him we 
 are blessed with all spiritual blessings. Thus 
 in the famine Joseph had all the corn, and 
 Pharaoh said to the people, Go unto Joseph. 
 Yet his stores, though greal, continually 
 diminished, and at length were exhausted. 
 But the fullness of Jesus, however number- ™ 
 less the relieved, remains the same, and could 
 supply myriads more. 
 
 He was also " full of troth." It would be 
 a low sense to say that he was full of s'va rity. 
 But as he did no sin, so neither was gout 
 found in his mouth. What therefore; he said 
 could be relied upon by those who heard him ; 
 and as you have his words you may rely upon 
 them too. But he was full of truth, as truth 
 is opposed to figure or to error. The one is 
 the truth of reality or accomplishment. The 
 law was a shadow of good things to come 
 but he was the body. There was enough in 
 him to realize and verify all the types, cere- 
 monies, and sacrifices of the preceding dis- 
 pensation. He was the true bread that came 
 down from heaven ; the true rock that follow- 
 ed the people in the wilderness; the true 
 tabernacle ; the true temple — or the truth of 
 all this. — The other is the truth of doctrine. 
 Darkness had covered the earth, and gr*ss 
 darkness the people : but for this end was he 
 born, and for this cause came he into the world, 
 to bear witness to the truth. What truth? 
 For there are many kinds of truth. The truth 
 he communicated was religious truth ; the 
 highest kind of truth ; the truth that makes us 
 wise unto salvation; the truth that shows us 
 how we can be pardoned and sanctified, and 
 attain eternal life. To be led into all this 
 truth is wisdom, liberty, and happiness. Bless- 
 ed are the people that know the joyful sound. 
 Go away ! Lord, to whom should we go ' 
 Thou hast the words of eternal life 
 
 OCTOBER 13. 
 
 " Peter, therefore, was kept in prison ; but prayer 
 was made without ceasing of the church unto 
 God for him." — Acts xii. 5. 
 
 It is pleasing and useful to contemp.ate 
 the wise and good in trying scenes : to see 
 what they do in the hour of danger and dis- 
 tress; what is their resource, and how they 
 make use of it. The church was now in a 
 state of great suffering and alarm, on account 
 of Peter's imprisonment and intended execu- 
 tion ; but alone, and at their family altars, and 
 in their social and public meetings, they made 
 prayer unto God for him. Prayer is the ref- 
 uge and solace of those who are in any trou- 
 ble — It is therefore graciously prescribed , 
 " Call upon me in the day of trouble." M T s 
 
330 
 
 OCTOBER 14. 
 
 uny afflicted 1 let him pray." It is one of the 
 designs of affliction to excite us to pray more 
 frequently, and more earnestly : and God, who 
 knows the importance of the exercise, and 
 what will conduce to it, says, " I will go and 
 return to my place, till they acknowledge 
 their offence, and seek my face : in their afflic- 
 tion they will seek me early." 
 
 We also see that intercession or praying 
 for others, as well as for ourselves, is a duty. 
 • Thus our Lord teaches us, when we pray, to 
 say, " Our Father" — and " give us day by day 
 our daily bread." Thus we are commanded 
 to pray for all men — and surely therefore for 
 the servants of Christ, and those who are 
 suffering according to the will of God. Let 
 us not be selfish in our devotions. Let us be 
 grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Let us 
 weep when we remember Zion : and give the 
 Lord no rest till he establish and make Jeru- 
 salem a piaise in the earth. Indeed Chris- 
 tians ought to value intercession as a great 
 advantage afforded them. They wish to 
 relieve others, but how little can they do for 
 the distressed personally ! They long to be 
 useful in the cause of their Lord and Saviour ; 
 but many of them are denied this luxury, as 
 far as it depends upon office, talent, and 
 wealth : but all have influence — all can pray 
 — all have power with God — he despiseth not 
 the prayer of the destitute, but will hear their 
 prayer. 
 
 The church here was fully aware of this ; 
 and we see the weapons, so to speak, with 
 which the first Christians fought against their 
 enemies and for their friends. If, says the 
 Saviour, my kingdom was of this world, then 
 would my servants fight — indeed they would, 
 and show that kind of courage which the 
 many only admire. But his kingdom is not 
 from hence : and therefore though they do 
 fight, the weapons of their warfare are not 
 carnal, but spiritual, and mighty through God. 
 They are submission, patience, tears, prayers. 
 The church therefore thinks not of violence 
 or resistance : yea, they do not draw up a pe- 
 tition and present it to Herod. They go at 
 once, not to the jailer, but the judge ; not to 
 the servant, but the Lord of all. They knew 
 that Herod was under his control : and there- 
 fore prayer was made for Peter continually. 
 The Lord exercises a twofold empire over 
 men. The one is spiritual and saving ; when 
 he enlightens and sanctifies them ; and puts 
 his laws into their minds ; and writes them 
 m their hearts. The other is providential ; 
 when, without converting them, he changes 
 their purposes, or defeats their pursuits. Thus 
 it is said, " The king's heart is in the hand of 
 the Lord, and he turneth it like the rivers of 
 water ;" which, led into another channel by 
 the husbandman, retain the same qualities, 
 and flow as freely as before. Nehemiah there- 
 ftre did wisely when he wished to obtain a 
 vor from Ahasnerus ; " 1 prayed," says he, 
 
 '• unto the God of heaven :" ana God disposed 
 him to grant more than he could have re- 
 quested. So Esau armed four hundred men, 
 intending when he set off* to kill Jacob : but 
 Jacob wrestled in prayer ; and having pre- 
 vailed with God, he found no difficulty in suc- 
 ceeding with man. Accordingly his brothel's 
 mind, though not sanctified, was softened ; 
 and when they met they fell on each other's 
 neck, and kissed each other — " When a man's 
 ways please the Lord, he maketh even his 
 enemies to be at peace with him." Hezekiah 
 went and spread the letter before the Lord, 
 and prayed, and conquered Sennacherib upon 
 his knees. 
 
 Let us therefore, when we wish even to 
 carry an enterprise with our fellow-creatures, 
 engage the Lord on our side ; and follow the 
 admonition of David, who had often tried the 
 measure and found it successful : " Commit 
 thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and 
 he shall bring it to pass." And the Church 
 here found it to be true. 
 
 OCTOBER 14. 
 
 " And when Herod would have brought him forth, 
 the same night Peter was sleeping between two 
 soldiers, bound with two chains : and the keep- 
 ers before the door kept the prison. And, be- 
 hold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, 
 and a light shined in the prison : and he smote 
 Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying 
 Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from 
 his hands.'''' — Acts xii. 6, 7. 
 
 How well is God characterized in the ad- 
 dress of David ; " O thou that hearest prayer !" 
 " Ask," says he, " and it shall be given you : 
 seek and ye shall find." He never said to the 
 seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. It is im- 
 possible to read the Scripture and not see 
 what an honour he has always put upon 
 prayer. Indeed much of the Sacred History 
 is only a record of its achievements. The 
 deliverance before us was in answer to prayer, 
 which was made without ceasing of the 
 Church unto God for him. But we may re- 
 mark three things connected with the deliv- 
 erance itself. 
 
 Observe the time when it was obtained — 
 It was the very night preceding the day that 
 Herod would have brought him forth to the 
 people, like a wild beast, to be put to death 
 for their entertainment. The Lord intended 
 to hear their prayers from the beginning ; but 
 he suffered their faith and patience to be tried 
 to the uttermost. A few hours more ! — But 
 before the morning the decree goes forth, Pe- 
 ter is released, and the Church like them that 
 dream ! He designed to relieve the woman 
 of Canaan who cried to him so piteously on 
 the behalf of her daughter ; yet he exercises 
 her with three repulsive discouragements be- 
 fore he proclaimed her success. He had en- 
 
OCTOBER 15. 
 
 331 
 
 gaged to deliver the posterity of Abraham at 
 the end of four hundred and thirty years, yet 
 the last month, the last week, the last day of 
 this period had arrived before the accomplish- 
 ment of the promise : and if they are not res- 
 cued before the next dawn, the Divine bond 
 is forfeited. But there is time enough for 
 payment — " Even the self-same day it came 
 to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went 
 out from the land of Egypt" Thus even 
 when he has determined to give, he holds his 
 people in suspense ; and he has reasons for 
 his conduct. He is a God of knowledge, and 
 blessed are all they that wait for him. These 
 delays operate like the repulse of the Israel- 
 ites from Ai ; they lead to self-examination 
 and inquiry. They tend to destroy creature- 
 confidence. They induce us to receive the 
 blessing with more notice and thankfulness. 
 It is a great thing to be prepared for a mercy, 
 as well as for a trial. But hope deferred 
 maketh the heart sick — And here is the pa- 
 tience of the saints. Yet let them quietly 
 wait for the salvation of the Lord. Let them 
 remember how long he waited for them — 
 that he is a sovereign, and has a right to 
 choose his own time — that his time is the 
 best time — and that though he seems slow he 
 is sure. Cast not away, therefore, your con- 
 fidence. Never despair, though Isaac bo even 
 bound, and laid on the altar, and the hand has 
 seized the knife, and aimed the" blow — 
 
 "Just in the last distressing hour 
 The Lord displays delivering power ; 
 The mount of danger is the place 
 Where we shall see surprising grace.' 
 
 Observe also the state in which, when the 
 salvation arrived, the subject of it was found 
 -He " was sleeping between two soldiers." 
 Asleep ! in such a condition ! in such com- 
 pany ! in such a place ! at such a time ! — 
 when there was only a step between him and 
 his execution — when he was in the jaws of 
 death ! But his cause was good, his con- 
 science clear, his mind kept in perfect peace, 
 being stayed on God. Such a frame of soul 
 would turn a prison into a royal chamber, and 
 make a pavement of clay a bed of down, and 
 enable the possessor to say, in the midst of 
 danger, I will fear no evil, for thou art with 
 me — "So thou givest thy beloved sleep." 
 The Lord has comforts for his people answer- 
 able to every exigency, and as the sufferings 
 abound, the consolation abounds also ; so that 
 they are often a surprise to themselves as 
 well as to others ; their new experience ex- 
 ceeding so much their former feelings, and 
 falsifying their gloomy apprehensions. Yet 
 this is only the fulfilment of the promise, " as 
 thy days so shall thy strength be." Peter 
 was one thing out of prison and another in it 
 He who trembled at the question of the dam- 
 sel in the judgment-hall, can now sleep so 
 soundly as to require a blow to wake him, 
 
 though in the morning ne is to die in all the 
 horrors of a public execution. 
 
 Again, let us observe the instrument em- 
 ployed in the rescue — " Behold the angel of 
 the Lord came upon him." And what mar- 
 vellous beings are these messengers ! They 
 are called "his mighty angels:" and how 
 well are they said to " excel in strength !" 
 Peter seemed perfectly secured. He had been 
 committed to no less than sixteen soldiers, 
 who were to lose their lives if he escaped. 
 Some of them even guarded the doors ; but 
 the angel easily enters without their perceiv- 
 ing him. The prison was dark, but he finds 
 his way to Peter. He was chained to a sol- 
 dier on his right hand and to another on his 
 left. The angel strikes a light ; smites him 
 on the side ; severs him from his fetters ; tells 
 him to arise, and put on his sandals, and fol- 
 low him — without disturbing his keepers — 
 and opens the gates, and sets him free to re- 
 turn to his praying friends. How little we 
 can judge of the nature and agency of invis- 
 ible beings ! One thing however we know, 
 that the highest of God's creatures are his 
 people's servants. Though they are innu- 
 merable, and have among them thrones and 
 dominions, principalities and powers, and the 
 " least of them could wield these elements," 
 "are they not all ministering spirits, sent 
 forth to minister for them who shall be heirs 
 of salvation f What monarch is attended in 
 his journeys like the poorest, meanest child of 
 God 1 " The angel of the Lord encampeth 
 round about them that fear him, and deliver- 
 eth them." 
 
 What right have Christians to despond ? Is 
 not he whom they serve continually able to 
 deliver? Whatever be their straits and diffi- 
 culties, he can find or make a way for their 
 escape. That, at what time they are afraid, 
 they may trust in him : he has not only given 
 them exceeding great and precious promises, 
 but he has taught and encouraged them by 
 examples. They can remember the years of 
 the right hand of the Most High : and they 
 know that he is the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and for ever. 
 
 OCTOBER 15. 
 " And his rest shall be glorious." — Isaiah xi. 10 
 We need not ask whose rest is here spoke' 
 of; for there can be no uncertainty respect- 
 ing the appropriation. The whole chapter is 
 a prophecy or promise of the incarnation and 
 kingdom of the Messiah ; and the verse from 
 which these words are taken is expressly ap- 
 plied to him by Paul, in his Epistle to the 
 Romans, and there is no other that could ver- 
 ify and fulfil it but himself: "In that day 
 there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall 
 stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall 
 the Gentiles seek : and his rest shall be glo- 
 
332 
 
 OCTOBER lf». 
 
 rious."' But we may ask what is this rest of 
 his, to which is ascribed such an attribute, or 
 such an abstraction ; for the margin is, His 
 rest shall be " glory." 
 
 His rest includes that blessed state into 
 whkh he entered after his mediatorial work 
 on earth. Never was there such an enter- 
 prise as lie had to accomplish : the execution 
 of it would have been infinitely above the 
 power of men and augels. But he could say 
 to the Father, "I have finished the work 
 which thou gavest me to do." And what was 
 the result ! " He that is entered into his rest, 
 he also h;ith ceased from his own works, as 
 God did from his :" the one reposing after the 
 redemption of the world, as the other did after 
 the creation ; and each thereby giving rise, 
 as the Apostle remarks, to a Sabbath — the 
 one to the seventh and the other to the first 
 day of the week. Who can imagine, so to 
 speak, the refreshment and satisfaction of the 
 Maker of all things, when he looked and 
 "saw every thing that he had made, and be- 
 hold it was very good]" So Jesus having ob- 
 tained eternal redemption for us, for ever sat 
 down on the right hand of the Majesty on 
 high. There he dieth no more, death hath no 
 more dominion over him. There he possesses 
 the joy that was set before him, for which he 
 endured the cross. There he sees his seed, 
 and prolongs his days, and the pleasure of the 
 Lord prospers in his hand. There he sees of 
 the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. There, 
 for the suffering of death, he is crowned with 
 glory and honour ; angels, principalities, and 
 powers being made subject unto him ; and 
 every name that is named, not only in this 
 world, but also in that which is to come : and 
 his rest is glorious — 
 
 His rest means his Church. " This is my 
 rest for ever, here will I dwell, for I have de- 
 sired it." And whatever the world may think, 
 " In Judah is God known : his name is great 
 in Israel. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and 
 his dwelling-place in Zion. There brake he 
 the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the 
 sword, and the battle. Thou art more glorious 
 and excellent than the mountains of prey." 
 The glory of the Church does not arise from 
 multitude without character, from riches and 
 pomp, from splendid buildings and magnifi- 
 cent ceremonies. What glory would there 
 be in a community dignified with all that is 
 pagan, and all that is popish, yet destitute of 
 the truth as it is in Jesus, of spiritual worship- 
 pers, of righteousness, peace, and joy in the 
 Holy Ghost ? We read of " the Spirit of glory 
 and of God" resting upon Christians. And 
 the one explains the other. It is the divine 
 presence that ennobles as well as defends it : 
 " 1 will be a wall of fire round about her, and 
 the fflory in the midst of her." With him is 
 the fountain of life, and in his light we see 
 light. But if the church of Christ be glorious 
 now, how much more glorious will it be found 
 
 in a period which we are persuaded is already 
 begun, when its numbers, and graces, and 
 usefulness shall be increased with "all the 
 increase of God ;" and the assurances upon 
 which our longing hopes repose shall be ful- 
 filled : "The little one shall become a thou- 
 sand, and the small one a strong nation:" 
 "Moreover, the light of the moon shall be 
 as the light of the sun, and the light of the 
 sun shall be seven fold, as the light of seven 
 days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the 
 breach of his people,' and healeth the stroke 
 of their wound." " For brass I will bring 
 gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for 
 wood brass, and for stones iron." "I wiL 
 make thee an eternal excellency, the joy of 
 many generations" — His rest shall be glo- 
 rious. 
 
 His rest also intends that repose into which 
 he brings his followers. This rest indeed, as 
 to its fullness and perfection, remains for the 
 people of God in another life. And how glo- 
 rious this will be, exceeds the power of 
 language to describe. Yet turn only to the 
 representation of the angel to John. " These 
 are they which came out of great tribulation, 
 and have washed their robes, and made them 
 white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore 
 are they before the throne of God, and serve 
 him day and night in his temple: and he that 
 sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 
 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any 
 more ; neither shall the sun light on them, 
 nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the 
 midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 
 lead them unto living fountains of waters : 
 and God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes." But we which have believed do enter 
 into rest : and how glorious are the earnests, 
 the foretastes, the beginnings of it, even here ! 
 when the understanding is freed from the 
 perplexities of error and doubt; and the con- 
 science is pacified from the horrors of guilt, 
 and the torments of fear; and the heart is de- 
 livered from unattainable and vexatious de- 
 sires; and the will no longer resists the 
 pleasure of the Almighty, with regard to duty 
 or events : and the mind is kept in perfect 
 peace, being stayed upon God. The wicked 
 are like the troubled sea, whose wavels cast 
 up mire and dirt ; and what anxieties and 
 disquietudes must men of the world feel, who 
 have their portion in this life exposed to a 
 thousand accidents and changes, and who 
 have no confidence in God as presiding over 
 all their concerns, so as to promote their wel- 
 fare. But the believer's treasure is in heaven, 
 beyond the reach of harm : and he knows 
 also that all the ways of the Lord towards 
 him are mercy and truth. He has cast all his 
 care upon one who careth for him, and whose 
 care is accompanied with infinite wisdom, 
 power, and love. He therefore is careful for 
 nothing, but feels a peace that passeth all un- 
 derstanding. His soul dwells at ease. He in 
 
OCTOBER 16. 
 
 v.«itisfir.d with fa\our, and filled with the bless- 
 ing of the Lord. 
 
 Such is the Saviour we preach ! This is 
 the rest wherewith he causes the weary to 
 rest, and this is the refreshing ! His followers 
 may have tribulation in the world, but in him 
 they have peace. He will more than make 
 them amends for all their services and suffer- 
 ings in his cause — Yea, he has done it already. 
 What they have been required to give up, 
 they have willingly resigned, for he has 
 blessed them with advantages and pleasures 
 infinitely richer and sweeter. They have 
 meat which others know not of; they have 
 joy which strangers intermeddle not with. 
 He is not only their physician, but their 
 friend ; not only their refuge, but their conso- 
 lation. 
 
 But what shall we say to those who neglect 
 so great salvation ? Can creatures content the 
 cravings of immortality ? Can any earthly 
 successes or indulgences give you heart-felt 
 repose ? Could the whole world sustain and 
 solace you, when trouble comes] when .your 
 gourds wither] when your pulse intermits? 
 and 'upon your eyelids sits the shadow of 
 death ? Such a moment will come ; and 
 then to whom will you flee for help, and 
 where will you leave your glory? But he 
 cries, " Come unto me, all ye that labour and 
 are heavy laden." Venture upon his gracious 
 invitation; and he will give you rest — rest 
 unto your souls — And his rest shall be 
 
 HLOIUOUS. 
 
 OCTOBER 16. 
 
 • 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 founda- 
 tion of the world." — Matt. xxv. 34. 
 
 What a delightful announcement! And 
 now perfectly opposed to the tremendous sen- 
 tence addressed by the King to them on his 
 left hand; "Depart from me, ye cursed, into 
 everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
 his angels." There, " ye cursed ;" here, " ye 
 blessed of my Father." There, " Depart from 
 me ;" here, " Come." There, " Depart into 
 everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
 his angels ;" here, " Inherit the kingdom pre- 
 pared for you from the foundation of the 
 world." 
 
 Observe the character: " Ye blessed of my 
 Father." Some bless themselves, and some 
 are blessed by their fellow -creatures ; but 
 the great thing is to be blessed of God. How 
 vain would be, in all our most important exi- 
 gencies, the friendship of mortals, however 
 kind or powerful they may be ! But in his 
 favour is life. Their blessing is wishes and 
 words : his blessing is deeds and realities. In 
 his blessing there is an actual communication : 
 
 "He commandeth the blessing, even life for 
 evermore:" and they whom he blesses arc 
 blessed, and n.ine can reverse it — And how 
 vain would the censure of the world be, un- 
 der the smiles of God ! Let them curse, but 
 bless thou ! 
 
 But in what are they blessed of his Father! 
 It must be something peculiar and distin- 
 guishing. Temporal mercies they have it 
 common with others. Even here indeed there 
 is gfeat difference as to efficiency and enjoy- 
 ment. They have the good will of him that 
 dwelt in the bush in their comforts: and be- 
 cause he " blesses the labour of their hand," 
 and " blesses their bread and their water," 
 therefore " a little that a righteous man hath 
 is better than the riches of many wicked :" 
 for the "blessing of the Lord it maketh rich" 
 without abundance, and " he addeth no sor- 
 row with it." But what says the glowing 
 thanksgiving of the Apostle ? " Blessed be the 
 God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 whojiath blessed us with all spiritual bless- 
 ings, in heavenly places in Christ." He has 
 redeemed them from the curse of the law ; 
 justified them front all things; called them 
 by his grace. He feeds them with the bread 
 of life ; adorns them with the garments of 
 salvation ; and gives them the earnests and 
 foretastes of immortality. 
 
 Observe the invitation : " Come, ye blessed 
 of my Father." Men, if judged by their dis- 
 positions and actions, often say unto him 
 " Depart from us, for we desire not the \now 
 ledge of thy ways." But what is now theii 
 desire will hereafter be their misery. Now 
 they have diversions, but then they will be 
 abandoned to thought, and feel themselves rfi 
 a condition in which nothing could avail their, 
 but his friendship. O the dreadfulness in thai 
 day of being renounced for ever by him ! — 
 But what a heaven will there be in the sound, 
 " Come !" The invited were once without 
 him, and far from him ; and hence their degra- 
 dation and wretchedness. He pitied them 
 even then, and was concerned to bring them 
 to himself. He therefore said, Come, ye poor, 
 and I will relieve you ; come, ye sick, and I 
 will heal you ; come unto me, all ye that la- 
 bour and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest. Come to my cross ; come to my throne ; 
 come to my house ; come to my table ; and I 
 will in no wise cast you out. And thus their 
 intercourse with him began — and how is it 
 carried on ? — and how will it be completed ? 
 In the same way — " Come." Here they were 
 made to feel their absolute need of him ; here 
 they sought him ; here they often asked • 
 others, " Saw ye him whom my soul loveth ?" 
 Here they also found him and, enjoyed him — 
 But all their desires and their hopes were 
 not perfectly accomplished. Now they have 
 reached the end of their faith, and are satis- 
 fied. " Come," says he, " come" to my imme- 
 
334 
 
 OCTOBER 17. 
 
 iiate presence, " come" to my bosom, " come," 
 and be for ever with the Lord — " Come, ye 
 blessed of my Father." 
 
 Observe tbe induction: "Inherit the king- 
 dom prepared for you from the foundation 
 of the world.'''' Every word is significant. 
 The possession. Not a mansion, an estate, a 
 rity, a province ; but a portion more exten- 
 sive and dignified, and suited to the highest 
 ambition of the soul, a " kingdom." The qual- 
 ification: "Prepared for you." It was 'not a 
 natural endowment, or* an easy acquisition. 
 How many things were to be removed, and 
 how much was to be done and suffered by an 
 agency and passiveness the most illustrious ! 
 •' I go, said he, " to' prepare a place for you :" 
 and his ascension was necessary, and his death 
 was necessary, and his obedience was neces- 
 sary, and his incarnation was necessary, and all 
 the dispensations of his grace and providence 
 were necessary to the full salvation of a soul. 
 The earliness of the provision : " Before the 
 foundation of the world.". How impossible was 
 it that we should be saved by works of righte- 
 ousness that we had done ! All was purposed, 
 planned, promised, secured, not only without 
 our desert, but without our desire, and ages 
 and ages before our existence — The grace 
 was given us in Christ Jesus before the world 
 began. 
 
 Observe the season of enjoyment: " Then." 
 Here they walk by faith, not by sight. If they 
 build tabernacles here, they are soon taken 
 down ; and a voice is heard, " Arise, and de- 
 part hence, for this is not your rest." Every 
 thing leads them forward. Now. they sow in 
 tears ; now they will reap in joy. Now they 
 run ; then they obtain the prize. Now they 
 fight the good fight of faith ; then they will lay 
 hold of eternal life. Now are they the sons of 
 God, but it doth not yet appear what they shall 
 be. They are princes, but the world knoweth 
 them not. Like David they are anointed, but 
 not crowned — But "then shall the King say 
 unto them on his right hand, Come, ye bless- 
 ed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
 pared for you from the foundation of the 
 world." 
 
 And having these promises, let us cleanse 
 ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, 
 perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Let 
 as walk worthy of him who hath called us 
 unto his kingdom and glory. Especially let 
 the prospect animate us in all our religious 
 course. It was this language that influenced 
 so powerfully the first Christians. They 
 thought they always heard — and their faith, 
 their conscience always did hear — " Come, ye 
 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
 prepared for you from the foundation of the 
 world." And this enlivened them in duty. 
 This raised them above worldly losses. This 
 sustained them in every trouble, emboldened 
 them in every conflict, and made them in all 
 these things more than conquerors through 
 
 him that loved them. Ah ! said thoy, " our 
 light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
 worketh for us a far more exceeding and eter- 
 nal weight of glory ; while we look not at 
 the things which are seen, but at the things 
 which are not seen : for the things which are 
 seen are temporal ; but the things which are 
 not seen are eternal." 
 
 OCTOBER 17. 
 
 " There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner 
 in Christ Jesus ; Marcus, Arisiarchus, Demos, 
 Lucas, my felloio-labourers. The grace of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." 
 —Philemon 23, 24, 25. 
 
 Thus closes this short and very interesting 
 Epistle, and which does so much honour to 
 the humility, and kindness, and wisdom, and 
 godliness of the Apostle. It ends with a 
 salutation from his connexions, and a benedic- 
 tion from Paul himself. 
 
 The salutation regards Philemon, and 
 comes from five persons mentioned by name. 
 
 The first is " Epaphras." He had been a 
 faithful minister in the Colossian church, and 
 did not forget them when he was absent from 
 them, always labouring fervently for them in 
 prayer, that they might stand perfect and 
 complete in all the will of God. He was now 
 at Rome, and a sufferer with Paul ; perhaps 
 in the very same confinement ; if not in the 
 same cause. This cause was not the service 
 of sin or sedition, but the Gospel of Christ ; 
 the Apostle therefore calls him " my fellow 
 prisoner in Christ Jesus." 
 
 The second is " Marcus." Not Mark the 
 Evangelist, but John Mark. His mother had 
 a house at Jerusalem, at which, when Peter 
 was delivered from prison, the Church was 
 praying. He was the nephew of Barnabas. 
 He soon became a minister ; and when Paul 
 and his uncle returned from Jerusalem, Mark 
 accompanied them as far as Perga in Pam- 
 phylia : but feeling or fearing the difficulties 
 and dangers of his work, he there departed 
 from them, and returned home. This was 
 doubtless improper conduct, and some time 
 after gave rise to a sad dispute between Paul 
 and Barnabas ; the one being willing to take 
 him again along with them, the other refus- 
 ing, because of his former defection. Per- 
 haps both of these great and good men were 
 a little to blame, the one being too partial, 
 and the other too severe. However this may 
 be, Mark was afterwards not only received 
 by Paul, but recommended to the Colossians, 
 "If he come unto you, receive him ;" and to 
 Timothy, " Take Mark, and bring him with 
 thee : for he is profitable to me for the minis- 
 try." He also was now at Rome with him. 
 He had acknowledged his fault and been re- 
 formed, and we are not to break a bruised 
 reed, nor to reject a returning backslider. If 
 
OCTOBER 17. 
 
 833 
 
 a brother be overtaken in §. fault, they who 
 are spiritual should endeavour to restore him. 
 Many a character has been given up too soon. 
 Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were 
 afraid to act an open part at first ; but they 
 came forward and honoured the crucified Sa- 
 vbur when all his disciples forsook him and 
 fled. 
 
 The third was " Aristarchus." He was a 
 Macedonian. He became a zealous Christian, 
 and attended Paul to Ephesus, where, in the 
 tumult raised by Demetrius the silversmith, 
 he narrowly escaped with his life. He ac- 
 companied Paul in his return to Greece; 
 waited for him at Troas ; journeyed with him 
 into Asia; and sailed with him to Rome, 
 where he now was, and probably involved in 
 the persecution of Paul, for in his Epistle to 
 the Colossians the Apostle calls him his " fel- 
 low-prisoner." 
 
 The fourth was "Demas." At this time 
 therefore he was a professor of Christianity, 
 and probably a preacher of the word. But 
 when Paul wrote his Second Epistle to Tim- 
 othy he says, " Demas hath forsaken me, hav- 
 ing loved this present world, and is departed 
 unto Thessalonica." We are not informed 
 whether he was drawn away by the attraction 
 of pleasure, fame, or wealth. It was probably 
 the latter. " They that will be rich fall into 
 temptation and a snare, and into many foolish 
 and hurtful lusts, which drown men in de- 
 struction and perdition. For the love of mo- 
 ney is the root of all evil : which while some 
 coveted after, they have erred from the faith, 
 and pierced themselves through with many 
 sorrows." Why should we be scandalized at 
 apostasies like these] Did they not attend 
 Christianity from the beginning 1 Were they 
 not found in the purest state of the Church 1 
 They go out from us because they are not of 
 us. Evil men and seducers may wax worse 
 and worse : " nevertheless the foundation of 
 God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord 
 knoweth them that are his." 
 
 The last is "Lucas." He was "the be- 
 loved physician." By his skill he could ren- 
 der himself useful even to the bodies of men: 
 and to the honour of the profession be it ob- 
 served, that we have always found men of 
 this learned and liberal order, the most ready 
 to exercise self-denial and beneficence in the 
 service of suffering humanity. But Luke em- 
 ployed himself also in writing. He was the 
 third evangelist; and compiled the Acts of 
 the Apostles. Of the last four of these five 
 saluters of Philemon it is observable, that 
 Paul calls them " his fellow-labourers." The 
 name is sometimes applied to those who are 
 not expressly ministers of the word. He calls 
 Priscilla and Aquilla his " helpers in Christ ;" 
 and speaks of " those women who laboured 
 with him in the Gospel." He does not mean 
 that they taught publicly in the church, a 
 
 practice which he had forbidden : but there 
 are many ways in which wr> may be fellow- 
 helpers to the truth, consistently with even 
 other duty. But the term is more usually sig- 
 nificant of those who laboured in word and 
 doctrine ; and it is probable that this was the 
 case with each of these individuals. 
 
 But let us observe the benediction of Paul 
 himself. This is more extensive than the 
 salutation. The salutation is addressed to 
 Philemon only; but this takes in his wife 
 Apphia, and Archippus his fellow-soldier, and 
 the church in his house ; and therefore he 
 says, " the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be 
 with your spirit." If there be one word which 
 was dearer to Paul than another, it was the 
 word "grace." Indeed we may call it the 
 darling word of inspiration. But why is it 
 named the grace " of our Lord Jesus Christ ?" 
 Because by his obedience and death he was 
 the medium of its extension to the children 
 of men. And because also he is the source 
 of its residence ; it hath pleased the Father 
 that in him should all fullness dwell. Hence 
 we are commanded to be strong " in the grace 
 that is in Christ Jesus." Hence it is said, 
 " Of his fullness have all we received, and 
 grace for grace." 
 
 But whydoes the Apostle say " the grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit ? " 
 Because this is the principal seat of all n-al 
 religion. Out of this are the issues of life. 
 And therefore it is said, " Take heed to your 
 spirit." We are no longer in a right state 
 than while we are in " a right spirit ;" and 
 this — and the Apostle perfectly knew it — is 
 and can be no further right than as it is pos- 
 sessed and influenced by this grace. This 
 grace will make it a spirit of faith, a spirit 
 of love, a spirit of adoption. This grace will 
 lead it into all truth, and prepare it for every 
 duty. This grace will enable it to resist 
 temptation, to bear prosperity, to endure af- 
 fliction, to triumph in death. The Apostle 
 knew that fresh supplies of it were necessary, 
 but he knew also, not only from his own ex- 
 perience, but from the declaration of the Sa- 
 viour himself, that it was equal to every sea- 
 son, every condition, every exigency; for he 
 had said to him, and to every believer, " My 
 grace is sufficient for thee." This therefore 
 he deemed the most important endowment he 
 could wish for his friends. Had he known 
 any thing more valuable, he would have im- 
 plored it on their behalf. But he knew grace 
 was the best gift. He knew that nothing 
 could be a blessing without. He knew tha* 
 every thing could be a blessing with it. He 
 knew that it was profitable unto all things 
 having promise of the life that now is, and of 
 that which is to come. Let us seek it for our 
 connej ions. Let us seek it for ourselves — 
 The reality of it if we have it not — and the 
 abundance of it if we have. "Amen." 
 
OCTOBER 18. 
 
 OCTOBER 18. 
 He will subdue our iniquities." — Micah vii. 19. 
 
 The language is expressive of joyful con- 
 fidence. But the allusion is military, and 
 well accords with the experience of every 
 partaker of Divine grace who finds the spirit- 
 ual life a warfare. The adversaries to be sub- 
 dued are their " iniquities." They have ene- 
 mies without, but their worst enemies are 
 within. Even the world and the devil could 
 do them little hurt without the assistance of 
 thes treacherous inmates. In this sense a 
 man's foes are they of his own house. But 
 are not their iniquities enemies to others as 
 well as to Christians ! They are, and will be 
 found so in the end ; but at present others 
 are deluded by them, and take pleasure in 
 them. Whereas Christians have been awaken- 
 ed and enlightened to see their condition 
 while led captive by them, and have been led 
 to throw off their yoke, and to declare war 
 against them, a war the most trying and aw- 
 ful, a war that admits of no accommodation, 
 a war that must end in our victory or de- 
 struction. 
 
 But are they not already delivered from 
 these enemies 1 Does not the Apostle thank 
 God that they are " made free ^prom sin, and 
 become the servants of righteousness 1" They 
 are made free from its tyranny. It no longer 
 reigns in their mortal body that they should 
 obey it in the lusts thereof— Yet it lives, and 
 resists, and often alarms them into a dread of 
 being again overcome — " Mine iniquities pre- 
 vail against me." But the apprehension is 
 groundless. Sin shall not have dominion over 
 them, for they are not under the law, but un- 
 der grace. The Lord is on their side. Their 
 friend, their helper, their conqueror is Di- 
 vine — "He shall subdue our iniquities." Who 
 i3 the agent ? " Not by might, or by power, 
 but by my Spirit, saith the Lord V Here is 
 "the only real Sanctifier : and therefore we 
 read, that " through the Spirit we mortify the 
 deeds of the body ;" that " we have purified 
 our souls in obeying the truth through the 
 Spi'it;" that "we live in the Spirit, and 
 walk ki the Spirit." What are the means? 
 The principal instrumentality is faith. Some 
 imagine that faith is rather opposed to holi- 
 ness , but there is no true holiness without it. 
 Abraham, who believed God, is distinguished 
 pre-eminently for obedience : and he who has 
 the faith of Paul will never want the works 
 of James. Faith in the blood of Jesus, faith 
 ' in the promises of God, that faith which is 
 the substance of things hoped for, the evi- 
 dence of things not seen ; that faith alone en- 
 ables us to stand in the evil day. This faith 
 purifies the heart — The " sanctified," says the 
 Saviour, " by faith that is in me." All the 
 ordinances of religion are called means of 
 grace, because in the use of them we receive 
 M thfi supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Under the blessing ol God the dispensations 
 of Providence conduce to the same end. Af- 
 flictions, which are the effects of sin, are 
 made " the fruit to take away sin." Creature 
 comforts are often to the soul what suckers 
 are to the tree ; and the heavenly HuJrend- 
 man prunes us to secure the sap for the bear- 
 ing. We are tried, that we may come forth 
 from the furnace as gold, losers indeed, but 
 gainers by the loss, deprived only of what in- 
 jured our excellence ; and rendered more 
 valuable and useful. 
 
 But in what manner is the work accom- 
 plished ? The Lord could at once execute 
 the blessed deliverance, but as the Canaanites 
 were driven out by little and little, so he 
 gradually subdues our iniquities. Hence we 
 read of " the inward man being renewed day 
 by day :" and of our being " changed into the 
 same image, from glory to glory, as by the 
 Spirit of the Lord." We must therefore dis- 
 tinguish between the commencement and the 
 finishing of this glorious renovation. It will 
 not be completed till death, but it is now be- 
 gun ; and the very complaints of the believer 
 are proofs that he is not what he once was, 
 but approves things that are excellent, and 
 delights in the law of God, and feels his re- 
 maining corruptions to be his burden and 
 grief. Simon Brown, formerly a minister of 
 the Gospel in London, was so enervated and 
 depressed as to believe that his soul was anni- 
 hilated, and that he had no more soul than a 
 horse. Yet he continued praying, and preach- 
 ing, and publishing, as if he had two souls 
 instead of having none; his reasonings abun- 
 dantly disproving all their conclusions. Thus 
 we have met with Christians who imagined 
 they had no grace, while they lived so con- 
 scientiously and consistently, mourned for 
 sin so deeply, prized the Scripture so highly, 
 and loved the Lord Jesus so fervently, that 
 they seemed to every one but themselves to 
 have a double portion of the Spirit. When 
 a man is nailed to the cross, he may linger on 
 for awhile, but his doom is fixed : and " our 
 old man is crucified." A tree, after it i? 
 plucked up by the roots, has some sap left in 
 it, and will even throw out shoots; but we 
 know that in such a case it cannot revive : 
 the radical essential support is cut off*— -It 
 must wither and die. Let us thank God and 
 take courage. The conflict may be pro- 
 tracted, and we may sometimes be ready tc 
 faint, but there is nothing doubtful in the 
 issue: and the result is not more glorious 
 than sure. 
 
 OCTOBER 19. 
 
 " David carried it aside into the house of Ohed 
 edom the Gittite." — 2 Sam. vi. 10 
 
 It was a solemn and awful appeal David 
 made, when " he sware unto the Lord, and 
 vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob: surelv 
 
OCTOBER 19. 
 
 337 
 
 I will not come into the tabernacle of my 
 house, nor go up into my bed ; I will not give 
 sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eye- 
 lids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an 
 habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." Ac- 
 cordingly as soon as he was fully enthroned 
 over all Israel, he resolved to bring up the 
 ark from Gibeah, where it had long been, and 
 place it in Jerusalem, where it would be pub- 
 lic and accessible. But at first the enterprise 
 more than failed. The appointed and pre- 
 scribed mode of conveying the ark was on 
 the shoulders of the Levites. On the pres- 
 ent occasion this was strangely and very cul- 
 pably overlooked. It was carried in a new 
 cart ; and it was driven by Uzzah and Ahio, 
 the sons of Abinadab. " And David and all the 
 house of Israel played before the Lord on all 
 manner of instruments made of firwood, even 
 on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, 
 and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when 
 they came to Nachon's threshing-floor, Uzzah 
 put forth his hand to the ark of God, and 
 took hold of it ; for the oxen shook it And 
 the anger of the Lord was kindled against 
 Uzzah; and God smote him there for his 
 error ; and there he died by the ark of God." 
 The event seems mysterious. His judgments 
 are a great deep. But will not the Judge of 
 all the earth do right? We are sure there is 
 no unrighteousness with God. We know 
 also that he alone is the adequate judge of 
 moral conduct By him actions are weighed. 
 He sees them in their principles and motives ; 
 and unerringly estimates the circumstances 
 of extenuation or aggravation attached to 
 them. Let us give him time, and we shall 
 be constrained to acknowledge, " Thou art 
 justified when thou speakest and clear when 
 thou judgest" 
 
 David was both displeased and terrified. 
 His displeasure was very censurable. Did it 
 become him to resent what God had done, 
 and be angry because the breach had defeated 
 his plan, and disappointed his expectation — 
 especially too, when all this would have been 
 prevented, had he consulted the law, and con- 
 formed to it? But so true is it "a man's fool- 
 ishness perverteth his way, and his heart 
 fretteth against the Lord." His terror was 
 more excusable, and might have been salu- 
 tary. " God will be known by the judgments 
 which he executeth." When he strikes some 
 he intends that others should hear and fear, 
 and turn unto the Lord. And it is well for 
 us to feel our unworthiness and desert ; and 
 to inquire whether we who are spared are 
 not equally guilty with those who are cut ofT; 
 and also whether, though spared now, we 
 6hall escape always? Let him that thinketh 
 he standeth take heed, lest he fall. 
 
 But David's alarm was servile and exces- 
 sive. He therefore broke up the assembly, 
 ind began his return home, saying, " How 
 shall the ark of the Lord come to me ?' " So 
 2-2 
 
 David would not remove the ark of the Lor: 
 unto him into the city of David : but Davie 
 carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom 
 the Gittite." The event to Obed-edom was 
 wholly unexpected. Little did he imagine, 
 when he rose in the morning and joined the 
 holy procession, that before he retired to rest 
 his house would be the tabernacle of tha 
 Lord, towards which the eyes and thoughts 
 of all the pious would be turned, and his 
 name be had in everlasting remembrance. 
 So Saul went out to search for his father's 
 asses, and before he returned was anointed 
 king over Israel. When David was carrying 
 provender to his brethren in the camp, how 
 little did he dream that in the course of a few 
 hours he should be the conqueror of Goliath, 
 and the deliverer of his country, and hear it 
 shouted, " Saul hath slain his thousands, but 
 David his ten thousands !" As to evil or as 
 to good, we never know what a day may 
 bring forth; and therefore we should never 
 presume or despair. We talk of novels and 
 romances; but we need not have recourse to 
 fiction. What marvellous coincidences di- 
 versify actual life ! " Time and chance hap- 
 pen to all." Nothing is indeed casual with 
 regard to God. He sees the end from the 
 beginning; and works all things after the 
 counsel of his own will ; and his providence 
 is so universal and minute, that a sparrow 
 falleth not to the ground without our heavenly 
 Father, and the very hairs of our head are all 
 numbered. But what is appointment with 
 him is contingency with us. The ciast im- 
 portant and interesting occurrences in our 
 individual histories are often peculiarly acci- 
 dental: in review they appear surprising; 
 and in prospect, had they been announced, 
 would have seemed improbable, if not impos- 
 sible — " I will bring the blind by a way that 
 they knew not; I will lead them in paths 
 that they have not known: I will make dark- 
 ness light before them, and crooked things 
 straight These things will I do unto them, 
 and not forsake them." 
 
 Obed-edom's compliance was very praise- 
 worthy. How many, had they been placed 
 in his circumstances, would have declined 
 the reception of the ark ! Some would have 
 pleaded danger — They could not live under 
 the same roof with this mysterious and dread- 
 ful symbol, which had killed Uzzah, who only 
 touched it and smote so many of the Beth- 
 shemites who only looked into it. Som<? would 
 have felt the expense it might entail. Some 
 would have excused themselves on the ground 
 of trouble — "multitudes will be constantly 
 repairing hither, either from devotion or cu- 
 riosity. The house will be a thoroughfare. 
 We shall find it necessary to engage door 
 keepers" — But if any of these thoughts oc- 
 curred, they had not a moment's weight with 
 Obed-edom. Providence, says he, has laid 
 this service in my way — It is the call of God 
 
oae 
 
 OCTOBER 20. 
 
 —and I seize with gladness an opportunity 
 afforded me to show my love to his service, 
 ind to exercise self-denial for his sake. 
 
 And what was the consequence 1 Had he 
 reason to repent of the forwardness of his 
 zeal! The ark, says our Henry, is a guest 
 that always pays well for its entertainment. 
 And what says the sacred historian] "And 
 the ark of the Lord continued in the house 
 of Obed-edom the Gittite three months : and 
 the Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his 
 household." 
 
 OCTOBER 20. 
 
 " He doth devise means, that his banished be not 
 expelled from him." 1 — 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 SoiyiE emblems of this appeared under the 
 law. Many persons ceremonially unclean 
 were banished for a time from the camp, the 
 city, and the sanctuary ; but means were or- 
 dained and prescribed for their cleansing, 
 their release, and their restoration. But let 
 us look at the conduct of God towards his 
 people in the means he devises for their re- 
 demption, their conversion, their recall from 
 backsliding, and their removal home. 
 
 Man was made after the image of God. 
 God delighted in him, and held communion 
 with him. He was perfectly holy, and per- 
 fectly happy: the heir of immortality, and 
 the lord of all in this lower world. These 
 views of man only serve to enhance his fall, 
 and make his loss so much the more deplora- 
 ble. He is not now what he originally was. 
 Adam was banished from paradise; and Che- 
 rubim, with a flaming sword, were placed to 
 prevent his return to the tree of life. And 
 we were banished in him — In Adam all died. 
 We were deprived of the favour and presence 
 of God ; and separated from the supreme 
 good ; and resembled traitors, who having 
 forfeited their right to their former abode and 
 possessions, wander exiled from place to place, 
 not daring to appear where once they lived, 
 lest they should be apprehended and executed. 
 What a state was this to be in ! But it was 
 not of God that his banished should be ex- 
 pelled from him'. He desired not the death 
 of sinners; and therefore he devised means 
 to deliver them from the sentence bf condem- 
 nation, and to bring them back to his favour 
 and presence. And what were these means? 
 They were such as evinced not only his 
 clemency, but showed that he was rich in 
 mercy — We could never have found out, and 
 all the principalities and powers above could 
 never have found out, a way for our return to 
 Cod, consistently with all the perfections of 
 his nature. But his understanding is infinite. 
 O the depth hoth of the wisdom and know- 
 ledge i f God ! He forms a plan in which he 
 abound? towards us in all wisdom and pru- 
 dence; a plan which angels desire to look 
 into; a plan, the development of which will 
 
 draw forth the praise and wonder of eternity, 
 a plan in which goodness and justice shine 
 forth with equal heams; in which mercy and 
 truth meet together, righteousness and peace 
 kiss each other ; in which, while he redeems 
 Jacob, he glorifies himself in Israel ; in which, 
 while the guilty are pardoned, the law is ful- 
 filled, and magnified, and made honourable , 
 in which, while there is peace on earth and 
 good-will towards men, there is glory to God 
 in the highest. " All things are of God, who 
 hath reconciled us unto himself by Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 Redemption, however, is one thing ; salva 
 tion is another. We have seen what Goc! 
 has done to bring us out of our guilty state . 
 but we must also be brought out of our de 
 praved state. We are darkness; how are 
 we made light in the Lord 1 We are the ser- 
 vants of sin ; how are we turned from the 
 power of Satan unto God 1 The grand agency 
 is the influence of the Holy Spirit; and hence 
 we read of our being born of the Spirit, and 
 being led by the Spirit: and we are assured 
 that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is 
 liberty. But among the means devised for 
 our conversion is the dispensation of the word 
 by preaching : " He gave some, apostles ; and 
 some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and 
 some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting 
 of the saints, for the work of the ministry, 
 for the edifying of the body of Christ." There 
 is not only a great and obvious adaptation and 
 suitableness in this instrumentality to the 
 purpose designed, but it is the ordinance of 
 God's own appointment ; and is therefore en- 
 titled to his blessing. Accordingly faith Com- 
 eth by hearing. In the beginning of the 
 Gospel, and in every revival of it since, the 
 work has been principally accomplished by 
 preaching. Were any given number of con- 
 verted individuals now living to tell what 
 God had done for their souls, how many of 
 them would ratify this truth ! One would say, 
 I had not a serious thought of God, or of my 
 soul, before such a sermon, like a clap of 
 thunder, awakened my sleeping conscience 
 A second would say, I was a Pharisee, trust- 
 ing in myself that I was righteous, and de- 
 spising others, till such a discourse, like a 
 scythe, mowed down all my legal hopes, and 
 made me cry for mercy. A third would say, 
 T was walking according to the course of this 
 world, spending my money for that which is 
 not bread, and my labour for that which satis- 
 fieth not, till such an address urged me to 
 forsake the foolish and live, and go in the way 
 of understanding — But we do not limit the 
 Holy One of Israel. There is hardly any 
 thing but the Lord has dignified by making 
 use of it in the calling of sinners to himself 
 Afflictions, as we see in the case of Manasseh : 
 parental example ; the admonition of a friend ; 
 the reading of a good book, of a mere tract — 
 Where shall we end 1 " Lo ! all these things 
 
OCTOBER 21 
 
 :#y 
 
 worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring 
 back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened 
 with the light of the living." 
 
 After they are brought to God by convert- 
 ing grace, his people are not suffered to apos- 
 tatize from him. But they may backslide. 
 Their faith may fail in the exercise, though 
 not in the principle. Their love may wax 
 cold. They may grow indifferent to the ser- 
 vice of God, and rarely and lifelessly attend 
 the means of his appointment Yea, they 
 may yield to temptation, and fall into sin, and 
 cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of. 
 And what is the consequence'! The Lord 
 hides his face, and they are troubled — " O that 
 it was with me as in months past, when the 
 candle of the Lord shone upon my head, and 
 when by his light I walked through darkness ; 
 while as yet the Almighty was with me." 
 The loss and the remembrance of their for- 
 mer peace and joy ; galling reflections from 
 their own minds; brotherly rebukes ; outward 
 trials and disappointments — these are the 
 means he employs to bring them back to him- 
 self from whom they have revolted, and who 
 is yet saying, Return, ye backsliding children 
 — I will heal your backslidings. 
 
 But as long as they remain here they are 
 from home. This is not their rest. But there 
 remaineth a rest for the people of God. And 
 he has devised means to remove them from 
 the kind of exile in which they now are, to 
 their own country, from whence they were 
 born, and whither they long to return. He 
 has appointed an hour in which they are to 
 depart out of the world unto the Father. 
 Death is the way, and however trying, the 
 right way to the city of habitation. By death 
 their banishment is entirely ended, and their 
 restoration perfected for ever. "Therefore 
 are they before the throne of God, and serve 
 him day and night in his temple : and he that 
 silteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 
 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
 any more; neither shall the sun light on 
 them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is 
 in the midst of the throne shall feed them, 
 shall lead them unto living fountains of wa- 
 ters : and God shall wipe away all tears from 
 their eyes." 
 
 OCTOBER 21. 
 
 ** Whose I am, and whom I serve." 
 Acts xxvii. 23. 
 
 This was the language of Paul, when he 
 informed his fellow-suflerers of the angelical 
 vision with which he had been favoured in 
 the night But others may adopt the same 
 avowal. 
 
 He calls God his owner, when he says, 
 Whose I am, and asserts nothing that is pe- 
 culiar to himself. We also are his. He has 
 numberless claims to us; and these claims we 
 6hould feel and acknowledge. They are 
 
 founded in creation : in providence : in re- 
 demption : in selfdedication. The Corin- 
 thian converts " gave themselves unto the 
 Lord." And there has been a time in the 
 experience of every Christian, when he has 
 done the same. And he has often renewed 
 the surrender since. And the more he re- 
 flects upon it the more he approves of his 
 conduct, and glories in the thought that he is 
 not his own, but the Lord's. 
 
 Yet when he adds, and whom I serve, 
 some may be ready to say, " Ah ! Paul did 
 serve him. He was called to be an Apostle ; 
 to preach the Gospel, to write Scripture, to 
 plant churches, to work miracles. Never did 
 one man perhaps do so much in glorifying 
 God and serving his generation as he — But 
 what can I do? Can I serve him?" But let it 
 be observed that the service of God is not 
 confined to great offices and talents. These 
 do not depend upon us, but are dispensed by 
 the Lord of all as he pleases ; and he looks 
 to the heart, and where this is towards him, 
 desires are actions. Where there is first a 
 willing mind, it is accepted according to what 
 a man hath, and not according to what he 
 hath not He sees benevolence where nothing 
 is given, and martyrdom where nothing is 
 suffered. " Let her alone ; she hath done 
 what she could." 
 
 " No blank, no trifle Nature made or meant. 
 — If nothing more than purpose in tby power. 
 Thy purpose firm, is equal to the deed\ 
 Who does the best his circumstance allows, 
 Does well, acts nobly — angels could no more." 
 
 The service of God is very extensive, and 
 is not to be confined to what many only mean 
 by it It reaches further than express aets of 
 devotion. The means of grace are indeed 
 both duties and privileges ; and they who do 
 not value them are either in an unconverted 
 or a backsliding state. In a proper frame of 
 mind, good men will sanctify the Sabbath, re- 
 pair to the sanctuary, and retire to read the 
 Scripture, and pray and meditate. But they 
 will regard these things only as means of 
 grace, in the use of which they renew their 
 strength, and gain fresh supplies of the Spirit 
 of Jesus Christ to enable them to fill up Chris- 
 tianly the whole of their stations in life. 
 They therefore serve God in the week as well 
 as on the Sabbath, and in their own dwelling 
 as well as in the temple. They acknowledge 
 him in all their ways ; and whether they ea 
 or drink, or whatever they do, they do all to 
 the glory of God. A constant regard to his 
 word as their rule, and his honour as their end, 
 elevates common actions into moral, and moral 
 into spiritual ; and thus the magistrate while 
 upon the bench, and the traveller while upon 
 the road, and the tradesman while in the shop, 
 and the labourer while in the field, and the 
 mother while training up her infant charge, 
 are all doing the work of the Lord, and have 
 the testimony that they please him. 
 
 Servants, besides their known, usual, retju. 
 
340 
 
 OCTOBER 22. 
 
 .ar course of action, are liable to particular 
 Rnd occasional calls of service which cannot 
 be previously prescribed. Thus we are to 
 observe the movements of Providence, and 
 fall in with those duties which grow out of 
 events. In this spirit David said, "on thee 
 do I wait all the day ;" holding himself al- 
 ways in a readiness to receive orders, and in 
 effect asking, " Lord, what wilt thou have me 
 to do!" 
 
 " They also serve that wait." There is a 
 suffering as well as a doing service. God is 
 never more pleased than when we deny our- 
 selves, and show that we love him above all, 
 and are willing to leave all, and lose all, for 
 his sake. As the exercise of the passive 
 graces is the most difficult, so perhaps it is 
 the most impressive. We peculiarly glorify 
 God in the fires. We are witnesses for him ; 
 and testify to the excellency of the principles, 
 and to the power of the resources of the re- 
 ligion we profess. We show that his grace 
 can support us when every other dependence 
 fails, and his comforts cheer us when all other 
 springs of refreshment are dried up. When 
 by accident or sickness we are led in from 
 active scenes, we fear we are going to possess 
 months of vanity, while perhaps we are en- 
 tering some of the most useful parts of our 
 life. If we endure as Christians, the spirit 
 of glory and of God resteth upon us ; and by 
 our patience, submission, peace, and joy, some 
 around us are instructed, some convinced, 
 some encouraged — while perhaps superior be- 
 ings are excited to glorify God in us — for we 
 are a spectacle to angels as well as unto men. 
 
 But what is the nature of the service in 
 which we shall be engaged in the heavenly 
 world! when we shall have dropped all our 
 infirmities ! and our powers will be equal to 
 our work and our wishes! — "Therefore are 
 they before his throne, and serve him day and 
 night in his temple." "His servants shall 
 serve him, and they shall see his face." 
 
 OCTOBER 22. 
 
 u There stood by me this night the angel of God." 
 Acts xxvii. 23. 
 
 How Paul was now engaged we know not. 
 Perhaps he was praying. This is the resource 
 of the Christian in every storm ; and to this 
 the promise is made, " Call upon me in the 
 day of trouble, and I will deliver thee." Nor 
 can we determine where he was. Consider- 
 ing that he was a prisoner, and so many on 
 board, it is not likely that he had a cabin to 
 himself Yet he seems to have been alone : 
 at least the privilege was personal and indi- 
 vidual. There were near three hundred in 
 the ship, but none of them was aware of what 
 was passing with Paul. The Lord, in the 
 same assembly, and in the same seat, can hold 
 oommunion with one, and not with another. 
 
 "Lord, how is it," said one of his discip.es, 
 "that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, ano 
 not unto the world!" The question implies 
 wonder ; but our Saviour had promised the 
 distinction. Luke was in the ship, but Paul 
 only has the vision. All the partakers of Di- 
 vine grace are not allowed the same indul 
 gences. All the apostles were not to witness 
 the raising of the ruler's daughter, and our 
 Lord's transfiguration and passion ; but only 
 Peter, James, and John ; and though he loved 
 them all, John is called the disciple whom 
 Jesus loved. It was not Luke, but Paul, that 
 was to appear before Nero — Paul was the suf- 
 ferer ; and Divine comforts correspond with 
 our trials, for "as the sufferings of Christ 
 abound in us, so the consolation aboundeth by 
 Christ." 
 
 Two things are observable. First, the mes- 
 senger : the angel of the Lord. We know 
 little of angels. The name is expressive of 
 their office, rather than of their nature. They 
 seem to have been the first beings created ; 
 they are proverbial for wisdom ; and excel in 
 strength : yet they do his commandments, and 
 hearken unto the voice of his word. He sailh 
 to one, Go, and he goeth ; to another, Come, 
 and he cometh ; and to each of them, Do this, 
 and, whatsoever it be, he doeth it: for it is 
 his will alone they regard ; and they are al- 
 ways satisfied and delighted with it. They 
 are elevated above us in rank and estate, yet 
 they are all ministering spirits, sent forth to 
 minister unto them that shall be the heirs of 
 salvation. Such honour and happiness have 
 all the household of faith : the -highest of 
 God's creatures are his servants; they rejoice 
 over them in their repentance, encamp round 
 about them in trouble and danger, convey 
 their souls at death into Abraham's bosom, 
 and in the morning of the resurrection will 
 gather together their bodies from the four 
 winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 
 They will be our associates for ever — We are 
 come to an innumerable company of angels. 
 
 Secondly, the season : this night. It was 
 dark, pitch dark : not one star appeared. 
 How was the angel to find Paul far off upon 
 the sea in such a dense obscurity! We aro 
 not to judge of their senses by ours. They 
 see not as man seeth. The darkness hideth 
 not from them, but the night shineth as the 
 day: the darkness and the light, are both 
 alike to them. It was a period of extremity. 
 The Lord could have given Paul the assu- 
 rance before he had been so long tossed with 
 the tempest; but it was withholden till all 
 hope that they should be saved was taken 
 away. This is what his people have often 
 experienced. His reasons for delay are found- 
 ed in wisdom and in kindness. He would de- 
 stroy creature-confidence, and yet teach us 
 never to despair with regard to himself. His 
 conduct shows us that nothing is too hard for 
 the Iiord: at eventide it shall be Iijjht. It 
 
OCTOBER 23. 
 
 34*. 
 
 also displays his glory more to cure when the 
 disease has been pronounced desperate, and 
 ill other physicians have withdrawn. Hence 
 he abode two days in the same place, after he 
 heard of the case of Lazarus, and was glad 
 for the sake of his disciples that he was not 
 present to recover him from his sickness, as it 
 would confirm their faith more to see him 
 raised after he had been dead four days. 
 
 OCTOBER 23. 
 
 14 Fear n tt, Paul ; thou must be brought before 
 Cesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them 
 that sail icith thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good 
 cheer : for I believe God, that it shall be even 
 as it teas told me. Hoxcbeit, we must be cast 
 upon a certain island." — Acts xxvii. 24 — 26. 
 
 Lct us observe the angel's address to Paul ; 
 and Yaul's address to his companions. 
 
 The angel's address contains two things. 
 First, an admonition. "Fear not, Paul." 
 There is nothing by which Christians honour 
 their religion more than by confidence in 
 danger, and cheerfulness in trouble. It would 
 therefore have been lamentable had Paul on 
 this occasion failed in spirit ; and exposed him- 
 self to the reproach Eliphaz unjustly applied 
 to Job : " Behold, thou hast instructed many, 
 and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 
 Thy words have upholden him that was fall- 
 inc, and thou hast strengthened the feeble 
 knees." Yet it would seem that the frame 
 of his mind began to be weak and wavering. 
 He had nature in him as well as grace. He 
 had eaten nothing for a length of time, and 
 was exhausted with fatigue. He knew what 
 it was to be enervated. In one of his epistles 
 he speaks of being "in weakness, and fear, 
 and much trembling." In such a case the body 
 depresses the mind ; and a man has hardly 
 the command of his own principles. Was 
 Paul afraid whether he had done right in ap- 
 pealing unto Caesar? Did he begin to shud- 
 der at the thought of appearing before such a 
 monster as Nero? Or was he afraid of sink- 
 ing? The Lord knew his frame; and re- 
 membered that he was dust 
 
 Secondly, an assurance. "Thou must be 
 brought before Cesar." This was the appoint- 
 ment of God ; and it was to answer very im- 
 portant purposes. There his bonds were to 
 be made manifest in the palace, and in all 
 other places. There he was to testify the 
 gospel of the grace of God, and to induce 
 others to speak the word without fear. There 
 he was to make converts to Christianity, and 
 converts even in Caesar's household. Such 
 was the design of God, and as this purpose 
 must be accomplished, Paul's preservation 
 was secure. Even a providential destination 
 has rendered the fulfiller of it invulnerable, 
 and insured his success, as far as he moved in 
 the line of God's appointment We see this \ 
 
 in tie case of Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus 
 All our times are in 'his hands, and we arc 
 immortal till our work is done. The assurance 
 includes not only himself but the whole com- 
 pany : " And, lo, God hath given thee all them 
 that sail with thee." The angel could have 
 rescued Paul, and left the crew to perish ; but 
 to save them all for his sake was attaching 
 importance to Paul, and putting honour upon 
 him. And in this way the Lord magnifies his 
 people now. The world knoweth them not 
 yet it is owing to them their very existence 
 is continued. They are the chariots of Israel, 
 and the horsemen thereof. Nations are bless- 
 ed for their sakes : and though now they are 
 overlooked because they are not heroes and 
 statesmen, in the annals of heaven they are 
 called the repairers of the breach, the re- 
 storers of paths to dwell in. " I sought for a 
 man among them, that should make up the 
 hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the 
 land, that I should not destroy it : but I found 
 none. Therefore have I poured out mine in- 
 dignation upon them ; I have consumed them 
 with the fire of my wrath : their own way 
 have I recompensed upon their heads, saith 
 the Ix>rd God." 
 
 Observe also Paul's address to his compan- 
 ions in tribulation. It was tender: "Where- 
 fore, sirs, be of good cheer." Paul had a feel- 
 ing heart ; and the state of his fellow-ruffer- 
 ers; their pale faces; their haggard looks; 
 their shrieks when the vessel rolled or 
 plunged : the thought of so many perishing, 
 and perishing for ever — for there were in all 
 two hundred threescore and sixteen : all this 
 deeply affected him. He therefore now re- 
 joices on their behalf, and eagerly hastens to 
 alleviate their terror and anguish ; and hopes 
 too that the long-suffering of God would prove 
 their eternal salvation. — It was confident : 
 " For I believe God, that it shall be even as it 
 was told me." Thus he staggered not at the 
 promise of God through unbelief, but was 
 strong'in faith, giving glory to God, and being 
 fully persuaded that what he had promised he 
 whs able also to perform. Owing to this he 
 felt as safe and composed as if already on 
 shore. We have every reason to believe what 
 God has spoken : and not only is his honour, 
 but our own profit concerned in our believing 
 it — It is the only wayto solid comfort in such 
 a world as this. ' Suj^P if ye will not believe 
 ye shall not be eswblished. But thou wilt 
 keep him in p°rfect peace whose mind is stay 
 ed upon thee, because he trusteth in thee. — It 
 was predictive: " Howbeit we must be cast 
 upon a certain island" — not a continent but 
 an island, ard ar— certain island — and we 
 must be cas f rpon it, that is, wrecked there ; 
 the vessel will be destroyed, though the pas- 
 sengers will be preserved. Why does he 
 mention and particularize all this? To be a 
 sign ; that when the fact should have taken 
 place, all might be oersuaded that Paul spoke 
 
342 
 
 OCTOBER 24. 
 
 i'rom divine authority. This is the design of 
 all prophecy ; it is not to amuse and perplex 
 us in the previous study, but to confirm our 
 faith by the event ; as our Saviour more than 
 once remarked, "These things I have said 
 unto you before it come to pass, that when it 
 is come to pass ye may believe." 
 
 The prediction was soon followed by the 
 accomplishment: "And the rest, some on 
 Doards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. 
 And so it came to pass, that they escaped all 
 safe to land. And when they were escaped, 
 then they knew that the island was called 
 Melita." — And how was Paul viewed then ] 
 When he first came on deck, they probably 
 considered him an enthusiast, if not an impos- 
 tor ; and if they did not revile him, they 
 pitied his weakness, that he should expose 
 himself to so many hardships and dangers for 
 the sake of one Jesus who had been crucified, 
 whom Paul affirmed to be alive. But the 
 storm convinced them that Paul had good 
 reason for his attachment and confidence. 
 While they were filled with confusion and 
 horror, he knew whom he believed, and was 
 not ashamed of his hope. They called every 
 man upon his god, but none of them could 
 hear or save their suppliants. But Paul's 
 master could save to the uttermost : and he 
 not only delivered his servant, but the entire 
 crew for his sake — So he can bring our ad- 
 versaries to our feet, and make them know 
 that he has loved us — So that men shall say, 
 Verily there is a reward for the righteous, 
 verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth 
 — For their rock is not as our Rock, our ene- 
 mies themselves being judges. 
 
 OCTOBER 24. 
 
 " Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief." 
 Mark ix. 24. 
 
 How many subjects are there, concerning 
 which a Christian is frequently compelled to 
 express himself in these words — " Lord, I be- 
 lieve ; help thou mine unbelief!" 
 
 This in the case, sometimes even with re- 
 gard to the being of a God. It may seem al- 
 most impossible that we should feel any doubt 
 with regard to a truth so obvious and unde- 
 niable as the Divine existence. Many would 
 probably deem a discourse against atheism 
 altogether unworthy of their attention. They 
 would observe that Moses, in the book of Gen- 
 esis, does not attempt to prove a Deity, but 
 takes it for granted; and that only a fool 
 would say in his heart, there is none. Yet 
 who has never, in any instance or degree, 
 been affected by this folly* And who, while 
 he acknowledges that no truth can be so un- 
 answerably proved, does not feel that no fact. 
 is so confounding 1 Who has not been dazzled 
 into a momentary blindness by the very splen- 
 dour of the light] We own that there are 
 
 difficulties in Christianity, but what right hag 
 a Deist to be scandalized with these mys- 
 teries'! As Christians, we admit nothing so 
 mysterious as what he admits along with 
 us — 
 
 " A God allowed, all other wonders cease." 
 
 And who can reflect on a Being who is self 
 existent, who never had a beginning, with 
 whom nothing is past and nothing is future, 
 who is no wiser now than at the creation, 
 who knows all things actual and all things 
 possible, who is everywhere at the same 
 time, governing all worlds, and organizing 
 the minutest insects — and never be urged to 
 exclaim, " Lord, I believe ; help thou mine 
 unbelief]" 
 
 This is the case sometimes with regard tc 
 the truth of revelation. Here again some may 
 be ready to wonder. " The truth of revela- 
 tion ! Can a good man ever question this ] Is 
 it not the charter of his privileges ] the very 
 basis of all his hopes] And if the foundations 
 be destroyed, what can the righteous do]" 
 This they feel ; and therefore every appre- 
 hension, however partial, however far from 
 settling into a conviction, so alarms them. 
 Bunyan says, that all through life a thought 
 would occasionally rush into his mind, " per- 
 haps the Scripture is a falsehood :" and no- 
 thing he says can describe the shock, the 
 momentary impression gave to his feelings. 
 Many now living have felt the same. The 
 most powerful objections to the Gospel are 
 not always those that are circulated in coffee- 
 houses, and handed about in sceptical pam- 
 phlets. Many insult rather than argue : and 
 contemn while they oppose. They do not en- 
 ter far enough, nor grapple earnestly enough, 
 to feel those difficulties which serious minds 
 meet with, who must study the subject, and 
 are all alive to the importance of it. There 
 is not one of these but has often exclaimed, 
 " Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief." 
 
 This is the case, too, with regard to Provi- 
 dence. Here the doctrine is admitted and re- 
 sisted: received in theory, and denied in 
 practice. I believe that in the management 
 of my concerns, God does all things, and that 
 he does all things well. I can easily reason 
 myself into this satisfactory conclusion, for it 
 is only to allow that he is wise, and righteous, 
 and good ; and therefore that he must always 
 do right. Yet I seem to be often arraigning 
 him, or wishing to direct him. Hence I am 
 so unwilling to submit. Hence I am so prone 
 to repine and murmur. Hence I am so fin" 
 of anxiousness and foreboding. Hence I am 
 so little able to cast all my care upon him, 
 knowing that he careth for me — " Lord, I be- 
 lieve; help thou mine unbelief." 
 
 This is the case, too, with sogard to the 
 promises. Here again " what unbelieving be- 
 lievers are we !" I see these promises in the 
 Scriptures, like the stars in the heavens 
 They are exceeding great and precious. The" 
 
OCTOBER 25. 
 
 343 
 
 suit all my wants, and are fully sufficient to 
 relievo them. I love them exceedingly. I 
 long to claim and appropriate them as my 
 heritage for ever, and to feel them the re- 
 joicing of my heart. Yet when I read, though 
 the God of truth says it, and he cannot deny 
 nimself — " Him that cometh unto me, I will 
 n no wise cast out. I will be with thee in 
 trouble. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, 
 anil as thy days, so shall thy strength be" — I 
 am often as if he had said nothing ! " Lord, I 
 believe; help thou mine unbelief."' 
 
 And well may the Christian thus pray, 
 when he considers the evil of unbelief, and 
 knows how dishonourable it is to God, and 
 how injurious it is to himself. "If ye will not 
 believe," says the Prophet, " surely ye shall 
 not be established." The word preached can- 
 not profit unless it be mixed with faith. In 
 prayer we must ask believing, or we shall not 
 receive. We read of the obedience and of 
 the joy of faith. We walk, we live by faith. 
 And no wonder the Christian feels the re- 
 mains of his unbelief; and weeps over them 
 -And he will, with this father of the child, 
 " cry out, and say with tears, Lord, I believe ; 
 help thou mine unbelief." 
 
 But this is a token for good. And while 
 you bewail the weakness of your faith, and 
 you ought to deplore it, we must encourage 
 and comfort you concerning it. What we are 
 going to advance may be abused, but it will 
 be first usurped by those to whom it does not 
 belong : and it is not easy to hinder all steal- 
 ing. We say then, First, that these lamented 
 remains of unbelief shall not be suffered to 
 condemn you. Secondly, there is nothing in 
 them peculiar to your experience: all your 
 brethren are familiar with the same com- 
 plaints. Thirdly, the power of the evil is al- 
 ready broken, and shall never have dominion 
 over you again. Fourthly, the very existence 
 of it will soon cease for ever. Lastly, it is 
 possible even now to subdue much more of 
 the very being of it : so that it may much less 
 oppose and distress you — He that hath begun 
 the good work in you giveth more grace, and 
 is the God of all grace. He can cause your 
 faith to grow exceedingly ; and fill you with 
 all jov and peace in believing. 
 
 OCTOBER 25. 
 
 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine 
 heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in 
 the midst of Carmel : let them feed in Bashan 
 and Gilead, as in the days of old." — Micah 
 vii 14. 
 
 Here is obviously an improper punctuation. 
 It affects the meaning, and injures the force 
 Df the passage ; in consequence of which, the 
 reader may be led to suppose that Carmel 
 was the place in which the captives were 
 now disadvantageous^ dwelling : whereas, it 
 
 was the place in which it was desirable for 
 them to feed. The colon pause therefore, 
 should be set after the word " wood :" and 
 then the reading will be according to the He- 
 brew structure, " Feed thy people with thy 
 rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell 
 solitarily in the wood : in the midst of Carmel 
 let them feed, in Bashan and Gilead, as in the 
 days of old." For " Carmel" was not a bar- 
 ren, dreary, wilderness country, but consist- 
 ing of fine open pasture land. It is never 
 mentioned without commendation ; and is 
 therefore here named with Bashan and Gilead. 
 Indeed, in the Scripture it is often used, as 
 well as " Sharon," proverbially, for any scene 
 of richness and fertility. 
 
 The prophet refers immediately to the 
 Jews, who were exiled in Babylon, and im- 
 plores their restoration to their own country, 
 where God would deal with them according 
 to the most favoured and flourishing periods 
 of their history. But when we consider the 
 symbolical language of the sacred writers, and 
 the typical nature of the Jewish dispensations, 
 we are authorized to pass from the natural, 
 to the spiritual Israel. 
 
 We may observe, therefore, the persons to 
 be favoured. They are called " his people." 
 He has always had a people for his name : 
 and to know who they are we need not as- 
 cend up into heaven, to examine the divine 
 purposes: we .have the book of life in our 
 hands, where they are recorded, though not 
 by name, yet by character ; and he may run 
 that readeth. They are described as " the 
 flock of his heritage." While this expresses 
 them to be sheep, it holds them forth collec- 
 tively as all one in Christ Jesus ; and shows 
 the interest Jehovah has in them. A man 
 may have a flock in his temporary possession, 
 and under his superintendence; but though 
 it be the flock of his care, it is not the flock 
 of his heritage. In the East a person's whole 
 substance often consisted in his flocks and 
 herds: of course he would feel a peculiar con- 
 cern in them as his own. And the Lord takes 
 pleasure in them that fear him. His portion 
 is his people. And he derives the revenue 
 of his glory from them. They are also said 
 to "dwell solitarily in the wood." There are 
 few around them with whom they can feel 
 congeniality; tor we may be alone, though 
 surrounded with company. Yet here is not 
 only solitariness, but unlikeliness of supplies, 
 and exposure to danger. Are not the afflic- 
 tions of the righteous many 1 Are they not 
 sometimes perplexed and comfortless "J Are 
 they not often timid and alarmed, like sheep 
 and lambs in a wood, when they hear beasts 
 of prey howling about them 1 
 
 See therefore the blessing implored on 
 their behalf: " Feed thy people with th/ rod." 
 The " rod" is the symbol and instrument of 
 the shepherd ; and the word " feed," by a 
 common figure of speech, that puts a part foi 
 
344 
 
 OCTOBER 26. 
 
 Lhe whole, is significant of the discharge of 
 all his office. The meaning therefore is, that 
 the Lord would lead them by his word and 
 Spirit, in the way that they should go. That 
 he would heal them when wounded or dis- 
 eased. That he would restore them when 
 they run astray. That he would guard them 
 from all their perils. And especially that lie 
 would provide them repast and repose. We 
 mention these together because his sheep not 
 only hunger and thirst, but are frequently 
 weary-worn and faint. Hence the inquiry 
 for both : " Tell me where thou feedest, 
 where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon." 
 And when the believer realizes the blessings 
 of his salvation, and appropriates the promises, 
 and enjoys the comforts of the Holy Ghost, 
 and feels the refreshment of divine ordinances, 
 and can leave all his cares with the provi- 
 dence of his heavenly Father, he knows what 
 David means, when he says, " The Lord is 
 my shepherd : I shall not want. He rnaketh 
 me to lie down in green pastures ; he leadeth 
 me beside the still waters." 
 
 But how was the privilege to be dispensed 1 ! 
 "In the midst of Carmel let them feed, in 
 Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old." 
 Thus nothing less is implored than the rich- 
 est measure and degree of provisions and in- 
 dulgences. But are suppliants to be choosers 
 and prescribers 1 And shall they who are not 
 worthy of the least of all his mercies, not only 
 ask for relief, but the noblest entertainments'? 
 Yes ; such is the condescension and kindness 
 of Him who giveth to all men liberally, and 
 upbraideth not. He has said, " Open thy 
 mouth wide, and I will fill it." Our Saviour 
 reproves his disciples for the contractedness 
 of their asking; "hitherto ye have asked 
 nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall re- 
 ceive, that your joy may be full." Let us pray 
 therefore as Paul did, not according to our 
 meanness and unworthiness, but "according 
 to the riches of his glory" — When Alexander 
 bestowed a valuable boon, the favoured par- 
 taker said, " It is too much for me to receive." 
 But the conqueror of the world replied, " It is 
 not too much for me to give." 
 
 The prayer we have reviewed was very 
 great — But was it answered 1 Read the very 
 next verse. " According to the days of thy 
 coming out of the land of E^ypt will I show 
 unto him marvellous things." So sure is it 
 that he is a God, hearing prayer. So often 
 does he fulfil the promise, " While they call 
 I will answer, and before they speak I will 
 hear." 
 
 OCTOBER 26. 
 44 When fie had by himself purged our sins." 
 Heb. i.*3. 
 There is a cleansing from sin by the wash- 
 ing of regeneration and the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost: and we read of the Saviour's 
 
 cleansing his Church with the washing o' 
 water by the word. But here the purifica* 
 tion has another import. It was well under- 
 stood by the Hebrews from their own services 
 — It is to clear from guilt by atonement, or to 
 remove iniquity by expiation, so that it will 
 not be imputed or punished. Without shed- 
 ding of blood there is no remission ; and in 
 him w6 have redemption through his blood, 
 even the forgiveness of sins. This is the 
 meaning. And therefore it is spoken of as a 
 thing done already, and accomplished when 
 he died upon the cross. For it is said he ac- 
 complished this purging of our sins — 
 
 " By himself." This has a twofold refer- 
 ence. It distinguishes him from the high- 
 priest under the law. He put away sin typi- 
 cally ; but it was not by the sacrifice of him- 
 self, but of the victims whose blood he shed 
 and carried into the holy place. But Christ 
 washed us from our sins in his own blood ; 
 and through the eternal Spirit he offered 
 himself, without spot, to God ; and thua 
 purges the conscience from dead works. It 
 also shows us that he was alone in the work, 
 without a partner, without a helper, without 
 a comforter. He trod the winepress alone, 
 and of the people there was none with 
 him. This was even signified by his stipu- 
 lation in the garden ; " If ye seek me, leJ 
 these go their way:" and also by the con- 
 duct of his disciples, when " all forsook him 
 and fled." 
 
 Here we see the vastness of his love — That 
 he would interpose on the behalf of those who 
 were guilty and deserved to suffer. •' Scarcely 
 for a righteous man will one die : yet peradven- 
 ture for a good man some would even dare to 
 die. But God commendeth his love towards us, 
 in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died 
 for us." " When we were enemies we were 
 reconciled unto God by the death of his Son." 
 And he was under no constraint or mistake. 
 He well knew what his engagement would 
 cost him— yet he was more than willing- 
 yet, dreadful us the scene was, when it drew 
 near, he turned not away his back, he repent- 
 ed not of his undertaking — Yea, he said, 1 
 have a baptism to be baptized with ; and how 
 am I straitened till it be accomplished ! Sure- 
 ly such love passeth knowledge ! 
 
 But we see his greatness as well as- his 
 soodness — that he could purge our sins by 
 himself. Think of the millions of sinners 
 saved; think of the myriads of sins with 
 which each of them was charged; and the 
 evil there was in every sin— Yet " the Lord 
 laid on him the iniquity of us all ! And ho 
 taketh away the sin of the world ! And hia 
 blood cleanseth from all sin !" This would 
 seem incredible ; but it is called " the blood 
 of God," that is, of One who was Divine as 
 well as human. No wonder he not only fin- 
 ished transgression, and made an end of sin. 
 but brought in everlasting righteousness ; not 
 
OCTOBER 27. 
 
 345 
 
 oniy satisfied the law, but magnified it, and 
 made it honourable. 
 
 Hence let us never think of adding any 
 thing to the efficacy of his sacrifice by our 
 doings or sufferings. This was the great 
 point sr urged by the Reformers. They dif- 
 fered ir many things, but here they were per- 
 fectly agreed, and resolved rather to die than 
 to yield — that nothing should blend with the 
 death of Christ as the foundation of our hope, 
 and the ground of our plea, for acceptance 
 and justification with God. In one thing they 
 have been mistaken. Much of what they said 
 against good works applied only to Popish 
 good works, that is, to abstinences and per- 
 formances enjoined only by will-worship and 
 the traditions and commandments of men. 
 They honoured what the Scripture means by 
 good works, works done by the grace of God, 
 and according to the rule of his own word — 
 Yet these, even these, much as they valued 
 them for other necessary uses, they excluded 
 in whole, and in part, from that work of 
 which the Saviour said, " It is finished." 
 
 Let us also beware of diminishing its vir- 
 tue. We really take from its all-sufficiency 
 when we feel and talk as if it was not by 
 itself fully adequate to all the purposes of a 
 sinner's relief. O thou of little faith ! where- 
 fore dost thou doubt 1 This sacrifice has sat- 
 isfied Divine justice ; why should it not sat- 
 isfy thy conscience 1 why art thou afraid to 
 rely upon a complete, an infinite propitiation 
 for sin 1 So far as the East is from the West, 
 so far hath he removed our transgressions 
 from us. Think of this, and joy in God, 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
 have now received the atonement. That 
 atonement, when we trust in it and plead it, 
 renders us dearer to God than even a state of 
 innocency could have done — It is an offering 
 and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling 
 savour. Think of this, and let it give you 
 boldness and access with confidence in your 
 approaches to God. Think of this, and let it 
 support you under all your trials. All may 
 be rough under foot, but all is calm and clear 
 over head. Men may frown, but God smiles. 
 He may chastise, but he cannot condemn ; 
 and the correction is in love to your souls, 
 and designed for your profit. Here is the tree 
 for the healing of the waters of Marah. 
 
 And you, poor convinced sinner, you di- 
 minish its value unless you find in it enough 
 to encourage even you, and even in sight of 
 all your desert ! We blame you, not for be- 
 lieving that sin is exceeding sinful, or feeling 
 that the load of it is a burden too heavy for 
 you to bear. You ought to ask, " How shall 
 1 come before the Lord, and bow before the 
 high God f And it is well to be convinced 
 that you have no sacrifice of your own to 
 offer. But there is hope in Israel concerning 
 this thing. Surelv he hath borne our grief, 
 
 and carried our sorrow. We are ma,'c nigh 
 by the blood of Christ. Be not faithles.\ bu* 
 believing. 
 
 " Should worlds conspire to drive me thence. 
 Moveless anil firm this heart should lie; 
 Resolv'd, for that 's my last defence, 
 If I must perish, there to die." 
 
 OCTOBER 27. 
 
 " And as they followed, they were afraid." 
 Mark x. 32. 
 
 In these men we see a representation of 
 Christians — Following ; but afraid. The one 
 showing their constant character ; the other 
 their frequent experience. 
 
 They are followers of Christ. They follow 
 him under various allusions. They follow 
 him as sheep follow the shepherd that is lead- 
 ing them to pasture. It is to himself he re- 
 fers when he says, " When he putteth forth 
 his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the 
 sheep follow him : for they know his voice. 
 And a stranger will they not follow, but will 
 flee from him : for they know not the voice of 
 strangers." They follow him as beggars fol- 
 low a benefactor from whom they are seeking 
 and expecting alms and relief. They follow 
 him as travellers follow a guide who shows 
 them the way. They follow hint as soldiers 
 follow a commander who leads them to war- 
 fare and victory. They follow him as ser- 
 vants follow their master to receive and exe- 
 cute his orders. More frequently they are 
 said to follow him as disciples follow their 
 teacher, whose doctrine they profess, and 
 whose example they imitate. For he is not 
 only their instructor, but their model ; to him 
 they are to be conformed. He goes before 
 them in doing and suffering — " If any man," 
 says he, "will come after me, let him deny 
 himself, and take up his cross and follow me." 
 And who is he that requires us to be humble 
 and tender ? He who was meek and lowly 
 in heart. Who is he that requires us to be 
 condescending 1 He who came not to be min- 
 istered unto, but to minister ; he who washed 
 the disciples' feet. Who is he that requires 
 us to be liberal 1 He who was rich, and for 
 our sakes became poor. Do we suffer ? He 
 suffered for us, leaving us an example that 
 we should follow his steps. In this view we 
 are to consider him, lest we be wearied and 
 faint in our minds. When ready to despond 
 or repine, let us look before us, and see him 
 bearing a heavier burden, bearing it for us, 
 and bearing it without a murmur and without 
 a groan. 
 
 But while they folk w, they may be afraid. 
 Let us arrange the foars of his followers in 
 three classes. First, there are those fears 
 which are commendable. For they are en- 
 joined to " pass the time of" their " soiourn- 
 
546 
 
 OCTOBER 28. 
 
 Jig here in fear ;" and God himself says, 
 "Happy is the man that feareth always." 
 Such is the fear of caution and vigilance 
 which they are to maintain, as opposed to the 
 carelessness, heedlessness, and rashness of 
 those who expose themselves to temptation, 
 and feast themselves without fear. Such is 
 the fear of diffidence, which keeps us from 
 trusting in our own hearts, and depending 
 upon our own resources and resolutions, either 
 as to duty or trials. Such is that fear of the 
 Lord, in which David resolved to worship to- 
 wards his holy temple, and which he con- 
 nects with God's forgiving mercy. It is a fear 
 of offending him, and grieving his Holy Spirit. 
 The first Christians walked in the fear of the 
 Lord ; and we may judge what the nature of 
 it was, and learn that there was nothing de- 
 basing or distressing in it, for it was united 
 with " the comforts of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 ' Secondly, those which are censurable. Such 
 is the fear of man that bringeth a snare, and 
 which led Nicodemus to come to him by 
 night, and Peter to deny him thrice. The 
 righteous should be bold as a lion. His cause 
 is good, and his defence is sure — " For he 
 hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
 thee." So that we may boldly say, "The 
 Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what 
 man shall do unto me." Such is a slavish fear 
 of God, who ought to be always viewed as 
 our father and our friend. He will not reject 
 us for our infirmities, but spare us as a man 
 spareth his own son that serveth him. We 
 are accepted in the Beloved, however unwor- 
 thy, and are complete in him, however de- 
 fective. " We are redeemed," says Zecha- 
 riah, "that being delivered we might serve 
 him without fear, in holiness and righteous- 
 ness before him, all the days of our lives." 
 
 Thirdly, those which are neutral — for we 
 know not how to commend or censure them. 
 They are constitutional rather than moral. 
 They arise from the state of the animal spir- 
 its ; and depend on a disordered bodily frame. 
 Much of the apprehension of death, and many 
 of those feelings which they call temptations 
 of Satan, and doubts, and fears, are often 
 physical effects. They should endeavour to 
 distinguish things that differ, and have a juster 
 view of their state than to be affected in their 
 conclusions by a variation in the weather, or 
 in their animal economy. Yet how much are 
 such persons as these entitled to our sympathy 
 and prayers ! We are sometimes much tried 
 in dealing with them, but they refuse to be 
 comforted, because they cannot at present 
 take comfort, and their very religion produces 
 a kind of unbelief — They tremble at the 
 thought of presumption. Yet at the very time 
 these tremblers, like "Fearing" in Bunyan, 
 often fear nothing else but coming short at 
 last. They are willing to follow the Lamb 
 whithersoever he goeth ; and, like Caleb, to 
 follow him fuuy. And when others decline, 
 
 and the Saviour says to them, Will ye also go 
 away] the answer rushes up from every feel- 
 ing of their soul, " Lord, to whom should we 
 go but unto thee 1 thou hast the words of 
 eternal life." 
 
 Am I addressing such an one 1 Art thcu 
 sighing, " If I am a follower at all, I seem 
 only like Peter, to follow him afar oft! At 
 best I come in like one of Gideon's followers, 
 pursuing, yet faint, and ready to halt. Or 
 with the disciples before us, and " they were 
 amazed," and "as they followed they were 
 afraid." Yet I dare not go back ; I cannot 
 turn aside — he is all my salvation and all my 
 desire — no joy can be compared with serving 
 and pleasing him." 
 
 Well he knows your frame. Your desire 
 is before him, and your groaning is not hid 
 from him. You may write bitter things against 
 yourselves — but this is what he writes : " Let 
 not your heart be troubled, neither let it be 
 afraid." " Behold, I have set before thee an 
 open door, and no man can shut it, for thou 
 hast a little strength, and hast not denied my 
 name." Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, 
 and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land — 
 
 " Where doubts and fears shall never come" — 
 
 And we shall "be quietness and assurance 
 for ever," 
 
 OCTOBER 28. 
 
 " It is a righteous thing with God U tecomptnse 
 tribulation to them that trouble you ; and to you 
 toho are troubled rest with us, when the Lord 
 Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his 
 mighty angels." — 2 Thess. i. 6, 7. 
 
 There is no difficulty in conceiving that 
 " it is a righteous thing" with God to recom 
 pense tribulation to those who are troubled. It 
 was their desert ; and righteousness consists 
 in rendering to all their due — But how does 
 this apply to those who were troubled 1 Surely 
 when they have done all that is commanded 
 them, they are unprofitable servants, and their 
 defective obedience deserves condemnation 
 rather than reward. We should not wonder 
 therefore if the Apostle had said that it was 
 a gracious thing with God to recompense 
 them. But it is also an act of righteousness. 
 Though it would be injustice to make a man 
 suffer beyond his desert, it is not unjust to re 
 ward him beyond his desert. A man is not at 
 liberty to punish sovereignly, but in his fa- 
 vours he is free, and he may do what he wil. 
 with his own. God is infinitely good : in the 
 covenant of grace he has •provided for the ac- 
 ceptance of his people ; and they are accept- 
 ed in the Beloved ; and God has bound him- 
 self not only to pardon, but even to honour 
 and recompense their services and sufferings. 
 Hence says our Saviour, "Blessed are ye 
 when men shall revile you, and persecute 
 you, and shall say all manner of evil against 
 
OCTOBER 28. 
 
 347 
 
 Vou falsely, for my sake : rejoice, and be ex- 
 ceeding glad, for great is your reward in hea- 
 ven." And hence says Paul to the Hebrews, 
 " God is not unrighteous, to forget your work 
 and labour of love, which ye have showed to- 
 ward his name, in that ye have ministered to 
 the saints, and do minister." It cannot be sup- 
 posed that a cup of cold water, given to a dis- 
 ciple in the name of a disciple, could merit 
 eternal life : yet, if the Lord has promised 
 that it shall not lose its reward, it would be 
 an unrighteous thing in him not to reward it. 
 
 But what was the blessedness to be recom- 
 oensed to these Thessalonians 1 " Rest." This 
 5 a representation of the heavenly state fre- 
 quently given us in the Scriptures. It is 
 sometimes spoken of in allusion to the rest of 
 the Sabbath. Thus the Apostle says, " There 
 remaineth a rest for the people of God :" the 
 word is, as the margin apprizes you, a keep- 
 ing of the Sabbath. To those who now call 
 the Sabbath a delight, and look forward to it 
 with eager desire, amidst the toils and cares 
 pf the week, the notion is very attractive. 
 By-and-by the Saturday evening of life will 
 come, and they will wipe their hands of every 
 thing earthly, and fall asleep in Jesus and 
 open their eyes on a Sabbath whose hallowed 
 pleasures will know no end. At other times 
 it seems to be spoken of under this name, in 
 reference to the destiny of the Jews. Canaan 
 was called " the rest" which the Lord their 
 God gave them, and where, after the bondage 
 of Egypt, and their tedious journeyings in the 
 wilderness, they were to enjoy a settlement 
 abounding 1 with every accommodation and de- 
 light But this was only a shadow of good 
 things to come, a type of a better, even a hea- 
 venly country, into which death gives the 
 true Israelites an abundant entrance. Hence 
 the word reminds us of their freedom from 
 every thing annoying and vexatious here. 
 They will rest from their labours ; rest from 
 their cares; rest from their troubles; rest 
 from temptation ; rest from sin ; and rest 
 from sinners — " There the wicked cease from 
 troubling, and there the weary are at rest." 
 
 But observe how they were to enjoy it— - 
 you shall have this rest, says the Apostle, 
 " with us" — with us, " Paul, and Silvanus, and 
 Timotheus," who now address you, and wish 
 you grace and peace. Does he mention this 
 with reluctance'? No, but with delight. It 
 rejoiced him to think that the poorest in the 
 church of Thessalonica would be fellow-pos- 
 sessors with themselves, residing in the same 
 state, enjoying the same portion. He shows 
 the same noble disposition in another place ; 
 " Henceforth thdre is laid up for me a crown 
 of righteousness, which the Lord, the righte- 
 ous judge, shall give me at that day : and not 
 to me only, but unto all them also that love 
 his appearing." 
 
 Paul would intimate that the blessedness 
 of the righteous will be social. This falls in 
 
 with all the principles of our nature. We 
 are formed for intercourse ; and it is not good 
 for man to be alone. Much of our pleasure is 
 now derived from our connexions. It will 
 also be admitted that many of our pains are 
 derived from the same source. This howevei 
 does not arise from society itself, but a par 
 ticular state of it It is easy to conceive 
 what happiness association could yield us, if 
 certain things were iemoved from our asso- 
 ciates and from ourselves. Hereafter every 
 moral defect, together with every cause of 
 sorrow and alarm, will be done away ; and 
 each will be capable of giving and receiving 
 unalloyed gratification. 
 
 It is pleasing to think we shall enjoy this 
 rest with the most endeared and the most 
 dignified society. Grace here teaches our 
 hearts to love all that love the Lord ; but 
 there are those who are peculiarly united to 
 us, by the ties of nature and friendship, and 
 who are to us as our own souls. Who knows 
 not the anguish of parting with such as these 1 
 And how intolerable would be the thought of 
 losing them for ever ! But the Scripture for- 
 bids the despair. We shall see and hear them 
 again ; we shall commune with them again ; 
 the intercourse will be renewed to infinite 
 advantage, and be perpetuated for ever. We 
 are commanded to comfort one another with 
 such words — So fully does Revelation coun- 
 tenance our mutual recognitions in the hea- 
 venly world. But we shall also sit down with 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom 
 of God. We shall intermix with patriarchs, 
 prophets, and apostles — vou shall rest with 
 us, says Paul — and they were the most emi- 
 nent of men, men secondary in dignity to the 
 Son of God himself, men who wielded mirac- 
 ulous powers, and foretold things to the end 
 of time. There are persons pre-eminently 
 distinguished from others, and for whom we 
 entertain the most exalted respect We look 
 at the inanimate image of them in a picture. 
 We read their lives with veneration; and 
 when we reflect on their works, we are ready 
 to exclaim, how happy should we have been 
 to have know r n them ! Yet were they living, 
 and we could have' access to them, we should 
 dread as well as desire intercourse with them : 
 we should shrink into nothing before them, 
 at a sense of our inferiority, and feel embar- 
 rassed by delight. But nothing of this feeling 
 will be known hereafter. Whatever distinc- 
 tions may prevail, the freedom of our enjoy- 
 ment will be unimpaired by them. Even 
 angels, those glorious beings, will not con- 
 found us. The rustic will be easy at the 
 sight and the notice of Gabriel. Yet the 
 greatest essential will be wanting still, if we 
 did not enjoy this rest with the Saviour him- 
 sglf-T-But we shall be for ever with the 
 Lord. 
 
 We are therefore finally informed of the 
 period of this blessedness- " When the Lord 
 
348 
 
 OCTOBER 29. 
 
 JesuS^hall be revealed from heaven with his 
 mighty angels." Not that there is no inter- 
 mediate state ; for as soon as absent from the 
 body, they are present with the Lord. But 
 till then they are not complete in number, in 
 person, in estate. But then the body wi" be 
 raised and ennobled: then all the redeemed 
 and sanctified will be gathered together unto 
 him ; then all his designs on their behalf will 
 be accomplished ; then " he shall come to be 
 glorified in his saints, and admired in all them 
 that believe " 
 
 "Fo 
 
 OCTOBER 29. 
 God blessed him." — 1 Chron. xxvi. 5. 
 
 When Balak sent to hire Balaam, he flat- 
 iered him by saying, " I know that he whom 
 thou blessest is blessed." The compliment 
 betrays profaueness, ignorance, and falsehood. 
 But the language will justly apply to God. 
 His voice is almighty — His words are realities 
 — His benediction is efficiency — He whom 
 God blesseth is blessed ; and none can reverse 
 it. Of this blessing we here read. The sub- 
 ject of it was Obed-edom. The occasion is 
 marked in an earlier portion of the sacred 
 history. It was his entertainment of the ark, 
 when David, displeased and terrified by the 
 death of Uzzah, refused to go on with the re- 
 moval of it to Jerusalem, and carried it aside 
 into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, 
 where it remained three months. 
 
 But what was the nature of this blessing? 
 Good men judge by a rule of their own : they 
 walk by faith, and not by sight. They value 
 no blessings like spiritual blessings, because 
 these are for the soul and eternity. They 
 therefore pray, " Remember me, O Lord, with 
 the favour thou bearest unto thy people ; O 
 visit me with thy salvation." And this we 
 have reason to believe, was the desire and 
 experience of Obed-edom. But what is here 
 spoken of intends rather a temporal blessing, 
 suited to the dispensation under which he 
 lived, and which abounded much with the 
 promise of the life that now is. Personally 
 considered, he had health and strength, firm 
 nerves, and fine spirits. His undertakings 
 flourished. His possessions were preserved, 
 increased, enjoyed. His domestic comforts 
 were sweetened and relished. His wife was 
 a fruitful vine by the side of his house. His 
 children like olive plants round about his ta- 
 ble. Both before and after the text, mention 
 is made of the number, the ability, and emi- 
 nence of his sons. It is also said, " the Lord 
 blessed his household — and all that pertained 
 to him, because of the ark of God." 
 
 Let us distinguish between the circum- 
 stances and the essence of this blessing. We 
 may then ask, Is the case of this good man a 
 singular one? Has not our Saviour said, 
 '* There is no man that hath left house, or pa- 
 ents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the 
 
 kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive 
 manifold more in this present time, and in the 
 world to come, life everlasting." Have the 
 generous ever repented of their liberality, 
 even on a secular ground 1 Have the most 
 public-spirited Christians been the least suc- 
 cessful even in their worldly affairs 1 But a 
 man's life consisteth not in the abundance of 
 the things that he possesseth. A little that a 
 righteous man hath, is better than the riches 
 of many wicked. The blessing of the Lord 
 maketh rich even with competency ; and he 
 addeth no sorrow with it. How much more 
 desirable is it to inherit his blessing ourselves, 
 and to leave it to our offspring, than to pos- 
 sess and to bequeath thousands of gold and 
 silver without it! 
 
 " Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, 
 that there may be meat in mine house, and 
 prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of 
 hosts, if I will not open you the windows of 
 heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that 
 there shall not be room enough to receive it." 
 So said God to the selfish and saving Jews. 
 We say the same to you. Put his word to 
 the trial, wherein he has said, "The liberal 
 soul deviseth liberal things, and by liberal 
 things shall he stand." "He which soweth 
 sparingly, shall reap sparingly; and he which 
 soweth bountifully, shall reap bountifully." 
 Herein we may see how little faith there is 
 in the earth. They shall prosper that love 
 Zion. A regard therefore to their own wel- 
 fare should make men liberal ; and if they be- 
 lieved the word of God, there would be 
 forthcoming contributions enough for every 
 private charity, and all public institutions. 
 But we are afraid to make God our banker ; 
 and cannot rely upon his promise and provi- 
 dence. 
 
 Yet while we are reproved, let us also be 
 encouraged, and stand ready to every good 
 work. There are two cases in which we 
 may peculiarly resemble Obed-edom in con- 
 duct and condition. The one is when we 
 open our doors, and receive, in a way of 
 Christian hospitality, the Lord's followers or 
 ministers. " He that receiveth you receiveth 
 me, and he that receiveth me receiveth hir 
 that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet 
 in the name of a prophet, shall receive a pro- 
 phet's reward ; and he that receiveth a right- 
 eous man in the name of a righteous man, 
 shall receive a righteous man's reward. And 
 whosoever shall give to drink unto one of 
 these little ones a cup of cold water only in 
 the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, 
 he shall in no wise lose his, reward." The 
 other is when, to use the words of Scripture, 
 we have a Church in our house. This was 
 the case with Priscilla and Aquila. It was a 
 common thing in the beginning of the Gospel, 
 before places were expressly built for religi- 
 ous assemblies. Nor is the practice unknown 
 in many of our villages now. When the 
 
OCTOBER 30. 
 
 340 
 
 preacher has first gone to publish the Gospel, 
 he has been often indebted to some poor rus- 
 tic who has lent his cottage to the Lord. He 
 has sometimes drawn upon himself reproach 
 and persecution ; but the Lord has blessed 
 him. And when also you establish the wor- 
 ship of God in your family, kneeling before 
 his living oracles, and offering the sacrifices 
 of prayer and of praise, never imagine the 
 time employed in these exercises lost. You 
 cannot serve God for naught, while the prom- 
 ise and the threatening remain ; " Them that 
 honour me, I will honour, and they that des- 
 pise me shall be lightly esteemed." "The 
 curse of the Lord is in the house of the 
 wicked : but he blesseth the habitation of the 
 just." 
 
 OCTOBER 30. 
 
 " And it was told king David, saying, The Lord 
 hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all 
 that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of 
 God. So David went and brought up the ark 
 of God from the house of Obed-edom into the 
 city of David with gladness." — 2 Sam. vi. 12. 
 
 Two things may be usefully remarked here. 
 The First is, the fame of the blessing. It was 
 soon known and noticed. The report of it 
 spread in all directions, and even reached the 
 throne — " and it was told king David, saying, 
 The Lord hath blessed Obed-edom, and all 
 that pertaineth to him, because of the ark." 
 The manifestation of the sons of God is prin- 
 cipally future. They will hereafter shine 
 forth from every cloud that conceals them, as 
 the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The 
 wisdom of their choice, and the advantages 
 resulting from it, will then so convincingly 
 appear, that those who vilify them now will 
 be constrained to say, " we fools counted 
 their life madness, and their end to be without 
 honour. How are they numbered with the 
 children of God, and their lot is among the 
 saints !" But the Lord does not leave his peo- 
 ple entirely undistinguished even now. He 
 begins to honour them here. He sets a mark 
 upon their foreheads, that the executioners 
 may pass them by in the day of evil. He 
 sometimes puts such a difference between 
 them and others, that men, profane and infi- 
 del men, say, Verily there is a reward for the 
 righteous, verily he is a God that judgeth in 
 the earth. Even Balaam exclaimed, How 
 goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy taber- 
 nacles, O Israel ! Let me die the death of 
 the righteous, and let my last end be like his. 
 How easily, even in this life, can he bring 
 their enemies to their feet, and make them 
 know that he has loved them ! And has he 
 not said, " Their seed shall be known among 
 the Gentiles, and their offspring among the 
 people : all that see them shall acknowledge 
 them, that they are the seed which the Lord 
 hath blessed ?" 
 
 Let us from hence learn our duty. While 
 we are in the world, we should pray, with 
 David ; Lead me in a plain path, because of 
 mine enemies ; or, as it is in the margin, ob- 
 servers. Many eyes are upon us ; and though 
 they cannot judge of our experience, they 
 can estimate our conduct. They will be sure 
 to compare it with our profession; and then- 
 disposition will not suffer them to make those 
 allowances which candour and truth require. 
 They will magnify infirmities into crimes, 
 and impute the miscarriages of a few to the 
 whole body. Let us then walk in the fear of 
 the Lord, because of the reproach of the hea- 
 then. Let us put to silence the ignorance of 
 foolish men : yea, let us constrain them by 
 our good works, which they behold, to glorify 
 God in the day of visitation. Let them see 
 that our religion is not a mere notion, but 
 that there is a reality, and excellency, an ef- 
 ficiency in it, that recommends it to every re- 
 flecting mind. Let them see the advantages 
 we have derived from it, in the government 
 of our tempers, in our readiness to forgive, in 
 our humility when we prosper, in our patience 
 when we suffer, in the confidence and calm- 
 ness of our minds, with regard to every future 
 event. Let them see that we have found what 
 others are seeking after in vain, contentment 
 and happiness. And thus shall we adorn the 
 doctrine of God our Saviour, and be ever say- 
 ing to those around us, " Come with us, and 
 we will do you good, for the Lord hath spo- 
 ken good concerning Israel." 
 
 The Second is the influence of it. It doubt- 
 less impressed many ; but David only is men- 
 tioned. He is mentioned because of his 
 eminence — not for its own sake — but rela- 
 tively to his usefulness. The soul of a prince 
 is no more precious than the soul of a beggar ; 
 but when the great are set in motion they 
 draw others after them. . No sooner was 
 David informed of the blessing of God upon 
 Obed-edom for the sake of the ark, than his 
 apprehensions vanished, his zeal was roused, 
 and he resolved to obtain a share of the same 
 goodness — " So David went and brought up 
 the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom, 
 into the city of David with gladness." And 
 here we see that the proofs others have shown 
 of the gain of godliness should excite and en- 
 courage us to follow their example. The 
 children of this world are wiser in their gen- 
 eration than the children of light. No im- 
 provements in husbandry or trade will be long 
 confined to individuals. Every useful inven- 
 tion and discovery in the arts and sciences is 
 soon and eagerly adopted by those who are 
 informed of them, as we see in the case of 
 the mariner's compass, and printing, and a 
 thousand other things. Upon this principle, 
 why do not men embrace the Gospel, which 
 is so evidently conducive to the personal and 
 social welfare of mankind ? What numbers 
 have recommended it from their own exjo 
 
850 
 
 OCTOBER 9\ 
 
 nence, living and dying ! Let us repair to a 
 Physician who has only, yet has so often 
 cured the complaints under which we labour. 
 Let us reflect upon those who have been en- 
 lightened, and pardoned, and renewed in the 
 spirit of their minds, and blessed with all 
 spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ ; 
 and pray, " Bless me, even me also, O my 
 Father" — " We will go with you, for we 
 have heard that God is with you." 
 
 David not only brought up the ark, but 
 with gladness. What we do for God we 
 should do readily and cheerfully. God loves 
 a cheerful giver. The charity of some is 
 like the sour emission obtained from crabs by 
 grinding and pressing them. But it drops 
 from a Christian like a honeycomb, or flows 
 like a living spring. He doth all things with- 
 out murmuring or disputing, because the love 
 of God is shed abroad in his heart. He can- 
 not always claim the promises; yea, they 
 sometimes make him tremble, lest he should 
 come short through unbelief: but he always 
 delights in the law of God after the inward 
 man. He cannot always rejoice in the full 
 assurance of hope ; but his meat is to do the 
 will of his heavenly Father. His duty is his 
 privilege. The Sabbath and the sanctuary 
 are his attractions; and he finds it good to 
 draw nigh to God. 
 
 But wonder not if you meet with opposition 
 and reflection. " As the ark of the Lord 
 came into the city of David, Michal, Saul's 
 daughter, looked through a window, and saw 
 king David leaping and dancing before the 
 Lord ; and she despised him in her heart." 
 People will commend or excuse warmth in 
 every thing but religion — There it is often 
 decried as weakness, or ridiculed as folly. 
 And should we encounter this in our exertions 
 for the cause of God, what are we to do ] — 
 Do ! — go forward. Do ! do as David did, who 
 bound the scandal as a garland around his 
 brow, and said, " I will yet be more vile." 
 So, blessed Redeemer ! wast thou treated in 
 the days of thy flesh. So didst thou bear 
 the contradiction of sinners against thyself, 
 thy spirit blasphemed, thy words and actions 
 perverted, thy name cast out as evil. May 
 it be enough for us that the disciple be as 
 the Master, and the servant as his Lord. May 
 we go forth to him without the camp, bearing 
 his reproach ; and rejoice that we are counted 
 worthy to suffer shame for his name. 
 
 OCTOBER 31. 
 
 " He hath opened mine eyes." — John ix. 30. 
 
 The miracles which our Saviour performed 
 on the bodies of men awakened peculiar at- 
 tention; but the changes which he accom- 
 ulishes in the soul are much more glorious 
 and important. The benefits of the former 
 were limited to time, but those of the latter 
 
 pervad- eternity. Persons might have been 
 the sulvects of the one and have perished for 
 ever; but the experience of the other was 
 always accompanied with salvation. 
 
 One of ihe si^ns and wonders that were to 
 accredit the Messiah was " the recovering of 
 sight to the blind." And here we have aii 
 instance of it. The story is remarkably in. 
 teresting and instructive — But we may con- 
 sider the cure as a symbolical representation 
 of the agency of Divine grace in healing the 
 disorder of the mind ; and so put the language 
 mto the mouth of every Christian, " He hath 
 opened mine eyes." 
 
 They were once blind, and, like this man, 
 were born blind. But the Lord never leaves 
 them as he finds them. He " opens the eyes 
 of their understanding," and makes them 
 know the things that belong to their peace ; 
 and in his light they see light. The illumi- 
 nation is not perfect at once; and in other 
 things the men of the world may surpass 
 them. But they know themselves, they know 
 the evil of sin, they know the preciousness 
 of the Saviour, and above all things desire 
 to win Christ, and be found in him. The 
 enlightening principally and distinctively con- 
 sists in a real apprehension of the excel- 
 lency of Divine things. There is a great 
 difference between a conviction that there 
 is such a Being as the Lord Jesus, and such 
 a perception of his glory as attaches us to 
 him: and between a persuasion that there 
 is such a thing as holiness, and a sense of the 
 beauty of it : and between a belief that honey 
 is sweet, and a knowledge of its sweetness . 
 the one derived from report, and the othei 
 resulting from relish. 
 
 Two effects follow when the things of the 
 Spirit are thus spiritually discerned. The 
 one is a clearer, fuller, firmer, conviction of 
 the existence of these things. Their lustre 
 renders them more distinct and piominent. 
 We feel assured that they cannot be lictitious, 
 they must be real, must be of God. And now 
 also our prejudices against them relax and 
 remove ; and we are open to conviction, and 
 disposed to do justice to all evidence in their 
 favour; and' become studious of them, and 
 long to increase by every method our acquaint- 
 ance with them. For the other is, a super- 
 lative regard to them. There is now felt an 
 influence in them that fixes the mind, and 
 sways the will and the affections. We now 
 seek those things that are above. The love 
 of Christ constraineth us. To them that be- 
 lieve he is precious. There is no true faith 
 without works : no saving knowledge with- 
 out obedience. The seat of its residence is 
 the heart ; and the sphere of its activity the 
 whole life. 
 
 And has he thus opened your eyes 7 Then 
 adore and praise your Enlightener. Often 
 dwell upon your former and present con- 
 dition, and, like the man before us, be found 
 
 .<*" ' 
 
NOVEMBER 1. . 
 
 &51 
 
 in the temple giving glory to God, and be 
 always inquiring, " What shall I render unto 
 the Lord for all his benefits towards me 1" 
 
 Maintain a carriage becoming your privi- 
 leged condition. You were darkness, but 
 now are ye light ir the Lord, walk as chil- 
 dren of light It would be shameful in you 
 to strike against the stumbling-blocks over 
 which the blind fall. See your danger and 
 your duty. Be ye not unwise, but under- 
 standing what the will of the Lord is. Walk 
 circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, re- 
 deeming the time, because the days are evil. 
 
 Pity and pray for those whose eyes are not 
 yet opened. You would be concerned in 
 other cases of far less moment and misery. 
 You feel even for the blind beggar that sits 
 on the bank, or is- led along by his faithful 
 dog. How much more would you be dis- 
 tressed at the sight of a brother, or sister, or 
 mother, or child, in this groping and comfort- 
 less condition ! Where are your feelings when 
 you behold sinners incapable of spiritual ac- 
 tion and enjoyment, and approaching senseless 
 the verge of the bottomless pit ? 
 
 You were once in the same state your- 
 selves, and can therefore sympathize with 
 those who are still in it. O tell them what 
 you see and enjoy. Tell them light is sweet, 
 and what a pleasant thing it is for the eyes 
 to behold the Sun of Righteousness. It 
 would not indeed be kind to do this unless 
 there was hope for them. But there is hope 
 in Israel concerning this thing. You cannot 
 open their eyes for them. And they cannot 
 open their own eyes — But there is One to do 
 it who is able, and is equally willing. Tell 
 them what he has done' for you. Tell them 
 that he is now within call : that he is at this 
 moment passing by: and never yet refused 
 the orayer of the destitute. 
 
 NOVEMBER 1. 
 
 ' And he teas entreated of him, and heard his 
 supplication, and brought him again to Jeru- 
 salem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew 
 that the Lord he was God." — 2 Chron. xxxiii. 
 13. 
 
 — By an experimental and practical know- 
 ledge of him, the effect of converting grace. 
 He had been a monster of iniquity, and 
 seemed beyond the reach of mercy. But 
 he obtained forgiveness, and by his graciously 
 overruled exile and imprisonment, as the 
 means, he was induced to seek the Lord God 
 of his fathers, and he was found of him. 
 
 The change was real and amazing, and 
 verified the language of the prophet; "In- 
 stead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, 
 and instead of the brier shall come up the 
 myrtle-tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a 
 name, and for an everlasting sign, that shall 
 not be cut off" All conversion is a turning. 
 fn religion it means a change of views, dis- 
 
 positions, and pursuits, so that we become the 
 reverse of what we were before. With some 
 who use the term, it seems to mean much 
 less than this, and to signify only an impres- 
 sion, a change of opinions, a strong persua- 
 sion — not a transformation of mind, not the 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost, not a transition 
 from one moral state to another. When we 
 have heard some persons talking of their con- 
 version under a preacher, and at such a time 
 — for they are often very particular in the 
 date, we have been ready to say, we know 
 not what you were before your conversion, 
 but we know what you are since ! But if a 
 man was proud, and revengeful, and covetous 
 before his conversion, and remains so after it, 
 where is the change ? What should we have 
 thought of Manasseh's conversion, had he, 
 whatever professions he made, continued in 
 his former ways] But there was a change in 
 the whole of his character, conversation, and 
 conduct. He ceased to do evil, and learned 
 to do well. By two things the reality of his 
 conversion showed itself 
 
 First, he lived some years after it, and thus 
 his religion had time to be developed. This 
 is generally the case with the Lord's people. 
 He calls them out of darkness, that they may 
 walk as children of light. " This people," 
 says he, " have I formed for myself, they shall 
 show forth my praise." Many seem to view 
 repentance as a preparation, not for life, but 
 only for death. We must not limit the Holy 
 One of Israel. He may call a man at the 
 eleventh hour : but we have reason to believe 
 the cases are very rare ; and too much stress 
 is laid by some preachers and some periodicals 
 on these late appearances — conversions which 
 take place a few days or weeks at most be- 
 fore dissolution. Even when persons have 
 obtained that repentance which is unto life, 
 and have died immediately after, though they 
 have died safely, the change must have been 
 less certain to themselves, and less satisfac- 
 tory to others. 
 
 Secondly, by a peculiar turn of Providence 
 the hand that wounded him also healed, and 
 he " was brought again to Jerusalem into his 
 kingdom." And now is the time to observe 
 him. Many have quickly left the religion of 
 a sick chamber after their recovery. The 
 serious attention to Divine things which abase- 
 ment produced, prosperity has soon dissipated. 
 But see the triumph of this man's principles 
 among the snares and dangers of returning 
 prosperity. No sooner is he seated again on 
 the throne than he sets an example becoming 
 it. He purifies the temple, restores the wor- 
 ship of God, and endeavours to bring back 
 those he had led astray. " And he took away 
 the strange gods, and the idol out of the 
 house of the Lord, and all the altars that 
 he had built in the mount of the house of 
 the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and cast them 
 out of the city. And he repaired the altaT 
 
852 
 
 NOVEMBER % 
 
 of the Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace-of- 
 ferings and thank-offerings, and commanded 
 Tudah to serve the Lord God of Israel." 
 Never was there a true convert without zeal 
 of the same kind. As soon as we feel the 
 value of our own souls we shall prize the 
 souls of others; and be concerned to teach 
 transgressors his ways, and to convert sinners 
 unto God. The earnestness we discover may 
 offend the formal, and even the persons we 
 strive to reclaim, may deem i;s intermeddlers, 
 and tell us to keep our religion to ourselves 
 — But this is impossible. This is telling the 
 fire not to burn, and the spring not to flow. 
 " If these should hold their peace, the stones 
 would immediately cry out." And if we 
 bless those who consider the poor, and en- 
 deavour to feed the hungry, and clothe the 
 naked, how much more should we applaud the 
 man who tries to save a soul from death, and 
 to hide a multitude of sins ! 
 
 " Ah ! Manasseh could be useful. He had 
 opportunities and means. One is ready to 
 envy a man who is disposed to do good, and 
 finds himself in the possession of riches, pow- 
 er, authority — a palace !" Yet while some 
 may be peculiarly useful, none are compelled 
 to be useless. There is some beneficence 
 within the reach of every individual, if he be 
 willing to do it. It is with usefulness as it is 
 with water; it is to tie found everywhere, if 
 people will dig enough. Let us seek the 
 praise conferred upon Mary, " She hath done 
 what she could." 
 
 But observe the remark of the sacred wri- 
 ter; "Nevertheless the people did sacrifice 
 still in the high places, yet unto the Lord 
 their God only." It is said indeed that they 
 worshipped Jehovah only in them ; but it was 
 disobedience to the Divine appointment, it 
 was will-worship, it was superstitious. And 
 this no doubt he reproved and endeavoured to 
 repress, but much of the evil he could not 
 hinder. And here we perceive that his reli- 
 gion did not operate so extensively and pow- 
 erfully as his former depravity had done. It 
 is much easier to seduce than to reclaim, to 
 corrupt than to convert. 
 
 And we see this in a very affecting instance. 
 It was the case of his successor and his son 
 Amon. " He did that which was evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his father: 
 for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved im- 
 ages which Manasseh his father had made, 
 and served them ; and humbled not himself 
 before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had 
 humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more 
 and more." To leave his kingdom and the 
 reformation he had begun to a son he had de- 
 praved by his example, but could not reform 
 by his piety ; and when he saw or heard of 
 his profligacy and impiety, to sigh and ex- 
 claim, " Ah ! I taught him all this" — was 
 enough to " bring down his gray hairs with 
 sorrow to the grave '" 
 
 Be thankful if you were moral belore vol. 
 were pious ; and above all, be grateful if you 
 have been blessed with the grace of early god- 
 liness. From how many snares, evils, anc 
 pangs, have you been preserved ! How pes- 
 tilential have some been ! " One sinner de- 
 stroy eth much good." What injuries a life of 
 twenty, of thirty years of wickedness caD 
 produce ! What miseries must some feel, 
 when, though the riches of Divine mercy have 
 pardoned and renewed them, they think of 
 persons whom they drew aside, and encour- 
 aged and emboldened by their example and 
 counsels. These above all things they should 
 endeavour to restore. "But some of them 
 are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, 
 and despise reproof. Others are removed to 
 a distance, and we know not where to find 
 them. Others are dead — what can we do 
 here ! M Nothing. But seek to be useful to 
 others. And agonize with God, that as you 
 have been a curse so he would make you a 
 blessing. 
 
 NOVEMBER 2. 
 
 " When I awake with thy likeness." 
 Psalm xvii. 15. 
 
 David therefore expected to live after 
 death, and he tells us not only that he should 
 awake, but awake with God's likeness. 
 
 Does he refer to the state of the soul at 
 death ] or of the body at the resurrection 1 or 
 to both ] We love not to press a passage of 
 Scipture beyond its proper bounds ; neither 
 would we stop short of them. Man is a com- 
 plex being ; and when the dust returns to the 
 earth whence it was, the spirit returns to God 
 who gave it. The Apostle tells us that when 
 the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is 
 life because of righteousness; and that the 
 Spirit of Him that raised up Christ from the 
 dead shall also quicken our mortal bodies. 
 And Watts includes each of these effects in 
 his fine versification. 
 
 At death the soul of the believer awakes 
 with his likeness ; and the resemblance whicl 
 commenced in regeneration, and advanced in 
 sanctification, is finished in glory : all the re- 
 mains of sin being then done away, and no- 
 thing left but the image of God himself upon 
 all the powers of the mind. What is the 
 body now but a dormitory for the soul to sleep 
 in, rather than a mansion for it to live in? 
 What is our present state but a kind of night- 
 scene 1 Much of our life now, in the view 
 of angels, must be judged as vain and un- 
 meaning as dreams, and will appear to our- 
 selves hereafter like the vagaries of s.eep 
 Nothing reviewed from eternity will be deem- 
 ed solid and valuable but what has been con- 
 nected with the service and enjoyment of 
 God. To what slender dimensions then will 
 the sum of human life be reduced ! How 
 few will apoear our exercises of sense an* 
 
NOVExMBER 3. 
 
 353 
 
 -eason! And how short our waking inter- 
 vals ! Natural men are entirely asleep as to 
 the purposes of the Divine life — Thus indeed 
 Christians cannot sleep as do others. Yet 
 they, even they comparatively slumber. They 
 regard not many things which would strike 
 them if they were wide awake, as they ought 
 to be. They are often drowsy and insensible ; 
 can hardly watch and keep their spiritual 
 senses in exercise ; and read, and hear, and 
 pray, and meditate, hardly knowing or feeling 
 what they do. It is therefore even to these 
 the Apostle sounds the quickening call, " It is 
 high time to awake out of sleep, for now is 
 your salvation nearer than when you believed. 
 The night is far spent, the day is at hand." 
 What a difference between their present and 
 future experience! When they close their 
 eyes in death they will awake and shake off 
 every slumber ; and all will be reality, per- 
 ception, attention, energy, life. Now in the 
 morning they wake and find themselves in 
 the wilderness ; then they will wake and find 
 themselves in Canaan. Now they wake and 
 find themselves among the wicked, who vex 
 and defile them ; then they will wake and 
 find themselves with the spirits of just men 
 made perfect, and the innumerable company 
 of angels. Now they wake and find a law, 
 that when they would do good evil is present 
 with them ; then they will wake and be pre- 
 sented faultless before the presence of his 
 glory with exceeding joy. 
 
 But man, in his original state, was an em- 
 bodied creature, and he must be embodied in 
 his final condition. The intermediate and 
 separate state, therefore, is necessarily an im- 
 perfect one : for the body, an essential part 
 of human nature, is lying under the incapaci- 
 ties and dishonours of mortality. But this 
 purchase of the Saviour's will be reclaimed : 
 this temple of the Holy Ghost will be re-edi- 
 fied : this companion of the soul will share 
 with it in the work and glories of heaven. 
 And the sacred writers therefore, in referring 
 to the future happiness of believers, common- 
 ly lead our views to this consummation. And 
 death is expressed by sleep, peculiarly in ref- 
 erence to the body, and to intimate not only 
 cessation from labour and the enjoyment of 
 repose, but susceptibility of revival. At the 
 resurrection, the body wakes. " Awake, and 
 sing, ye that dwell in dust" They that 
 " sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise" 
 — And believers will awake with his likeness. 
 We know, says the apostle John, that when 
 he shall appear we shall be like him, for we 
 shall see him as he is. And this likeness is 
 corporeal as well as spiritual. As we have, 
 ' in our infirmities, diseases, and dissolution, 
 borne the image of the earthly, so we shall 
 bear the image of the heavenly, when this 
 corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this 
 mortal shall put on immortality. Our con- 
 versation is in heaven, says the Apostle, from 
 23 
 
 whence also we look for the Saviour, the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, " who shall change our vile 
 body, that it may be fashioned like unto his 
 glorious body, according to the working 
 whereby he is able even to subdue all tnings 
 unto himself." A prospect haiJed ages before 
 by Job, as the ultimate and comnlete solace 
 and relief of his sufferings — "For I know 
 that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall 
 stand at the latter day upon the earth : and 
 though after my skin worms destroy this body, 
 yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I sha.l 
 see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, 
 and not another; though my reins be con- 
 sumed within me." 
 
 "This life's a dream, an empty show; 
 But the bright world to which I go 
 Hath joys substantial and sincere; 
 When shall I wake, and find me there 1 
 
 '' O glorious hour! O blest abode 1 
 I shall be near and like my God ! 
 And flesh and sin no more control 
 The sacred pleasures of the soul. 
 
 " My flesh shall slumber in the ground, 
 Till the last trumpet's joyful sound ; 
 Then burst the chains with sweet surprise. 
 And in my Saviour's image rise." 
 
 NOVEMBER 3. 
 
 " But withal prepare me also a lodging : jor * 
 trust that through your prayers I shall be giv*% 
 unto you." — Philemon 22. 
 
 That is, he trusted that though he was 
 now a prisoner he should be set at liberty, so 
 as to be able to fulfil his ministry again for 
 their furtherance and joy of faith. Had his 
 confidence been inspired by the Holy Ghost, 
 he would have expressed himself without hes- 
 itation ; but he had only a hope in his own 
 mind arising from what he deemed probabil- 
 ity. Whether this hope was accomplished 
 we are unable to determine ; a-nd the learned 
 are divided in their opinioD. But he intimated 
 no more than he felt at the time; and his 
 language shows another instance of the Apos- 
 tle's address in enforcing his plea on the be- 
 half of his object ; for if, as he trusted, he 
 should soon visit Philemon, how could his 
 friend see his face in peace, or at least with 
 pleasure, had he refused his request on behalf 
 of Onesimus! 
 
 Paul was warm, but there was nothing in 
 him enthusiastical : he feared God, but he 
 was not superstitious : he lived above the 
 world, but he was not a recluse — He never 
 affected to contemn the feelings of humanity. 
 He therefore desired that a lodging mir/ht be 
 prepared for him against his arrival. Yet he 
 was not fond of indulgence and show ; and 
 therefore a little would content him. He did 
 not require the enlarged and various accom- 
 modations of a home, but only the needful 
 conveniences of an inn ; not a mansion, but 
 an apartment: such as the Shunamite made 
 for Elisha ; " Let us make a little chamoe-» 1 
 
854 
 
 NOVEMBER 4. 
 
 pray thee, on the wall ; and let us set for him 
 there a bed and a table, and a stool, and a 
 candlestick : and it shall be, when he cometh 
 to us, that he shall turn in thither." 
 
 And we may rest assured that Philemon 
 would not only readily provide for him, but in 
 his own dwelling; knowing that a man so 
 well educated would not be finical and trou- 
 blesome ; and that one so Christian would be 
 sure to be instructive and useful, and draw 
 down the regards of Heaven. So the house 
 of Obed edom was blessed for the sake of the 
 ark. So now is the Saviour's promise ; " He 
 that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that 
 receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 
 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a 
 prophet shall receive a prophet's reward ; and 
 he that receiveth a righteous man in the 
 name of a righteous man shall receive a 
 righteous man's reward." 
 
 Paul viewed his restored freedom as a priv- 
 ilege and a favour: "I shall be given unto 
 you." In another place he speaks of minis- 
 ters as " the gifts of Christ." And this is true 
 of their commission, endowments, success, and 
 all opportunities of exertion. It is he that 
 gives them not only a door of utterance, but 
 a door of entrance. It is easy to see what a 
 hinderance of usefulness the confinement of 
 such a man as Paul was. God is able indeed 
 by his almighty power to overrule evil for 
 good ; but we must judge of things by their 
 proper and natural tendency : and thus perse- 
 cution involves the heaviest guilt. It is said 
 of Herod, after the enumeration of his crimes, 
 that " he added yet this above all, that he shut 
 up John in prison." This was taking the light 
 from the candlestick, and putting it under a 
 bushel. It was rendering him a spring shut 
 up, a fountain sealed. Hence, says Paul to 
 the Thessalonians : "Brethren, pray for us, 
 that the word of the Lord may have free 
 course, and be glorified." What Christian 
 then ought to be indifferent to the progress 
 of civil liberty, which, justly considered, al- 
 ways includes religious, and affords opportu- 
 nity for exertion and co-operation in extend- 
 ing the cause of knowledge, truth, righteous- 
 ness, and peace ? 
 
 But see the importance and efficiency of 
 prayer. The prayer of Abraham prevailed for 
 the healing of Abimelech. Joshua by prayer 
 lengthened the day for Israel to complete 
 their victory. By prayer fifteen years were 
 added to the life of Hezekiah. The church 
 at Jerusalem prayed for Peter's enlargement, 
 and he was delivered by an angel before the 
 prayer-meeting broke up. And what says 
 Paul to the Philippians ? "I know that this 
 shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, 
 and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." 
 Here also he says ; " I trust that through 
 your prayers I shall be given to you." Some- 
 times prayer succeeds in obtaining the very 
 blessing itself which is implored : at other 
 
 times the answer brings a substitute for it 
 as when Paul besought the Lord to remove 
 the thorn in the flesh, and received the as- 
 surance of all-sufficient grace while under it. 
 But the prayer of the righteous shall be grant- 
 ed : and the effectual fervent prayer of a 
 righteous man availeth much, not only when 
 it is offered for himself, but also for others. 
 Here also is a proof that the usefulness ol 
 prayer is not confined to the influence of the 
 performance, but includes also success and 
 acquisition. The prayers we offer for our- 
 selves really affect us by the very exercise of 
 the duty. But if our prayers for others benefit 
 them, when at the very time they may be ig- 
 norant of our offering them, this must be by 
 God's doing something in a way of answer. 
 This is the very ground and encouragement 
 of our offering them. And the Bible is filled 
 with instances of the accomplishment of such 
 prayers, as it is with commands for the per- 
 formance of them. 
 
 NOVEMBER 4. 
 
 " For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they 
 also might be sanctified.' 1 '' — John xvii. 19. 
 
 Here are two sanctifications spoken of 
 very distinguishable from, yet intimately con- 
 nected with each other — The sanctification 
 of Christ; and the sanctification of Christians. 
 Let this exercise turn on the sanctification 
 of Christ — " For their sakes I sanctify my- 
 self." 
 
 Here the word to sanctify does not mean to 
 renovate or purify ; but to consecrate or de- 
 vote. He could not be sanctified in the for- 
 mer sense, because his nature was not de- 
 praved or defiled by sin. But under the law, 
 when persons or things were dedicated to 
 God, they were considered as hallowed or 
 holy, and to use them for any common pur- 
 pose was to profane them. Thus the Sabbath 
 was sanctified, and the tabernacle, and the 
 temple, with the vessels thereof. Thus Jesus 
 devoted himself to the service of God in thu 
 salvation of sinners. " Lo !" said he, " I come 
 to do thy will, O God. I consecrate myself 
 to be an atonement, to make reconciliation 
 for the sins of the people. I will suffer the 
 just for the unjust, and bring them nigh who 
 were once fur off, by my blood." Here ne 
 displays the exceeding riches of his grace in 
 his kindness towards us. For, 
 
 Observe the'voluntariness of the consecra- 
 tion. He does not say, I am sanctified, but, 
 " / sanctify myself." He was not passive in 
 the business; neither was he compelled. No 
 man, says he, taketh my life from me ; I lay 
 it down of myself. He made himself of nc 
 reputation. It was therefore with him a mat- 
 ter of the freest choice, and of the fullest pur- 
 pose. A man walking by the side of a river, 
 may see a fellow-creature in danger of drown 
 
NOVEMBER 5. 
 
 35& 
 
 mg, and may plunge in to save him, and per- 
 ish himself in the attempt He may be con- 
 sidered as falling a sacrifice to his kindness ; 
 but the sacrifice with him was only eventual, 
 not designed. Nothing was accidental in the 
 sufferings of Christ ; nothing was unforeseen ; 
 he assumed our nature, and entered our world, 
 for this very end — The Son of man came, not 
 to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to 
 give his life a ransom for many. 
 
 Observe also the relativeness of the conse- 
 cration : " For their sakes I sanctify myself" 
 — Not his own. He had no sin of his own to 
 expiate. He was therefore cut off, but not 
 for himself. He was stricken, smitten of God, 
 and afflicted : but he was wounded for our 
 transgressions ; he was bruised for our iniqui- 
 ties ; the chastisement of our peace was upon 
 him ; and by his stripes we are healed. And 
 he suffered not only for our sakes, but in our 
 stead. His death was not only for our good, 
 but for our redemption ; and we are expressly 
 assured that he redeemed us from the curse 
 of the law, being made a curse for us. He 
 was therefore a true and proper sacrifice for 
 sin. As such he was typified by the sacrifices 
 under the law. The people were guilty. The 
 High Priest confessed their sins, and laid his 
 hands on the head of the victim ; and having 
 thus transferred their guilt to the substitute, 
 he slew the victim, and taking the blood in a 
 basin, entered the holiest of all, and sprinkled 
 the mercy-seat, and burned incense ; and then 
 came forth and blessed the absolved congre- 
 gation. And thus once in the end of the world 
 Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacri- 
 fice of himself; and then entered the holy 
 place, there to appear in the presence of God 
 for us : and to them that look for him will he 
 come forth and appear a second time without 
 sin unto salvation. 
 
 Nor must we forget the expensiveness of 
 the dedication. This it is not in our power 
 to estimate. We must possess the same feel- 
 ings, and bear the same load, before language 
 or imagination, however lively, can enable us 
 to do any thing like justice to the sufferings 
 he endured. The history is not indeed silent. 
 It tells — how he was born in a stable and laid 
 in a manger ; became a man of sorrows ; had 
 not where to lay his head'; endured the contra- 
 diction of sinners against himself; bore every 
 kind of reproach ; and became obedient unto 
 death, even the death of the cross. But a veil 
 is drawn over his internal anguish. What, be- 
 fore human treachery or violence had yet seized 
 him, made him to be sore amazed and very 
 heavy 1 What led him to say, " My soul is 
 exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ;" while 
 his sweat was as it were great drops of blood 
 falling to the ground? How well, blessed 
 Jesus ! mayest thou say, " Is it nothing to you 
 all ye that pass by ? Behold, and see if ever 
 there .vas sorrow like unto my sorrow, which 
 
 is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afc 
 flicted me in the day of his fierce anger." 
 
 Finally, let us keep in mind the unwortht- 
 ness and vileness of the subjects on whose 
 behalf he thus devoted himself. We read of 
 benefactors: but how few of them have ever 
 exercised self-denial ! And when they have 
 made sacrifices, for whom have they suffered ? 
 Men have hazarded their lives in the field 
 they have been wounded, they have been 
 slain. But they bled and died for their coun- 
 try, their friends, their families. But " when 
 we were yet without strength, in due time 
 Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for 
 a righteous man will one die ; yet peradven- 
 ture for a good man some would even dare to 
 die. But God commendeth his love towards 
 us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ 
 died for us." Here every Christian will look 
 at his character and his own life : he will re- 
 view his years of unregeneracy ; his omissions 
 of duty ; his actual offences; his heart deceit- 
 ful above all things, and desperately wicked . 
 his depraved nature itself, shapen in iniquity, 
 and conceived in sin : and can he only glance 
 at this, and not exclaim, with self-abasement 
 and wonder — 
 
 " Was it for crimes that / had done 
 He groan'd upon the tree? 
 Amazing pity, grace unknown 
 And love beyond degree !" 
 
 NOVEMBER 5. 
 " For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they 
 
 ALSO MIGHT BE SANCTIFIED." John XVH. 19. 
 
 Having viewed the sanctification of Christ, 
 let me consider the sanctification of Chris- 
 tians — " That they also might be sanctified." 
 
 This sanctification differs much from the 
 former. It does indeed take in the notion of 
 dedication. In this sense believers are sanc- 
 tified, and they wish to regard all they are 
 and all they have as the Lord's, not only by 
 claim, but by consecration. And in their ex- 
 perience there has been a time in which they 
 " gave their ownselves unto the Lord," say- 
 ing, " Lord, I am thine, save me." But to 
 dispose them for this surrender, and that they 
 may be vessels unto honour, sanctified and 
 made meet for the master's use, and prepared 
 unto every good work, a change must pass 
 upon them. Renovation and purification are 
 necessary. New principles must be implant- 
 ed; and the promise fulfilled; "And I will 
 put my Spirit within you, and cause you to 
 walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my 
 judgments, and do them." Christians there- 
 fore are new creatures, concerning whom he 
 says, This people I have formed for myself, 
 they shall show forth my praise. This sane 
 tification therefore is very superior to natura- 
 amiableness of temper, and outward reform* 
 tion, and mere morality. It includes morality 
 
350 
 
 NOVEMBER fi. 
 
 ftut it includes much more : it includes piety ; 
 an.l while it secures the practice of all good 
 works, it sees that the heart is right with God. 
 At present indeed the work is not complete ; 
 but it is begun, and is advancing. The sub- 
 jects of it love holiness ; they mourn over the 
 remains of sin as their greatest burden, and 
 long and pray to be sanctified wholly, body, 
 soul, and spirit. 
 
 But let us see what a connexion it has with 
 the sacrifice of Christ — "For their sakes," 
 says he, " I sanctify myself, that they also 
 might be sanctified." Now this clearly shows 
 us the importance of it. We may err in our 
 estimation of things, but his judgment is al- 
 ways according to truth: and here we see 
 his judgment. 
 
 And how precious and invaluable must he 
 have deemed this sanctification, since he con- 
 sidered nothing too great or expensive to pro- 
 cure it for us ! He well knew that unless we 
 were delivered from the bondage of corrup- 
 tion, and renewed in the spirit of our minds, 
 we could have no meetness for the inheritance 
 of the saints in light, and must be incapable 
 of enjoying or serving God here. This there- 
 fore was his aim in dying. " He gave him- 
 self for our sins, that he might deliver us from 
 this present evil world, according to the will 
 of God and our Father." He " gave himself 
 for us, that he might redeem us from all ini- 
 quity, and purify unto himself a peculiar 
 people, zealous of good works." 
 
 And we learn hence, That they do not im- 
 prove his death aright who seek from it hope 
 but not holiness. Such a desire has nothing 
 spiritual in it; neither can it be realized. 
 Jesus came by water as well as by blooJ : and 
 these are as inseparable in their application 
 to the soul as they were in their effusion from 
 the cross. What then can we think of those 
 who derive from his death even a license to 
 sin : and who, when reproved for their evil 
 ways, satisfy themselves that Christ has satis- 
 fied for them ; and not only for their past, but 
 for all their future transgressions — and so they 
 have nothing to fear ! But they have every 
 thing to fear. At present they have no part 
 nor lot in the matter ; and if they die as they 
 are, Christ will profit them nothing — For he 
 has said, " If I wash thee not, thou hast no 
 part with me." 
 
 It is equally obvious that they are badly in- 
 structed in the mystery of sanctification who 
 think to gain it from some slavish, legal, su- 
 perstitious, self-righteous methods of their 
 own, instead of repairing to the sufferings of 
 Christ, the only fountain opened for sin and 
 uncleanness. It is the blood of Jesus that 
 alone cleanseth us from all sin; and this is 
 true as to our purification, not only from the 
 guilt, but also the love and power of it Our 
 old man is crucified with him. There is no 
 true holiness separate from the cross. There 
 
 he obtained for as not only eternal rcdc tip- 
 tion, but all the supplies of grace. 
 
 And as the death of Christ is the source 
 from which the Spirit is derived, so it is the 
 principal means by which he works : for he 
 works rationally, and in a way of argument 
 and motive. And what can equal the view 
 of his sufferings'! There w r e see most strik- 
 ingly the evil of sin ; and there we behold 
 the love of Christ, which most powerfully 
 constrains us. At the sight of this the Chris- 
 tian rises, and says, Did he devote himself 
 thus for mc, and shall I not dedicate myself 
 to him ! Lord, what wilt thou have me to do 7 
 
 NOVEMBER 6. 
 
 " The everlasting God" — Gen. xxi. 33. 
 
 The eternity of God is the most sublime 
 and astonishing subject on whicli our thoughts 
 can fix. Let us not darken counsel by word3 
 without knowledge. Three things may be 
 said, and this is all we can say. First. He 
 will have no end. If we carry our views for- 
 ward, and add millions of ages to millions of 
 years, till the mind be lost in the computation, 
 we shall make no progress in the duration of 
 the eternal God. A week is too long for the 
 beauty and fragrance of some flowers. There 
 are insects that are brought forth, and pass 
 the several stages of their being, and die in a 
 single day. The life of a man is compared tc 
 a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and 
 then vanisheth away. But the oak in the 
 forest survives several generations of pos- 
 sessors and observers. The earth continues 
 through all the changes of its inhabitants. 
 The river Jordan, which the Jews crossed, 
 continues to wind its uneven course : and the 
 mount Ararat, on which Noah stepped out of 
 the ark, still remains to be seen. The heaven- 
 ly bodies shine on above the reach of our rev 
 olutionary system. Yet this is only compara- 
 tively true : nothing is absolutely durable — 
 " They shall perish, but thou shalt endure : 
 yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment ; 
 as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they 
 shall be changed : but thou art the same, and 
 thy years shall have no end." Some creatures 
 will endure for ever. Angels are imperisha- 
 ble. So are the spirits of just men made per- 
 fect. The soul will view untouched the de- 
 struction of the universe : yea, the body, 
 though material, will be immortalized. But 
 none of these will live for ever like God. He 
 is the fountain of life ; all other beings are 
 streams flowing from him, and sustained by 
 him. They are not immortal of themselves, 
 but by his pleasure and bounty. But he has 
 life necessarily and independently in himself, 
 and is unaffected by any external cause 
 Therefore it is said. "He only hath immor 
 tality." 
 
NOVEMBER 7. 
 
 857 
 
 Secondly, lie never had a beginning. The 
 space of time which has elapsed since the 
 creation seems long : the globe is near six 
 thousand years old. But through an immen- 
 sity of duration, of which we can form no 
 idea, God had been living equal to his own 
 happiness, and able to do whatsoever he 
 pleased. " Before the mountains were brought 
 forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and 
 the world, even from everlasting," as well as 
 " to everlasting, thou art God." It is needless 
 to observe that this prerogative is entirely 
 and infinitely peculiar to God. Thus he is 
 " the first" as well as " the last." He inhab- 
 iteth eternity, and indeed constitutes it; for, 
 properly speaking, eternity is nothing else but 
 the duration of his being and agency. 
 
 Thirdly, there is no change in his being, 
 no diminution, no increase, no variableness or 
 shadow of turning. We speak of the past, 
 the present, and the future : but " I am" is 
 his name, and his memorial in all generations. 
 Our continuance is computed by periods: but 
 his duration is one permanent now. We ex- 
 ist by parcels; we existed partly yesterday, 
 we exist partly to-day, and shall exist partly 
 to-morrow ; but. he possesses and enjoys his 
 whole being at once. We never continue in 
 one stay: infancy grows into manhood, and 
 .nanhood descends into old age. Even in the 
 Christian the outward man perisheth, and the 
 inward man is renewed day by day; and even 
 in heaven the saints will be changed from 
 giory into glory ; but he says, " I the Lord 
 change not." He was never less, and he will 
 ne^er be more wise, and holy, and happy than 
 he is. He will never be older than he is, and 
 he was never younger. One day with the 
 Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand 
 years are as one day. 
 
 "Why this is an abyss in which our thoughts 
 are swallowed up." It is. And observe the 
 inference we draw from it. Are we not 
 therefore chargeable with the greatest ab- 
 surdity, when we reject a doctrine because 
 we cannot comprehend it 1 Is not this to make 
 our understanding the measure of truth 1 How 
 much reality is there that does not come 
 within the reach of our senses, or of our rea- 
 son ! — We talk of mysteries. There are such 
 in the Scriptures ; and are there none in Na- 
 ture 1 There is no doctrine we are called to 
 believe in Revelation more difficult than this 
 eternity of God. Every notion we can form 
 ->f it involves in it a seeming inconsistency, 
 and a real inexplicability ; yet every Deist 
 admits it; and the man that denied it would 
 render himself universally ridiculous. 
 
 Let us therefore adore a Being who cannot, 
 by searching, be found out unto perfection, 
 and have grace whereby we may worship 
 him acceptably, with reverence and with god- 
 ly fear. And convinced of the infinite dis- 
 tance there is between him and us, let us ad- 
 mire his condescension. How evident is it 
 
 that he does not stand in need of us, and ia 
 " exalted above all blessing and praise !" Yet 
 we and our mean affairs have always en- 
 gaged his attention — " What is man that thou 
 sbouldest magnify him ! and that thou should- 
 est set thine heart upon him 1 and that thou 
 sbouldest visit him every morning, and try 
 him every moment 1" 
 
 The eternity of God should take off" our 
 attachment and dependence from things be- 
 low. Creatures, however agreeable or pow 
 erful, are " less than nothing and vanity." 
 " Cease from man, whose breath is in his nos- 
 trils ; wherein is he to be accounted of? Trust 
 in the Lord for ever ; for in the Lord Jehovah 
 is everlasting strength." " Hast thou not 
 known, hast thou not heard, that the everlast- 
 ing God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends 
 of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary 1 
 there is no searching of his understanding. 
 He giveth power to the faint ; and to them 
 that have no might he increaseth strength." 
 Creatures may die, but he liveth ; and blessed 
 be our Rock, and let the God of our salvation 
 be exalted. "All flesh is as grass, and all the 
 glory of man as the flower of grass. The 
 grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth 
 away: but the word of the Lord endureth 
 for ever. And this is the word which by the 
 Gospel is preached unto you." The heavens 
 and the earth may pass away ; but his cove- 
 nant is everlasting, ordered in all things, and 
 sure. As he is eternal, O Christian, thy hap- 
 piness, which is bound up in him, is secure. 
 He is the strength of thy heart ; he is thy 
 portion for ever. Realize thy union with him 
 in all thy exigences, feebleness, and dangers 
 " The eternal God is thy refuge, and un 
 derneath are the everlasting arms." 
 
 NOVEMBER 7. 
 
 " We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being 
 burdened." — 2 Cor. v. 4. 
 
 By " this tabernacle" the Apostle means 
 the body, which is the same to the soul as a 
 dwelling to the inhabitant. Only it is observ- 
 able that he does not call it a palace, a man- 
 sion, a house, but a tabernacle. Paul was 
 familiar with the structure of such a kind of 
 residence, for he was by craft a tent-maker. 
 He knew that it had a roof, but no foundation ; 
 that it was a temporary accommodation, a 
 moveable abode, easily taken down, easily 
 injured, easily overturned, easily destroyed. 
 Do what you will with your bodies, they are 
 no better than tabernacles, earthly taber- 
 nacles. Nurse them, pamper them, dress 
 them, adorn them, idolize them as you please, 
 dust they are, and unto dust shall they return. 
 
 But see how he distinguishes the soul from 
 the body, and places it above the body. He 
 speaks of the body as if it did not belong to 
 our persons, " We that are in this tabernacle* 
 
358 
 
 NOVEMBER 7. 
 
 -as if we could live and act without it. And 
 ibis is possible. The soul is the man. The 
 soul is the inhabitant. It is in the body, but 
 not of it. It is immaterial, immortal, and 
 capable of endless improvement. We cannot 
 save the dwelling, but we may save the in- 
 habitant. And should not this be our supreme 
 concern ? Docs not he who knows the value 
 of the soul, from the price he paid for the re- 
 demption of it, ask, " What is a man profited 
 if he should gain the whole world and lose 
 his own soul ? or what shall a man give in 
 exchange for his soul ?" Yet there are persons 
 who live as if they deemed the soul unworthy 
 of a moment's thought ; yea, and they often 
 die so too.' They send for the physician, 
 they employ the lawyer, they dispose of their 
 substance, they arrange their funerals, and 
 tell their friends where and how they choose 
 to be buried: but not a word escapes them 
 concerning the nobler and never-dying part — 
 and none of the cruel and infamous wretches 
 in the room will dare to break the delusion, 
 and ask, What, have you no soul ? Is this dis- 
 posed of? Is this provided for '.' Where will 
 this be found in the day of the Lord Jesus'? 
 
 We have seen their residence, let us hear 
 their complaint — " We that are in this taber- 
 nacle do groan, being burdened.'''' With 
 what? The oppressions are numberless. There 
 are the common evils of life. We need not 
 road the Scriptures to know that the earth is 
 a vale of tears ; and that man is born to trou- 
 ble. Who is secure from failure in their 
 schemes'? from worldly losses'? family be- 
 reavements'? bodily accidents and diseases! 
 But, common as they are, some might have 
 supposed that the friends of the Almighty 
 would be exempted from these calamities. 
 Yet many are the afflictions of the righteous. 
 They have frequently more of these suffer- 
 ings than others. The husbandman does not 
 prune the bramble, but the vine. The stones 
 designed for the temple above require more 
 cutting and polishing than those which are 
 for the common wall. Correction is not for 
 strangers, but children — " What son is he 
 whom the father chasteneth not ?" Neither is 
 a Christian required to be senseless under 
 these afflictions. They are not joyous, but 
 grievous; and only yield the peaceable fruits 
 of righteousness to those that are exercised 
 thereby. He is no more to despise the chas- 
 tening of the Lord than to faint when he is 
 rebuke! of him. In some respects he feels 
 these troubles more than others: for he can- 
 not have recourse to the diversions and stupe- 
 factions of the world und^r them ; he sees in 
 them all the dreadful evil of sin ; he often 
 fears they are proofs of God's anger towards 
 him; and trembles lest they should not be 
 Banctified. 
 
 There are also the hatred and opposition of 
 the world. What did the Maccabean Jews, 
 and the first Christians, and our own fore- 
 
 fathers suffer ? We dc well to remembei the 
 former times, and compare them with oui 
 own. Yet what cannot be done legally may 
 be done really; and many wives, children, 
 servants, and dependants, are at this hour en- 
 during persecution, even in this country. The 
 strongest ties of affection towards a man will 
 upon conversion, relax and loosen, like the 
 cords of life at the breaking up of the consti- 
 tution ; and what was warm friendship before, 
 degenerates into mere civility, perhaps into 
 open malignity. The carnal mind is enmity 
 against God ; the tongue can no man tame 
 They that go forth to the Redeemer without 
 the camp must bear his reproach. The peo- 
 ple of the world will never act justly and 
 candidly towards real religion. They always 
 affect to pity or despise it. It is weakness, or 
 derangement, or enthusiasm, or mercenari 
 ness, or hypocrisy. " Speaking evil of you" 
 — " Cruel mockings — " 
 
 There are also grievous temptations. Wha . 
 do some suffer from this quarter! Yet each 
 Christian, as knowing only his own heart's 
 bitterness, is ready to exclaim, " No one en- 
 dures such temptations as I do — They not 
 only attend me in the world, but follow me 
 to the throne of God and the table of the 
 Lord — They often lay waste my comfort, and 
 I fear will prove my destruction at last — 
 " The enemy hath persecuted my soul ; he 
 hath smitten my life down to the ground ; he 
 hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those 
 that have been long dead." Yet is not the 
 Christian life always spoken of as a warfare? 
 And did not even Paul and his fellows say, 
 " We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but 
 against principalities, against powers, against 
 the rulers of the darkness of this world, against, 
 spiritual wickedness in high places." 
 
 But there is nothing with which the Chris- 
 tian is so much oppressed as his sins. " Mine 
 iniquities^ are gone over mine head : as an 
 heavy burden they are too heavy for me to 
 bear" — At first in the guilt of them, till by 
 believing he enters into rest — But afterwards 
 and always, in the remains of them. When 
 I would do good, says he, evil is present with 
 me, and how to perform that which is good 1 
 find not; O wretched man that I anil whc 
 shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
 He is a stranger td Divine grace whose im- 
 perfections are not his afflictions. The Chris- 
 tian mourns even over those infirmities which 
 are not even viewed by others as sins: such 
 as wandering thoughts and cold affections in 
 duty. He has a renewed and tender con- 
 science, and like the apple of the eye, a mote 
 will pain it. To love . purity and feel pollu- 
 tion — to be eager to advance, and be hindered 
 by baffling detentions — to wish to be a work- 
 man that needeth not to be ashamed, and 
 never be able to put any thing out of his 
 hand that is not marred and spoiled -to love 
 the Saviour, and yet grieve his holy Spirit, 
 
NOVEMBER 8. 
 
 359 
 
 • id pierce the very bosom on which he leans 
 - -Here is enough to make him groan, being 
 burdened. It is said of that beautiful bird, 
 the bird of paradise, that when it is caught 
 and caged, it never ceases to sigh till it is set 
 free. " Just such is the Christian" — Nothing 
 will satisfy him but the glorious liberty of 
 the sons of God. 
 
 NOVEMBER 8. 
 
 " The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath 
 arc the everlasting arms." — Deut xxxiii. 27. 
 
 How various and striking are the repre- 
 sentations which God has given of himself 
 in his Word ! They all correspond with the 
 state and wants of his people ; and are adapt- 
 ed and designed to fill them with everlasting 
 consolation and good hope through grace. 
 Here we are told that he is their Defender 
 and their Supporter — 
 
 " The eternal God is thy refuge." A refuge 
 reminds us of exposure. Dangers encompass 
 them on every side. Their enemies are num- 
 berless, and according to the Apostle, the 
 greatest of them are not visible : " For we 
 wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against 
 principalities, against powers, against the ru- 
 lers of the darkness of this world, against 
 spiritual wickedness in high places." They 
 cannot stand of themselves; and creatures 
 also, however disposed and powerful, are un- 
 able to secure them. But their defence is of 
 God, who saveth the upright in heart He is 
 not only their protector, but their protection. 
 It is only in his covenant engagements, and 
 perfections, and presence, and providence, 
 that they can realize their safety. But en- 
 couraging themselves in the Lord their God, 
 they may be emboldened into confidence, and 
 even triumph, and say with the Apostle, 
 " Nay, in all these things we are more than 
 conquerors, through him that loved us. For 
 I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, 
 nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, nor height, 
 nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
 able to separate us from the love of God, 
 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And 
 this is the interest that awakens their chief 
 anxiety. While they are here, their outward 
 concerns have their claims ; but " one thing 
 is needful." Temporal comforts, as far as 
 they are good for us, are secured : but these 
 may be injured and destroyed; not because 
 God is not able to preserve them, but because 
 he is wise, and knows that these are cases 
 in which the loss of them will be more prof- 
 - itable than the possession. But spiritual 
 blessings are the " sure mercies of David." 
 Whatever becomes of the trader, the Chris- 
 tian is secure. The outward man may per- 
 ish, but the inward man shall be renewed 
 dav by day. " I give unto them," says the 
 
 Saviour, "eternal life; and they shall never 
 perish." 
 
 — "And underneath are the everlasting 
 arms.' 1 '' Are his people then children? The 
 mother upholds the helpless babe. Sometimes 
 the knee bears the pleasing load ; but when 
 she would press it to her bosom, or convey it 
 sleeping to the bed of repose, her arms softly 
 sustain it. "And as one whom his mother 
 comforteth," saith God, "so will I comfort 
 you, and ye shall be comforted." Are they 
 invalids 1 How soon is the strength of the 
 patient reduced, and another is required to 
 raise and remove him from posture to posture, 
 and from place to place. And thus " he giveth 
 power to the faint, and to them that have no 
 might he increaseth strength." Are they 
 heavy-laden] Sin is a burden too heavy for 
 them to bear. The guilt of it often bows 
 down their spirits ; and the remains of it con- 
 strain them to complain, " O wretched man 
 that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body 
 of this death V They frequently feel a load 
 of cares, and wants, and crosses, and griefs. 
 " Lord," say they, " I am oppressed, undertake 
 for me." And the promise says, "Cast thy 
 burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain 
 thee." And thus it has always been. They 
 have frequently looked forward with dread 
 and despondence; but when the afflictions 
 arrived, they found grace to help in time of 
 need ; and as their days so was their strength. 
 Yea, they were not only supported, but in the 
 multitude of their thoughts within them, his 
 comforts delighted their souls. 
 
 There is one individual to whom this will 
 peculiarly apply. It is you, O aged believer. 
 The evil days are now come, in which you 
 have little pleasure from outward things. 
 Many of your connexions have fallen off, one 
 after another, like leaves in autumn. Lover 
 and friend have been removed from you and 
 your acquaintance into darkness. Your mem- 
 ory is unfaithful. Your senses begin to fail. 
 The eye and the ear are becoming dim of 
 seeing and dull of hearing. The limbs de- 
 cline : the hands and the knees tremble. P'ear 
 is in the way. The grasshopper is a burden, 
 and desire fails. But while you cry, " Cast 
 me not off in the time of old age, forsake me 
 not when my strength faileth," he who has 
 borne you from the belly, and carried you 
 from the womb, says, " And even to your old 
 age I am he ; and even to hoar hairs will I 
 carry you : I have made, and I will bear ; 
 even I will carry, and will deliver you." 
 
 NOVEMBER 9 
 
 " And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his 
 shoulders, rejoicing." — Luke xv. 5. 
 
 Jesus is the speaker, and lie refers to him- 
 self. The allusion is metaphorical, and re- 
 gards him under one of the most endearing 
 characters he sustains — The Shepherd. 
 
mi 
 
 NOVEMBER 9. 
 
 The address was occasioned by the nature 
 of his audience, and the insinuation of his 
 enemies. " Then drew near unto him all the 
 publicans and sinners for to hear him" — 
 Drunkards, adulterers, swearers, liars, Sab- 
 bath-breakers. The proverb says, Like begets 
 like; and theie is much truth in the old 
 adage. Show me a man's company, and I 
 will show you his character. Accordingly, 
 " the Pharisees and the Scribes," pious souls ! 
 as if alarmed for the interests of morality, 
 and pretending that the freedom of his con- 
 duct was incompatible with the sanctity that 
 should distinguish a Teacher sent from God, 
 "murmured, saying, This man receiveth sin- 
 ners, and eateth with them." The apparent 
 difficulty was to be solved by an easy distinc- 
 tion which they were not prepared or disposed 
 to make. Our Lord was among these sinners 
 not because he loved their sins, but would 
 save their souls; or, as he explained himself 
 on a similar reproach, he was among them as 
 a physician walks the wards of an hospital, 
 not because he is charmed with disease, but 
 in order to prescribe for his patients : " They 
 that be whole need not a physician, but they 
 that are sick." Here he has another equally 
 striking justification. He spake this parable 
 unto them, saying, " What man of you, hav- 
 ing an hundred sbeep, if he lose one of them, 
 doth not leave the ninety-and-nine in the wil- 
 derness, and go after that which is lost, until 
 he find it ? And when he hath found it" — he 
 belabours it with his rod till it pants again 1 
 No such thing — "he layeth it on his shoul- 
 ders" — complaining of the dangers he has in- 
 curred, the many weary steps he has taken, 
 the sufferings he has endured in the research 1 
 No — but "rejoicing." Blessed Jesus, how 
 well couldst thou say, " I am the good Shep- 
 nerd !" 
 
 He not only seeks and saves — but what- 
 ever it may cost him, he does it with joy. In 
 the anticipation of it, he " rejoiced in the hab- 
 itable parts of the earth, and his delights were 
 with the sons of men." When he was actu- 
 ally become incarnate, he said, " Lo ! I come 
 to do thy will, O God. I delight to do thy 
 will ; yea, thy law is within my heart." With 
 regard to his obtaining eternal redemption 
 for us by his blood, he said, " I have a baptism 
 to be baptized with, and how am I straitened 
 cill it be accomplished !" See him at the well 
 »f Sychar. The disciples had left him hun- 
 gry, and had gone away into the city to buy 
 meat. But when they returned and spread 
 the entertainment before him, and said, " Mas- 
 ter, eat ;" he said, " I have meat to eat that 
 ye know not of." He refers to the pleasure 
 he had just experienced in the conversion of 
 the woman of Samaria, and in the approach- 
 ing salvation of her neighbours by her means 
 — This was his repast : " My meat is to do 
 the will of him that sent me, and to finish 
 
 his work." — " He layeth it on his shoulders, 
 
 REJOICING." 
 
 It is the joy of success. Nothing is> more 
 mortifying than to labour in vain, especially 
 when we take great pains, and make great 
 sacrifices. But how pleasing and delightfu. 
 is it to see the fruit of our exertions ! How 
 delighted is the soldier after his marchings, 
 privations, hardships, conflicts, and wounds, 
 to retire in peace, and share the spoils of vic- 
 tory and the applause of his king and his 
 country ! " A woman when she is in travail 
 hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but 
 as soon as she is delivered of the child, she 
 remembereth no more the anguish, for joy 
 that a man is born into the world." And this 
 is the very image the prophet applies to the 
 Messiah : " He shall see his seed." " He 
 shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be 
 satisfied." Paul and his companions call the 
 Thessalonians their "glory and joy." Yet 
 they were only ministers by whom they be- 
 lieved. If converts are the glory and joy of 
 those who are only the instruments of their 
 conversion, how much more are they the 
 glory and joy of him who is the author of it! 
 
 It is the joy of benevolence. No pleasure 
 is so unselfish ; so pure ; so blissful in pros- 
 pect, and in review, as the pleasure of doing 
 good. But this pleasure will always be in 
 proportion to the degree of benevolent dispo- 
 sition in the benefactor. Who then can im- 
 agine the measure of delight in the commu- 
 nication of his favours He must enjoy, 
 " whose heart is made of tenderness," who, 
 when he was rich for our sakes became poor, 
 and died that we might live'? O that we 
 were as willing to be blessed as he is to de- 
 liver and to indulge us ! Then the giver and 
 the receiver would rejoice together. 
 
 The joy is encouraging. The awakened 
 and convinced sinner feels his need of strong 
 consolation. But why should he despond ] 
 Why should he ask, Will he receive me if I 
 apply to him ? Does not the Saviour com- 
 mand him to look 1 Does he not invite him 
 to come 1 Does he not complain that he will 
 not come 1 And does not his application af- 
 ford him pleasure? In pleading with you 
 therefore, O sinner, we have to urge his in- 
 terest as well as your own. You have long 
 enough dishonoured him, and grieved his holy 
 Spirit. Surely now you ougnt to delight him , 
 and there is one thing by which you may be 
 sure to do it. Retire with weeping and sup- 
 plication to his footstool ; and cry, Lord, save, 
 I perish ; and thy sorrows and sighs will yield 
 him as much satisfaction as the songs of an- 
 gels — " The prayer of the upright is his de- 
 
 The joy is exemplary. As Christians we 
 must not only depend upon him, but resembffe 
 him : not only glory in his cross, but tread in 
 his steps. We are commanded to wa?k ir 
 
NOVEMBER 10, 11. 
 
 361 
 
 .ove as Christ also hath loved us: and are 
 assured that if any man have not the Spirit 
 of Christ, he is none of his. Let therefore 
 his grief be our grief: let his joy be our joy : 
 and let his joy be fulfilled in us. Let us 
 spare no exertions, let us grudge no sacrifices 
 in our concern to save sinners. Let the work 
 be its own reward. Let the very doing of it 
 be our pleasure. It is what he himself en- 
 joins and expects. "And when he cometh 
 home, he calleth together his friends and 
 neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with 
 me ; for I have found my sheep which was 
 lost." The persons intended are angels and 
 saints. The former readily comply : " There 
 is joy in the presence of the angels of God 
 over one sinner that repenteth." And can 
 the latter refuse 1 They who have themselves 
 been recovered and restored ? They who have 
 known the misery of sin, and the joy of his 
 salvation! Can they see the grace of God 
 and not be glad 1 
 
 NOVEMBER 10. 
 
 "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious." 
 1 Peter ii. 7. 
 
 Yet there are many to whom he is not 
 precious who yet believe, and would be of- 
 fended if they were called infidels. Peter 
 cannot therefore refer to every kind of be- 
 lief. There is a faith which is without works, 
 and dead, being alone. But the " faith of God" 
 is operative. It " worketh by love ;" and es- 
 pecially love to the Saviour. 
 
 When we consider how much depends 
 upon faith ; that it is the principle of all gen- 
 uine religion ; that it is the medium of our 
 justification ; that we are saved through faith ; 
 and that by faith we live and walk ; it must 
 be of great importance to know whether we 
 are the subjects of it : and accordingly we are 
 commanded to " examine ourselves whether 
 we be in the faith." And here we are fur- 
 nished with one of the most pleasing and 
 convincing evidences of the fact It is the 
 endearment of the Lord Jesus. Is he in our 
 view fairer than the children of men ? Is he 
 altogether lovely? all our salvation and all 
 our desire ? our glory and our joy 7 He is so 
 to them that believe — To them " that believe 
 he is precious." 
 
 But if this preciousness be the evidence of 
 faith, it is no less the consequence of it The 
 saints in light do not require faith to endear 
 him. They no longer walk by faith, but by 
 sight. Ah ! ye spirits of just men made per- 
 fect, in whose number we now reckon many 
 of our own connexions, you see him as he is, 
 vid are satisfied by beholding his face in 
 righteousness ! But if he is made precious to 
 us in this world, it must be by faith. For, 
 first, it is by faith that we gain our informa- 
 tion concerning him. We cannot love him 
 without knowing him : but it is frith alone 
 
 that reveals him to the mind, and ttils us 
 where he is, and what he is, and what he pos- 
 sesses, and what he has done, and suffered, 
 and promised. And, secondly, it is only by 
 faith we can, when he is known, make i'se 
 of him for all the purposes he is ordained to 
 accomplish. He is the refuge, and he is the 
 food of the soul : but a refuge cannot secure 
 us unless it be entered; and food cannot 
 nourish us, unless it be eaten ; but this appli 
 cation to him, and of him, is the work of 
 faith. It is not a mere notion, but an actual 
 experience, that attaches the Christian to 
 Christ. He has " received him," and received 
 him " full of grace and truth." He has found 
 him infinitely suited to all his wants, and ad- 
 equate to his relief. Yea, he has healed his 
 broken heart, he has calmed his troubled con- 
 science, he has made him free indeed, he has 
 given him boldness and access with confidence 
 into the holiest of all. And he does not need 
 to be told that all this is the effect of beiiev- 
 ing on the name of the only begotten Son of 
 God. Thirdly, without faith we have no 
 complacency in him. We cannot esteem and 
 rejoice in any thing unless we feel some con- 
 geniality with it. " They that are after the 
 flesh do mind," that is, love, savour, and 
 relish, " the things of the flesh ; but they 
 that are after the Spirit, the things of the 
 Spirit" And to "be spiritually minded is 
 life and peace." Christ is a holy, spiritual, 
 heavenly Saviour. He was named Jesus be- 
 cause he was to save his people frcm their 
 sins : and he gave himself for them, that he 
 might redeem them from all iniquity, and 
 purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous 
 of good works. A natural man therefore can 
 have no delight in him or communion with 
 him ; " for what communion hath light with 
 darkness, or what fellowship hath righteous- 
 ness with unrighteousness?" But to a be- 
 liever he is precious because he has this prin- 
 ciple of conformity. He has the Spirit of 
 Christ; and he received this Spirit not by the 
 works of the law, but by the hearing of faith. 
 His heart is purified - f and the heart is purified 
 by faith. He is sanctified, and we are saucH 
 fied by faith that is in him. 
 
 It follows from the admission of this truth 
 that the reason why he is not more precious, 
 is because of our remaining unbelief Where- 
 fore let us u pray always that our God would 
 count us worthy of this calling, and fulfil all 
 the good pleasure of his goodness and the 
 work of faith with power: that the name of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in us 
 and we in him." 
 
 NOVEMBER 11. 
 " He is precious." — 1 Peter ii. 7 
 
 We have seen to whom he is precious. 
 " To them that believe." Let us now ask 
 
36i> 
 
 NOVEMBER 11. 
 
 what proofs do they give of this preciousness] 
 And in what seasons do they peculiarly real- 
 ize the force of it"! 
 
 In evidence of this preciousness, see how 
 he fills their minds. To the miser his money is 
 precious, and therefore his mind dwells upon it: 
 the child is precious to the mother, and there- 
 fore she can not forget it — Sothebelieverthinks 
 of Jesus, and his thoughts of him are frequent 
 and pleasant " My meditation of him shall 
 be sweet. How precious are thy thoughts 
 unto me, O God, how great is the sum of 
 them — when I awake I am still with thee !" 
 See how he employs his tongue. Out of the 
 abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 
 The impressions made upon our feelings by 
 an object pre-eminently dear and interesting, 
 can hardly be restrained. When the Phari- 
 sees desired our Lord to silence the multitude 
 who were acclaiming him in the temple; he 
 answered, " If these should hold their peace 
 the stones would cry out." And when Peter 
 and John were ordered by the council to speak 
 no more in the name of Jesus ; they replied, 
 " We cannot but speak the things which we 
 have seen and heard." David therefore says, 
 " My mouth shall show forth thy righteous- 
 ness and thy salvation all the day ; for I know 
 not the numbers thereof" And he could 
 equally reckon upon the disposition of others: 
 ' Thy saints shall bless thee. They shall 
 speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk 
 of thy power ; to make known to the sons of 
 men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty 
 of his kingdom." See also what sacrifices 
 they are willing to make for him. For him, 
 eays Paul, I have suffered the loss of all things. 
 The noble army of martyrs followed him to 
 prison and to death. There is the same spirit 
 in believers now, and they evince it as far as 
 opportunity allows. They go forth to him 
 without the camp, bearing his reproach. For 
 his sake they endure the sneers of neighbours, 
 the frowns of friends, the menaces of superi- 
 ors. For his sake they give up the world ; 
 and all their sins, though dear as a right eye, 
 or profitable as a right hand ; yea, and forsake 
 all that they have, as far as it comes in com- 
 petition with him. Their regard appears too 
 in their valuing every thing in relation to 
 him. They are never so pleased with the 
 works of nature as when they are emblems 
 of his beauty and fflory. They are never so 
 delighted with ordinances as when they are 
 mediums of communion with him. The Bible 
 is most precious, as it is the word of Christ, 
 and testifies of him. Heaven is most attrac- 
 tive as a place in which they shall be with 
 him to behold his glory. No cause interests 
 them like his. Their very souls are identified 
 with it. They are sorrowful for the solemn 
 assembly, and the reproach of it is their bur- 
 den : while no news equals the success of his 
 affairs, and the increase of his empire. In a 
 word, he is so dear and essential to them, tJiat 
 
 nothing can be a substitute for him on, earth 
 or in heaven ; while he can be a substitute 
 for any thing — for every thing: "Although 
 the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall 
 fruit be in the vine ; the labour of the olive 
 shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; 
 the flock shall be cut off" from the fold, and 
 there shall be no herd in the stalls : yet I will 
 rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of 
 my salvation." 
 
 Thus he is always undeniably precious to 
 them that believe : yet there are seasons in 
 which they peculiarly feel the force of it. 
 Such is the day of effectual calling. If ever 
 food is relished, it is when we are hungry. 
 If ever w r e prize the physician, it is when we 
 are sick, and long for health and cure. Our 
 Lord promised to send the Holy Spirit, to 
 convince us of sin, and to glorify himself: and 
 the former is necessary to the latter. When 
 we see our true character and condition as 
 sinners, then the proud looks are humbled, 
 and the lofty looks are laid low, and the Lord 
 alone is exalted. 
 
 Such is the Sabbath. It is named in honour 
 of him " the Lord's day." It is to bring him 
 to our remembrance as rising from the dead, 
 and entering into his rest after finishing the 
 work that was given him to do. His people 
 hold some communion with him through the 
 week : but week days are always in a degree 
 worldly days. They have some glimpses of 
 him, and some words from him, in pressing 
 through their ordinary concerns. But they 
 want larger and more intimate intercourse 
 with their best friend. And when the Sab- 
 bath comes they take him to their retirement, 
 and he manifests himself to them. And they 
 go to his own house, where they see his pow- 
 er and glory in the sanctuary, and praise him 
 with joyful lips. 
 
 Such is the period of holy fellowship at hia 
 table. In reference to this, where is the be- 
 liever who has not been able to say, I sat un- 
 der his shadow with delight, and his fruit was 
 sweet to my taste? In no other duty have 
 we such views of him as here. We see him 
 in the very act of dying for us. He is evi- 
 dently set forth crucified among us. As a 
 risen Saviour he comes and shows us his 
 hands and his feet, and assures us that be- 
 cause he lives we shall live also. 
 
 Such is the day of trouble. A friend is 
 born for adversity, and endeared by the time 
 of' need ; but many who wear the name are 
 then found to withdraw themselves. But he 
 comes near — and must come near if his word 
 can be trusted — " I will be with thee in trou- 
 ble." He is touched with the feeling of our in- 
 firmities, and in all our affliction he is afflicted. 
 Human friendship, when sincere and lively, 
 is limited. But nothing is too hard for the 
 Lord. He can comfort us in all our tribula- 
 tion ; and turn the shadow of death into the 
 mornimr. 
 
NOVEMBER 12. 
 
 m 
 
 Such is a dying day. The day of trouble 
 may come, the day of death will come ; and 
 :f it does not bring Christ with it ! — But if 
 ne is with us when heart and flesh fail ; if we 
 can by faith view Jesus as having put away 
 our sin by the sacrifice of himself, as going to 
 prepare a place for us, and as coming again 
 to receive us to himself, that where he is 
 there we may be also; this will turn the 
 chamber of sickness into the house of God 
 and the gate of heaven — we shall be joyful 
 in glory, and shout a.oud upon our beds — 
 
 •' Jesus, the vision of thy face 
 Hath overpowering charms ; 
 Scarce shall I feel death's cold emhrace. 
 If Christ he in my arms. 
 
 'Then, while ye hear my heartstrings bieak, 
 How sweet my moments roll ! 
 A mortal paleness on my cheek, 
 But glory in my soul." 
 
 NOVEMBER 12. 
 
 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there ; and 
 backward, but I cannot perceive him : on the 
 left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot be- 
 hold him : he hideth himself on the right hand, 
 that I cannot see him." — Job xxiii. 8, 9. 
 
 Some have considered this allusively, and 
 exemplified it thus — I go " forward ;" forward 
 to the promises. These abound in the Scrip- 
 tures, arc adapted to all our wants, and pro- 
 vide for a great while to come; and there 
 was a time when I could claim them as my 
 own, and plead them in prayer, and make 
 them my songs in the house of my pilgrim- 
 age : now they seem only the property of 
 others, and if they are not wells without 
 water, they seem as springs shut up, and foun- 
 tains sealed to me — I go " forward, but he is 
 not there." — I go "backward;" backward to 
 experience. I once thought that I had been 
 convinced of sin, that I had trembled at his 
 word, that I had rejoiced in his salvation, that 
 my fellowship had been with the Father and 
 his Son Jesus Christ: now my former views 
 and feelings, my distresses and my comforts, 
 and which I had supposed to be spiritual and 
 divine, appear suspicious, and I fear I have no 
 part or lot in the matter ; and that my heart 
 has never been right in the sight of God — I 
 go " backward, but I cannot perceive him." I 
 turn to " the left hand, where he doth work, 
 and survey the operations of nature." These 
 are his inferior doings, but they are the pro- 
 duce of his wisdom, power, and goodness; 
 and all his works praise him. .And there was 
 a time when in the field, the meadow, the 
 garden, I walked with God. I saw his sun 
 rising upon the evil and the good, and his rain 
 coming down, and his paths dropping fatness. 
 Every thing seemed full of God. Yea, I saw 
 my Redeemer in the rose and in the lily, and 
 said, As the apple tree among the trees of the 
 wood, so is my Beloved among the sons : now 
 
 creation seems a kind of blank — u L eanrot 
 behold him." — I turn " to the right hand," 
 among his nobler works of grace. I think of 
 the glories of redemption, the operations of 
 his Holy Spirit; I mingle with his people in 
 the sanctuary, I repair to the table of my 
 dying Lord — " But he hideth himself on the 
 right hand, that I cannot see him." 
 
 Now all this is true in itself, and many a 
 reader perhaps may be able to make it his 
 own. But evangelical spiritualizers have not 
 a little injured the Scripture, by giving it 
 meanings which are not its own. What is 
 true in doctrine is not always true in the text, 
 from which, by force or artifice, it is derived. 
 A preacher is bound, however he may use it 
 as an allusion or illustration, to inculcate the 
 true and real import of every passage. There- 
 fore we observe that Job here, by a fullness of 
 phraseology, would express his ignorance and 
 perplexity with regard to God's present dispo- 
 sitions and dispensations towards him : " Be- 
 hold, I go forward, but he is not there ; and 
 backward, but I cannot perceive him : on the 
 left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot 
 behold him : he hideth himself on the right 
 hand, that I cannot see him." 
 
 God may withdraw from his people; not 
 indeed entirely. This would be inconsistent 
 with his engagements ; and were he thus to 
 depart from them, they would relapse into a 
 state of nature, and sin have again dominion : 
 but he may so withdraw himself as to elude 
 their views and apprehensions. He may con- 
 ceal from them the manifestations of his spe- 
 cial favour ; they may not see his smiles as 
 before; he may seem to be an enemy, while 
 yet he is their best friend ; like Joseph, who 
 made himself strange, and behaved himself 
 roughly to his brethren, to humble them, and 
 bring their sin to remembrance, while his 
 bowels yearned within him, and he sought 
 where to weep. And this applies much to his 
 providential dealings with them : these are 
 frequently so trying and mysterious, that they 
 are unable to find out his meaning- and design. 
 He even derives a character from hence; 
 "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O 
 God of Israel, the Saviour." And when we 
 consider the vastness of his understanding, 
 and the littleness of our own, is it wonderful 
 that in many of his proceedings he should be 
 far above out of our sight] and that requiring 
 us to trust him instead of tracing him, he 
 should often say, " What I do thou knowest 
 not now, but thou shalt know hereafter 1 " 
 We now see only the beginnings, not the end : 
 we only see parts, not the whole ; and of these 
 parts we see not the relations and the bear- 
 ings ; and the little we do see we see through 
 crevices and in fogs. 
 
 We may however remark, that much of 
 the difficulty of Providence results from our 
 selfish and worldly feelings. We do not think 
 Providence mysterious when we have all 
 
Wi 
 
 NOVEMBER l£. 
 
 things :nd abound. We never heard Chris- 
 tians expressing surprise or perplexity when 
 they had ease, and health, and business, and 
 agreeable connexions — all is plain enough 
 then : but as soon as the scene changes, and 
 trials befall them, " his way is in the sea, and 
 his path in the deep waters, and his footsteps 
 ire not known !" Yea, they do not think the 
 •ionduct of God so incomprehensible, when 
 losses and afflictions befall others. They can 
 go to them, and say, All the ways of the Lord 
 are mercy and truth ; he hath done all things 
 well ; as many as he loves he rebukes and 
 chastens — But when these good talkers about 
 afflictions become the subjects of them, how 
 frequently do they draw upon themselves the 
 remark, " Thou hast instructed many, and 
 :hou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy 
 words have upholden him that was falling, 
 and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. 
 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faint- 
 est ; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled !" 
 
 Many things too would no longer remain 
 incomprehensible or unaccountable, if persons 
 were willing to censure themselves ; for the 
 things which confound them are only the 
 natural consequences of their own miscon- 
 duct. "The foolishness of man perverteth 
 his way, and his heart fretteth against the 
 Lord." If persons eat freely, and lie late in 
 bed, and take no exercise, ask a physician 
 what right they have to complain of low 
 spirits and ill health. If God, who knoweth 
 our frame, has forbidden the widow to marry 
 unless in the Lord, and disregarding his judg- 
 ment she yokes herself to an unbeliever, and 
 is deprived of her religious freedom : if he 
 has assured us that to walk surely is to walk 
 uprightly, and by fleshly wisdom we have our 
 conversation in the world : if he commands 
 us to cease from man, and we will make flesh 
 our arm ; — Why should we wonder at the re- 
 sults which he foresaw and foretold ? Having 
 sown tares, why should we think it strange 
 that we do not reap wheat 1 Or marvel that 
 we cannot gather grapes from thorns, or figs 
 from thistles 1 All would be as plain as the 
 day, were we to say, " I have erred." 
 
 We frequently expect too much from Prov- 
 idence. We wish it to act preternaturally, 
 instead of conforming to its established laws 
 and rules. We seem to rely upon it not only 
 to assist us in our difficulties, but to counte- 
 nance us in our mistakes ; to free us from re- 
 sponsibility when we act freely ; and to afford 
 us impunity in imprudence. But if he places 
 us in the way, and clearly directs our goings, 
 and tells us to look straight on, and to ponder 
 our steps; and we close our eyes in raptures, 
 or fix them among the stars in speculation ; 
 is God's providence to be accused because an 
 angel does not come to keep us from striking 
 against a stumbling-block, or falling into the 
 ditch 1 And are we to lie bruised or bemired, 
 ' complainirg that clouds and darkness are 
 
 round about him — instead of crying, "J have 
 sinned ; what shall be done unto thee, O tnou 
 Preserver of men ?" 
 
 But see the temper of Job while in this 
 trying condition. He is restless ; he is after 
 God in every direction — No quarter is unex- 
 plored : " Behold, I go forward, but he is not 
 there ; and backward, but I cannot perceive 
 him : on the left hand, where he doth work, 
 but I cannot behold him : he hideth himself 
 on the right hand, that I cannot see him." 
 The righteous are " the generation of them 
 that seek him." But they do not seek him 
 whose " strength is to sit still." Their wishes 
 are " the desire of the slothful which killeth 
 him because his hands refuse to labour." Our 
 disposition is to be judged of by our exertions 
 and our sacrifices. A good man may be at a 
 loss for God, but he cannot be satisfied with- 
 out him. He loves him, he needs him, he has 
 tasted that he is gracious ; and therefore when 
 God hides his face from him he is troubled. 
 For he is always enjoying God or searching 
 after him. The latter is as much a proof of 
 grace as the former : yea, many who are now 
 holding communion with him have less pow- 
 erful desires than some who are lamenting 
 after him. 
 
 NOVEMBER 13. 
 
 " Cast thy burden upon the Lord." — Psalm lv. 22. 
 
 All men are not exercised in the same 
 way, but every one has something trying and 
 oppressive in his condition that may be called 
 his burden. And we may make one remark 
 concerning this universal experience — We 
 are commonly prone to reduce the burdens 
 of others, but to magnify our own. Each suf- 
 ferer is ready to say, " Behold, and see if ever 
 there was sorrow like unto my sorrow." But 
 this is the language of ignorance as well as 
 of self-importance. How little do we know 
 what thousands of our fellow-creatures en- 
 dure ! Indeed no one can judge perfectly con- 
 cerning the burden of another. For the whole 
 of that burden, which may seem inconsidera- 
 ble to you, is never known, and often a small 
 part of it only appears. The weight too is 
 relative : a burden which a strong man can 
 carry would crush an infant or an invalid. It 
 may be also increased by imagination, in 
 which case, though there may be only fancy 
 in the feet, there is reality enough in the 
 feeling — " The heart only knoweth his own 
 bitterness." 
 
 But if all are not equally unhappy, all have 
 somewhat that bears upon the mind : " Put 
 bliss is bliss Divine." And if the question 
 was addressed to a number of persons indi- 
 vidually, What is thy burden ? One would 
 answer, My burden is made up of care and 
 anxiety. An event is before me that per> 
 plexes me by day, and holds my eyes wakin<* 
 
NOVEMBER 13. 
 
 365 
 
 by night It is a movement in life. I know 
 how muci depends on a wrong step, and I 
 wish to be found in the path of duty: but 
 when I would determine, I seem equally 
 poised by claims and difficulties on either 
 side, and I know not the way I should take. 
 Another would say, My burden is made up of 
 malignity and calumny. I wish not only to 
 approve myself unto God, but to stand fair 
 with my fellow-men : yet they misrepresent 
 my motives, and vilify my actions, and cast 
 out my name as evil — And if all manner of 
 evil is 6poken of you falsely, it is the very 
 thing your Saviour told you to look fi?r ; and 
 the same affliction has befallen your brethren 
 who were before you in the world. Yet we 
 wonder not that you feel. The Apostle throws 
 in " cruel mockings" among the severest suf- 
 ferings of martyrdom ; and the Saviour said, 
 " Reproach hath broken my heart" — A third 
 says, My burden is outward trouble ; disap- 
 pointments, losses, and embarrassments in my 
 worldly subs' ance and circumstances. My 
 purposes are broken off, my schemes and de- 
 pendences have fril°d, 
 
 " And day by day some current's thwarting force 
 Sets me more distant from a prosperous course" — 
 
 1 wish to provide things ^onest in the sight 
 of all men, but with growing demands I have 
 diminished resources, and ofter look at the 
 state of my family, and ask, " Wbac shal 1 they 
 eat, and what shall they drink, and where- 
 withal shall they be clothed V — A fourth 
 says, My burden is bereavement. How have 
 [ been stripped and peeled ! I had a child, I 
 had a parent, I had a friend who was as my 
 own soul, I had a companion with whom I 
 took sweet counsel. Now I sit alone, and am 
 as a sparrow upon the house-top. Lover and 
 friend hast thou put far from me, and mine 
 acquaintance into darkness. — Another says, 
 My complaint is bodily indisposition ; disease 
 threatens me, infirmity weakens me, shattered 
 nerves and broken spirits often deprive me of 
 the privileges of the sanctuary, and discolour 
 as the medium all my views even of Divine 
 things. — Another says, My age is labour and 
 sorrow. The days are come of fading eyes, 
 ind ears dull of hearing, and trembling 
 imbs ; fears are in the way ; the grasshopper 
 is> a burden, and desire fails. 
 
 ' My vitals, with laborious strife. 
 Bear up the crazy load ; 
 And drag the dull remains of life. 
 Along the tiresome road." 
 
 Anotner says, I could bear every thing else if 
 ill was clear, and calm, and inviting at the 
 end — But there is death — at the sight of 
 which my peace flies, and my comforts are 
 embittered. O how shall I ever meet the 
 king of terrors ! Ye departed saints ! you 
 have passed the event ; death is behind you ; 
 but it is before me, and it is ever before me. 
 1 hear some talk of their departure with con- 
 
 fidence and joy ; but I am always subject to 
 bondage through fear of death — 
 
 Well, I -want not to hear what constitutes 
 thy particular burden — Be it what it may, 
 "Cast," says David, "thy burden upon the 
 Lord" — Not upon creatures, not upon good 
 men, not upon ministers. It is true, in a sense 
 we are all to be burden-bearers: "Bear ye 
 one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law 
 of Christ" And " a friend is born for adver- 
 sity." But when wanted he is not always to 
 be found. And he may not enter into your 
 views and feelings. And if his sympathy be 
 kind, it may not be efficient He may pity, 
 but be unable to relieve. Men at their best 
 estate are nothing without God. Cease, there- 
 fore, from them, and say with the Church, 
 " Therefore will I look unto the Lord, I will 
 wait for the God of my salvation, my God 
 will hear me." 
 
 " But how can I cast my burden upon the 
 Lord ]" By faith. When you believe that 
 he can be found, that he is near, that he is a 
 very present help in trouble, that the very 
 hairs of your head are all numbered, that all 
 your ways are before him, that he is pacified 
 towards you by the blood of the Cross, that 
 he who spared not his own Son will also 
 freely give you all things, that he invites you 
 to come and put your trust under the shadow 
 of his wings, that he careth for you, and will 
 make all things work together for your good ; 
 then the spirit is freed, relieved, composed ; 
 and the promise is accomplished — "Thou 
 wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
 stayed upon thee, because he trusteth in 
 thee." It is also done by prayer. " Commit 
 thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts 
 shall be established." "Be careful for no- 
 thing ; but in every thing by prayer and sup- 
 plication with thanksgiving let your requests 
 be made known unto God. And the peace of 
 God, which passeth all understanding, shall 
 keep your hearts and minds through Christ 
 Jesus." Prayer is therefore not only a duty, 
 but a privilege. It is good for us to draw- 
 near to God. It not only relieves us by di- 
 verting our sorrow, but by soothing and re- 
 ducing it Prayer opens the heart, and lets 
 out grief; and opens heaven, and lets down 
 grace. It succours us not only by its exer- 
 cise, but by its success. God answers prayer 
 by acting for us and in us. To deny this is to 
 explain away the constant and express lan- 
 guage of the Scripture — But we must enter 
 into the spirit of prayer. If we pray care- 
 lessly and formally, the burden will remain 
 still pressing us down. Hannah was full of 
 anguish, and prayed, but "she prayed in her 
 heart" And what was the result 1 " When 
 she had poured out her soul before the Lord, 
 she went her way, and did eat and drink, and 
 her countenance was no more sad." 
 
 Some have not yet found their way to this 
 
366 
 
 NOVEMBER 14. 
 
 relief in their trouole ; but the Church says, 
 ■* A glorious high throne from the beginning 
 has been the place of our sanctuary" — 
 
 " And who that knows the worth of prayer 
 Hut wishes to bo often there V 
 
 NOVEMBER 14. 
 
 " Except ye eat the Jlesh of the Son of man, and 
 drink his blood, ye have no life in you." — John 
 vi. 53 
 
 This language gave great offence when 
 our Lord delivered it. Many of his disciples 
 said, "It is an hard saying, who can hear if!" 
 We need not wonder therefore if it should 
 be disrelished by some now. It certainly re- 
 quires some explanation, for it has given rise 
 to several abuses or mistakes. We may re- 
 mark two of these. The first takes it in a 
 sense too gross. It is the doctrine of tran- 
 substantiation, which has rolled down from 
 age to age in blood. According to this, it is 
 believed that the words, "This is my body; 
 and this is my blood," do not mean emblems 
 of them, but the things themselves ; and that 
 as soon as the bread and the wine have been 
 consecrated by the priest, they are changed 
 into the very body and blood of Christ, and 
 that he is thus eaten, and may be eaten by 
 thousands at the same time ! In the same 
 way they may as easily prove that he consists 
 of boards and nails, for he says, " I am the 
 door." What a strong delusion to believe a 
 lie is here ! Be it observed, our Lord has 
 here no reference at all to the Sacrament, for 
 this was not instituted till long after. Besides, 
 the participation of his flesh and blood, of 
 which he speaks, is inseparable from salva- 
 tion—" Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh 
 my blood, hath eternal life ; and I will raise 
 him up at the last day." But are all saved 
 who partake of the Lord's supper 1 And do 
 all perish who never received it ] The sec- 
 ond takes it in a manner too refined, and is 
 derived from the enemies of evangelical 
 truth, who have always shown a peculiar 
 aversion to the death of Christ under any 
 other notion than that of an example or wit- 
 ness. They tell us the diction is very strong, 
 and must be much qualified. Our Lord, say 
 they, is here speaking of himself as a teacher, 
 and refers to the design of his doctrine ; for 
 knowledge has always been considered as the 
 ♦bod of the mind. This is readily allowed. 
 Yet what teacher ever said to his pupils, You 
 must eat not my instructions, but myself; not 
 my lessons, but my flesh and blood 1 The lan- 
 guage is certainly very metaphorical ; but it 
 is founded in truth, and designed to convey 
 an important reality. The thing is, we live 
 not by the life of things, but their death. It 
 is so with vegetables, and birds, and fishes, 
 and beasts ; they serve to nourish us by their 
 death. We live spiritually by the dying of 
 the Lord Jesus ; as.d the allusion refers to his 
 
 mediatorial offering for our sins ; and teacnes 
 us, that faith is necessary to our deriving 
 benefit from his sacrifice — "Except ye eat 
 the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his 
 blood, ye have no life in you." 
 
 For this eating and drinking represent our 
 believing on Christ. The resemblance be- 
 tween these and the exercise of faith appears 
 in four things. There is in each of them ap- 
 petite. Our Saviour speaks of hungering and 
 thirsting after righteousness. Hunger and 
 thirst are natural, powerful, returning appe- 
 tites. Such are the desires which all believ- 
 ers feel towards the Lord Jesus. There is in 
 each of them application. A man may hear 
 of food, see it, hold it in his hand, present it 
 to his lips ; but this is not eating. In eating 
 there is an actual reception of the food into 
 the animal system. And in believing we re- 
 ceive Christ Jesus the Lord. His suitableness 
 and all-sufficiency to our case are made 
 known in the Gospel, and all the blessings of 
 his salvation are brought nigh ; but still we 
 perish unless we are made partakers of Christ. 
 How often does the old and good divinity tell 
 us, that an unapplied Saviour is a nonentity 
 to us ! In each case there is satisfaction. 
 Medicine may be necessary, but we are not 
 said to eat medicine — we take physic ; but 
 we eat meat because there is pleasure in it. 
 Food is essential to our subsistence ; yet 
 when "we sit down to a well-spread table, we 
 never perform it as a duty to save us from 
 death — There is immediate gratification in 
 the action, and this secures the performance. 
 The reception of Christ is not only indispen- 
 sable, but free and delightful. Like Zaccheus, 
 we receive him joyfully. We not only sub- 
 mit to the method of his grace, but we acqui- 
 esce, we glory in it. We love his salvation. 
 We rejoice in his name. In each there is 
 nourishment. This is the design and effect 
 of food. It is thus the child grows ; it is thus 
 the man is sustained, and rendered equal to 
 his labour. And "the just shall live by faith/' 
 " The life that I live in the flesh," says Paul, 
 " I live by the faith of the Son of God." 
 
 Every image applied to the Redeemer fans 
 to do him justice. We say there is no sub- 
 sisting without food ; yet Moses and Elijah 
 lived forty days and forty nights without eat- 
 ing. But to live for a moment spiritually, 
 without Christ, is a miracle that never has 
 been, and never can be accomplished. Food, 
 though necessary to life, is not sufficient to 
 preserve it. This was the case even with 
 what is called "angels' food," and "meat 
 from heaven." "Your fathers did eat manna 
 in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the 
 bread which cometh down from heaven, that 
 a man may eat thereof, and not die. Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on 
 me hath everlasting life." Blessed Jesu-s ! thy 
 flesh is meat indeed, and thy blood is drinlt 
 indeed ! Evermor give us this food 
 
NOVEMBER 15, 16. 
 
 367 
 
 NOVEMBER la 
 
 * Nevertheless, let us go unto him." — John xi. 15. 
 
 He is never too confident in his resources, 
 nor too late in his movements. We are often 
 mistaken with regard to our wishes and de- 
 signs. We raise expectations which we can- 
 not realize ; and begin enterprises which we 
 are unable to finish. Among men some are 
 strong and some are weak ; but the difference 
 between them is only comparative. The one 
 may break a larger rod than another ; but 
 when you bring them to the mast of a ship, 
 they are perfectly upon a level. But he who 
 speaks in righteousness is mighty to save — 
 
 • He is able to save unto the uttermost" 
 Therefore he says — 
 
 " Nevertheless, let us go unto him" — Not 
 to them, but to him — Not to the sisters, but 
 to the brother — Not to Martha and Mary, but 
 to Lazarus. " To what purpose ? Lazarus 
 is dead. It is now too lata" It would be too 
 late for you ; but not for me. Your extremity 
 is my opportunity. I turn the shadow of death 
 into the morning," and can do more than you 
 are able to ask or think. I surprise as well 
 as succour ; and love to arrive at the place of 
 difficulty when creatures are all withdrawn, 
 having said, Help is not in us. 
 
 " Nevertheless, let us go unto him" — " But 
 he is not only dead, but buried ; and has lain 
 in the grave four days." Can the dead praise 
 thee ? Can they who go down into the pit 
 hope for thy truth ? — What ! visit a corpse in 
 a state of putrefaction ? — He cannot receive 
 thee, see thee, hear thee. But he can hear, 
 md see, and receive me. Let us try what an 
 interview will produce between death and the 
 grave, and the resurrection and the life. 
 
 And did he go in vain ? " We can visit the 
 " long home" of a friend. We can go to the 
 grave to weep there ; but were we to attempt 
 to open an intercourse with the inhabitant, we 
 should be laughed to scorn. But Jesus said, 
 Lazarus, come forth ; and in a moment his 
 lungs heaved, his blood liquefied and flowed 
 again, and he came forth in newness of life ! 
 What a journey, what a character was here ! 
 Had you met him in his way to Bethany, you 
 would, in appearance, only have seen a man 
 like ourselves. But had one of the disciples 
 stepped back, as soon as he had passed, and 
 said, There is Jesus of Nazareth ; he is going 
 to visit a man in his tomb; and could he have 
 informed you of the result, would you not 
 have followed him ? Wherever I see him 
 going I will go with him. The journey will 
 be for his honour, and my profit — He cannot 
 move in vain — Nothing is too hard for the 
 Lord. When the Egyptians were pressing 
 upon them, and the Red sea was before them, 
 he said, "Go forward." What, into the deep? 
 Yes, into the deep. To be drowned ? No, 
 Dut to go through dry-shod. They were to 
 ibev : he was to open the passage. In the 
 
 first creation "he spake, and it was done.' 
 And in the second "he calleth things that 
 are not as though they were." 
 
 Let us never despond, but trust in hnn. 
 Let his all-sufficiency encourage us with re- 
 gard to others. Let those who in doing good 
 meet with unlikely materials to work upon ; 
 let ministers who seem only preaching many 
 of their hearers into impenitence; let parents 
 whose hearts are bleeding over ungodly chil- 
 dren, think of him who was taking this seem- 
 ingly useless journey, and never abandon 
 their endeavour* or hope. Let them use 
 means in his name ; and by faith and prayer 
 bring him forward — He can make these dry 
 bones live — The Son quickeneth whom he 
 will. And let it encourage us with regard to 
 ourselves. Am I a sinner? I ought to feel 
 that my case is bad ; but it is not desperate. * 
 Hopeless indeed it is as to myself and all 
 creatures ; but in him is my help found. He 
 can say to the prisoners, Go forth. He can 
 make the blind to see, and the deaf to hear — 
 He can make all things new. Am I a Chris- 
 tian ? I^et me bring my confidence, in every 
 exigency and difficulty, to his power, and say, 
 with Paul, " I know whom I have believed, 
 and am persuaded that he is able to keep that 
 which I have committed to him against that 
 day." " Yea, in all these things we are more 
 than conquerors, through him that loved us." 
 
 But, says one, " My wound is incurable — 
 He will not go to the grave of my departed 
 hope." If he keeps away, it is not because 
 he is unable to reanimate thy dead, and give 
 back the dear treasure to thine arms ; but be- 
 cause his power is under the direction of his 
 wisdom ; yea, and of his righteousness and 
 kindness too. But the truth is, that he wil. 
 visit the interesting spot — Thy brother, thy 
 mother, thy child shall rise again. The pe- 
 riod is coming when he will look down, and 
 say to his mighty angels, " Our friend Laza- 
 rus sleepeth, but I go, that I may awake him 
 out of sleep." — And, lo! he descends, and 
 the dead arise, and you embrace to part no 
 more. Wherefore comfort one another with 
 these words. 
 
 NOVEMBER 16. 
 
 " For in that he himself hath suffered be\n^ 
 tempted, he is able to succour them that are 
 tempted." — Heb. ii. 18. 
 
 There can be no question of whom these 
 words are spoken. Let my thoughts com- 
 mune with him as the sufferer and the suc- 
 courer. 
 
 He himself suffered, being tempted. Then 
 a man is tempted when he is drawn away of 
 his own lust, and enticed. In this sense the 
 Lord Jesus was not tempted, neither indeed 
 could be, for he " was the holy One of God." 
 We are tempted when we are solicited to tin. 
 
808 
 
 NUVKMHER 10 
 
 lience Satan is called the tempter : and thus 
 by him our Saviour was tempted to unbelief, 
 presumption, and idolatry. But, the word 
 temptation does not always or principally in 
 the Scripture signify attempts to draw into 
 sin. God is said to tempt Abraham ; and we 
 read that we are to count it all joy when we 
 fall into divers temptations; and that if needs 
 be we are in heaviness through manifold 
 temptations. Here, and in many other places, 
 the word means afflictions. These are called 
 temptations because they are designed and 
 adapted to try us — to prove our principles and 
 dispositions — to evince the reality and the de- 
 gree of our grace to ourselves and others. 
 His being tempted, therefore, means his being 
 subject to all the distress, pain, and anguish, 
 which characterized him a man of sorrows, 
 and justified his saying, Behold and see if 
 there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, 
 which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord 
 hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce 
 anger. 
 
 But he suffered, being tempted. This at- 
 tests the impression made upon him by what 
 he endured ; and shows us two things — That 
 his divinity did not absorb his human nature, 
 so as to render it incapable of passion : and — 
 That as man, his patience was not a physical 
 apathy, or a philosophical insensibility. There 
 is no patience in bearing what we do not feel : 
 and no resignation in giving up what we do 
 not love and value — as there would be no vir- 
 tue in fasting if we had no appetite for food. 
 Our Lord, instead of being less susceptible of 
 suffering than others, was more so. That 
 which adds to the impression of pain, is the 
 delicate and fine crasis and constitution of the 
 part aggrieved. The composition of our Sa- 
 viour's body perfectly fitted it to receive the 
 most quick and sensible touches of every ob- 
 ject. And the same may be said of his mind. 
 A being dull and stupid feels much less suf- 
 fering than a man of lively conception and 
 reflection : in the one case pain falls upon a 
 log of wood ; in the other upon the apple of 
 the eye. Jesus groaned in spirit : wept : made 
 supplications with strong cryings and tears ; 
 was sore amazed, and very heavy ; his soul 
 was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ; 
 and his sweat was as it were great drops of 
 blood, falling to the ground — But the sufferer 
 Is also the succour er. The one is the con- 
 sequence of the other. " For in that he him- 
 self hath suffered, being tempted, he is able 
 o succour them that are tempted." This abil- 
 ty therefore is relative and acquired. He 
 vas made perfect through suffering; and in 
 ..nat he himself hath suffered, being tempted, 
 he is able to succour them that are tempted, 
 by way of atonement, by way of example, by 
 A - ay of" sympathy, by way of efficiency. Able 
 By way of atonement. And is it a light 
 thing to know, in our deepest sufferings, that 
 wo are enduring nothing that is penal 1 That 
 
 Christ haiii redeemed us from the curse of 
 the law, having been made a curse for u$ ' 
 That every affliction is only the stroke ot <i 
 fatherly rod, chastising us for our profit 1 
 That we are accepted in the Beloved 1 That 
 we can never come into condemnation 1 Able 
 
 By way of example. We are naturally 
 like bullocks, unaccustomed to the yoke ; and 
 even after some degrees of religious experi- 
 ence, we know little of the holy art of " suf- 
 fering affliction, and of patience." But Jesu& 
 " suffered for us, leaving us ar example that 
 we should follow his steps. When he was 
 reviled, he reviled not again ; when he suf- 
 fered, he threatened not; but committed him- 
 self to him that judgeth righteously." And 
 as in him we see what disposition we should 
 exercise towards men, who are the instru- 
 ments of our distress, so we learn also how 
 we are to submit to God, who is the author of 
 it: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass 
 from me — nevertheless, not my will, but thine 
 be done." One thing is of great importance 
 here. In his conduct we see that we are 
 never to go aside either to meet or — to miss 
 our cross ; but when we find it in our way, 
 to take it up, and follow him. Able 
 
 By way of sympathy. We may compas- 
 sionate a sufferer, but we cannot properly 
 sympathize with him, unless we have been 
 through the same. Now he was in all thing? 
 made like unto his brethren ; and he remem- 
 bers how he felt, and what he desired and re- 
 quired when in our. condition. He knows the 
 poverty of his people much better than by 
 report : he was poor. He knows the effect 
 of slander : " reproach," says he, " has broken 
 my heart." 
 
 " He knows what sore temptations mean, 
 For he has felt the same." 
 
 He knows what it is to die, and to enter the 
 darkness of the grave. Able 
 
 By way of efficiency. Pity is not power. 
 Many can sympathize with their connexions 
 who have not the means of relief and redress. 
 The ear is not heavy that it cannot hear ; yet 
 the hand is shortened that it cannot save. But 
 he is mighty to save. He is able to save unto 
 the uttermost. He can always support, de- 
 liver, sanctify. He can turn the shadow of 
 death into the morning. He can turn the 
 curse into a blessing. Nothing is too hard 
 for the Lord. But this efficiency is the con- 
 sequence of his suffering — " for the suffering 
 of death — he is crowned with glory and 
 honour" — all power is given unto me in hea- 
 ven and in earth. 
 
 Well may he be called " the consolal ion of 
 Israel !" Let us say of him as Lamech did 
 of Noah, " This same shall comfort us." 
 
 Let us also be concerned to resemble him. 
 Let us be tender-hearted, and concerned to 
 comfort them that are cast down. We can- 
 not do much ; but let us do what we can ; and 
 be iittle images of him who is the shadow of 
 
NOVEMBER 17. 
 
 369 
 
 a great rock in a weary land, and as rivers of 
 water in a dry place. What is most admira- 
 ble in us is not our wealth, or splendour, or 
 even talents, but those feelings which render 
 us pitiful and courteous ; humane and divine. 
 And these sentiments are best learned in the 
 school of affliction. This is one of the mo- 
 tives that should reconcile us to our trials. 
 We are not detached and unrelated individu- 
 als, but parts of a whole whose welfare should 
 be dear to us — and in that we suffer, being 
 tempted, we»are able to succour them that 
 are tempted. 
 
 NOVEMBER 17 
 
 1 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, 
 him tcill I confess also before my Father which 
 is in heaven." — Matt. x. 32. 
 
 Let us see what this promise requires of 
 us in a way of duty. It is confession ; " Who- 
 soever confesseth me before men." Three 
 inquiries will serve to explain it 
 
 First — Who is to be confessed ? " He that 
 confesseth me" says the Saviour. Him there- 
 fore we are to confess in his being, person, 
 character, offices, relations; in his sufferings 
 and glory ; in his cause, ministers, and mem- 
 bers ; in every thing that concerns him as he 
 is revealed to us in the Scripture. Only it is 
 necessary to observe, that as the opposition to 
 him is often varying, so the duty of his con- 
 fessors will vary accordingly ; and the truth 
 we are peculiarly required to witness must be 
 determined by the nature and exigency of the 
 call. The Apostle speaks of being " estab- 
 lished in the present truth;" by which we 
 are to understand some doctrine particularly 
 opposed or neglected, and the confirmation 
 and recommendation of which is more imme- 
 diately called for. According, therefore, to 
 the seasons and places in which we live, we 
 shall have to testify sometimes in favour of 
 bis divinity and atonement, sometimes against 
 self-righteousness, sometimes against super- 
 stition, sometimes against enthusiasm and 
 fanaticism, sometimes against A ntinomianism, 
 and often, very often, against a mere form of 
 knowledge or godliness, without the power 
 thereof. 
 
 Secondly — Before whom are we to confess 
 him ? " He that confesseth me before men." 
 What men 1 Godly men only ? It is an easy 
 thing to confess him before his admirers — But 
 we are to confess him before bad men, before 
 his enemies as well as friends. Before the 
 poor and the vulgar only by whom we are lit- 
 tle influenced ? Nay : but before the rich, 
 the great — "I will speak of thy testimonies 
 also before kings, and will not be ashamed." 
 Before the ignorant and illiterate only? No: 
 but before the sons of learning and of science, 
 who may pitv or ridicule our want of under- 
 24 
 
 standing. Before those only who know ua, 
 and who would despise us for denying what 
 we profess 7 No : but before those who are 
 strangers to us, and cannot be aware of our 
 inconsistency. 
 
 Tnirdly — How are we to confess him be- 
 fore men? The source of the confession is 
 faith ; as it is written, " I believed, therefore 
 have I spoken ; we also believe, and therefore 
 speak." If our testimony does not harmonize 
 with our convictions and sentiments it is 
 worse than nothing, it is hypocrisy and lies. 
 But though the spring be within, the stream 
 is without ; though the one is invisible, the 
 other is to be seen. There are three ways 
 in which our confession of him is to be made. 
 
 Verbally. Thus the martyrs confessed bim ; 
 for they would not have suffered, had they 
 hid his righteousness within their hearts. 
 When Peter and John were forbidden by the 
 council to speak any more in his name, they 
 answered, " We cannot but speak the things 
 which we have seen and heard." We are to 
 glorify God in our body as well as in our spirit 
 He has given us speech, not as many use it, 
 but to honour the giver; and with David we 
 should pray, " Lord, open thou my lips, and 
 my mouth shall show forth thy praise." We 
 could not be satisfied with the heart of a 
 friend, if his tongue was always engaged 
 against us, or indeed if it was never employ- 
 ed for us. Yea, we should say, The thing is 
 impossible ; if we had his heart we should 
 have his tongue : "for out of the abundance 
 of the heart the mouth speaketh." Here, 
 however, be it observed, that we are not to 
 rush into every company like an armed sol- 
 dier, or to draw the sword of the Spirit upon 
 every one we meet We are not bound to 
 exasperate or to rebuke when it will call forth 
 mere profaneness or obscenity. "Give not 
 that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast 
 ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample 
 them under their feet and turn again and 
 rend you." " A word," says Solomon, " fitly 
 spoken, how good is it ! it is like apples of 
 gold in pictures of silver." There is a zeal 
 which is not according to knowledge: and 
 wisdom is profitable to direct. Yet we may 
 err on the side of deficiency as well as ex- 
 cess: and while we shun imprudence, we 
 may be restrained by a cowardly fear or 
 shame, from seizing opportunities that present 
 themselves of speaking usefully, without the 
 violation of any duty or decorum in life. How 
 many of these have we suffered to pass un- 
 improved ! " Lord," would Usher often say, 
 " Lord, forgive ray sins of omission." 
 
 Practically. Confession may be attached 
 to conduct as well as to language : yea, ac- 
 tions, it is proverbially said, speak louder than 
 words. A minister has two individuals be- 
 longing to his congregation. The one says 
 little i ( him, and iess to him ; but he is cor> 
 
370 
 
 NOVEMBER 18. 
 
 stant in his attendance, and bends every thing 
 to enable him to enjoy what he deems a priv- 
 ilege, as well as a duty. The other always 
 extols him much, both before his face and be- 
 hind his back; but he is seldom in his place, 
 and suffers the most trifling excuses to keep 
 him from what he so admires ! Does not the 
 practice of the former decide more than the 
 commendations of the latter'! We read of 
 those who profess that they know God, but in 
 works deny him ; and of the blasphemy of 
 those who say they are Jews, and are not, 
 but do lie. Many, like Ezekiel's hearers, 
 with their mouth show much love, but their 
 heart goeth after their covetousness : many, 
 like Judas, .even while they kiss, betray. We 
 are required to hold forth the Word of life, 
 not only by our tongues, but tempers; not 
 only oy our lips, but lives. When we exem- 
 plify the holiness and excellency of the Gos- 
 pel by our deportment in every condition, and 
 especially when we fully discharge every 
 relative duty ; then it is that we adorn the 
 doctrine of God our Saviour, and commend 
 his religion to others. 
 
 Passively. " They also serve that wait ;" 
 and they also confess that endure. When 
 his followers are willing to sustain the loss 
 of aL things rather than forsake him, and 
 instead of complaining rejoice that they are 
 counted worthy to suffer for his name, they 
 evince the strength and force of their attach 
 ment to him, and he is glorified in them 
 Persons may be exercised with many afflic- 
 tions who are not called to endure persecu 
 tion. It is peculiarly as sufferers that many 
 are the Lord's witnesses: and how do they 
 glorify him in the fires, when in patience 
 they possess their souls, and can even rejoice 
 in Tribulation also ! What a testimony do they 
 bear to the power of his grace and the com 
 forts of the Holy Ghost, when they show that 
 he sustains them when every earthly support 
 gives way; and refreshes and delights them 
 when all creature-consolation is dried up or 
 embittered ! The passive graces are with 
 more difficulty exercised than the active. 
 The active fall in with several principles of 
 our nature, especially our love of activity and 
 notice : but to sit alone and keep silence ; 
 to suffer on week after week, and month 
 after month, unobserved, unless by partial 
 friendship; mourning indeed but not murmur- 
 ing; every word, every feeling softly confess- 
 ing, " I know, O Lord, that thy judgments 
 are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast 
 afflicted me: let thy loving-kindness be for 
 my comfort, according to thy word unto thy 
 servant:" — when I have turned away from 
 such a scene as this, I have said within my- 
 self, I have often heard of religion, but I have 
 now seen it : and I have been ready to invite 
 others to return with me, exclaiming, 
 
 " Behold the awful portrait, and admire. 
 Nor stop at wonder; imitate, and live." 
 
 NOVEMBER 18. 
 
 " Whosoever therefore shall conjess me before 
 men, him will I confess also before my Father 
 which is in heaven." — Matt. x. 32. 
 
 Let us see what this promise insures in a 
 way of privilege. It is confession : " him 
 will I confess before my Father which is in 
 heaven." The word signifies more than mere 
 attestation: it means acknowledgment with 
 approbation and applause. This would seem 
 incred ble, did we not know that the reward 
 is not founded in our worthiness, but is de- 
 signed to display the exceeding riches of his 
 grace. The Lord thinks better of their works 
 than they ever do ; they often blush and weep 
 over their performances, but he will say, 
 " Well done, good and faithful servant, enter 
 thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 Nothing is more pleasing than praise ; and 
 nothing is more stimulating. The desire of 
 it is generally connected with some of the 
 finest sensibilities of our nature. He who is 
 dead to it betrays a mind destined to no dis- 
 tinction, and on which no great or good im- 
 pression is likely to be made. But observe 
 three things which enhance the privilege here 
 spoken of. 
 
 The First is the applauder: "J will con- 
 fess him." In all praise much depends upon 
 the person from whom it is derived. A real 
 proficient therefore in any art studies to ap- 
 prove himself to such as are masters of it. 
 To their judgment he appeals, and their ap- 
 probation supports and gratifies him under the 
 neglect or the censure of the rude and incom- 
 petent. The praise of some is worse than 
 reproach. Our Lord forbad the devils to con- 
 fess him. Paul was displeased with the spirit 
 of divination in the damsel that cried, " These 
 are the servants of the most high God, which 
 show unto men the way of salvation." Wise 
 men lay little stress upon the caresses of the 
 multitude, who are easily wrought upon, and 
 are led by humour rather than conviction, and 
 can seldom comprehend what they pronounce 
 upon. And therefore a heathen philosopher, 
 when shouted home to his door by the popu- 
 lace, turned round, and said, " What folly or 
 harm have I done to deserve and obtain your 
 commendations'!" Some hearers are afraid to 
 say a word of praise to a minister, lest they 
 should make him proud and vain. But the 
 danger is imaginary; he has no opinion of 
 their judgment. Praise is debased, and be- 
 comes more than worthless by insincerity ; it 
 is then flattery, and " he that flattereth his 
 neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet." All 
 the friendship of the world is only " lies in 
 hypocrisy." Human applause can add little 
 to our welfare and happiness. The influence 
 of it is confined to time : what can it do for 
 us when sickness spreads a gloom over our 
 comforts, and mortality araws the curtain 
 upon all that is valued on earth ? Paul them- 
 
NOVEMBER 19. 
 
 371 
 
 fore says, " It is a light thing to he judged of 
 man's judgment; he that judgeth me is the 
 Lord." He knows all things; he reads the 
 heart ; he is truth itself; he is approved whom 
 die Lord commendeth. " Let the words of 
 my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, 
 be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength 
 and my redeemer !" 
 
 The Second is, In whose presence he will 
 acknowledge us : "I will confess him before 
 my Father which is in heaven." Could you 
 choose before whom you would be owned and 
 praised, it would doubtless be one you most 
 highly esteemed, in whose regard you placed 
 your happiness, and who was most able to 
 advance and secure all your interests. And 
 whose blessing maketh rich, and addeth no 
 sorrow with it 1 In whose favour is life 1 Who 
 can do for you exceeding abundantly above 
 all you can ask or think? Suppose a general, 
 after the termination of a war, returning 
 home, and entering the presence of the king, 
 the fountain of honour ; and introducing one 
 by one those who had distinguished them- 
 selves under him : he calls them by name, he 
 relates their exploits, he testifies their obedi- 
 ence, their skill, their prowess, their perse- 
 verance ; and asks for their remuneration and 
 preferment — What could be more gratifying 
 and glorious 1 Yet what would this be, com- 
 pared with the conduct of the Lord Jesus, 
 the leader and commander of his people, 
 when, his warfare being accomplished, he 
 shall present those who have fought the good 
 fight of faith before the throne of the Majesty 
 of heaven and earth, and claim for them the 
 promises of the new and everlasting cove- 
 nant: "Father, I will that they whom thou 
 hast given rne be with me where I am to be- 
 hold my glory 1" 
 
 The Third is the period of commendation. 
 We all know how much depends upon the 
 seasonableness of an action. There is a crit- 
 ical hour when a word spoken in our favour 
 may gain for us a friendship we otherwise 
 should not have known, or an office we should 
 not otherwise have filled ; yea, it may decide 
 the whole of our future life. The Lord Jesus 
 does not leave his people without witness 
 now. In various ways he confesses them, 
 even here. But in these words- he refers to 
 his confessing them before his Father " at the 
 last day," when he has summoned together 
 the whole universe, and is distributing endless 
 disgrace or honour, happiness or misery. They 
 will have confidence, and not be ashamed 
 before him at his coming. 
 
 Let this reconcile them to their present 
 . comparative obscurity. The world knoweth 
 them not. It is not proper, it would not be 
 safe for them to have all their distinctions 
 here. Their day is coming. It is called the 
 manifestation of the sons of God. " Then 
 shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in 
 the kingdom of their Father." 
 
 NOVEMBER 19. 
 
 "J am a partaker of the glory that shall be it. 
 vealed."—\ Pet. v. 1. 
 
 This is one of the three characters by which 
 Peter here describes himself to enforce his 
 " exhortation." In the two former, wherein 
 he calls himself " an elder and a witness of 
 the sufferings of Christ," there is something 
 personal to him : but in the third designation 
 there is nothing peculiar — any further than 
 all real religion is a peculiar thing in our 
 world, where the multitude are evil, and 
 thousands among those who wear the form of 
 godliness are strangers to the power of it 
 But all who are born of the Spirit stand upon 
 the same ground with Peter with regard U 
 eternity. They are heirs together with him 
 of the grace of life, and each of them is au- 
 thorized to say, " I am a partaker of the glory 
 that shall be revealed." Hence three things 
 are observable. 
 
 First, The destination of Christians is " glo 
 ry." The radical idea of glory is brightness 1 
 splendour. The secondary notion is excel- 
 lency displayed — and this is what the Scrip- 
 ture intends when it so frequently expresses 
 heaven by the term glory. We think more 
 of the happiness of the state than of the 
 glory. But it will display all kinds of ex- 
 cellency — natural — corporeal — intellectual- 
 moral — social excellency — and the excellency 
 of pleasure, called " the joy of their Lord," 
 "joy unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 Secondly, This glory is for future develop- 
 ment — It " shall be revealed." It has in a 
 degree been revealed from the beginning. 
 The Jews partially knew it; and as to a 
 clearer discovery of the nature of it, and the 
 way of obtaining it, life and immortality were 
 brought to light through the Gospel. But as 
 yet it has not been revealed externally to all ; 
 or internally to many; or completely to any 
 " 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." Believers indeed have the advantage 
 of something in addition to testimony; and 
 they know more of heaven from what they 
 experience than from what they read or hear. 
 They have certain views and feelings which 
 raise their sentiments more than any thing 
 else — " O if these were rendered permanent 
 and perfect !" But who can imagine what the 
 perfection of them includes? Flesh and blood 
 can no more comprehend than they can in- 
 herit the kingdom of God. The full disclo- 
 sure would be too much for our physical pow- 
 ers to bear, and would subdue all the interest 
 we feel in a thousand things which claim a 
 share in our present attention. The degree 
 of information is wisely adapted to our pres- 
 ent state, and while it prepares us for our end 
 does not disqualify us for the way. But we 
 shall not always walk by faith. The object 
 
372 
 
 NOVEMBER 20. 
 
 will not always be veiled. , " It doth not yet 
 appear what we shall be ; but this we know, 
 that when he shall appear we shall be like 
 him, for we shall see him as he is" — It '■'■shall 
 be revealed." 
 
 And, thirdly, it admits of present participa- 
 tion — " I am," says the Christian, " a par- 
 taker of this glory." This seems strange, 
 an:l we are ready to exclaim, Is then his war- 
 fan; accomplished ? Has he finished his course 
 with joy ? Has he passed the valley of the 
 shadow of death ? Does he not daily groan, 
 being burdened with afflictions and infirmi- 
 ties? Yet, according to the Scripture, by 
 grace he is saved ; he is come to the new 
 Jerusalem ; he hath everlasting life ; he is a 
 partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. 
 He- is so by union with Christ, his head and 
 representative, who procured it, and has pre- 
 pared it for him, and has taken possession of 
 it in his name, and holds it on his behalf — 
 " He hath quickened us together with Christ, 
 and hath raised us up together, and made us 
 sit together in heavenly places in Christ Je- 
 sus." And he is so by the certitude and ap- 
 propriation of faith : for faith is the substance 
 of things hoped for, the evidence of things 
 not seen. The believer can realize as sure 
 and as present whatever God has engaged to 
 give. He is so by actual possession in the 
 foretastes, the earnests, the beginnings. Under 
 whatever representations heaven be held forth 
 the Christian has it in quality, and in degree. 
 He is a partaker of it as the bud partakes of 
 the flower, and the dawn of the day, and the 
 child of the man. The believer's anticipations 
 are not confined to any particular season or 
 condition, but he is often peculiarly a par- 
 taker of this glory in four cases — In the se- 
 clusion and liberty of the closet — In the ordi- 
 nances of the sanctuary — In the supports and 
 comforts of affliction — And in the elevated 
 experience of a dying hour. 
 
 Is this your attainment? Can you say, "I 
 am a partaker of the glory which shall be 
 revealed ?" How ought you to feel and to de- 
 mean yourself? Walk worthy of God who 
 hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. 
 Let your conversation become your condition. 
 Let it be dignified, cheerful, and especially 
 grateful. You were children of wrath, but 
 are now heirs of glory, yea and even par- 
 takers of it— What should you render for 
 blessings so great, and obtained by means so 
 infinitely expensive ? 
 
 And if you are not partakers, should you 
 not lay it to heart? Should you not seek after 
 an interest in it? Whatever else you possess 
 you must soon leave ; and no abundance of it 
 can afford you satisfaction even in the enjoy- 
 ment. But here the object will relieve every 
 want, it will fill up every desire. And suc- 
 cess is sure to crown your application if you 
 seek according to the true order. Only re- 1 
 
 member the time of finding is both short arm 
 uncertain. You cannot be happy too soon ; 
 and your safety leaves you not a moment to 
 lose — " Seek ye the Ix>rd while he may be 
 found, call ye upon hin. vhile he is near." 
 
 NOVEMBER 20. 
 
 " Then shall he say also unto them on tile lejx 
 hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
 lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
 angels.''' — Matt. xxv. 41. 
 
 What a contrast between this sentence 
 and the language addressed by the same 
 Judge to those on his right hand ! That says, 
 " ye blessed of my Father ;" this, " ye cursed." 
 That says, " Come ;" this, " Depart." That 
 says, " Inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
 from the foundation of the world ;" this says, 
 " Depart into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
 devil and his angels." 
 
 The words are not for declamation, but be- 
 lief. This "terror of the Lord" was not in- 
 tended to be defined and comprehended, but 
 was to be left to those forebodings of imagina- 
 tion in which there can be no danger of ex- 
 cess — "Who knoweth the power of thine 
 anger? Even according to thy fear so is thy 
 wrath." We shall not therefore dwell upon 
 the duration, or the nature, of this misery; 
 but only remark three things. 
 
 The first regards the origin of this dread- 
 ful state. It was not it seems at first provided 
 for the human race, but "prepared for the 
 devil and his angels." Yet being prepared, the 
 abode could receive any other rebels as well 
 as they ; and those who will join his party in 
 our world, and do the works of the devil, as 
 they have shared in the same sin, must share 
 in the same suffering with him and his follow- 
 ers. Thus the sinner renders their place his 
 own ; as it is said of Judas, " he went to his 
 own place." 
 
 The second regards the certainty of the 
 doom. The denouncement is not an idle tale ; 
 it is not the offspring of the nursery, or the 
 creation of priestcraft. The consciences of 
 men tell them this, and much more frequently 
 and seriously than they are willing to acknow- 
 ledge. The misery is such, that if there was 
 only a probability, or even a possibility of in- 
 curring it, wisdom would justify a submission 
 to all the self-denial and sacrifices the Gospel 
 demands. The children of this world act 
 upon this principle, where their temporal in- 
 terests are concerned. They throw overboard 
 the lading of the vessel when they are not 
 sure, but only apprehensive of a shipwreck : 
 and yield to the painful excision of a limb 
 when the preservation of the whole body is 
 not certain, but probable, and in some cases- 
 possible. But before a man can suppose thai 
 this misery is not possible, and even probable . 
 
NOVEMBER 21. 
 
 378 
 
 before he can question the certainty of it, he 
 must prove either that our Lord never uttered 
 these words as the Gospel affirms, or that if 
 he did utter them he is not to be depended 
 upon. But he is the faithful witness; and 
 the Scripture cannot be broken. What a task 
 then has the infidel to perform before he can 
 .ay his apprehensions to rest, and bid defiance 
 to this sentence — He must prove that the Bi- 
 ble is a lie, ir Jesus a liar. Men may be ig- 
 norant of these things, but they must be " will- 
 ingly ignorant" And they cannot be ignor- 
 ant Ion?. And, considering the uncertainty 
 of life, how soon, very soon may they be con- 
 vinced too late ! Hobbes said, when dying, " I 
 yield my body to the earth, and my soul to the 
 great perhaps." Thistlewood the traitor said 
 to one of his comrades as he was ascending 
 the drop, " We shall soon know the great se- 
 cret" — He meant, whether there was an- 
 other world ; and after death the judgment. 
 What wretched infatuation to leave the deci- 
 sion till the discovery and the remedilessness 
 arrive together ! It is hardly necessary to ob- 
 serve that the denial of the thing will not dis- 
 prove it Suppose a criminal by some delu- 
 sion persuades himself that the assize will 
 not be kept — He goes on — but while he is 
 engaged or amused, hark ! the trumpets sound, 
 the judge is entering, and to-morrow he must 
 appear. Men may reason, disbelieve, ridi- 
 cule ; but the scene neither slumbers nor lin- 
 gers — " The end is come ; the end is come." 
 The third respects the characterof those who 
 fall under the malediction. And surely they 
 must be persons charged with crimes too shock- 
 ing for human nature often to commit: surely 
 they can only be Cains, and Pharaohs, and Bel- 
 shazzars, and Herods, and Robespierres. But 
 no. They are not represented as tyrants, rob- 
 bers, adulterers, murderers of fathers and mur- 
 derers of mothers. Many of them were free of 
 what is commonly called vice. They had nega- 
 tive virtues, and often boasted that they did no 
 harm. But they led easy and indolent lives. 
 They exercised no self-denial. They made 
 no sacrifices not only for God whom they had 
 not seen, but for their brother whom they had 
 seen. They have judgment without mercy, 
 because they showed no mercy. They had 
 unfeeling hearts, and tearless eyes; their 
 hands never relieved the necessitous; their 
 feet never visited the door of affliction — It is 
 the decision of One too wise to be mistaken, 
 and too faithful to misrepresent — " For I was 
 an hungred, and ye gave me no meat : I was 
 thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : I was a 
 stranger, and ye took me not in : naked, and 
 ye clothed me not : sick, and in prison, and 
 ye visited me not Then shall they also an- 
 swer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee 
 an hungred, or athirst or a stranger, or naked, 
 or sick, or in prison, and did not minister 
 unto thee 1 Then shall he answer them, say- 
 
 ing, Verily J say unto you, inasmuch as ye 
 did it not to one of the least of these, ye did 
 it not to me. And these shall go away into 
 everlasting punishment* but the righteous 
 into life eternal." 
 
 NOVEMBER 21. 
 
 u J went out full, and the Lord hath brought me 
 home again empty." — Ruth i. 21. 
 
 These are the words of Naomi, who, from 
 the famine which raged in her own country, 
 bad fled to Moab for succour, and had now 
 returned back to her native place. In a vil- 
 lage every occurrence, especially the coming 
 back of an inhabitant after years of absence, 
 excites notice, and the news soon spreads 
 through the neighbourhood. So it was here. 
 The arrival of Naomi, accompanied with 
 Ruth, her daughter-in-law, awakens curiosity, 
 and huddles together the rustics in little 
 groups, pointing with the finger, and making 
 remarks and inquiries — " So they two went 
 until they came to Beth-lehcm. And it came 
 to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, 
 that all the city was moved about them ; and 
 they said, Is this Naomi !" At which she burst 
 into tears, and said, " Call me not Naomi" — 
 that is, pleasant; "Call me Mara" — that is, 
 bitter: "for the Almighty hath dealt very 
 bitterly with me — I went out full, and the 
 Lord hath brought me home again empty.'" 
 Whence we may observe, 
 
 That when persons go from home, they 
 little think what may befall them before their 
 return. This will apply even to life itself. 
 Some, like Elimelech, never come back. An 
 accident demolishes their frame; or a disease 
 arrests them too violently to admit of their 
 removal : their relations arrive just in time to 
 see them die, or they die in the midst of 
 strangers. They little imagined that w-hen 
 they left their own door they were never to 
 enter it again ; and that the leave they had 
 taken of their family was a farewell for ever ! 
 " Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou 
 knowest not what a day may bring forth." 
 " Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow 
 we will go into such a city, and continue 
 there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 
 whereas ye know not what shall be on the 
 morrow. For what is your life ? It is even a 
 vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and 
 then vanishes away. For that ye ought to 
 sav, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do 
 this, or that" 
 
 It applies also as to character. Some have 
 been converted while from home : they have 
 met with a godly acquaintance whose conver- 
 sation, or have attended an evangelical minis- 
 ter whose preaching has been useful to their 
 souls; and they have returned with new 
 views and feelings, and have beoome all an 
 
374 
 
 NOVEMBER 21. 
 
 xious to bring their connexions into the same 
 state with themselves. Others, alas ! have 
 gone out moral and returned vicious, profan- 
 ing the Sabbath they had once revered as the 
 holy of the Lord and honourable ; and ridi- 
 culing a book which they once regarded as 
 given by inspiration of God. How many, in 
 travelling, run uncalled for into dangers ! 
 And how necessary ,is it, even in lawful, be- 
 cause necessary journeys, to commit our way 
 unto the Lord, and pray, " Lead us not into 
 temptation, but deliver us from evil !" 
 
 It also applies to our outward circumstances. 
 Some go out empty, and come home again 
 full. This was the case with Jacob. He left 
 Beer-sheba with nothing but the charge and 
 blessing of Isaac : and in his pleading with 
 God in his journey, he only asks for bread to 
 eat, and raiment to put on, and a return to 
 his father's house in peace. But hear him on 
 his return : " with my staff I passed over this 
 Jordan, and now I am become two bands." 
 And thus it has been with many since. They 
 set off with no raised expectation, and with 
 no design formed, excepting to gain an humble 
 subsistence: but difficulties vanished before 
 them ; the Lord prospered their way ; blessed 
 the labour of their hands; and gave them 
 power to get wealth. Others have gone out 
 with confidence flattered by the most pleasing 
 prospects. But every enterprise failed ; every 
 dependence gave way : every comfort fled ; 
 till they were left like a beacon upon the top 
 of the mountain, or a vessel stranded and 
 wrecked upon the shore — Therefore we ob- 
 serve again, 
 
 That it is no unusual thing for the same 
 individual to experience both fullness and 
 privation. " Ah," says Naomi, " once I had 
 a husband, now I am a widow. Once I had 
 children, now I am childless. Once I had im- 
 portance, now I am without influence. Once 
 1 had substance, now I am destitute — I went 
 out full, and the Lord hath brought me home 
 again empty." Not only is there # a diversity 
 of conditions among men, so that while one is 
 in splendour another is in obscurity, and while 
 one is rich another is poor — but the very same 
 person miy successively be distinguished and 
 neglected, be wealthy and indigent. These 
 transitions are sometimes gradual ; and some- 
 times sudden and wholly unlooked for. But 
 Scripture, and all history and observation, 
 more than remind us of the possibility of these 
 chi lges: and wisdom admonishes us to im- 
 prove them — First, by not depending upon 
 our possessions and enjoyments. Shall we set 
 our heart on that which is not? Secondly, by 
 using them liberally while we have them. 
 Riches make to themselves wings, and flee 
 away : but, says an old writer, we may clip 
 their wings by charity. And Solomon says, 
 "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth 
 unto the Lord; and that which he hath given 
 
 will he pay him again." So that not uni'y is the 
 principal safe, but the interest Divine. " Cast 
 thy bread upon the waters ; for thou sha.t find 
 it after many days. Give a portion to seven, 
 and also to eight : for thou knowest not what 
 evil shall be upon the earth." And Thirdly, 
 by being prepared for every vicissitude. " 1 
 know," says Paul, " how to be abased, and 
 how to abound; everywhere and in all things 
 I am instructed both to be full and to be hun- 
 gry, both to abound and to suffer need." It is 
 one thing to know what it is to possess, and 
 what it is to lose, and another to know how — 
 that is, how to behave in each as becometh 
 the principles of a Christian. It is a great 
 thing to prosper and not be exalted above 
 measure; and to be reduced without being 
 swallowed up of over-much sorrow. To be 
 full and not deny him, and say, Who is the 
 Lord 1 And to be poor, and not steal or take 
 the name of our God in vain. Yet this is 
 possible ; and through the grace of the Holy 
 Spirit the soul may be braced up to such a 
 moral strength of constitution, as to brave any 
 climate or change of weather, however great 
 or sudden. 
 
 See also how piety will acknowledge the 
 hand of God in every event. An ordinary 
 mind would have said, "I went out full, and 
 am come back empty." But Naomi did not 
 live without God with her in the world — 
 Noami says, " I went out full, and the Lord 
 hath brought me home again empty.'''' So Eli 
 said, " It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth 
 him good." And Job, instead of dwelHng on 
 the Sabeans and the elements, said, " the 
 Lord hath taken, away. Blessed be the name 
 of the Lord." 
 
 God is not the author of sin ; but as to suf- 
 fering — " Is there an evil in the city and the 
 Lord hath not done it 1" Does not he make 
 darkness as well as create light? There is 
 nothing like chance, especially in our trials; 
 neither are we to think only or principally of 
 second causes. It is a view of God's agency 
 alone that can preserve us, either from sinning 
 or sinking in the day of adversity. But the 
 cup which my Father giveth me shall I not 
 drink it? I can trust in him — He spared not 
 his own Son — He has always my welfato' at 
 heart — 
 
 "Good when he gives, supremely good ; 
 Nor less when he denies : 
 E'en crosses from his sovereign hand 
 Are blessings in disguise." 
 
 O let me hold communion with him, not only 
 in his word, but in his works: not only in his 
 ordinances, but in his dispensations. Let me 
 cleave to him as my exceeding joy, and my 
 everlasting portion, in all the revolutions of 
 time. And look forward not only to a pare, 
 but permanent state of blessedness — 
 
 " All, all on earth is shadow— all beyond 
 Is substance. The reverse is folly's creed. 
 How solid all where change shall be no mor*" 
 
NOVEMBER 22. 
 
 375 
 
 NOVEMBER 22. 
 
 ■ Pfll them which are bidden, Behold, I have pre- 
 pared my dinner : my oxen and my fatlings 
 are killed, and all things are ready : come unto 
 the marriage." — Matt xxii. 4. 
 
 God has provided for all his creatures ac- 
 cording to their kinds : " the eyes of all wait 
 upon him, and he giveth them their meat 
 in due season." Man is a compound be- 
 mg ; for his body there is the storehouse and 
 wardrobe of nature. But in all this there is 
 nothing for his nobler part, the mind. Here 
 the Gospel comes in to meet his exigences — 
 and with nothing less than a feast — and while 
 every other feast is for the body — this is en- 
 tirely for the soul. 
 
 The spirituality cf this feast constitutes the 
 excellency of it, and at the same time ac- 
 counts for the neglect of it If provision was 
 made to gratify the animal appetites, or the 
 desire for worldly riches and honour, it would 
 easily excite attention. But men are earthly, 
 and sensual; they are governed by things 
 that are seen and temporal. Hence they hear 
 of spiritual and everlasting things with indif- 
 ference. But is not this folly and madness ? 
 Is not the mind the man ? Does not he who 
 knew the value of the soul from the price he 
 paid for the redemption of it, does not he ask, 
 " What is a man profited if he should gain 
 the whole world and lose his own soul ? or 
 what shall a man give in exchange for his 
 soul !" 
 
 The feast here is not an ordinary one. It 
 is a royal feast, a royal marriage feast, a royal 
 marriage feast for the king's son. Yet what 
 may we look for in such a feast as this, that is 
 not to be found in the dispensation of the 
 Gospel 1 
 
 Is it plenitude? Here we have it We 
 read of "abundant mercy" — of "plenteous 
 redemption" — of a Saviour " full of grace and 
 truth— of " all the fullness of God." Is it va- 
 riety? Here we have it Our wants and 
 hopes are not only numerous, but various ; and 
 equally so are our supplies. Here is light for 
 our darkness. Righteousness for our guilt 
 Strength for our weakness. Renovation for 
 the heart. Peace for the conscience. The 
 supply of the Spirit. The comforts of the 
 Holy Ghost Is it richness of entertainment? 
 What else can be the meaning of the expres- 
 sions, " a feast of fat things, a feast of wines 
 on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of 
 wines on the lees well refined ?" God pre- 
 pares dainties for his guests, and they are all 
 supreme in their kind, and infinitely expen- 
 sive. The Jews did eat angels' food : but 
 what was the manna in the Desert compared 
 with the bread of life? He that eateth of this 
 bread shall live for ever. " 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." Is it fel- 
 
 lowship ? A feast is not a private meal, an in- 
 dividual indulgence, but an entertainment de- 
 signed to promote friendship, and social inter- 
 course, and gratification. And here we have 
 it We are not solitary partakers, tut have 
 companions the most agreeable, and excellent, 
 and numerous. We sit down with Abraham, 
 and Isaac, and Jacob, with prophets and apos- 
 tles, with the noble army of martyrs ; with 
 the general assembly and church of the first- 
 born, whose names are written in heaven. Is 
 it enjoyment! A man at a feast discharges 
 himself from anxieties, and gives up himself 
 to pleasure and delight — " a feast is made for 
 laughter." "Joy becomes a feast," and is 
 promoted by it But no pleasure, no delight 
 can resemble that which results from an ex- 
 perience of Divine grace. " Blessed is the 
 people that know the joyful sound." W hat a 
 contrast between them and others ! " Behold, 
 my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry : 
 behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall 
 be thirsty : behold, my servants shall rejoice, 
 but ye shall be ashamed : behold, my servants 
 shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for 
 sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation 
 of spirit." 
 
 Yet it is lamentable to think that, though 
 all things are ready, and all are invited to the 
 feast, many make light of it, and go their 
 way. We are therefore commanded to " com- 
 ' pel" you to come in, that the house may be 
 filled. Not that violence is to be employed. 
 The compulsion is to be suited to a rational 
 nature; and therefore to consist only of the 
 urgency of persuasion by argument and mo- 
 tive. And here the difficulty lies not in con- 
 vincing the judgment — since no one, unless 
 an infidel, will deny the propriety of comply- 
 ing with this call at some time — but not at 
 present. Go thy way, therefore; at this time 
 you really, if not verbally, say to the impor- 
 tunity, when I have a more convenient season 
 I will send for thee. But is not this delay 
 and postponement infinitely dangerous? Your 
 season, your only season, is rapidly passing 
 away. How soon will the bridge be drawn, 
 and the door be shut! And then the things 
 which belong to your peace will be hid from 
 your eyes. Admitting that according to your 
 present feelings you are resolved to seek at 
 some future period, that period may never 
 come. Sickness is not always the forerunner 
 of death. The disease too may render you 
 incapable of thought, and then your purposed 
 repentance will be impracticable. Impractica- 
 ble it will always be, unless the Spirit of God 
 works in you ; but if you resist his strivings 
 now, what right have you to expect that he 
 will return then, and by the most wonderful 
 operation conquer your inveterate indisposi- 
 tion? 
 
 Yea, the procrastination is as unreasonable 
 as it is dangerous. Your compliance is as ne- 
 cessary to your living comfortablv as to your 
 
876 
 
 NOVEMBER 23. 
 
 dying safely. Though the happiness of those 
 who receive Christ Jesus the Lord is com- 
 pleted above, it is begun below. They have 
 many present attainments. They do enter 
 into rest. Their souls are satisfied as with 
 marrow and fatness. The Lord is their shep- 
 herd. To him they have committed all their 
 concerns. All that is really good for them is 
 secured by his power, love, and promise. Their 
 tormenting fears are removed. Their vain 
 and restless desires are subdued. They have 
 indeed their afflictions, but these are sancti- 
 fied and softened ; and in a little time all 
 tears shall be wiped from their eyes. Can you 
 imagine that God will suffer his enemies to 
 be more happy than his friends] Can a per- 
 suasion that God is your Father, and death 
 your deliverer, and heaven your home, tend 
 to make you less happy ? What has the world 
 done for you 1 Have you not found the way 
 of transgressors hard ? Forsake the foolish 
 and live. All is " prepared" for you — God is 
 ready to receive you, angels are ready to re- 
 joice over you, believers are ready to hail you 
 — "All things are ready — Come unto the 
 marriage." 
 
 NOVEMBER 23. 
 
 " Hfi that doeth truth cometh to the light, that 
 his deeds may be made manifest, that they are 
 wrought in God." — John iii. 21. 
 
 Of the individual here spoken of, the char- 
 acter, the business, and the aim are all very 
 instructive and improving. 
 
 What is his character 1 "He doeth truth." 
 It is not said he readeth truth, heareth truth, 
 speaketh truth, but doeth truth. Doing truth 
 is rather a peculiar expression ; and the ques- 
 tion is how truth is to be here understood. 
 Now there is the truth of doctrine, and the 
 truth of sincerity. 
 
 He doeth truth according to the former of 
 these who pays it a practical attention. In this 
 case the truth is the word of God, which is 
 filled, not with curious speculations, but mat- 
 ters of unspeakable importance ; and design- 
 ed not to inform our judgments only, but to 
 sanctify and govern our hearts and lives. 
 Hence it is called, " the way of truth," be- 
 cause it is something in which we are to 
 walk : we frequently read of " walking in the 
 truth." " If ye know these things," says our 
 Saviour, " happy are ye if ye do them :" and 
 he compares the man who heareth his sayings 
 and doeth them not to a fool who builds his 
 house upon the sand and is ruined by the 
 storm. The Apostle speaks of " the work of 
 faith ; ' and tells us the word of God * worketh 
 effectually in them that believe." The whole 
 of it is a doctrine " according to godliness." 
 No part of it can be uninfluential when prop- 
 erly regarded. Its threatenings are designed 
 and adapted to awaken our fear. Its promises 
 
 are to excite our hope. It is needless to men. 
 tion its commands — these can be given for no 
 other purpose than to be obeyed. And arc 
 we not commanded to forsake the world, to 
 deny ourselves, to take up our cross, to follow 
 the Saviour, to go forth to him without the 
 camp bearing his reproach, and when we have 
 done all to say we are unprofitable servants, 
 and to look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ unto eterna. life 1 And he that doeth 
 this doeth truth. 
 
 He doeth truth according to the latter of 
 these who acts consistently with his convic- 
 tions of it. There are many who resist their 
 belief; or, as the Apostle says, " hold the 
 truth in unrighteousness:" the word is, im- 
 prison it. They will not suffer it to enter 
 their tempers, and sway their conduct. They 
 believe that the world is vanity and vexation 
 of spirit, and the belief is true, yet it does 
 not induce them to forsake it. They believe 
 that the worship of God in their families is a 
 duty, and the belief is true, yet they neglect 
 it. • The same may be said of a thousand 
 other things. But the man that doeth truth 
 gives up himself to his convictions, and follows 
 them whithersoever they lead him, regardless 
 of consequences. He may have little know- 
 ledge for the time, but he conforms to it; for 
 sincerity cannot consist with the omission of 
 any known duty, or the indulgence of any 
 known sin. Nathanael was the very man in 
 our text ; and therefore our Lord said of him, 
 " Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no 
 guile." He had laboured under considerable 
 mistakes; but he loved retirement, and had 
 been alone praying to be made wise unto sal- 
 vation. He had little light, but he sought for 
 more ; he was open to advice and reproof ; he 
 complied with Philip's invitation, "Come and 
 see" for thyself; and upon our Saviour's in- 
 timation, "When thou wast under the fig- 
 tree I saw thee," he exclaimed, "Thou art 
 the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel" 
 — And upon this Jesus promised to show him 
 " greater things than these." 
 
 There are some who are not equally pru- 
 dent and kind. They are not tender of per- 
 sons who cannot for the time go all their 
 lengths. Yet were not they led into their 
 present views step by step 1 Have they not 
 been for years learning what they do not yet 
 sufficiently understand 1 And do they won- 
 der that others are not completely initiated in 
 a few days or weeks 1 What a difference is 
 there between the dawn and the day ! and 
 yet is not the one the ' beginning and the 
 pledge of the other ? And " the path of the 
 just is as the shining light that shineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day." And " then,'* 
 says the prophet, " shall we know, if we fol- 
 low on to know the Lord : his going forth is 
 prepared as the morning ; and he shall come 
 unto us as the rain, as the latter and former 
 rain unto the earth." If I see a man con 
 
NOVEMBER 24. 
 
 arr 
 
 vinced of sin, humbled under a sense of his 
 unworthiness, delivered from the spirit of the 
 world, and seriously engaged in the use of the 
 means of grace, let me not be harsh because 
 he feels some doubts and difficulties from 
 which others are now delivered : let rne af- 
 fectionately admonish him, as far as he has 
 already attained, to walk by the same rule, 
 and mind the same thing, assured that if in 
 any thing else he be otherwise minded, God 
 shall reveal even this unto him in his own 
 time, and way, and degree. Let me not en- 
 gage him in angry disputes, or force upon 
 him the deep things of God which he is un- 
 prepared to receive ; but leave him for time, 
 and observation, and experience to enlarge 
 his views, and be willing to teach him as he 
 is able to hear it. Paul gave strong meat to 
 them that were of full age, and who by rea- 
 son of use had their senses exercised to dis- 
 cern both good and evil : but he fed babes 
 with milk — Some give babes strong meat, 
 yea, and even the bones of controversy ! 
 
 It is well for persons to try their ground, 
 and to feel their own way ; and he walketh 
 surely that walketh uprightly; and he that 
 doth his will shall know of the doctrine 
 whether it be of God. Some of the mast 
 eminent characters that have adorned the 
 Church attained their evangelical sentiments 
 by degrees, and principally derived them from 
 experience. The changes in nature are grad- 
 ual ; the seasons melt into each other ; there 
 are no disruptions. There also things are 
 slower in their growth in proportion to their 
 value. The oak, the king of the forest, does 
 not shoot up all at once like nettles and reeds. 
 The mushroom is the vegetation of a night — 
 We are not fond of mushroom-converts. We 
 have never been taught by the result to ad- 
 mire those who instantly become so wise, 
 talkative, disputatious, and decisive. Their 
 knowledge gets dangerously in advance, 
 while its companions and guardians, experi- 
 ence and practice, are left so far behind. The 
 knowledge they boast of is like the head of a 
 rickety child, too large for the other parts of 
 the body ; it is the effect not of strength, but 
 of weakness and disease ; and by destroying 
 proportion is not a beauty, but a deformity. 
 
 Whatever be the defects of him that doeth 
 truth, he may be known by this — If he has 
 not the light, " he cometh to the light.'''' 
 
 NOVEMBER 24. 
 
 M He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that 
 his deeds may be made manifest that they are 
 wrought in God." — John iii. 21. 
 
 What is his business ? 
 
 u He cometh to the light.'''' He is not 
 averse to it He is not afraid of it. Why 
 should he wish to shun it ? It is for the thief, 
 tho murderer, the adulterer, to feel the morn- 
 
 ing as the shadow of death ; not the man who 
 is honestly going forth to his work and to la- 
 bour until the evening. " If," says the man 
 that is upright in the way — " if I am not 
 right, I wish, above al! things, to be right, 
 and to be led into all truth. Hide nothing 
 from me. Where my soul and eternity are 
 concerned I dread delusion. I cannot bear 
 uncertainty. Let me come to the lighw" And 
 how does he this ! He does it five ways. 
 
 He comes to the light by self-inspection 
 There are cases in which he will more sol 
 emnly and expressly examine himself: sue! 
 as the close of the year ; and when he is ap 
 .proaching the table of the Lord; and whet 
 under those events which are called by the 
 sacred writers trials, because they are intend- 
 ed to show us what manner of spirit we are 
 of. But he will be habitually a self-observer, 
 and will look not only at his actions, but es- 
 pecially at his motives and the state of his 
 heart 
 
 He comes to the light by attention to the 
 Scriptures. To their decisions, and counsels, 
 and reproofs, he endeavours to lay himself 
 fairly open. And instead of turning away 
 from those parts which more particularly bear 
 upon his own office and condition, towards 
 them he will look more frequently and fully. 
 "Am I a parent? Am I a member of a 
 church ? Am I poor 1 Am I prosperous 1 
 Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
 
 He comes to the light by hearing the word 
 preached. The minister is to take forth the 
 precious from the vile ; to discriminate char- 
 acters, to divide the word of truth, and to give 
 to every hearer his appropriate encourage- 
 ment or censure. And he that doeth truth 
 will receive his word with meekness. He 
 will not try to bribe the prophet or desire 
 him to prophesy smooth things. He will not 
 be offended because the preacher is faithful ; 
 but will say to him, as Eli did to Samuel, who 
 had received a message from God concerning 
 him, " What is the thing that the Lord hath 
 said unto thee ] I pray thee hide it not from 
 me : God do so to thee, and more also, if thou 
 hide any thing from me of all the things that 
 he said unto thee." Such a man is likely to 
 apply too much to himself rather than too 
 little. And this will commonly be the case 
 with regard to those things which are said to 
 unmask hypocrites, and to exclude the usurp- 
 ers of religious privileges. It is not easy, 
 says Bishop Hall, to beat out the dogs with- 
 out making the children cry. 
 
 He cometh to the light by religions inter- 
 course. "They shall ask the way to Zion 
 with their faces thitherward." And whom 
 can they better consult, than those who know 
 the way, not from maps f> nd books only, but 
 from having, and some of them a long time, 
 travelled in it themselves. They feel an in- 
 terest in such inquiries, and will be sure to 
 sympathize with them ; and will be able to 
 
378 
 
 NOVEMBER 25. 
 
 solve many a doubt, and remove many a fear. 
 They can speak from their own experience. 
 And blessed be God there are few neighbour- 
 hoods now in which such helpers as these are 
 not to be found — and the Lord add to his peo- 
 ple, how many soever they be, a hundred-fold ! 
 Above all, he doth this by prayer ; humble, 
 and earnest, and persevering prayer, for di- 
 vine teaching. This is indeed coming to the 
 light ; it is coming to the fountain of light, 
 coming to " the Father of lights," from whom 
 every good and every perfect gift descends. 
 He will convince us that the way of man is 
 not in himself, and that no means, however 
 good in themselves, can render ueedless his 
 own agency. But none teacheth like him. 
 He can make the very deaf to hear, and the 
 blind to see. Under the influence of his di- 
 rection, the wayfaring man, though a fool, 
 shall not err therein. Happy they who are 
 brought to his feet, and are crying from the 
 heart, " Lead me in thy truth, and guide me; 
 for thou art the God of my salvation, on Thee 
 do I wait all the day." " Search me, O God, 
 and know my heart : try me, and know my 
 thoughts : and see if there be any wicked 
 way in me, and lead me in the way everlast- 
 ing." They will not, they cannot seek him 
 in vain. He has said, and the Scripture can- 
 not be broken, " If any of you lack wisdom, 
 let him ask of God, that giveth to all men 
 liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be 
 given him." " If ye, being evil, know how 
 to give good gifts* unto your children ; how 
 much more shall your heavenly Father give 
 the Holy Spirit to them that ask him !" 
 
 NOVEMBER 25. 
 
 "He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that 
 
 HIS DKEDS MAV BE MADE MANIFEST, THAT THEY 
 
 are wrought in God." — John iii. 21. 
 
 What is his aim ? 
 
 " That his deeds may he made manifest, 
 that they are wrought in God." 
 
 The aim is personal : " His deeds." There 
 are some who live much abroad, and are 
 eager to pry into the affairs and condition of 
 others, and it extends even to their religious 
 concerns. But we are commanded to " com- 
 mune with our own hearts." When our Lord 
 had foretold the duty and destiny of Peter, 
 Peter should have instantly prayed, " Lord, 
 prepare me for all thy will ;" but instead of 
 this he asks concerning John, " Lord, and 
 what shall this man do ?" But our Saviour, 
 far from encouraging such curiosity, said, 
 " What if I will that he tarry till I come ? 
 What is that to thee? Follow thou me." 
 Many, it is to be feared, in reading and hear- 
 ing, think more of others than of themselves; 
 but we should endeavour to bring home the 
 subject, whatever it be, to our own souls — 
 " Am I neglecting this duty ? Do T stand ex- 
 
 posed to this threatening ? Am I tho heir ot 
 this promise : Have I any part or lot in this 
 matter ? Is my heart right in the sight of 
 God ?" This is the case with the man that 
 "doeth truth and cometh to the light." 
 
 The aim is practical : that " his deeds"— 
 Not his apinions and sentiments only or prin 
 cipally. They are indeed of importance, and 
 he will be concerned to have them in accord- 
 ance with the Scripture : but if a man does 
 not in his inquiry go beyond the determina- 
 tion of the orthodoxy of his creed, he forgets 
 that the devils also believe and tremble. He 
 forgets that faith without works is dead, being 
 alone. " Can faith save him ?" Yes ; but not 
 such faith : and this was the meaning of the 
 Apostle. The faith that saves, as he observes, 
 shows itself by its works. It works by love ; 
 it purines the heart; it overcometh the world. 
 Real believers stand, walk, live by faith. We 
 therefore must look after the influences and 
 effects of the truth as it is in Jesus : we must 
 remark our deeds, our actions, conduct, course 
 of life. If we know these things, happy are 
 we if we do them — By this our state and 
 character are to be evinced : "In this the 
 children of God are manifest, and the chil 
 dren of the devil : whosoever doeth not right- 
 eousness is not of God, neither he that loveth 
 not his brother." 
 
 The aim is important: "That his deedr 
 may be made manifest, that they are wrought 
 in God." That is, whether they are the mere 
 produce of nature, or the genuine effects ot 
 Divine grace. Here it is admitted as a prin- 
 ciple that the religion of a Christian is not 
 self-derived, but springs from a Divine source. 
 How can it be otherwise? Who can bring a 
 clean thing out of an unclean ? The stream 
 cannot rise higher than the fountain : no ef- 
 fect can exceed its cause in any thing. That 
 which is of the flesh is flesh : but that which 
 is spiritual must be of the Spirit. Accord- 
 ingly God has promised to put his Spirit 
 within his people : and to this every thing 
 good, either possessed or done by them, is 
 ascribed — They are his workmanship — This 
 people, says he, have I formed for myself, 
 they shall show forth my praise. 
 
 And behold the grand point to decide. It 
 would indeed be absurd to press some of you 
 to determine this thing. It is obvious already 
 that your deeds are not wrought in God. You 
 can feel no uncertainty in your minds con- 
 cerning it. You must be sure that your dis- 
 regard of private prayer, your neglect of fam- 
 ily worship, your violations of the Sabbath, 
 your intemperance, pride, covetoueness, and 
 revenge, cannot come from the Spirit of him 
 that calleth you. 
 
 But some persons make pretensions to piety 
 who would do well to inquire — whether there 
 is any thing in their religion tnat requires or 
 bespeaks a Divine agency. For surely they 
 may have a form of knowledge, or a form of 
 
NOVEIVIBER 26. 
 
 379 
 
 godliness, they may come to his house and 
 honour him with their lips, they may pray 
 without desire, and sing without praise, with- 
 out having the Spirit of the living God dwell- 
 ing in them. Are we not only convinced, but 
 converted'! Not only reformed, but reno- 
 vated 7 Not only excited in our passions, but 
 transformed by the renewing of the mind? 
 Have we not only another heart, but a new 
 one 7 Do we differ not only from others, but 
 from our former selves 7 Do we worship God 
 in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and 
 have no confidence in the flesh 7 Do we bear 
 any of the unerring features of the household 
 of faith 7 Do we feel like them 7 Are our 
 joys, and sorrows, and hopes, and fears the 
 same with theirs who are led by the Spirit of 
 God and are the sons of God 7 Are we run- 
 ning with them in the race that is set before 
 us ] and fighting with them the good fight of 
 faith 7 
 
 How much depends upon the decision ! It 
 involves the glory of God. For we cannot 
 praise him for doing what we think he has 
 not done, or conferring what we think he 
 has not conferred. We may bless him for the 
 exercise of his patience, and for favouring us 
 with space for repentance, and the means of 
 grace ; but this is not the glowing gratitude 
 of the man who can say, " Thou hast wrought 
 all our works in us." It also must affect our 
 own comfort ; according to the words of the 
 Apostle ; " Let every man prove his own 
 work, and then shall he have rejoicing in 
 himself alone, and not in another." The joy 
 does not arise from the consciousness of his 
 being the author of the work, out the subject 
 of it : it is his " own work," not as it is 
 wrought by him, but in him. And how de- 
 lightful, how animating must the persuasion 
 of this. Divine reality prove ! Apd what may 
 we not expect from the experience of it 7 
 " Now he that hath wrought us for the self- 
 same thing is God, who hath also given unto 
 us the earnest of the Spirit." 
 
 The decision is not more important than it 
 is possible. We are commanded to seek it 
 We are provided with all the means and as- 
 sistances essentia] to the attainment. The 
 very anxiety to determine is a token for good ; 
 and is here made by our Lord himself to char- 
 acterize the subject : " He that doeth truth 
 corneth to the light, that his deeds may be 
 made manifest, that they are wrought in God." 
 
 NOVEMBER 26. 
 
 " J shall be satisfied" — Psalm xvii. 15. 
 
 The Lord's people are not strangers to sat- 
 isfaction now. We read of their being satis- 
 fied early with his favour; satisfied with his 
 goodness ; abundantly satisfied with the fat- 
 ness of his house. But this is true only in 
 degiee: that is, they are satisfied, compared 
 
 with what others feel, and with wiiat they 
 themselves once felt They have found the 
 supreme good, and they desire nothing be- 
 yond it — But they desire more of it — They 
 long to know their Lord and Saviour more 
 clearly, to resemble him more fully, to enjoy 
 him more entirely. David therefore speaks 
 of his satisfaction as future; and not only 
 mentions the source of it; "I will behold thy 
 face in righteousness ;" but fixes the period : 
 " I shall be satisfied, when I awake witl thy 
 likeness." 
 
 Here we see, shall I say — the insatiable 
 ambition religion inspires. What an enlarged- 
 ness of views and feelings do the subjects of 
 Divine grace experience ! so that they not 
 only pass by, as beneath their attention, what 
 mortals idolize, but soar beyond all that God 
 himself has done for them here, content with 
 nothing short of his full vision and likeness 
 in heaven ; keeping on the wing, and contin- 
 uing all manner of search, till they reach a 
 rest and a prize so distant and so infinite ! 
 And we have witnessed this grandeur and 
 elevation of soul, even in the humblest walks- 
 of pious life. The rude mechanic, and the 
 illiterate ploughman, though incapable of con- 
 structing the poetry, have felt all the senti- 
 ment of the poet — 
 
 " He by himself hath sworn, 
 I on his oath depend ; 
 I shall, on eagle wings upborne, 
 To heaven ascend : 
 "I shall behold his face, 
 1 shall his power adore ; 
 And sing the wonders of his love, 
 For evermore." 
 
 How mean-spirited arc the aims and taste of 
 the worldly hero and philosopher, compared 
 with this ! 
 
 Here we behold the excellency of the soul. 
 It is the prerogative of man only to be capa- 
 ble of such sublime satisfaction. But he was 
 made for it; and his destination explains the 
 enigma he now presents. Detached from this 
 prospect, his greatness would be inexplicable. 
 He would seem a vessel freighted at an incal- 
 culable expense, for an important enterprise, 
 and as if designed to sail an immense voyage, 
 only to cruise a few leagues and a few days, 
 and then founder and be lost Other creatures 
 have a good suited to their nature, and they 
 partake of it, and look no further, but are sat- 
 isfied. Is man satisfied? He has faculties 
 which carry him beyond the limits of his con- 
 dition. He has an imagination which nothing 
 can realize. He feels desires and expectations 
 which nothing fulfils. He is struck with nov- 
 elty, and pleased with diversions ; but these, 
 after a while, lose their charm ; and by the 
 time he has reached sixty or seventy, he 
 seems to have run his round, and feels an en- 
 nui irksome and intolerable, unless he is ani- 
 mated by the spirit of our text This would 
 explain, and relieve, and enliven all, by show- 
 ing him that the present is only the threshold 
 
380 
 
 NOVEMBER 27. 
 
 i »f existence . that he is now only in a state 
 »f instruction and discip ine; that nothing is 
 lesigned to detain him here ; that this is only 
 * passage to the home of his heart and his 
 portion for ever. 
 
 But what a view does it give us of this 
 blessedness, that it can, that it will satisfy 
 every longing of the soul itself! Here two 
 things will serve additionally to enhance its 
 greatness. Our capacities will be amazingly 
 enlarged hereafter to what they now are. 
 Men who have put away childish things, re- 
 quire far more to satisfy them than is neces- 
 sary for infants. We should think highly of 
 any thing that would satisfy such minds as 
 Newton's and Bacon's. But the least in the 
 kingdom of heaven will be greater than they. 
 Then we must think of the duration of the 
 pleasure. Many things will satisfy for a 
 while ; but here are thousands of ages to be 
 provided for. What discoveries and employ- 
 ments, what acquisitions and enjoyments must 
 those be, which will yield undeclining satis- 
 faction for ever and ever! 
 
 What do you think of this ] Is not such a 
 prospect inviting ? Does any thing here sati- 
 ate the hunger and thirst of the mind ? Do 
 you not feel vanity in every success, as well 
 as vexation of spirit in every disappointment] 
 Yet this is your best condition — It is all the 
 happiness you will know if you die out of 
 Christ. You will then awake ; but it will be 
 to know the reality of the blessedness of 
 which we speak — to know that you have lost 
 t — lost it for ever — and lost it for nothing. 
 You will therefore awake to everlasting shame 
 ind contempt. 
 
 But as for you, ye heirs of glory, turn the 
 nrospect of this satisfaction to your advantage, 
 {'""or which purpose — First, make it sure. Sec- 
 sndly, keep it clear. Thirdly, bring it near. 
 Fourthly, use it daily. Carry it into your re- 
 ligious duties; it will enliven you. Carry it 
 into your trials; it will sustain you. Carry 
 it into the valley of the shadow of death ; it 
 will comfort you. A notion formerly prevail- 
 ed, that if a man travelled with a myrtle 
 wand in his hand, he would feel no fainting 
 or weariness. Here is the reality of the fic- 
 tion — This hope is the true myrtle staff". 
 Take it constantly along with you : and you 
 will renew your strength — you will run and 
 not be weary, and walk and not faint. 
 
 NOVEMBER 27. 
 * He knoweth the way that I take." — Job xxiii. 10. 
 This, under the dark and distressing dis- 
 pensation with which he was exercised, af- 
 forded Job relief and satisfaclion — The know- 
 ledge of his covenant God and Fattier : " He 
 knoweth the way that I take." But what are 
 we to understanfl by this knowledge 1 Ac- 
 quaintance and approbation. 
 
 First, acquaintance. So he knoweth tne 
 way that his people take : and so he knoweth 
 also the way that others take. But they do 
 not deem this a privilege ; yea, it is an irk- 
 some and fearful reflection ; and therefore in- 
 stead of having recourse to it for consolation, 
 they endeavour to banish it from their minds 
 " For he that doeth evil hateth the light, nei- 
 ther cometh to the light, lest his deeds should 
 be reproved." « But he that doeth truth 
 cometh to the light." He feels pleasure in 
 the thought, " Thou God seest me." Not 
 that he is so vain and ignorant as to imagine 
 that he can bear censureless the gaze of Om- 
 niscience ; far from it : he is conscious that 
 God will see much that is amiss in him — but 
 he is conscious too, that God himself will see 
 nothing wrong in him which he does not wish 
 to have rectified. " I must be cured ; and he 
 alone can heal me ; and therefore I rejoice 
 that his knowledge prepares him to deal un- 
 erringly with me ; and therefore I can pray, 
 See if there be any wicked way in me, and 
 lead me in the way everlasting." 
 
 And as this relieves him with regard to his 
 experience, so it comforts him with regard to 
 his outward condition and circumstances in 
 the world. He telleth all my wanderings. 
 He knoweth all my walking through this 
 great wilderness. He sees all my dangers, 
 and can defend and guide me. 1 know not 
 the way that I take, but he knoweth it, and 
 my welfare depends upon his knowledge, not 
 mine. He is now bringing the blind by a way 
 that they know not, and is leading them in 
 paths that they have not known ; and he will 
 make darkness light before them, and crooked 
 things straight ; these things will he do unto 
 them and not forsake them. All is now per- 
 fectly clear to him ; and I can trust him vfhen 
 he says, And thou shalt know hereafter. 
 
 There is also another case. " Am I misun- 
 derstood by friends, and reproached by ene- 
 mies, while acting conscientiously and up- 
 rightly? How pleasing is it to turn from 
 creatures so liable to err, and appeal to him 
 who searcheth the heart, and discerns our 
 motives and aims! My witness is in heaven, 
 and my record is on high." u Let my sen- 
 tence come forth from thy presence ; let thine 
 eyes behold the things that are equal" — "He 
 knoweth the way that I take." 
 
 Secondly, approbation. Thus " he knoweth 
 the way of the righteous," but does not know 
 the way of the ungodly. " For the way of 
 the ungodly shall perish ;" he " is angry with 
 the wicked every day." But if any man love 
 God, the same is known of him. The Lord 
 takes pleasure in them that fear him. The 
 words of their mouths and the meditations o. 
 their hearts are acceptable in his sight. And 
 that Job here peculiarly intends approbation 
 is obvious from the words which follow : 
 " When he hath tried me, I shall come forth 
 as gold. My foot hath held his steps his wav 
 
NOVEMBER 28. 
 
 881 
 
 have I kept, and not declined. Neither have 
 I gone back from the commandment of his 
 lips; 1 have esteemed the words of his mouth 
 more than my necessary food." So confesses 
 the Church: "All this is come upon us; yet 
 have we not forgotten thee, neither have we 
 dealt falsely in thy covenant. Our heart is 
 not turned back, neither have our steps de- 
 clined from thy way ; though thou hast sore 
 broken us in the place of dragons, and cov- 
 ered us with the shadow of death." And says 
 David, " For I am become like a bottle in the 
 smoke, yet do I not forget thy statutes." And 
 it is well when in our sufferings we can ap- 
 prove ourselves unto God. You are not, says 
 Peter, to suffer as evil-doers, Dut as Chris- 
 tians ; and therefore he adds, " Let them that 
 suffer according to the will of God commit 
 the keeping of their souls to him in well-do- 
 ing, as unto a faithful Creator." Jacob had 
 this satisfaction when he was returning from 
 Padan-aram, and had to meet his infuriated 
 brother : be could therefore plead, " O God 
 of my father Abraham, and God of my father 
 Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return 
 unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I 
 will deal well with thee." Thy word has 
 brought me into this strait; and therefore I 
 have a gracious right to rely upon thy care 
 for safety and deliverance. It was otherwise 
 with Elijah when he fled from the face of 
 Jezebel, and concealed himself in the cave 
 at Horeb : and therefore says God, " What 
 dost thou here, Elijah 1 ?" He was unable to 
 frame an answer that did not reflect upon his 
 own fear and distrust ; and had not God dealt 
 with Jiim better than he deserved, he would 
 nave found that the turning away of the sim- 
 ple slays them. 
 
 But whatever be our state and circum- 
 stances, let us seek the testimony that we 
 please God, and labour that whether present 
 or absent we may be accepted of him. What 
 can sustain and animate like this ? " Let them 
 curse, but bless thou." 
 
 NOVEMBER 28. 
 
 " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spir- 
 itual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.' 1 '' — 
 Ephes. i. 3. 
 
 There is a correspondence observable be- 
 tween God and his people ; or, so to speak, a 
 spiritua. flux and reflux from God to them, 
 and frorr. them to God. He chooses them, 
 and they choose him. He sanctifies them, 
 and they sanctify him. He glorifies them, 
 and they glorify him. 
 
 Thus, in the words before us, we have 
 grace for grace, and blessing for blessing. 
 " Rlea?ed be the God and Father of our Lord 
 Jesue Christ, who lias blessed us with all spir- 
 itual b'essings in heavenly places in Christ" 
 
 All our happiness and duty are found in this 
 circulation. If God does not bless us, we are 
 miserable ; if we do not bless God, we are 
 criminal. 
 
 Yet there is a great difference between 
 these benedictions. His blessing us precedes 
 our blessing him, and we love him because 
 he first loved us. His blessing us is a real 
 communication; and the Apostle character- 
 izes the benefits which it bestows four ways: 
 by their quality ; by their plenitude ; by their 
 residence ; and by their relation — He blesses 
 us with " spiritual" blessings ; with " all" 
 spiritual blessings ; with all spiritual blessings 
 " in heavenly places;" with all spiritual bless- 
 ings in heavenly places " iu Christ." But 
 our blessing of God can add nothing to his 
 perfection. Our goodness extendeth not to 
 him. He is exalted above all blessing and 
 praise. Yet we can praise him declaratively ; 
 and he that offereth praise glorifieth him. 
 
 The soul of this is gratitude. Gratitude 
 has been defined as a disposition to return a 
 favour received. Towards man it may be 
 thus expressed ; it may be thus fully express 
 ed ; yea, more than an equivalency or com- 
 pensation for a benefit has been often made 
 but in this manner it can never be expressed 
 towards God. His goodness is infinite ; ami 
 therefore our gratitude is to appear not in 
 discharging our obligations, but in feeling 
 them, and in a concern to make suitable re- 
 turns while adequate ones are out of oui 
 power. Thus David asks, "What shall J 
 render unto the Lord for all his benefits to- 
 wards me?" And thus we bless him, not only 
 verbally, but practically, and show forth his 
 praise, as it is beautifully expressed, not only 
 with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up 
 ourselves to his service, and by walking be- 
 fore him in holiness and righteousness all our 
 days. 
 
 Who does this 1 Who is not condemned by 
 this subject? Instead of blessing God, we are 
 senseless or silent. Instead of abundantly 
 uttering the memory of his great goodness, 
 we are murmurers and complainers. Suffer 
 the clamour of a few trials to drown the voice 
 of a thousand mercies — Yet Paul had suf- 
 fered the loss of all things, and was even a 
 prisoner when he used this glowing language , 
 " Blessed be the God and Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with 
 all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in 
 Christ." 
 
 We are backward to all religious exercises, 
 but even selfishness may make us attentive 
 to other duties. Compelled by our necessities, 
 we pray ; we call upon our Benefactor in the 
 day of trouble; but when we have gained 
 our purpose, we soon forget his works, and 
 the wonders which he has shown us. Were 
 there not ten cleansed ? But where are the 
 nine ? Even Hezekiah rendered not according 
 to the benefit done him, for his heart wa«> 
 
382 
 
 NOVEMBER 29. 
 
 lifted up. Who san reflect upon this, and not 
 exclaim, " O that men would praise the Lord 
 tor his goodness, and for his wonderful works 
 to the children of men !" 
 
 Let me then lay down three rules, by ob- 
 serving which we shall experience and ex- 
 press more of this blessed and blessing temper 
 of mind. 
 
 First. Labour to ascertain your own in- 
 terest in Divine things. Seek the full assu- 
 rance of hope unto the end. O ! when I 
 can view the blessings revealed in the Gospel 
 as my portion, when " 1 can read my title 
 clear to mansions in the skies," when I can 
 draw near to God as my exceeding joy, then 
 all the powers of gratitude are touched ; then 
 all its springs are opened ; then by the mer- 
 cies of God I present my body as a living sac- 
 rifice ; then I say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant 
 heareth. 
 
 Secondly. Often and carefully consider 
 your mercies. Nothing can affect us but as 
 it is in our thoughts. Therefore forget not 
 all his benefits. Make them pass and repass 
 in your reviews. Dwell upon the evils from 
 which you have been delivered, the provision 
 with which you have been fed, the robes 
 with which you have been adorned — Once 
 a slave, now redeemed ; once guilty, now 
 justified from all things; once a child of 
 vvratl , now an heir of God, and a joint-heir 
 with Christ. Ebenezer! Surely goodness and 
 mercy have followed me all the days of my 
 life, and I shall dwell in the house of the 
 Lord for ever. 
 
 Thirdly. Gain and preserve a growing 
 nense of your unworthiness. There is an 
 inseparable connexion between humility and 
 gratitude. A proud man was never known 
 to be grateful. Heap therefore whatever fa- 
 vours you please upon him, and what thanks 
 have ye? And the reason is, because he thinks 
 he deserves your kindness, and that you are 
 doing justly rather than showing mercy. But 
 he who is sensible that he is not worthy of 
 the least indulgence, will feel obliged by 
 every attention. And what is the fact with 
 regard to us] We are not only mean, but 
 criminal. For proof of this we need not go 
 back to the days of unregeneracy. What 
 have we been since we have known God, or 
 rather have been known of him ] Let us look 
 at our omissions of duty, our misimprovemeht 
 of privileges, our debasements of motive ; the 
 sins of our holy things. It is of the Lord's 
 mercies that we are not consumed ! Yet we 
 are in the possession of grace ! And in the 
 nrospect of glory ! 
 
 NOVEMBER 29. 
 
 " A partner." — Philemon 17. 
 
 The whole verse reads thus: "If thou 
 
 count me therefore a partner, receive him as 
 
 aiyself." In this argument, on the behalf of 
 
 Onesimus, Paul does not employ his authority 
 or plead his apostleship. He does not de- 
 scribe himself from his extraordinary com- 
 mission and endowments, but calls himself 
 " a partner" with Philemon in the mutual in- 
 terests of Christianity. John also speaks much 
 in the same way when he refers to himself: 
 " I, John, am your brother and companion in 
 tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience 
 of Jesus Christ." 
 
 As Paul here speaks of himself as a Chris- 
 tian, under the character of " a partner," we 
 are led to observe that all Christians are thus 
 related to each other. 
 
 There are partners in business. This does 
 not wholly apply to the case before us. The 
 salvation of our own souls is an individual 
 and a personal concern ; and is carried on be- 
 tween God and ourselves. Others may do 
 some things for us ; but as they cannot eat, 
 and drink, and sleep for us, so they cannot re- 
 pent, and believe, and obey for us. Here the 
 heart knoweth his own bitterness, and a stran- 
 ger intermeddleth not with his joy. He that 
 is wise is profitable to himself; and shall 
 have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in 
 another. Yet there is a common concern in 
 which all Christians are jointly and equally 
 engaged. It is to serve and glorify God by 
 maintaining his cause in the world, and by 
 endeavouring to enlarge his empire and mul- 
 tiply the number of his followers. This does 
 not require them to live together in the same 
 place, or to labour in the same way : but they 
 are bound to co-operate in the use of all the 
 means in their power to advance the same 
 end — abiding with God in their callings — 
 having gifts differing according to the propor- 
 tion of faith — and faithful as stewards of the 
 manifold grace of God — each aiming to be 
 accepted of him. 
 
 But there are partners in privileges, and 
 this applies entirely to Christians. They are 
 all " partakers of the benefit." " Partakers 
 of Christ." They " are all one in Christ 
 Jesus." Jude speaks of " the common sal- 
 vation :" and we read of our being called by 
 God " into the fellowship of his Son Jesus 
 Christ our Lord." We read also of " the fel- 
 lowship of his sufferings," by which we un- 
 derstand an equal right to all the blessinga 
 derived from his cross, — reconciliation, re- 
 demption, justification, and sanctification. In 
 the ministrations of the Word, the ordinances 
 of religion, the influences and comforts of the 
 Holy Ghost, we have fellowship one with 
 another, and are heirs together of the grace 
 of life. 
 
 This partnership may be judged of by the 
 privileges they share in. These privileges 
 are distinguished by four characters. They 
 are spiritual in their nature. They are in- 
 estimable in their value. They are free — 
 without money and without price in their be- 
 6towment. And they are in their possessi;-" 
 
NOVEMBER 30. 
 
 383 
 
 secure from loss and injury — " the sure mer- 
 cies of David." 
 
 Am I a partner'! There is not a better evi- 
 dence in your favour than your anxious con- 
 cern to determine this ; and your being able 
 to say with Paul — the partner here spoken of, 
 " I count all things but loss for the excellency 
 of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; 
 that I may win Christ and be found in him.'' 
 David also could say, " Thou hast given rne 
 the heritage of them that fear thy name :" 
 and how was it with him? What was his 
 prayer] "Remember me, O Lord, with the 
 favour that thou bearest unto thy people : O 
 visit me with thy salvation : that I may see 
 the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in 
 the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory 
 with thine inheritance." 
 
 And if you are a partner, how should this 
 encourage and comfort you, that in all your 
 obscurity and affliction you have " the com- 
 munion of saints" — an interest — an equal in- 
 terest with all the blessed of the Lord, whether 
 on earth or in heaven, in all the enjoyments, 
 riches, and glories which constitute their por- 
 tion for ever ! 
 
 And should you not be concerned to bring 
 in others to share with you ? Surely there is 
 enough, and to spare. Your claim will not 
 v be diminished by an increase of partakers. 
 Yea, your happiness will be augmented by it, 
 if you are like-minded with angels — for they 
 rejoice over every sinner that repenteth. 
 So the first Christians, who had drunk so 
 immediately at the spring-head of benevo- 
 lence and love, could not keep the blessedness 
 to themselves: "That which we have seen 
 and heard declare we unto you, that ye also 
 may have fellowship with us : and truly our 
 fellowship is with the Father, and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ." 
 
 NOVEMBER 30. 
 
 • This same shall comfort us concerning our 
 work and toil of our hands, because of the 
 ground which the Lord hath cursed."-— Gen. 
 v.29. 
 
 This leads us back to the malediction de- 
 tiounced in consequence of sin — " And unto 
 Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened 
 unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of 
 the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, 
 Thou shalt not eat of it : cursed is the ground 
 for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it 
 all the days of thy life; thorns also and this- 
 tles snail it bring forth to thee; and thou 
 shalt eat the herb of the field ; in the sweat 
 ct thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou re- 
 turn unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou 
 taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt 
 thou return." Lamech, who here complains 
 of the ground, had been contemporary with 
 Adam during more than fifty years ; and 
 therefore he had doubtless heard from him in 
 
 what a happy condition man was originally 
 placed in Eden, where indeed he dressed the 
 garden, but without vexation or fatigue. How 
 different from this delightful residence was 
 the wide wilderness world in which he now 
 was, where the spontaneous productions were 
 only briers and thorns, while the good things 
 he wished for could only be procured by 
 wearisome efforts, and amidst frequent disap- 
 pointments ! Yet it seems strange that those 
 who could settle wherever they chose, should 
 talk of the difficulty of subsistence, and the 
 hardships occasioned by the barrenness of the 
 soil. Two things would contribute to this. 
 They seem not to have been allowed animal 
 food before the Flood ; and therefore they de- 
 pended for support entirely on the fruits of 
 the earth. And they had not that skill in agri- 
 culture we have, nor many of those imple- 
 ments of husbandry which save and soften 
 labour now. Men were therefore engrossed 
 in the drudgery of clearing the soil from nui- 
 sances, turning it up by hand, fencing it off 
 from beasts so numerous and near, manuring 
 it, sowing it, reaping it, carrying it home, 
 beating it out and preparing it for use under 
 a thousand inconveniences — Lamech speaks 
 like one weary of a life consumed not only in 
 work, but toil to relieve the low wants of ani- 
 mal appetites — and having come in exhausted 
 from the field, he takes up his new-born babe, 
 and looking at the mother calls " his name 
 (so Noah signifies) refreshment, saying, This 
 same shall comfort us concerning our work 
 and toil of our hands, because of the ground 
 which the Lord hath cursed." 
 
 It is obvious from hence that he expected 
 for himself and others some relief, rest, or 
 consolation from this child. What was it? 
 And how is the expression to be understood 1 
 — " This same shall comfort us." First, we 
 may take it as an emotion purely parental. 
 Lo ! children are an heritage of the Lord, 
 and the fruit of the womb is his reward. It 
 is therefore natural to rejoice at their birth. 
 " A woman when she is in travail hath sot 
 row, because her hour is come : but as soon 
 as she is delivered of the child, she remem- 
 bereth no more the anguish, for joy that a 
 man is born into the world." Jeremiah speaks 
 of the man that brought tidings to his father, 
 saying, " a rnan-child is born unto thee, there- 
 by making his heart glad." And though chil- 
 dren are certain cares and uncertain comforts, 
 it seems — for the future is wisely concealed 
 from our view — impossible for the parental 
 heart not to indulge hopes as well as wishes. 
 This same shall grow up into a pleasing com- 
 panion — he shall continue our name and our 
 family — he shall reward our expense and care 
 by returns of gratitude and attention — and 
 when we are old and grey-headed he shall 
 be the stay and solace of age and infirmity. 
 He may also increase the number of the 
 faithfu,, and be a part of the seed which nhall 
 
m 
 
 DECEMBER 1. 
 
 serve the Redeemer. We are nursing this^ 
 child for God ; and what joy will it afford us 
 lo see him an heir of glory, walking in the 
 truth, and a blessing to all around him ! 
 
 Secondly, as a prophetical intimation of 
 Noah's usefulness. Though he spake accord- 
 ing to his natural affection, we have reason to 
 believe he spake as he was moved by the 
 Holyi Ghost He therefore announces that 
 this was to be an extraordinary child; a de- 
 liverer ; one who should serve his generation, 
 and prove a benefactor to the human race. 
 Accordingly he not only, as Jarchi says, im- 
 proved agriculture much, and reduced human 
 labour, and planted vineyards, and produced 
 wine which strengthens man's heart ; but he 
 prepared an ark for the salvation of any who 
 would avail themselves of it In him the race 
 of mankind was revived after the Deluge, 
 lie was the father of the new world, and 
 from his loins the whole globe was peopled. 
 For his sake the face of the earth was renew- 
 ed, and an assurance and a pledge obtained, 
 of its safety from drowning, and of its enjoy- 
 ing the regular succession of the seasons. All 
 this Lamech here foretold, and much of it he 
 lived to see realizing: for he lived after the 
 birth of Noah five hundred and ninety-five 
 years. He therefore saw his son not only 
 good but great; and as he lived till within 
 five years of the Deluge, he could see the 
 ark nearly finished, and would often doubtless 
 go down to the scene, and sit and lean upon 
 his staff) and watch the workmen. Noah also 
 was a preacher of righteousness, and heir of 
 the righteousness which is by faith. 
 
 Thirdly, as an evangelical reference to the 
 Saviour. Why should this be deemed a 
 thing incredible or improbable 1 Even in these 
 early days an expectation prevailed, derived 
 from the promise of the woman's seed in 
 Paradise, of a Redeemer of the human race, 
 from the effects of the Fall ; and many were 
 raised up to hold him forth, imperfectly in- 
 deed, but really and usefully. God said to 
 Abraham, "In thy seed shall all the families 
 of the earth be blessed." This seed was im- 
 mediately Isaac, but, finally and principally, 
 the Messiah that should descend from him. 
 Abraham therefore derived his hope and con- 
 solation from him, whom his son preceded as 
 his ancestor, and prefigured as a type. It 
 was the same with Lamech. He predicts 
 that in his seed the world would experience a 
 greater deliverance than from the Flood ; and 
 that one, of whom Noah was only an emblem, 
 should be raised up to bless us with all spirit- 
 ual blessings, even Jesus, which delivers us 
 from the wrath to come. Say not, this all- 
 important event was then too far off— a thou- 
 sand years with the Lord are as one day. Say 
 not, it is improbable that Lamech was enlight- 
 ened enough to be aware of this — The proph- 
 ets were not acquainted with the degree and 
 extent of their own communications; and 
 
 therefore studied them after they had deliv- 
 ered them ; " searching what, or what man- 
 ner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in 
 them did signify, when it testified beforehand 
 the sufferings of Christ,- and the glory that 
 should follow." 
 
 And blessed be God, we know who is the 
 true Noah. "His rest shall be glorious." 
 " Come unto me," says he, " all ye that labour 
 and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest." Let nothing divert us from him. " This 
 is the rest wherewith ye shall cause the 
 weary to rest, and this is the refreshing." 
 Come what will — "This same shall com 
 
 DECEMBER 1. 
 
 '■ We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only 
 begotten of the Father" — John i. 14. 
 
 He had a glory ; and he himself is called 
 " the Lord of glory," and " the King of glory." 
 But it was not the glory of this world, or the 
 princes of this world, which come to naught 
 It was not such a glory as the Jews expected 
 in the Messiah, the glory of a conqueror, 
 striding from victory to victory, and setting 
 his followers on the high places of the earth. 
 It was not a glory arising from ambition and 
 violence, from the desolation of war, from 
 triumphs founded in blood, and from laurels 
 drenched in the tears of widows and orphana 
 It was not the glory of a statesman working 
 by policy, and ruling by cunning rather than 
 rectitude, or even by fairer means — but a spot- 
 less, Godlike glory — "The glory as of the 
 only begotten of the Father." 
 
 God has many children. Men are his off- 
 spring. All believers are the sons of God. 
 Some in the household of faith have been ex- 
 alted above their brethren in endowment and 
 office. Solomon was great; but a greater 
 than Solomon is here. Moses was faithful in 
 all his house. Yet "this man was counted 
 worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch 
 as he who hath builded the house hath more 
 honour than the house. And Moses verily 
 was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for 
 a testimony of those things which were to be 
 spoken after. But Christ as a son over his 
 own house ; whose house are we, if we hold 
 fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the 
 hope firm unto the end." Adam is called 
 "the son of God" in a very peculiar sense, 
 as he came immediately from the hands of 
 God, perfect at once, and was the source, 
 head, and representative of the human race. 
 But " so it is written, The first man Adam 
 was made a living soul ; the last Adam was 
 made a quickening spirit. The first man is 
 of the earth, earthy : the second man is the 
 Lord from heaven." Angels are sons of God : 
 but " to which of the angels said he at any 
 time, Tnou art my Son, this day have I be 
 
DECEMBFR 2. 
 
 385 
 
 gotten thee 1 And again, I will be to him a 
 tather, and he 6hall be to me a Son 1 And 
 again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten 
 into the world, he saith, And let all the angels 
 of God worship him." " Unto the Sen he 
 saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and 
 ever : a sceptre of righteousness is the scep- 
 tre of thy kingdom." " To which of the an- 
 gels said he at any time, Sit on my righ% 
 hand, until I make thine enemies thy foot- 
 stool ?" He is therefore — and we ask for no 
 human definitions — we are afraid of them; 
 the only begotten of the Father, in a mean- 
 ing infinitely peculiar. He was the image 
 of the invisible God ; and could say, consist- 
 ently with all the humility that distinguished 
 him, " He that hath seen me hath seen the 
 Father. And from henceforth ye know him, 
 and nave seen him." His attributes, his ac- 
 tions proclaimed Divinity. The light of the 
 knowledge of the glory of God was seen in 
 the face of Jesus Christ His meekness, his 
 patience, his benevolence, his readiness to 
 forgive, are the perfections of the Being we 
 adore and serve. 
 
 This glory had witnesses; and, says the 
 Evangelist, we beheld it. They beheld it 
 two ways : corporeally and spiritually. They 
 beheld it even with their bodily senses. At 
 his transfiguration they saw the lustre of his 
 face, and the shining of his raiment, and the 
 homage paid him by Moses and Elias ; and 
 heard the voice from the cloud, " saying, 
 This is my beloved Son, hear ye him." They 
 often heard his own voice speaking as never 
 man spake, and wondered at the gracious 
 words that proceeded out of his mouth. They 
 witnessed his miracles, and many more than 
 they have recorded. They saw him heal the 
 sick, open the eyes of the blind, and raise the 
 dead to life. They saw his glory in the gar- 
 den, in his feeling submission to the will of 
 God ; in his tender excuse for the infirmity 
 of his disciples ; in his power in healing the 
 ear of Malchus; in his majesty in causing the 
 soldiers to go backward and fall to the ground, 
 when he only said, " I am he ;" in his au- 
 thority in stipulating for the safety of the 
 Apostles, " If ye seek me, let these go their 
 way." N They saw his glory also in the won- 
 ders that dignified his death and his resurrec- 
 tion. 
 
 But this was not all. Some witnessed his 
 miracles, and ascribed them to the power of 
 the devil. He said to many who had attend- 
 ed him, Ye also have seen me and believed 
 not But it was otherwise with his own dis- 
 ciples. Concerning these he said ; " I have 
 given unto them the words which thou gavest 
 me ; and they have received them, and have 
 known surely that I came out from thee, and 
 they have believed that thou didst send me." 
 flow much of his glory they saw spiritually 
 before the day of Pentecost we cannot deter- 
 mine. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, 
 25 
 
 because Jesus was not yet glorified ; that is, 
 it was not given so abundantly. For he had 
 doubtless partially enlightened the disciples 
 before. At an earlier period our Lord said to 
 Peter upon his confession, " Flesh and blood 
 have not revealed this unto thee, but my 
 Father which is in heaven :" and this applied 
 also to his brethren. Yet their views were in 
 many things comparatively obscure, till the 
 Spirit of truth had led them into all truth, as 
 to the dignity of his person, the design of his 
 death, and the nature of his kingdom. Then 
 he was revealed in them. Then they knew 
 in whom they had believed, and could say 
 with the most determined confidence, " We 
 know that the Son of God is come, and hath 
 given us an understanding, that we may know 
 him that is true, and we are in' him that is 
 true, even in his Son Jesus Christ This is 
 the true God, and eternal life." 
 
 But can we make this acknowledgment 1 
 Have we seen his glory, the glory as of the 
 only begotten of the Father ? This is possible. 
 We cannot indeed view hirn with our bodily 
 eyes. But we may know him, and the power 
 of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his 
 sufferings, being made conformable unto his 
 death. We can see him by faith. We have 
 in our possession all that these original wit- 
 nesses have told of him. We have his pic- 
 ture. In the four Gospels we can look into 
 his very heart. " He that seeth the Son and 
 believeth on him hath everlasting life." 
 
 And this perception of him is necessary. 
 And if you have seen his glory, you have seen 
 enough to fix and fill your minds, to produce 
 self-abasement to wean you from the world, 
 to induce you to follow him whithersoever he 
 goeth, to recommend him to others, and to 
 pray, " Let the whole earth be filled with his 
 glory." And if this be the case, you will soon 
 have another and a nobler sight of it. You 
 will see him as he is. You will behold his 
 face in righteousness — For the prayer will be 
 accomplished ; " Father, I will that they 
 whom thou hast given me be with me where 
 
 I am, to BEHOLD MY GLORY." 
 
 . DECEMBER 2. 
 
 1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses haa 
 fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed 
 it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments 
 thereof, both the altar and all the vessels there- 
 of, and had anointed them, and sanctified 
 them; that the princes of Israel, heads of the 
 house of their fathers, who were the princes oj 
 the tribes, and were over them that were num- 
 bered, offered : and they brought their offering 
 before the Lord, six covered wagons and twelve 
 oxen ; a wagon for two of the princes, and for 
 each one an ox and they brought them before 
 the tabernacle. And the Lord spake unto Mn- 
 ses, saying, Take it of them, that they may bi 
 to do the service of the tabernacle of the eon 
 
386 
 
 DECEMBER 2. 
 
 gregation ; and thou shalt give them unto the 
 Levites, to every man according to his service. 
 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and 
 gave them unto the Levites. Two ivagons and 
 four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, 
 according to their service : and four wagons 
 j.nd eight oxen he gave unto' the sons of Me- 
 rari, according unto their service, under the 
 hand of lthamar, the son of Aaron the priest. 
 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none : be- 
 cause the service of the sanctuary belonging 
 unto them was that they should bear upon their 
 shoulders." — Numb. vii. 1 — 9. 
 
 It was a sad censure and disgrace the 
 Apostle was compelled to utter, when he said, 
 " All seek their own, not the things that are 
 Jesus Christ's." But it is delightful to see a 
 public spirit in religion. And we have some 
 noble instances of it recorded, not only in the 
 New Testament, but the Old. In reading his- 
 tory these are the same to a Christian, as the 
 meeting with a few green and watered spots 
 to a traveller in a dry and sandy desert. 
 
 With regard to the fact before us we may 
 observe, First, the donors. They were " the 
 princes of Israel, heads of the house of their 
 fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, 
 and were over them that were numbered." 
 This was well. They who are placed above 
 others are peculiarly bound to take the lead 
 in every thing moral and religious. They are 
 under an obligation of gratitude to their ben- 
 efactor, who has distinguished and indulged 
 them. They are also under an obligation of 
 justice, which requires them to meet the de- 
 sign of their elevation, which is, not the in- 
 dulgence of their vanity, pride, and selfish- 
 ness, but their glorifying God, and serving 
 their generation according to his will. They 
 should consider their resources and influences 
 as talents, and use them as stewards of the 
 manifold grace of God. Having more means 
 and opportunities of usefulness than others, 
 they will be the more guilty if they neglect 
 or misimprove them. When wicked, they 
 never perish alone. Children justify them- 
 selves by the example of their parents, ser- 
 vants by that of their masters, people by that 
 of their ministers, and subjects by that of 
 their rulers; and one sinner thus circum- 
 stanced destroyeth much good. But all are 
 not so. Some are preserved amidst the snares 
 of wealth, rank, and authority ; and feel it to 
 be their honour and pleasure to do good. And 
 we see from the offerers before us how wrong 
 all general and indiscriminate reflections are. 
 Not many wise men after the flesh, not many 
 mighty, not many noble are called : but there 
 are some ; and in our day there is no little 
 movement among the higher classes in life. 
 Secondly, their offering. They " brought 
 before the Lord six covered wagons, and 
 twelve oxen : a wagon for two of the princes, 
 and for each one an ox." As twelve oxen 
 
 were necessary, every prince could give one 
 but as six wagons only were required, had 
 each wagon been given by an individual, six 
 only could have been gratified ; but by uniting 
 in pairs, all the twelve could equally share in 
 the honour and pleasure. 
 
 Their use was to aid in the present service 
 of the tabernacle. That service would not be 
 needful when the ark had a fixed abode in 
 Zion : but in its movable state assistance was 
 required, in transporting it from place to 
 place. These oxen therefore were to draw 
 the vehicles containing the appendages per- 
 taining to the sanctuary ; and hence the 
 wagons were covered, or, as we should say, 
 tilted ; not only to preserve the sacred furni- 
 ture from vulgar and rude gaze, but to keep 
 them from dust, and rain, and sunshine, and 
 all the injuries of the weather. 
 
 Thirdly, the manner of their giving. There 
 is no doubt but these oxen were excellent, 
 strong to labour, and well trained : and that 
 the wagons were of the best materials and 
 workmanship, and well covered, in honour of 
 their destination and use. We know some 
 who, if they could not have escaped giving, 
 would have looked out the leanest beast, and 
 the least valued vehicle they had. And we 
 know the complaint brought by God himself 
 against the Jews in the days of Malachi : 
 " Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it ! 
 and ye have snuffed at it : and ye brought 
 that which was torn, and the lame, and the 
 sick ; thus ye brought an offering : should I 
 accept this of your hand 1 saith the Lord. 
 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in hia 
 flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto 
 the Lord a corrupt thing : for I am a great 
 King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name 
 is dreadful among the heathen." But we may 
 fully presume that these pious donors pre- 
 sented what they deemed the best they had. 
 And we are sure they gave readily : for they 
 did it the very " day that Moses had fully set 
 up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and 
 sanctified it." They gave as soon as the 
 things were wanted ; yea, before they were 
 wanted, in order to be in readiness. Here was 
 no hanging back, hoping the offering might 
 be dispensed with ; or to see what others did 
 first, to save as much as possible their pocket, 
 without losing their credit. They required 
 no excitement, no sermon full of motives 
 from Moses or Aaron to work upon their feel- 
 ings — They were volunteers ; self-moved ; 
 they chose to be examples rather than follow- 
 ers. God loveth a cheerful giver. 
 
 Fourthly, the acceptance and application 
 of the present. At first Moses seems to have 
 hesitated whether they should be used in the 
 service of the tabernacle. The reason proba- 
 bly was, that God had given him before a 
 model of every thing, and had said, " See that 
 thou make every thing according to the pnt- 
 
DECEMBEK 8. 
 
 387 
 
 tern snowed thee iD the Mount" But the 
 pattern did not extend to this, and here he 
 was without orders. The thought had sprung 
 from the pious reflection of these men ; and 
 it is not necessary that every minute circum- 
 stance in the administrations of religion 
 should be prescribed ; many things, or the 
 world could not contain the books that would 
 bo written, may be, and must be, left to expe- 
 diency. Thus David established the orders of 
 singers ; and thus the Jews, after their cap- 
 tivity, formed synagogues, in which our Sa- 
 viour often taught and worshipped. Moses 
 therefore is enjoined to receive this donation, 
 and consecrate it to the purpose for which it 
 was designed : " Take it of them, that they 
 may be to do the service of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation ; and thou Bhalt give them 
 unto the Levites, to every man according to 
 his service. And Moses took the wagons and 
 the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites." 
 But see how they were distributed ; for this 
 will be found very instructive. To "the 
 sons of Gershon he gave" but " two wagons 
 and four oxen :" but this is said to be " ac- 
 cording to their service ;" for they had only 
 to carry the drapery, the curtains, and hang- 
 ings. To " the sons of Merari he gave four 
 wagons and eight oxen, according to their 
 service ;" for they had to bear the heavy lug- 
 gage, the boards, pillars, and sockets; and 
 these were heavy. " But to the sons of Ko- 
 hath he gave none; because the 'service of 
 the sanctuary belonging unto them was, that 
 they should bear upon their shoulders." We 
 may hence observe, First — That there is a 
 difference in the services to which we are 
 called. Some of them are more public, and 
 some more private : some more painful, and 
 some more pleasing. One serves God more 
 relatively, another more personally — His 
 work, so to speak, is mere shoulder-work. 
 They have no outward resources : no wagons 
 or oxen — They cannot command others by 
 their authority or their abilities, but they can 
 give themselves. If they are without sub- 
 stance, they can act, they can collect, they 
 can teach in a Sunday-school, they can visit 
 the fatherless and the widows in their afflic- 
 tion. "Having then gifts differing according 
 to the grace that is given to us, whether 
 prophecy, let us prophesy according to the 
 proportion of faith ; or ministry, let us wait 
 on our ministering ; or he that teacheth, on 
 teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhorta- 
 tion : he that giveth, let him do it with sim- 
 plicity ; he that ru.eth, with diligence ; he 
 jiat showeth mercy, with cheerfulness." 
 " For the body is not one member, but many. 
 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the 
 hand, I am not of the body ; is it therefore 
 not of the body 1 And if the ear shall say, 
 Because I am not the eye, I am not of the 
 body ; is it therefore not of the body ? If the 
 who 3 body were an eye, where were the 
 
 hearing ? if the whole were hearing, whew 
 were the smelling ?" 
 
 Secondly, there is a proportion between 
 our work and our strength : and " according 
 to" our " service" is the assistance provided. 
 Every Christian may claim Asher's promise ; 
 " Thy shoes shall be iron and brass ; and as 
 thy days so shall thy strength be." " He will 
 not suffer you," says the Apostle, "to be 
 tempted above that ye are able." And has 
 not this been exemplified in the experience 
 of his people in all ages ? And have not we 
 found it true ? Let the thought at once an- 
 nihilate every tendency to envy — or despair. 
 Say not, Ah ! such an one has four wagons 
 and eight oxen ! But see what he has to 
 carry! You may not know the extent and 
 degree of his burden : but the Lord knows ; 
 and therefore as the sufferings abound the 
 consolations abound also. Be not afraid of 
 any work or trial that lies before you. View 
 the things which would discourage you, not 
 simply, as they are in themselves, but rela- 
 tively to your resources. There is nothing to 
 which he will call you for which he has not 
 made provision ; and his grace will be suffi- 
 cient for you, for his strength is made perfect 
 in weakness. What is it for your difficulties 
 or duty to be increased, if there be an in- 
 crease of the supply of the Spirit of Jesus 
 Christ? 
 
 DECEMBER 3. 
 
 " Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience, 
 by the things which he suffered." — Heb. v. 8. 
 
 The title here given to the Lord Jesus is 
 applied to him peculiarly, and in a way of 
 dignity. This is obvious from the very rea- 
 soning of the Apostle : for there is nothing 
 wonderful in the supposition that a son should 
 learn obedience by suffering — for what son is 
 he whom the father chasteneth not 1 But the 
 marvellousness is that such a Son should 
 learn obedience by the things which he suf- 
 fered. 
 
 Here let us keep close to the Scripture, 
 and not pry into things which we have noi 
 seen. All mankind are the offspring of God, 
 as he is the real author of their being, the 
 framer of their bodies, and the former of their 
 spirits within them. Adam is called " the son 
 of God," as he was immediately produced by 
 his power, and made after his image, not only 
 in dominion, but knowledge, righteousness, 
 and holiness, in distinction from all the infe- 
 rior orders of his creatures. This likeness 
 was soon lost by the Fall, and hence the term 
 soon became in the Scriptures a religious ap- 
 pellation, serving to discriminate the godly 
 from the wicked. When all flesh had cor 
 rupted their way upon the .earth, the descend- 
 ants of Seth are called " the sons of God,** 
 because they worshipped, served, and resenv 
 
388 
 
 DECEMBER 3. 
 
 dIchI him. Christians therefore obtain this 
 honour in the New Testament: " Behold what 
 manner of love the Father hath bestowed 
 npon us, that we should be called the sons of 
 God." They are so by adoption and regene- 
 ration. The angels, those pure intelligences 
 unencumbered with our flesh and blood, are 
 also thus characterized : " The morning stars 
 sang together, and all the sons of God shouted 
 for joy." But " unto which of the angels said 
 he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day 
 have I begotten thee!" And again, I will be 
 to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. 
 And again, when he bringeth in the first- 
 begotten into the world, he saith, And let all 
 the angels of God worship him. And of the 
 angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spir- 
 its, and his ministers a flame of fire. But 
 unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is 
 for ever and ever : a sceptre of righteousness 
 is the sceptre of thy kingdom." We leave 
 the conclusion to yourselves — It must lead 
 you to consider him " above all principalities 
 and powers, and every name that is named, 
 not only in this world, but also in that which 
 is to come." 
 
 And what does the Apostle affirm concern- 
 ing him 7 He suffered ; he obeyed ; he learn- 
 ed. " Though he were a Son, yet learned he 
 obedience by the things which he suffered." 
 He suffered. He was " a man of sorrows," 
 as if he derived his very character from them, 
 "and acquainted with grief." Grief is always 
 our neighbour, and sometimes our visitor ; but 
 it was his companion, and never separated 
 from him till he gave up the ghost. Who can 
 describe or imagine the greatness and the 
 number of " the things he suffered " — in his 
 outward estate 1 in his reputation 1 in his 
 connexions 1 in his body 1 in his soul ? Behold, 
 and see if ever there was sorrow like unto his 
 sorrow ! 
 
 He obeyed. His obedience was very supe- 
 rior to ours. It was complete and universal. 
 He did not sin. He omitted no duty. He 
 always did the things that pleased the Father ; 
 and therefore at the close of the whole he 
 could confidently make the appeal, " I have 
 glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the 
 work that thou gavest me to do." His obedi- 
 ence also appeared in his submission. We 
 are required to obey God as our governor, as 
 well as our lawgiver, and to acquiesce in his 
 appointments as well as fulfil his orders. And 
 here, alas ! how often do we fail ! It is no 
 easy thing to bear sickness, to resign a pleas- 
 n nt situation, to part with a beloved child — to 
 obey a correcting God ! How often we rebel 
 or repine ! But without a murmuring word or 
 feeling, he submitted to all the pleasure of 
 his heavenly Father, saying, Not my will, but 
 thine be done. Even his death and all that 
 led to it was an act of obedience — He " was 
 obedient unto death, even the death of the 
 
 cross." He said, " Lo ! I come to do thy wil., 
 O God ;" and that will required the sacrifice 
 of himself as an offering for sins. Hence, aa 
 he was going forth to agonize in the garden, 
 and suffer upon the cross, he said, " But that 
 the world may know that I love the Father, 
 and as the Father gave me commandment, 
 even so I do ; arise, let us go hence." 
 
 He learned — "He learned obedience by 
 the things which he suffered." Many do not. 
 Experience, says Franklin, is a dear school, 
 but fools will learn in no other. The truth is, 
 they will not learn even in this. Only wise 
 men, says Burke, ever derive wisdom from 
 experience. Experience itself is thrown away 
 upon others, like seed sown upon a rock or 
 the sand of the sea. Under what an expen- 
 sive course of tuition have some passed 1 Yet 
 what have they learned ? May we not say of 
 them, in the language of Jeremiah, " O Lord, 
 are not thine eyes upon the truth 1 thou hast 
 stricken them, but they have not grieved ; 
 thou hast consumed them, but they have re- 
 fused to receive correction : they have made 
 their faces harder than a rock; they have re- 
 fused to return." When this is the case, the 
 incorrigibleness is punished in one of these 
 two ways : God either abandons the culprit, 
 saying, He is joined to idols, let him alone ; 
 or, if he does not remove the rod, he turns it 
 into a scorpion. He increases the severity 
 and the grievousness of the strokes till the 
 threatening is awfully accomplished ; " He, 
 that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, 
 shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without 
 remedy." At the most distant danger of 
 which, the Israelite indeed falls upon his knees 
 and cries, "O Lord, correct me, but with 
 judgment ; not in thine anger, lest thou bring 
 me to nothing." And says David, " Blessed is 
 the man whom thou chastenest and teachesl 
 out of thy law." This is the design of afflic 
 tion, and the effect of it when sanctified. 
 Some of our lessons have cost us much, but 
 they have not cost us too much if we have 
 learned obedience by the things we have sut 
 fered. 
 
 But this does not apply to the Son of God 
 precisely in the same way it does to us. The 
 distinction is this. He learned obedience by 
 the things he suffered, but he did not learn tc 
 obey. David's afflictions humbled his pride, 
 banished his sloth, roused his attention, and 
 excited him to study the will of God ; and 
 therefore he said, " Before I was afflicted I 
 went astray, but now have I kept thy word." 
 " It is good for me that I have been afflicted, 
 that I might learn thy statutes" — Thus he 
 learned by his sufferings to obey. But Jesus 
 stood in need of no such stimulations and 
 auxiliaries as these. He knew what was re- 
 quired of him, and was always perfectly ready 
 to do it. His sufferings therefore were not 
 the cause of his obedience, but only the occa 
 
DECEMBER 4. 
 
 non : they did not produce (ne disposition, but 
 only afforded opportunities for the exercise 
 and the display of it The gold was sterling 
 before, but the fire proved it : the field did 
 not make the hero, but proclaimed him. Yet 
 he could not have learned what obedience 
 was, how trying it is, especially in affliction, 
 and what grace it requires, without experi- 
 ence. But thus he knew it not in theory 
 only, but in reality, as a man learns the taste 
 of medicine by tasting it, or as a man knows 
 what it is to travel by travelling. 
 
 DECEMBER 4. 
 
 " When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as 
 gold" — Job xxiii. 10. 
 
 Job was indeed tried, and perhaps next to 
 his Saviour could say, Behold, and see if ever 
 there was sorrow like unto my sorrow ! — But 
 he remarks three things with regard to it. 
 
 First, the author : " He hath tried me." In 
 none of his sufferings did he ever lose sight 
 of the hand of God. When the Chaldeans 
 and the elements had spoiled him of all his 
 substance, he said, " The Lord hath taken 
 away." And when, in addition to this, he was 
 deprived of his children, and health, and 
 friends, and he seemed to have no comfort 
 left, he said, " Thou hast taken me by the 
 neck, and shaken me to pieces." And "is 
 there an evil in the city, and the Lord hath 
 not done it V? How much is that man to be 
 pitied who does not connect with all the 
 events of life the providence of that God 
 without whom a sparrow falleth not to the 
 ground, and by whom the very hairs of our 
 head are all numbered ! How consolatory to 
 reflect, " I am not in a fatherless world ; I am 
 not the child of neglect ; I am not the sport 
 of chance ; I am not at the mercy of my foes 
 — they could have no power against me, ex- 
 cept it was given them from above ; they are 
 chained, and he holds the chain — The wrath 
 of man shall praise him, and the remainder 
 of wrath will he restrain — The cup which 
 my Father giveth me, shall I not drink it 1" 
 
 Secondly, the termination : " when he hath 
 tried me, I shall come forth." I am now in 
 " the midst of trouble," but I shall not remain 
 there. He doth not afflict willingly. Though 
 he cause grief, yet will he have compassion. 
 He hat h said, " I will not contend for ever, 
 neither will I be always wroth : for the spirit 
 should fail before me, and 'the souls which I 
 have made." The time may seem long, but 
 I shall not be detained a moment longer than 
 the case requires. He hath appointed the hour 
 of deliverance, and his time is the best time ; 
 for he is a God of knowledge, and blessed are 
 all they that wait for him. " We went," says 
 the Church, " through fire and through wa- 
 ter, but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy 
 place " 
 
 Thirdly, the benefit : •' when thou hast tried 
 me I shall come forth as gold." And how i= 
 this? Gold comes forth proved. Thus we 
 read of "gold tried in the fire:" and David 
 says, "Thou, O God, hast proved us: thoc 
 hast tried us, as silver is tried." The desigr 
 of affliction is not to increase God's know 
 ledge of us — this is perfect already ; but to 
 make us better known to others and to our- 
 selves; to discover and display the reality 
 and the degree of grace ; to prove whether 
 we are humble enough to stoop, and patient 
 enough to wait : whether we can love God 
 when he corrects, and trust in him when he 
 hideth himself. 
 
 Gold comes forth purified. A stranger to 
 the process of refining, when he saw it melt- 
 ing in the intenseness of the fire, might sup- 
 pose that it was likely to be destroyed, or at 
 least that it must be injured. And it is re- 
 duced in size, and something is taken away 
 from it — but it is only the dross, and this is 
 better removed than retained. And who hath 
 said, " I will also purge away the dross, and 
 
 ! take away all thy tin." " By this therefore 
 ' shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged ; and 
 
 this is all the fruit to take away his sin ; when 
 : he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalk- 
 ; stones that are beaten in sunder, the groves 
 ! and images shall not stand up." What did the 
 j three Hebrews lose in the flames 7 Only their 
 
 bonds. When they were thrown in, they 
 ; were bound ; " and they fell down bound intc 
 I the midst of the burning fiery furnace." In 
 
 this state they could not have moved. But, 
 ; without the smell of fire passing upon their 
 ■ bodies, their bonds were burnt, and they 
 
 were seen walking with the Son of God. 
 
 Much like this Young sings. 
 
 " Our hearts are fasten'd to the world. 
 With strong and various ties; 
 But every trouble cuts a string, 
 And urges us to rise." 
 
 Gold comes forth prepared. It is then fitted 
 to be coined for circulation, or framed into 
 vessels of ornament and use ; and now ren- 
 dered capable of a lustre which it had not be- 
 fore. So Christians are improved and ad- 
 vanced by their trials, and can say, "It is 
 good for me that I have been afflicted." " Our 
 light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
 worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory." " For a season, if 
 needs be," says Peter, " ye are in heaviness." 
 " That the trial of your faith, being much 
 more precious than of gold that perisheth, 
 though it be tried with fire, might be found 
 unto praise and honour and glory at the ap- 
 pearing of Jesus Christ" Job speaks with 
 confidence of that blessed result before he 
 had realized it So may every believer. For 
 " all the ways of the Lord are mercy and 
 truth." And " we know that all things work 
 together for good to thrm that love God " 
 
990 
 
 DECEMBER 5. 
 
 DECEMBER 5. 
 
 And in the dungeon there was no water, but 
 mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire" — Jer. 
 xxxviii. 6. 
 
 Here he waa not as " an evil-doer," but 
 * for righteousness sake," and a faithful dis- 
 charge of his duty. " And this is thankworthy, 
 if a man for conscience toward God endure 
 grief, suffering wrongfully. What glory is it, 
 if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye 
 shall take it patiently] but if, when ye do 
 well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, 
 this is acceptable with God." The condition 
 was dreadful, owing to the depth, and dreari- 
 ness, and unwholesomeness, and foulness of 
 the place ; and the heart revolts at the 
 thought of the sufferer, sinking lower and 
 lower in the mire by every effort to raise him- 
 self up, parched with thirst, fainting with 
 hunger, gasping for free air, and a stone be- 
 ing laid upon the mouth of the pit, excluding 
 not only ventilation, but light ! And the de- 
 sign of the princes was, that he should not 
 only suffer there, but die of privation and 
 disease ; longing to rid themselves of their 
 reprover, but fearing that a public execution 
 would excite popular pity — Thus Herod sent 
 and beheaded John in prison — And how many 
 fearful secrets of this kind will be divulged 
 when He maketh inquisition for blood ! 
 
 Who could think that a number of persons 
 in higher and more refined life, and commonly 
 called " the better sort of people," would be 
 able to leave a fellow-creature, a prophet of 
 the Lord, to perish by so lingering and 
 frightful a death ! Lord, what is man 1 But 
 all things come alike to all. No man knoweth 
 either love or hatred by all that is before 
 them. These wicked princes are in their 
 palaces, and Jeremiah is in the miry dungeon. 
 But where is the God of judgment 1 ? We 
 shall presently see — " Let them that suffer 
 according to the will of God commit the 
 keeping of their souls to him, in well-doing, 
 as unto a faithful Creator." 
 
 We are not told here, what Jeremiah did ; 
 but he himself has informed us in one of his 
 lamentations. " They have cut off my life in 
 the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. I 
 called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low 
 dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice : hide not 
 thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou 
 drewest near in the day that I called upon 
 thee : thou saidst, Fear not." And what was 
 the consequence 1 The wrath of man praises 
 God : the evil is overruled for good ; and the 
 prophet learns by experience that the Master 
 he served, commanded the issues from death, 
 and was a very present help in trouble. 
 
 What a scene here opens ! " Now when 
 Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs 
 which was in the king's house, heard that 
 they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon ; the 
 king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin ; 
 
 Ebed-melech went forth out of the kings 
 house, and to the king, saying, My lord the 
 king, these men have done evil in all that 
 they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, 
 whom they have cast into the dungeon ; and 
 he is like to die for hunger in the place where 
 he is : for there is no more bread in the city. 
 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the 
 Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty 
 men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the 
 prophet out of the dungeon, before he die." 
 Hero we find how the Lord can raise up 
 helpers for his people from quarters the most 
 unlikely. He " knoweth how to deliver the 
 godly ;" and often renders his interposition as 
 marvellous as it is relieving. Here we alac 
 see that the Lord has his hidden ones, and 
 that they are frequently found where we 
 should little think of looking after them — 
 " Surely the fear of God," said Abraham, " is 
 not in this place ;" but it was there, and pre- 
 vented the sin which would otherwise have 
 been committed. Abijah had some good thing 
 in him towards the Lord God of Israel in the 
 house of Jeroboam. Daniel was the prime 
 minister of Darius, and yet worshipped God 
 three times a day. Yea, we read of saints 
 even in Cssar's household ! Zedekiah's court 
 was a very wicked one, yet here was a man 
 of principle, and of religious principle, found 
 in it. But who was he 1 A foreigner, an 
 "Ethiopian," and probably a negro. Call 
 nothing common or unclean. The first may 
 be last, and the last may be first. While al 1 
 the princes and the men of Judah were desti 
 tute of humanity and piety, this Ethiopiai 
 abounded in both. 
 
 He had a place at court which secured him 
 ease and comfort. Such persons commonly 
 feel little disposition to exert themselves foi 
 the distresses of others, for they know not the 
 heart of a sufferer. It is in the school of 
 affliction we learn to weep with them thai 
 weep. But it is probable that Ebed-melech 
 had been in trouble himself. However this 
 may be, his interference was unsolicited and 
 prompt, as soon as ever " he heard that they 
 had put Jeremiah into the dungeon." And 
 he showed herein no little courage as well aa 
 kindness. He had much to lose, and the 
 princes were likely to unite against him, foi 
 they were all the determined enemies of 
 Jeremiah, and their malice made them ready 
 for any mischief, and their influence was 
 great ; and the king to whom he appealed was 
 then sitting in the gate, and therefore he had 
 to go to him openly. But conviction nerves 
 a man to his purpose, and there is no fear in 
 love. 
 
 And his application was successful. The 
 king complied with his desire. Let this 
 encourage us in our pious and in our benevo- 
 lent endeavours. We may succeed much 
 better than we imagine. The individual that 
 refuses at one time may yield at another. 
 
DECEMBER 6. 
 
 an. 
 
 Reflection may have changed him : eome 
 even,, or influence may have put him into a 
 propitious frame. " In the morning sow thy 
 seed, and in the evening withhold not thine 
 hand; for thou knowest not whether shall 
 prosper, either this or that, or whether they 
 both shall be alike good." " Be not weary in 
 well-doing, for in due time ye shall reap if ye 
 faint not" All of us have some influence 
 with others, and how seldom do we exert it 
 as we ought — especially when we consider 
 that the hearts of all are in the hand of the 
 Lord, and he can turn them whithersoever he 
 oleaseth ! 
 
 DECEMBER 6. 
 
 1 So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and 
 went into the house of the king under the trea- 
 sury, and took thence old cast clouts and old 
 rotten rags, and let them doim by cords into 
 
 ' the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebed-melech 
 the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now 
 these old cast clouts and rotten rags under 
 thine arm-holes, under the cords. And Jere- 
 miah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with 
 cords, and took him up out of the dungeon : and 
 Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison." 
 — Jer. xxxviii. 11 — 13. 
 
 David had said, " Ethiopia shall soon 
 stretch out her hands unto God." And two 
 instances are recorded in the Scripture to en- 
 courage us, as a kind of first-fruits. The one 
 is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles : " A 
 man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority 
 under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who 
 had the charge of all her treasure, and had 
 come to Jerusalem for to worship, was return- 
 ing; and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the 
 prophet." Philip joined him, instructed him, 
 and baptized him : " and he went on his way 
 rejoicing." The other was found ages be- 
 fore, in the corrupt court of Zedekiah. We 
 have seen, in the preceding exercise, how 
 this pious and humane Ethiopian had nobly 
 distinguished himself, by applying to the king 
 on the behalf of Jeremiah. Having obtained 
 the royal permission to release him from the 
 dismal dungeon, and being furnished with 
 thirty men for the purpose, we here see how 
 he accomplished the work. 
 
 If such circumstances are deemed un- 
 worthy of attention, let the Spirit of God be 
 condemned for recording them, and not the 
 preacher for noticing them. We are here led 
 forcibly to remark, that nothing should be 
 wasted, not only in poor, but in higher life. 
 Here we find, even in " the house of the king, 
 and under the treasury," that is, in the store- 
 room, old and injured apparel, laid by for use. 
 And let it not be forgotten, that when our 
 Saviour had shown his power bytmultiplying 
 five loaves and two fishes into more than a 
 sufficiency to supply the whole multitude, he 
 then, even then, enforced a lesson of economy 
 
 and frugality , and said, " Gather up the frag- 
 ments that remain, that nothing be lost," to 
 show that ability and plenty are not to justify, 
 or even excuse any degree of wastefulness*. 
 It is by guarding, not only against needless 
 buying, but heedless spending, that the 
 capacity for beneficence is to be enlarged. 
 Our resources are diminished, not only by 
 pride and indulgence, but by want of regula- 
 tion and negligence. How is it that some, 
 with a very limited income, not only provide 
 things honest in the sight of all men, but have 
 to give to him that needeth 1 
 
 There is little charity in giving away what 
 we cannot use ourselves ; but it is the most 
 shameful uncharitableness not to do it Yet 
 to mention only one instance — How often, in 
 gardens, have we seen vegetables perishing, 
 for which many a family of hungry children 
 would have been thankful. For we should 
 reflect on the degrees of exigency, and re- 
 member that what is of no value to us may be 
 of most pressing importance to others, even 
 to the leavings of the plainest table, and the 
 remnants of the poorest wardrobe. , 
 
 Jeremiah seems to have been a large heavy 
 man; and the ropes might have pained and 
 bruised him; and the dungeon was deep. 
 Ebed-melech therefore provides a softening, 
 and lets it down, and desires him to put it 
 under his arm-holes under the cords. We 
 should see from this example, not only to do 
 good, but to relieve with tenderness. As 
 much often depends upon the manner of con- 
 ferring a benefit as upon the tiling itself: we 
 are therefore by love to serve one another, 
 and to be not only charitable, but pitiful and 
 courteous. We have seen some refusing with 
 more kindness than others have given; the 
 plaintive countenance, the melting eye, the 
 soothing voice, showing at the time that it 
 was not the will, but the power that was want- 
 ing. How much a female adds to the im- 
 pression of her relief, by the delicacy with 
 which she dispenses it ! the manner as well 
 as the principle of charity may render it a 
 grace. 
 
 But our love is to abound in knowledge and 
 in all judgment We therefore, Finally, see 
 the prudence as well as the kindness of this 
 good man. Though he had drawn him up, he 
 did not urge him to escape, but let him "re- 
 main in the court of the prison." He did this 
 for two reasons. First, there he would be 
 more under the king's protection, than if he 
 was immediately set at large. And, Secondly, 
 there he would be more likely to be better 
 provided for in the straitness of the dearth, as 
 we see from the end of the foregoing chapter, 
 when the king ordered him to abide there 
 before his wretched confinement : " Then 
 Zedekiah the king commanded that they 
 should commit Jeremiah into the court of the 
 prison, and that they should give him daily a 
 j piece of bread out of the bakers' street until 
 
DECEMBER 7. 
 
 all the bread in the city were spent. Thus 
 Jeremiah remained in the court of the 
 prison." 
 
 DECEMBER 7. 
 
 * Now the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, 
 while he was shut up in the court of the prison, 
 saying, Go and speak to Ebed-melech the 
 Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of 
 hosts, the God of Israel ; Behold, I will bring 
 my words upon this city for evil, and not for 
 good ; and they shall be accomplished in that 
 day before thee. But I will deliver thee in that 
 day, saith the Lord : and thou shalt not be given 
 into the hand of the men of whom thou art 
 afraid. For I will surely deliver thee, and 
 thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life 
 shall be for a prey into thee : because thou hast 
 put thy trust in me, saith the Lord." — Jer. 
 xxxix. 15 — 18. 
 
 It is observable that Jeremiah himself was 
 charged with this consolatory message to 
 Ebed-melech, who had acted so nobly as his 
 friend, and obtained his deliverance from the 
 dungeon. Nothing could have been more 
 agreeable and delightful to his feelings than 
 to be the medium of such a communication ; 
 for grace by making a man humble always 
 makes him grateful ; and though his praise is 
 principally due to the Author of all his mer- 
 cies, he will not overlook the instruments. 
 
 The address implies the apprehension of 
 Ebed-melech, yea, it is expressly said he was 
 " afraid." Of whom 1 Of the princes whose 
 doings he had opposed and censured 1 or the 
 Chaldeans that were now encompassing the 
 city 1 It is not possible to determine this; 
 neither is it necessary. But while he is in- 
 formed that the words concerning Jerusalem 
 should be accomplished, and that he should 
 witness it, he receives the assurance ; " But I 
 will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord : 
 and thou shalt not be given into the hand of 
 the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will 
 surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by 
 the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey 
 unto thee." 
 
 Behold the value and importance of life, 
 and see how able the Lord is to secure it even 
 in the midst of general calamity and desola- 
 tion ; according to the promise ; " He shall 
 cover thee with his feathers, and under his 
 wings shalt thou trust : his truth shall be thy 
 shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid 
 for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that 
 flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that 
 walketh in darkness ; nor for the destruction 
 that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall 
 fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right 
 hand ; b it it shall not come nigh thee. Only 
 with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the 
 reward of the wicked." The preservation of 
 Noah in the Deluge, of Lot in the overthrow 
 of Sodom and Gomorrah, of the Israelites in 
 
 Goshen, from the plagues of Egypt, and of 
 the mourners in Ezekiel from the men with 
 the slaughter weapons; all these show that 
 " the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly 
 out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust 
 unto the day of judgment to be punished." 
 
 If Ebed-melech believed this declaration, he 
 would not only dwell safely, but be in quiet 
 from the fear of evil, his mind kept in perfect 
 peace, being stayed upon God. When we 
 consider the structure of our frame, and the 
 numberless dangers to which we are exposed, 
 we cannot reckon upon living a day or an 
 hour to an end, without the Preserver of 
 men. But all our times are in his hand, and 
 he makes us immortal till our work is done 
 
 "Hast thou not given thy word 
 To save my soul from death ? 
 And I can trust my Lord 
 To keep my mortal breath. 
 I'll ,o and come, 
 Nor fear to die. 
 Till from on high 
 Thou call me home." 
 
 But see the reason assigned for his gracious 
 regard : " Because thou hast put thy trust in 
 me, saith the Lord." It was really for his 
 kindness to Jeremiah; but God notices, not 
 the practice, but the principle which had pro- 
 duced it, and without which he could not 
 have been actuated to do as he had done. 
 Men judge of motives by actions: God judges 
 of actions by motives ; and the motive is more 
 with him than every thing else. So indeed it 
 is with us as far as we can ascertain it in any 
 instance of conduct towards ourselves. Hence 
 we value a trifle if it springs from real re- 
 gard, more than a much larger present if it 
 arises from selfishness. We may indeed be 
 mistaken in our constructions, but God is not 
 mocked, his judgment is always according to 
 truth. The case before us is not a solitary 
 one. We should have commended the hu- 
 manity and humility of the Centurion ; and 
 the prayer and perseverance of the Syrophe- 
 nician woman : but our Lord only spake of 
 their faith. 
 
 Some people always seem afraid of faith, 
 as if it were hardly compatible with holiness 
 and morality; whereas, it is the medium, the 
 origin of them ; it is the spring of these 
 streams, it is the root of these branches. It 
 is in every respect operative ; but it peculiarly 
 works by love. He is the most likely to show 
 mercy who has received mercy ; to forgive 
 who has been forgiven. 
 
 But the whole shows us that Ebed-melecn 
 had no reason to repent of his work of faith 
 and labour of love towards the Lord's servant 
 Jeremiah could not repay him ; but this was 
 so much the better for his benefactor. This 
 is the very reason which our Saviour adduces 
 to excite attention to the poor : " For they 
 cannot recompense thee, but thou shalt be re- 
 compensed at the resurrection of the just'' 
 It is finely said, " He that giveth to the poor 
 lendeth unto the Lord." A man does not 
 
DECEMBER 8. 
 
 393 
 
 think of returning what .5 given him, but if 
 he has any sense of honour and of justice he 
 will not retain what is lent. And would the 
 Lord borrow and not repay ? He has bound 
 himself not only to accept, but to reward the 
 services of his people, and the reward is not 
 the less great, or the less certain, because it 
 is a teward not of debt, but of grace. " He 
 tha; recoiveth a prophet in the name of a 
 prophet shall receive a prophet's reward ; and 
 he that receiveth a righteous man in the name 
 of a righteous man shall receive a righteous 
 man's reward. And whosoever shall give to 
 drink unto one of these little ones a cup of 
 cold water only in the name of a disciple, 
 verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose 
 his reward." 
 
 DECEMBER 8. 
 
 " One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, 
 now I see." — John ix. 25. 
 
 The corporeal change with which this poor 
 <nan had been blessed, is the spiritual expe- 
 rience of every real Christian — He was blind, 
 but now sees. 
 
 And like him too the Christian may know it. 
 
 We may also observe a resemblance in the 
 limitation of the knowledge itself — It extends 
 to one thing: "One thing I know, that, 
 whereas I was blind, now I see." But this is 
 the main thing ; and to know this is to know 
 enough, without being able to determine a 
 number of particular circumstances. For in- 
 stance : it is not necessary to know the pre- 
 cise time of the change. Who knows precise- 
 ly when the day begins, or which be the first 
 beams that reach our horizon 1 Yet one thing 
 we know, that the sun is rising ; it is dawn, 
 it is day. We know when spring is arrived, 
 and yet who can fix the exact boundary by 
 which it passed from winter, and the hour, 
 the day, the week, when it will issue in sum- 
 mer? unless in the artificialness of the alma- 
 nac. Who perceived when he first began 
 to live naturally ; yet he knows that he hun- 
 gers and thirsts, and eats and drinks, and lives 
 and moves, and has a being. 
 
 Neither is it necessary to be able to know 
 the particular instrumentality employed ; 
 whether an afflictive event, or a good book, 
 or the admonition of a friend, or the preach- 
 ing of the word. Sometimes there is such a 
 combination and blending of excitements and 
 impressions, that it is impossible to specify 
 which, in the aggregate, was the most power- 
 ful or decisive. Whatever be the means, and 
 they are various, the excellency of the power 
 is of God ; and it is enough for us to know 
 that the work is done, and to acknowledge 
 that he has done it. 
 
 To which we may add the manner in which 
 it has been accomplished. In some cases it 
 
 is more sudden ; in others more slow. The 
 Lord addresses one man in thunder; he 
 whispers to another in a small still voice. 
 Here he awakens fear and terror ; there he 
 draws with the bands of a man and the cords 
 of love. What a difference was there be- 
 tween the conversion of the jailer, and the 
 opening of the heart of Lydia : and between 
 the revelation of the Saviour to Saul of Tar- 
 sus, and to Cornelius ! Yet in all these in- 
 stances the result was the same. Two infer- 
 ences may be drawn from hence. The one 
 regards others. How careful should we be 
 not to disown persons as religious characters, 
 and keep them back from the table of the 
 Lord, because they are unable to furnish a 
 minute narrative or the dealings of God with 
 their souls, while they walk as becometh the 
 Gospel. The other regards ourselves. It is 
 better indeed to err on the safe side ; and to 
 be too fearful rather than self-secure. It is an 
 awful thing to decide on our spiritual condition; 
 and, considering the consequences of mistake, 
 should never be done without much consider- 
 ation. Yet, on the other hand, decision is un- 
 speakably desirable, and we should not refuse 
 to be comforted, and under a feeling of hu- 
 mility and diffidence, become ungrateful, and 
 deny what God has wrought in us. We are 
 corqmanded to examine ourselves, and to prove 
 whether we are in the faith ; but this is best 
 done, not. by nice and curious inquiries with 
 regard to the influences of the Holy Spirit, 
 but by observing the tendency of their opera- 
 tion, and judging by their effects — And happy 
 is he who, whatever he may be ignorant of 
 besides, can say, " One thing I know, that, 
 whereas I was blind, now I see." 
 
 And remark what a confidence the man de- 
 rived from his consciousness of this one thing. 
 These unbelievers wished and endeavoured to 
 confound him ; but their questions and their 
 cavils had no weight with him. He did not 
 consider himself competent to dispute with 
 them; nor did he attempt to consider every 
 objection their prejudices urged — But he had 
 — he felt one invincible, undeniable argument 
 — "This," says he, "is sufficient for me." 
 You say, he is a sinner — Is it likely a sinner 
 would be so honoured of God as he has been 1 
 Since the world began was it not heard that 
 any man opened the eyes of one that was 
 born blind. If this man was not of God, he 
 could do nothing. This however I must leave 
 with you — I know what he has done for me, 
 and cannot be mistaken — whether he be a 
 sinner I know not ; " one thing I know, that, 
 whereas I was blind, now I see." 
 
 A Christian indeed is not an enthusiast 
 He despises no kind of evidence; and he 
 wishes that his religion may always appear 
 what it really is, a reasonable service. But 
 he that believeth hath the witness in himself. 
 Like this man, has a satisfacV.on derived from 
 
3M 
 
 DECEMBER 9. 
 
 experience. He has received the truth in the 
 love and efficiency of it. He has felt its 
 power and blessedness. Such a man could 
 be safely trusted among infidels. They may 
 scoff' and ridicule; they may even perplex 
 him; but they cannot induce a conviction 
 contrary to his views and feelings. He has 
 a certainty, out of which he can neither be 
 .anghed or reasoned. His heart is established 
 with grace. And thus also he is secure, not 
 only from infidelity, but heresy; and cannot 
 be drawn away from the truth as it is in 
 Jesus, or the peculiar doctrines of divine 
 grace. With him they are not mere notions, 
 but principles. They are spirit and they are 
 life. They sanctify, quicken, refresh his soul. 
 If a man who sees could be introduced among 
 a people entirely blind, they would consider 
 him a liar or a madman, when he told them 
 what he saw. Yet though he would not con- 
 temn them because of their blindness, but 
 feel pity instead of pride, he would be in no 
 danger of yielding to their opinion : he would 
 know that he spoke the words of truth and 
 soberness — He would know that though they 
 were blind, he saw. 
 
 This also qualifies a man for dealing with 
 others in divine things. It excites his zeal, 
 and enables him to speak with earnestness, 
 because he can speak without hesitation or 
 doubt. " Lo this, we have searched it, so it 
 is ; hear it, and know thou it for thy good." 
 ** That which we have seen and heard declare 
 we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship 
 with us: and truly our fellowship is with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 
 
 This also yields him a prop against despair, 
 and a cordial under discouragement. He feels 
 that he is far from what he ought to be, and 
 wishes to be. " I have much," says he, i* to 
 humble me, but I am not without cause for 
 thankfulness. He has made me to differ from 
 others, and from myself once. I know he has 
 enabled me to see the evil of sin, the beauty 
 of holiness, the worth of his grace. I know 
 I love his salvation ; and I count all things 
 but loss for the excellency of the knowledge 
 of Christ Jesus my Lord — And if he were 
 pleased to kill me, he would not have shown 
 me such things as these." 
 
 DECEMBER 9. 
 
 u He shall see of the travail of nis soul, and 
 shall be satisfied?' 1 — Isaiah liii. II. 
 
 This verse contains an epitome of the 
 whole chapter ; and the chapter contains an 
 epitome of the whole Gospel. For what is 
 the Gospel — but " the testimony of Jesus ]" 
 And what does this testimony essentially in- 
 clude — but u the sufferings of Christ and the 
 glory that should follow V And if " the an- 
 gels desire to 'ook into these things" — how 
 
 much more should we, to whom they are not 
 only true, and wonderful, and sublime — but 
 infinitely important and necessary ! Let me 
 therefore indulge in three meditations on this 
 all-interesting subject. 
 
 The allusion is obvious. " A woman when 
 she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour 
 is come : but as soon as she is delivered of the 
 child, she remembereth no more the anguish, 
 for joy that a man is born into the world." A 
 comparison should never be pressed beyond 
 its lawful bounds. The attempt made to force 
 too much out of it, not only renders it absurd, 
 but weakens it, and the spirit flies off evapo- 
 rated in particles. It should suffice here to 
 observe, that there is a strong and striking 
 resemblance between the delivered mother 
 and the risen Saviour. In each case there is 
 suffering. In each case the suffering is fol- 
 lowed by pleasure. And in each case the 
 pleasure is deemed the recompense of the 
 suffering — The birth of the child repays the 
 throes of the mother ; and the salvation of 
 the Church satisfies the Saviour : " He shal 
 see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied. 
 
 The TRAVAIL OF HIS SOUL. 
 
 From ignorance and the degree of interes* 
 which things acquire in their relation to our- 
 selves, every sufferer is prone to think that 
 his endurings are peculiar and superior. Jesus 
 could say with infinite propriety, "Behold, and 
 see if there be any sorrow like unto my sor- 
 row, which is done unto me, wherewith the 
 Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce 
 anger." Two things here intimate the great- 
 ness of his passion. First, the term by which 
 it is expressed. " Travail" — not trouble — 
 but " travail." And, secondly, the principal 
 seat of it ; " his soul" — " The travail of his 
 soul." The distress of the soul is the soul of 
 distress. 
 
 Some persons are not qualified to enter 
 into a comparison between corporeal and men- 
 tal affliction. They are a kind of human an- 
 imals. They are masses of flesh and blood. 
 They have senses, and passions, and appetites; 
 and little else. They lie down and rise up; 
 they sleep and wake ; they hunger and thirst 
 — But they never suffer, unless when they 
 have nothing to eat, or when they cry out 
 with bodily pain. They are strangers to all 
 that interior of woe which to feeling minds 
 renders the world a wilderness, more than the 
 thorns and briers without " The spirit of a 
 man will sustain his infirmity: but a wounded 
 spirit who can bear"!" While all is calm and 
 firm within, external trials are borne with 
 comparative ease. Then we may be " trou- 
 bled on every side, yet not distressed ;" like a 
 ship in the sea, which does not sink by the 
 water around it, but only by what gets through 
 and gets in. 
 
 But there are some who have not only 
 "fightings without," but "fears within." 
 
DECEMBER 10. 
 
 396 
 
 They know what inward anguish and depres- 
 sion mean. Ah ! says David, " My bones are 
 vexed, my soul is also sore vexed" — " O, my 
 God, my soul is cast down within me." And 
 how was it with his Son, whom he yet in 
 spirit calls his Lord? His sufferings were 
 " the travail of his soul." Not that he was 
 free from other afflictions. With regard to 
 outward distresses, he was a man of sorrows, 
 and acquainted with grief. But even his ex- 
 ternal sufferings derived much of their pres- 
 sure from the sensibility of his mind, for he 
 was all feeling. Some are little affected, even 
 with bereavements : but he, at the grave of 
 Lazarus, groaned in spirit and wept Some 
 seem careless of reputation ; but he said, " re- 
 proach hath broken my heart." Some when 
 "stricken" are not "grieved," and "have 
 made their faces harder than a rock ;" but he 
 " in the days of his flesh made supplications 
 with strong cryings and tears." But what 
 led him to exclaim on the cross, " My God, 
 my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" What 
 made him in the garden, before the hand of 
 man had yet touched him, to be " sore amazed 
 and very heavy ?" What led him to say, " My 
 soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death?" 
 while " his sweat was as it were drops of blood 
 falling to the ground ?" 
 
 " The thought of his approaching crucifix- 
 ion," say some. If so, what becomes of the 
 pre-eminence of his example ? We can fetch 
 many from history who had to endure more 
 torturing and lingering agonies — And yet 
 they rejoiced in the prospect, left their prisons 
 singing, kissed the instrument of their pain, 
 and thanked the executioner. How did Brad- 
 ford, when informed that he was to be burnt 
 at the stake the following day, fall upon his 
 knees and praise God for an honour he had so 
 long waited for ? When a popish priest said 
 to Hooper at the place of execution, " I am 
 truly sorry to find you here ;" the martyr re- 
 plied, "O man, keep thy sorrow to thyself, 
 and mourn over thine own wickedness. I am 
 well blessed by God, and to die for the sake 
 of Christ is sweet to my soul." Is then the 
 servant above the master, or the disciple above 
 his Lord ? Here — and we will venture to say, 
 here alone, can be found a complete and sat- 
 isfactory solution. They had Calvary before 
 them, but not Gethsemane. They had to en- 
 dure the cross, but not the curse. They died 
 by men, but not for them. They had not to 
 bear the sins of many : they had not to bear 
 their own sins — not one of their own sins — or 
 they would have sunk down under the bur- 
 den. But he bare our sins in his own body 
 on the tree. The Lord laid on him the ini- 
 quity of us all. Surely he hath borne our 
 griefs and carried our sorrows. The chas- 
 tisement of our peace was upon him, and by 
 his stripes we are healed. His soul was 
 
 MADE AN OFFERING FOR SIN. 
 
 DECEMBER 10. 
 
 u He shall see of the travail of his soul, and 
 shall be satisfied." — Isaiah liii. 11. 
 
 Something therefore was to be derived 
 from the travail of his soul. It was the sal- 
 vation of sinners. To show that this infinite 
 good results from his suffering, he compares 
 his dying to the sowing of seed, which dies, 
 and then produces. "Verily, verily, I say 
 unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into 
 the ground and die, it abideth alone : but if it 
 die, it bringeth forth much fruit" Here we 
 are reminded of our obligations to him. If 
 we are reconciled unto God, it is by the death 
 of his Son : if we are redeemed from the 
 curse of the law, it is because he was made 
 a curse for us. The blessing, though free to 
 us, was beyond expression expensive to him. 
 He accomplished it, not by a mere volition of 
 his will, or an exertion of his power, but by 
 his obedience unto death, even the death of 
 the cross. 
 
 "He suuk beneath our heavy woes, 
 To raise us to his throne ; 
 There 's not a gift his hand bestows. 
 But cost his heart a groan." 
 
 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain ! 
 
 While this blessedness is the travail ot nis 
 soul, so we find he can enjoy the sight of it 
 A child, when born, may be spared, and may 
 grow up, and be acknowledged as the of£ 
 spring of her who bare him ; but if she dies, 
 though others see the travail of the mother, 
 she herself does not She is laid low in the 
 dust ; and in vain her infant goes to her grave 
 — His cries, if oppressed, cannot reach her 
 ears, nor, if well treated, can the news glad- 
 den her heart — Her son comes to honour, but 
 she knoweth it not ; and he is brought low, 
 but she perceiveth it not of him. So it was 
 with Rachel : " Rachel travailed, and she had 
 hard labour. And it came to pass, when she 
 was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto 
 her, Fear not ; thou shalt have this son also." 
 And she had a son, and he became a patriarch, 
 and the head of a tribe ; but she saw it not : 
 for she only sighed out a name expressive of 
 her disappointment and sorrow — she called 
 his name Benoni, and expired. So would it 
 have been with Jesus, had he not rose and 
 revived. Whatever blessings he procured 
 for us by dying, he could not have seen the 
 application and enjoyment of them, had he 
 remained in the grave. But he could not be 
 holden of it It was said of him, He shall 
 live. A seed shall serve him. And he shall 
 see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and 
 the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his 
 hand. 
 
 For there is a certainty in his realizing this 
 vision — " He shall see of the travail of his 
 soul." It is often spoken of as a reward in- 
 surec by promise and stipulation. Thus it is 
 
nw 
 
 DECEMBER 11. 
 
 «iid ; " By his knowledge shall my righteous 
 servant justify many ; for he shall bear their 
 iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a por- 
 tion with the great, and he shall divide the 
 spoil with the strong ; because he hath pour- 
 ed out his soul unto death : and he was num- 
 bered with the transgressors ; and lie bare the 
 sin of many, and made intercession for the 
 transgressors." Let it not be objected, that 
 he himself says, " I have laboured in vain, I 
 have spent my strength for naught, and in 
 vain." For here he complains as the moral 
 agent, as the preacher of the word, as the 
 minister of the circumcision. But this does 
 not apply to the everlasting covenant ordered 
 in all things and sure. This would not allow 
 of his suffering at an uncertainty. Having 
 performed the awful condition, it would have 
 been unfaithful in God to have withholden the 
 remuneration suspended upon it ; especially 
 as he died in dependence upon it, and in ex- 
 pectation of it. Tt was the joy set before him, 
 for which he endured the cross, and despised 
 the shame. — To which we may add, that he 
 is fully in possession of resources sufficient to 
 enable him to acquire all his rights, and real- 
 ize all his wishes. As yet we see not all 
 things put under him, but we see him, for the 
 suffering of death, crowned with glory and 
 honour. We see him with power over all 
 flesh : with all power in heaven and in earth 
 — able therefore to counteract all the designs 
 of his enemies, and to make them subservient 
 to the accomplishment of his own — able to 
 take the heathen for his inheritance, and the 
 uttermost parts of the earth for his possession 
 — able to subdue Paganism, and the false 
 prophet, and the man of sin — able to take 
 away the veil from the heart of the Jews, and 
 induce them to look upon him whom they 
 have pierced, and to mourn for him — able to 
 root up in his churches every plant which his 
 heavenly Father hath not planted — able to 
 increase a thousand fold all the excellences 
 and usefulness of his people. " For brass I 
 will bring gold, and for iron I will bring 
 silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron." 
 " Moreover the light of the moon shall be as 
 the light of the sun, and the light of the sun 
 shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days, 
 in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach 
 of his people, and healeth the stroke of their 
 wound." 
 
 DECEMBER 11. 
 
 '* He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall 
 be satisfied." — Isaiah liii. 11. 
 
 Nothing is more trying and mortifying than 
 to labour without success, especially when 
 great difficulties are encountered, and great 
 sacrifices incurred. But how pleasing is it to 
 the husbandman, after manuring, and plough- 
 ing, and sowing, to go forth and see, first the 
 
 blade, then the ear, and after that the full 
 corn in the ear ; and when he has borne the 
 burden and heat of the day, in harvest to be- 
 hold the precious grain safely housed in the 
 garner! How delightful must it be to the 
 warrior after his marchings, and privations 
 and all the perils of the field, to return home 
 in peace, and enjoy the spoils and rewards of 
 victory ! Or take the image to which Isaiah 
 refers. How is the mother recompensed for 
 her pain when she sees — a living child — her 
 own — the pledge of mutual affection — the 
 wearer of the father's name and image — an 
 endeared creature depending upon herself — 
 to be fed at her bosom — to be dandled on her 
 knee — to be aided by her in all his attempts 
 to walk and speak — a rational being unfolding 
 new powers — and preparing for usefulness in 
 the community — and who, unless he be a 
 wretch, will pronounce no word through life 
 with half the feeling he will say, "My 
 mother!" But there have been days wherein 
 it was said, " Blessed is the womb that bare 
 not, and the paps that never gave suck." 
 Many a " Rachel is weeping for her children, 
 and refusing to be comforted, because they 
 are not." Many an early grave is inscribed 
 with, " Childhood and youth are vanity." But 
 the pleasure of the Lord Jesus is liable to no 
 such disappointment — " He shall see of the 
 travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." 
 
 Let us dwell for a moment on this satisfac- 
 tion. What can be so animating and improv- 
 ing 1 Paul says to the Thessalonians, " Ye are 
 our glory and joy." Yet he and his brethren 
 were only ministers by whom they believed 
 even as the Lord gave to every man. But if 
 converts are the glory and joy of those who 
 are only the instruments of their salvation, in 
 how much higher a degree must they be so to 
 him who is the sole author of it! When the 
 Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying, 
 This man receiveth sinners and eateth with 
 them, "He spake this parable unto them. 
 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, 
 if he lose one of them, doth not leave the 
 ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after 
 that which is lost, until he find it ? And when 
 he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, 
 rejoicing." We need not say, that this 
 shepherd, who, instead of complaining of his 
 wearisome and painful search, only exults in 
 his success, is the Shepherd and Bishop of our 
 souls. When he came to the well, he was iiot 
 only thirsty, but hungry, and therefore his 
 disciples went away into the city to buy meat 
 When they returned they spread it before 
 him, saying, " Master, eat" — But he said unto 
 them, " I have meat to eat that ye know not 
 of." Upon which, looking at each other and 
 wondering, they said, " Hath any man brought 
 him aught to eat ?" He then said, " My dis- 
 ciples, since you left me I have had an oppor- 
 tunity to enlighten and convert, by my grace 
 a poor sinful wretch who came here to draw 
 
DECEMBER 12. 
 
 397 
 
 water; and she has left her vessel for my 
 use ; and has gone into the city to tell her 
 neighbors ; and is, as you 6ee yonder, return- 
 ing over the plain with a large number, who 
 will receive my doctrine and become my fol- 
 lowers. Say not ye, There are yet four 
 months, and then cometh harvest 1 behold, I 
 say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on 
 the fields ; for they are white already to 
 harvest Ah! my disciples, this is food! 
 There is no repast like the sa\isfaction of 
 doing good — My meat is to do the will of 
 him that sent me, and to finish his work." 
 
 And when he sees the travail of his soul, is 
 he satisfied ] Then behold his benevolence. 
 The world knew him not : his own received 
 him not They persecuted him through life, 
 and at length hung him on a tree. But God 
 raised him from the dead, and he had the 
 means to revenge himself- — and it is said 
 revenge is sweet And it is sweet to a brute. 
 It is sweet to a devil. But it is not sweet to 
 a Christian mind. But it is sweet to exercise 
 mercy, to pass by a transgression, to over- 
 come evil with good. So Jesus derived his 
 satisfaction not from the punishment of his 
 enemies, but from their pardon, and deemed 
 their happiness a recompense for all his 
 sufferings. 
 
 Then we see the worth and importance of 
 the salvation of the soul. We cannot always 
 infer the value of a thing from the pleasure it 
 yields. Little things please little minds. We 
 read of some who rejoice in a thing of naught 
 We know how men make gold their hope, 
 and fine gold their confidence : and yet a 
 man's life consisteth not in the abundance of 
 the things that he possesseth. When there- 
 fore a work is performed, we wish to know 
 the opinion of one who is a perfect judge — 
 Is he satisfied with it? It is a strong proof 
 of the importance of salvation that the angels 
 of God rejoice over one sinner that repenteth : 
 for we cannot imagine that a mere trifle would 
 throw into ecstasy those beings who are pro- 
 verbial for their knowledge. But it is a 
 stronger proof still that it is the satisfaction 
 of our Divine Redeemer himself. O time we 
 estimated our souls as he estimates them ! 
 Every thing else would appear less than no- 
 thing and vanity, compared with their salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Then we may enlarge our notions of the 
 numbers of the saved. True benevolence is 
 the most encroaching thing in the world. A 
 generous heart is never satisfied ; it is always 
 planning, always desiring to do something 
 more. And would his soul, which is com- 
 passion itself, be satisfied with a few that 
 should be saved ? How many must be made 
 partakers of the benefit before he stays the 
 process of mercy, and says, It is enough ! If 
 no more are called I am satisfied ! But it is 
 in reference to his claim and his disposition, 
 that he is told by promise that his seed shall 
 
 be as the stars of heaven, as the sand on the 
 sea-shore, and as drops of dew. 
 
 Then here is encouragement for faith and 
 hope. Under a sense of unworthiness and 
 guilt persons often fear whether he will 
 receive them. But does he not invite them 
 to come ; and command them to come ; and 
 does he not complain that they will not come 
 — yea, does he not assure them that it would 
 yield him pleasure 1 We can therefore plead 
 with you his interest as well as your own. 
 You have offended him enough, grieved him 
 enough : and surely if there be any thing by 
 which you can yield him satisfaction, you are 
 bound to do it Let him then see you at his 
 feet and hear you crying, Lord, save, I perish 
 — This will charm him as much as the songs 
 of angels — It is the travail of his soul, and 
 when he sees it he is satisfied. 
 
 Then we have here a noble example to 
 follow. Let the same mind be in us. Let his 
 joy be fulfilled in ourselves. Let us spare no 
 pains; let us grudge no sacrifices in order to 
 be useful. And let the satisfaction arising 
 from it be our reward — " Brethren, if any of 
 you do err from the truth, and one convert 
 him ; let him know, that he which converteth 
 a sinner from the error of his way shall save a 
 soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of 
 
 DECEMBER 12. 
 
 " O Lord, I know that tht way of man is not M 
 himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct 
 his steps." — Jer. x. 23. 
 
 Jeremiah knew this. It was not with him 
 a matter of opinion or conjecture, but of cer- 
 tainty; and therefore he could address his 
 conviction to God himself. " But he was a 
 prophet, and might have derived his con- 
 fidence from an immediate inspiration." But 
 we have no reason to believe this. He derived 
 his persuasion from five sources, which lie 
 open to ourselves. 
 
 First dependence. We are not our own, 
 and therefore the right of direction does not 
 belong to us, but to another, in whom we live, 
 and move, and have our being ; and who has 
 an absolute claim to us. 
 
 Secondly, ignorance. Vain man would be 
 wise, but he is born like a wild ass's colt. 
 His powers are exceedingly limited ; he is 
 liable to a thousand prejudices and delusions; 
 and cannot be safely trusted to discern and 
 distinguish between good and evil, appear 
 ances and realities. 
 
 Thirdly, observation. Read all history. See 
 the consequences of Lot's choosing the vale 
 of Sodom, "because it was well watered." 
 See the sin and embarrassment to which 
 David was reduced, when he went to Gath ; 
 yet he was so convinced of the propriety of 
 this fatal step, as to say, •' there is nothing 
 
398 
 
 DECEMBER 13. 
 
 oetter for me to do." Look around you. 
 What are you continually meeting with, not 
 only in the conduct of men, but in the mis- 
 takes even of good men? 
 
 Fourthly, experience. Can any one look 
 track upon life, and attentively review the 
 events that have befallen him ; the enterprises 
 in which he has been engaged ; the anxieties, 
 and hopes, and fears, and joys, and sorrows, 
 which have excited and influenced him ; and 
 not be compelled to say, " O Lord, I know 
 that the way of man is not in himself: it is 
 not in man that walketh to direct his steps?" 
 
 Lastly, revelation. Here we have the 
 testimony of the only wise God himself fre- 
 quently interposed and expressed, in every 
 kind of statement — " Who knoweth what is 
 good for man in this life V " The race is not 
 to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, 
 neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches 
 to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men 
 of skill : but time and chance happeneth to 
 them all." " Man's goings are of the Lord ; 
 how can a man then understand his own 
 tvay 1" " He performeth the thing that is 
 appointed for me, and many such things are 
 with him." " He worketh all things after the 
 counsel of his own will." 
 
 So true is the doctrine before us. And who 
 does not believe the truth of it 1 It is not the 
 conviction we want, but the temper, the 
 practice that becomes it, and which we might 
 imagine would certainly be produced by it in 
 rational creatures. But, alas ! these rational 
 creatures are also depraved creatures ; hence 
 they see and approve better things, and follow 
 worse. Yet surely this knowledge should be a 
 principle, and we ought to derive from it 
 gratitude. Have we been preserved from the 
 dangers to which we were once unknowingly 
 exposed 1 Have we escaped the follies and 
 evils into which wiser and better men than 
 ourselves have fallen 1 Have we been shel- 
 tered and indulged in our course 1 Have we 
 had comfort in our connexions, and success 
 in our engagements 1 Let us not burn in- 
 cense to ourselves, as if all this was owing to 
 our own prudence, and caution, and care ; but 
 exclaim, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, 
 but to thy name give glory; for thy mercy 
 and thy truth's sake." It should also yield 
 submission. We may pray with regard to an 
 affliction, "if it be possible, let this cup pass 
 from me ;" if we can add, with the Saviour, 
 " nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." 
 Indeed we cannot know what the will of God 
 is in any of our trials, till events discover it. 
 But when it is discovered, we ought to bow 
 to his pleasure ; assured not only that he has 
 a right to do what he will with his own, but 
 that he is too righteous and kind to injure us, 
 and knows infinitely better than we d6 what 
 our welfare requires. 
 
 If too "the way of man is not in himself," 
 it should check presumptuousness. This often 
 
 appears in men with regard to their future 
 expectations and designs. But wisdom says, 
 "Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou 
 knowest not what a day may bring forth." 
 Hence James thus reproves a tradesman, not 
 for any disposition to defraud and oppress, nor 
 for the wish to improve his income ; but for 
 reckoning on the continuance of his being 
 and his health, and success in business, as if 
 no uncertainty could attend him, and forming 
 his scheme without any consideration of God, 
 on whom every thing relied : " Go to now, ye 
 that say, To day or to-morrow we will go into 
 such a city, and continue there a year, and 
 buy and sell, and get gain : whereas ye know 
 not what shall be on the morrow. For what 
 is your life 1 It is even a vapour, that appearetli 
 for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, 
 we shall live, and do this, or that. But now 
 ye rejoice in your boastings : all such rejoicing 
 is evil." The certain rich man, whose ground 
 brought forth plentifully, said, " This will I 
 do; I will pull down my barns, and build 
 greater ; and there will I bestow all my fruits 
 and my good. And I will say to my soul, 
 Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many 
 years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be 
 merry." This is what he said — "But God 
 said, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be 
 required of thee ; then whose shall those 
 things be which thou hast provided 1" 
 
 The fact should also teach us to apply to 
 God for direction in serious and earnest 
 prayer. " Trust in the Lord with all thine 
 heart; and lean not unto thine own under- 
 standing. In all thy ways acknowledge him, 
 and he shall direct thy paths." He is able to 
 do it : he is willing to do it ; yea, he is engaged 
 to do it, if you repair with the case to him. " 1 
 will bring the blind by a way that they knew 
 net ; I will lead them in paths that they have 
 not known : I will make darkness light be- 
 fore them, and crooked things straight. These 
 things will I do unto them, and not forsake 
 them." 
 
 It is thus alone we can live happy in a mis- 
 erable world, and be calm and confident in 
 every disturbance or alarm. But this will en- 
 able the soul to dwell at ease. The remedy 
 has been tried, and was never known to fail. 
 And no wonder — It is of God's own appoint- 
 ing and prescribing. " Commit thy way unto 
 the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring 
 it to pass." "Commit thy works unto the 
 Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established " 
 
 DECEMBER 13. 
 
 " And the princes offered for dedicating of tht 
 altar in the day that it was anointed, even the 
 princes offered their offering before the altar " 
 — Numb. vii. 10. 
 These princes, "heads of the houses of 
 
 their fathers," were twelve. Their offering 
 
DECEMBER 13. 
 
 399 
 
 ndividually was this : " One silver charger, 
 the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty 
 shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, 
 after the shekel of the sanctuary ; both of 
 them were full of fine flour mingled with oil 
 for a meat offering : one spoon of ten shekels 
 cf gold, full of incense: one young bullock, 
 one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a 
 burnt offering : one kid of the goats for a sin 
 offering : and for a sacrifice of peace offer- 
 ings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five 
 lambs of the first year." 
 
 Some of these articles were for immediate 
 use, such as the animals to be slain in sacri- 
 fice for burnt offerings, sin offerings, and 
 peace offerings. Others were for fixed and 
 standing use : such were the utensils to be 
 employed in performing the service of the 
 sanctuary. These were all of silver and gold. 
 Was God to be served only in plate 1 The 
 costliness was not for his pleasure, but for the 
 sake of the people in an early and infantile 
 state of the Church ; to impress their im- 
 aginations ; to remind them that he was " a 
 great King;" and to teach them that they 
 were to serve him with their best The 
 chargers were worth, in our money, sixteen 
 pounds five shillings — the bowl fifteen pounds 
 — the spoon, or ladle, seven pounds ten shil- 
 lings. It is not possible to determine the value 
 of the two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five 
 lambs ; but the presentation of two hundred 
 and four of such animals, and three hundred 
 pounds in silver, and seventy-five pounds in 
 gold, was at that period, and in their circum- 
 stances, a vast donation. 
 
 And here the first thing that strikes us is 
 the capacity of these donors. We are amazed 
 to think how they came by so much affluence 
 as to be able to spare for even one offering so 
 much treasure. They had all been oppressed 
 and plundered in Egypt, and they were now 
 in a wilderness, without merchandise, trade, 
 or agriculture. But from whatever source, or 
 whatever way their wealth had been acquired, 
 they had it ; it was lawfully their own ; they 
 would not have been pious at the expense of 
 justice ; and they knew that God abhors rob- 
 bery for burnt offering. Those however who 
 have riches commonly resolve to keep them ; 
 and as it is said that the ground is generally 
 very barren about the silver and gold mines, 
 so the wealthy often do less for the cause of 
 God, not only comparatively, but really, than 
 persons of less resources. But it was not so 
 here. Who can help admiring the liberality 
 of these men 1 And let it be observed, That 
 they did this freely; they were not called 
 , upon to do it ; it was not the effect of any 
 excitement, but of the forwardness and will- 
 ingness of their own minds. Nor was this 
 the first time of showing their generosity. It 
 had been evinced in two instances before this. 
 The first was when the tabernacle was in 
 framing. " Then they gave onyx stones, and 
 
 stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the 
 breastplate ; and spice, and oil for the light, 
 and for the anointing oil, and for th«* swee' 
 incense." These were things much valued 
 and which could not be easily replaced 
 When, also, the tabernacle was fully set up, 
 and anointed and sanctified with all the in 
 struments thereof, " they brought their offer 
 ing before the Lord, six covered wagons, anc 
 twelve oxen ; a wagon for two of the princes 
 and for each one an ox : and they brought 
 them before the tabernacle." Yet after this, 
 immediately after this, they came forward 
 again with the expensive donation before us. 
 
 With regard to this presentation we may 
 remark three things. First, all the offerings 
 were precisely the same in kind, quantity, 
 and value. But were the donors equally rich ? 
 This is not likely. Yet they were equally 
 disposed ; they felt an equal interest in the 
 altar ; and to prevent mortification on one 
 side, and pride on the other, by pre-eminence 
 or inferiority, they had agreed upon this mea- 
 sure. We differ in our stations and in our 
 means, but though we do not give the same 
 in fact, we may give the same in principle. 
 The Lord looketh to the heart, and in hia 
 sight all who give proportionately give equal- 
 ly ; and the poor may be as liberal as the rich. 
 
 Secondly. The offerings were not to be 
 presented at once. The solemnity continued 
 twelve days : " The Lord said unto Moses, 
 They shall offer their offering, each prince on 
 his day, for the dedicating pf the altar." 
 Wherefore was this'! We are never more 
 liable to mistakes than when we assign rea- 
 sons for the conduct of the Supreme Being. 
 Yet he has reasons for all he does. And may 
 we not suppose that he would teach us to do 
 every thing decently and in order 1 As the 
 work of God should not be done in a careless, 
 so neither in a hurried and confused manner. 
 "Take time," says the proverb, "and you 
 will have done the sooner ;" and if not, you 
 will surely have done " the better." May we 
 not learn also that we are not to complain of 
 the length and repetition of religious ser- 
 vices ? Here were twelve days of convoca- 
 tion immediately following each other. But 
 did the pious Jews cry out, " What a weari- 
 ness it is to serve the Lord 1 When will the 
 work be over 1" Those who love the things of 
 God call them "their pleasant things;" and 
 in going from one ordinance to another, they 
 only go from strength to strength. And when 
 health, or the engagements of duty, keep 
 them back from going with the multitude to 
 the sanctuary, in " their hearts are the ways 
 of them." Again. By the protraction and 
 the repetition of the services, they would be 
 more noticed, and more remembered by the 
 people, and especially by their children. To 
 which we may add, That thus an equal hon- 
 our would be put upon each tribe. Each had 
 his own standard in the army, each had hia 
 
4UU 
 
 DECEMBER 14. 
 
 precious stone in the breastplate of Aaron, 
 and each had a separate day for the presenta- 
 tion of his offering, according to the order in 
 which they were to move, or encamp, begin- 
 ning withJudah, and ending with Naphtali. 
 Thirdly, The account of each dedication is 
 expressly given, and repeated in the very 
 same words, without the least variation or 
 abridgement. This swells the chapter to a 
 great length. In reading it perhaps we have 
 sometimes been ready to think the sameness 
 tiresome ; and to say, this might easily have 
 been avoided if the sacred historian, after the 
 recital of the offering of the first prince's of- 
 fering, had said, and " so did the remaining 
 eleven." But there is no vain repetition in 
 the Scriptures. God would show that he was 
 no respecter of persons ; that he is not un- 
 righteous to forget our work and labour of 
 love ; that a book is written before him, in 
 which he records the services of every indi- 
 vidual. 
 
 DECEMBER 14. 
 
 * And being made perfect, he became the author 
 of eternal salvation unto all them that obey 
 him."— Heb. v. 9. 
 
 We are made perfect as sin is subdued in 
 as, as holiness prevails, as we love the law of 
 God, and find his service our delight. It is 
 thus we are transformed by the renewing of 
 the mind ; and are changed from glory to 
 glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. But this 
 was not the case with the Lord Jesus. He 
 was the Holy One of God. He had in him 
 nothing to mortify, nothing to eradicate, no- 
 thing to convert. And the term here does not 
 refer to his personal perfection, but to his of- 
 ficial. He stood in a peculiar relation to us, 
 as the accomplisher of our recovery from the 
 Fall ; and for this a certain kind of process 
 was necessary, by way of qualification ; in- 
 cluding his incarnation, abasement, and suf- 
 fering. This is fully expressed in an earlier 
 part of the Epistle, where it is said he was 
 made " perfect through suffering ;" and that 
 " it behoved him in all things to be made like 
 unto his brethren." The same is more than 
 implied in the words before us : " Though he 
 were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the 
 things he suffered ;" and, in this way, " being 
 made perfect, he became the author of eternal 
 salvation unto all them that obey him." And 
 it is by his poverty we are enriched ; it is by 
 his stripes we are healed ; it is by his death 
 we live. He was our Redeemer in order to 
 be our righteousness and strength. He pro- 
 cured on the cross all that he applies on the 
 throne. 
 
 The author of a work is very distinguish- 
 able from the means. And this is peculiarly 
 the case in the work before us. The Scrip- 
 tures, ministers, ordinances, providences, iriay 
 
 all aid us in attaining salvation ; but he is tin 
 author ; neither is there salvation in an) 
 other : no man cometh unto the Father, bin 
 by him. 
 
 To be the author of some works is a dis- 
 grace ; to be the author of others is a very 
 little honour; but there are works which 
 have gained for their performers the admira- 
 tion and praises of nations, and of ages. To 
 be the author of salvation, is to surpass every 
 other agent, more than the sun differs from a 
 glow-worm. All the angels of God, and they 
 are good judges, exclaim at the sight of it 
 with a loud voice, " Worthy is the Lamb that 
 was slain to receive power, and riches, and 
 wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, 
 and blessing." All other deliverers and ben- 
 efactors are as much below him in kindness 
 and efficiency, as the body is inferior to the 
 soul, and time to eternity. 
 
 He is the author of eternal salvation. Eter- 
 nity would add dignity to a trifle. But what 
 an importance does it attach, what a crown- 
 ing glory and happiness, when it is added to 
 our wishes and our hopes ! What the world 
 promises the votaries of riches, fame, and 
 pleasure, is uncertain, short, vanishing : and 
 they set their heart on that which is not. But 
 you, O Christian, have chosen that good part 
 which shall not be taken away from you. You 
 have a better and an enduring substance. 
 Your salvation shall be for ever. For ever — 
 absolutely. All other salvations are everlast- 
 ing only by comparison. The various deliv- 
 erances of the Jews terminated in fresh ruin ; 
 and they were again conquered, spoiled, and 
 enslaved. But the believer is passed from 
 death unto life, and shall never come into 
 condemnation. The crown he obtains is a 
 crown of glory, that cannot fade away. His 
 portion is without any qualification of the 
 term perfectly endless — His song will always 
 be new: his blessedness always beginning. 
 For ever — emphatically. The present system 
 is too narrow and too short for its develop- 
 ment and realization. There must be new 
 heavens and a new earth. There must be an 
 immortality of duration. It is to eternity this 
 salvation principally looks. Eternity is the 
 grand sphere of it. There its glories are to 
 be displayed ; there its treasures are to be 
 possessed , there its blessings are to be en- 
 joyed. And so shall we be for ever with the 
 Lord. 
 
 But who will be the partakers of this sal- 
 vation ? " All," says the Apostle, " that obey 
 him." Does he mean then to exclude from 
 hope those who have hitherto been disobedi- 
 ent ? Who then could be saved 1 Christians 
 themselves will acknowledge, that they them- 
 selves were sometimes foolish and disobedi- 
 ent : and that it was after this the loving 
 kindness of God their Saviour towards them 
 appeared. And is not the language of the 
 Gospel addressed to such 1 " Let the wicked 
 
DECEMBER 15. 
 
 4(H 
 
 forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
 thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, 
 and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our 
 God, for he will abundantly pardon." But the 
 Apostle would intimate, that the salvation is 
 a holy salvation ; that though its blessings are 
 derived entirely from grace, they can only be 
 enjoyed in a state of obedience ; that though 
 this obedience is not the cause of the salva- 
 tion, it is the accompaniment, and character- 
 izes all those who are the subjects of it 
 
 Do we then obey him ? How reasonable 
 is this obedience ! But how necessary is it ! 
 
 We cannot be ignorant of his will. We 
 know that he commands us to believe on his 
 name, to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, 
 to follow him, to seek those things which are 
 above. What is our practice, our disposition, 
 our prayer with regard to all this'! Can we 
 say, sincerely and earnestly — 
 
 " Make mc to walk in thy commands, 
 'Tis a delightful road ; 
 Nor let my head, nor heart, nor hands, 
 Offend against my God." 
 
 DECEMBER 15. 
 u But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to 
 pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand 
 of the Lord came upon him." — 2 Kings iii. 15. 
 
 We have here a narrative of the expedition 
 of Jehoram king of Israel against Moab. He 
 drew into the enterprise not only the king of 
 Edom, but Jehoshaphat the king of Judah ; a 
 good man, but who was here led into tempta- 
 tion, for which he would have perished, if the 
 Lord had dealt with him after his desert. We 
 are not to hate the irreligious, or refuse to do 
 Liiem good as we have opportunity ; but with 
 regard to unhallowed intimacy and alliances, 
 we are to remember that evil communications 
 corrupt good manners, and that as for such as 
 turn aside to their crooked ways, the Lord 
 will lead them forth with the workers of in- 
 iquity. This was not the first time Jehosha- 
 phat had erred in the same thing. He had 
 some years before joined with Ahab the father 
 of Jehoram, and had paid dear for his folly. 
 The proverb says, a burnt child dreads the 
 fire. Even an animal, who has once suffered, 
 will avoid the cause for ever after. But men 
 are not equally wise — "Why will ye be 
 stricken any more ? Ye will revolt more and 
 more." 
 
 To return. " So the king of Israel went, 
 and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom : 
 and they fetched a compass of seven days' 
 journey : and there was no water for the host, 
 and for the cattle that followed them. And 
 the king of Israel said, Alas ! that the Lord 
 hath called these three kings together, to de- 
 liver them into the hand of Moab !" But was 
 it the Lord's doing? The distress was from 
 him, but not the cause. But so it is ; " the 
 2<3 
 
 foolishness of man perverteth his way. and 
 his heart fretteth against the Lord." Yet a 
 godly man will differ from others, even in a 
 common mistake or calamity ; and " Jehosha 
 phat said, Is there not here a prophet of the 
 Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by 
 him?" He should have consulted before he 
 took a step, both as to the war itself, and the? 
 direction they were to take. It was thus 
 David always did, and prospered. Yet it was 
 better done late than entirely neglected. We 
 have also here an image of what frequently 
 takes place. God's servants are not thought 
 of in ease, prosperity, and health : but when 
 conscience is alarmed, when trouble comes, 
 when sickness and death threaten — then where 
 is the minister ? Send for the minister ! 
 
 But how came Elisha here? In such a 
 place ! In such company ! He was rot here 
 as the king's chaplain, or the army's chap- 
 lain ; he was deemed by both the troubler of 
 Israel. It is probable, as God designed to put 
 honour upon him, that he was there by a di- 
 vine impulse. However this may be, he teas 
 there ; for " one of the king of Israel's ser- 
 vants answered and said, Here is Elisha, the 
 son of Shaphat, which poured water on the 
 hands of Elijah." Upon this Jehoram is si- 
 lent But Jehoshaphat commends him, and 
 says, " The word of the Lord is with him. 
 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and 
 the king of Edom went down to him. And 
 Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What 
 have I to do with thee? get thee to the 
 prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of 
 thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto 
 him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these 
 three kings together, to deliver them into 
 the hand of Moab." 
 
 It seems surprising that Jehoram did not 
 resent this. But his haughty spirit was bowed 
 down, and his conscience sided with the man 
 of God. 
 
 It is a character of a citizen of Zion, how 
 much more of a messenger of Divine truth, 
 that in his eyes a vile person is contemned, 
 while he honours them that fear the Lord. 
 What a difference is there between the right- 
 eous and the wicked ! And we should feel it 
 and show it in our conduct — But we must 
 show it properly. And here some distinction 
 is necessary. Elisha does not here speak as 
 a subject ; there is a respect due to a sove- 
 reign officially, whatever be his character; 
 and therefore Paul retracted an exceptionable 
 expression, remembering that it was said, 
 " Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of 
 thy people." But it was the prophet who 
 here spoke in the name of the Most High 
 God. Yet something of nature, it would 
 seem, mingled with it ; so that he was irri- 
 tated and ruffled, and was rendered for the 
 time unsusceptible of the prophetic inspira- 
 tion. And what does he ? " B- : ng me a min 
 
4U2 
 
 DECEMBER 16. 
 
 strel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel 
 played, that the hand of the Lord came upon 
 him." 
 
 Minstrels were persons who played on the 
 harp, and also sung, and sometimes with 
 dancing. They are now unusual ; but they 
 were very common, formerly, in most coun- 
 tries. There were many of them in Israel. 
 
 The love of music is generally reckoned a 
 sign of a good temper, and the use of it may 
 help a bad one. The indulgence of it may 
 be carried to excess, and be abused ; but upon 
 the whole, it is one of the most innocent, as 
 well as agreeable employments. It has often 
 been called in to inflame unhallowed mirth ; 
 but the Moravians, and Luther, and Calvin, 
 and a thousand more, have proved that it is 
 not only consistent with devotion, but aidful 
 of it. It is founded in human nature. God 
 has constructed us alive to it. Pythagoras 
 used it always before he retired to bed. Plato 
 recommends the use of it in the laws of his 
 republic. David, by his harp, often chased 
 away the evil spirit from Saul. It was much 
 practised by the students in the schools of the 
 prophets: hence Samuel said to Saul, at a 
 certain place, " Thou shalt meet a company of 
 prophets coming down from the high place 
 with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and 
 a harp, before them ; and they shall prophesy : 
 and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon 
 Jiee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and 
 shalt be turned into another man." And here 
 we find Elisha called in a devout Levite, to 
 play and sing before him, to calm and raise 
 his spirits, to receive the message of the 
 Almighty. 
 
 Who thinks sufficiently of the dependence 
 of spirit on matter ? Does not every thing re- 
 ligious first address itself to the senses? 
 
 But let us derive an example from Elisha. 
 Let us serve God without distraction. Let 
 us lift up holy hands without wrath and 
 doubting. Let us cherish in religious exer- 
 cises serenity, and love, and gentleness of 
 mind, and feeling — 
 
 "The Spirit, like a peaceful dove. 
 
 Flies from the realms of noise and strife ; 
 Why should we vex and grieve his love, 
 Who se»<s our souls to heavenly life?" 
 
 DECEMBER 16. 
 " Ah Lord God ! behold, thou hast made the hea- 
 ven and the earth by thy great power and 
 stretched-out arm, and there is nothing too 
 hard for thee." — Jer. xxxii. 17. 
 
 Much of true godliness consists in our hold- 
 ing communion with God not only in his re- 
 lations, but in what we call his attributes or 
 the perfections of his nature. We should 
 especially do this, as our circumstances and 
 experience render the exertion of any one of 
 them in particular peculiarly needful and rea- 
 sonable This might be exemplified with 
 
 regard to our misery and his mercy, our guilt 
 and his grace, our ignorance and his wisdom. 
 But what is the practical use we should make 
 of the truth before us? a truth which all will 
 readily acknowledge in speculation? "No- 
 thing is too hard for thee." 
 
 Why then surely we should flee from his 
 wrath, and seek an interest in his favour. 
 Who would not dread the displeasure of Om- 
 nipotence ? Who knoweth the power of his 
 anger? It is a fear/ul thing to fall into the 
 hand of the living God. His wrath is al 
 mighty. It can arm every creature against 
 me, from an insect to an archangel. It can 
 operate immediately upon my mind without 
 the intervention of instruments. It can reach 
 me, where no mortal foe can touch me, be- 
 yond death and the grave. Hence said the 
 Saviour, " Be not afraid of them that kill the 
 body, and after that have no more that they 
 can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye 
 shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath 
 killed hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say 
 unto you, Fear him." But if he can be an 
 almighty enemy, he can be an omnipotent 
 friend. He can cause all creatures to be at 
 peace with me ; and make all things to work 
 together for my good. If he loves me and 
 provides for me, the providence, the love is 
 attended with infinite means and resources, 
 and eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
 have entered into the heart of man the things 
 which God hath prepared tor them that love 
 him. 
 
 " And can this mighty Lord 
 Of glory condescend? 
 And will he write his name, 
 My Father and my Friend?" 
 
 He has rendered it more than possible. " He 
 that spared not his own Son, but delivered 
 him up for us all, how shall he not with him 
 also freely give us all things ?" He waits to 
 be gracious, and is exalted to have mercy 
 upon us. He has established a ministry of 
 reconciliation. By his servants God himself 
 beseeches you to be reconciled unto God ! 
 
 If nothing is too hard for him, let me de- 
 pend upon him for the renovation of my de- 
 praved nature. Indeed when I consider my- 
 self, and think of the work that is to be ac- 
 complished, that it is not a mere change of 
 opinion, a reformation of manners, but a trans- 
 formation by the renewing of the mind, I 
 should see no medium between utter despond- 
 ency and that hope which leads me to this 
 rock which is higher than I. He is the God 
 of all grace. He can enlighten this under- 
 standing, dark as it is. He can soften this 
 heart, hard as it is. He can render my duty 
 my privilege; my work my pleasure. He can 
 put his Spirit within me, and cause me to 
 walk in his statutes and judgments to do them. 
 He can give me a sense of his pardoning 
 love under the deepest sense of my un worthi- 
 ness and desert, and purge my conscience 
 
DECEMBER 17. 
 
 403 
 
 from dead works to serve the living God. He 
 is also adequate to the continuance and car- 
 rying on of the good work after he has begun 
 It. Through all my dangers he can preserve 
 me to the end of my course, and make me 
 more than a conqueror. Under every burden 
 he can sustain me. In every duty his grace 
 is sufficient for me — Nothing is too hard for 
 him. 
 
 This should animate us to do good in hope- 
 less cases. I call these cases hopeless in 
 reference to ordinary means and mere human 
 agency : but there is hope in Israel concern- 
 ing this thing. He has a mighty arm, strong 
 is his hand, and high is his right hand. Who 
 brought Manasseh to himself after he had 
 sinned away all the effects of a pious educa- 
 tion, and had sunk to the lowest depths of 
 vice 1 By whom were the Corinthian converts 
 washed, justified, sanctified) Let ministers 
 who look down upon hearers who have grown 
 into impenitence under their labours ; let fa- 
 thers and mothers whose heanis are bleeding 
 over children of disobedience ; let all who 
 are striving in their stations to save a soul 
 from death, encourage themselves in the 
 Lord their God, and remember that he is able 
 even of these stones to raise up children unto 
 • Abraham. 
 
 Let the reflection also sustain and comfort 
 us when useful and valuable instruments are 
 called away. There is much idolatry in our 
 hearts, of which we are not aware till the 
 idols are laid hold of and removed — Then we 
 groan and exclaim, " My wound is incurable :" 
 " Mine eye shall no more see good." Yet 
 when the stream is dried up, is the fountain 
 exhausted ? When the husband and the father 
 are withdrawn, does not he still live who is 
 the Father of the fatherless and the Husband 
 of the widow 1 Many a dying saint, in the 
 midst of weeping dependants, has felt, as a 
 cordial to his heart, the Divine assurance, 
 " Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve 
 them alive, and let thy widow trust in me." 
 We may apply this still more to the cause of 
 God. Here he uses means, and we ought to 
 esteem them, but we must not depend upon 
 them, or suppose that any of them are essen- 
 tial to his work. The government of the 
 Church is not suspended upon men, however 
 wise and qualified, but upon the shoulder of 
 Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and 
 for ever*. With him is the residue of the 
 Spirit When Elijah was taken, Elisha was 
 left, and endued with a double portion of his 
 spirit. What should we have said had we 
 lived when Paul, when Luther died) Had 
 . we seen the prisons filled, and the stake fed 
 with pious victims, what would have been 
 our fears for the reformation 1 But these pris- 
 ons, these fires only extolled, and increased, 
 and recommended it The professors, the 
 
 Ereachers suffered as evil-doers, even unto 
 onds, but the word of God was not bound. 
 
 Yea, the things that happened unto them 
 turned out rather to the furtherance of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Finally, If nothing is too hard for the Lord,' 
 let it establish our confidence in his word of 
 prophecy and promise, whatever seems to op- 
 pose the accomplishment of it. We cannot 
 absolutely depend upon the word of men, for 
 they are changeable ; and if they continue in 
 the same mind, they may be unable to fulfil 
 their engagements. But with God there is no 
 variableness nor shadow of turning, neither 
 can he be ever incapacitated to perform with 
 his hand what he has spoken with his mouth. 
 The largeness of God's promise in the wil- 
 derness was at first too much for the faith of 
 even Moses himself. " And Moses said, The 
 people, among whom I am, are 6ix hundred 
 thousand footmen ; and thou hast said, I will 
 give them flesh, that they may eat a whole 
 month. Shall the flocks and the herds be 
 slain for them, to suffice them 1 or shaL all 
 the fish of the sea be gathered together for 
 them, to suffice them )" But what said the 
 answer of God ? " Is the Lord's hand waxed 
 short 1 thou shalt see now whether my word 
 shall come to pass unto thee or not." It was 
 otherwise with Abraham the father of the 
 faithful. When God had made promise to 
 Abraham, notwithstanding the improbability, 
 and, naturally considered, impossibility of the 
 fulfilment, " he staggered -not at the promise 
 of God through unbelief: but was strong in 
 faith, giving glory to God ; and being fully 
 persuaded that what he had promised, he was 
 able also to perform." So let it be with us, 
 first as to all God has engaged to do for us 
 personally — even to the resurrection of our 
 bodies, according to the working whereby he 
 is able even to subdue all things unto himself: 
 and secondly, as to all those declarations of a 
 public nature, and which regard the conver- 
 sion of the Jews, and the call of the Gentiles, 
 and the filling of the earth with the know- 
 ledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the 
 sea. These are not visionary representations 
 — " The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" 
 — and " in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting 
 strength" — " Nothing is too hard for the 
 Lord." 
 
 DECEMBER 17. 
 
 " And after that many days were fulfilled, the 
 Jews took counsel to kill him : but their laying 
 ■wait was known of Saul. And they watched 
 the gates day and night to kill him. Then the 
 disciples took him by night, and let him down 
 by the wall in a basket." — Acts ix. 23 — 25 
 
 Though this is related immediately after 
 Paul's conversion, it did not happen till a 
 very considerable time afterwards. The aim 
 of Luke, the sacred historian, was not to give 
 a full and continued series of events, but to 
 record particular facts and circumstances at 
 
404 
 
 DECEMBER 18. 
 
 he was moved by the Holy Ghost. He there- 
 fore often passes over large intervals between 
 without notice. 
 
 It was near Damascus the Saviour met 
 with him, and into which he had been led 
 after he arose from the earth : " And he was 
 three days without sight, and neither did eat 
 nor drink. And there was a certain disciple 
 at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him 
 said the Lord m a vision, Ananias. And he 
 said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord 
 said unto him, Arise, and go into the street 
 which is called Straight, and inquire in the 
 house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus : 
 for, behold, he prayeth." Here by Ananias 
 he was restored to sight, and here he received 
 meat, and was strengthened. "Then was 
 Saul certain days with the disciples, which 
 were at Damascus. And straightway he 
 preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is 
 the Son of God. But all that heard him were 
 amazed, and said ; Is not this he that destroy- 
 ed them which called on this name in Jeru- 
 salem, and came hither for that intent, that 
 he might bring them bound unto the chief 
 priests? Buc Saul increased the more in 
 strength, and confounded the Jews which 
 dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very 
 Christ." Yet we know from Paul's own de- 
 claration, in his Epistle to the Galatians, that 
 instantly upon this he did not go up to Jeru- 
 salem, but went into Arabia, where, during 
 three years, he was taught, not of man, nor 
 by man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
 It is probable that, during this period, he more 
 than once visited Damascus. However this 
 may be, here we find him at the end of it ; 
 and encompassed with danger, for he was in 
 deaths oft, and could truly say, I die daily. 
 His peril arose from "the Jews, who took 
 counsel to kill him." Instead of being con- 
 vinced by such a supernatural and notorious 
 event, and which would be attested by so 
 many witnesses, they were only enraged the 
 more: for they viewed him as an apostate 
 from them ; and they knew from his talents 
 and zeal how likely he was to promote the 
 cause of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 
 Yet such things as they were now doing 
 against him he had himself formerly done to 
 others. How often would he be reminded of 
 his sin in his sufferings ! This would tend to 
 keep him humble and patient. "Ah! so I 
 persecuted the Church of God, and wasted it." 
 
 So malignant and determined were they, 
 that " they watched the gates day and ni^ht 
 to kill him." At first this looks not like an 
 exertion of authority, but an assassination af- 
 fair, in which a number of wretches waylaid 
 him of their own accord. Yet the governor 
 was apprized of their design, and was drawn 
 over to their interest, and more than allowed 
 them to keep the egresses : for the city was 
 large, and the avenues many, requiring no 
 few to keep them The Apostle, in relating 
 
 the transaction himself, says, " The governor; 
 under Aretas the king, kept the city of the 
 Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to ap- 
 prehend me." 
 
 We have seen his danger, let us observe 
 his deliverance. He seemed a certain prey , 
 but " their lying in wait was known of Saul ; 
 and the disciples took him by night, and let 
 him down by the wall in a basket." Here 
 we remark two things. First, the escape was 
 not miraculous. In this way the Lord has 
 often delivered his servants, and in this way 
 he is continually able to deliver them. But 
 he never needlessly multiplied miracles. We 
 cannot see how Shadrach, Meshach, and 
 Abednego, could have been saved out of the 
 midst of the fiery furnace, or Daniel from the 
 lions' den, without a miracle. A miracle also 
 was called for to release Peter from prison, 
 secured as he was, the night before his in- 
 tended execution. But here the deliverance 
 could be effected by human means ; they were 
 therefore properly employed, and Providence 
 only rendered them successful. Secondly; 
 we are not to sacrifice our lives if we can 
 preserve them consistently with a good con- 
 science. Our Lord told his disciples to be- 
 ware of men ; to be wise as serpents, as well 
 as harmless as doves ; and if they were per- 
 secuted in one city to flee to another. He 
 himself eluded apprehension till he knew his 
 hour was come. In the first age of Chris- 
 tianity we see zeal, but not without know- 
 ledge. There was nothing like enthusiasm, 
 fanaticism, or will-worship. It was enough for 
 Christians to take up their cross when they 
 found it in their way ; they never went out 
 of their way to find it, any more than to es- 
 cape it. They only suffered according to the 
 will of God. It was after the Gospel began 
 to be misunderstood and debased that volun- 
 tary penalties were deemed meritorious; that 
 a rage for martyrdom prevailed ; and that men 
 gave their bodies to be burnt. 
 
 DECEMBER 18. 
 
 " And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he as- 
 sayed to join himself to the disciples : but they 
 were all afraid of him, and believed not that he 
 was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and 
 brought him to the Apostles, and declared unto 
 them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and 
 that he had spoken to him, and how 'he had 
 preached boldly at Damascus in the name of 
 Jesus. And he teas with them coming in and 
 going out at Jerusalem." — Acts ix. 2& — 28. 
 
 We have just seen Paul at Damascus. We 
 now see him entering Jerusalem. And ob- 
 serve to whom he wished to introduce him- 
 self when he arrived. Not to the high priest : 
 he had done business enough with him be- 
 fore. Not to the Pharisees, though he had 
 lived among the strictest of them. Not to 
 the learned, though a man of letters hirnselC 
 
DECEMBER 19. 
 
 405 
 
 md though he had "been brought up at the 
 feet of Gamaliel, who probably was still living 
 in the city — But " he assayed to join himself 
 to the disciples." They were despised and 
 per^cuted. He had himself once hated 
 them, and endeavoured to exterminate them 
 from the earth. But now the world is not 
 worthy of them. He ranks them above 
 princes and philosophers ; in them is all his 
 delight , and he deems it his highest honour 
 to have fellowship with them. Have we the 
 same mind in us 1 In the course of duty, un- 
 less we go out of the world, we must often 
 mingle with others; but are these, in our 
 voluntary associations, our companions ] Do 
 we take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, 
 saying, We will go with you, for we have 
 heard that God is with you ] Do we give our- 
 selves, not only to the Lord, but to them, to 
 walk in holy communion, and to co-operate in 
 holy exertion ? When we pass through a 
 place as we travel, do we feel a sentiment 
 that leads us to think, with a peculiar con- 
 cern, "Are there any here who love and 
 serve my Lord and Saviour V 
 
 " But the disciples were all afraid of him ;" 
 and the reason is assigned ; " they believed 
 not that he was a disciple." They supposed 
 that he only pretended to be so, but was really 
 come among them as a spy or informer. They 
 well knew what a bitter adversary he had 
 been, and had not heard of him since the 
 wolf had been turned into a lamb. If there 
 seems something strange in this, let it be ob- 
 served that Damascus was one hundred and 
 fifty miles from Jerusalem ; that the modes of 
 modern communication were not then known ; 
 and that the war raging between Herod An- 
 tipas, and Aretas, must have interrupted the 
 intercourse between the two capitals. Neither 
 is it unlikely that the unbelieving Jews ma- 
 liciously and artfully represented him as act- 
 ing the part of a deceiver. 
 
 However this was, they seem to have 
 known nothing of his conversion till " Barna- 
 bas took him, and brought him to the Apos- 
 tles, and declared unto them how he had seen 
 the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken 
 to him, and how he had preached boldly at 
 Damascus in the name of Jesus." How Bar- 
 nabas was acquainted with all this while they 
 were ignorant we are not informed. Had he 
 seen Ananias, or some other credible and per- 
 sonal witness of these facts? One man, from 
 various supposable circumstances, may know 
 things, of which others, even of the same 
 place, are uninformed. But from this time a 
 most tender friendship was established be- 
 tween these two good men. And what Bar- 
 nabas testified of Paul was so satisfactory to 
 tne Church, that he was fully admitted to 
 their fellowship, " and was with them coming 
 in and going out at Jerusalem." 
 
 We may here see, First — That these dis- 
 ciples were careful whom they admitted 
 
 among them. They were only such as they 
 believed to be disciples. They did not de- 
 sire, for the sake of largeness, a church filled 
 with indiscriminate members; and they could 
 not bear them that were evil. Secondly, It 
 is possible to err on the side of caution. We 
 may be too strict as well as too lax. It is 
 easy to carry our suspicions too far, especially 
 with regard to those against whom we have 
 entertained any prejudice, or from whom we 
 have received any injury or offence. The 
 instances of deception we have met with may 
 weaken our confidence, and cause the inno- 
 cent to suffer for the guilty. Let us guard 
 against this, and while we do not shut our 
 eyes let us invite into our bosoms the charity 
 that thinketh no evil. Thirdly, we may de- 
 pend on testimony concerning character in 
 the absence of personal knowledge. This 
 indeed is not always infallible; but there are 
 cases in which it ought to be admitted, and 
 should be deemed sufficient not only for indi- 
 viduals, but churches to act upon, in receiving 
 others to their countenance, and their com- 
 munication. Fourthly, the introducing of a 
 young convert to the fellowship of the saints 
 is a good work, and should be encouraged. 
 Some are backward, not from a want of in- 
 clination, for they often sigh, " How goodly 
 are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, 
 O Israel !" but they want confidence and 
 help. How many are there in all our con- 
 gregations of this character, who are kept 
 back when they ought to come forward ! Is 
 there no Barnabas to take them by the hand, 
 and to bring them forward] While the 
 Church rises up and says, " Come in, thou 
 blessed of the Lord?" 
 
 DECEMBER 19. 
 
 " But will God in very deed dwell with men on 
 the earth ?"— 2 Chron. vi. 18. 
 
 In looking over the annals of the Jews, we 
 find much that ought to humble us — I say, to 
 humble us, for they were fair specimens of 
 our human nature, and 
 
 " There in a glass our hearts may see, 
 How fickle and how false they be." 
 
 But we sometimes meet with scenes which 
 cannot fail of being' delightful to pious minds 
 for while, in reviewing history, the mer- 
 chant is led to notice the revivals of com- 
 merce, and the scholar those of learning and 
 science, they are attracted to the times of re- 
 freshing from the presence of the Lord ; they, 
 like Barnabas, are glad when they see the 
 grace of God. 
 
 Such a scene is here before us at the dedi- 
 cation of the temp^ Perhaps nothing equals 
 it in the Old Testament ; and nothing surpasses 
 it in the New, but the day of Pentecost. The 
 author was doubtless the Holy Ghost, the 
 source of all good in the children of meD : and 
 
406 
 
 DECEMBER 19. 
 
 it would be well for hearers and ministers to 
 remember the Divine decision, " not by 
 might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith 
 the Lord." Yet God uses means, and could 
 we see things as he does, we should always 
 perceive, not only that the weakness of the 
 means requires his strength, but that the 
 suitableness of the means displays his wis- 
 dom. The instrument here employed was 
 Solomon, whose rank, education, endowments, 
 and zeal, gave him a peculiar influence. 
 
 Behold then all Israel assembled, and the 
 young monarch, the wonder and admiration 
 of the age and of the East, leading the devo- 
 tion of the solemn day. For he did not ap- 
 point one of the priests or of the prophets to 
 officiate, but he performed the service himself. 
 " He stood before the altar of the Lord, in the 
 presence of all the congregation of Israel, and 
 spread forth his hands." It was well that he 
 could thus pray himself. We are far from 
 depreciating forms of prayer in all cases: 
 they have their use, and even their excellency 
 too. But it is impossible to frame a form of 
 prayer to meet every new and pressing occur- 
 rence : yet it is very desirable to take advan- 
 tage of present feelings ; and some are happy 
 enough to be equal to this. And should not 
 good men, especially preachers, and also the 
 heads of families, cultivate such a talent 1 
 Gifts are not grace : yet we are to consider 
 others as well as ourselves, our usefulness as 
 well as our salvation. Though there is a 
 more excellent way, we are to " covet ear- 
 nestly the best gifts." " Be not rash with thy 
 mouth, and let thine heart be hasty to utter 
 any thing before God : for God is in heaven, 
 ^nd thou upon earth : therefore let thy words 
 be few." It is well also that he was not only 
 able, but willing. He was not ashamed pub- 
 licly to avow his entire dependence upon 
 God, and to seek his favour as the relish of 
 every enjoyment, and his blessing as essential 
 to every enterprise. He did not view it as a 
 disparagement to his majesty, to be his own 
 chaplain, and to bless his large family himself. 
 And did he ever appear greater than on this 
 occasion, and in this exercise 1 And could he 
 have been more exemplary and useful ? 
 
 An ordinary mind would have been struck 
 with the vastness of the congregation, the 
 magnitude of the building, and the munifi- 
 cence of the ornaments — But Solomon rose 
 above all this, and was only astonished at the 
 condescension of God in deigning to regard 
 it : " But will God in very deed dwell with 
 men on the earth !" 
 
 His exclamation did not originate in any 
 doubtfulness of the fact. He could not have 
 questioned it. The tokens of the Divine pres- 
 ence were bofore him — l } So that the priests 
 could not stand to minister by reason of the 
 cloud : for the glory of the Lord had filled the 
 house of God. Then said Solomon, The Lord 
 lathsaid that he would dwell in the thick dark- 
 
 ness." Yes, he knew that he had said, " This 
 is my rest for ever ; here will I dwell, for I 
 have desired it ;" and, " In all places where 
 I record my name I will come unto thoe, 
 and I will bless thee." The assurance there- 
 fore reaches to ua We have succeeded tc 
 their means and privileges, enlarged as tc 
 spirituality and efficiency, though unaccom- 
 panied with their splendid ceremonies and 
 sensible manifestations. In his word and or- 
 dinances, in the preaching of his ministers, 
 and the assemblies of his people, he is to be 
 found ; and thousands know the truth of this 
 from their own experience : they have heard 
 his voice ; they have seen his glory ; they 
 have felt his power, and have been convinced 
 of his presence by his agency : for that his 
 name is near, his wondrous works declare. 
 
 But the exclamation regards the marvel- 
 lousness of the fact upon which it was founded. 
 Several things excited this in Solomon, and 
 the same should excite it in us. Such is the 
 infinite dignity of the Supreme Being who is 
 exalted above all blessing and praise, and who 
 humbleth himself to behold the things that 
 are done in heaven. Yet men are lower 
 than the angels. They are of yesterday, and 
 know nothing. Their foundation is in the 
 dust. They are crushed before the moth. 
 Surely every man at his best estate is alto- 
 gether vanity. He is not only mean, but 
 unworthy, guilty, polluted : a rebel, a traitor. 
 Here is the wonder, that such beings should 
 be regarded by him — " Lord, what is man, 
 that thou art mindful of him, and the son of 
 man that thou visitest him J" 
 
 Yet the truth of all this never impresses 
 without the humility which religion inspires. 
 Men are naturally proud and vain : and it is 
 possible and easy to delude them into an opin- 
 ion that they can have claims upon God 
 himself. How many are there who think 
 they deserve his favour, and are looking for 
 heaven itself as the reward of their doings ! 
 But in the day of conviction the proud looks 
 are brought low, and the Lord alone is ex- 
 alted. The man then sees and feels that he 
 deserves to be excluded from the Divine 
 presence for ever, and acknowledges every 
 attention shown him to be an instance of 
 mercy and grace. Nor is his admiration of 
 the goodness of God confined to the beginning 
 of his religious course. As he advances, he 
 is more and more affected with it. The most 
 eminent saints have been always as the most 
 humble, so the most filled with this adoring 
 gratitude and praise. 
 
 But is there not another thing equally 
 wonderful 1 God in very deed dwells with 
 men on the earth. But will men verily 
 dwell with God in heaven? It is his own 
 promise. It is their highest expectation. 
 They shall be presented faultless before the 
 presence of his glory — And so shall we bk 
 
 FOR EVER WITH THE LORD. 
 
DECEMBER 20, 21. 
 
 407 
 
 DECEMBER 20. 
 
 ■ Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast 
 
 himself as he that putteth it off." — 1 Kings 
 
 xx. 11. 
 
 Thjs was the wisest thing Ahab ever 
 spoke ; and yet the saying was not his own, 
 out a common proverbial speech. The ad- 
 monition it contains is applicable to any enter- 
 prise in which men engage. Accordingly 
 we shall leave the war of Benhadad with 
 this king of Israel, and think of a better war- 
 fare, the good fight of faith. 
 
 Under this image the Scriptures frequently 
 hold forth the Christian life ; and the experi- 
 ence of every partaker of Divine grace veri- 
 fies and exemplifies the force of it. The 
 conflict is no ordinary one, but the most try- 
 ing in its nature, and the most serious in its 
 results. 
 
 For this war harness is provided; for it 
 would be madness to go into the combat un- 
 armed. Words in time vary their meaning; 
 Borne becoming more, and some less particular 
 and definite in their use. When the Bible 
 was translated, the term harness, which we 
 now apply only to horse equipage, signified 
 war furniture, or what we call armour. Much 
 depends, in the contest before us, upon the kind 
 of armour with which we are accoutred. That 
 of the Christian is Divine ; Divine in the ap- 
 pointment ; DTvine in the formation. It supplies 
 every part — unless the back. Hence says the 
 Apostle; "Wherefore take unto you the 
 whole armour of God, that ye may be able to 
 withstand in the evil day, and having done 
 all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your 
 loins girt about with truth, and having on the 
 breastplate of righteousness ; and your feet 
 shod with the preparation of the gospel of 
 peace ; above all, taking the shield of faith, 
 wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the 
 fiery darts of the wicked. And take the hel- 
 met of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, 
 which is the word of God." 
 
 With regard to the actual carrying on of 
 this warfare, there is a variety of condition 
 in the soldiers. Some are deeply engaged in 
 the midst of the fight. But two other parties 
 are here mentioned. The one is entering 
 the field, the other is marching out of it : the 
 one is putting on his harness, the other is put- 
 ting it off! 
 
 Now there is a great difference between 
 these, and it requires a difference of feeling. 
 Prayer more becomes the one, and praise the 
 other. The ending justifies relaxation, and 
 joy, and triumph ; the beginning demands 
 application, and caution. The laurel is to be 
 worn, not by the candidate, but by the con- 
 queror. 
 
 Look at the young soldier arming, and at 
 the old warrior laying down his weapons, 
 «md you will soon see why the former should 
 not glory like the latter. Let him that is put- 
 tinp off the harness exult — His privations, 
 
 hardships, dangers are all past. His foes are 
 vanquished. His labours are over. His char- 
 acter is formed. His fidelity is proved. His 
 firmness has been displayed. While he had 
 fightings without, he sometimes had fears 
 within; but, true to his cause, he said, If 
 I perish I perish. Whatever he suffered, he 
 scorned to desert his post. Yet an honourable 
 dismission seemed desirable ; and now it is 
 arrived : and with his scars of honour he is 
 returning home to receive the prize, and to 
 review and talk over the interesting scenes 
 of all his campaigns. 
 
 But let him that is putting on his harness 
 remember that he has not borne the burden 
 and heat of the day — that his destitutions, and 
 watchings, and perils are yet to come — that 
 his snares are not yet escaped — that his foes 
 are not yet subdued. Though he will finally 
 overcome, the warfare is to be accomplished. 
 What weeks and years of painful struggle 
 may intervene ! He may sleep, and be sur- 
 prised. The enemy may thrust sore at him, 
 and gain an advantage over him ; and in con- 
 sequence of the injury, he may go halting all 
 his days. 
 
 We say therefore to those who are com- 
 mencing the Divine life — We are far from 
 wishing to dismay you — We rather say, Go, 
 and the Lord be with you. But the Saviour 
 himself tells you to sit down, and count the 
 cost, and estimate your resources for the war. 
 A new and untried course is often flattering ; 
 and inexperience genders presumption. 
 
 Peter fell by self-confidence. Joseph was 
 preserved by conscientious alarm — And bless- 
 ed is the man that feareth always. Not with 
 that fear which implies cowardice, but with 
 that which excludes carelessness; not with 
 that fear which chills and freezes exertion, 
 but with that which leads to a survey of diffi- 
 culties and to preparation for the trial; not 
 with that fear which diminishes hope, but 
 with that which forbids boasting — " Let not 
 him that girdeth on his harness boast himself 
 as he that putteth it off." 
 
 DECEMBER 21. 
 " 1 will therefore that men pray everywhere, lift- 
 ing up holy hands, without wrath and doubt- 
 ing."— \ Tim. ii. 8. 
 
 "I will," says the proverb, " is for the king." 
 And this is for the King — the King of kings, 
 and the Lord of lords, the blessed and only 
 potentate. Paul is inspired by him, and speaks 
 in his name. And though, in many cases, for 
 love's sake he only entreats and beseeches, 
 here, to show his Divine authority, he com- 
 mands^ — " I will." Prayer is the subject. We 
 must not only take heed how we hear, but 
 how we pray : some ask and have not, bo- 
 cause they ask amiss. Here the enaction 
 scribes the manner which it is tc be perf ._, 
 
408 
 
 DECEMBER 21. 
 
 ed. Prayer is to be offered up with four qual- 
 ities or characters. 
 
 The First is, universality ; I will that men 
 pray "everywhere." In the sanctuary, the 
 house, the closet, the field, the road. The 
 expression demands constancy. If we are to 
 pray everywhere, we must pray and not faint; 
 and pray without ceasing 1 . And this is ex- 
 pressly enjoined by him who knows the im- 
 portance and benefit of prayer ; and that we 
 can never safely dispense with it. Had Peter 
 prayed in the judgment hall, he would not 
 have denied his master. But while it requires 
 constancy as to performance, it excludes par- 
 tiality as to situation, and opposes supersti- 
 tious restraints. This intimation was neces- 
 sary. The world was then full of people who 
 made the efficacy of prayer to depend upon 
 local claims. Heathens always attached the 
 presence of their gods to particular places, 
 consecrated to their service; and we know 
 what long and painful journeys some now 
 take to pay their devotions. Among the Jews 
 God chose Jerusalem to put his name there, 
 and required all the males three times a year 
 to repair thither. Various purposes were to 
 be answered by the appointment ; but the 
 Lord had said by Moses, " In all places where 
 I record my name, I will come unto thee, and 
 I will bless thee." And by Isaiah he said, 
 " Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my 
 footstool : where is the house that ye build 
 unto me 1 and where is the place of my rest 1 
 For all those things hath mine hand made, 
 and all those things have been, saith the Lord : 
 but to this man will I look, even to him that 
 is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trem- 
 bleth at my word." And as the Christian dis- 
 pensation was drawing nearer, H from the 
 rising of the sun, even unto the going down 
 of the same, my name shall be great among 
 the Gentiles ; and in every place incense shall 
 be offered unto my name, and a pure offering ; 
 for my name shall be great among the heathen, 
 saith the Lord of hosts." Think of this, ye 
 bigots, who imagine that God is only to be 
 found in your particular inclosure. When 
 will you believe, that " neither in this moun- 
 tain," nor yet at Jerusalem shall men worship 
 the Father : " but the hour cometh, and now 
 is, when the true worshippers shall worship 
 he Father in spirit and in truth : for the Fa- 
 ther seeketh such to worship him." " God is 
 no respecter of persons, but in every nation 
 ne that feareth him, and worketh righteous- 
 ness, is accepted of him." 
 
 The Second is, purity — " with holy hands." 
 " If I regard iniquity in mine heart," says Da- 
 vid, " the Lord will not hear me." Solomon 
 also says, " He that turneth away his ears 
 from hearing the law, even his prayer also 
 shall be an abomination." And so consonant 
 is this to common reflection, that the blind 
 man could say, " We know that God heareth 
 not sinners ; but if anv man be a worshipper 
 
 of God, and doth his will, him he heareth." 
 But some distinction here is necessary. The 
 reference cannot be to perfect purity. If none 
 were to pray but those who are completely 
 holy, no one could approach God : for in many 
 things we offend all ; and there is not a jusl 
 man on earth that doeth good and sinneth not 
 Yet what is the experience of every true sup- 
 pliant 1 " Who can understand his errors ! 
 Cleanse thou me from secret faults." " What 
 I see not teach thou me." " See if there be 
 any wicked way in me, and lead me in the 
 way everlasting." And this must be the case. 
 The man who lives in any loved or known 
 sin, is only a hypocrite in devotion. He can- 
 not be sincere in his addresses to God : he 
 therefore insults him only by pretence. 
 " Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh 
 to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners ; and 
 purify your hearts, ye double-minded." Of 
 this there was a type in the ritual of the 
 Jews ; they were always to wash their hands 
 in water before they engaged in the service 
 of God. To this the Psalmist alluded, when 
 he says, " I will wash my hands in innocency, 
 so will I compass thy altar, O Lord." And 
 that prayer is not an atonement for a sinful 
 life, or a substitute for a moral one, hear the 
 language of God to the Jews in the days of 
 Isaiah. " When ye spread forth your hands, 
 I will hide mine eyes from you : yea, when 
 ye make many prayers, I will not hear : your 
 hands are full of blood. Wash you, make 
 you clean ; put away the evil of your doings 
 from before mine eyes; cease to do evil." 
 Yet some not only pray and sin too, but make 
 the one a cloak for the other. The Pharisees 
 devoured widows' houses, and for a pretence 
 made long prayers. But in many cases these 
 things do not long remain in company: in 
 general, the common maxim is verified, " Sin- 
 ning will make a man leave off praying, or 
 praying will make a man leave off sinning." 
 And their separation is better than their union. 
 It is better not to call upon a benefactor, than 
 to go and spit in his face, or wound him, in his 
 own dwelling. The entire neglect of some 
 duties would produce less injurious effects on 
 the conscience of the man himself, and on the 
 minds of others, than the combination of them 
 with wicked practice. "Out of the same 
 mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My 
 brethren, these things ought not so to be." 
 " I would thou wert either cold or hot." 
 
 The Third is, kindness". This is expressed 
 by the exclusion of its opposite "without 
 wrath." This will take in those who may bo 
 free from vice and immorality, and yet have 
 tempers by no means like the mind of Christ , 
 who not only rail, but pray at others ; whe 
 bring their rancorous spirit into the worship 
 of God, and would consecrate their envy 
 malice, and all uncharitableness, upon the 
 altar of devotion. But that altar does no* 
 sanctify every gift. " If thou bring thy giP 
 
DECEMBER 22. 
 
 409 
 
 w» the aJlar; and there rememberest that thy 
 brother hath aught against thee ; leave there 
 thy gift beforu the altar, and go thy way ; first 
 be reconciled to thy brother, and then come 
 and offer thy gift." "The wrath of man 
 worketh not the righteousness of God." 
 Though Elisha was animated by religious 
 zeal, yet as there was some passionateness of 
 his own mixed with it, when he said to Jeho- 
 ram, "As the Lord of hosts liveth, before 
 whom I stand, surely, were it not that I re- 
 gard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king 
 of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor 
 ?ee thee;" the spirit of prophecy could not 
 descend upon him, till he had called for a 
 minstrel to compose and soften him. What 
 can we do without the help of the Holy Spir- 
 it 1 But that Spirit is a spirit of love, and is 
 held forth by the emblem of a dove. There- 
 fore says our Apostle, " Grieve not the Holy 
 Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the 
 day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and 
 wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speak- 
 ing, be put away from you, with al' malice : 
 and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, 
 forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's 
 sake hath forgiven you." 
 
 The Fourth is, confidence. This is also 
 negatively expressed : without " doubting." 
 This requires us to pray in faith. " Let him 
 ask in faith, nothing wavering." "Let us 
 draw near, in full assurance of faith." This 
 is very distinguishable from -a personal persua- 
 sion of our actual interest ; but~ it is an en- 
 couragement against despair. We are to be- 
 lieve that he is, and that he is the rewarder 
 of them that diligently seek him ; that we 
 are as welcome as we are unworthy ; that he 
 waits to be gracious, and never said to the 
 seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. It also 
 takes in a belief of the lawfulness of what 
 we implore. I could not pray in faith, if I 
 prayed for assistance and success in any en- 
 terprise which his word forbids; or in asking 
 to be saved without being sanctified : for " this 
 is the will of God, even our sanctification." 
 " This is the confidence that we have in him, 
 that, if we ask any thing according to his will, 
 he heareth us." 
 
 We talk of being humbled for our sins — 
 What think we of our duties ? Can we re- 
 flect even upon our holy things, even upon 
 our prayers themselves, and not cry, " Enter 
 not into judgment with thy servants, O Lord, 
 for in thy sight shall no flesh living be Justi- 
 ne J." 
 
 DECEMBER 22. 
 
 And when the servant of the man of God was 
 risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host 
 compassed the city both with horses and chart, 
 ots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my 
 master ! how shall we do ? And he answered, 
 Fear not : for they that be with us are more 
 
 than they that be tcith them. And Elisha 
 prayed, and said, Lord, I pray tliee, open his 
 eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened 
 the eyes of the young man ; and he saw : and, 
 behold, the mountain was full of horses and 
 chariots ofjire round about Elisha " — 2 Kings 
 vi. 15—17. 
 
 The king of Syria had resolved to punish 
 Elisha, because as a prophet he divulged to 
 the king of Israel all his warlike plans and 
 designs, and thereby prevented the accom- 
 plishment of them. How sin infatuates ! — 
 otherwise a moment's reflection might have 
 convinced him that the same God who had 
 given Elisha supernatural knowledge could 
 afford him supernatural protection. Yet find- 
 ing upon inquiry that the prophet was now in 
 Dothan, " he sent thither horses, and chariots, 
 and a great host: and they came by night, 
 and compassed the city about" 
 
 Elisha's servant first discovers the danger. 
 But who was this servant 1 We have no rea- 
 son to believe that it was now Gehazi, whose 
 avarice, fraud, and lying, his master had lately 
 so awfully punished : " The leprosy therefore 
 of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy 
 seed for ever. And he went out from his pres- 
 ence a leper as white as snow." Even exclusive 
 of his distemper, Elisha would not have had 
 such a servant any longer about him; but 
 have said with David before him, " Mine eyes 
 shall be upon the faithful of the land, that 
 they may dwell with me : he that walketh in 
 a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that 
 worketh deceit shall not dwell within my 
 house : he that telleth lies shall not tarry in 
 my sight" Of the name of his new servant 
 we are not informed, but it is here said, he 
 " rose up early in the morning." New ser- 
 vants often behave best at first, especially in 
 the article of early rising. Perhaps however 
 it was a continued thing with him. This 
 will be the case with a wise and good ser- 
 vant By means of this he will do his work 
 with ease and order. What confusion and 
 hurry are often produced by beginning the 
 concerns of the day an hour or two later, 
 for the precious privilege of a little more 
 insensibility ! 
 
 What happened 1 When the servant had 
 gone forth and saw the horses and chariots, he 
 ran back breathless, and exclaimed, " Alas, 
 my master! what shall we do 1 ? We are in 
 the hands of our enemies, and there is no 
 way of escape." 
 
 Yet if the servant be terrified, the master 
 is calm, and fears no evil. But a godly man 
 wishes others to be satisfied as well as him- 
 self; and he is no better than a brute, and 
 wholly unworthy of his service, who feels no 
 concern for the accommodation and comfort 
 of his servant To tranquillize him therefore, 
 Elisha said, " Fear not : for they that be with 
 us are more than they that be with them." 
 This only filled him with astonishment, for he 
 
410 
 
 DECEMBER 23. 
 
 saw no defenders of any kind near him. But 
 " Elislia prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, 
 open his eyes, that he may see. And the 
 Lord opened the eyes of the young man ; and 
 he saw : and, behold, the mountain was full 
 of horses and chariots of fire round about 
 Elisha." What a number of reflections here 
 offer themselves to our minds ! 
 
 What were these horses and chariots of 
 fire 1 The angels of God. " And of the angels 
 he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and 
 his ministers a flame of fire." These were 
 the convoy of Elijah. These were the body- 
 guard of Elisha. When Jacob went on his 
 way, the angels of God met him ; and when 
 he saw them he said, " This is God's host." 
 " Are they not all ministering spirits, sent 
 forth to minister for them who shall be heirs 
 of salvation ?" 
 
 We behold here an instance of the domin- 
 ion and agency of God, in the opening of this 
 man's eyes. He can suspend the use of any 
 of our powers, or he can increase the use of 
 them. He that endi ed us with the five inlets 
 of perception, called the senses, could, as far 
 as we know to the contrary, have given us 
 fifty, as distinguishable from each other in 
 their operations and objects as hearing and 
 seeing. And who can tell, as Baxter (not 
 the Divine) intimates, but that there is a fac- 
 ulty in the human system as adapted to an 
 intercourse with the invisible world as our 
 known senses are suited to the material ex- 
 istences around us, but which power is dor- 
 mant unless when for some important end it 
 is called into exercise ] We are very imper- 
 fectly acquainted with the mechanism of our 
 physical constitution, and especially with the 
 boundaries and contents of body and mind ; 
 for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. 
 One conclusion is obvious — That it is irra- 
 tional to deny the reality of every thing our 
 present senses do not recognize. This valley 
 was filled in the same way before the man 
 could see it: his sight did not bring thither 
 the celestial array, but only discerned it. 
 Every sound, even thunder itself, is a nonen- 
 tity to the deaf; fragrance has no existence 
 as to the perception of those who are incapa- 
 hle of smelling ; the colours of the rainbow 
 might be denied by the blind : because they 
 cannot hear or feel them. It has therefore 
 been fairly argued from analogy that there 
 may be numberless objects, real and near us 
 too, but which, only for want of a suitable 
 medium, we do not apprehend. As for those 
 who oelieve the Scriptures, as well as the 
 power of God, they must acknowledge that 
 there is another world, and that there are 
 agents whose influence is seldom or ever per- 
 ceived by us, who yet have alliances with us, 
 and are concerned in our affairs. May the 
 Father of our Spirits prepare us for a world 
 of spirits ! 
 
 We also here see the disadvantage of ig- 
 
 norance. In darkness we easily mistake 
 every thing, and are sure to magnify what- 
 ever we euspect to be injurious. What there- 
 fore we deem some sprite or monster, upon 
 the increase of light subsides into a stone, or 
 root of a tree, or a harmless animal. This 
 man's perturbation arose from his ignorance; 
 as soon as he knew the truth of things, as 
 soon as he saw things at; they really were, he 
 was tranquillized — And is not this the way 
 to tranquillize Christians 1 Do not their alarms 
 originate in their want of clearer views in 
 religion ? " They that know thy name will 
 put their trust in thee ; because thou, Lord, 
 hast not forsaken them that seek thee." They 
 that " know" whom they have believed will 
 be " persuaded that he is able to keep that 
 which they have committed to him against 
 that day." 
 
 And how safe are the Lord's people even 
 in the midst of danger ! He is a wall of fire 
 round about them. He is the shield of their 
 help, and the sword of their excellency, and 
 their enemies shall be found liars unto them. 
 Let us ascertain that we belong to him ; and 
 realizing our privilege, exclaim, " Though an 
 host should encamp against me, my heart 
 shall not fear : though war should rise against 
 me, in this will I be confident ?" If God be 
 for us, who can be against us ?" They that 
 
 BE WITH US ARE MORE THAN THEY THAT BE 
 WITH THEM. 
 
 DECEMBER 23. 
 
 " Who is this that engaged his heart to approacn 
 unto me ? saith the Lord." — Jer. xxx. 21, 
 
 This is spoken, if not immediately, yet ul- 
 timately and supremely, of him to whom gave 
 all the prophets witness. 
 
 Observe his work — It was to " approach" 
 unto God. This he did as a man. How often 
 do we read of his praying, which, with him, 
 was never any thing less than a drawing near 
 to God ! But he is here spoken of as the me- 
 diator, and in the character of the High 
 Priest of our profession. This was precisely 
 the priest's business of old ; it was to approach 
 God mediatorially. Hence says God, " I will 
 be sanctified in all that come nigh me." So 
 when the persons of the priests are spoken 
 of, it is said to Aaron, " Whosoever he be of 
 thy seed in their generations that hath any 
 blemish, let him not approach to offer the 
 bread of his God. For whatsoever man he 
 be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach.' 
 I dwell not here on the grounds of this exclu- 
 sion, some of which were physical, some 
 moral, some typical ; but remark their work, 
 to " offer," to " approach." And how? If the 
 high priest had gone into the holy of holies, 
 where God resided between the cherubim, 
 without a sacrifice, he would have rushed 
 upon a drawn sword. Therefore he first 
 slew the victim, and then took the blood in a 
 
DECEMBER 23. 
 
 411 
 
 boson, and went in and sprinkled the mercy- 
 Beat, and burnt incense ; upon which he came 
 forth and blessed the people. Thus Jesus 
 entered into the holy place, there to appear 
 in the presence of God for us ; not without 
 blood ; and not with the blood of bulls, and 
 of goats, but with his own blood, having ob- 
 tained eternal redemption. There he entered, 
 after making reconciliation for the sins of the 
 people, to intercede for us, on the foundation 
 of ^is atonement, and from thence to com- 
 mand the blessing, even life for evermore, on 
 the Israel of God. But there was this differ- 
 ence between the type and the reality. The 
 high priest of old offered for his own sins, as 
 well as for those of the congregation. But 
 Jesus had no personal guilt. He was harm- 
 less, holy, undefiled; and therefore he only 
 bore our iniquity. The high priest offered 
 oftentimes the same sacrifices, because they 
 could not make the comers thereunto perfect : 
 but Jesus, by the one offering up of himself, 
 hath perfected for ever them that are sanc- 
 tified. 
 
 For the accomplishment of this work, he 
 " engaged his heart." Here we see willing- 
 ness. His undertaking would not have been 
 accepted, unless it had been voluntary. But 
 he was not constrained ; he said, Lo ! I come 
 to do thy will, O God. I delight to do thy 
 will ; yea, thy law is within my heart. The 
 engaging of his heart expresses the strength 
 of his affection and the firmness of his deter- 
 mination. The latter of these sprang from 
 the former, and served to display it Consider 
 what he had to endure for thirty-three years 
 as a man of sorrows ; what he had to suffer 
 in delivering us from the wrath to come, being 
 made a curse for us. Yet though he knew 
 all, he turned not away his back : yea, as his 
 tremendous agony drew near, he said, " I 
 have a baptism to be baptized with, and how 
 am I straitened till it be accomplished !" The 
 reason was, that perfect love casteth out fear. 
 Love produces courage, even in the fearful 
 bird and the timid sheep. They will attack 
 their foe to defend their young. But how 
 the mother ventures and hangs regardless 
 of danger over the infected body of her 
 child ! Love is strong as death ; many waters 
 cannot quench love; neither can the floods 
 drown it But no love will bear a com- 
 parison with his—" the love of Christ passeth 
 knowledge." 
 
 And is he not worthy of attention 1 " Who 
 is this that engaged his heart to approach 
 unto me] saith the Lord" — Who indeed? 
 " He is a wonder to all, both below and above." 
 ■ Many were astonished at him. Many treated 
 him with scorn. He was to the Jews a stum- 
 oling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness. 
 Numbers do not feel their need of him, though 
 ne is the way, the truth, and the life. He is 
 jtill despised and rejected of men. But he 
 
 was seen of angels, and all the augels of God 
 worship him. They find nothing in the an- 
 nals of eternity and in the records of the uni- 
 verse that will bear a comparison with hit 
 sufferings and glory. Therefore they desire 
 to look into these things: and every fresh 
 gaze excites them to exclaim with a loud 
 voice, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain 
 to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
 strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." 
 And to them that believe he is precious. 
 They inquire with joy and praise, " Who is 
 this?" And they can return an answer to 
 themselves — He is fairer than the childrea 
 of men. He is the chief of ten thousand. 
 He is altogether lovely. He is the consola- 
 tion of Israel. He is the friend of sinners. 
 He is a benefactor w,hose heart is made of 
 tenderness, whose bowels melt with love. 
 He is the King of glory. He is Lord of alL 
 But who can declare his generation ? No one 
 knoweth the Son but the Father — He views 
 him with infinite complacency. " Behold," 
 says he, " my servant, whom I uphold ; mine 
 elect, in whom my soul delighteth." " Ask 
 of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for 
 thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
 the earth for thy possession." " He hath put 
 all things under his feet" 
 
 The question may be asked subordinately 
 with regard to the Christian as well as with 
 regard to Christ. There is a connexion and 
 a resemblance between them ; and they also 
 are for signs and for wonders. They do not 
 indeed approach God in a way of atonement 
 The work is done. The propitiation has 
 been made, and we have only to plead it : tba 
 righteousness has been brought in, and we 
 have only to submit to it He opened the 
 kingdom of heaven to all believers, and they 
 have boldness and access with confidence by 
 the faith of him. And this is their duty, 
 their privilege, their character — they draw 
 near to God; and they value ordinances as 
 the means of communion with him. 
 
 For each of them has engaged his heart 
 to do this. And it is this" that yields him 
 pleasure in the exercise, and carries him 
 tbroueh all difficulties and discouragements 
 — " When thou saidst, Seek ye my face ; my 
 heart answered, Thy face, Lord, will I seek" 
 " O God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed ; 
 I will sing and give praise." 
 
 But "who is this that has engaged hia 
 heart to approach unto me 1 saith the Lord." 
 A creature once far off, but now made nigh 
 by the blood of Christ : once regardless of 
 the things that belonged to his peace, now 
 seeking first the kingdom of God and his 
 righteousness. The subject of an internal 
 warfare ; the flesh lusting against the Spirit 
 and the Spirit against the flesh. The bearer 
 of many afflictions. The scorn of the world. 
 The most excellent and important creature 
 
412 
 
 DECEMBER 24. 
 
 upon earth. The heir of glory. The dig- 
 nitary of eternity. " What ! know ye not 
 that the saints shall judge angels'!" 
 
 DECEMBER 24. 
 
 • And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us." 
 Ephes. v. 2. 
 
 The admonition supposes a relative char- 
 acter. Various are the beings towards whom 
 our love is to be exercised. God takes care 
 for oxen, and hears the young ravens that 
 cry : and a merciful man regarded] the life 
 of his beast, and feels a tenderness even to- 
 wards all the orders of creatures below his 
 own nature. But we .are expressly required 
 to love our neighbour; and according to our 
 Saviour's own explanation in the parable, 
 every one is our neighbour who needs our 
 aid, and is placed within the reach of our 
 kindness. We are therefore to love our ene- 
 mies ; not indeed with a love of esteem and 
 complacency, which would be impossible, but 
 with a love of benevolence and beneficence ; 
 blessing them that curse us, doing good to 
 them that hate us, and praying for them that 
 despitefully use and persecute us. We are 
 also to love sinners, not their sins, but their 
 souls, having compassion, and endeavouring 
 to save, pulling them out of the fire. None 
 indeed have such claims upon our pity and 
 compassion as those who are ready to perish 
 for ever ; destruction and misery are in their 
 paths. But while, as we have opportunity, we 
 do good unto all men, we are especially to re- 
 member them that are of the household of 
 faith. These are related to us by grace : 
 these are one with us by spiritual and ever- 
 lasting unions. These have peculiar titles to 
 our affection — These we are to love out of a 
 pure heart fervently : to love as brethren. 
 
 For how is this affection to be exercised ? 
 We are to " walk in it." The term intends 
 not only activeness and progression, but in- 
 fluence and prevalence. When we say a 
 man is in liquor, or in a passion, we mean to 
 say that it has the possession and the com- 
 mand of him. We read of "walking in 
 pride ;" and we understand by it a man's feel- 
 ing and behaving vainly and haughtily on all 
 occasions, arid in all circumstances. The first 
 Christians " walked in the fear of the Lord, 
 and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost:" the 
 fear and the comfort distinguished, governed, 
 and absorbed them. Walking in love, there- 
 fore, intimates the importance of this disposi- 
 tion, and that we should not be satisfied with 
 an ordinary measure of it. We are not to 
 have love in us, but to be in love; to walk in 
 love. It is to be our element, our actuating 
 principle. It is only in proportion as this pre- 
 rails that our religion can prosper. This is 
 
 the fulfilling of the law. This is the end ot 
 the gospel commandment. It is the bond of 
 perfectness — Therefore " let all your things 
 be done with charity." 
 
 And how is it enforced 1 " Walk in love, 
 as Christ also hath loved us." Does the Apos- 
 tle mean to make the love of Christ our 
 model 1 or our motive? or both? Unques- 
 tionably both. 
 
 He means to make it our model, and to say 
 that we are to love others in the same way 
 he loved us. Our love cannot indeed equal 
 his ; but it may, it must resemble it ; not in 
 deed in all its acts and qualities, but in its 
 source and nature. He loved us really, and 
 we must love not in word and in tongue, but 
 in deed and in truth. He loved us expen- 
 sively ; so that when rich, for our sakes he 
 became poor, made himself of no reputation, 
 and was obedient unto death, even the death 
 of the cross. And are we to shun self-denial ? 
 And to make no sacrifices] "Hereby per- 
 ceive we the love of God, because he laid 
 down his life for us: and we ought to lay 
 down our lives for the brethren." His love is 
 constant and unchangeable; and we are to 
 continue in his love, and never to grow weary 
 in well-doing. 
 
 He means also to make it our motive, and 
 to say, that as he has loved us we are to walk 
 in love, in consequence of this, and because 
 of this. The Apostle does not argue from 
 fear, or mercenariness, or even the allowed 
 hope of reward : but urges a consideration 
 the most pure and ingenuous; and at the 
 same time the most powerful. A motive strong 
 as death, and which many waters could not 
 quench. A motive whose efficiency he had 
 himself experienced, and which had served 
 to animate him in every duty, and enabled 
 him to take pleasure in every suffering for 
 Christ's sake — "For the love of Christ," says 
 he, " constraineth us." He therefore could 
 not enforce even a relative duty without a 
 reference to a motive so tender and efficient : 
 " Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ 
 also loved the Church, and gave himself for 
 
 lt- 
 
 — "O bleeding Calvary! 
 The true morality is love of thee." 
 
 And here we may see that the difference 3e- 
 tween a mere moral preacher and an evan- 
 gelical preacher is, not that the moral preacher 
 enforces good works, and the evangelical 
 preacher does not; for the latter enforces 
 them as much as the former. But it lies here 
 — Both admonish and exhort; but the one 
 waters dead plants, and the other living ones. 
 The one makes the tree good, that the fruit 
 may be good — while the other is seeking to 
 gather grapes from thorns, and figs from this- 
 tles. The doctrines and the duties ; the holi- 
 ness and the grace of the Gospel, never are 
 found separate. 
 
DECEMBER 25 
 
 413 
 
 DECEMBER 25. 
 
 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be 
 little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of 
 thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be 
 ruler in Israel ; ichose goings forth have been 
 from of old, from everlasting." — Micah v. 2. 
 
 Some persons derive honour from the place 
 m which they were born ; others confer 
 celebrity upon it How many places strove 
 for the honour of Homer's birth ! The late 
 emperor of France, while besieging Mantua 
 in Italy, exempted a small neighbouring vil- 
 lage from all exactions, in honour of Virgil, 
 whose birth-place it was supposed to be. No- 
 thing can ennoble the Lord Jesus ; but he 
 dignifies every thing in connexion with him. 
 Capernaum was an insignificant fishing town : 
 yet, because he frequently resided and preach- 
 ed in it, it was exalted unto heaven. Beth- 
 lehem was not remarkable for its buildings, or 
 commerce, or the number of its inhabitants, 
 or fame of any kind. Thus it was " little 
 among the thousands of Judah." But it was 
 aggrandized and immortalized by an event 
 that fixed upon it the eye of inspiration, that 
 drew towards it in the fullness of time a mul- 
 titude of the heavenly host, and has rendered 
 it dear and memorable to the Church for ever 
 — tht Nativity of the Messiah. "Out of thee 
 shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler 
 in Israel, whose goings forth have been from 
 of old, from everlasting." 
 
 Let this teach us not to call any thing com- 
 mon or unclean. Let us guard against those 
 prejudices which are derived from worldly 
 grandeur and glory. Jesus was not bom in 
 Rome, or in Jerusalem; but, in accordance 
 with all the circumstances of his abasement, 
 in a small and obscure village. And Joseph 
 the saviour of Egypt was taken from prison ; 
 and Moses the king in Jeshurun from the ark 
 of bulrushes ; and David the great from the 
 sheepfold. The world was evangelized by 
 fishermen from the lake of Galilee. And Je- 
 sus said, " I thank thee, O Father, Lord of 
 heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these 
 things from the wise and prudent, and hast 
 revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father : 
 for so it seemed good in thy sight." " Base 
 things of the world, and things which are de- 
 spised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which 
 are not, to bring to naught things that are : 
 that no flesh should glory in his presence." 
 
 When Herod inquired of the chief priests 
 and scribes where Christ should be born, they 
 answered, In Bethlehem of Judea. When it 
 was rumoured that he came out of Galilee, 
 nis enemies immediately said, " Christ cometh 
 of the seed of David, and out of the town of 
 Beth-lehem, where David was." Thus the 
 place of his birth was not only fixed, but fully 
 known. Yet what could be so unlikely as the 
 accomplishment of the prophecy which had 
 raised this expectation 1 When Mary conceiv- 
 
 ed, there was not the least probability of her 
 being delivered at Beth-lehem — She was in 
 Galilee, living at Nazareth. But Augustus 
 issues a decree that all the world should be 
 taxed. This required not only that a certain 
 tribute should be paid, but that every man 
 should go to his own city to be enrolled. 
 Hence Joseph went up to Beth-lehem, and 
 Mary his espoused wife accompanied him, 
 being great with child. " And so it was, that, 
 while they were there, the days were accom- 
 plished that she should be delivered. And she 
 brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped 
 him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a 
 manger ; because there was no room for them 
 in the inn." There is always something w on- 
 derful in the works of God. We frequently 
 prescribe a course for him, or we expect him 
 to move in a particular direction : but he 
 brings the blind by a way that they know not ; 
 and leads them in paths which they have not 
 known. While we think he is doing nothing, 
 and his promise seems to fail for evermore, 
 his arrangements, are formed, his agents are 
 in motion, his designs are fulfilled, and we' 
 exclaim, " What hath God wrought ! Let us 
 trust and not teach him ; and whenever he 
 has spoken, believe, that if heaven and earth 
 should pass away, his word will not fail." 
 
 " Shall he come forth unto me !" — as if he 
 called him and he came. And he did call him : 
 and he said, " I came down from heaven, not 
 to do mine own will, but the will of him that 
 sent me." He had to act with God, and for 
 him ; to show forth his righteousness, to vin- 
 dicate his law, to make reconciliation for the 
 sins of his people, to glorify him on the earth, 
 and to finish the work which he gave him to 
 do. Therefore God calls him " my shepherd." 
 Therefore he says, " I have laid help on one 
 that is mighty ; I have exalted one chosen out 
 of the people." 
 
 " Who shall be ruler in Israel." He came 
 into the world to save sinners; but he is a 
 prince as well as a Saviour. His outward 
 circumstances at his birth, and all through 
 life, seemed to bespeak any thing rather than 
 royal dominion. Yet in this estate he was 
 previously announced : " Behold, my king 
 cometh unto thee : he is just, and having sal- 
 vation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and a 
 colt the foal of an ass." And the elements, 
 and all creatures, were at his sovereign con- 
 trol. • The winds and the waves, diseases, 
 death, and devils obeyed him. He called 
 Zaccheus, and he came down and received 
 him joyfully. He said to the sons of Zebe- 
 dee, as they were fishing, and to Matthew 
 as he was sitting at the receipt of custom, 
 Follow me ; and they arose, and, forsaking 
 all, followed him. " Art thou a king, then !* 
 said Pilate. He answered, "lama king. But 
 my kingdom is not of this world — Then would 
 my servants fight — But now my kingdom is 
 not from hence." The government of »1J 
 
414 
 
 DECEMBER 26. 
 
 things is indeed upon his shoulder, and he 
 rules in the midst of his enemies, and makes 
 their wrath to praise him. But his people 
 only are in a proper sense his subjects. They 
 are made willing in the day of his power, and 
 from knowledge and attachment resign them- 
 selves to his empire ; and he not only reigns 
 over them, but in them, by " righteousness, 
 peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 
 
 " Whaee goings forth have been from cf 
 old, from everlasting." Surely these words 
 imply and express an existence before his in- 
 carnation, and an eternal existence too. The 
 Evangelist bears the same testimony to this 
 interesting truth : " In the beginning was the 
 Word, and the Word was with God, and the 
 Word was God. All things were made by 
 him ; and without him was not any thing 
 made that was made." The Apostle also 
 says, " He is" — not he was ; " he is before all 
 things, and by him all things exist." It was 
 "the Spirit of Christ" that spake in the 
 prophets. It was Christ the Israelites tempted. 
 It was the reproach of Christ that Moses 
 priz-ad. He appeared in a human form to 
 Joshua and to the patriarchs. But " of old" 
 is not " from everlasting." Who can tell what 
 he did before time had begun to roll ] We 
 know that he had a glory with the Father be- 
 fore the world was. We know 
 
 " His busy thoughts, at first, 
 On their salvation ran ; 
 Ere sin was formed, or Adam's dust, 
 Was fashion'd to a man." 
 
 One remark results from all this. We see 
 what a wonderful character the Redeemer is, 
 and how constantly the sacred writers com- 
 bine together his greatness and his abase- 
 ment. Thus here, while we see him born in 
 Bethlehem, we behold him the king of glory, 
 whose goings forth were from of old, from 
 everlasting. It is his greatness that displays 
 his goodness. He loved us, and gave himself 
 for us. He is a man of sorrows, but it was 
 because the children were partakers of flesh 
 and blood that he likewise took part of the 
 same. He made himself of no reputation, and 
 became obedient unto death, even the death 
 of the cross. Ah ! Christians, what you have 
 witnessed to-day will not detract from his 
 glory in your regards. You " know the prin- 
 ciple of all this humiliation." You know " the 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ; how, that 
 though he was rich, yet for your sakes he be- 
 came poor, that you through his poverty 
 mip-ht be rich." 
 
 DECEMBER 26. 
 
 " The consolation of Israel." — Lake ii. 25. 
 
 Let us justify this character of the Mes- 
 wiah. 
 And here to what shall we appeal? To the 
 
 language of prophecy 1 Whenever the propn* 
 ets would comfort the Jews, they always led 
 them to his coming and his kingdom. Wit- 
 ness Isaiah : " O Zioh, that bringest good 
 tidings, get thee up into the high mountain ; 
 O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift 
 up thy voice with strength ; lift it up, be not 
 afraid ; say unto the cities of Judah, Behokf 
 your God ! Behold, the Lord God will com* 
 with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for 
 him : behold, his reward is with him, and his 
 work before him. He shall feed his flock like; 
 a shepherd : he shall gather the lambs with 
 his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and 
 shall gently lead those that are with young." 
 Witness Zechariah : " Rejoice greatly, O 
 daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jeru 
 salem ; behold, thy King cometh unto thee : 
 he is just, and having salvation ; lowly, and 
 riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal 
 of an ass." Witness Malachi : " Unto you 
 that fear my name shall the Sun of righteous- 
 ness arise with healing in his wings ; and ye 
 shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the 
 stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked ; 
 for they shall be ashes under the soles of your 
 feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the 
 Lord of hosts." 
 
 Or shall we appeal to the experience of 
 Old Testament saints 1 Abraham rejoiced to 
 see his day. Moses esteemed his reproach 
 greater riches than the treasures of Egypt 
 Job's solace was, " I know that my Redeemer 
 liveth." David, at the thought of describing 
 him, said, •* My heart is inditing a good mat- 
 ter : I speak of the things which I have made 
 touching the King ; my tongue is the pen of 
 a ready writer." And what said the angel of 
 the Lord to the shepherds 1 " Fear not : for, 
 behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 
 which shall be to all people : for unto you is 
 born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, 
 who is Christ the Lord." 
 
 That he considered himself as the owner 
 of this title, and as deserving it, is undenia- 
 ble, from the gracious words which proceeded 
 out of his lips. " The Spirit of the Lord is 
 upon me, because he hath anointed me to 
 preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent 
 me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach de- 
 liverance to the captives, and recovering of 
 sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that 
 are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of 
 the Lord." " Come unto me, all ye that la- 
 bour and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest" " In me ye shall have peace." " I will 
 not leave you comfortless : I will come." 
 " And ye now therefore have sorrow : but I 
 will see you again, and your heart shall re- 
 joice, and your joy no man taketh from you." 
 
 And how was he regarded in the first ana 
 purest age of the Church 1 " Whom having," 
 says Peter, "not seen, ye love; in whom, 
 though now ye see him not yet believing, y? 
 
DECEMBER 27. 
 
 415 
 
 rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glo- 
 ry." And, says Paul, " We joy in ( Jod through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now 
 received the atonement" He makes it one 
 part of the character of the circumcision that 
 they "rejoice in Christ Jesus." Yea, he 
 swears upon the certainty of it ; "I protest 
 by your rejoicing which / have in Christ Je- 
 sus our Lord, I die daily." It would be easy 
 to show from additional passages how the first 
 Christians, taught by inspired teachers, re- 
 paired always and only to him for consolation 
 in whatever circumstances they were found. 
 
 And need we wonder at this 1 ? What is 
 he 1 How does the word of truth represent 
 him ? Is he not a hiding-place from the 
 storm ? The shadow of a great rock in a 
 weary land? A river of waters in a dry 
 place ] The bread of life ? The robe of 
 righteousness ? A light in darkness ? 
 
 These representations are indeed very fig- 
 urative, but they are derived from reality. 
 And he for whom Simeon waited, more than 
 embodies them all — " The consolation of Is- 
 rael." Let me glance at four things in par- 
 ticular, concerning which, if he be not our 
 hope, we are hopeless. 
 
 What can I do with my guilt without him 1 
 1 cannot deny that I am a sinner; but the 
 soul that sinneth it shall die. Cursed is every 
 one that continueth not in all things written 
 in the book of the law to do them. And what 
 does this curse include ? It is a fearful thing 
 to fall into the hands of the living God. Who 
 can relieve and comfort me here but he who 
 said, Deliver from going down into the pit, I 
 have found a ransom ? Who bare our sin in 
 his own body on the tree, and made peace by 
 the blood of his cross ? 
 
 What can I do with my depravity without 
 nim ? For I am not only guilty — my under- 
 standing is darkened, my will js rebellious, 
 my affections are earthly and sensual — I feel 
 my weakness — yea, my very heart is alien- 
 ated from the life of God. And to whom can 
 I apply but to him who is wisdom and sancti- 
 fication, as well as righteousness and redemp- 
 tion'? He says, My grace is sufficient for 
 thee : my strength is made perfect in weak- 
 ness. The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes 
 us free from the law of sin and death. 
 
 What can I do without him in trouble? 
 But this man is the peace when the Assyrian 
 cometh into the land. This brother is born 
 for adversity. 
 
 What can I do without him in death ? But 
 he can support and comfort me when every 
 other support and comfort must fail. Ah ! 
 says Simeon, " Now lettest thou thy servant 
 depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy 
 salvation." 
 
 ' Jesus, the vision of thy face 
 Hath overpowering charms ; 
 Scarce shall I feel death's cold embrace. 
 If Christ be in my arms." 
 
 DECEMBER 27 
 
 •* The consolation of Israel." — Luke ii. 25. 
 
 Let us improve this character of the Mes- 
 siah. If he be the consolation of Israel — 
 
 It reminds us of the state of those who, as 
 the Apostle says, " are without Christ" They 
 are lying in wickedness ; the victims of guilt 
 and depravity ; abandoned to the miseries of 
 life ; and all their life-time subject to bondage 
 through fear of death. They feel their dis- 
 ease in many of its effects, though not in all : 
 but there is no balm of Gilead, no physician 
 there. They have recourse to the most pain- 
 ful pilgrimages, and privations, and tortures, 
 to obtain ease and hope, but amidst doubt and 
 suspicion lies are their refuge ; the way of 
 peace have they not known ; destruction and 
 misery are in their paths — And are they bone 
 of our bone, and flesh of our flesh ? And do 
 we not pity them ? Do we not pray for them ? 
 And while we pray that his way may be 
 known on earth, his saving health among all 
 nations, do we not evince by our exertions 
 and sacrifices, that our prayers are not hypoc- 
 risy or formality ? For we have the commu- 
 nication of this knowledge in our power. 
 
 The character invites sinners to come to 
 him. While you neglect him you are only 
 observing lying vanities, and forsaking your 
 own mercy. Nothing can supply the place 
 of the consolation of Israel. Suppose you 
 prosper in the world, the abundance you pos- 
 sess cannot ease the conscience, or fill the 
 wishes of the mind. You grasp at substance, 
 but seize only vanity. Even in laughter the 
 heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth 
 is heaviness. But what will you do in the day 
 of adversity ? And how soon may this come 
 upon you ! How mortal are your connexions ! 
 What is your health ? What is your life ? 
 You are now dreaming, but how will it be 
 with you when you wake ? 
 
 " O ye gay dreamers of gay dreams, 
 How will you weather an eternal night, 
 Where such expedients fail ?" 
 
 What a mercy that you can yet hear the 
 sound of consolation ! Here is a Comfortci 
 at hand, able, willing to succour you. Seek 
 him, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 
 
 The character hails those who have found 
 him. They were indeed strangers to all true 
 comfort till they acquainted themselves with 
 him. But he that hath the Son hath life. 
 They are now the happiest beings in the 
 world. They are justified from wrath through 
 him. In his righteousness they are exalted. 
 They rejoice in his salvation ; and can leave 
 all their cares in his hand. If the storm rages 
 without, " their minds have heaven and peace 
 within." They know that he will never leave 
 them nor forsake them ; that he has provided 
 for every state in which they can be found ; 
 that he is now making all things work to- 
 
416 
 
 DECEMBER 28. 
 
 gether for their good ; and will soon wipe all 
 tears from their eyes. 
 
 But how does the title reproach those who 
 backslide from him 7 " Will a man leave the 
 snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock 
 of the field 7 or shall the cold flowing waters 
 that come from another place be forsaken 7" 
 " O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. 
 Have I been a wilderness unto Israel 7 a land 
 of darkness ' Wherefore say my people, We 
 are lords , we will come no more unto thee 7" 
 Did he not remember thee when there was 
 none to pity 7 Did he not deliver thee when 
 there was none to help 1 Did he not find thee 
 in the road to hell, and turn thy feet into the 
 path of life 7 Did he not bring thee health 
 and cure after trying physicians of no value? 
 It was a. touching expostulation he addressed 
 to the twelve, when many turned back and 
 walked no more with him ; " Will ye also go 
 away 1" And it was a fine reply ; " Lord, to 
 whom shall we go 7 Thou hast the words of 
 eternal life." We should only be losers by 
 any exchange we could make. 
 
 What can be a substitute for him 7 The 
 backslider in heart shall be filled with his 
 own ways. If a fear of reproach or persecu- 
 tion turns you astray from Christ, you may 
 feel such reflection and terror of conscience 
 as may make you long for him even in a pris- 
 on, or at the stake. If the love of gain tempts 
 you, you may get the worldly advantage you 
 seek after, but you will lose the light of his 
 countenance, and the joy of his salvation. 
 
 Whatever you lean upon instead of trust- 
 ing in him will fail you, and pierce you 
 through with many sorrows. Yes, we must 
 learn by what we suffer, as well as by what 
 we enjoy, that he is the consolation of Is- 
 rael. "A voice was heard upon the high 
 places, weeping and supplications of the chil- 
 dren of Israel : for they have perverted their 
 way, and they have forgotten the Lord their 
 God. Return, ye backsliding children, and I 
 will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come 
 unto thee ; for thou art the Lord our God. 
 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the 
 hills, and from the multitude of mountains : 
 truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of 
 Israel." 
 
 DECEMBER 28. 
 
 " In all things it behoved him to be made like 
 unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful 
 and faithful High Priest in things pertaining 
 to God."— Heb."ii. 17. 
 
 There is indeed one exception. It regards 
 the purity of his nature. This was indispen- 
 sable, and therefore the Scripture abundantly 
 confirms it, telling us that he was " the Holy 
 One of God," that " he did no sin ;" that " in him 
 was no sin." And our Apostle is not forget- 
 r ul of it in the connexion before us : " he was 
 
 in all points tempted like as we are, yet with' 
 out sm." 
 
 But this exception being made, the con- 
 formity between him and his brethren is uni- 
 versal and complete ; if there be any difference, 
 it is in their favour. Are they partakers " of 
 flesh and blood 7" " He himself likewise also 
 took part of the same." " Both he that sanc- 
 tifieth and they who are sanctified are all of 
 one : for which cause he is not ashamed to 
 call them brethren." Are they poor] He 
 had not where to lay his head. Are they 
 reviled 1 " Reproach," says he, " hath broken 
 my heart." Does the adversary assail them 7 
 He urged him to the vilest crimes. Do they 
 complain of successless exertion'] He said, 
 "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my 
 strength for naught" Have they irreligious 
 connexions] " Neither did his own brethren 
 also believe on him." Are their souls vexed 
 with the filthy conversation of the ungodly ] 
 How must he have been grieved, with all his 
 spiritual susceptibilities, when he saw the 
 transgressors ! Have they before them the 
 trying hour of death 7 He knows what it is 
 to die ; and in the days of his flesh, with strong 
 cryings and tears, said, "Father, if it be 
 possible, let this cup pass from me; never- 
 theless, not my will, but thine be done" — 
 "In all things he was made like unto his 
 brethren." 
 
 And observe the expediency of the dispen- 
 sation. " It behoved him." What, could not 
 they be admitted to favour without his humilia- 
 tion and suffering 7 Was it only proper for 
 them to obtain glory by his shame, riches by 
 his penury, healing by his strokes, and life by 
 his dying 7 Yes, " it behoved him, for whom 
 are all things, and by whom are all things, in 
 bringing many sons unto glory, to make the 
 captain of their salvauon perfect through suf- 
 ferings." Is then necessity laid upon him 7 Does 
 sovereignty itself submit to a law 7 Do un- 
 bounded excellency and goodness condescend 
 to be circumscribed and regulated 7 And 
 can we who are not our own complain if we 
 are under restraints? Are we to dispense 
 with those rules and decencies which have 
 been established for the safety and welfare of 
 society 7 Order is essential to happiness. It 
 is allied to all greatness. It is " heaven's first 
 law." God himself is the example of it : he 
 acts by rule. He does not tell us what he 
 could do, but what it "became" and "be- 
 hoved" him to do ; and that he does it not be- 
 cause he would, hut because it seemed good 
 in his sight. Let us not deny, dispute, or 
 doubt the expedience of this economy, be- 
 cause we are unable to perceive all the rea- 
 sons upon which it is founded. Let us re- 
 member how limited our understanding is 
 with regard to every subject, and how limited 
 therefore it must be when it would explore th" 
 proceedings of an infinite Being, and where 
 
DECEMBER 29. 
 
 417 
 
 too, tnat Being is engaged in his highest 
 opeiations. We cannot conclude that a course 
 is right because a man adopts it; yea, the 
 very reverse is oftener to be feared. But 
 we may always safely infer the rectitude of 
 God's conduct from the perfection of his na- 
 ture. But if he has been pleased 1o inform us 
 expressly that whatever difficulties, owing to 
 our ignorance, may now attach to it, the plan 
 was, he himself being judge, proper and be- 
 coming in him ; — surely we ought to honour 
 him with our confidence, and be willing to 
 walk by faith — especially too, when he en- 
 gages to explain his dealings after our state 
 ('f trial and discipline is ended, and — when we 
 can by humble attention and prayer discern 
 enough to convince us that he has abounded 
 towards us in all wisdom and prudence, and 
 to induce us from what we see to exclaim 
 with regard to what we do not see, " O the 
 depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and 
 knowledge of God" — " His work is perfect." 
 
 Let us therefore remark the aim and design 
 of this peculiar and expensive constitution. 
 "That he might be a merciful and faithful 
 high priest in things pertaining to God." 
 " Things pertaining to God" mean the con- 
 cerns of his mediation ; the things in which he 
 was to act with God for us, and with us for 
 God. Without having our nature he could 
 not have exercised the priesthood at all, for he 
 would have had nothing to offer, and a priest 
 must of necessity have somewhat to offer. 
 But in this nature, and by this abasement and 
 sufferings, he was 
 
 "A merciful" High Priest. He appeared 
 merciful. He knew that nothing could be 
 done unless he gained for himself our confi- 
 dence, and he knew how hard it was with our 
 consciousness and fears to gain it He therefore 
 said, I will convince them of my compassion, 
 and show them that I prefer their salvation 
 to my own comfort and life. I will go and 
 dwell among them : I will call them to behold 
 me in the manger, in the garden, and on the 
 cross — Will not this suffice 1 He was made 
 merciful. He was rendered capable of the 
 sympathy which can only flow from expe- 
 rience. He only that has been a stranger 
 knows the heart of a stranger. The most 
 humane are those who have been trained to 
 feeling in the school of affliction. The fact is 
 applied to him : " In that he himself hath 
 suffered, being tempted, he is able to succour 
 them that are tempted." And it is thus we 
 are encouraged to apply to him in the time of 
 need : for though he be passed into the 
 heavens, we have not an high priest who 
 cannot be touched with the feeling of our in- 
 firmities. 
 
 He was a " faithful" High Priest Faith- 
 ful to what? To the prophecies, promises, 
 types, going before ? He said, " Lo ! I come : 
 in the volume of the book it is written of me." 
 Faithful to his own engagements 1 He turned 
 27 
 
 not away his back; but as the awful scene 
 approached he said, " How am I straitened 
 till it be accomplished !" The main thing is, 
 that he was faithful to the Divine interests , 
 for as the former article refers to us, so this 
 principally refers to God. He was the medi- 
 ator between God and man, and had to main- 
 tain his honour, as well as to secure our de- 
 liverance. Kindness itself may be mis-exer- 
 cised ; absolute mercy may not only be folly 
 and weakness, but injustice, injury, cruelty. 
 Magistrates are to be terrors to evil-doers, as 
 well as a praise to them that do well. The 
 judge is to be not only merciful, but faithful ; 
 and while he feels for the criminal, he must 
 maintain the law, though he may pass the 
 sentence with tenderness in his heart, and tears 
 in his eyes. Sinners were not to be saved as 
 if they had not been guilty, but in a way that 
 should remind them that their lives were given 
 back to them after they had been forfeited ; 
 that they had incurred the penalty of the law ; 
 that this penalty was founded in equity, and 
 could not be dispensed with ; and therefore 
 that our Substitute bore it in his own body on 
 the tree, and redeemed us from the curse of 
 the law, being made a curse for us. Thus sin 
 is condemned in the flesh while it is forgiven, 
 and the law is magnified and made honour- 
 able while the offender escapes. Thus mercy 
 and truth meet together, righteousness and 
 peace kiss each other, and the claims of rec- 
 titude as well as clemency are provided for, 
 while, as the Apostle adds, " he makes re- 
 conciliation for the sins of the people " 
 
 DECEMBER 29. 
 
 " And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, ana 
 set him before Pharaoh : and Jacob blessed 
 Pharaoh." — Gen. xlvii. 7. 
 
 It was an affecting hour when Jacob, after 
 supposing for so many years that his eon was 
 dead, and devoured by wild beasts, received in- 
 formation that he was alive, and governor over 
 all the land of Egypt. At first his heart fainted, 
 and he believed it not. But when he had 
 not only heard the words which Joseph had 
 spoken, but saw the wagons that he had sent 
 to fetch him down, his spirit revived in hiu. 
 and he said, " It is enough, Joseph my son is 
 yet alive ; I will go and see him before I die." 
 — He soon set off. But the journey was 
 formidable to him. The old dislike changes, 
 and cleave to places to which they have been 
 accustomed. He .herefore travelled anxious- 
 ly, and when he came to Beersheba he felt 
 alarmed. But he had recourse to his old and 
 tried relief, prayer : " and God spake to him 
 in the visions of the night and said, I am God, 
 the God of thy father : fear not to go down 
 into Egypt ; for I will there make of thee a 
 great nation. I will gi- down with thee Into 
 
41ft 
 
 DECEMBER 30. 
 
 Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up 
 again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon 
 thine eyes." Three interesting presentations 
 followed the execution of this journey. 
 
 The presentation of Joseph to Jacob. 
 "And Joseph made ready his chariot, and 
 went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, 
 and presented himself unto him ; and he fell 
 on his neck, and wept on his neck a good 
 while." Then loosening from the lengthened 
 embrace which all attempt to enlarge upon 
 would spoil ; " he said unto Joseph, Now let 
 me die, since I have seen thy face, because 
 thou art yet alive." 
 
 The presentation of his brethren to Pha- 
 raoh. " And he took some of his brethren, 
 even five men, and presented them unto Pha- 
 raoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, 
 What is your occupation ? And they said unto 
 Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both 
 we, and also our father. They said, more- 
 over, unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land 
 are we come ; for thy servants have no pas- 
 ture for their flocks ; for the famine is sore in 
 the land of Canaan : now therefore, we pray 
 thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of 
 Goshen. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, 
 saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come 
 unto thee : the land of Egypt is before thee ; 
 in the best of the land make thy father and 
 brethren to dwell ; in the land of Goshen let 
 them dwell: and if thou knowest any men 
 of activity among them, then make them 
 rulers over my cattle." 
 
 The presentation of Jacob to Pharaoh. 
 •' And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and 
 set him before Pharaoh" — Who can 
 
 Reflect upon this event, and not admire the 
 wonder-working Providence of God in bring- 
 ing it to pass ? All this was foreseen and fore- 
 appointed ; but how many agencies were set 
 in motion to produce the result, while the 
 agents themselves were unconscious of the 
 bearing of their respective parts, and were all 
 acting separately from each other, yet all 
 working together — till at last all the discords 
 issued in the finest harmony ; and these were 
 the strains to which it was attuned : " He 
 hath done all things well." "I will bring 
 the blind by a way that they knew not; I 
 will lead them in paths that they have not 
 known: I will make darkness light before 
 them, and crooked things straight. These 
 things will I do unto them, and not forsake 
 them." " Whoso is wise, and will observe 
 these things, even they shall understand the 
 loving-kindness of the Lord." Art thou tempt- 
 ed to despondence] Do the clouds return 
 after the rain ? Seest thou no way of escape ? 
 Do means fail? Does the providence of God 
 seem not only to forget but oppose the prom- 
 ise ? See Joseph the slave, the prisoner, lately 
 in irons, now prime minister of a powerful 
 and learned nation, presenting his weather- 
 beaten father, whose fears are now dispelled, 
 
 and every hope and wish of his .ong-aching 
 heart more than crowned ! Is any thing too 
 hard for the Lord ? At evening-tide, it shall 
 be light. 
 
 What did the patriarch on this occasion ? 
 "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh." — It was an 
 expression of salutation towards a stranger. 
 Good men are not to be uncivil and rude, and 
 pass this off as sincerity and faithfulness. 
 They ought to be the most genteel people 
 upon earth ; for they ought to feel in dispo- 
 sition, the politeness — that is, the readiness 
 to deny themselves, and please and oblige 
 others, which the people of the world express 
 ceremoniously, and often very falsely. The 
 servant of the Lord is to be " gentle towards 
 all men." And we are enjoined to be " cour- 
 teous." — It was an act of homage towards a 
 sovereign, whose subject he now was. We 
 are all upon a level before God : but religious 
 equality is not to be carried into our relative 
 and civil concerns. The Scripture supports 
 the distinctions of life, and calls upon us to 
 "render to all their due; honour to whom 
 honour, fear to whom fear." — It was an ex- 
 pression of gratitude towards a benefactor, 
 who had promoted his son, and was now will- 
 ing to receive all his relations, and provide 
 for them in the most fertile region of his em- 
 pire. The grace that makes us humble, makes 
 us thankful. And while we acknowledge God 
 as the source of all good, we must not over- 
 look those who are the mediums of it — It 
 was an act of supplication on the behuf of a 
 man who, however highly exalted, stood in 
 need of the favour of God. The less is bless- 
 ed of the greater. And Jacob was in this re- 
 spect greater than Pharaoh — He was the ser- 
 vant of the Most High God — a prophet of the 
 Lord — and who had obtained the name of 
 Israel because, as a prince, he had power with 
 God as well as with man, and could prevail. 
 He therefore invokes the benediction of God 
 upon him ; upon his person, upon his family, 
 upon his government, upon his empire — thus 
 delicately and inoffensively leading him to 
 think of the Supreme Being, and to feel his 
 dependence upon him. What is a palace, 
 without the blessing of God? His loving 
 kindness is better than life. 
 
 DECEMBER 30. 
 
 "And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art 
 thou ?"— Gen. xlvii. 8. 
 
 We may consider the question as an in- 
 stance of condescension and kindness on the 
 part of Pharaoh. There is something in ma- 
 jesty that overawes and overpowers those who 
 have been brought up remote from it. Pha- 
 raoh was the greatest monarch of the age, 
 and Jacob had been a plain man, dwelling in 
 tents, and acquainted only with rustic life and 
 manners; and he was now at. a period too 
 
DECEMBER 31. 
 
 419 
 
 late to acquire new modes of address. A true 
 nobleman can disembarrass those that address 
 nim, and inspire them with decent confidence, 
 without lowering the respect they entertain 
 for him : and this is very much done by seiz- 
 ing something with which the inferior is fa- 
 miliar, and in which he feels more at home. 
 Jacob probably dreaded this interview because 
 of the conversation ; the king therefore in- 
 stantly begins upon his age. This would also 
 be pleasing to Jacob. Old people love to talk 
 of early scenes, and of things they saw and 
 heard before others were born. Their years 
 give them a kind of dignity and pre-eminence. 
 Years have in all countries laid a foundation 
 for respect — " Thou shalt rise up before the 
 hoary head, and honour the face of the old 
 man." 
 
 But let the preacher bring home this ques- 
 tion, especially as we are so near the end of 
 another year, to all who are here present 
 We would not have even females excluded. 
 In this quarter indeed we should feel an im- 
 propriety in the question if an answer were 
 to be returned aloud. The age of only one 
 woman, even when she died, is mentioned in 
 the Scripture — It were rude to pry where se- 
 crecy is so sacred. Years are at variance 
 with personal attraction and impression ; and 
 many dislike to be reminded of the failure of 
 their reign. But if by dress and hired tints 
 they try to impose upon others, can they be 
 ignorant themselves? Know they not the 
 real lapse of their time and their influence ? 
 Let them therefore be concerned to establish 
 an empire upon something more solid than 
 corporeal charms. — Let them cultivate the 
 mind ; let them adorn the heart and life with 
 the graces of the Holy Spirit; let them 
 abound in good works; let them with Mary 
 « choose the good part that shall not be taken 
 away from thtem — Thus they will descend 
 even into the vale of age with honour, and be 
 estimable even in the tomb. 
 
 Allow me then to ask each of you, " How 
 old art thou ?" It is a question which you can 
 answer. There is a great difference between 
 looking backward and looking forward. You 
 know not what a day may bring forth. You 
 cannot tell how long you have to live — But 
 you know how long you have lived. It is a 
 question you ought to answer. There is no- 
 thing of more importance than to know how 
 you stand with regard to the progress of your 
 time. Time is your most valuable possession. 
 Every thing depends upon it ; and once gone 
 it can never be recalled. Inquire therefore 
 how much of it is gone, and how much of it 
 probably remains. 
 
 The days of our years are threescore years 
 and ten. Few indeed reach this period. But 
 this is the general limit And beyond it no 
 roan has a right to look. Philip Henry there- 
 fore, when he had entered his seventieth year, 
 always dated his letters, " The year of my 
 
 dying." Yet have not some of you even 
 passed this period ? Are not others near it 1 
 And do not even fifty, forty, thirty years make 
 an awful inroad upon the measure ? Are you 
 in early life? You think perhaps that you 
 have many years before you, during which 
 your eye will see good. But do you learn 
 this from Scripture and observation'? Do not 
 both these tell you that childhood and youth 
 are vanity? Are you aged? On what dis- 
 tance are you reckoning before you reach 
 your journey's end? Miles? Furlongs? 
 Feet ? There is but a step between you and 
 death. Are you old in sin? Your time is 
 ending, and your work not even yet begun ! 
 
 Here the question assumes a spiritual im 
 port Christians are new creatures. They 
 are born again. How old are we in grace ? 
 We have lived really no longer than we have 
 lived to God, a life of faith, hope, holiness, 
 and love. Where then are we in the Divine 
 life ? What are we in the family of God ? 
 Are we little children, or young men, or fa- 
 thers in Christ ? 
 
 Christian ! how old art thou ? " Old enough 
 to be wiser and better. I blush to think how 
 great my advantages have been, and how I 
 have misimproved them. How long have I 
 been in the best of all schools, and how little 
 have I learned ! Lord, clothe me with hu- 
 mility. Enable me to present thee a broken 
 heart and a contrite spirit which thou wilt 
 not despise." 
 
 " What have I done for him that died 
 To save my wretched soul ? 
 How have my follies multiplied. 
 Fast as my minutes roll !" 
 
 What am I to do this evening V 
 
 "Lord, with this guilty heart of mine 
 To thy dear cross I flee ; 
 And to thy grace my soul resign, 
 To be renewed by thee." 
 
 Aged Christian ! What says your answer 
 to this question? — Now is your salvation 
 nearer than when you believed. A few more 
 descending suns, and " thy sun shall no more 
 go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw 
 herself; for God shall be thine everlasting 
 light and the days of thy sojourning shall be 
 ended." 
 
 DECEMBER 31. 
 
 " And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days *, the 
 years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and 
 thirty years : few and evil have the days of the 
 years of my life been." — Gen. xlviL 9. 
 
 There is something very simple sad affect- 
 ino- in this representation. It places life be- 
 fore us under the image of a pilgrimage. 
 Such Jacob's life was literally. We find him 
 perpetually changing his residence. He'never 
 occupied a mansion. What the Apostle saya 
 of Abraham, applies also to Isaac and Jacob . 
 " By faith he sojourned in the land of promise 
 
420 
 
 DECEMBER 31. 
 
 as in a strange country, dwelling in taberna- 
 cles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him 
 of the same promise. These all died in faith, 
 not having received the promises, but having 
 seen them afar off, and were persuaded of 
 them, and embraced them, and confessed that 
 they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 
 For they that say such things, declare plainly 
 that they seek a country. And truly, if they 
 had been mindful of that country from whence 
 they came out, they might have had opportu- 
 nity to have returned. But now they desire 
 a better country, that is, an heavenly : where- 
 fore God is not ashamed to be called their 
 God : for he hath prepared for them a city." 
 This fine passage shows us that Jacob was a 
 pilgrim, not only or principally because of his 
 outward condition, but his spiritual experience. 
 He was allied to another and a nobler world 
 by birth, by his possessions there, and by his 
 advancement towards it 
 
 Life indeed is a pilgrimage, even naturally 
 considered. We never continue in one stay. 
 We pass through successive periods of beiug ; 
 through days, and weeks, and years ; through 
 infancy, youth, manhood, and old age; and 
 then we go down to the grave. In this sense 
 none are residents here ; all are travellers, 
 hastening the way of all the earth. 
 
 But the figure is more strikingly true, if 
 taken in a religious sense. The progression 
 we have just mentioned is not the choice or 
 wish of the multitude : and we can hardly 
 call a man a pilgrim who is driven by force, 
 and carried along as a prisoner or a captive ; 
 he only deserves the name who has an object 
 in view, and which he is anxious to attain, 
 and towards which he is voluntarily moving. 
 Others are " men of the world," 
 
 " Their hope and portion lies below, 
 "Tis all the happiness they know." 
 
 But the Christian has his "conversation in 
 heaven," and can say, 
 
 "What others value I resign, 
 Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine : 
 I shall behold thy blissful face, 
 And stand complete in righteousness." 
 
 But Jacob attaches to his pilgrimage two 
 properties. First, brevity — "Few have the 
 days of the years of my life been." Yet he 
 had lived one hundred and thirty years. But 
 Isaac had lived one hundred and eighty ; and 
 Abraham one hundred and seventy-five, and 
 Terah two hundred and five. And what were 
 these ages compared with those before the 
 Flood ? And what were those compared with 
 eternity? Yet this properly applies much 
 stronger to our life than to the life of Jacob. 
 There is not a man now living who expects 
 to reach one hundred and thirty. The sacred 
 writers have employed every image importing 
 shortness of duration to characterize the hasti- 
 
 tness of our continuance here. A flood. A 
 tale. A vapour. A weaver's shuttle. An 
 eagle pouncing on his prey. What is it then 
 
 when compared with the grand purposes of 
 life — The salvation of the soul ! The glorify- 
 ing of God ! The serving of our generation ! 
 Surely we have not a moment to lose ! And 
 as in a letter, if the paper is small, and we 
 have much to write, we write closer, so let us 
 learn to economize and improve the remain- 
 ing moments of life. 
 
 The second is, misery. Not only " few," 
 but " evil," says he, " have the days of the 
 years of my life been." His history verifies 
 the assertion. At what period was he not 
 called to suffer, from his early leaving his 
 father's house down to the hour when, in the 
 anguish of his soul, he cried, " Joseph is not, 
 and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin 
 away : all these things are against me ?" 
 
 But this attribute belongs not to Jacob's 
 life only. " Man is born to trouble, as the 
 sparks fly upward." From this sorrowful 
 experience none are exempted. Evil enters 
 the palace as well as the cottage. Solomon, 
 the happiest of mortals as to means and op- 
 portunities of enjoyment, tells us not only 
 that " all is vanity," but " vexation of spirit." 
 We are often tempted to discontent by com- 
 parisons ; yet perhaps the very persons we 
 envy are envying every one else. " The 
 heart," and the heart alone, " knoweth his 
 own bitterness." Let us not promise our- 
 selves in life what life has never yet realized. 
 Nd condition will answer a high degree of 
 expectation. 
 
 Let us go forth into a new portion of oui 
 time, sober in our hopes with regard to crea- 
 tures, but with confidence in God. If he is 
 the rock, they are broken reeds. If he is 
 faithfulness and truth, they, at their best es- 
 tate, are altogether vanity. And that we may 
 be prepared for all that awaits us, let us seek 
 that grace which can sustain us in the evil 
 hour of adversity, and turn death itself into a 
 blessing. Without this all the evils of time 
 will issue in the miseries of eternity. 
 
 " This seems a gloomy view of life." But 
 is it not a true one 1 — Yet it is not unmingled 
 with good, much good. Our mercies are new 
 every morning. And it becomes us to be 
 thankful that in a world so fuL of evil we 
 have had, during the months we are closing, 
 so many exemptions, deliverances, allevia- 
 tions, and comforts. 
 
 Besides, this was not our original state, but 
 the consequence of sin. Moral evil produced 
 natural evil. " By one man sin entered into 
 the world, and death by sin" — " Cursed is the 
 ground for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou ea1 
 of it all the days of thy life ; thorns also ano 
 thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thofc 
 shalt eat the herb of the field ; in the sweat 
 of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou re- 
 turn unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou 
 taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt 
 thou return." 
 
 This state too is not our final one — unless 
 
DECEMBER 31. 
 
 421 
 
 A choose to make it so. The Gospel places 
 wi.-lin our view, and within our reach, re- 
 gions of perfect blessedness, where it shall be 
 said; "The Lord hath taken away thy judg- 
 ments, he hath cast out thine enemy : the king 
 of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of 
 thee : thou shalt not see evil any more." 
 
 Nor should it be forgotten that the evils of 
 life themselves are rendered useful. What 
 is the effect of sin is also " the fruit to take 
 away sin." The world, even as it now is, is 
 capable of seducing the heart — What would 
 tt be if it presented nothing but attraction and 
 indulgence 1 This changes the aspect of our 
 condition ; and not only prevents despondence 
 snd munnuiiug, but enables us to say, it is 
 
 good for me that I have been afflicted. O 
 how the suffering of the present time endears 
 the Scripture ! The throne of grace ! The 
 sympathy of Jesus ! The glory to be revealed ! 
 — Here is one alleviation more. If the 
 days of our pilgrimage be "evil," they are 
 '" few." The brevity corrects the bitterness. 
 The fight may be severe, but the warfare will 
 soon be accomplished. The road may be 
 rough, and the weather stormy, but our 
 Father's house — our home is at hand ! " God 
 shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and 
 there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, 
 nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
 pain : for the former things are passed away." 
 Amen. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 At the conclusion of these Morning and Evening Exercises, it may not ow 
 uninteresting to some of his friends and readers if the author should remark 
 briefly how a work which has had such an extensive circulation was commenced 
 and completed. 
 
 He had passed between thirty and forty years of his ministry before he avail- 
 ed himself of a few weeks for an annual relaxation from his stated labours ; and 
 when he adopted the plan, those seasons were not with him entire cessations 
 from engagement. Not only did he find the leisure useful to his health and 
 spirits, and affording him opportunities for reflection and preparation for preach- 
 ing, but he often employed a good portion of it in composition for the press. 
 Several of his publications thus were begun, and others considerably advanced. 
 
 At Sidmouth he began his " Domestic Minister's Assistant," and wrote many 
 uf the " Family Prayers." In the Isle of Wight he composed " A Charge to a 
 Minister's Wife," and " The Wife's Advocate." At Lynmouth he finished his 
 " Christian Contemplated," and wrote the Preface with " Hints on Preaching.' 
 
 But the latter place must be a little more noticed. There, for several year,* 
 successively, he passed a month, the most perfectly agreeable he ever experi- 
 enced in a life of loving kindness and tender mercy. 
 
 Lynton and Lynmouth are nearly connected ; the one being at the top and 
 the other at the bottom of a declivity, covered with trees and verdure, inter- 
 spersed with several houses. Linton has been remarked for its sublimity, and 
 Lynmouth for its beauty, and their united aspects have been called Switzerland 
 in miniature. 
 
 Lynmouth to the author was the most interesting spot. There two narrow 
 and cragged valleys, obviously once ruptured by a convulsion of nature, termi 
 nate, and down these, tumbling from rock to rock, two streams, one running from 
 khe east and the other from the south, unite, and then, in a small distance, empty 
 themselves into the sea. 
 
 At the time of his first going there, it was hardly known or considered as a 
 watering-place. It had not, theiefore, fallen into the corruptions of such recep- 
 tacles, nor had the inhabitants been taught to make visiters a prey. The villa- 
 gers were very respectful, and strangers felt a sense of perfect safety. There 
 the author fixed his residence. He took a whole cottage. It was neat and 
 agreeable ; and he had rural and enchanting scenery and solitude, yet not with- 
 out some to hear the exclamation, " How sweet this solitude is !" for he had 
 society too His company was small, but suitable and improving. 
 
424 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 " Where friendship full exerts her softest power, 
 Perfect esteem, enliven'd by desire 
 Ineffable, and sympathy of soul, 
 Thought meeting thought, and will preventing will. 
 With boundless confidence." 
 
 The author opened his parlour and spoke on the Lord's Day evening to Me 
 neighbours who would attend. But having been struck with the design, and 
 also having been urged to undertake something of the kind, he now began his 
 •' Morning Exercises." Of those, he there often wrote two and sometimes three 
 a day ; and always read one of them in the morning and another at the evening 
 devotions, and not without the approbation of his companion", which much exci- 
 ted and encouraged him to proceed. 
 
 There he composed the greater part of the " Morning Exercises ;" and in 
 after visits there he also wrote the greater part of the " Evening Exercises." 
 He once thought of distinguishing by a mark all he had written in that retire- 
 ment, but not doing it immediately, his recollection soon became too indistinct 
 lor him to decide with certainty. The first " Exercise" which he wrate wio 
 that which is entitled " The Unlonely Solitude" John, xvi., 32 : " And shall leave 
 me alone ; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." January 
 29, morning. 
 
 He wished, also, to have marked those which he wrote as he journeyed to 
 and from Lynmouth. At Minehead, where he slept as he was going down, he 
 wrote the Exercise called " The Pious Excursion, n 1 Samuel, iii., 9 : " Speak, 
 Lord, for thy servant heareth ;" especially in reference to such a journey of rec- 
 reation, September 3, morning. At the same place, as he returned, he com- 
 posed the Exercise entitled " The Call to depart," Micah, ii., 10 : " Arise and 
 depart hence, for this is not your rest," September 29, morning. He also wrote 
 a third Exercise at the same inn, " Changes in the Wilderness not a Removal 
 from it," Numbers, x., 12 : " And the children of Israel took their journeys out 
 of the wilderness of Sinai ; and the cloud rested in the wilderness at Paran," 
 October 10, morning. 
 
 The author cannot conclude without observing, 1 . That relaxation is never so 
 perfectly enjoyed as in connexion with engagement. 
 
 " A want of occupation is not rest ; 
 A mind quite vacant is a mind distress'd." 
 
 Relaxation, indeed, can have no existence separate from employment, fbr 
 what is there then to relax from ? On the other hand, action prepares for re- 
 pose ; and labour not only sweetens, but justifies recreation, so that we feel it to 
 be, not only innocent indulgence, but a kind of recompense. 
 
 2. That, as of such a precious talent as time nothing should be lost, so much 
 may be done by gathering up the fragments. 
 
 Bath, 1842 
 
 
TABLE OF TEXTS 
 
 MORNING AND EVENING EXERCISES. 
 
 M. Morning. 
 
 E. Evening. 
 
 Genesis. 
 
 Chapter Verso 
 
 III. 9 Adam Questioned . 
 V. 24 Enoch's Character 
 _^"-~~~29 The Birth of Noah . 
 VL 9 Noah's Walk . . . 
 " 9 'Walking with God . 
 VII. Te< Genuine Piety . . 
 " 1 God observes his People 
 " 1 The Privilege of Godliness 
 Xin. 1-4 Abraham's Devotion . . 
 XV. 1 What God is to his People 
 
 " 8 The Title known . . 
 XX. 6 Restraint from Sin 
 XXI. 33 The Eternity of God . 
 XXII 12 The Divine Assurance 
 XXVII. 1-4 Isaac Old and Dim . . 
 XXVIII. 10 Jacob's Journeying 
 " 17 The Gate of Heaven . 
 
 XXX 1 Disappointment and Envy 
 " 2 No Creature a Substitute for 
 
 God 
 
 ■ 27 Laban'a Acknowledgment 
 " 27 Experience . . 
 XXXH. 9-12 Jacob's Prayer . 
 " 24 Jacob's Wrestling 
 
 « 25, 26 Jacob Disjointed 
 " 26, 27 Determined Piety 
 " 28, 29 Divine Benediction 
 " 30-32 The Pilgrim going forward 
 XXXV. 8 Loss of a good Servant . 
 XXXIX. 20 Joseph in Prison . . . 
 XL. 20 The Birth-day .... 
 XLL 51, 52 Joseph Naming his Sons 
 XLII. 36 The groundless Conclusion 
 XLVH. 7 The Presentation of Jacob 
 " 8 The Question of Pharaoh 
 
 " 9 The Representation of Life 
 
 XLVm. L 2 Joseph with his sick Father 
 " 11 Hope exceeded .... 
 
 XLIX. 2 Jacob's dying Address . . 
 "» 4 True Excellency .... 
 " 4 Stability recommended 
 
 Exodus. 
 ITL 1, 2 Moses a Shepherd .... 
 ," 2 The burning Bush .... 
 " 5, 6 Moses addressed at the Bush 
 XIIL 17, 18 Regard to Israel's Weakness 
 " 18, 19 The Departure from Egypt 
 " 21, 22 The fiery cloudy Pillar . 
 XV. 25 The Bitter Waters healed 
 XVIL 5, 6 The miraculous Supply . 
 - 8 The Fight with Amalek . 
 
 " 14 Amalek Destroyed . . 
 " 15 Jehovah-Nissi .... 
 XXm. 25 Earthly Comforts blessed 
 XXXIII. 14 The Divine Presence . . 
 ■ 18 The Sight of God's Glory 
 
 XL. 2 Reflections for the New Year 
 
 NuMBEBS. 
 
 VII. 1-9 Tabernacle Services . . . 
 
 •* 10 The Offering of the Princes 
 
 X 12 Changes in the Wilderness 
 
 " 31 Mutual Aid 
 
 " 32 Desirable Fellowship . . . 
 
 " 33 God choosing our Resting- 
 place . . . . . 
 
 Page 
 E. 195 
 " 102 
 " 383 
 M. 30 
 E. 167 
 '• 38 
 "• 39 
 "• 40 
 «»42 
 " 264 
 M. 250 
 E. 97 
 
 ■ 356 
 M. 14 
 
 " 156 
 E. 198 
 " 200 
 " 92 
 
 " 113 
 
 " 73 
 
 *' 159 
 
 M. 43 
 
 E. 188 
 
 " 189 
 
 ■ 190 
 " 191 
 " 192 
 " 44 
 
 M. 47 
 » 25 
 E. 33 
 
 ■ 23 
 '* 417 
 « 418 
 " 419 
 
 M. 35 
 " 28 
 
 E. 105 
 " 106 
 " 107 
 
 E. 221 
 " 222 
 u 273 
 M. 23 
 " 128 
 " 157 
 " 39 
 E. 202 
 " 217 
 ■ 249 
 " 263 
 M. 59 
 " 257 
 " 175 
 « 13 
 
 E. 385 
 " 398 
 
 M. 277 
 " 51 
 " 65 
 
 " 170 
 
 i. 21 
 " 31 
 
 Chapter Versa 
 
 X. 35,36 TherisingandrestingPrayer 
 
 XVI. 38 Sins punished and improved 
 
 XXI. 4 The discouraged Pilgrim 
 
 " 16-19 Israel's Song at Beer . . . 
 
 XXVIL 12, 13 Moses apprised of his Death 
 
 Deutebonomy. 
 The heavenly Proposal . . 
 Tenderness of God's Care . 
 Wishing to go over Jordan 
 Difference between Words 
 
 and Deeds .... 
 Divine Solicitude . . 
 God's Offspring . . . 
 Fear forbidden . . . 
 Important Recollection 
 Advantages of Inquiry 
 The Nations divided . 
 God conducting Israel 
 The needful Disturbance 
 Divine Example . . 
 All-suflicient Assistance 
 God's sole Agency . . 
 Attention to the Scriptures 
 God's Love to his People 
 Saints in the Lord's Hand 
 Seasonable Strength . . 
 Divine Security and Support 
 
 HI. 
 V. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 XX 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 XXXIL 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 
 F»«« 
 
 M 
 
 110 
 
 « 
 
 157 
 
 « 
 
 58 
 
 " 
 
 176 
 
 
 a 
 
 M 
 
 70 
 
 « 
 
 37 
 
 " 
 
 140 
 
 ■ 
 
 283 
 
 " 
 
 290 
 
 » 
 
 145 
 
 « 
 
 76 
 
 " 
 
 45 
 
 - 
 
 81 
 
 « 
 
 160 
 
 « 
 
 242 
 
 « 
 
 313 
 
 « 
 
 314 
 
 " 
 
 315 
 
 ■ 
 
 311 
 
 I 
 
 187 
 
 M 
 
 249 
 
 » 
 
 68 
 
 « 
 
 16 
 
 K 
 
 359 
 
 V. 12 
 
 Joshua. 
 The Cessation of the Manna M. 15 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Judges. 
 
 4 Faint . . 
 4 Pursuing . 
 
 Ruth. 
 I. 21 The devout Traveler . 
 
 1 Samuel. 
 L 26, 27 Hannah's Address to Eli 
 
 28 Vows fulfilled 
 
 n. 1 Joy in God's Salvation 
 
 III. 9 The pious Excursion . 
 
 « 15 The Chad Samuel . . 
 
 " 18 Submission .... 
 
 XVII. 37 Deliverances improved 
 
 XXL 1 An overruling Providence 
 
 " 7 Unwilling Devotion 
 
 XXIII. 16 True Friendship . 
 
 XXX 6 David's Distress 
 
 " 6 David's Relief . . 
 
 " 24 Religious Equality 
 
 2 Samuel. 
 
 VL 10 The Ark received by Obed 
 
 Edom 
 
 " 12 Obed-Edom's Fame . . 
 
 VII. 27 The Seat of Prayer . . 
 
 IX 1 The disinterested Inquiry 
 
 * 7, 8 Mephibosheth's Humility 
 
 XIV. 14 Joftb's Stratagem . . . 
 
 " 14 Views of Death .... 
 
 " 14 The Banished not expelled 
 
 XV. 15 Active ResienatidD . . 
 
 XVL 17 The unkindly Friend 
 
 M. 177 
 " 178 
 
 E. 373 
 
 E. 163 
 " 164 
 M. 310 
 " 240 
 E. 66 
 
 " 80 
 " 145 
 u 57 
 " 81 
 M. 347 
 E. 287 
 " 288 
 " 42 
 
 E. 336 
 " 349 
 M. 125 
 
 " 219 
 " 3*J 
 E. 297 
 " 298 
 ■ 338 
 " 115 
 " 319 
 
426 
 
 TABLE OF TEXTS. 
 
 1 Kings. 
 
 Chapter Verse Page 
 
 XIX 8 Elijah's Journey to Horeb . M. 185 
 
 " 13 The Divine Inquiry ..." 173 
 
 XX 11 The Caution E. 407 
 
 2 Kings. 
 
 IIL 15 The Minstrel . . 
 VI. 15-17 Safety in Danger 
 XIII. 
 
 14 Elisha's Sickness . 
 19 Partial Zeal . . . 
 " 20, 21 Elisha's Sepulchre 
 XX. 1 Hezekiah's Sickness 
 
 1 Chbonicxes. 
 
 E. 401 
 " 409 
 M. 320 
 " 321 
 " 323 
 E. 210 
 
 XVL 10 The Seeker encouraged . M. 202 
 
 XXVI. 5 Divine Blessing E. 348 
 
 2 Chbonicxes. 
 
 VI. 18 Divine Condescension . . E. 405 
 
 XXXIII. 2 Manasseh « 299 
 
 " 13 ^Manasseh's Prayer ... " 323 
 
 " 13 The Reality of Conversion . " 351 
 
 Job. 
 
 I. 9 The groundless Accusation 
 
 " 10 The Divine Defense . . . 
 
 VII. 20 Job's Confession and Inquiry 
 
 " 20 Divine Preservation . . . 
 
 " 20 I am a Burden to Myself . 
 
 X. 2 The needless Alarm . . . 
 
 " 2 The End of Affliction 
 
 " 20 Brevity of Life 
 
 XIII. 15 Strong Confidence . . . 
 " 23 Knowledge of our Sinfulness 
 
 XIV. 10 Mortality 
 
 XV. 11 Smallness of Comfort . . 
 
 XXIL 8,9 The perplexed and inquiring 
 
 Christian 
 
 " 10 Conscious Relief .... 
 
 " 10 The precious Trial . . . 
 
 " 16 Nature 
 
 " 16 Providence 
 
 " 16 Grace 
 
 4 Job's Confession .... 
 
 10 Job's Prayer for his Friends 
 
 Psalms. 
 The blessed Man .... 
 The Tree of Righteousness 
 Christ's Inheritance . . 
 Prayer indispensable . . 
 The blessed People . . 
 Morning Devotion . . . 
 The devout Resolution . 
 The Child of Providence 
 The favored Briton . . 
 The privileged Christian 
 Constant Respect to God 
 The Holy One incorruptible 
 Divine Upholding . 
 The beatific Sight . 
 The perfect Likeness 
 Full Satisfaction . 
 Pious Solicitude 
 Spiritual Devotion . 
 The plaintive Prayer 
 God's Loving-kindness 
 Our Watchers 
 The God of Nature 
 
 Grace . . . 
 Dedication of David's House 
 God's Holiness . 
 The invariable Practice . 
 Union of Hope and Fear 
 What God is to his People 
 Exultation in God .... 
 Experience of Divine Grace 
 The Privileges of the Up- 
 right .... 
 Waiting rewarded 
 The Stranger and Sojourner 
 The teaching Prayer . 
 Solace in Trouble . . 
 The Hill Mizar . . . 
 The gladdening River 
 The perpetual Guide . 
 Jpod forever ours . . 
 Ttenovation of Spirit . 
 
 M. 331 
 " 337 
 
 E. 177 
 " 296 
 
 M. 340 
 " 345 
 " 352 
 " 363 
 " 362 
 " 335 
 
 E. 327 
 " 225 
 
 XL. 
 
 4 
 
 XLIL 
 
 10 
 
 I. 
 
 1,2 
 
 ■ 
 
 3 
 
 H. 
 
 8 
 
 « 
 
 8 
 
 m. 
 
 8 
 
 v. 
 
 3 
 
 ■ 
 
 7 
 
 XVI. 
 
 6 
 
 " 
 
 6 
 
 " 
 
 6 
 
 " 
 
 8 
 
 
 L0,11 
 
 XVH. 
 
 5 
 
 " 
 
 15 
 
 ■ 
 
 15 
 
 ■ 
 
 15 
 
 XIX. 
 
 14 
 
 XXV. 
 
 1 
 
 * 
 
 16-18 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 3 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 11 
 
 XXIX 
 
 11 
 
 XXX. 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 4 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 6 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 18 
 
 " 
 
 20 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 2 
 
 " 
 
 8 
 
 XXXVIL 
 
 18 
 
 •< 
 
 34 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 12 
 
 XLI. 
 
 4 
 
 XLIL 
 
 6 
 
 ■ 
 
 6 
 
 XL VI. 
 
 4 
 
 XLvra. 
 
 14 
 
 " 
 
 14 
 
 LI. 
 
 10 
 
 " 363 
 " 380 
 " 389 
 " 129 
 " 130 
 • 131 
 M. 334 
 " 343 
 
 and 
 
 E. 270 
 " 279 
 M. 142 
 " 145 
 " 34 
 " 224 
 E. 110 
 " 259 
 " 260 
 " 261 
 " 99 
 M. 96 
 E. 160 
 " 316 
 ■ 352 
 " 379 
 " 46 
 M. 26 
 " 52 
 161 
 75 
 
 E. 
 
 M. 168 
 
 " 120 
 
 " 218 
 
 E. 63 
 
 M. 72 
 
 E. 103 
 
 M. 48 
 
 " 196 
 
 " 85 
 " 229 
 " 273 
 
 E. 252 
 " 186 
 " 253 
 
 M. 174 
 " 20 
 " 303 
 
 E. 275 
 
 Chapter 
 
 LI. 
 LV. 
 
 LXI. 
 LXIII. 
 
 LXV. 
 
 LXVIII. 
 
 LXXI. 
 
 LXXI1. 
 
 LXXIV. 
 
 LXXXI. 
 
 LXXXIII. 
 
 LXXXV. 
 
 LXXXVI. 
 
 Verse 
 11 
 6 
 8 
 22 
 2,3 
 5 
 
 1,2 
 7 
 8 
 1 
 >2 
 3 
 
 10 
 3 
 15 
 . 14 
 10 
 3 
 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 7 
 11 
 11 
 LXXXVn. 4,5 
 7 
 N 
 12 
 14,15 
 16-21 
 1 
 1 
 
 LXXXIX. 
 . XCII. 
 
 • ex. 
 
 CXXXI. 
 
 The solemn Deprecation 
 Creature-dissatisfaction . 
 
 Impatience 
 
 The Burden removed . . 
 David's Resolution . . . 
 The blessed Heritage . . 
 Divine Longings . . . 
 Review and Expectation 
 Following after God . 
 The waiting Church . 
 The Hearer of Prayer . 
 Varied Experience . . . 
 
 Harvest 
 
 God the Home of His People 
 Concern for the best Cause 
 Past Dispensations improved 
 The enlarged Prayer . 
 God's hidden Ones . . 
 The noble Resolve . . 
 Confidence and Caution 
 Daily Mercy .... 
 The joyful Servant . . . 
 Encouragements to Prayer . 
 Prayer and Trouble . 
 Walking in God's Truth . 
 The Heart united to Religion 
 New-born Citizens . 
 Attachment to Zion . 
 The Seed of the Messiah . 
 Prosperity in the Divine Life 
 Divine Protection . . . 
 Divine Providence . . . 
 
 Jesus exalted 
 
 The Divine Appeal . . . 
 Weanedness to the World 
 
 E 133 
 M. 41 
 " 261 
 E 364 
 M. Ill 
 " 165 
 E. 231 
 " 82 
 " 37 
 M. 221 
 " 231 
 " 23# 
 E. 30c 
 " 182 
 M. 299 
 
 " 318 
 
 " 316 
 
 " 269 
 
 " 286 
 
 ■ 81 
 
 297 
 
 84 
 
 18 
 
 .350 
 
 355 
 
 317 
 
 324 
 
 51 
 
 52 
 
 294 
 
 255 
 
 257 
 
 Pboverbs. 
 m. 5 The needful Caution 
 IV. 18 The shining Light . 
 
 XXII. 2 The general Meeting 
 " 2 Equality improved . 
 
 XXIII. 17 Habitual Piety . . 
 
 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 M. 251 
 " 271 
 
 E. 95 
 " 96 
 
 M. 328 
 
 VII. 
 VIII. 
 
 IX. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XVHI. 
 
 XIX. 
 XXV. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 XLI. 
 XLIL 
 LIII. 
 
 LIV. 
 
 LVII. 
 LVIII. 
 LXIII. 
 
 III. 
 IV. 
 
 X. 
 
 E. 265 
 M. 126 
 E. 293 
 M. 246 
 " 247 
 " 248 
 E. 258 
 " 331 
 " 291 
 " 314 
 
 " 251 
 
 " 262 
 M. 172 
 E. 308 
 
 " 241 
 M. 150 
 
 VI. 6 The common Receptacle . E. 91 
 Isaiah. 
 
 9 The Stability of Faith . . 
 17 Looking for God .... 
 20 Sufficiency of the Scriptures 
 3 The Christian joyful 
 3 Joy before God . . 
 
 3 Joy of Harvest . . 
 
 10 The Son of David . 
 10 The glorious Rest . 
 
 1 Israel's Converts . 
 
 4 The Outcasts preserved . 
 4 Divine Influence and refresh- 
 ing 
 
 20 The great Savior . . . 
 
 4 A Shadow from the Heat 
 
 6 The Gospel Feast . . . 
 2, 3 The Lord's Vineyard . . 
 
 2 The Morning Arm . . . 
 17 The blessed Sight . . "289 
 
 22 The Lord our Judge ..." 152 
 24 The healthful Inhabitant . " 36 
 
 1, 2 Hezekiah's Danger and De- 
 liverance E. 204 
 
 9 The Writing of Hezekiah . "212 
 16 Recovery from Disease . . " 211 
 
 10 Confidence encouraged . . " 295 
 20 Inattention M. 287 
 
 11 The Sufferings of Christ . E. 394 
 11 The Effects of Christ's Death " 395 
 11 The Savior's Satisfaction . " 396 
 
 5 God the Husband of His 
 Church M. 258 
 
 13 Divine Tuition E. 326 
 
 19 The Gospel of Peace ... "171 
 
 13 The Valuation of the Sabbath M. 353 
 
 7 Loving-kindnesses .... " 74 
 
 Jeremiah. 
 
 14 God's Union with His People M. 225 
 14 The Subjects, Agents too . " 295 
 14 The clean Heart .... "296 
 
 23 Man's Ignorance and Inabil- 
 ity . E .197 
 
TABLE OF TEXTS. 
 
 42/ 
 
 Chapter V erw 
 
 XIII. 16 
 
 XXIX. 11 
 
 XXX 21 
 
 XXXL 2 
 
 XXXIL 17 
 
 Page 
 The seasonable Admonition M. 215 
 
 God's Thoughts " 26 
 
 The Mediator E. 410 
 
 65 
 
 Grace in the Wilderness 
 Nothing too hard for the 
 
 Lord "402 
 
 XXXVIIL 6 Jeremiah in the Dungeon . " 390 
 
 " 11-13 The kind Ethiopian ... "391 
 
 • 15-18 Kindness rewarded ..." 392 
 
 L. 6 The Resting-place forgotten M. 326 
 
 L A M E N T AT I O X 3 . 
 
 IV. 2 Zion's Sons M. 265 
 
 " 20 Creature-dependence vain 
 
 103 
 109 
 
 
 -«A* 
 
 « 20 The Value of the Saviour 
 
 EZEKIEL. 
 
 L 28 The Bow in the Cloud . . M. 194 
 
 IE. 7 The hard Heart E. 325 
 
 XVL 63 God pacified "155 
 
 XX. 37 Passing under the Rod . . M. 132 
 
 " 37 The Bond of the ( Covenant. " 133 
 
 XXIV. 15 The well-attended Flock . " 274 
 
 XXXVI. 37 The Divine Requisition . . "188 
 
 XLVL 9 The regulated Worshiper . E. 94 
 
 10 The Prince and his People . " 108 
 
 Daniel. 
 
 H. 28 The Revealer of Secrets 
 
 HI. 12 The three Heroes . 
 
 " 17, 18 Strong Faith . . . 
 
 V. 30 The awful Night . 
 
 VL 23 Daniel delivered 
 
 IX. 25 Messiah the Prince 
 
 XI. 32 Religious Achievements 
 
 L 1 
 
 U. 15 
 « 19 
 19 
 
 3 
 
 VL 
 
 IX 10 
 XHI. 5 
 
 XIV. 8 
 
 ni. 13 
 - 13 
 
 18 
 
 V. 
 
 19 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 2 
 '■ 4 
 
 ■ 5 
 
 VI. 8 
 
 VH. 14 
 
 " 18 
 
 « 18 
 
 " 19 
 
 HL 13 
 
 ., 17 
 
 " 18 
 
 HoSEA. 
 
 Hosea 
 
 Vineyards in the Wilderness 
 Divine Espousals . . . 
 The never-failing Relation 
 God's going forth as the 
 
 Morning 
 
 The successful Follower 
 The Shame fulness of Sin 
 Adversity useful . . . 
 Prosperity injurious . . 
 Ephraim's Conversion . 
 
 Joel. 
 
 Harvest 
 
 The Sickle used .... 
 
 Amos. 
 
 Death not always desirable 
 
 Micas. 
 
 The Inhabitant of Maroth . 
 Advantages of Revelation . 
 The Call to depart . 
 The Saviour's Birth . 
 The Divine Pastor . . 
 The Saviour's Greatness 
 Our Peace in Trouble 
 Humble Walking . 
 The Work of God . 
 A pardoning God . 
 Delighting in Mercy 
 A sanctifying God . 
 
 M. 304 
 
 " 54 
 
 " 134 
 
 E. 31 
 
 M. 127 
 
 " 298 
 
 E. 284 
 
 M. 243 
 " 119 
 " 232 
 " 238 
 
 " 226 
 " 255 
 E. 183 
 M. 276 
 
 " 282 
 E. 85 
 
 M. 210 
 
 " 211 
 
 M. 268 
 
 E. 250 
 " 194 
 
 M. 266 
 
 E. 413 
 '• 170 
 " 246 
 
 M. 336 
 " 151 
 
 E. 343 
 " 286 
 
 M. 154 
 
 E. 336 
 
 II. 
 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 HI. 9 
 9 
 
 " 10 
 
 VI 13 
 
 ZePhaxiah. 
 
 The true Israelites . . . 
 God's Joy in His People . 
 The solemn Assembly . . 
 
 Haggai. 
 
 Expectation of the Messiah 
 The Glory of the House . 
 
 Zechakiah. 
 
 God's Workmen'' .... 
 
 Tenderness of Divine Re- 
 gard 
 
 The Saviour's Attraction . 
 
 The Divine Engraving . . 
 
 The Character of Gospel 
 Times 
 
 The Temple 
 
 E. 232 
 
 M. 82 
 E. 223 
 
 E. 148 
 " 290 
 
 E. 162 
 
 " 27 
 M 102 
 " 106 
 
 " 100 
 E. J 57 
 
 Chapter Veiae 
 
 VI. 13. The Builder . . . 
 
 " 13 The Glory 
 
 " 13 Jesus upon His Throne 
 
 " 13* The royal Priesthood . 
 
 VHL 13 Sinners a Curse . . . 
 
 " 13 Saints a Blessing . . 
 
 IX 7 The wonderful Change 
 
 " 11 The freed Prisoners . 
 
 " 16 God's People glorified 
 
 X. 12 Divine Strengthening . 
 
 XUL 3 Jewish Phraseology 
 
 plained 
 
 " 6 Christ wounded afresh 
 
 6 Inspired Friendship . 
 
 " 7 The smitten Shepherd 
 
 Malachi. 
 
 E. 157 
 " 158 
 " 281 
 E. 282 
 " 150 
 " 151 
 " 90 
 M. 255 
 ■ 61 
 " 242 
 
 E. 192 
 " 197 
 " 301 
 M. 230 
 
 L 6 Filial Duty M. 267 
 
 HL 8 Robbery of God .... " 73 
 
 " 10 God proved "198 
 
 17 Sparing Mercy " 280 . 
 
 2 The Sun of Righteousness . " 125 ' 
 
 2 Religious Growth . . . 
 
 IV. 
 
 Matthew. 
 
 VL 28 The Lilies 
 
 VOL 7 The Divine Healer .... 
 
 " 19, 20 The Trial of the Scribe . . 
 
 " 20 The Poverty of Jesus . . . 
 
 " 34 Departure of Christ desired 
 
 IX. 11 Captdousness of the Phari- 
 
 X. 
 
 XL 
 
 xu. 
 
 XHI. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 XV. 
 XVII. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 XXII. 
 XXIII. 
 XXV. 
 
 XXVL 
 
 XXVII. 
 XXVIIL 
 
 12 
 33 
 31 
 32 
 32 
 7 
 20 
 17 
 33 
 44 
 53-58 
 
 10 
 12 
 
 27 
 
 4 
 27 
 
 27 
 20 
 20 
 20 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 34 
 41 
 30 
 56 
 58 
 61 
 5 
 20 
 
 THe Whole and the Sick . 
 
 The Tongue loosed . . . 
 
 The Value of Christians . . 
 
 Confession of Christ . . . 
 
 Divine Applause .... 
 
 The End of Ordinances . . 
 
 The Tenderness of Christ . 
 
 Pre-eminent Advantages 
 
 The Leaven in the Meal . . 
 
 Treasure hid in the Field . 
 
 The Injuriousness of Unbe- 
 lief 
 
 John beheaded 
 
 Sorrows carried to Christ . 
 
 The persevering Suppliant . 
 
 Good to be here .... 
 
 Christ's Power and Domin- 
 ion 
 
 The Use of Means .... 
 
 Circumstances of Worship . 
 
 Mediation of Christ . . . 
 
 The present Saviour . . . 
 
 The Glory of his Promise . 
 
 The Gospel Feast .... 
 
 The only Master .... 
 
 The Right-hand 
 
 The final Exclusion . . . 
 
 The Eucharistic Hymn . . 
 
 The sad Defection .... 
 
 Peter following afar off . . 
 
 The Marys at the Sepulchre 
 
 Seeking Christ crucified . . 
 
 The Saviour's Promise and 
 Presence 
 
 57 
 
 E. 138 
 M-302 
 " 348 
 " 349 
 
 ■ 90 
 
 " 307 
 " 308 
 " 143 
 E.« 67 
 " 369 
 " 370 
 " 179 
 " 218 
 " 324 
 M. 107 
 " 200 
 
 ■ 189 
 E. 269 
 
 " 310 
 M. 332 
 ' 135 
 
 " 222 
 " 254 
 E. 206 
 " 207 
 " 207 
 " 208 
 " 375 
 M. 139 
 E. 333 
 " 372 
 " 120 
 M. 104 
 " 66 
 " 343 
 " 109 
 
 E. 79 
 
 Mark. 
 
 I. 35 Early Rising 
 
 HL 5 Anger and Grief united . 
 
 VIL 37 The Saviour's Agency . 
 
 IX 17 The Father of the Lunatic 
 
 " 24 Gracious Tears .... 
 
 " 24 Unbelief bewailed . . . 
 
 X. 21 Heavenly Treasure . . 
 
 " 32 Jesus going up to Jerusalem 
 
 " 32 Following with Fear . . 
 
 XIH. 33 The seasonable Caution . 
 
 XIV. 72 Peter weeping .... 
 
 XVI. 7 Peter remembered . . 
 
 Luke. 
 
 6 The pious Pair 
 78, 79 The Day-spring 
 
 1-6 
 8,9 
 
 Birth of Jesus 
 The Angel with the Shep- 
 herds 
 
 The great Sight at Bethlehem 
 The Character of Christ . . 
 
 M. 113 
 E. 216 
 M. 87 
 E. «M 
 " T05 
 
 " :m 
 
 " 245 
 
 " 267 
 
 " 345 
 
 " 24 
 
 M. 56 
 
 " 118 
 
 M. 361 
 •' 356 
 1 357 
 
 " 353 
 " 36P 
 E. 41< 
 
%28 
 
 TABLE OF 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 II. 
 
 25 
 
 III. 
 
 21,22 
 
 IV. 
 
 16 
 
 " 
 
 21,22 
 
 VIII. 
 
 35 
 
 IX. 
 
 42 
 
 .< 
 
 51 
 
 « 
 
 52-56 
 
 X. 
 
 26 
 
 XI. 
 
 1 
 
 " 
 
 1 
 
 « 
 
 5-10 
 
 " 
 
 9 
 
 XV. 
 
 5 
 
 XVII. 
 
 5 
 
 XIX. 
 
 41 
 
 u 
 
 42 
 
 XXII. 
 
 28,29 
 
 « 
 
 43 
 
 " 
 
 44 
 
 •' 
 
 44 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 26 
 
 " 
 
 27-31 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 13-15 
 
 XXIV 
 
 30 
 
 The Improvement of the 
 Blessing 
 
 The Dove ...*... 
 
 Jesus at Nazareth .... 
 
 Christ preaching .... 
 
 The Learner 
 
 The coming Soul discour- 
 aged 
 
 Christ going up to Jerusalem 
 
 The angry Disciples reproved 
 
 How to read the Scriptures 
 
 Our Lord's Praying . . . 
 
 Learning to Pray .... 
 
 Importunate Prayer . . . 
 
 The spiritual Beggar . . . 
 
 The good Shepherd . . . 
 
 Increase of Faith .... 
 
 Jesus weeping over Jeru- 
 salem 
 
 Too late 
 
 Divine Commendation . . 
 
 Angelic Succor 
 
 The bloody Sweat .... 
 
 Christ praying in his Agony 
 
 Simon bearing the Cross 
 after Christ 
 
 Christ's Address to the 
 Daughters of Jerusalem . 
 
 The unlooked-for Compan- 
 ion 
 
 The Food blessed .... 
 32 The Scriptures opened . . 
 39 The Scars of Honor . . . 
 50,51 The ascending Saviour fol- 
 lowed 
 
 52, 53 The ascended Saviour . . 
 
 Page 
 
 E. 415 
 M. 30 
 E. 283 
 " 317 
 M. 114 
 
 " 338 
 m 134 
 " 130 
 " 300 
 M. 183 
 " 214 
 E. 154 
 M. 33 
 " 359 
 E. 26 
 
 M. 62 
 
 " 112 
 
 E. 91 
 
 M. 117 
 
 " 91 
 
 " 109 
 
 E. 121 
 
 " 122 
 
 M. 46 
 M. 146 
 " 32 
 E. 161 
 
 M. 278 
 
 E. 152 
 
 John. 
 I. 14 The Incarnation .... 
 " 14 Christ's Plenitude .... 
 " 14 The Saviour's Glory . . . 
 " 26 Many ignorant of Christ 
 " 38 The Dwelling-place of Jesus 
 " 42 Peter brought to Christ . . 
 
 " 42 Zeal to save 
 
 " 48 The Recluse 
 
 " 48 The Observer 
 
 III. 21 The practical Christian . . 
 " 21 The Trial of Uprightness . 
 " 21 Divine Influence proved 
 
 " 30 The growing Empire . . . 
 " 35 The Father's Love to the Son 
 " 35 The grand Bestowment . . 
 
 IV. 3,4 Conversion of the Samari- 
 
 taness 
 
 " 10 The One Thing Needful . . 
 " 27 Christ talking with the 
 
 Woman 
 
 " 28 The Water-pot left . . . 
 V. 8 The impotent Man tried . . 
 VI. 45 The certain Test .... 
 " 53 Vital Participation of Christ 
 VII. 5 Unbelief of Christ's Brethren 
 VIII. 42 The Proof of Sonship . . 
 IX. 25 The simple Acknowledg- 
 ment 
 
 " 30 An Illumination 
 
 " 35 The Importance of Faith . 
 " 35 The Evidence of Faith . . 
 " 35 The personal Inquiry . . 
 X. 9 The Door 
 
 - 10 Design of the Incarnation . 
 " 10 Life more abundantly . . 
 •' 14 The good Shepherd . . . 
 
 XI. 3 Lazarus Sick 
 
 " 15 Christ's Concern for his Dis- 
 ciples 
 
 " 15 The Heroism of Faith . . 
 
 » 25 Christ the Resurrection . . 
 
 " 56 Jesus at the Feast .... 
 
 XII. 27, 28 The important Hour . . . 
 
 XIII. 1 The Love of Jesus to his 
 
 own 
 
 " 1 Christ leaving this World . 
 « 4, 5 Washins the Disciples' Feet 
 " 31 God glorified in Christ . . 
 
 XIV. 8 The satisfying Indulgence . 
 
 - 9 Ignorance of Christ . . . 
 « 18 Christians not Comfortless . 
 
 19 Christ the Life of Christians 
 
 E. 289 
 " 329 
 " 384 
 " 168 
 M. 22 
 " 263 
 " 264 
 E. 227 
 " 229 
 " 376 
 " 377 
 «' 378 
 M. 216 
 E. 242 
 " 311 
 
 M. 167 
 " 124 
 
 " 171 
 " 149 
 « 46 
 E. 309 
 " 366 
 M. 305 
 E. 140 
 
 " 393 
 " 350 
 
 M. 319 
 " 325 
 " 329 
 
 M. 294 
 " 291 
 " 292 
 " 280 
 " 227 
 
 E. 98 
 " 367 
 M. 309 
 " 351 
 E. 119 
 
 M. 64 
 ' 116 
 • 136 
 E. 244 
 « 25 
 M. 159 
 " 105 
 E. 128 
 
 TEXTS. 
 
 Chapter Vere . . _ P H* 
 
 XIV. 22 Peculiar Manifestations . . E. 149 
 
 " 27 The Saviour's Peace ... M. 189 
 
 " 27 The Saviour's Legacy . . " 241 
 
 " 29 God's Word and Works . " 86 
 
 " 30 Satan disappointed ... " 88 
 
 " 31 The Saviour's Obedience . " 91 
 
 XV. 5 The Vine " 147 
 
 " 5 The Branches " 14* 
 
 " 14 The Importance of Obedi- 
 
 " ence " 52 
 
 " 15 The Friends of Jesus . . . " 70 
 
 XVI. 31 Faith questioned .... " 41 
 
 " 32 The unlonelv Solitude . . " 38 
 
 XVII. 4 Redemption "finished ... E. 254 
 
 " 13 Christian Joy "118 
 
 " 17 Efficacy of Divine Truth . " 240 
 
 " 19 The willing Victim .... " 354 
 
 " 19 The sanctified Believer . . " 355 
 
 XVIII. 7 The Saviour's Apprehension M. 92 
 
 " 8 The Saviour's Stipulation . " 93 
 
 " 26 With Jesus in the Garden . " 320 
 
 XIX 34 Christ pierced E. 123 
 
 " 34 The double Effusion ... "124 
 " 37 The Sight of the great Suf- 
 ferer " 126 
 
 " 38 Joseph of Arimathea ... "127 
 
 XXI. 1 Jesus at the Lake .... M. 205 
 
 " 14 The third Appearance . . " 204 
 
 " 18 The questioning of Peter . " 206 
 
 " 18, 19 Peter's Destiny "208 
 
 " 19-22 Curiosity reproved ..." 209 
 
 " 23 Circumstantial Truth ... "209 
 
 « 25 Brevity of the Scripture . " 284 
 
 Acts. 
 
 I. 3 Showing himself risen . . M. 204 
 
 III. 1 Peter and John " 80 
 
 " 2 Piety and Charity .... "154 
 
 " 9, 10 The real Miracle .... " 53 
 
 " 11 The Cripple's Adherence . " 130 
 
 " 22, 23 The Prophet of the Church " 199 
 
 IV. 13 Intimacy with Jesus ..." 195 
 " 36 The Son of Consolation . . E. 165 
 
 VI. 15 Stephen observed .... " 76 
 
 " 15 The Servant of God glorified " 78 
 
 IX. 6 The important Inquiry . . M. 252 
 
 " 6 The Surrender "253 
 
 " 23-25 Paul preserved E. 403 
 
 " 26-28 The new Disciple .... "404 
 
 X. 2 The Character of Cornelius M. 21 
 
 "' 7, 8 The lovely Household . . "39 
 
 XI. 23 Displays of Divine Grace . E. 184 
 
 " 23 The needful Exhortation . " 243 
 
 XII. 1-3 Herod's Persecution ..." 320 
 " 5 The Church praying for Pe- 
 ter "329 
 
 " 6, 7 The wonderful Deliverance " 330 
 
 XIII. ' 1 The distinguished Church . "73 
 " ' 6-12 Elymas the Sorcerer ... E. 235 
 « 36 David serving his Generation " 273 
 
 XV. 36 The Visitation "236 
 
 " 37, 38 The Difference ' 
 
 " 39 The Contention " 238 
 
 i'««39-41 The Separation " 239 
 
 XVI. 12 Arrival at Philippi .... "169 
 •' ' 30 The grand Inquiry . . "87 
 « 31 The satisfactory Answer . " 89 
 XVII. 27 The Nearness of God ... " 29 
 XVIII. 1-3 Paul at Tent-making . . . M. 164 
 " 7, 8 Conversion of the Corinth- 
 ians " 169 
 
 " 9, 10 Faul encouraged at Corinth " 174 
 XX. 22, 23 Our Ignorance and Knowl- 
 edge of Futurity .... E. 19 
 " 24 The joyful Close .... "146 
 
 XXIV. 25 The Trembler " 6° 
 
 25 The Force of Truth ... "69 
 
 XXVI. 29 Paul's generous Wish . . " 176 
 
 XXVII. 23 Whose I am ..... . •*» 
 
 « 23 The seasonable Messenger . JW 
 
 " 24-26 The cheering Assurance . " 341 
 
 XXVIII. 15 Gratitude and Confidence . M. 364 
 
 Romans. 
 
 I. 10, 11 Paul wishing to see Rome . M. 56 
 
 II. 4 God's Forbearance ... "243 
 
 " " Repentance flowing from ( 
 
 Mercy . .... ~* 
 
 III. 4 God only True OT 
 
TABLE OF TEXTS. 
 
 429 
 
 Chapter Verse 
 IIL 24 
 V. 2 
 
 VI. 
 
 VII. 
 
 VIIL 
 X. 
 
 yi 
 
 Xdl. 
 
 xlv. 
 xv. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XV. 
 
 -v 
 
 IV. 
 
 Page 
 
 Justification free ... . M. 101 
 
 The gracious State . . . # " 201 
 The Death of Christ ..." 94 
 
 Death and Life with Christ " 99 
 
 Indwelling Sin deplored . " 181 
 
 Divine Relief "131 
 
 Flesh and Spirit .... " 69 
 
 The mortal Body .... E. 61 
 
 Power and Goodness ... M. 79 
 
 Members one of another . " 115 
 
 The Alarm "285 
 
 Christians the Property of 
 
 Christ E. 47 
 
 Self-pleaaing renounced . . M. 122 
 
 Epenetus " 18 
 
 Paul's saluting of the Ro- 
 mans " 62 
 
 I. 30 
 
 IV. 20 
 
 VL 11 
 
 * VIE. 3 
 
 IX. 26 
 
 X. 4 
 
 L 3 
 
 ■ 4 
 " 4 
 " 20 
 
 m. n 
 
 « 17 
 
 V. 1 
 
 « 4 
 
 ■ 4 
 
 10 
 IX. 15 
 
 15 
 
 1 
 30 
 
 X. 
 
 XI. 
 
 XII. 10 
 
 10 
 
 1 Corinthians. 
 Importance of Christ . . . 
 The Kingdom of God ' . . 
 Justification and Sanctifica- 
 
 tion 
 
 The Blessedness of loving 
 
 God ........ . 
 
 The real Conflict .... 
 
 The Rock Christ .... 
 
 The Burial of Christ . . . 
 Christ seen of Numbers . . 
 
 Daily Dying 
 
 The Creed of Intemperance 
 
 2 Corinthians. 
 
 The Source of Comfort . 
 Comfort and Tribulation 
 Mutual Consolation . . 
 The Promises .... 
 The free Spirit .... 
 Divine Liberty .... 
 The blessed Exchange . 
 Death disagreeable to Nature 
 The burdened Soul . 
 Heavenly Preparation 
 Intermediate Existence 
 Importance of Opportunity 
 Joy in Sorrow . . . 
 The unspeakable Gift 
 Christian Gratitude . 
 Gentleness of Christ . 
 The Apostle's glorying 
 Christian Weakness . 
 Christian Strength . . 
 
 E. 166 
 M. 212 
 
 182 
 
 " 296 
 E. 62 
 " 203 
 M. 94 
 " 95 
 " 186 
 E. 153 
 
 E. 132 
 
 " 147 
 
 " 193 
 
 " 86 
 
 " 172 
 
 " 174 
 
 " 266 
 
 " 312 
 
 " 357 
 
 M. 36 
 
 E. 144 
 
 " 20 
 
 M. 302 
 
 " 137 
 
 " 184 
 
 E. 35 
 
 M. 339 
 
 E. 58 
 
 « 59 
 
 Galatians. 
 
 L 15 The two Births . . . 
 
 ■ 16 The Divine Revelation 
 
 1L 16 Justification by Faith . 
 
 IIL 9 The Blessing of Faith 
 
 24 The Use of the Law . 
 
 6 Adoption 
 
 " 6 Prayer 
 
 V. 13 Mutual Service . . . 
 
 " 22 Gentleness .... 
 
 M. 78 
 
 " 122 
 
 " 139 
 
 " 235 
 
 " 28 
 
 E. 178 
 
 " 180 
 
 M. 75 
 
 E. 114 
 
 ErHESIANS. 
 
 The two-fold Benediction 
 Riches of Mercy . . . 
 
 L 3 
 
 n. 4 
 
 IV. 27 Satan resisted 
 
 " 30 Grieving the Spirit 
 
 V. 2 The Love of Jesus . 
 
 " 19 Psalmody .... 
 
 IV. 10 Strength in the Lord 
 
 Philifpians. 
 
 L 9 The Wisdom of Zeal 
 
 ■ 23 The blessed Strait . 
 
 " 24, 25 The willing Sacrifice 
 
 II. 12 Commendation . . 
 
 " 16 The Word of Life . 
 
 " 16 The Practical Preacher 
 
 " 16 The Day of Rejoicing 
 
 IIL 8 Paul's Desire .... 
 
 ■ 8 The highest Prize . . 
 
 " 11 The grand Attainment 
 
 IV. 2-4 Mutual Dependence . 
 
 * 5 Christian Moderation . 
 
 " 6 Prayer and Thanksgirin. 
 
 E. 381 
 
 M. 193 
 " 166 
 " 141 
 
 E. 412 
 " 209 
 
 M. 72 
 
 M. 344 
 
 E. Ill 
 
 " 112 
 
 M. 217 
 
 - 238 
 
 " 239 
 
 " 138 
 
 " 77 
 
 " 78 
 
 " 97 
 
 " 259 
 
 " 270 
 
 ■ 275 
 
 COLOSSIANS. 
 Chapter Verae 
 
 L 4, 5 Faith, Love, and Hope 
 " 10 Divine Knowledge . . . 
 III. 16 The Word of Christ . . 
 
 1 Thessalonians. 
 HL 11 Acknowledgment and De- 
 
 r-a«a 
 
 K. 116 
 M. 63 
 
 « 228 
 
 V. 5 
 
 pendence 
 Children of the Day . 
 
 Sobriety 
 
 The gracious Purpose 
 Union with Christ . . 
 
 E. 34c 
 
 2 Thessalonians. 
 I. 6, 7 The heavenly Rest 
 
 1 Timothy. 
 
 1 Our Hope M. 14ft 
 
 8 The Goodness of the Law . E. 41 
 
 14 Union of Faith and Love . M. 327 
 
 16 Divine Encouragement . . E. 141 
 
 8 Acceptable Prayer .... •' 407 
 
 23 Prudential Adpce .... "143 
 
 2 Timothy. 
 
 12 Confidence from Knowledge M. 8J 
 
 15-18 Onesiphorus E. 34 
 
 1 Grace in Christ M. 153 
 
 1 The Strength of Grace . . "165 
 
 16 Paul deserted E. 54 
 
 17 Paul assisted " 55 
 
 18 Paul encouraged .... " 56 
 
 Titus. 
 Heirship . 
 
 M. 233 
 
 Philemon. 
 
 17 Christian Partnership 
 22 The Influence of Prayer . 
 23-25 Christian Salutations . . 
 
 Hebrews. 
 
 Divine Sustentation . . 
 The Expiation .... 
 Christ owning Christians 
 Sanctification .... 
 The Elder Brother . . . 
 The Sufferer the Succorer 
 
 Obduracy 
 
 The Experience of Christ 
 The Author of Salvation 
 Patient waiting .... 
 Strong Consolation . . 
 The Value of Christ . . 
 The sure Anchor . . . 
 Former Days remembered 
 The true Riches . . . 
 Jacob a dying .... 
 
 Besetting Sin 
 
 The Cloud of Witnesses 
 The Christian Race . . 
 The awful Caution . . 
 
 I. 
 
 3 
 
 •' 
 
 3 
 
 II. 
 
 11 
 
 " 
 
 11 
 
 » 
 
 17 
 
 " 
 
 18 
 
 III. 
 
 13 
 
 V. 
 
 8 
 
 " 
 
 9 
 
 vt. 
 
 15 
 
 ■ 
 
 18 
 
 « 
 
 19 
 
 ■ 
 
 19,20 
 
 X. 
 
 32 
 
 « 
 
 34 
 
 XI. 
 
 21 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 •• 
 
 1 
 
 ■ 
 
 1,2 
 
 ■ 
 
 15 
 
 E. 382 
 " 353 
 « 334 
 
 E. 318 
 
 ■ 344 
 
 " 30 
 
 " 135 
 
 « 416 
 
 " 367 
 
 " 302 
 
 « 387 
 
 " 400 
 
 " 226 
 
 " 181 
 
 " 233 
 
 " 268 
 
 M. 191 
 
 E. 71 
 
 " 214 
 
 " 303 
 
 " 315 
 
 " 322 
 
 " 175 
 
 III. 
 IV. 
 V. 
 
 James. 
 
 Spiritual Engrafting . . . 
 A meek Reception of the 
 
 Word 
 
 Imperfections acknowledged 
 Submission to God . . . 
 The strange Estimate . . 
 The Patience of Job . . . 
 Conversion of a Sinner . . 
 
 1 Peter. 
 
 The Glory that followed 
 Angelic Students . . 
 The Revelation of Jesus 
 
 Christ 
 
 The Grace of Glory . 
 The Duty of Christians 
 Christian Holiness . . 
 Holy Vigilance . . . 
 Application to Christ . 
 The precious and safe Four. 
 
 dution 
 
 E. 11' 
 
 " 247 /I 
 
 " 53 J— 4>W 
 
 M. 178 
 
 E. 83 
 
 " 84 
 
 M. 60 
 
 " 276 
 " 277 
 " 278 
 " 302 
 M. 236 
 E. 313 
 
 ■ 100 
 
30 
 
 TABLE OF TEXTS 
 
 
 v. 
 
 Chapter Verse 
 
 II. 7 The Endearer of Christ . 
 
 ■* 7 Christ precious . 
 
 " 25 The Wanderers 
 
 " 25 The Strayed restored . 
 
 III. 22 Christ entering Heaven . 
 
 IV. 2 The Season of Life 
 12 Trials not strange . 
 1 Future Glory . . . 
 7 Care resigned . . 
 7 Care engaged . . 
 
 Page 
 E. 361 
 " 361 
 " 134 
 " 196 
 M. 272 
 " 301 
 " 83 
 E. 371 
 " 136 
 " 137 
 
 2 Peter. 
 
 I. 4 The Nature of the Promises E. 219 
 IL 15 Admonitions concerning the 
 
 right Way " 48 
 
 III. 18 Knowledge increased . . M. 144 
 
 1 John. 
 
 D. 6 The Christian Obligation . M. 261 
 
 « 12 Little Children ..... E. 271 
 
 " 20 The Holy Unction .... M. 192 
 « 30 Extent of Christian Knowl- 
 
 edge "223 
 
 VL 5 The unless Saviour ... "256 
 
 Chapter Verse 
 
 III. 16 Love to the Brethren . 
 
 " 23 The two Commandments 
 
 IV. 4 Spiritual Victory .... 
 
 3 John. 
 
 2 John's Friendship for Gaius 
 8 Helpers to the Truth . . . 
 
 Revelation. 
 
 I. 8 Alpha and Omega .... 
 " 9 John's Character and Asso- 
 ciates 
 
 " 10 Sabbath Influences . . . 
 
 H. 13 The heavenly High-priest . 
 
 HL 28 The Morning Star .... 
 
 " 8 A little Strength .... 
 
 " 21 The Victor 
 
 IV. 4 The glorified Throng . . . 
 
 " 10 Self-renunciation .... 
 
 VII. 17 The heavenly Shepherd . . 
 
 VIII. 3, 4 Prayer presented by Christ 
 
 XIX. 16 The Name written .... 
 
 XXI. 4 The sorrowless State . . . 
 
 " 6 The Water of Life free . 
 
 M. 
 
 fa 
 
 " 
 
 329 
 
 K. 
 
 49 
 
 M. 
 
 20 
 
 E. 
 
 139 
 
 E. 
 
 201 
 
 > 
 
 75 
 
 M. 342 
 
 E. 
 
 45 
 
 M 
 
 293 
 
 E. 
 
 280 
 
 M. 
 
 197 
 
 E. 
 
 230 
 
 M 
 
 17 
 
 " 
 
 346 
 
 E. 
 
 50 
 
 M 
 
 104 
 
 " 
 
 93 
 
 « 
 
 fK 
 
 U'fitbr: 
 

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