I 
 

 
 tes 
 
 " 

 
 Ex Librig 
 C. K. OGDEK 
 
 EVENING EXEECISES 
 
 FOR 
 
 THE CLOSET: 
 
 FOR EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR. 
 BY WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 " 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, 
 Unpractis'd, unprepar'd, and still to seek." MILTON. 
 
 " Thy word is everlasting truth ; 
 
 How pure is every page! 
 That Holy Book shall guide our youth, 
 And well support our age." WATTS. 
 
 " The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream ; and he that hath my 
 word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith 
 the LORD." JEIIEMUH. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 M.DCCC. XXXVIII.
 
 BATH: 
 
 PRINTED BY GEORGE WOOD, 
 PARSONAGE LANE.
 
 Iffvr) LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA! 
 -r ;? SANTA BARBARA 
 
 TO 
 
 WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 - 1 am not certain that my motive 
 was quite pure, when I felt a very powerful 
 desire that, in a way of some little publicity 
 and continuance, I might appear 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 some- 
 where said, that "there are good persons 
 with whom it will be soon enough to be 
 acquainted in heaven." But there are indi- 
 viduals 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 tlie brevity of 
 human life !) he has had many opportunities 
 of deriving great pleasure and profit from 
 
 a 2
 
 IV DEDICATION. 
 
 your private conversation ; and also of ob- 
 serving, in your public career, the proofs you 
 displayed of the Orator, the Statesman, the 
 Advocate of enlightened Freedom, and the 
 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 our 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 pass- 
 eth away, and the lusts thereof: but he that 
 doeth the will of God abideth for ever." 
 The expectation of the man who has his 
 " portion in this life" is continually deterio- 
 rating : for every hour brings him nearer 
 the loss of all his treasure; and, " as he 
 came forth of his mother's 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
 
 DEDICATION. V 
 
 Spiritual in its quality, and heavenly in its 
 object, it does not depend on outward things, 
 and is not affected with the decays of nature. 
 Like the Glastonhury thorn, fabulously 
 planted by Joseph of Arimathaea, it blooms 
 in the depth of winter. It " brings forth 
 fruit in old age." " At even-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 hap- 
 pily 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 finish- 
 ing 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 personal 
 or relative godliness, amidst all the cares 
 and engagements of a popularity peculiarly 
 varied and extensive; neglecting, in addi- 
 tion to the influence of example, no means 
 to recommend the one thing needful to 
 others ; and, even from the Press, defending
 
 VI DEDICATION. 
 
 the interests of practical Christianity, in a 
 work so widely circulated, 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 feel myself under to your zeal and wisdom, 
 when, in the novitiate of my Ministry, your 
 correspondence furnished me with hints 
 of admonition, instruction, and encourage- 
 ment, 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 ad- 
 dressing 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, recal 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 or even seize 
 opportunities of usefulness. How often do 
 they omit to avail themselves of the influ-
 
 DEDICATION. Vll 
 
 ence 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 affect 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 cannot 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 esteem 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
 
 Vlll DEDICATION. 
 
 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 perish- 
 ing for lack of knowledge, a general care- 
 lessness 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 sim- 
 plicity and wisdom of its constitution, the 
 rapidity of its growth, the vastness of its 
 success, the number of languages 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 extension 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
 
 DEDICATION. IX 
 
 hearts and lives of thousands Surely no 
 unprejudiced individual can trace these 
 things, comparatively with what preceded 
 them, and not exclaim, " God hath done 
 great things for us, whereof we are glad." 
 I rejoice, rny dear Sir, that a person 
 of your consideration is in the healthful 
 number of those who, notwithstanding the 
 contemptuous denial of some, and the 
 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 sys- 
 tem, " 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 follow- 
 ers, 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 to despise 
 or disown what the Spirit of God has gra- 
 ciously done for us already; and that the 
 way to improvement 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 stu- 
 dious to discover, too delighted to expose,
 
 X DEDICATION. 
 
 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 un- 
 nerves energy and slackens diligence as 
 despondency. Nothing is equally contagi- 
 ous with fear. Those who feel alarm always 
 love to transfuse it. Awful intimations of 
 approaching evils are not only congenial 
 with 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 announce- 
 ments, they immediately feel a kind of 
 prophetical credit at stake, and are under 
 a considerable temptation to welcome dis- 
 asters 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 requires 
 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
 
 DEDICATION. XI 
 
 word ! what may not be feared from 
 human nature now, if exercised with similar 
 disappointments ? 
 
 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, devo- 
 tional 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 trans- 
 formed 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 in his hand, and claims to fix 
 their regards to any thing on that holy 
 ground, they feel themselves not only safe,
 
 Xll DEDICATION. 
 
 but even following the will of God : not 
 considering that if, even in the Scriptures, 
 the speculative entices us away from the 
 practical, and the mysterious from the plain: 
 and something, though true and good in 
 itself, but subordinate, engrosses the time 
 and attention which 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 ; and 
 would draw notice by separateness : as that 
 which stands alone is more observable, espe- 
 cially 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
 
 DEDICATION. X11I 
 
 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 
 lethargy, to be in danger from the opposite 
 extreme. The frost of formality may be 
 followed by the fever of enthusiasm. When- 
 ever indeed there is a high degree of reli- 
 gious excitement, it cannot be wonderful, 
 considering human ignorance, prejudice, and 
 depravity, that there should be some vision- 
 ary and strange ebullitions. We have wit- 
 nessed some of these during the years that 
 are past ; but the day in which we now are 
 is singular for the revival (with some per- 
 haps 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
 
 XIV DEDICATION. 
 
 finger, than is to be found in the body, soul, 
 and spirit, of many of the modern innovators 
 and improvers, who imagine that their light 
 is not only " the light of the sun, but the 
 light of seven days !" 
 
 A review of History will shew 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 Apostles 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 
 effects 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 docu- 
 ments were not capable of demonstration ; 
 as, for want of certainty, they could not 
 become principles 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 awhile 
 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,
 
 DEDICATION. XV 
 
 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, espe- 
 cially 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 love thee still 
 
 and I can feel 
 
 Thy follies too") 
 
 in England, it has been said by a sa- 
 tirical, yet just observer, that " any mon- 
 ster 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 unexcep- 
 tionable authorities, especially in high life ! 
 Take the feats which have been announced 
 for exhibition. Whatever the promiser has 
 engaged to perform, whether to walk upon
 
 XVI DEDICATION. 
 
 the water, or draw himself into a bottle, 
 what large crowds have been drawn toge- 
 ther at the time appointed, and with no few 
 of the better sort of people always among 
 them ! How has learning been trifled with 
 and degraded ! Two or three insulated 
 facts, and a few doubtful or convertible 
 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 opponents 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 ! 
 
 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 con- 
 fidence that has not gained considerable 
 attention ? Did not the effusions of a Bro- 
 thers, who died where only he should have 
 lived, in confinement for madness, secure 
 numerous believers and admirers ? Had he 
 not defenders 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, impu- 
 dence, and blasphemy, yet did she not make
 
 DEDICATION. XVII 
 
 a multitude of converts, not only among the 
 canaille, but among persons of some distinc- 
 tion ? and had she not followers and defend- 
 ers even among the Clergy themselves ? 
 
 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 supernatural. It is the 
 impossibility which makes the assumed cer- 
 tainty ; as the epilepsy of Mahomet con- 
 firmed his claims to inspiration." And is 
 there nothing now going forward far exceed- 
 ing in credulous wonder, arrogant pretension, 
 and miraculous boasting, all that has gone be- 
 fore 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 and curious in 
 religion. A very fruitful source of error 
 is to trample on the distinction of Moses ; 
 " The secret things belong unto the Lord 
 
 * If a person wishes to see this subject fully treated, he would 
 do well to read a late publication, called " Modern Fanaticism 
 Unveiled." The work is anonymous ; but the Author not only writes 
 with great ability and spirit, but is a determined advocate for Evange 
 lical religion, and says nothing, (which is always to be dreaded in such 
 discussions,) to the disparagement of serious or fervent piety. 
 
 b
 
 XV111 DEDICATION 
 
 our God : but those things which are re- 
 
 o 
 
 vealed belong unto us and to our children 
 for ever, that we may do all the words of 
 this law." The sciences and the arts being 
 human inventions, and therefore not only 
 finite, but imperfect, will allow of new disco- 
 veries ; and every innovation is commonly 
 an improvement, or by experiment it is 
 soon 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 ima- 
 ginations 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 of lamentation when persons, perhaps 
 well disposed, are seized with the imagina- 
 tion that there is something of importance
 
 DEDICATION. XIX 
 
 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 deve- 
 lopments ? 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 Leightons and Howes, who, it now 
 seems, were denied illuminations conferred 
 on individuals 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 great- 
 est 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 consistency, 
 and who has awakened and retained attention 
 so long, not by strangeness, but excellence ; 
 not by crying, Lo, here ; or lo, there ; but by 
 walking stedfastly in the truth ; and whose 
 path has not been the glare of the meteor, 
 or the " lawless sweep of the comet," but 
 the shining light of the sun, which shineth
 
 XX DEDICATION. 
 
 more and more unto the perfect day. 
 Nothing would be more satisfactory to the 
 Dedicator, 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 reflec- 
 tion does not perfectly suit your own con- 
 victions. 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 cen- 
 sure, and avow preference without exclusion. 
 And has Providence no concern in such 
 results as these ? Suppose, my dear Sir,
 
 DEDICATION. XXI 
 
 you had been placed originally in my circum- 
 stances, 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 ? Yet who determines the 
 bounds of our habitations ? Who adminis- 
 ters 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 connections 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 without qualification, or push it to 
 every extent ; but there are evidently some 
 who not only "judge another man's ser- 
 vant," 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 or esteemed the religious 
 body from which it is derived. 
 
 Uniformity of sentiment may be viewed 
 much in the same way with equality of pro- 
 perty. In each case, the thing itself is 
 perfectly impracticable ; and if it could be 
 attained it would be injurious, rather than
 
 XX11 DEDICATION. 
 
 useful. It would abrogate many Divine in- 
 junctions, contract the sphere of relative 
 virtue, and exclude various duties, which 
 go far into the amiableriess and perfection 
 of Christian character. It is better to 
 have the protection of the sovereign, and 
 the obedience of the subject ; the wages of 
 the master, and the labour of the servant ; 
 the condescension 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 same- 
 ness ; but if they think for themselves, 
 as they are not only allowed, but required 
 to do, it is easy to see, that with the differ- 
 ences there are in the structure of mind, and 
 in outward opportunities and advantages, 
 they cannot fall precisely into the same 
 views. But let them exercise 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, stagnant conformity of opinions. 
 And is it not for this state of things, among
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 those " that hold the head, even Christ," 
 that the Apostle provides ? " Let everyone 
 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 
 esteemeth 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 
 tl y brother? for we shall all stand before 
 the judgment-seat of Christ. For it is 
 written, As I live, saith the Lord, every
 
 XXIV DEDICATION. 
 
 *. 
 
 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 : hut I fear the princi- 
 ples 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 uncircumcision ; but 
 a new creature." " In Jesus Christ neither 
 circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncir- 
 cumcision ; 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 commodi- 
 ously Why should they try to get on some 
 old molehills, or barrows over the dead, or
 
 DEDICATION. XXV 
 
 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 con- 
 stant 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 of one measure ; That 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
 
 XXVI DEDICATION. 
 
 one way." Now it can hardly be supposed 
 that this prayer and this promise have not 
 been accomplished. But if they have been 
 fulfilled, it has not been in a sameness of 
 sentiment 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 Por- 
 teus and a Hall : a oneness that resembles 
 the identity of human nature, notwithstand- 
 ing 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 doth not follow because one thing is 
 right that another is absolutely wrong ? 
 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 ?
 
 DEDICATION. XXV11 
 
 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 pre- 
 paration 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 arid circumscribed is what some mean 
 by the communion of saints ! It only respects 
 those within their own enclosures. 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 regu- 
 larity 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
 
 XXV111 DEDICATION. 
 
 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 ? 
 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 ob- 
 serves, have recommended the practice 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 character are 
 increasingly coming forward ; in which we 
 see how rigid contention for minor partiali- 
 ties 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.
 
 DEDICATION. XXIX 
 
 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 either consigned to 
 oblivion, or are the subjects of temperate 
 and amicable controversy ; and, in conse- 
 quence 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 disputa- 
 tious 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 joining in this devout 
 wish, and apologizing for the undesigned
 
 XXX DEDICATION. 
 
 length and freedom of this desultory Address, 
 allow me, with every sentiment of regard 
 arid 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 j 
 the many testimonies of their usefulness he has received ; 
 and the various applications addressed to him by Chris- 
 tians and Ministers (the names of some of whom it 
 would seem vain were he to mention), 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 reflections had never 
 seen the light. 
 
 The Author hopes, 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 number.
 
 XXX11 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 He lias not paid less attention to the selection and exe- 
 cution of the subjects But that attention has been paid 
 amidst the numerous engagements 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 connections; 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 pre- 
 scribed 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. 10f/, 1831.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 JAN. 1. Onr ignorance and knowledge of 
 
 Futurity ... Acts xx. 22, 23. 
 
 2. The importance of Opportunity ... 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
 
 3. Angelic Students ... ... 1 Pet. i. 12. 
 
 4. The Groundless Conclusion ... Gen. xlii. 36. 
 
 5. The Seasonable Caution Mark xiii. 33. 
 
 6. The Satisfying Indulgence John xiv. 8. 
 
 7. Increase of Faith ... ... Luke xvii. 5. 
 
 8. Tenderness of Divine regard ... Zech. ii. 8. 
 
 9. Past Dispensations improved ... Ps. Ixxiv. 14. 
 
 10. The Nearness of God ... ... Acts xvii. 27. 
 
 11. Christ owning Christians ... Heb. ii. 11. 
 
 12. The awful Night ... ... Dan. v. 30. 
 
 13. Joseph naming his Sons ... ... Gen. xli. 51, 52. 
 
 14. Onesiphorus ... ... ... I Tim. i. 15 18. 
 
 15. Gentleness of Christ ... ... 2 Cor. x. 1. 
 
 16. Following after God ... ... Rom. Ixiii. 8. 
 
 17. Genuine Piety ... ... Gen. vii. 1. 
 
 18. God observes his People Gen. vii. 1. 
 
 19. The privilege of Godliness ... Gen. vii. 1. 
 
 20. The goodness of the Law ... 1 Tim. i. 8. 
 
 21. Religious equality ... ... 1 Sam. xxx. 24. 
 
 22. Loss of a good Servant ... ... Gen. xxxv. 8. 
 
 23. The heavenly High Priest ... Rev. i. 13. 
 
 24. Pious Solicitude ... ... Psalm xix. 14. 
 
 25. Christians the Property of Christ ... Rom. xiv. 8. 
 
 26. Admonitions concerning the Right Way 2 Pet. ii. 15. 
 
 27. Spiritual Victory ... ... 1 John iv. 4. 
 
 28. Prayer presented by Christ ... Rev. viii. 3, 4. 
 
 29. Divine Protection ... ... Psalm cv. 14, 15. 
 
 30. Divine Providence ... ... Psalm cv. 16 21. 
 
 31. Imperfections acknowledged ... James iii. 2. 
 
 FEB. 1. Paul deserted ... ... ... 2 Tim. iv. 16. 
 
 2. Paul assisted ... 2 Tim. iv. 17. 
 
 3. Paul encouraged ... ... 2 Tim. iv. 18. 
 
 4. An overruling Providence ... 1 Sam. xxi. 1. 
 
 5. Christian weakness ... ... 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 
 6. Christian strength ... ... 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 
 7. Acknowledgment and Dependence ... 1 Thess. iii. 11. 
 
 8. The Mortal Body ... ... Rom. viii. 10. 
 
 9. The real Conflict 1 Cor. ix. 26.
 
 XXXIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 FEB. 10. The invariable Practice ... ... Psalm xxxii. 6. 
 
 11. Grace in the Wilderness Jer. xxxi. 2. 
 
 12. The child Samuel ... ... 1 Sam. iii. 15. 
 
 13. The Value of Christians Matt. x. 31. 
 
 14. The Trembler ... ... Acts xxiv. 25. 
 
 15. The Force of Truth ... ... Acts xxiv. 25. 
 
 16. The True Riches ... ... Heb. x. 34. 
 
 17. The distinguished Church ... Acts xiii. 1. 
 
 18. Laban's acknowledgment ... ... Gen. xxx. 27. 
 
 19. John's Character and Associates ... Rev. i. 9. 
 
 20. Our Watchers ... ... Psalmxxvii.il. 
 
 21. Stephen observed ... ... Acts vi. 15. 
 
 22. The Servant of God glorified ... Acts vi. 15. 
 
 23. The Saviour's Promise and Presence ... Matt, xxviii. 20. 
 
 24. Submission ... 1 Sam. iii. 18. 
 
 25. Unwilling Devotion ... ... 1 Sam. xxi. 7. 
 
 26. Review and Expectation Psalm Ixiii. 7. 
 
 27. The Strange Estimate ... ... James v. 11. 
 
 28. The Patience of Job ... ... James v. 11. 
 
 MARCH]. Ephraim's Conversion ... ... Hoseaxiv. 8. 
 
 2. The Promises ... 2 Cor. i. 20. 
 
 3. The grand Inquiry ... ... Actsxvi. 30. 
 
 4. The satisfactory Answer ... Actsxvi. 31. 
 
 5. The wonderful Change ... ... Zech. ix. 7. 
 
 6. The common Receptacle .... Eccles. vi. 6. 
 
 7. Divine Commendation Luke xxii. 28, 29. 
 
 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 ... ... Pro v. 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 ... ... Psalm xvi. 8. 
 
 16. The Precious and Safe Foundation ... 1 Pet. ii. 6. 
 
 17. Enoch's character ... ... Gen. v. 24. 
 
 18. What God is to his People Psalm xxxiii. 20. 
 
 19. 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 Psalm v. 7. 
 
 25. The Blessed Strait ... ... 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.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 MAR. 30. Faith, Love, and Hope 
 
 31. Spiritual engrafting ... ... 
 
 APRIL 1. Christian Joy 
 
 2. The important Hour 
 
 3. The Eucharistic Hymn 
 
 4. Simon bearing the Cross after Christ... 
 
 5. Christ's Address to the Daughters of 
 
 Jerusalem 
 
 6. Christ pierced ... 
 
 7. The Double Effusion ... 
 
 8. The Sight of the Great Sufferer 
 
 9. Joseph of Arimathsea 
 
 10. Christ the Life of Christians 
 
 11. Nature 
 
 12. Providence 
 
 13. Grace 
 
 14. The Source of Comfort 
 
 15. The Solemn Deprecation 
 
 16. The Wanderersi. ... 
 
 17. Sanctification ... 
 
 18. Care resigned 
 
 19. Care engaged ... 
 
 20. The Lilies^ ... 
 
 21. Helpers to the Truth 
 
 22. The proof of Sonship 
 
 23. Divine Encouragement 
 
 24. Abraham's Devotion 
 
 25. Prudential Advice 
 
 26. Intermediate Existence 
 
 27. Deliverances improved 
 
 28. The joyful Close 
 
 29. Comfort and Tribulation 
 
 30. Expectation of the Messiah 
 
 MAY 1. Peculiar Manifestation 
 
 2. Sinners a Curse 
 
 3. Saints a Blessing 
 
 4. The ascended Saviour 
 
 5. The Creed of Intemperance 
 
 6. Importunate Prayer 
 
 7. God Pacified 
 
 8. The Temple 
 
 9. The Builder 
 
 10. The Glory ... 
 
 11. Experience 
 
 12. Divine Upholding 
 
 13. The Scars of Honour ... 
 
 14. God's Workmen 
 
 Col. i. 4, 5. 
 James i. 21. 
 
 John xvii. 13. 
 John xii. 27, 28. 
 Matt. xxvi. 30. 
 Luke xxiii. 26. 
 
 Lukexxiii. 27 31. 
 John xix. 34. 
 John xix. 34. 
 John xix. 37. 
 John xix. 38. 
 John xiv. 19. 
 Job xxiii. 16. 
 Job xxiii. 16. 
 Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 2 Cor. i. 3. 
 Psalm li. 11. 
 I Pet. ii. 25. 
 Heb. ii. 11. 
 
 1 Pet. v. 7. 
 1 Pet. v. 7. 
 Matt. vi. 28. 
 
 3 John 8. 
 John viii. 42. 
 1 Tim. i. 16. 
 Gen. xiii. 14. 
 
 1 Tim. v. 23. 
 
 2 Cor. v. 8. 
 
 1 Sam. xvii. 37. 
 Acts xx. 24. 
 
 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 Haggai ii. 7. 
 
 John xiv. 22. 
 Zech. viii. 13. 
 Zech. viii. 13. 
 Luke xxiv. 52, 53. 
 1 Cor. xv. 32. 
 Luke xi. 5 10. 
 Ezek. xvi. 63. 
 Zech. vi. 13. 
 Zech. vi. 13. 
 Zech. vi. 13. 
 Gen. xxx. 27. 
 Psalm xvii. 5. 
 Luke xxiv. 39. 
 Zech. i. 20.
 
 XXXVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 MAY 15. Hannah's Address to Eli ... 
 
 16. Vows fulfilled 
 
 17. The Son of Consolation 
 
 18. Importance of Christ 
 
 19. Walking withGod 
 
 20. Many ignorant of Christ 
 
 21. Arrival at Philippi 
 
 22. The Divine Pastor 
 
 23. The Gospel of Peace 
 
 24. The free Spirit 
 
 25. Divine Liberty 
 
 26. The awful Caution ... 
 
 27. Paul's Wish 
 
 28. The anxiety of Pretence 
 
 29. Adoption 
 
 30. Prayer ... 
 
 31. Strong Consolation 
 
 JUNE 1. God the Home of his People 
 
 2. The Shamefulness of Sin 
 
 3. Displays of Divine Grace 
 
 4. Solace in Trouble 
 
 5. Attention to the Scriptures 
 
 6. Jacob's Wrestling 
 
 7. Jacob disjointed 
 
 8. Determined Piety 
 
 9. Divine Benediction 
 
 10. The Pilgrim going foward 
 
 11. Jewish Phraseology explained ... 
 
 12. Mutual Consolation 
 
 13. Advantages of Revelation 
 
 14. Adam questioned 
 
 15. The Strayed restored 
 
 16. Christ wounded afresh 
 
 17. Jacob's Journeying 
 
 18. The Gate of Heaven 
 
 19. Alpha and Omega 
 
 20. The Miraculous Supply 
 
 21. The Rock Christ 
 
 22. Hezekiah's Danger and Deliverance 
 
 23. Circumstances of Worship 
 
 24. Mediation of Christ 
 
 25. The present Saviour 
 
 26. The Glory of his Promise ... 
 
 27. Psalmody 
 
 28. Hezekiah's Sickness 
 
 29. Recovery from disease 
 
 30. The Writing of Hezekiah 
 
 1 Sam. i. 26, 27. 
 1 Sam. i. 28. 
 Acts iv. 36. 
 
 1 Cor. i. 30. 
 Gen. vi. 9. 
 John i. 26. 
 Acts xvi. 12. 
 Micah v. 4. 
 Isaiah Ivii. 19. 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 17. 
 2 Cor. iii. 17. 
 Heb. xii. 15. 
 Acts xxvii. 29. 
 Job vii. 20. 
 Gal. iv. 6. 
 Gal. iv. 6. 
 Heb. vi. 18. 
 
 Psalm Ixxi. 3. 
 Hosea ix. 10. 
 Acts xi. 23. 
 Psalm xlii. 6. 
 Deut. xxxii. 46. 
 Gen. xxxii. 24. 
 Gen. xxxii. 25, 26. 
 Gen. xxxii. 26, 27. 
 Gen. xxxii. 28, 29. 
 Gen. xxxii. 30 32. 
 Zech. xiii. 3. 
 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 Micah ii. 7. 
 Gen. iii. 9. 
 1 Pet. ii. 25. 
 Zech. xiii. 6. 
 Gen. xxviii. 10. 
 Gen. xxviii. 17. 
 Rev. i. 8. 
 Exod. xvii. 5, 6. 
 
 1 Cor. x. 4. 
 Isaiah xxxvi. I, 2. 
 Matt. xviiL 20. 
 Matt, xviii. 20. 
 Matt, xviii. 20. 
 Matt, xviii. 20. 
 Ephes. v. 19. 
 
 2 Kings xx. 1. 
 Isaiah xxxviii. 16. 
 Isaiah xxxviii. 9.
 
 EVENING EXERCISES 
 
 FOR THE CLOSET. 
 
 JANUARY 1. "And now, behold, I go bound in the 
 spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall 
 befall me there : save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in 
 every city, saying that bonds and afflictions 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 experience as men, and as Christians. 
 And we may derive from them a reflection peculiarly 
 seasonable, at the commencement of another annual 
 period of our time With regard to the future, he was 
 both ignorant and informed; unacquainted with some 
 things, but well apprized of others. 
 
 Though Paul sometimes prophesied, he could not 
 command the attribute of foreknowledge 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 
 VOL. i. B
 
 2 JANUARY 1. 
 
 year, not knowing what a day may bring forth. But is 
 this to be lamented ? " Even so, Father, 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 unconsciously prepared 
 for them. And suppose we were now informed of some 
 of the changes we may be called to endure in the months 
 before us, we should be seized perhaps with an overpow- 
 ering surprise and oppression, rendering us dead to all 
 present enjoyments, and incapable of every present engage- 
 ment. 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. Espe- 
 cially let us check the workings of a vain curiosity. To 
 this we are naturally prone. All pant to draw back the 
 veil, and peep into futurity. But none are entrusted with 
 its secrets. Even our Lord's own disciples were rebuked 
 for wishing to know the times and the seasons which the 
 Father reserved in his own power. This advice will be 
 found to be not only our duty, but our privilege 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, 
 announcing its trials, and prescribing its employments 
 with an order to open daily no letter but the letter for 
 the day. Now we may be strongly tempted to unseal 
 beforehand some of the remainder; but this would only 
 serve to embarrass us, while we should violate thereby 
 the rule our Owner and Master has laid down for us 
 " Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow : for the
 
 JANUARY 1. 3 
 
 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 open 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 caii apprehend much of it in 
 the mass. Indeed 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 ? Or is there nothing for it to 
 operate upon beyond the present hour ? " The prudent 
 man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself," says the 
 Scripture. And the same authority adds, " Let thine 
 eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight 
 before thee." 
 
 With regard then to the future, in every period, rela- 
 tion, 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, seedtime 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 before us."
 
 4 JANUARY 1. 
 
 We are sure no creature-possessions and enjoyments 
 will fully meet our hopes and wishes. They never have 
 produced satisfaction. 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 connections here are precarious. Some may abandon 
 us from insincerity ; 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 vanity ? 
 
 Can we be ignorant that with growing years we are to 
 look for growing privations and weaknesses ? That our 
 senses will decay, 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 it is soon cut off, and we fly away." 
 
 For the living know that they shall 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 to 
 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. 5 
 
 JAN. 2. "Behold, now 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 universally 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 precious produce of the field 
 is to he 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 causetlr shame." There 
 are interesting 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 conse- 
 quences, as the soul is superior to the body, and eternity to 
 time an opportunity to gain acceptance with God, and 
 salvation 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 dis- 
 pensation, or the duration of the mediatorial reign of Christ. 
 At present he is exalted at the right hand of God to be 
 a Prince and a Saviour ; to give repentance unto Israel 
 and remission of sins. He is the great High Priest over 
 the house of God, to introduce 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 continue always. It is com- 
 mensurate only with the continuance of the world. " Then 
 cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to 
 God, even the Father." This, in the whole of it, is a very 
 extensive period. It has continued long, and will probably 
 continue many ages longer. But this can only encourage 
 us with regard to mankind successionally. 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
 
 6 JANUARY 2. 
 
 ever." But as individuals, our season is far less length- 
 ened. At death, the angel swears, with regard to us, that 
 " time shall he no longer." 
 
 This " now" therefore is to he considered as the period 
 of life. Patients have been recovered 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 longsuffering 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 
 reserves of Divine goodness ; he has not been pleased to 
 reveal it. Origen and his brethren of the same sentiment 
 were called the merciful doctors : but should their notion 
 be a mistake, and those that rely on it be confounded for 
 ever, they ought to be called the merciful doctors who, 
 knowing the terrors of the Lord, persuade men to flee 
 from the wrath to come. But in this view how precious 
 and all-important is life 
 
 "Life is the time to serve the Lord, 
 The time t' ensure the great reward ; 
 And while the lamp holds out to bum, 
 The vilest sinner may return." 
 
 And how instantly and zealously should we avail ourselves 
 of the only season ! Especially when we consider how 
 short, and how uncertain the continuance of it is. Ano- 
 ther of the threescore years and ten, or of the fifty, or 
 forty, or twenty, that measure 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 state of all the dead 
 Upon life's feeble strings !"
 
 JANUARY 2. 7 
 
 But this "now" takes in, as distinguished from life 
 at large, every period peculiarly favourable to religion. 
 Youth is such a period. The young have fewer of the 
 cares that perplex and engross us as we plunge deeper 
 into the concerns of this life. Their hearts, though evil, 
 are not yet hardened through 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 ; their strength is firm ; their con- 
 nections are as yet optional : life is fresh ; nature is inviting 
 and amidst all these advantages, Grace says, " Remem- 
 ber now thy Creator in the days of thy youth : while 
 the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when 
 thou shall say, I have no pleasure in them." " Now is 
 the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Such a 
 period is the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man. 
 It befriends his civil comfort, his bodily health, and his 
 mental improvement. But it chiefly regards his spiritual 
 and eternal welfare. What a gracious appointment, 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 
 ine 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 to get our trials removed 
 without their being sanctified ! How lamentable to lose 
 the benefit of such a season ! Such is a period of religious 
 excitement. It is said in the Gospel, " The law and the
 
 8 JANUARY 3. 
 
 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 finding ; delivered from 
 the stings of a guilty conscience, and the tyranny of their 
 passions ; hecoming 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 ?" 
 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 cherishing the conviction, he endeavoured 
 to banish it and succeeded. Go thy way, said he to the 
 preacher, for this time ; when I have a convenient season 
 I will send for thee. That season never came. He saw 
 Paul indeed several times afterwards, but not a word was 
 said concerning the faith in Christ ! Beware ! your 
 impressions may die away, and never revive. But can 
 you complain ? 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." 
 
 JAN. 3. " Which things the angels desire to look 
 into" 1 PET. i. 12. 
 
 HAD we only heard of such an order of beings 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
 
 JANUARY 3. 9 
 
 should have been led astray yea, it is certain we should 
 have been led astray, had we conjectured under the influ- 
 ence of the spirit of the world. For what do they study ? 
 What do merchants, princes, statesmen, study ? What do 
 the sons of science and learning study ? What are the 
 acquirements by proficiency in which men are distin- 
 guished among their fellow-creatures, and left on the 
 pinnacle of fame? But what do angels desire to look 
 into ? The arts of trade ? The secrets of government ? 
 The researches of philosophy ? The mysteries of nature ? 
 No. But the salvation of sinners ; the grace of God j the 
 sufferings and glory of Christ " Of which salvation the 
 prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who pro- 
 phesied 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 shews us what is the necessary condition of 
 all creatures, however high in the scale of being. It is a 
 state of dependence, deficiency, and progressive improve- 
 ment. 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 
 stagnation 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
 
 10 JANUARY 3. 
 
 chargeth his angels with folly. There are many things of 
 which they are ignorant. Our Lord assures us they know 
 not the day of judgment. The book in the Revelations, 
 whatever were the mysteries it contained, was closed to 
 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 enjoyment are conti- 
 nually opening to them, and calling for a new song of 
 wonder and of praise. 
 
 Does it not also shew us the vastness of the Gospel ? 
 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 the Scripture as proverbial 
 for their knowledge ; they are the first beings in the uni- 
 verse for intelligence ; and are as much above men in their 
 faculties as 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 can teach them if it can enlighten and enlarge 
 their views if it draws forth their wonder and astonish- 
 ment ; 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 admi- 
 nistrations of his providence, from the beginning ; 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 exploring 
 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
 
 JANUARY 3. 11 
 
 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 
 rinding out !" 
 
 We learn also the excellency as well as the vastness, 
 the value as well as the immensity of the Gospel. Would 
 such beings as these trifle ? Does not their attention 
 prove that the subject is worthy of all acceptation ? Why 
 do they study it, but because it is " the Gospel of our 
 salvation ;" but because it is " the glorious Gospel of the 
 blessed 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 distinction. 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 dispensation of them ? Blessed are our 
 eyes, for they see ; and our ears, for they hear. Is it not to 
 study them ourselves ? We are deeply, we are infinitely 
 concerned in them. The Being to whom they relate is our 
 Saviour. His history is the record of our eternal redemp- 
 tion. He became poor; he died for us. Let us therefore 
 turn aside from the little, the vain, the vexing, the debas- 
 ing, the defiling 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 specu- 
 lative acquaintance with it ; but taste that the Lord is 
 gracious ; and walk in the truth. Is it not to own them,
 
 12 JANUARY 4. 
 
 and confess them, and glory in them before men ? 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 together ? 
 
 JAN. 4. " Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye 
 will take Benjamin away : all these things are against 
 me" GEN. xlii. 36. 
 
 THIS was a very sorrowful conclusion. But no part of it 
 was founded in truth. "Joseph 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 will take Benjamin away" yes but not to be destroyed 
 but to prove a deliverer and to bring every thing to a 
 favourable issue. Let the lad go and no evil shall befall 
 him and supplies for thyself and family will soon be 
 brought and the waggons shall accompany 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 development of a 
 series of dispensations 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 holdeu 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 things well."
 
 JANUARY 4. 13 
 
 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 tilings work 
 together for good to them that love God." Whence does 
 it proceed P Sometimes they judge under a morbid phy- 
 sical influence. We are not only fearfully, but wonder- 
 fully made ; and there are many things which would 
 hardly appear credible were they not confirmed by fre- 
 quent experience. How will a change of weather, or a 
 redundancy or increase of some secretion 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 j 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 knowledge with 
 regard to the subject itself. It is not easy to determine 
 what is against us or for us. " Who knoweth what is 
 good for a man in this life ?" Can we always distinguish 
 between appearances and realities ? Between the begin- 
 ning and the end of things ? Do we perfectly know 
 ourselves ? Do we know what effects untried things 
 will have upon our minds or our conditions ? We go 
 forward into futurity 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 prospect, would occasion more than our wonder. 
 This was the case with Hazael : he abhorred in imagi- 
 nation what he became in reality, by a 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
 
 14 JANUARY 4. 
 
 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 spiritual advantage. If the hedging up of 
 our way with thorns 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 conversation in heaven. 
 
 We also err by judging prematurely. "He that 
 belie veth maketh not haste." If a man engaged to accom- 
 plish a great work in ten years, would it be right to decide 
 concerning it at the end of ten days, or ten weeks ? 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 satisfaction, 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 
 meanwhile, there is a substitute for the explanations of 
 heaven. It is, in the absence of sight, to walk by faith. 
 If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. 
 But by believing we enter into rest, and the peace of God, 
 which passeth all understanding, 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 per- 
 fections ; let us review his wonders of old above all, 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 dispensations 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
 
 JANUARY 5. 15 
 
 not with him also freely give us all things ? God of love ! 
 Thou shalt have all the future confidence of our hearts 
 
 " Our cares, we give ye to the wind, 
 
 And shake you of!" like dust ; 
 Well may we trust our all with Him 
 With whom our souls we trust." 
 
 JAN. 5. " Take ye heed, watch and pray : for ye 
 know not when the time is." MARK xiii. 33. 
 
 IT is the language 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 wake- 
 fulness, in opposition 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 influence 
 that is necessary to render them effectual ; 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 pre- 
 paration, 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 opportu- 
 nities, before he returns, may arise to relieve the distressed, 
 to comfort the feebleminded, to oppose error, or to rebuke 
 vice : opportunities which may never return, and should 
 never be neglected ? David therefore said, " On Thee do
 
 16 JANUARY 5. 
 
 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 hy the life of Pharaoh. Moses, the 
 meekest man upon earth, under irritation, spake unad- 
 visedly with his lips. Even in old age, Solomon's heart, 
 by outlandish women, was drawn away from God. Peter, 
 immediately after the most solemn warnings and profes- 
 sions, denied his Lord with oaths and curses. Barnabas 
 was carried away with the dissimulation of the Jews. 
 Paul was likely to 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 therefore we cannot think our 
 trials strange things. Who can tell what a day may 
 bring forth ? An accident, a disease, a loss in our circum- 
 stances, a family bereavement, may befall us, 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 character 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
 
 JANUARY 6. 17 
 
 death." It may be in the evening, or at midnight, or at 
 the cockcrowing, 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 ! 
 
 JAN. 6. "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the 
 Father, and it sufficeth us.' 1 JOHN xiv. 8. 
 
 How are we to understand this request ? We can hardly 
 suppose, with some, that he desired a kind of personal 
 representation of the Deity. Surely he could not be so 
 ignorant 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 forbidden 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 perfec- 
 tions, as Moses had done, and which he called God's face. 
 If so, he knew not what he asked. The exhibition 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 
 insupportable 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 themselves, and went after strange gods. Extra- 
 ordinary and miraculous appearances would lose their 
 impression, yea, by their repetition, they would be extra- 
 ordinary 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 have never been liable to a like mis- 
 take. Have we never wanted a kind of immediate and 
 sensible conviction that would exclude all possibility of 
 doubt ? Have we never been ready to exclaim, " Oh ! if, 
 VOL. i. c
 
 18 JANUARY 6. 
 
 with 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 would 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 ? 
 and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." 
 Philip, therefore, only asks for a fuller manifestation and 
 enjoyment of him " Lord, shew us the Father, and it 
 sufficeth us." 
 
 Yet can He be shewn ? or, in other words, can He be 
 known ? It is true, Zophar asks, " Who by searching can 
 find out God ?" But he adds, " who can find out the 
 Almighty unto perfection ?" 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 knowledge 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 
 righteousness ; 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
 
 JANUARY 6. 19 
 
 of all opposition and danger to sustain him under every 
 trial and to raise him above the fear of death. Moses 
 endured as seeing him that is invisible. 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 Sou 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 shews us the Father by his 
 person He is the image of the invisible God. By his 
 sacrifice in which we see so fully and harmoniously dis- 
 played his wisdom, holiness, righteousness, truth, and love. 
 By his word the most illiterate Christian, witli " the 
 word of Christ" in his hand, knows more of God than all 
 the philosophers of Greece and Rome. How much does 
 he teach us concerning 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 the ground without 
 your heavenly 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, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." 
 He requires it from us : and he assures us our application 
 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. " I am the light of the world ; he that followeth me 
 shall not walk in 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 
 
 c a
 
 20 JANUARY 7. 
 
 come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain 
 unto the earth." 
 
 JAN 7. "And the Apostles said unto the Lord, 
 Increase our faith." LUKE xvii. 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 dis- 
 ciples themselves have their imperfections ; but feel them ; 
 and are concerned to be freed from them. If in reference 
 to the subject they express "oar faith:" they teach us 
 that faith is not finished 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 pre- 
 ceding charge : they teach us that an increase of faith 
 is not only always desirable, but sometimes necessary. 
 Observe what he had been enforcing. " 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 shall forgive 
 him" " And the Apostles said unto the Lord, increase our 
 faith" and thus enable us to do it. But why faith in par- 
 ticular ? Why not, increase our humility ? love ? patience ? 
 Because faith is the root from which they grow, and as 
 faith abounds, they will flourish. Because all things are 
 possible to him that believeth. 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 ser- 
 vant by the throat, who owes us only a hundred pence ?
 
 JANUARY 7. 21 
 
 But there are many other cases, the pressure 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 ? And does he 
 require us to own and confess him before men ? And will 
 this give offence to our connections ? and draw upon our- 
 selves persecution and reproach ? 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 rejoiced that they were counted 
 worthy to suffer shame for his Name." "By faith Moses 
 feared not the wrath of the king ; for he endured as seeing 
 him who is invisible." 
 
 Are you called to sacrifice an object that nature will 
 never let go without violence ? " By faith, Abraham, 
 when he was tried, offered up Isaac." 
 
 Are you called to confide in God in great 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 1 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 shew 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 with- 
 out faith ? " 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 
 service The living know that they shall die. And 
 what is it to die ? We know not from our own expe- 
 rience, or the experience of others. But to bid farewell 
 to every earthly scene to be surrounded with weeping 
 friends, whose presence we can neither dispense with 
 nor endure to bear sinking spirits, and a body full of 
 pain to feel perhaps our unworthiness and sin more
 
 22 JANUARY 8. 
 
 than we ever felt them before to enter into an untried 
 and eternal state to think of appearing before 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," 
 
 JAN. 8. " He that toucheth you toucheth the apple 
 of his eye." ZECH. ii. 8. 
 
 How admirably adapted to pop alar instruction and impres- 
 sion is the imagery of the Scripture ! It is not taken from 
 the learned sciences, or even from the mechanical arts 
 unless from their most simple and common 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 understand and feel the allusion before us ? 
 " 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 connection, 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 joined to the Lord is one 
 spirit." No wonder therefore that he that toucheth them 
 toucheth the apple of his eye. 
 
 It shews valuation. Even a man's selfishness endears 
 this member. The apple of his eye is a source of too 
 much usefulness and pleasure not to be highly prized by
 
 JANUARY 8. 23 
 
 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, lie will rest in his love, he will joy over them with 
 singing." 
 
 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 inestimably 
 precious member from evil, by the fluids and the coats, 
 the lashes and the lids ; and with what involuntary quick- 
 ness nature teaches us to cover and secure it when exposed. 
 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 protection ! 
 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 howling 
 wilderness ; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept 
 him as the apple of his eye." How well kept are those 
 whom God thus keeps ! " Happy art thou, O Israel : 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 
 shall tread upon their high places." 
 
 It expresses sympathy. The pupil of the eye is pecu- 
 liarly 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 sensation. And is it not
 
 24 JANUARY 8. 
 
 said, "In all their affliction he is afflicted?" A friend 
 sympathizes 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 com- 
 passion 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 abso- 
 lutely unavoidable. And not less certain, as well as tender, 
 is the Lord's sympathy with his people " He that touch- 
 eth you toucheth the apple of his eye." What a source 
 of consolation is here ! Especially when we remember 
 that his sympathy is accompanied with boundless wisdom 
 and almighty power. " He doeth great things and un- 
 searchable ; 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 endeavour to injure them ; and 
 though their malice is often restrained, the Lord looketh 
 at the heart, and will deal with them according to their 
 intentions, wishes, and endeavours. And he considers 
 them as opposing himself. " Why," said he to Saul, 
 "why persecutest thou me?" He did not persecute him 
 personally, but he was injuring his 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 anything for the people of 
 God he feels it as done to himself. He " is not unrigh- 
 teous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye 
 have shewed 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 receiveth a 
 prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's 
 reward : and he that receiveth a righteous man in the
 
 JANUARY 9. 25 
 
 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 stall 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 he concerned for his 
 glory ! 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 needless pre- 
 cision, should remember that nothing less is required of 
 us than to avoid the appearance of evil, to walk circum- 
 spectly, and to be always abounding in the work of the 
 Lord We are to regard his word as we keep the ten- 
 derest part of the tenderest member of our body. " Keep 
 my commandments, and live; and MY LAW AS THE 
 
 APPLE OF THINE EYE." 
 
 JAN. 9. " Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in 
 pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting 
 the wilderness.'" PSALM Ixxiv. 14. 
 
 WHAT creature in the animal world is intended by levi- 
 athan we cannot absolutely determine. 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 necessary 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 foundation of our 
 faith and hope. The truths contained in the sacred volume 
 are plain in proportion as they are profitable ; and we are 
 at no loss for an answer to the question, What must I do
 
 26 JANUARY 9. 
 
 to be saved ? Though we know not where heaven is, we 
 are clearly informed how we may attain it. Though we 
 are uncertain about leviathan, we are sure of the Conso- 
 lation of Israel "And 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." 
 
 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 leviathan in pieces, and gavest 
 him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness." 
 Who were the people inhabiting the wilderness ? 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 them- 
 selves. They might very properly be said to inhabit the 
 wilderness, because it was their present residence, and 
 because they were, instead of speedily travelling through 
 it, to sojourn 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 pass over ? Therefore
 
 JANUARY 9. 27 
 
 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 sor- 
 row and mourning shall flee away." 
 
 There is a people now, inhabiting the wilderness. 
 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 born from above, 
 and bound to the laud of promise. They feel and con- 
 fess it to be such, not only from the privations and trials 
 they meet with in it, but from the principles and dispo- 
 sitions of their new nature. 
 
 And is there no leviathan whose heads have been 
 broken in pieces for them, and from which they have been 
 furnished with meat ? Are there no past deliverances, no 
 former mercies, upon which their souls can feed ? Let us 
 think of the redemption of the cross. Here their Lord 
 and Saviour seemed conquered ; but he gained a complete 
 victory. He bruised the serpent's head j 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
 
 28 JANUARY 10. 
 
 feed our humility more ? 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 the morning ; and made a way the 
 most strange and gracious for our escape? Whoso is 
 wise, observes these things. In looking back upon life, 
 he 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 
 his release, but advancement 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." 
 
 JAN. 10. " He is not Jar from every one of us.' 1 
 
 ACTS xvii. 27. 
 
 Is there a God? This is the first question in Religion. 
 And the proofs of his being are so numerous and con- 
 vincing, 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 approach him ? Is he near, or 
 is he far off ? To this inquiry we have here a full answer 
 " He is not far from every 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
 
 JANUARY 10. 29 
 
 flee from thy presence P If I ascend up into heaven, 
 thou art there : if I make my bed in hell, hehold, 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, an infinite distinction between creatures and 
 God. No creature, not even an angel, can be ever in two 
 places at once. But God is everywhere, at the same time. 
 And what a thought is it, that wherever 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 imaginations 
 of our heart ! Do we believe it ? If we reduced our 
 faith to practice, what manner of creatures should we be 
 in all holy conversation 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 without 
 witness, in that he did good, and gave us 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 vege- 
 table world with all its variety and beauty can we 
 think of the myriads possessing animal life, visible and 
 invisible, in air 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-sustained that the eyes of all wait 
 upon him, and he giveth them their meat in due season 
 that he openeth his hand and satisfieth the desires of every 
 living thing ; and be senseless 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 religious dispen- 
 sation. In this sense the Gentiles 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
 
 30 JANUARY 10. 
 
 them ? He resided in the midst of them by his laws and 
 ordinances. They could see his power and glory in his 
 sanctuary. They could hear his voice in his 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 splendour, 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 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. 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 receiveth 
 them receiveth him. 
 
 He is not far 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 renova- 
 tion ! O that you were convinced that your understand- 
 ings must be enlightened, and your hearts changed and 
 that all this must come from him who worketh all in all 
 and that you were disposed to apply to him ! You would 
 soon find that he is able, that he is willing, that he is 
 near. Your cries or groans would instantly 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 sense 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
 
 JANUARY 10. 31 
 
 the true cause of your condemnation if you perish. It is 
 not because you are lost creatures, and are unable to save 
 yourselves ; but because there is a Saviour within your 
 reach, and you refuse to apply to him, and will not take 
 hold of his strength. How came the man without 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 ? 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 
 presumption. 
 
 He is not far from every one of us, as an approaching 
 Judge. People imagine his advent is a great way off, 
 and 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 con- 
 clusions. He can cut short his work in righteousness. 
 Yet let us allow the truth contained in the objection. 
 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 accomplished, and your 
 state is fixed. There is no pardon, no prayer, after death 
 after death the judgment. And is death far off? 
 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 you 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
 
 32 JANUARY 11. 
 
 acknowledge that there is but a step between you and 
 death between you and the Judge of all ! 
 
 JAN. 11. "For which cause he is not ashamed to 
 call them brethren." HEB. ii. 11. 
 
 WHAT cause ? 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 pur- 
 suit. They have one destination ; and will appear with 
 him in glory " Where I ana," says he, " there shall 
 also my servants be." But the meaning is here deter- 
 mined by the context they are of one nature. " Foras- 
 much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he 
 also himself 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 like as we are, yet with- 
 out sin." This exception was not only necessary, but 
 possible : and as Adam before his fall possessed truly the 
 same nature with us, yet sinless ; so provision was made 
 for the Saviour's participation of it, in the same imma- 
 culate way : and from the manner of his conception by 
 the Holy Ghost, his humanity was the " holy thing" 
 born of the Virgin Mary ; and he is called the " holy 
 child Jesus ;" and it is said, not only that " he did no 
 sin," but " in him 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 sympa- 
 thizing with us, and gains our confidence. It is thus 
 he becomes our example and goes before us in the path 
 of duty and suffering. It is thus he can give his life
 
 JANUARY 11. 33 
 
 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 con- 
 secrated 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 
 between 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 dispense with food and sleep than they yet does 
 he call them brethren ? Do we not deem it almost a 
 miracle to see a prince condescend 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 according 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 crushed 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 Majesty 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 
 
 VOL. i. D
 
 34 JANUARY 11. 
 
 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 heavens, and 
 angels, principalities, and powers, are made subject unto 
 him, and every name that is named not only in this 
 world but in that which is to come, he is touched with 
 the feeling of our infirmities ; he is not ashamed to call 
 us brethren. It is indeed observable that it was after 
 his resurrection he gave his disciples this name : " Go 
 tell my brethren that they go into Galilee." "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, " Inasmuch as ye did it unto 
 one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me." 
 
 Let 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 cor- 
 respond with us. He will visit us. 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 own us shall we ever be 
 ashamed to acknowledge him ? " He that is ashamed of 
 me, and of my words, in this sinful and adulterous gene- 
 ration, 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 ingenu- 
 ousness, affected 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. 35 
 
 JAN. 12. " In that night was Belshazzar the king 
 of the Chaldeans stain" DAN. v. 30. 
 
 OBSERVE the person the event and the season. 
 
 The person was Belshazzar. He is not easily iden- 
 tified in profane history, and little is said of him in the 
 Scriptures of truth. He was the grandson of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar. Merodach Baladin was his father. His 
 mother was Nitocris, a woman of a masculine under- 
 standing, 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 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 live, as, when dead, 
 we may yet speak, or be spoken of, to our honour, and 
 the improvement 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 represented as insulting the king of 
 Babylon. " Art thou also become weak as we P Art 
 thou become like unto MS ? 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 iu a good old age, 
 and gradually, and in a peaceful bed but he is cut off 
 preraaturelv, suddenly, and violently he was slain. 
 
 When?" "That night." What night? The night 
 of his festivity. He had made a great feast unto a thou- 
 sand of his lords; and music, and dancing, and every kind 
 
 D S
 
 36 JANUARY 12. 
 
 of indulgence, filled the palace. How little did he suspect 
 the vicinage of danger ; of death ! Marriage rites have 
 sometimes been prevented, or immediately followed, by 
 funeral solemnities. A man has built and embellished a 
 mansion, and prepared an entertainment to crown his 
 wishes ; but, instead of taking possession of it, he has 
 entered the house appointed for all living. Another has 
 planned a favourite journey ; but, at the very commence- 
 ment of it, he has been turned into the way of all the 
 earth. "Boast not thyself of to-inorrow ; for thou kuow- 
 est 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 intem- 
 perance, and profaneness, 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 prayed 
 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, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels 
 which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the 
 temple which was in Jerusalem, that the king and his 
 princes, his wives and his concubines, might drink therein. 
 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken 
 out of the temple of the house of God which was at 
 Jerusalem ; and the king and his princes, his wives and 
 bis 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 sin has fre- 
 quently 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 dead with a lie on his lips. A swearer has called 
 for damnation upon his soul, and the prayer has no sooner
 
 JANUARY 12. 37 
 
 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 suddenly he destroyed, and that 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 uncertainty ? But why does he not 
 suppose that the prodigy is favourable, containing an 
 encomium, or a promise ? Conscience forebodes the 
 meaning. But Daniel explains it clearly ; and admo- 
 nishes 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 
 disposition, were a few moments of confusion, and terror, 
 and attempted resistance, or flight ? And what better, for 
 the purpose of repentance, are the hours or moments upon 
 which many are suspending an attention to the things that 
 belong to their peace P Death-bed alarms and prayers, 
 and the exercises which attend them, are most likely, if 
 useful at all, to benefit the living rather than the 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 
 extinction of being, but the intermediate state, and after- 
 wards the Judgment this, this renders death so awful. 
 O that we were wise, that we understood this, that we 
 considered our latter end !
 
 38 JANUARY 13. 
 
 JAN. 13. " And Joseph called the name of the first- 
 born Manasseh : for God, said he, hath made me forget 
 all my toil, and all my father's house. And the 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 memento 
 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 " Zaph- 
 nath-paaneah," the revealer of secrets. We read also 
 that Moses had two sous : " the name of the one was 
 Gershom," that is, a stranger there ; " for he said, I have 
 been an alien in a strange laud : 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 observance, he has a motive 
 peculiar to himself. And therefore we see Joseph not only 
 thus naming his children, hut doing it " after a godly sort." 
 We learn from his conduct, first, that it is desirable 
 to secure the remembrance of interesting events. "God 
 requireth that which is past j" 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. Forgetfulness is temporary igno- 
 rance 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 should let them slip. God calls upon his
 
 JANUARY 13. 39 
 
 people " to remember what Balak consulted " against 
 them : and to " remember all the way the Lord had led 
 them in the wilderness." Let us 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 ? once gracious, and now unkind ? He is the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. How many of 
 our failures, especially in thankfulness 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 people ! What does 
 Mauasseh signify? "Forgetting." Why did Joseph give 
 him this name ? " For God," said he, " hath made me 
 forget all ray toil, and all my father's house." That is, 
 the hardships by which he had been exercised, the suf- 
 ferings he had met 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 from his memory ? 
 This would be perfectly inconsistent with his design in 
 imposing the name. The meaning is, that his circum- 
 stances were so changed, that no trace of his former diffi- 
 culties and distresses remained. We often say, In heaven 
 we shall forget all our sorrows. Shall we then have no 
 remembrance of the Hand that sustained us tinder them, 
 and delivered us from them ? 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 
 number 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 vestures 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 Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
 
 40 JANUARY 13. 
 
 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 Ephraim ? " Fruitful." Why 
 does Joseph impose this name upon him ? " 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 fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a 
 well ; whose branches run over the wall." This includes, 
 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 godliness, 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 ? 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 spiritual blessings 
 in heavenly places in Christ ?" Paul prays for the Philip- 
 pians that they may " be filled with all the fruits of righte- 
 ousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise 
 of God." Christian, what is this world to you but " the 
 land of your affliction ?" You have found it a vale of 
 tears : but has it been a fruitful vale ? Your trials need 
 not prevent your fruitfulness ; yea, they are designed to 
 secure and promote it : and though they are not joyous, 
 but grievous, they yield the peaceable fruits of righteous- 
 ness 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 acknowledged in all 
 our concerns, especially our mercies. Whether they are
 
 JANUARY 14. 41 
 
 temporal or spiritual, they have the same source every 
 good gift, and every perfect gift is from ahove, 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 forget 
 all my toil and uiy 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 shew us his agency where 
 others only see instruments and second causes. It is the 
 business of humility to teach and enable us to say, " Not 
 unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give 
 glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake " Both 
 furnish evidence that we are in a course of preparation for 
 that world where " God is all in all." 
 
 JAN. 14. " Tliin thou knowest, that all they which 
 arc in Asia be turned away from me j of whom are 
 Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord give mercy unto 
 the house of Oncsiphorus ; for he oft refreshed me, 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 minis- 
 tered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well. 1 ' 
 
 2 TIM. i. 1518. 
 
 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 attachment we had placed dependence. 
 But it is not a rare exercise. Witness the complaints of 
 Job, and David, and especially Paul. Paul was addition- 
 ally distressed to think that those who had left him, had 
 not only forsaken a man and a friend, but a minister, and 
 an apostle of Christ. Hence their desertion was nothing 
 less than an abandonment of the faith of the Gospel.
 
 42 JANUARY 14. 
 
 Defections in religion were foretold from the beginning. 
 They early took place in the first churches. They fre- 
 quently occur still. Many promise fair, and run well for 
 a time ; but are hindered. 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 with 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 ; doubt- 
 less because they were leaders, and had been very instru- 
 mental in the revolt. This is all we know of these men : 
 it would have been better 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 Ouesiphorus brought forward ! What an 
 exception to the general apostacy ! He is one against 
 two against many against all in Asia. We are not 
 to follow a multitude to do evil. Numbers can never 
 turn evil into good, or truth into error. Community in 
 sin is no excuse, and will be no preservation : though 
 hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished. 
 Fellowship in suffering is no alleviation : it may be a 
 bitter enhancement. There will not only be weeping, 
 but gnashing of teeth, among those who accuse and 
 execrate each other. This will be the case at the 
 meeting of the seducer and the seduced ; Voltaire and 
 his pupils ; the faithless minister and his deluded hearers. 
 But to advance without support, in the face of oppo- 
 sition ; to brave the torrent of example, and the influence 
 of the crowd, concerned only to approve ourselves unto 
 God, shews 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."
 
 JANUARY 14. 43 
 
 He therefore is not unrighteous to forget the work 
 and labour of love which Oiiesiphorus had shewed to his 
 Name, in the relief and assistance he had afforded his 
 servant. Paul records here in the book of life, the ten- 
 derness 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, is done by 
 people in common life. But he had a public spirit : his 
 heart was in his work : he did what he could and who- 
 ever does what he can, will do, not only comparatively, 
 but really, much. And was he a loser? Was Obed- 
 edom injured by accommodating the ark ? 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 liberal things shall he 
 stand." " There is no man that hath left house, or 
 parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the king- 
 dom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more 
 in this present time, and in the world to come life 
 everlasting." 
 
 Thus Oiiesiphorus 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 prayers. And was this a 
 light thing, to be remembered 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
 
 44 JANUARY 15. 
 
 disposition : and the favours shewn him in his straits and 
 distresses always made a deep impression upon him. 
 Hence lie 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 as he, with all his good 
 works, need mercy ? This would have seemed strange to 
 some ; but it would not be surprising to Ouesiphorus 
 himself. He knew that when he had done all, he was an 
 unprofitable servant ; and that if God entered into judg- 
 ment 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 him- 
 self. He feels his need of mercy ; mercy to the last ; 
 and, above all, mercy at the last. When he examines 
 himself, 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 woe 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 not a friend 
 in the Judge ; we are undone for ever. If we find not 
 mercy then, it can never be fouud afterwards. 
 
 JAN. 15. " The gentleness 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 indeed in degree, but in 
 quality. As " the precious ointment," poured upon the
 
 JANUARY 15. 45 
 
 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 is 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 riding 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 smoking 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 history, and see him 
 as he goes about doing good, what so constantly and 
 strikingly shews itself as this lovely distinction ? What 
 was his emblem ? 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 it withered away. But it was 
 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
 
 46 JANUARY 15. 
 
 them for an unlawful traffic : and what was the loss of 
 their swine to the benefit he conferred upon them in the 
 restoration of two of their neighbours and relations from 
 the most wretched estate to the possession of reason and 
 the enjoyment and usefulness of life ? All the other 
 miracles he performed were entirely and 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 beggar 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 crow r n them with honour. 
 
 It is true, he repeated again and again the exclama- 
 tion, " Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites !" 
 But they were hypocrites 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 
 ascribed them to the devil : made their devotions pander 
 to their depravity ; and with their public and long prayers 
 devoured widows' houses. How could he avoid exposing 
 and condemning these unprincipled wretches ; and disa- 
 busing 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 con- 
 nivance at crime ? Does gentleness renounce all the 
 exalted feelings of wisdom, rectitude, and dignity? 
 
 But observe him with regard to others. There was 
 nothing censorious in his disposition ; 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 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.
 
 JANUARY 15. 47 
 
 For ray yoke is easy, and my burden is light." What 
 said he to the transgressor, exposed by a number of 
 accusers, all guilty of the same crime, and wishing 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 disciples 
 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 iu his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed 
 them." See his conduct towards his friends. At the 
 grave of Lazarus "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 disciple took her unto his own home." 
 How gentle was he in all his dealings with his own 
 disciples, bearing with their mistakes, apologizing for their 
 infirmities, loving them unto the end, and blessing them 
 in the very act of departure into heaven ! And was he 
 wanting in this temper towards his enemies ? Did he 
 not weep over the city whose inhabitants 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 110 
 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
 
 48 JANUARY 15. 
 
 infirmities. His gentleness is now displayed in four 
 things. First in relieving our wants. How harshly are 
 many treated, when they apply to their fellow-creatures 
 for succour ! and if they succeed, how ungraciously is the 
 relief afforded ! What a difference is there between bounty 
 and kindness : between giving and the feeling of benevo- 
 lence. Here females excel. There is a tenderness and 
 a delicacy in their doings which men can rarely reach 
 or exemplify. So would it be with angels if they were 
 incarnate, and lived among us. How gentle would be 
 the manner of their beneficence ! 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 conscious 
 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 usually think only 
 of ability in a teacher ; but temper and patience are 
 equally necessary. Without gentleness, the pupil, espe- 
 cially if sensible 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 dulness and mis- 
 takes ! What various expedients does he employ ! How 
 often does he repeat the lesson year after year; line 
 upon line ; precept upon precept ! Thirdly in chas- 
 tising us. He corrects us in measure. He stayeth his 
 rough wind in the day of the east wind. " He will not 
 always chide ; neither will he keep his anger for ever. 
 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." Fourthly in employ- 
 ing us! 
 
 " And will no heavy loads impose 
 Beyond the 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
 
 JANUARY 16. 49 
 
 more vile, and odious, and provoking. But let us improve 
 it by losing every tiling like dread and slavishuess in 
 dealing with him ; by confiding in him ; by admiring 
 him ; by following him till we are changed into the 
 same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of 
 the Lord. 
 
 JAN. 16. "My soul followeth hard after thee : thy 
 right hand upholdeth me. 11 PSALM Ixiii. 8. 
 
 HERE are two acknowledgments, dissimilar in their 
 expression ; but the second relieves the first and the 
 first is as evidential of godliness as the second. 
 
 There are many that say, Who will shew me any 
 good ? 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 ?" 
 Yet there always have been such, and the number is 
 now 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 afflu- 
 ence, 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 P Yet he prays to be delivered from 
 men of the world, who have their portion 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 of 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." W 7 e cannot pursue an unknown 
 good, and we shall not pursue an unvalued one. But 
 VOL. i. E
 
 50 JANUARY 16. 
 
 the knowledge of Divine things, which results from the 
 teaching of the Spirit, is always influential in the affec- 
 tions : experience gives a relish which can never be 
 forgotten ; enjoyment increases hungering and thirsting 
 after righteousness. When we have tasted the first- 
 fruits, nothing will satisfy us but the whole vintage. 
 When we have sipped at the streams, we must drink at 
 the fountain-head. God therefore, God in Christ, God in 
 covenant, the God of all grace, is the object of the 
 believer's attraction and pursuit simply and supremely ; 
 and though heaven and earth are very comprehensive, 
 and contain a thousand endearments, he can say, " 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." 
 
 But the soul's 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 inteuseness of concern that 
 quickens and rouses the man into life and earnestness 
 that draws 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 
 enemies would thrust us back and sometimes we lose 
 sight of him, and ask those we meet, " Saw ye him whom 
 my soul loveth ?" 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 tell 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 " discouraged because of the way ?" 
 Who has not resembled Barak's adherents, " Faint, yet 
 pursuing ?" Who has not frequently said, " My soul 
 followeth hard after thee ?"
 
 JANUARY 17. 51 
 
 And who among them all lias not had reason also to 
 say " Thy right hand upholdeth me ?" For if God is 
 before his people in one respect, he is with them in 
 another. While he tries them hy apparent neglect, he 
 secretly sustains 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 righte- 
 ousness." Thus his right hand upholds them three ways. 
 First as to sin ; lest they should fall 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 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. In his lowest circumstances he can 
 chide and encourage himself in the Lord his God 
 " Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art 
 thou disquieted in me ? hope thou in God : for I shall 
 yet praise him for the help of his countenance." 
 
 JAN. 17. " And the Lord said unto Noah, Come 
 thou and all thy house into the ark ; for thee have I seen 
 
 RIGHTEOUS BEFORE ME IN THIS GENERATION." 
 
 GEN. vii. 1. 
 WE have here a striking representation of the character 
 
 E 2
 
 52 JANUARY 17. 
 
 of Noah's piety. It was distinguished 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 :" " righteous," says God, " before me in this 
 generation." 
 
 " Righteous," says God, " in this generation" a gene- 
 ration universally depraved : " for all flesh had corrupted 
 his way upon the earth." Noah therefore had none to 
 accompany 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. 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 purpose, 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, 
 he becomes another man. His resolutions fail him ; his 
 impressions wear off; the course of this world lays hold of 
 him, and the stream carries him down. Festus, willing 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 
 confess him lest they should be put out of the synagogue ; 
 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of 
 God. And who has not been influenced by the smiles 
 or frowns of his fellow creatures to act against his judg- 
 ment 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 ? 
 
 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
 
 JANUARY 17. 53 
 
 strength of the Most High, and follow them wherever they 
 lead us, through evil report, or good report, saying, 
 
 " Careless, myself a dying man, 
 
 Of dying men's esteem ; 
 Happy, O God, if thou approve, 
 Though all beside condemn." 
 
 "But I shall be singular." You will be singular; and 
 while the world continues what it is, every Christian must 
 be singular. Let any man, actuated by the Spirit, and 
 governed by the precepts of the Gospel, pass through the 
 various walks of life, and whom will he resemble ? The 
 majority ? What says the Divine command ? " Follow 
 not the multitude to do evil." " Be not conformed to this 
 world." " Come out from among them, and be separate." 
 " But I shall be singular." And suppose you are. In 
 every thing else that is deemed excellent, persons wish 
 to be singular. They would be singularly beautiful, sin- 
 gularly rich, singularly wise. But the righteous, in all 
 these, is more excellent than his neighbour. Religion is 
 always praiseworthy. To be religious among the religious 
 is commendable ; but it is far more so to be godly among 
 the ungodly. What is innocence where there is no dan- 
 ger ? or success where there is no contention ? But to be 
 surrounded with evil, and to be steadfast, immovable, and 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord this is the 
 heroism of piety. This shews a knowledge of its infinite 
 importance ; a real love to its nature ; a purity of motive ; 
 a nobleness of mind, asserting its own freedom, and daring 
 to think and act for itself. 
 
 But his piety was as sincere as it was singular 
 " 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 
 esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of 
 God. Human legislation is satisfied with actions; but 
 the law of God is spiritual, and regards our principles as 
 well as our practice. The Lord looketh to the heart.
 
 54 JANUARY 17. 
 
 Hence we read of "pure and uudefiled religion before 
 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 instances of self- 
 ishness ; 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 com- 
 mend the preacher, and with our mouth shew much love, 
 while he sees our hearts going after our covetousness. 
 And how dreadful to think that he will hereafter develop 
 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 
 fellow creatures as he sees them, they would blush to leave 
 their dwelling To what everlasting shame and contempt 
 must they awake and arise at the last day ! 
 
 It has been said, a man has four characters : one with 
 his friends ; another with his enemies ; a third with him- 
 self; 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 confidence towards God. 
 We often confound hypocrisy 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 shewing 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, especially among those who live in the midst 
 of the light of the Gospel. The decisions of the Scrip- 
 ture 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
 
 JANUARY 18. 55 
 
 deceiver, as to his spiritual state, and think himself to be 
 something when he is nothing. Yea, it would seem that 
 it is possible for persons 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 knoiv you not. Let it therefore be our solemn con- 
 cern 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. 
 
 JAN. 18. "And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou 
 and all thy house into the ark ; FOR THEE HAVE I SEEN 
 righteous before me in this generation." GEN. vii. 1. 
 
 WE have viewed the character of Noah's piety, let us now 
 consider the Divine observation of it. " Thee,' 1 says God, 
 "have I seen righteous before me in this generation." 
 It means, that He had discerned, noticed, remarked him. 
 Men may suppose themselves unobserved ; but they are 
 not only God's creatures, but subjects. He is their 
 moral governor ; 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 they are rich or poor, 
 bond or free, learned or illiterate ? These are distinctions 
 of inferior importance ; 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 ; whether we are free indeed ; whether we are rich 
 towards God ; whether we are men of the world, or heirs
 
 56 JANUARY 18. 
 
 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 open unto the eyes of Him with whom we 
 have to do. He understands our thoughts afar off. Yea, 
 the darkness hicleth 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. He 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 particle 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 before him. He sees all their exter- 
 nal difficulties, 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 another, he hearkens and 
 hears, and it is recorded 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 
 view, and he judges of their services by them, and thus 
 renders double unto them. 
 
 But when he says, " Thee have / seen righteous 
 before me in this generation," he means to express not 
 only discernment and notice, but also approbation. " For 
 the righteous Lord loveth righteousness ; his countenance
 
 JANUARY 19. 57 
 
 doth behold the upright." He taketh pleasure in them 
 that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy. They 
 hlush 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 laboured in 
 vain, and spent his strength lor nought among the disobe- 
 dient ; 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 insult him " Well, old dotard, 
 how come you on with your folly ? 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 enough to disarm 
 reproach and persecution, to sweeten all the bitternesses 
 of life, and to commence heaven on earth. 
 
 JAN. 19. "And the Lord said unto Noah, COME 
 
 THOU AND ALL THY HOUSE INTO THE ARK J for tkee 
 
 have I seen righteous before me in this generation" 
 
 GEN. vii. 1. 
 
 WE have seen the character and the observation 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 inquire 
 how the invitation was conveyed, whether in a vision, 
 or a dream, or by an impulse 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,
 
 58 JANUARY 19. 
 
 " Go thou and all thy 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 privilege, you 
 must recal the danger in which he now was, and endea- 
 vour 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 all 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 heaven are opened, 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 drove the inhabitants 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 having been made, 
 where will they find supplies of food ? They look hungry 
 at each other and the weaker are slain and eaten with 
 cannibal voracity. The devourers, according to their 
 strength, survive one another. Their last hope are the 
 trees, to whose branches they cling with despair, till, 
 weakened 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 
 of 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
 
 JANUARY 19. 59 
 
 of bis power, of his goodness towards his people, of his 
 caring for them, of his resources on their behalf ! What 
 pleasure would he feel ; what thankfulness ; what resolu- 
 tions 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 righte- 
 ousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the 
 ungodly ; the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out 
 of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of 
 judgment to be punished." The present is not entirely 
 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 wicked, 
 between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him 
 not." Yet even now he puts a difference between the 
 Egyptians and the Israelites ; and sometimes at least 
 induces 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 hint the earth and 
 the sea, saying, " Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor 
 the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in 
 their foreheads." And, says 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 tempta- 
 tion, 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 
 thce : hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the 
 indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord corneth 
 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
 
 60 JANUARY 19. 
 
 for God, we shall be distinguished by him ; or, as Henry 
 expresses it, " If we keep ourselves pure in times of com- 
 mon 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 inward 
 supports and consolations, and render it good for 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 therefore 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 advan- 
 tages owing to the relation. If God's servants are bless- 
 ings 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 profitable to their 
 own connections. Abraham obtained 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 transgressions 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. 
 Parents 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 advan- 
 tages, derived from his instructions, example, and prayers. 
 If they do not improve these, the sin is their own, and their 
 punishment will be the greater. Ham was in the ark ; but 
 without repentance, though he experienced a deliverance 
 from the flood, he perished for ever. " Many shall come 
 from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham,
 
 JANUARY 20. 61 
 
 and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But 
 the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer 
 darkness ; 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 can- 
 not 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 to shew himself in ; and He who is the 
 possessor and governor of this, 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." 
 
 JAN. 20. " The law is good if a man use it law- 
 fully." 1 TIM. i. 8. 
 
 DOES the goodness of the law then depend upon our 
 conduct ? By no means. It is good in itself, notwith- 
 standing our ignorance or our wickedness. Yea, it is 
 good, though it even increases our wickedness by irritation. 
 And as a dam thrown across the river augments it by 
 resistance, causing it to rise higher, to spread wider, and 
 rush more impetuously ; so " the strength of sin is the 
 law." This is the case admitted by the Apostle : " When 
 we were in the flesh, the motions 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 ? God 
 forbid ! " But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, 
 wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without 
 the law siu 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 reasonable, 
 and conducive to our happiness God himself could not 
 have given any other law this law can never be abolished 
 or changed.
 
 62 JANUARY 20. 
 
 The Apostle means to say, that it is good or evil to 
 MS, 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 hefore 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 
 opposing the plainest revelation of his will ; it is robbing 
 Him of his peculiar glory ; it is frustrating his grace, and 
 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 righte- 
 ousness which is of God. 
 
 It is also improper to repair to it for another purpose. 
 It can no more sanctify than justify. We may go to 
 Sinai for the rule and the requisition ; but we must go to 
 Calvary for encouragement, motive, and strength. A sin- 
 less being can love God by seeing him in his law, but a 
 guilty one never can He must first know that there is 
 forgiveness with him. Terror and even authority cannot 
 produce 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 threatenings 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 hypocrite, or a slave ; but says Cowper, 
 
 " To see the law by Christ fulfill'd, 
 
 And hear his pardoning voice, 
 Changes the slave into a child, 
 And duty into choice." 
 
 We use the law lawfully when, 
 
 First, It is made to convince us of sin. For sin is 
 the transgression of the law ; and therefore we must judge 
 of the one by the other. As we perceive the crookedness
 
 JANUARY 20. 63 
 
 of the workmanship by applying the straitness of the 
 rule, 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 acquaint- 
 ance 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 obe- 
 dience 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 ? Therefore says the 
 Apostle, " I, through the law, am dead to the law." And 
 how through the law, but by the law's shewing 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 ? " For I was 
 alive without the law once ; but when the commandment 
 came, sin revived, and I died." While therefore we dis- 
 like legal preaching, there is a preaching of the law which 
 is allowable and necessary ; namely, when it is preached, 
 not as a substitute for the Gospel, but to shew its absolute 
 importance, and to induce us to believe on him that 
 justifieth the ungodly, and whose faith is counted to him 
 for righteousness. 
 
 Thirdly, we use it lawfully when we regard it as a 
 rule of life. 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 believers. He enforces 
 love, as " the fulfilling of the law," by which he unques- 
 tionably means the moral law, which says, "Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself." And he calls upon chil- 
 dren to obey their parents in the Lord, because " it is the 
 first commandment " of the second table " with promise."
 
 64 JANUARY 21. 
 
 And if this be not the rule of life, what is ? 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 defec- 
 tive 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 neighbour as ourselves, 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 requirements. 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 shewing 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 degree of adverse 
 principle, and filled him with all the fulness of God. 
 
 JAN. 21. " As his part is that yoeth down to the 
 battle, so shall his part be that tarryeth 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. Having inquired of the Lord, David was 
 encouraged 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 two hundred men, being 
 too faint to proceed, had been left at the brook Besor. 
 These, when David returned, re-possessed of his own pro-
 
 JANUARY 21. 65 
 
 perty, and also laden with the riches of the enemy ; these 
 went forth to meet him ; 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 recovered, 
 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 
 down 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 how far David's conduct 
 on this occasion is sanctioned by a greater than David. 
 
 All the Lord's followers are not alike circumstanced or 
 employed. They differ in their conditions, offices, talents, 
 opportunities, exertions, and trials. Some of them pecu- 
 liarly 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 defen- 
 sively ; some move in public, others in private life ; the 
 duty of some lies at a distance, others are keepers at home 
 
 " 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 acceptance and 
 recompeiice. 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 indolence, while their fellows 
 toiled and bled ; it would have been unrighteous for them 
 VOL. i. F
 
 66 JANUARY 21. 
 
 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 religion ? The words 
 of the Apostle, " where there is first a willing mind, 
 it 12 accepted according to what a man hath, and not 
 according to what he hath not," are very encouraging 
 to some, but they are often abused by others. God never 
 accepts a good inclination in the room of a good action, 
 without inability : but the will is taken for the deed, where 
 the deed cannot accompany the will. No excuse, there- 
 fore, is allowed for those who do not exert themselves 
 according 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 cowardice, create difficulties and obstructions ! " I can- 
 not 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 whatever 
 comes within his grasp. Others are crippled by profusion 
 and excess in food, furniture, and dress. They live to the 
 extent 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 disabled ? Who requires them to live 
 thus expensively ? 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
 
 JANUARY 21. 67 
 
 desire is to the Lord, he estimates the services of his peo- 
 ple, iiot by what they do, but by what they would do, were 
 they not prevented. 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 disdain. Let us not undervalue 
 others because they have not our distinctions or advantages 
 while they are doing service in other ways. God smiles 
 upon them, and we should -respect them. Let not the eye 
 say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again, 
 the head to the feet, I 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 pro- 
 portion of faith ; or ministry, let us wait on our minis- 
 tering : or he that teacheth, on teaching : or he that 
 exhorteth, on exhortation : he that giveth, let him do it 
 with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with diligence ; he that 
 sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness." 
 
 It should also keep us from leaving our own stations, 
 and intruding into places for which we were not designed. 
 The temptation is often usefulness ; but if we are unprofit- 
 able, the fault is not in our condition, but in our principles 
 arid dispositions. We may serve our generation, and have 
 the testimony that we please God, in whatever state his 
 providence places us. Let every man, therefore, abide in 
 the calling in which he is called of God. 
 
 And in the same way it should silence the discontent 
 or discouragement that often arises from the obscurity and 
 limitation of our circumstances. Why do we murmur or 
 despond because we have not the situations and resources 
 
 F 2
 
 68 JANUARY 21. 
 
 which others command ? 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 ?" What said he of Mary ? " She hath done 
 what she could." Many put into the treasury ; and the 
 rich gave largely ; but the poor widow who gave only 
 two mites, gave more than they all. The man who 
 occupied with five talents, heard the same sentence as 
 the man who had inmroved his ten " Well done, thou 
 good and faithful servant." And the man who was cast 
 into outer darkness would have had the same commenda- 
 tion 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 instructed as he who knows how to 
 abound. Some go to the house of God with the multitude 
 to keep holy day : others are detained by accident, sick- 
 ness, 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 there- 
 fore lies open equally to all. The servant may be as great
 
 JANUARY 22. 69 
 
 in the sight of the Lord as his master. In a word, the 
 excellency of individuals depends not upon the eminence 
 of 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. 
 
 " Honour and shame from no condition rise ; 
 Act well your part there all the honour lies." 
 
 JAN. 22. "Deborah Rebekalis nurse died, and she 
 was buried beneath Bethel 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 herself 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 : and unless they married and sometimes, even then, 
 they commonly died in the families in which they lived. 
 Now, the connection 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 the previous state of the parlour. 
 
 Old domestics, who have been faithful and useful in 
 their generation, should not be disregarded as hirelings 
 who have filled their day, but be treated as humble relations 
 " Thine own friend and thy father's friend forsake not."
 
 70 JANUARY 22. 
 
 No mention is made of Rebekah's dissolution or inter- 
 ment ; but we are informed of the death and burial of 
 her nurse. As all could not have a place in his word, the 
 pleasure of God is seeu in the distinguished notice 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 honour me, I will 
 honour." And this may be done in any station, or con- 
 dition of life. And the 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 shew the worth 
 of this old female, 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, or 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 circum- 
 stances 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. There- 
 fore 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. 71 
 
 JAN. 23. " Clothed with a garment down to the foot, 
 and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." 
 
 REV. 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 profession. 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 rise 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 exist- 
 ence from the third. 
 
 The High Priest under the law was a very remark- 
 able 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 resemblance we 
 shall pass by his personal qualities, the mode of his conse- 
 cration, 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 
 he had to perform. These were, 
 
 First, expiation. He offered not only gifts but sacri- 
 fices : and we know the design ; it was to atone for the 
 sins of the people. The slaughter of the victims shewed 
 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 harmless, 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 of himself, perfected for
 
 72 JANUARY 23. 
 
 ever them that are sanctified. The one made atonement 
 only for the congregation of the children of Israel ; the 
 other taketh away the sin of the world. 
 
 Secondly, intercession. We know not whether the 
 High Priest used any words ; but what he did spake 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 sprin- 
 kled 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 redemption for us, entered into 
 heaven itself, with his own blood, there to appear in the 
 presence of God for us, presenting and pleading his sacri- 
 fice, and founding on his satisfaction his claims in favour 
 of his people. " Wherefore he is able to save to the utter- 
 most them that come unto God by him, seeing 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 burning incense 
 within, the whole multitude of people were praying with- 
 out, and did not depart till he came forth and pronounced 
 the blessing. The very words he used are recorded : "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 acknowledg- 
 ment that God was pacified towards 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 commanded the blessing, even life for evermore, in 
 the preaching of the Gospel, which assures 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
 
 JANUARY 24. 73 
 
 with his favour. " Happy art thou, O Israel." "Blessed 
 are the people that know the joyful sound : they shall 
 walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance ; in thy 
 name shall they rejoice all the day, and^in thy righte- 
 ousness shall they be exalted." 
 
 JAN. 24. " Let the words of my mouth, and the 
 meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight.'" 
 
 PSALM xix. 14. 
 
 ALL human beings should have a governing aim to influ- 
 ence and regulate them. And all have such an aim : but 
 all have not a proper one. All wish to please : but we 
 may divide them into three classes. Some please them- 
 selves. 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 condescending 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, indeed, comparatively few ; but we hope their 
 number is increasing. Such were Paul and his compa- 
 nions : " 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 frequently 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 commandments and ordinances, blameless. But if we 
 take the expression as it is, we see how he extends 
 his pious solicitude. A natural man may regard his con-
 
 74 JANUARY 24. 
 
 duct, especially as it falls under the observation of his 
 fellow-creatures. But does he make conscience of his 
 speech ? Does he 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 shews his humility. When we have done 
 all, we are unprofitable servants. A faithful examination 
 of our holiest things will destroy all confidence in them, 
 and prove that they need forgiveness, rather than deserve 
 recompeuce. " My performances are so poor, so imper- 
 fect, 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 for- 
 give the evil and accept the good 
 
 "I cast them at thy feet: my only plea 
 Is what it was, dependence upon thee." 
 
 The prayer shews his affection. All must acknow- 
 ledge the importance of loving God. But what is the 
 best evidence of it ? " This is the love of God, that we 
 keep his commandments." 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 ; there- 
 fore I will pursue 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 shews a consciousness of duty. We are 
 all under an indispensable obligation to please God, 
 both on the ground of gratitude and justice. Who called 
 us into being ? Who has fed us all our life long ? Who 
 sought us when lost, and ransomed us from death and 
 hell? We are not our own. For we are bought 
 with a price. He is our Father, our Master, our King. 
 And without a concern to please him, can we be good 
 children, 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 unreasonable and unrighteous. But God's
 
 JANUARY 24. 75 
 
 perfect will demands nothing but what is wise, and holy, 
 and just, and good. 
 
 The prayer shews a regard to self-interest. David 
 was not mercenary ; hut he knew he could not serve God 
 for nought. In serving God we more effectually serve 
 our own welfare : and as God himself has placed the 
 advantage before us in the Scripture not only as a truth, 
 but as a motive, it cannot be improper 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 are sure of 
 gaining his approbation than which nothing is more 
 uncertain yet what is it when obtained ? But if we 
 study to please God, success is not only sure, bjit glorious. 
 The friendship of the mightiest monarch can do very 
 little for us; our greatest exigences 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 benefits attached 
 to pleasing God. Is preservation from sin a blessing? 
 " Whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her ; but the 
 sinner shall be taken by her." There is nothing 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 his enemies 
 to be at peace with him." Is the answer to prayer a 
 blessing ? " And whatsoever we ask we receive of him, 
 because we keep his commandments, and do those things 
 that are pleasing in his sight." Is a removal to heaven 
 desirable ? " 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 this 
 testimony, that he pleased God." He 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. ,
 
 76 JANUARY 25. 
 
 JAN. 25. "We are the Lord's.' 1 ROM. xiv. 8. 
 
 BY the Lord here we are to understand the Lord Jesus : 
 witness the words immediately 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 creative power. If 
 " all things were made by him," he made us, and not 
 we ourselves. In consequence of this, he has a propriety 
 in us, not only such as no man can have in a fellow crea- 
 ture, but such as even no father has in his own children. 
 They are his in a subordinate and limited degree ; but 
 we are the Lord's absolutely and entirely. He brought us 
 out of nothing ; framed our bodies ; covered 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 ? 
 
 He has a right, derived from his providential 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 ? Whose mercies have been new every morning ? 
 Who has given his beloved sleep ? Who has inspired our 
 connections with all the tendernesses they ever expressed 
 towards us ? Whose are we but his, in whom we live, 
 move, and have our being ? How vile and mean to enjoy 
 the light of his 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 redeeming 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
 
 JANUARY 25. 77 
 
 us ; its blessedness, its glory, its safety, its duration, its 
 immensity. Even the beginnings of it here, its earnests 
 and foretastes, are indescribable and inconceivable even 
 now the joy is unspeakable and full of glory ; and 
 the peace passeth all understanding. Thirdly, the way, 
 the infinitely expensive way, in which he has thus ran- 
 somed us. All comes free to us ; but what did it cost 
 him ! Owing to our slight views of the evil of sin and 
 the holiness of God, we are very little struck with the 
 greatness of redemption and the difficulties attending it. 
 It was easy to destroy man ; but to restore him, in a way 
 that should magnify the law which had been broken, and 
 display 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 ? 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 j 
 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 rve have done ; a right derived from 
 our dedication. If Christians, we have ratified his claims, 
 and have actually surrendered ourselves to him, renounc- 
 ing every other owner, and saying, " Lord, I am thine, 
 save me. Other lords beside 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 
 withholden. This therefore is the Lord's demand : " My 
 son, give me thine heart." And perhaps some can remem- 
 ber the particular time when this surrender was first
 
 78 JANUARY 26. 
 
 effectually made. Perhaps they had been pressed by an 
 affliction that had threatened their frame, or laid bare 
 their earthly hopes. Perhaps a friend had urged perhaps 
 a sermon. But the surrender was made " Here, Lord, T 
 give myself to thee, with all I have, and all I am. My 
 understanding shall be thine, to know thee ; my will, to 
 choose thee ; my conscience, to fear thee 
 
 " If there be passions in my soul, 
 And passions, Lord, there be, 
 I yield them all to thy control, 
 My Jesus, all to thee " 
 
 My tongue shall shew 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 
 hour of retirement in the field of meditation in the 
 house of prayer at the table of the Lord 
 
 And having opened your mouth unto the Lord, you 
 cannot go back. Nor do you wish it. To whom could you 
 go ? He hath the words of eternal life It is your high- 
 est privilege 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." 
 
 JAN. 26. " They have forsaken the right way" 
 
 2 PETER ii. 15. 
 
 WE shall leave the persons of whom the Apostle here 
 speaks, and call upon you to think of yourselves. Reli- 
 gion is, very properly, held forth by the " right way ;" 
 and we have accordingly six admonitions to bring forward 
 concerning it. 
 
 First Inquire what this right way is. If you err here, 
 the labour of advancing will be in vain ; your progress
 
 JANUARY 26. 79 
 
 will only lead you astray, and terminate in disappoint- 
 ment, regret, 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 certainty ; 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 shew unto you the way 
 of salvation. Especially 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 advances, 
 and admit readily the truth of it into their judgment ; 
 but while they hear his words, they do them not. They 
 acknowledge themselves to be sinners, but never cry for 
 mercy. They believe in the divinity, atonement, 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 ye if 
 ye do them." The knowledge of a remedy will never cure 
 you without an application of it. Your knowledge of a 
 way leading to a place will never bring you there, unless
 
 80 JANUARY 26. 
 
 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 thatkuoweth 
 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 to his will, shall he 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 mis- 
 carriages 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 : repre- 
 senting a lion on each side of the road, but restrained 
 by their chain from approaching the middle the only 
 safe passage was between. And Inspiration long before 
 had said, " I lead in the way of righteousness, 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 chastening of the 
 Lord and fainting when we are rebuked 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 manner 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 ? Some carry 
 the tenderness of conscience into weakness ; and some, its 
 allowances into licentiousness. Some are too exclusively 
 for privilege ; and others for duty : but faith and works 
 have both their claims in the Gospel ; and from the 
 Saviour's side came thereout blood and water. 
 
 Fourthly Get as many as you can to accompany you.
 
 JANUARY 27. 81 
 
 How can you bear to see the destruction of your kindred ? 
 Begin therefore with your relations, as Moses addressed 
 Hobab : " We are journeying unto the place of which the 
 Lord said, I will give it you : corne thou with us, and we 
 will do thee good : for the Lord hath spoken good con- 
 cerning Israel." But extend your concern, and, as you 
 have opportunity, say to all, and let your temper and life 
 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 awhile 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 in company with 
 them to the house of God. 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 suffi- 
 cient for thee." " I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." 
 
 Finally Think much of the end ; " the end of your 
 faith ;" " the end, everlasting life." Who can describe or 
 conceive the blessedness and the glory that await you ! 
 And the attainment is sure and near ! A few more paces, 
 and your Father's house will appear in view 
 
 " Soon shall you hear him say, 
 Ye blessed children, come: 
 Soon will he call you hence away, 
 And take his pilgrims home." 
 
 JAN. 27. " 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 " 1 JOHN iv. 4. 
 
 VOL. i. G
 
 82 JANUARY 27. 
 
 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. He not only framed our bodies, but formed 
 our spirits within us. But there is something more pecu- 
 liar in the relation here spoken of. Believers are of God, 
 not only as they are the creatures of his power and provi- 
 dence, 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 this they 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 re- 
 sisted and withstood, but had vanquished. How was this ? 
 Were their foes all slain ? 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 Christians find the spiritual life a warfare to the 
 last ? 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 partially accomplished. They have fought and gained 
 many a battle ; and have said, " Hitherto hath the Lord 
 helped me." And the remainder 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, there- 
 fore, may the believer say, " Thanks be unto God, who 
 giveth us the victory :" " Yea, in all these things, 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
 
 JANUARY 27. 83 
 
 that is in the world." It was not owing to themselves 
 they were not greater yea, the}' were nothing to their 
 enemies. But if they were 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 earlier being, and derive 
 aid from every thing around them. How else would they 
 ever have obtained possession 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, that dwelleth 
 in his people, can easily subdue the spirit that now 
 worketh 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 yourselves 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 give glory ? You have often 
 said, " I 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." 
 
 o i
 
 84 JANUARY 28. 
 
 The same truth that accounts for your standing as to 
 the past, will shew 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-dependence ; 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, and must give way 
 But " he that is born of God, overcometh the world." 
 " Sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are not 
 under the law, but under grace." " The God of peace 
 shall bruise Satan under your feet, shortly." 
 
 JAN. 28. "And another angel came and stood at the 
 altar, having a golden censer ; and there was given unlo 
 him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers 
 of qll saints upon the golden altar which was before the 
 throne. And the smoke of the incense, which 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 chafingdish, 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
 
 JANUARY 28. 85 
 
 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 
 people, while they are praying in this lower world. Four 
 things are observable. 
 
 First, his people are saints. So they are called, not 
 only here, but throughout the Scripture. The term 
 is not confined to a few official and extraordinary cha- 
 racters. 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 appli- 
 cable 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 
 righteousness this makes them righteous, and justifies 
 them before God. But they are made holy by the 
 operation of the Spirit of grace and truth. In conse- 
 quence of which, there is a renovation of their nature, 
 and a consecration of all they are, and all they have, 
 to the service and glory of God. 
 
 Secondly, the saints are all men of prayer. " The 
 prayers of all saints." 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 pretension to religion, without a devotional 
 temper. 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 ?
 
 86 JANUARY 28. 
 
 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 j nor of incense being presented with their devotion. 
 Nor was this the case with the services of Adam and Eve 
 in Paradise. 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 deserve rejection, rather than reward. Our repent- 
 ing needs repentance ; and our weeping, tears, When 
 we have done all, we are unprofitable servants ; and the 
 innumerable sins of our holy things constrain us to cry, 
 " Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord ; for 
 in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified." Can this 
 be prayer ? Is this worshipping him who is a Spirit, in 
 spirit and in truth ? What wandering of thought ! What 
 distraction 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 regarded 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 concerning 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 his interces- 
 sion 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 offer-
 
 JANUARY 29. 87 
 
 ing and a sacrifice to God, for a sweetsmelling savour. 
 Hence, his blood speaketb better things than the blood of 
 Abel. It cries not for revenge, but pardon. " Be mer- 
 ciful to their unrighteousness T have borne their grief, 
 and carried their sorrow. I have magnified the law ; and 
 redeemed 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 1 am, to 
 behold my glory." These are his pleadings for us, who 
 is infinitely 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 witli confidence by the faith of him. Let us unite 
 hope with humility ; and rejoicing in Christ Jesus, 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 righteousness only." 
 
 JAN. 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. He 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 hos- 
 tility and injury from the powerful and unprincipled. He 
 did it sometimes in dreams and visions, and sometimes in
 
 88 JANUARY 29. 
 
 words aud deeds : as we see ill the rebuke of Pharaoh 
 with regard to Abraham when ill Egypt ; and of Abime- 
 lech 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 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." 
 
 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 appearance 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 aud character they are more excel- 
 lent 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 
 fcom the fury of Saul : " Abide thou with me ; fear not : 
 for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life : but with me 
 thou shall be in safeguard." They may sometimes lose 
 dependences ; they may feel helpless and friendless ; they 
 may be hated and opposed : but there is no enchantment 
 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 depres-
 
 JANUARY 29. 89 
 
 ion ? He will not cast them off in the time of old age ; 
 hut will bear and cany them even to 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 .'" 
 
 Once more. All creatures are under the Lord's con- 
 trol ; 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 of men : opening their 
 understandings, enthroning himself in their hearts, chang- 
 ing their views and feelings, and making them new crea- 
 tures. Are we the subjects of this agency ? But, distin- 
 guishable from this, there is another agency of God, and 
 which we may call providential. 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 can 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 Lord 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 
 captives, not only without ransom, but even enriched for 
 their journey. At the three festivals 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 children ?" 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
 
 90 JANUARY 30. 
 
 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 
 rne commit my way unto the Lord. Let me follow my 
 convictions wherever they lead me. If I am reviled, let 
 me not revile 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 ? If God be for 
 us, who can be against us ? 
 
 JAN. 30. "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 was sold for a servant : 
 whose feet they hurt with fetters : 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. 1621. 
 
 GOD promised the Patriarchs much more than he per- 
 formed for them here. The relation into which he entered 
 with them necessarily involved a future state ; yet he was 
 far from disregarding them in this life. The former words 
 shew us how he preserved them in danger : when they 
 were very few, and 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 supplied them in 
 distress. 
 
 They suffered from one of the sorest judgments that can 
 ever befal humanity. The whole staff of bread was broken, 
 and famine was sore in the land, and prevailed in all the
 
 JANUARY 30. 91 
 
 neighbouring countries, and continued seven years. But 
 the Lord called for it. The expression not only reminds 
 us that evil cometh from the Lord as well as good, but 
 shews 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 connected 
 with nominal faith. People talk nationally of inexhaustible 
 resources, of invincible armies and navies ; but there is no 
 wisdom, 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 themselves 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 cattle, and 
 upon all the labour of the hands." 
 
 But, before the famine commenced, God had arranged 
 tilings for the relief of the sufferers. 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 brethren who hated and envied him : 
 hut the hand of the Lord was in the whole ; and Joseph 
 himself acknowledged it when he disclosed 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 : for God did send me before you to 
 preserve 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 harvest. And God sent me 
 before you to preserve 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 Pharaoh, 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 
 lie was the agent. They acted wickedly, but he was
 
 92 JANUARY 30. 
 
 righteous Yet, what was the character under which 
 he was sent to provide ? Was he employed as an ambas- 
 sador ? A commissioner ? A corn-factor ? No. He 
 was sold as a servant. His brethren sold him for a 
 servant to the Ishmaelites and little did the purchasers 
 know with what a precious charge they were entrusted ; 
 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 Ishmaelites 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 equal to the malice 
 and rage of "an imperious whorish woman." His 
 mistress, disappointed in her cruelty, accuses him, and 
 he is imprisoned. And a circumstance is here mentioned 
 which the history omits : " Whose feet they hurt with 
 fetters : he was laid in iron." 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 ? 
 There seemed to be no prospect of this. There he lies, 
 day after day, month after month, year after year, with 110 
 probability of the fulfilment of his dreams, which he had 
 been taught to regard as prophetic " until the time that" 
 Pharaoh's " word came," to deliver him, " the word of the 
 Lord tried him ;" that is, the promise of God, by which 
 he engaged to advance him. The accomplishment was 
 delayed ; things waxed worse and worse ; and thus his 
 confidence, patience, and resignation, 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 perisheth, 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"- 
 oue of the most remarkable events recorded in all history.
 
 JANUARY 30. 93 
 
 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 immediately as 
 dependents on his care remember that they have no reason 
 to despond. The world is his and the fulness thereof. 
 "NY bo has seen the righteous forsaken, or their seed beg- 
 ging 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 his promises fail. 
 
 Secondly, as a representation of the Saviour's grace 
 with regard to our spiritual straits. In view of these, he 
 was set up from everlasting. In the fulness of time he 
 came to his own, but they received him not. They 
 despised and rejected him, and sold him for thirty pieces 
 of silver. But he was delivered by the determinate 
 counsel and foreknowledge of God. He made himself of 
 no reputation, but took upon him the form of a servant, 
 and actually died upon a cross. Wherefore also God 
 highly exalted him. What was the elevation of Joseph ? 
 Jesus has all power in heaven and in earth. Many others 
 were relieved by Joseph's advancement ; but it was pecu- 
 liarly 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 fulness dwell. Therefore to him let us go, 
 and from his fulness 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 forgiven them ; 
 and when he saw them would fall on their necks and kiss
 
 94 JANUARY 31. 
 
 them : then they would have gone down, confident, yet 
 feeling much more of their uu worthiness than hefore. 
 Thus should we apply to the Lord Jesus ; with hope, ren- 
 dering 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 rememher the relation 
 in which he stands to us ; and see where and what he 
 now is. In what distress will not this encourage us ? 
 " Fear not ; I am the first and the last ; I am he that 
 liveth and was dead ; and, hehold, I am alive for ever- 
 more, Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death," 
 
 JAN. 31. "In many things we offend all" 
 
 JAMES iii. 2. 
 
 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 under- 
 stand his errors ?" he means to intimate that no one can 
 be fully acquainted with them. We are too full of self- 
 love to be willing to dwell on the discovery of our 
 faults. The heart is not only desperately wicked, but 
 deceitful above all things ; and has a thousand artifices 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 according to their aggra- 
 vations. 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 before him, our secret sins in the 
 light of his countenance ? 
 
 Neither must we judge of the number of our offences 
 only by our remembrance of them. We are affected with
 
 JANUARY 31. 95 
 
 recent transgressions; but we are not struck with those 
 we were guilty of ten or twenty years ago. And where- 
 fore ? 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, tfnd a thousand years are 
 as one day. Though we have forgotten a countless mul- 
 titude of our offences, God has forgotten none of them. 
 They are all recorded in the book of his remembrance 
 and could we consult this awful register of our lives from 
 the beginning, with all the sins of youth and manhood, of 
 secrecy and openness, of infirmity and wilfulness, of pur- 
 pose and accomplishment ; and could we peruse one 
 chapter, or one verse only, we should exclaim we cannot 
 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 contractedness 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 " temper-flaws unsightly ?" Seventhly, 
 in the licence of our tongues ? It would be easy to 
 multiply the counts in the indictment. Surely a little 
 reflection upon each of these will convince 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 others rather than as a reflection upon themselves : 
 yea, their aim is to screen themselves as culprits in the 
 commonness of the delinquency. Hence, when their 
 conduct is accused, or a monitor reminds them of their 
 misdoings, O, say they, none are exempt from failings ;
 
 96 FEBRUARY 1. 
 
 even the best err ; in many things we offend all. Others 
 use them without perhaps a bad design ; yet they use 
 them vaguely and unimpressively it is mere lip-service 
 it comes from nothing and leads to nothing. But if we 
 properly feel the sentiment we utter, it will be accom- 
 panied with deep repentance and godly sorrow It will 
 make us sensible of our need of 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 reproof 
 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, care- 
 fulness, and zeal : for though we cannot attain perfection 
 here, we may much reduce our imperfections ; 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 frequently 
 erred, and how we have been most 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 : I 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
 
 FEBRUARY 1. 97 
 
 him by their kindness, emboldening him by their presence, 
 exculpating him by their testimony, or softening his judges 
 bv their tears and entreaties. It was the custom among 
 the Romans for the connections of the accused to appear 
 in court in mourning, to shew their regard for the 
 prisoner, and to influence the tribunal by their depositions, 
 or their importunity ; and sometimes the train that attended 
 them was very large and imposing. But Paul appeared 
 on the day of trial like an outcast, entirely disowned 
 when he looked around, he saw no one in his favour the 
 abandonment was extreme no man stood by him but 
 all forsook him ! Yet this gives the Apostle an oppor- 
 tunity to display the excellency of his principles and 
 temper " I pray God that it may not be laid to their 
 charge." Hence we may observe, 
 
 First It is no unusual thing for a man to be deserted 
 in the hour of trial. The rich have many friends ; but the 
 poor useth entreaties, and often uses them in vain. Some 
 seem to act as if they thought a brother was born for pros- 
 perity, instead of adversity. Thus the garden is not for- 
 saken while it abounds with flowers and fruits, but in the 
 dreariness of winter. Are you suffering under such deser- 
 tion ? 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 Scripture only that is continually saying 
 to us, " Cease from man ?" 
 
 Secondly See the frailty of good men. For such the 
 persons complained of were, notwithstanding their infir- 
 mity 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 according to his works : of whom beware thou 
 VOL. i. H
 
 98 FEBRUARY 1. 
 
 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 defection 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 humiliating 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 pro- 
 phets, should flee at the threatening of Jezebel, and pray 
 to be released from life ? Who, that had seen Peter in 
 the 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 and curses, I 
 know not the man ? So these brethren, when they heard 
 that Paul was coming to make his appeal, went down to 
 meet him as far as Appii-Foram and the three taverns : 
 and when Paul saw them he thanked God, and took 
 courage : yet consulting with flesh and blood, and thinking 
 how many had lately suffered, they yielded to apprehen- 
 sion, 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 for- 
 sakers of Paul may be treated, they were very blame- 
 worthy. 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." Imbibe the same spirit, and follow his example. 
 In provocations and complaints dwell not upon the
 
 FEBRUARY 2. 99 
 
 enhancing, but upon the extenuating. Be not implacable, 
 but tenderhearted ; 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 overcome 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." 
 
 FEB. 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 the 
 Saviour " Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me." He 
 was not visible to the assembly ; nor did Paul himself per- 
 ceive him by the eye of sense. His presence was real, but 
 spiritual ; and he was with his servant not as a mere 
 witness, but as a helper He " strengthened me." He 
 confirmed his courage, and gave him self-possession, and 
 freedom of thought and expression. This was no more 
 than Paul 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 
 the same hour what ye shall speak." 
 
 See how he differs from others ! They forsake us 
 when we are in distress : he is a present help in trouble. 
 When human dependence fails, he is sure to hold forth 
 his own arm, and to say, " Trust, and be not afraid." 
 
 H 5
 
 100 FEBRUARY 2. 
 
 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 walked 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 ? " 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 
 opportunity to publish it most advantageously and exten- 
 sively. 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 restrained than the flowing of the sea, or the rising of 
 the sun. Yea, the very efforts designed 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 ? " And I was delivered 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 
 considered due officially to his sovereign. The expression 
 therefore is to be considered rather as a phrase significant
 
 FEBRUARY 3. 101 
 
 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 dangerous but desperate. 
 He was considered a dead man. Yet the emperor and 
 the senate did nothing against him ; but after a hearing, 
 he was scut 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 rivers of water ; he turneth it whithersoever he will." 
 
 He often permits his people to fall into the greatest 
 extremities, and then appears for them, to shew his power 
 and glory, and to teach them never to despair. Therefore, 
 ye seed of Jacob, hope in him and wait for him. He 
 whom you serve is continually able to deliver you. He 
 can deliver you not only from the lion's paw, but from 
 the lion's mouth. 
 
 FEB. 3. " And the Lord shall deliver me from every 
 evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly king- 
 dom : to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.' 1 
 
 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 
 Saviour. What he expected, however, was not exemption 
 from trials. He looked for suffering. 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 apostatize or backslide, he would 
 enable him to resist temptation, to hold on his way, to 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 SANTA BARBARA
 
 102 FEBRUARY 3. 
 
 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 iny temptations. And I appoint unto you a king- 
 dom, 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 ? It is obvious the 
 Apostle believed in his own perseverance and final salva- 
 tion. 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 confi- 
 dent 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 they that are 
 in the world. Yea, in all these things you are more 
 than conquerors. 
 
 It is obvious the Apostle derived encouragement 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 preserve 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 ano- 
 ther. The victories of an old soldier feed his courage. 
 David was filled with confidence in his dreadful conflict, 
 by such recollections and reasoning.
 
 FEBRUARY 3. 103 
 
 But this expectation was founded on the Lord Jesus, 
 as bis deliverer and his preserver : the Lord shall deliver 
 me from every evil work, and preserve me unto his hea- 
 venly 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." 
 
 What wonder therefore that he should exclaim, " To 
 whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen ?" And will 
 you not, Christian, make this Amen your own ? It 
 becorneth well the just to be thankful. Praise is comely 
 for the upright. It is the most unselfish exercise of your 
 religion ; it will be the most durable. 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 conduct towards an earthly bene- 
 factor be deemed grateful ? What are the sentiments of 
 your mind ? The affections of your heart ? 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 con- 
 cerned that his praise may be as lasting 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.
 
 104 FEBRUARY 4. 
 
 FEB. 4. " Then came David to Nob." 
 
 I SAM. xxi. 1. 
 
 WHAT an extraordinary character was David ! How large 
 a portion of the sacred history do his memoirs occupy. 
 And how profitable are they for " doctrine, and reproof, 
 and correction, and instruction in righteousness." 
 
 He was now informed by Jonathan of Saul's determi- 
 nation to kill him. He is therefore compelled to flee for 
 safety. The tabernacle being at Nob, he repairs thither, 
 m his confusion and distress, both to take an affec donate 
 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 hunger, or weapon for his defence. With 
 regard to the former of these, Ahiraelech 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, he, and they that 
 were with him ? How he went into the house of God in 
 the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the 
 shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, 
 and gave also to them which were with him ?" Teaching 
 us that the ceremonies of religion are to give place to the 
 substance ; 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 
 Sabbath, though the Pharisees condemned our Saviour for 
 healing on this day : and we have known some who have 
 opposed Sunday schools as breaking in upon the command 
 of God. 
 
 With regard to the latter, Ahimelech told him that he 
 had nothing but 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 pre- 
 servation of it in such a place and with such care ! 
 Nothing could have been more welcome to David than 
 this weapon " Give it me," says he ; " there is none like
 
 FEBRUARY 4. 105 
 
 it." It had been drawn against himself, and had been 
 taken by his own hand no one therefore seemed to have 
 a greater title to it than David. It would strengthen his 
 faith more than his arm. It would call to remembrance 
 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 deliver 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 blamable. For, to 
 obtain these supplies, he dissembled, 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 called trials, and how 
 difficult it is to act consistently in some conditions. How 
 becoming is candour in judging others ! Who knows that 
 he should have acted better under the same pressure of 
 circumstances ? How necessary the prayer, " Lead us 
 not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." 
 
 Secondly, 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 wretch, 
 instead of minding his devotion, observed them, and resolved 
 to ingratiate himself with his master Saul by an impeach- 
 ment 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 he inquired of the Lord for him, 
 and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath 
 the Philistine." Behold, first, the deceitfulness of this 
 villain. Like other slanderers, 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
 
 106 FEBRUARY 4. 
 
 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 part of it. 
 And behold, secondly, the cruelty as well as falseness of this 
 informer. " And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, 
 Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house." There was 
 something venerable 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 upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and 
 five persons that did wear a linen ephod. And Nob, the 
 city of the priests, smote he 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 surprising coinci- 
 dences 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 destruction 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 entered it. 
 All this seemed accidental ; but it was not. All parties 
 acted freely, yet necessarily too. What was unjust in 
 Doeg was righteous in God. He knew how to accom- 
 plish 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 determinate 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 connection is as real as it is 
 invisible. By-and-by it will be drawn up. In the mean 
 while, we must walk by faith, and not by sight. Judge 
 nothing before the time. We know that Messiah cometh
 
 FEBRUARY 5. 107 
 
 which is called Christ : when he is come, he will tell us 
 all things. 
 
 FEB. 5. "WHEN I AM WEAK, then ami strong." 
 
 2 COR. xii. 10. 
 
 CHRISTIANITY is not only mysterious with regard to 
 doctrine, but also experience. Christians are men won- 
 dered at. They are a peculiar people ; and the world 
 knoweth them not. Some of the effects and advantages 
 of their religion indeed, may be palpable to 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 nay infirmities, 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 i 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 exer- 
 cise consider the weakness 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. 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 accom- 
 plish them. But Paul speaks of the apprehension of our
 
 108 FEBRUARY 5. 
 
 weakness. This is effected by the Holy Spirit ; who con- 
 vinces 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 
 much more likely to stand than themselves ; and each of 
 these declensions cries, " Let him that thinketh he stand- 
 eth 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 dissimulation by unbelief; Moses speaking 
 unadvisedly with his lips ; Job cursing the day of his 
 birth ; Solomon playing the fool ; and Peter acting the 
 coward ? The events of life also enlarge their self-acquaint- 
 ance. Who knows what he is till he is tried, and till he 
 meets with his own trial ? For every one is not disco- 
 vered 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 
 consequence of these experiments, has not been led, if not 
 to question the reality of his religion, 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 ? 
 Who can understand his errors ? Who can say, T 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 Christian's weak- 
 ness extend ? 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 thousand
 
 FEBRUARY 5. 109 
 
 duties with regard to God, his neighbour, and himself 
 the view of which forces him to exclaim, " Who is suffi- 
 cient 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 riot. He would gladly flee, 
 but the wires of his cage tell him that he is a prisoner. 
 He attempts to sing, but his voice is untuned ; and his 
 harp is hung on the willows, and sometimes 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 
 promises as I have trusted. Never kneel before the cross 
 again as I once did, and said 
 
 ' Here it is I find ray heaven, 
 While upon the Lainb I gaze.' 
 
 He feels that he is unable to do the least duty. He 
 always thought himself inadequate, 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 vexatious of the hour yea, that without Christ 
 he " can do nothing." He feels unable to preserve him- 
 self from the greatest sins. He once thought that he 
 was in no danger from these ; and supposed that reputa- 
 tion, 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 weakness ? When 
 he examines, he finds nothing that is sufficient. He can- 
 not 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
 
 110 FEBRUARY 6. , 
 
 ended in gloom. He cannot depend upon his resolutions 
 and vows. He has seen their vanity in binding his 
 depraved heart. Though they seemed invincible, they 
 have yielded in the hour of temptation : and before the 
 assaults of the enemy, they have been no more than a 
 hedge of cobwebs, or a wall of vapour. He cannot depend 
 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 communications can alone relieve 
 and elevate, refresh and strengthen the soul. This seems 
 a discouraging state of mind to be in but what follows ? 
 
 FEB. 6. " When I am weak, THEN AM i STRONG." 
 
 2 COR. xii. 10. 
 
 THE consciousness of our spiritual weakness 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-diffi- 
 dent. He will not vainly think that he can withstand 
 where others are overcome. Therefore he will not make 
 haste to be rich, lest he 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 himself in 
 great matters, or in things too high for him j he finds 
 himself unequal to the difficulties and dangers of superior
 
 FEBRUARY 6. Ill 
 
 offices and employments. If God calls him into an arduous 
 and perilous situation, the call ensures his safety and assist- 
 ance ; but presumption has nothing to plead. He will 
 therefore look for his commission ; and follow God, instead 
 of going hefore him. The Jews would go up the hill 
 but the ark remained behind. What was the consequence ? 
 The enemy easily discomfited them, and chased them like 
 bees. The self-sufficient are never safe, because no one 
 can warm them of danger without giving offence : but the 
 man who knows himself, and is not high-minded, welcomes 
 admonition and even reproof; and says, Faithful 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 himself, he will naturally look after 
 another to rely upon. So did Jehoshaphat in the pressure 
 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 approaching, 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 ? 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 strengthen 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 abandoned. 
 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 
 indulge. 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
 
 112 FEBRUARY 7. 
 
 bosom from the pounce of the hawk ? 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 confidence 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 ? He filleth the hungry 
 with good things ; but the rich he hath sent empty away ?" 
 
 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 lowliness of mind. " He that abaseth him- 
 self shall be exalted." " A man's pride shall bring him 
 low ; but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit." 
 " With the lowly is wisdom." " With him also is afflu- 
 ence and might 1 ' " 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 demand 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, but 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 who strengtheneth me." 
 
 FEB. 7. "Now God himself and our Father, and 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you." 
 
 1 THESS. iii. 11.
 
 FEBRUARY 7. 113 
 
 IN order, as it is said, in the foregoiiig 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 faitli once delivered 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 Virgin 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, shews the rea- 
 sonableness of our addressing him : " Lo," said he, " I 
 am with you always, 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." "He that loveth me 
 shall be loved of 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 
 because he lives, we shall live also. Hence the first 
 Christians are described, as " calling on the Name of 
 the Lord Jesus." Hence Stephen, 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. Indeed he begins all his Epistles 
 with this salutation 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 himself, and 
 God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath 
 given us everlasting consolation and good hope through 
 grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good 
 word and work." And if we pass from the Church below 
 VOL. I. i
 
 114 FEBRUARY 7. 
 
 to the Church above, where, though their prayers are 
 ended, they are still praising ; how are their praises 
 expressed ? "I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which 
 no man could number, of all nations, 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 adoration confined to the saints ? "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 bless- 
 ing." 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 believ- 
 ing ; and in all your dependence and hope, exclaim, with 
 Thomas, "My Lord and my God!" 
 
 The second remark is of a practical nature : " Now 
 God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 direct our rvay 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 Providence ? 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 to the 
 sanctuary, and to enter 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
 
 FEBRUARY 8. 115 
 
 enjoins his friends to bring " the brethren on their journey 
 after a godly sort." 
 
 And what is the truth of the case ? " 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 ? We must ask the permission, 
 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 
 undertaking, 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 connection for life. It may lead us 
 into temptation ; we may be ensnared by error or vice. 
 It may produce trials and losses the most painful ; and we 
 may return, compelled to say, " I went out full, and the 
 Lord hath brought me home again empty." Perhaps, 
 when we leave home, we unconsciously take leave of our 
 house, and field, and garden, 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." 
 
 FEB. 8. " The body is dead because of sin" 
 
 ROM. viii. 10. 
 
 THE language is striking. The Apostle does not say, 
 the body will die, but the body " is dead.* 1 The reason 
 is, because the sentence is passed, and when the judge has 
 condemned the criminal, we say, he is a dead man. In the 
 case before us too, the execution of the sentence is com- 
 menced. And when a man is old, or infirm, or diseased,
 
 116 FEBRUARY 8. 
 
 we say, he has one foot in the grave ; he is as good as dead. 
 Owing to the casualties of our condition, 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 efficiency, and desire fails. Before the tabernacle is 
 completely taken down, some pin is taken out, some cord 
 is loosened, some rents or wearings away in the canvass 
 are 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 how 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 leaving 
 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 gaiety 
 of attire. The pilot goes to the very end of tlie 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 because 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 necessity, like plants and 
 animals : God indeed could have rendered these ever- 
 during, but he did not make them to be so. Man only 
 was made immortal, but he forfeited his immortality ; 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 disobeying
 
 FEBRUARY 8. 117 
 
 the command of God, and voluntarily incurring 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 hy 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 
 hody is dead not only because of the desert of siu, 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 him : and such is the 
 inherency of this evil, that the body, which is the residence 
 of it, resembles 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 ? To which we 
 answer, they die, as they suffer affliction. Affliction is not 
 a judicial process, but is only corrective and medicinal ; 
 and though, like all natural evil derived originally from sin, 
 is, as God employs 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 nothing penal in 
 his death ; yea, death is a privilege, a deliverer. It deli- 
 vers him not only from a world lying in wickedness, but 
 from the plague of his own heart, from his inbred corrup- 
 tions, 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.
 
 118 FEBRUARY 9. 
 
 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 themselves, and furnished with 
 the means of safety and victory ; and thus the day of their 
 destruction 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 
 irreversible. 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 inconceiv- 
 ably great ; and these they always viewed with desire 
 
 " O glorious hour, O blest abode ! 
 I snail be near, and like my God ; 
 And flesh and sin no more control 
 The sacred pleasures of the soul." 
 
 FEB. 9. "So fight 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, exercising and extending his 
 arms and hands with his gloves on, to acquire greater 
 agility and skill. This was comparatively easy : this 
 required no fortitude, and produced little exhaustion. 
 But see him afterwards, when actually 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 between 
 these ? Between the feigned and the real combat ?
 
 FEBRUARY 9. 119 
 
 Between beating 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 erroneous or defective notions may obtain con- 
 cerning it, he finds it to be, not an imaginary, but an 
 actual conflict ; the most serious and trying in which he 
 can ever be engaged. The enemy he encounters 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 momentous and 
 interesting. Salvation or damnation, hell or heaven, ever- 
 lasting happiness or woe, depend on his success or failure. 
 
 It is no easy thing, therefore, to be a Christian indeed. 
 Those who think otherwise, prove that they never made the 
 trial in earnest ; 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 before us ; of enduring hardness as a good soldier 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 ? 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 
 godliness, but deny the power ; whose religion allows 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 ? " 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, tho
 
 120 FEBRUARY 9. 
 
 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 deliberation. We should 
 sit down and consider the difficulties, dangers, and exer- 
 tions, that will attend it : for if we begin under a mistaken 
 notion, and reckoning only upon what is pleasing and 
 peaceful, we shall peradventure repent when we see war, 
 and return into Egypt. Hence many have taken up a 
 profession of godliness, and soon 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 that are heartily 
 disposed for the warfare. There is enough to justify their 
 choice, and to animate them to go forward, notwithstand- 
 ing 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 acquainted 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 ? You are thus, 
 because the Lord hath 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 succours. And 
 as your day, so shall your strength be. And armour is
 
 FEBRUARY 10. 121 
 
 provided for you the most tried and complete. And it 
 is a good fight in which you are engaged : it will bear 
 examination ; every review will afford you pleasure ; every 
 good heing 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 accomplished. Death will 
 proclaim the triumph. How sweet will rest be after toil ; 
 and peace after such a fight ! 
 
 FEB. 10. " For this shall every one that is godly 
 pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: 
 surely, 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 when he had been brought into 
 a proper state of mind, and not to the commencement of 
 it This he himself censures. For we are here furnished 
 with a fact which does not appear in the history of David. 
 It is commonly supposed, that after his grievous fall, till 
 Nathan reproved him, he had been careless and stupified ; 
 and this has often been adduced as a proof of the harden- 
 ing 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 himself 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 
 anguish preyed not only upon his peace, but bis health,
 
 122 FEBRUARY 10. 
 
 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 example. 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 unrighte- 
 ousness." 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 acknow- 
 ledged 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 trespasses." 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 devoutest act of our 
 worship, must bring us upon our knees, crying, " Enter 
 not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy 
 sight shall no flesh living be justified." From the begin- 
 ning 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 a time, therefore, when 
 he will not be found. Hence the force of the admo- 
 nition, " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call
 
 FEBRUARY 10. 123 
 
 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 pass'd 
 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 moment he entirely condemned himself and justified 
 God God is always more ready to pardon than we are 
 to confess. 
 
 And blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven. 
 He is free from all condemnation ; and in whatever con- 
 dition 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 exempted in this vale of tears But how is 
 it said, they do not come nigh unto the godly ? 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 ? " Not come nigh me," says many 
 a living Christian ; " they have washed away half my com- 
 forts 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, and 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-
 
 124 FEBRUARY 11. 
 
 place ; thou shall preserve me from trouble ; thou shall 
 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 off, 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." 
 
 FEB. 11. " The people which were left of the sword 
 found grace in the wilderness" JER. xxxi. 2. 
 
 THE expression, "the people which were left of the sword," 
 refers to the perils the Israelites 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 destruction. 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 wilderness." 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 wil- 
 derness." 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 with us ?
 
 FEBRUARY 11. 
 
 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, hecause 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 arid 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 cruise 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 cha- 
 racters. 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 away, 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 oT God. How 
 ungrateful, forgetful, distrustful, incorrigible, have you 
 been ! Reflect for a moment on the sins of your holy 
 things ; review your sabbaths, your communions, your 
 omissions of duty, and the imperfections 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
 
 126 FEBRUARY 11. 
 
 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 imposed 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 ; 
 and 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 
 teacheth thee to profit, and that leadeth thee in the way 
 that thou shouldest choose." And he 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, assisting grace. What 
 was said of Asher applied to them all ; " as thy days, so 
 shall thy strength be." He made them equal to their 
 travels 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 Pro- 
 phets ; the communings of the mercy-seat. And has he 
 not sent you lielp from the sanctuary, and strengthened 
 you out of Zion ? You have had his ordinances. 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
 
 FEBRUARY 12. 127 
 
 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 loviugkindness of the Lord." 
 Thirdly, 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 dispensations con- 
 cerning you will be finished ; your capacity for reviewing 
 them will be complete ; and you will fully perceive 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 J for his MERCY 
 ENDURETH FOR EVER !" 
 
 FEB. 12. "And Samuel lay until the morning, and 
 opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel 
 feared to shew 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 sanctified from the womb ; and was 
 dedicated to the service of the sanctuary as soon as he was 
 weaned. Among the Jews there were three weauings. 
 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 render- 
 ing himself useful in the services of the tabernacle.
 
 128 FEBRUARY 12. 
 
 Some length of time after this, the Lord addressed him 
 in the night, and delivered to him an awful message con- 
 cerning 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 ominous. But did he sleep during 
 the watches of the night ? We presume not. The wonder- 
 fulness 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 dignified 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 cheerfulness, 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 degrading ? What were our hands 
 made for, but to be used ? Every kind and degree of 
 usefulness is respectable, is honourable. The most despi- 
 cable 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 not 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 eccen- 
 tric ; breaks forth for awhile, 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 
 endeavour 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
 
 FEBRUARY 12. 129 
 
 most respectable, but most useful, \vhen 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 every thing 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 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 exhortation : he that 
 giveth, let him do it with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with 
 diligence ; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness." 
 We always suspect those who, looking after something 
 new and extraordinary, are carried 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 preach- 
 ers, and forget their domestic arrangements, and unbe- 
 lieving husbands. Let servants think of this, who by 
 religious gossipiugs render themselves unpunctual 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 : " When we 
 were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would 
 not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there 
 are some which walk among you disorderly, working not 
 at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we 
 command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with 
 quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye, 
 brethren, be not weary in well doing." 
 
 Some entrusted with such a secret could not have 
 contained it without swelling and bursting. They would 
 have risen, and rushed forth, and have proclaimed to their 
 connections 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 
 announce the transaction even to Eli. Empty vessels 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 FEBRUARY 12. 
 
 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 whe- 
 ther he was in the body or out of the body, he concealed 
 it for fourteen years, and then divulged it by compul- 
 sion. 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 forward- 
 ness, the boldness of many a novice in the ministry ! 
 What a contrast between the reserve, the retiringness, the 
 humility of the lovely Samuel ; and the self-conceit, and 
 assurance, and arrogance, 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 shew Eli the vision ?" 
 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 
 indulgence, not severity. And we may be assured 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 likeminded with Samuel. 
 What some call faithfulness is the indulgence of their 
 harsh feelings. They are at home, and in their element, 
 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 iu the spirit
 
 FEBRUARY 13. 131 
 
 of meekness, as a surgeon probes the wound of his child. 
 When Paul tells the Philippians of some who TV ere the 
 enemies of the cross of Christ, and whose end was destruc- 
 tion, he does it " with weeping." And Jesus " wept" 
 when he foretold the doom of Jerusalem, where he was 
 going to be crucified. If ministers deal in the menaces of 
 Scripture, let them shew that they speak with concern 
 having compassion and, knowing the terror of the Lord, 
 persuade men. 
 
 FEB. 13. " Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more 
 value than many sparrows." MATT. x. 31. 
 
 HERE is obviously an implication of something going 
 before. Our Saviour is speaking of the doctrine of Provi- 
 dence, 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 dishonours him ; 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 aggre- 
 gate of the particulars. The truth of the case too is also 
 proved by facts ; for we actually find that nothing is over- 
 looked, 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 disciples. 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 ? 
 According to this assertion, God takes more care of us than 
 we take of ourselves : for if we number our books, our 
 
 K *
 
 132 FEBRUARY 13. 
 
 cattle, or our houses, we never think of numbering our 
 hairs ; and if one of these fall off, we never observe or 
 feel the trifling loss. And if he attends to the least, will he 
 neglect the greatest of our interests ? The other is derived 
 from the inferior creatures. " Are not two sparrows sold 
 for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the 
 ground without your Heavenly Father." How natural 
 and unavoidable then the inference : " Fear ye not, there- 
 fore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." 
 
 The estimation is comparative " ye are of more value 
 than many sparrows." Sparrows therefore have their 
 value ; and we are reminded 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 gradation in his productions ; 
 and he himself 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 
 moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea ; 
 into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing 
 that liveth shall be meat for you ; even as the green 
 herb." Though man is now a fallen creature, and he 
 cannot think too meanly of himself before God, yet he has 
 physical endowments which place him only a little lower 
 than the angels. He is capable of a thousand operations 
 inconceivably above the reach of the 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 wonders have his facul-
 
 FEBRUARY 13. 133 
 
 ties achieved ! and what bounds can be fixed to their expan- 
 sion and progress ? He teaches us more than the beasts 
 of the field, and makes us wiser than the fowls of the air ; 
 for there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the 
 Almighty giveth him understanding. And this spirit in 
 man is 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 dis- 
 solution 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. He 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 valuable, how much 
 more were they so as Christians, under which relation and 
 character he viewed them ! Thus they were not only 
 superior to all other species of creatures, but to their own. 
 Christians are the excellent of the earth, and, whatever their 
 outward circumstances may be, are more excellent than 
 their neighbours. The world kuoweth them not : but they 
 are princes in disguise j 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 im- 
 portance 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 light of the 
 world Their value is indescribable. 
 
 And they may without pride be conscious of this. 
 Our Lord would have his disciples feel confidence as the 
 result of it " Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value 
 than many sparrows." There were two fears which this con- 
 sideration was designed and adapted to prevent. The first 
 regarded their defence. In proportion as things are valu- 
 able, we are concerned to secure them. And will not God 
 preserve those who are precious in his sight ? 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 Divine permission ; and if they suffered, they
 
 134 FEBRUARY 14. 
 
 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. " Provide," said 
 he, " neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, in your purses, nor 
 scrip for your journey, 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 ? It is pleasing to contemplate his 
 care ; to see how lie 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 ? 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 believ- 
 ing. Your Lord and Saviour is concerned for your safety 
 and welfare. He would have you careful for nothing, but, 
 casting all your care upon him that careth for you, go on 
 your way rejoicing. 
 
 FEB. 14. " 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 suffered 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 excel- 
 lent of all masters. Therefore none of these things moved
 
 FEBRUARY 14. 135 
 
 him. There is no fear in love ; but perfect love castelh 
 out fear. The audience might have intimidated him. 
 It was a trying thing to speak hefore persons of such repu- 
 tation, and rank, and influence, as Tertullian the orator, 
 Felix the Roman governor, Drusilla his wife, and other 
 individuals of quality, whom the occasion had drawn toge- 
 ther. Yet he trembled not ; for he endured as seeing 
 him who is invisible. Creatures 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 endeavoured to ingratiate him- 
 self with those who had power over them ; or, at least, have 
 studiously avoided whatever would tend to make them feel 
 unpleasantly. But what was the nature and manner of 
 his address ? He was acquainted with the characters of 
 those before him. He knew Felix was cruel and oppressive. 
 He knew that he was addicted to bribery and corruption in 
 his office. He knew that he was living in adultery j for 
 this Drusilla, now united to him, had been seduced by him 
 from her own husband Azigus. And what does he ? He 
 not only gives his views of the faith in Christ doctrinally, 
 but he applies them practically. He reasons of righteous- 
 ness ; and shews that there is such a thing as justice 
 between man and man. He reasons of temperance ; and 
 shews the evils of unbridled appetites and passions. He 
 reasons of judgment to come ; and shews the awfulness 
 of that day when the great as well as the small will 
 stand before an impartial tribunal, and whoremongers and 
 adulterers God will judge. Yet he does not tremble. 
 Wherefore ? He has truth on his side. He has God on 
 his side. He has nothing to do with consequences ; 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
 
 136 FEBRUARY 14. 
 
 every minister ; and therefore he should be able to use 
 the words of Baxter : 
 
 " I preach as if I ne'er should preach again ; 
 And, as a dying man, to dying men." 
 
 " Felix trembled" not Drusilla. He was a Pagan ; 
 she was a Jewess ; and had even induced her former hus- 
 band 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 ? Was her insensibility 
 derived from the thought of her Jewish extraction and 
 privileges ? We should have deemed this impossible ; 
 but we know that the Jews, when they were most wicked, 
 emboldened and encouraged themselves by this considera- 
 tion. You steal, says God by Jeremiah, and murder, and 
 commit adultery, and swear falsely, and bear incense unto 
 Baal ; and come and stand before me in the 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 Lord, 
 The temple of the Lord, are we. Severely as John cen- 
 sured many of those who came to his baptism, he knew 
 under all their iniquity they were saying 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 unconcern 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 
 noige 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 exceedingly tends to harden 
 the heart they have not softened. Hence it is that many 
 in our assemblies now hear, hardly awake, those awful 
 truths which once alarmed themselves, and now make others
 
 FEBRUARY 15. 137 
 
 tremble. She had also sinned under great obligation, 
 and against clearer light ; and it is natural for such to wax 
 worse and worse. Having known the way of righteous- 
 ness, and turning from it, they become 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 withholding the influence that can alone render 
 means effectual, and withdrawing his restraining grace, he 
 says of them as he 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. 
 
 FEB. 15. " Felix trembled." ACTS xxiv. 25. 
 
 "FELix trembled" See the vanity of worldly greatness. 
 We can judge very little of persons by their outward cir- 
 cumstances. As " the mind is the standard of the man ;" 
 so it is the standard of his state, as to happiness 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 possessed of the peace of God which passeth 
 all understanding ; while the governor was devoured by 
 anxiety and fear, notwithstanding his office, his rank, his 
 authority, wealth, and luxury Felix trembled. 
 
 " Felix trembled" See the power o^ conscience. 
 Conscience is a bosom friend, or a bosom fury. It is God's 
 vicegerent on earth ; his tribunal within ; the quarter ses- 
 sions before the grand assize. Paul speaks of " the con- 
 science bearing witness, and the thoughts the meanwhile 
 accusing or else excusing one another." Is this principle 
 ever entirely suppressed ? Some have boasted of the
 
 138 FEBRUARY 15. 
 
 attainment. But there is a difference between pretensions 
 and reality. What are men not in company, but alone ? 
 Whence their dislike and dread of solitude ? What are 
 men not in life, but in death ? " Fools men may live, 
 but fools they cannot die." Yet, even in life, how hard is 
 it to resist particular apprehensions ! 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 reflection : the sight 
 of a funeral, or sudden death, or a threatening sickness. 
 The wicked, though not always actually in it, are all their 
 lifetime subject to bondage, through fear of death. Madame 
 de Stael observes, that misfortune has the power to make 
 the strongest minds superstitious. It would be better to 
 say, it has a tendency to revive a belief of moral Provi- 
 dence, and to remind us of the connection 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 inscription was unintelligible : it might therefore 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 shew forth themselves in him. If, as Josephus 
 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 Divine 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
 
 FEBRUARY 15. 139 
 
 joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and 
 intents of the heart. The noblest instance of its efficacy 
 is when it is the power of God to salvation. But where it 
 does not work effectually, as in them that believe, it often 
 produces great effects for the time. Many were astonished 
 at our Saviour's doctrine, 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 revered John, heard him gladly, and did many 
 things ; performing various duties, and breaking off from 
 some of his vices. We little imagine, when the Gospel is 
 plainly and faithfully preached, what feelings are excited 
 even in natural men, and which will serve to render them 
 inexcusable. For they that preach the truth as it is in 
 Jesus have a witness 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, notwith- 
 standing their self-love, the doctrine makes them dissatisfied 
 and uneasy with themselves ; when they cannot but own 
 secretly the necessity of the change they strive to deny or 
 ridicule ; and when, though offended and determined to go 
 110 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 ? 
 
 " Felix trembled" See the deceitfulness 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 ? 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 pre- 
 sent. Then he pleads another frequent delusion, engage- 
 ment " when 1 have a more convenient season I will send 
 for thee." A more free and leisure period to attend to the
 
 140 FEBRUARY 16. 
 
 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 oppor- 
 tunity came without the disposition. He saw the preacher, 
 but said nothing about the faith in Christ now. He saw him 
 frequently, but no trembling now The good feeling was 
 gone for ever ! " He hoped that money should have been 
 given him," and, disappointed in his avarice, and " willing 
 to shew 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 so 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 removed. 
 
 Bless God if you tremble at his word ; but remember, 
 conviction is not conversion. Depend 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, " 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." 
 
 FEB. 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
 
 FEBRUARY 16. 141 
 
 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 exertions, or procured 
 by their worthiness ; but was provided for them by ano- 
 ther, 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, Christians ; 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 people. And now all 
 things are yours. You also see the expensiveness of the 
 medium It 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 sacrifice, your sympathising friend, 
 your example in duty and suffering. He therefore 
 " 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." Thus he abased himself that we might be exalted, 
 and emptied himself of his glory that we might be filled 
 with all the fulness 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 diffi- 
 culty of our salvation ! and what ought we to think of the 
 Saviour's " grace !"
 
 142 FEBRUARY 16. 
 
 " 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." 
 
 But let us examine the wealth of his people. It is 
 substance characterized by three things. 
 
 By its residence. It is substance in heaven The 
 abode of the glorified, the habitation of angels, the dwell- 
 ing-place of God himself. Whether this is either of the 
 shining worlds over us, or any other invisible 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 conversation in heaven ; for 
 where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. 
 
 By its pre-eminence It is better substance. Better 
 than what ? Better than the goods which the Hebrews 
 had lost ; and of which the Apostle speaks, in the words 
 immediately 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 enjoyment. It yields 
 satisfaction : while, as to worldly wealth, a man's life 
 consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he 
 possesses ; and in the midst of his sufficiency he is in 
 straits. Better in acquisition. Worldly riches are com- 
 monly the mammon of unrighteousness. Few acquire 
 them without soa:e moral injury or degradation. He 
 that maketh haste to be rich, says 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
 
 FEBRUARY 10. 143 
 
 while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, 
 and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 
 But in the pursuit of this substance there is no need of 
 meanness and hypocrisy, of running down others, of 
 hating rivals, of wishing people dead. The love of this 
 wealth refines, enlarges, elevates, and ennobles the pos- 
 sessor, and does this in the same degree in which he is 
 covetous after it. 
 
 By its permanency It is enduring substance. This 
 is an attribute that attaches to nothing here. Riches make 
 to themselves wings and flee away. They are therefore 
 called " uncertain riches." They are destructive in them- 
 selves, 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 exhortation 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 yourselves 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 exter- 
 nal 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 befalls him, he knows his treasure is secure ; 
 independent of the body and its diseases, the world and 
 its revolutions, time and its vicissitudes. The heavens 
 may pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt 
 with fervent 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 whereiu 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!"
 
 144 FEBRUARY 17. 
 
 " So teach us to number our days that we may apply our 
 hearts unto wisdom." 
 
 FEB. 17. "Now there were in the church that was 
 at Antioch certain prophets and teachers ; as Barnabas, 
 and Simeon that 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 Antiochus, 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 latter of these. Its situa- 
 tion, extent, honours, riches, trade, and the freedom and 
 privileges the Jews enjoyed in it, may be easily ascertained 
 from history. We have other things to notice. The most 
 important fact ever connected 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 purpose of heart they would 
 cleave unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, 
 for to seek Saul : and when he 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 Christians 
 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
 
 FEBRUARY 17. 145 
 
 intimation. 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 Antioch, though of recent 
 formation, flourished abundantly. It was remarkable for 
 members and ministers. There were in it " certain pro- 
 phets and teachers." Do these signify two classes of 
 officers ? or the same men exercising two functions ? 
 That is, not only preaching 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 pro- 
 perty : but who sold his estate, and threw the money into 
 the common stock. He was first called Joses, but afterwards 
 Barnabas ; which signifies the son of consolation : because 
 he refreshed the bowels of the poor, was tender in his dis- 
 position, 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 he 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 will 
 allow us to call them so. If not, he was a 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 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 Cyreue." Of him we know 
 nothing more, except his being mentioned by the Apostle 
 among his saluted friends, in the close of the Epistle to the 
 Romans : " Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and 
 Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you." Some 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 FEBRUARY 17. 
 
 have thought whether he was not Luke the physician and 
 evangelist, and the writer of this book. 
 
 The fourth was " Manaen, who had heeu brought up 
 with Herod the tetrarch." This Herod was not Herod 
 the Great, who massacred 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 persecutor, the actual murderer of John, 
 and who died in exile, which Herodias shared with him ; 
 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 examples, during the most impressive period of life ! 
 "Why did Herod reject Christianity ? and why did Manaen 
 embrace it ? The one was perfectly 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. 
 
 Mauaen 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 
 his young and royal companion in sin, he might it is likely 
 have gained a place under government, as every kind and 
 degree of relationship is provided for in such cases at the 
 expense of the public ; but he resembled Moses, who when 
 he was come to years refused to be called the son of 
 Pharaoh's daughter, 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
 
 FEBRUARY 18. 117 
 
 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." 
 
 God generally chooses the poor of this world to be rich 
 in faith. Not many wise men after 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 circumstanced as to be able to be more serviceable in 
 their generation. Thus, as Manaen was a man of educa- 
 tion and address, these advantages were now sanctified ; 
 and he was therefore immediately and advantageously 
 employed. 
 
 The fifth was "Saul;" a character endeared to us as 
 the Apostle of the Gentiles ; and one of the most extraor- 
 dinary individuals recorded in history. We know much 
 concerning 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 acknowledgment ; " The grace of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding abundant to me ward." 
 And we glorify God in him. What an assortment ! What 
 an assemblage was here ! 
 
 FEB. 18. " And 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." GEN. xxx. 27. 
 
 LABAN knew and acknowledged the true God, yet had 
 idols in his family. His character 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
 
 148 FEBRUARY 18. 
 
 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 dili- 
 gence 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 all our successes 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 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 riot know, my people 
 doth 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, because by them our portion is fat, 
 and our meat plenteous. 
 
 God may bless 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 Providence 
 are bestowed indiscriminately. God may heal the bodies
 
 FEBRUARY 18. 149 
 
 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 in 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 envies 
 the ox that is fattening for the slaughter in the greenest 
 pasture ? Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, 
 and the glory of his house 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 house, 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 stub- 
 bornness 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 benefit those with whom we are con- 
 nected. One sinner deslroyeth much good, while the godly 
 are blessings to all around them. How much should we 
 value such benefactors ! They are the light of the world ; 
 the salt of the earth ; the chariots of Israel and the horse- 
 men thereof. They stand in the gap, and hold back 
 invading 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 it not ; for a blessing is in it : so will I do for my 
 servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all."
 
 150 FEBRUARY 18. 
 
 Persons may derive advantage from their inferiors. 
 The stream of goodness and usefulness 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 j 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 bj> 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 circum- 
 stances may he 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 divinely 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 bad no love 
 for Israel, and died fighting against them , yet exclaimed, 
 " 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." 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 th'e 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 enthrone them- 
 selves in the minds of their observers, and though their 
 enemies may outwardly reproach them, they cannot but 
 inwardly revere. They may dislike the nature of religion,
 
 FEBRUARY 19. 151 
 
 but they can judge of its moral and relative advantages. 
 The difference between the partakers of Divine grace 
 and others, in their conduct and their condition, is too 
 great and obvious to elude notice. "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." 
 
 FEB. 19. " I John am your brother, and companion 
 in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus 
 Christ:' REV. i. 9. 
 
 BY calling himself their " brother," John shews how well 
 he remembered the admonition 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 domi- 
 nion," 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 prevail 
 among these, they are only the distinctions of children 
 they are all of the same family the same household of 
 faith and to claim kindred with them, is the supreme 
 desire of every one who is a child of light. John valued 
 his relation as a Christian more than his office and endow- 
 ments as an Apostle. He might have been an Apostle, 
 and have perished. Judas was an Apostle ; yet he hanged 
 himself, and went to his own place. But " he that belie v- 
 eth hath everlasting life, and shall never come into con- 
 demnation." 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 " companion," he 
 does not mean what we might at first suppose one who
 
 152 FEBRUARY 19. 
 
 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 good- 
 ness," 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 
 refreshment 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 toge- 
 ther, 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 com- 
 munion of saints." But John means, that he was a fellow- 
 partaker with them In what ? " Your companion," 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 
 loveth 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 cannot be moved ; the everlast- 
 ing kingdom of our Lord and Saviour ; a kingdom not 
 of this world, but infinitely surpassing all the glories of 
 time and sense.
 
 FEBRUARY 20. 153 
 
 Hence patience is indispensable. It is necessary 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 tribulation and years 
 of hope, entered his kingdom. 
 
 FEB. 20. " Lead me in a plain path, because of mine 
 enemies." PSALM xxvii. 11. 
 
 DAVID had enemies. So has every Christian. 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 was with him. Wherefore, 
 when Saul saw that 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 his days was the triumph 
 he gave to his adversaries. Thou hast caused, said 
 Nathan, the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. To blas- 
 pheme here means, to speak reproachfully against his 
 God, his religion, and his experience. So Paul says, " Let 
 as many servants as are under the yoke count their own 
 masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and 
 his doctrine be not blasphemed." W r onder not that this
 
 154 FEBRUARY 20. 
 
 is addressed to servants and even slaves ; for, professing 
 Christianity as they did, they were able to adorn the 
 doctrine 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 ignorant 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 inflex- 
 ible, and follow 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 appear- 
 ance 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 ano- 
 ther" 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 
 straight 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
 
 FEBRUARY 20. 155 
 
 their hands are slackened. But they live when we stand 
 fast in the Lord. They can refer to us, when our con- 
 versation becomes the Gospel, as arguments, proofs, and 
 commendations ; 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 judgment. Parents will be called upon to testify 
 against their children ; and ministers against their hear- 
 ers. 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 ? 
 
 Above all, God observes us. He is the most perfect 
 observer, for nothing eludes him ; he seeth our thoughts 
 afar off. He is also the 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 judgment, 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.
 
 156 FEBRUARY 21. 
 
 FEB. 21. " And all that sat in the council, looking 
 stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of 
 an angel." ACTS vi. 15. 
 
 THERE was nothing unaccountable in their heholding him 
 as they did. He was a remarkable character ; and had 
 excited much notice by his office, and the wonders and 
 miracles which he did among the people, and the victory 
 he had gained over a number of able opponents who had 
 challenged him to the dispute. 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 arid the jury frequently 
 observe his countenance, as a kind of index of his con- 
 scious innocency or guilt. All that sat in the council 
 looked stedfastly on Stephen, wishing and hoping, per- 
 haps, to gaze him into confusion and tremor. But he 
 could bear looking at They saw his face as it had been 
 the face of an angel. But filled with envy, and malice, and 
 fury, grinning horribly, and gnashing upon him with their 
 teeth ; how did their faces appear ? What a contrast 
 between him and his persecutors ! Here was a lamb 
 among wolves ; an angel before devils, and the High Priest 
 the chief of the devils ! 
 
 "They saw his face as it had been the face of an 
 angel." But how could they tell what an angel's face 
 was ? They had never seen one. Angels had indeed 
 formerly appeared to men : and many instances of it are 
 recorded. But as the design of the Scripture is to edify, 
 and not to amuse, it tells us little concerning these things. 
 Yet all it relates goes to establish one thing their supe- 
 riority 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
 
 FEBRUARY 21. 157 
 
 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 intimated 
 that the face of an angel is much more so. These celestial 
 beings are the flower of the creation ; and, from our infe- 
 riority 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 vast- 
 ness 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 
 ministering spirits, and despise not even our little ones 
 And, far more still, the grace and condescension of the Lord 
 Jesus, who took not on him the nature of angels, but 
 was made in the likeness of men ; and, because the 
 children were partakers of flesh and blood, also took part 
 of the same. 
 
 But what was the nature of this appearance in the face 
 of Stephen ? and how is it to be accounted for ? The 
 visage is sometimes very impressive and striking by natu- 
 ral beauty. There is nothing in the world so admirable 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 mouths because he was a goodly child. Daniel 
 and his three companions were preferred because 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 twenty-seven provinces. 
 
 The face is rendered powerful and striking by intellec- 
 tual qualities. The former may be found without these ; 
 but the features, however fine and regular, will be tame 
 and insipid, unless something of mind beams through ; and
 
 158 FEBRUARY 21. 
 
 the countenance will only captivate 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 striking 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 personally fairer than the children 
 of men. We imagine his face beaming with peace, gen- 
 tleness, compassion, kindness, readiness to pardon and 
 relieve, the image of the invisible God who is love. How 
 is a countenance injured by the want of humility, modesty, 
 diffidence, tenderness ! How lovely are infants while insen- 
 sible of their cherub charms ! How lovely is youth while 
 they are unconscious of their attractions, and full of inno- 
 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 expedients. 
 What a difference is there between two countenances, one 
 of which is inherited bv vice and bad humour, and the 
 
 tr 
 
 other by goodness and amiable temper ! How angelic does 
 one man look ! 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 influences ! When they are 
 older, a change of character cannot change the counte- 
 nance ; and if envy, and malignity, and pride, and disdain 
 have ruled in it before, they will leave deep and dismal 
 traces for life. Religion, we are persuaded, is not only 
 " the health of the countenance," but the comeliness too ! 
 But when Stephen's face was seen as it had been the 
 face of an angel, was the aspect natural or supernatural ? 
 He might have had a corporeal loveliness. We know he 
 was at this time full of wisdom and faith. His counte-
 
 FEBRUARY 22. 159 
 
 nance was not pallid with guilt, nor distracted by care, 
 nor troubled with fear, but fall of confidence, serenity, 
 mildness, and joy. Yet there was something supernatural 
 here. And why should this be deemed incredible, or even 
 wonderful ? The occasion was worthy a divine interposi- 
 tion. It was an age of miracles. A few hours afterwards, 
 Stephen said, I see the heaven opened, and Jesus standing 
 on the 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 Israelites could not behold him 
 for the glory of his countenance. And how remarkable 
 was it, that at the very moment Stephen was accused 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 ! 
 
 FEB. 22. " And all that sat in the council, looking 
 stedfastly 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 distin- 
 guish 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 honour 
 me, I will honour." Enoch was translated that he should not 
 see death ; for before 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 right- 
 eous before me in this generation." Stephen was not 
 ashamed of the Redeemer. He went forth to him without 
 the camp, cheerfully bearing his reproach ; and was deter- 
 mined 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
 
 160 FEBRUARY 22. 
 
 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 cannot 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 conversation, which shews 
 that they have been with Jesus. It adorns the doctrine of 
 God their Saviour ; inspires beholders with reverence and 
 awe j and more than puts to silence the ignorance of 
 foolish men. He whom they serve has often brought their 
 enemies to their feet ; and puts 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 of hea- 
 ven ; 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 king- 
 dom of their Father ! 
 
 We here see the truth and faithfulness of the Lord 
 Jesus, and how worthy he is of our confidence. 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 or resist." And 
 did not Stephen find it so? Perhaps he had his fears 
 previously to his appearance in the council. Nothing is 
 more intimidating than to appear before lawyers, magis-
 
 FEBRUARY 22. 161 
 
 trates 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 uubefrieuded, and his judges 
 were filled with hatred and fury. Yet he had a reason- 
 able and an adequate relief to rely upon ; and he found 
 the assurance true. Perhaps he was astonished at his 
 own self-possession, and force of argument, and prompt- 
 ness 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 behold an irradiation of coun- 
 tenance that draws and fixes every eye " All that sat 
 in the council, looking stedfastly 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 reserves for extraordinary 
 purposes; and indulges, and surprises. He loves to 
 exceed expectation ; and do for us exceeding abundantly 
 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 excellences : nor are they forward to publish them. 
 But from others they cannot be concealed : their profiting 
 will appear unto all men. Though Stephen was uncon- 
 scious of the honour, none of the council were ignorant 
 of it ; 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 so ?" 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 
 VOL. i. M
 
 162 FEBRUARY 22. 
 
 before their eyes ! But it is a fact every way instructive. 
 It shews the truth of the declaration, that the heart is 
 deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It 
 shews that all belief is not, as some say, influential. 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 
 approve 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 condem- 
 nation. 
 
 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 properly influenced by them, could not believe 
 them : but they did believe them. The Pharisees 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 cannot say they 
 deny it yet they apprehend, and beat, and imprison the 
 doers of it, and command them to speak no more in the 
 name of Jesus ! 
 
 Men pretend inability, when only inclination is want- 
 ing. They are not strangers to the truth, but hold it 
 in unrighteousness; and will not let it go free in their 
 conduct. They think their irreligion is the creature 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 impression, and what is not 
 done by the means of grace may be done by events. If
 
 FEBRUARY 23. 163 
 
 one came unto us from the dead, we should repent. Vain 
 hope ! If you hear not Moses and the prophets, neither 
 would you be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. 
 
 FEB. 23. " Lo, / am with you alway, even unto the 
 end of the world. Amen." MATT, 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 Beloved." His voice is always welcome to 
 the 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, 
 beginning 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 forgive- 
 ness 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 per- 
 secuted them. What will they do for defence, counsel, 
 and comfort, 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 
 
 M -
 
 164 FEBRUARY 23. 
 
 " Lo ! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
 world. When you were on the lake, and a' storm arose, 
 and you seemed ready to perish, I 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 sent you forth without purse, and 
 scrip, and shoes, you had many anxieties and fears ; hut 
 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 intended 
 themselves only, it would have been 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, things have 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 backward to the days of his flesh, and say, " IVe 
 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 prepare us for it ! that will 
 never terminate : but " this present world" is not only 
 seen, but temporal Tt will have an " end j" 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
 
 FEBRUARY 23. 165 
 
 a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat ; 
 the earth also, and all the works that are therein, shall 
 he burnt up." Then " time shall be no longer." But, 
 O delightful assurance ! we know that till then, Jesus 
 will be must be with his people. Yet how is the 
 assurance to be understood ? How can he be with them 
 alway, even to the end of the world ? O, say they who 
 only consult to cast him down from his excellency ; by 
 his word, and ordinances, and ministers. But he speaks 
 of his own 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 have not always." " Now I am no more 
 in the world." And no more will he be corporeally 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 perfec- 
 tion 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 Comforter, 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 of One that 
 cannot lie. And while it fills us with wonder and admira- 
 tion, and induces us to exclaim, " Will God in very deed 
 dwell with man upon the earth ?" 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 number
 
 166 FEBRUARY 24. 
 
 of his followers, let the promise establish our hearts with 
 regard to the security of his Church, and the permanency 
 and success of 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 ? 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 THEJJ.' 
 
 FEB. 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 shew 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 better still when having 
 heard " every whit," he exclaimed, " 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 temporal judgment, designed 
 to degrade his family from the priesthood, but not as neces- 
 sarily consigning them all to endless perdition. Some of 
 the mystics have carried the principle 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, without compensation or hope, 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
 
 FEBRUARY 24. 167 
 
 men to be saved," and " commands us to believe in tbe 
 name of his Son Jesus Christ." Neither should we sup- 
 pose that the state of Eli's mind at this time excluded 
 sensibility. A man of his tenderness must have felt and 
 he ought to- have felt and he could have exercised no 
 resignation without feeling. 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 done." 
 
 But Eli humbles himself under the mighty hand of 
 God without murmuring and complaining. He does not 
 accuse him of injustice or severity, but meekly accepts the 
 dispensation " It is the Lord : let him do what seemeth 
 him good." Two things contributed to this. First, a 
 sense of his guilt. He had connived at the conduct of his 
 sons, and thereby had dishonoured religion, and offended 
 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 compare their sufferings with 
 their guilt, and they will see that they have no right to 
 repine : 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 comforts, 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 
 unlucky servant ; it was that malicious neighbour j it was 
 that perfidious friend" But Eli says, " It is the Lord," 
 and therefore " let him do what seemeth him good." A 
 man like-minded with Eli does not stop at second causes, 
 or think only of instruments. Instruments 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 profanencss of Shimei, when he said, (e Let him
 
 168 FEBRUARY 25. 
 
 curse, for the Lord hath bidden him." But he saw the 
 providence of God in the permission and concurrence 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 ? And 
 what can tend more to produce submission to his will than 
 the sight of his hand ? Therefore David said, " I was 
 dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it 11 
 " It is the Lord ;" whose power is almighty, and who can- 
 not be resisted. " It is the Lord ;" who has a sovereign 
 propriety in us, and may do 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 infinite, and whose wisdom is unerr- 
 ing. " It is the Lord ;" whose mercy endureth for ever; 
 who does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of 
 men ; who loves while he chastens, and chastens because he 
 loves ; who will be with us in trouble, to sustain, deliver, 
 and sanctify us ; and make all things work together for 
 our good The cup which my Father giveth me, shall I 
 not drink it ? " Let HIM do what seemeth him good." 
 
 FEB. 25. " Now a certain man of the servants of 
 Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord" 
 
 1 SAM. xxi. 7. 
 
 THIS fact is not without its usefulness. It shews 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 lie 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
 
 FEBRUARY 25. 169 
 
 assemblies. Has he not said, " In all places where I record 
 my name, I will come unto thee ; and I will bless thee ?" 
 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 heard 
 the answers from the mercy-seat. And we see the beauty 
 of the Lord, and inquire in his temple, 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 tabernacle at this time, whether it 
 was to purify himself from some uncleanness, to peform 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 companions : he is a com- 
 panion 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 
 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
 
 170 FEBRUARY 25. 
 
 godliness ; and to abandon these, would excite remark and 
 censure, even among the worldly and indifferent. Some 
 also are influenced by their connections : 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 Eze- 
 kiel's hearers : " Thou art unto them as a very lovely song 
 of one 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 purposes other- 
 wise 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 enmity 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 attended the services of the sanctuary. 
 But let us ask, from what principle or motive P 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 
 habitation of thy house." " A day in thy courts is better 
 than a thousand." We have no piety unless we regard 
 religious duties as religious 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 persons by their
 
 FEBRUARY 26. 171 
 
 presence in our holy assemblies. It is a positive proof 
 against a man if he neglects them : hut his attendance is 
 not a decisive evidence in his favour. Solomon saw the 
 wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of 
 the holy. And many a one, unless 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 the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear 
 to them that instructed 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 devotion, was observing the intercourse 
 between David and Ahimelech, doing mischief, and deter- 
 mining by lies to achieve murder ! Lord, what is man ! 
 
 FEB. 26. " Because thou hast been my help, therefore 
 in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice." 
 
 PSALM Ixiii. 7. 
 
 MAN is called a rational creature ; but he deserves the 
 character for the possession of reason, rather than the exer- 
 cise 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, governed by things only present to 
 his senses, he never regards the past and the future, 
 unless in connection 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 recals 
 all his former miscarriages or successes for his after use 
 and improvement. 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 Jesus. He 
 is renewed in the spirit of his mind. He regards religion 
 as the one thing needful, and never imagines himself pros-
 
 172 FEBRUARY 26. 
 
 pering 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 backward 
 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 exigences ? and yet more in our spiritual 
 concerns ? Has he not seasonably and constantly helped 
 us in our duties P We have had much to do ; our work 
 has been the most serious, important, and difficult ; 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 not 
 helped us in our sufferings P We have not only 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 our 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 overmuch sor- 
 row. He has commanded for us deliverances, and some- 
 times in cases in which we were troubled 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 j taught us to learn obedience by the 
 things we suffer, and to gather from our chastenings the 
 peaceable fruits of righteousness.
 
 FEBRUARY 26. 173 
 
 Let us make his resolution our own " In the 
 shadow of thy wings will I rejoice." God has no wings : 
 but he has perfections. 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 performeth all things for us. The allu- 
 sion 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 : but 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 his 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 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." 
 
 Let us make his reasoning our own ; and derive, as he 
 did, confidence from experience " Because thou hast been 
 my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I
 
 174 FEBRUARY 26. 
 
 rejoice." It is needless to observe how frequently this 
 mode of arguing and acting is exemplified in the Scrip- 
 tures. 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 successful. The beggar feels no excitement to revisit 
 the door where he was insulted or repulsed ; 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 to God, 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 disposition, 
 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 it 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 embolden our future hope. 
 
 If we have never addressed God, we are authorized to 
 do it : yet 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 confi- 
 dence. 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. 175 
 
 FEB. 27. " Behold, we count them happy which 
 endure." JAMES v. 11. 
 
 THIS seems a strange judgment ; and we may ask, Who 
 are they that draw such a conclusion ? 
 
 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 magnanimity in dangers ; calmness in a storm, and 
 firmness under an operation. There is a tameness in the 
 character of one who has always sat in the lap of ease and 
 indulgence. The most striking and interesting materials 
 for hiography 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 persecuted 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 
 begotten Sou of God. And thus many now talk highly of 
 the noble army of martyrs, who revile some of their fellow- 
 creatures for displaying a little of the same spirit by which 
 they were actuated. Deceased saints are beyond our 
 envy. They are no longer seen or heard. They no 
 longer reproach us by their conversation and temper ; no 
 longer incommode 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
 
 176 FEBRUARY 28. 
 
 men, but of believers. These differ widely from each other 
 in their sentiments 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 abhorreth. 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 abun- 
 dance of the things that he possesseth. And faith confers 
 not with flesh and blood. It does not estimate things by 
 time, but eternity. It does not view them through the 
 reports of sense, but through the decisions of unerring 
 wisdom ; and echoes back the testimony 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 righteous- 
 ness they yield ; the far more exceeding and eternal 
 weight of glory they work out ; and even the supports 
 and consolations enjoyed under them : we shall feel little 
 difficulty in the decision " Happy is the man," not who 
 escapes the rod, but " whom the Lord correcteth." There- 
 fore despise not thou the chastening of the Lord. Nor 
 faint when thou art rebuked of him. 
 
 FEB. 28. "Ye have heard of the patience of Job" 
 
 JAMES v. 11. 
 
 THERE was therefore really such a man to be heard of; 
 and the book that bears his name is therefore not a 
 parabolical 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 fictitious one ? Noah 
 and Daniel, and a metaphor ! James also associates him
 
 FEBRUARY 28. 177 
 
 as an example with the prophets, who were not imaginary, 
 but 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 ? " He was the greatest man in 
 the east." But his estate would never have been noticed, 
 had he possessed nothing else : a man is nothing 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 afflic- 
 tions. His 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 servants of God are never so remarked, so impressive, 
 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 result from their 
 enduring. What would Joseph have been, what would he 
 have done, but for the persecutions and hardships through 
 which he rose 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 patience in a stone : there is no virtue in bearing 
 what we do not feel. Job 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, 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 loathe it, I 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 FEBRUARY 28. 
 
 would not live always. O that thou wouldest hide me in 
 the grave ! There the wicked cease from troubling j 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 
 heeu forgiven him : and the sins and iniquities of his 
 people God remembers no more. No. It was not the 
 display of his habitual disposition ; but a partial and tem- 
 porary emotion, issuing not from his principles, 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 pecu- 
 liarly lenient towards a person in great sufferings ; when, 
 by the violence of the storm, reason and religion for a 
 moment may be upset ; and, in the anarchy, nature invo- 
 luntarily utters things which grace will afterwards be sure 
 to condemn ? Yea, that we should always speak of our 
 brethren with candour 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 covereth a multitude of sins. It 
 will allow and require us indeed to be severe towards 
 ourselves ; 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 estimated 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 wickedness : 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
 
 MARCH 1. 179 
 
 months of vaiiity, arid wearisome nights are appointed 
 to me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, 
 and the night he 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 he presumed he should 
 " die in his nest " vain hope ! How well could he say, 
 " My complaint is bitter : my stroke is heavier than my 
 groaning." " I was not in safety 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 said, " what ! shall we receive good at the Lord's 
 hand, and shall we not receive evil ?" Yet he said, 
 "though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 
 
 But by nature he could not have thus endured. And 
 we here see what the grace of God can effect. Let us 
 remember that he is called " the God of patience " and 
 not only because he requires it ; but because he produces 
 it, sustains it, perfects it. With him is the residue of 
 the Spirit. Look to him ; repair to him, ye sufferers. 
 Honour him not only by your application, but by your 
 confidence. Despair! You HAVE HEARD OF THE 
 
 PATIENCE OF JOB. 
 
 MARCH 1. " Ephraim shall say, what have T to do 
 any more with idols ? I have heard him, and observed 
 him : I am like a green jir-tree. From me is thy fruit 
 found." HOSEA xiv. 8. 
 
 THE announcement represents Ephraim in his return to 
 God : and God in his reception of Ephraim. 
 
 N t
 
 180 MARCH 1. 
 
 In his return to God, Ephraim should say, " What 
 have I to do any more with idols ?" The language owns 
 his former attachment, while it expresses his present aver- 
 sion and rejection " I have had too much to do with 
 them. O how degrading and painful to look hack on 
 years of folly and of guilt ! Behold, I am vile, what shall 
 I answer thee ? I abhor myself, and repent in dust and 
 ashes. O Lord, other lords beside thee have had dominion 
 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 ? Not indeed as to the grossness of the offence. 
 When we consider idolatry literally, it would seem impos- 
 sible that a rational being should bow down, not only 
 to the sun, moon, and stars, but to his fellow creatures, 
 to animals, to reptiles, to wood and stone, to the work 
 of his own hands. Yet what says all history ? 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 creature of the 
 regard due to the Creator ? And it matters not whether the 
 rival and engrosser be a worm, or an angel. Whatever 
 we fear or value more than God, is to us an idol. Thus 
 we read of " lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." 
 We read of some " who make gold their hope, and fine gold 
 their confidence ;" 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
 
 MARCH 1. 181 
 
 parties, idols of our ministers, idols of the means of grace 
 What is heaven ? A state in which God is all in all. 
 What is the effect of growing sanctification ? Our waiting 
 on God all the day. What is conversion ? 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 to do any more with idols ?" 
 
 And observe the disposition of God towards the repent- 
 ing 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 obser- 
 vation 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 contrite spirit, and that trembleth 
 at my word." " I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning 
 himself thus : Thou hast chastised me, and I was chas- 
 tised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou 
 me, and I shall be turned ; for thou art the Lord my God. 
 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." 
 
 He presents himself as his shelter and refreshment 
 " I am like a green fir-tree." Is not this image below 
 God ? So is every comparison. Figures taken from the 
 sublimest objects in nature come infinitely short of his glory. 
 Yet such allusions are useful and necessary. In the east 
 too, a fir-tree is far more than we see it here ; beautiful 
 in its appearance, growing to a great height, yielding a 
 fragrant scent, spreading very widely, and affording a 
 desirable retreat to the traveller. But a metaphor must
 
 182 MARCH 1. 
 
 not be pressed. The import of it is often purely relative to 
 some one thing rendered valuable by the present circum- 
 stances 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 should be raised above the 
 influence of fear and trouble, we must sit beneath the 
 shadow of the Almighty, and realize his perfections, pre- 
 sence, promises, and providence, as unchangeably concerned 
 for our welfare. Creatures may all fail us ; but he is the 
 same. "My salvation shall be for ever, and my righte- 
 ousness shall not be abolished." 
 
 He engages to furnish fertility " From me is thy 
 fruit found." This supplies a deficiency 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 acknowledgment 
 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 ? This is the believer'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. Para- 
 dise 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 influences, but he imparts them. We exer- 
 cise the principles, but he produces them. We render the 
 obedience, but he inclines and enables us. W T e repent and 
 believe, but the repentance 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,
 
 MARCH 2. 183 
 
 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 prepared for currency and use. God could have 
 blessed his people without previously announcing 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, representative, and surety. He per- 
 formed the awful condition on which they were all founded; 
 and has ratified them by his own blood. He is also the 
 pledge of their existence and accomplishment. 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?" 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 certainly " All the 
 promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen.' 1 '' All 
 the promises of Satan are falsehood. Human promises 
 are not always truth. David indeed erred when he said,
 
 184 MARCH 2. 
 
 in his haste, All men are liars ; yet too commonly " 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 promises through forgetfulness, or 
 changeableuess 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 yester- 
 day, to-day, and for ever ? Can any thing be too hard 
 for the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth ? Let us 
 therefore honour God by our confidence. If we have a 
 word from him, let it satisfy us, whatever difficulties oppose 
 the accomplishment these are for him to consider who 
 has promised. Abraham, therefore, having received the 
 Divine assurance, though there were improbabilities, and 
 even natural impossibilities 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 
 impossibility of impeaching his veracity. He is therefore 
 called " the faithful God." " His faithfulness reacheth 
 unto the clouds ;" and far beyond them his " faithfulness 
 is established in the very heavens ;" and the fame 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 
 accomplishment. Above all, how does not only the fulfil- 
 ment but the donation of these promises display the 
 exceeding riches of his grace ! For what but^the most 
 undeserved favour and boundless mercy could have led 
 him to remember us in our low estate, and, instead of 
 threatening us with destruction, promise us eternal life and 
 all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ ! 
 
 Finally, let me remark the instrumentality of this 
 design " To the glory of God by us." By us as minis-
 
 MARCH 3. 185 
 
 ters publishing, explaining, applying them. A promise 
 is often like a box of ointment, very precious ; but tbe 
 fragrance does not fill the room till the preacher breaks it. 
 Or it is like the water that was near Hagar which she 
 saw not, till the angel of the Lord opens our eyes and 
 shews us the well. By us believers realizing the excel- 
 lency and efficacy of them in our character and conduct. 
 It is when these promises are reduced to experience 
 when they are seen cleansing us from all filthiness of flesh 
 and spirit, making us partakers of the divine nature, lead- 
 ing us to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are 
 called, filling us with kindness and benevolence, support- 
 ing 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 entrusted 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?" 
 
 ACTS xvi. 30. 
 
 WE may imagine the manner in which the jailor 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 
 their 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 reveres them 
 more than kings ; and, calling for a light, he springs in, 
 and comes trembling, and falls down before them in the 
 inner prison, and brings them out, and cries, " What must 
 I do to be saved ?" 
 
 This was obviously the language of apprehension. 
 He saw he was in danger of being lost. But how lost ?
 
 186 MARCH 3. 
 
 Some have supposed that he refers to his temporal danger. 
 The Roman jailor was made answerable for his prisoner ; 
 and if the prisoner escaped, the jailor bore the punish- 
 ment the prisoner was doomed to endure. At first there- 
 fore 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 account must have been 
 removed as soon as ever Paul cried, with a loud voice, 
 " Do thyself no harm, for we are all here." And the 
 answer given to this inquiry shews 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 sub- 
 ject to bondage through fear of death. Often their unea- 
 sinesses were such, that, to obtain something like peace 
 of mind, they would endure the greatest privations 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 condemns 
 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 earth- 
 quake had roused the jailor's dread of the power and 
 anger of God. Perhaps he had heard Paul and Silas 
 singing in the stocks. Perhaps they had dropped some- 
 thing while he was misusing them that had impressed his 
 mind. Perhaps he had been informed of their preaching ; 
 and doubtless he had been told of the language of the 
 Pythoness, who for many days had cried, " These men 
 are the servants of the Most High God, which shew unto
 
 MARCH 3. 187 
 
 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 ?" It is a fearful thing to fall into the 
 hands of the living God. If a man were any way exposed 
 to it, we should think it impossible that he could enjoy a 
 moment's ease ; or be capable 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 out- 
 ward troubles I had many of these ; but I could only 
 cry, How shall I escape the damnation of hell ? 
 
 His language contains a desire of information. In 
 such a state as this, ignorance 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 ? How I can obtain acceptance with 
 God ? How I can be renewed in the spirit of my mind ? 
 Is there balm in Gilead, and a physician there ? And 
 what is that balm ? Who is that physician ? 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 instructor 
 or comforter. He distrusts himself, and suspects every 
 thing like comfort that comes from his own heart which 
 has so often deceived him. Now therefore he prizes the 
 means and the source of information. He reads the Scrip- 
 ture 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 eiiJeared 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 hutnun rea-
 
 188 MARCH 4. 
 
 soilings ; and, going about to establish tbeir own righteous- 
 ness, do not submit themselves to the righteousness of 
 God. The simplicity of the scheme of gospel grace pays 
 no homage 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 according to 
 the way of their own hearts. But bring a man into the 
 state of the jailor, 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 treatment, 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 apprehen- 
 sion. But when they find and feel that they are entirely 
 lost, and have no other 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 resurrection of the dead." 
 
 Let me not think this inquiry was proper for the jailor 
 only. All have sinned. And the soul that sinneth it 
 shall die. It should therefore 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. 31. 
 
 THEY overlook his injurious treatment of them. They do 
 not take advantage of his present distress to insult him, as 
 the council did Judas, who, when he cast down the pieces
 
 MARCH 4. 189 
 
 of silver, confessing lie had sinned and betrayed innocent 
 blood, said, " What is that to us ? See thou to that." 
 Yea, they heard 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 advantage of knowledge and of experience in 
 those who have to deal with souls in spiritual distress. 
 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 Pharisees who sat in Moses' chair ? 
 What would a modern infidel make of it? How many 
 called Divines would answer : " Be not too much dis- 
 tressed. 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 despondency. 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 
 hring 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 prepare 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
 
 190 MARCH 4. 
 
 by him all that believe are justified. He did the game 
 himself: " Come unto me" " Look unto me." No other 
 recommendation can be available. Every other direction 
 will 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 am. 
 And I may come ' all the fitness he requireth is to feel 
 my need of him.' ' 
 
 The answer shews that there is salvation in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all 
 acceptation, that he came into the world to save sinners. 
 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 con- 
 sequences of sin \ and for ever 
 
 The way to realize this is believing. " To him that 
 worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the un- 
 godly, 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 bed of a dying man, and begin to 
 admonish him how he ought to walk and to work The 
 man is dying. Send for the physician Bring a remedy. 
 When recovered, admonition will be reasonable and need- 
 ful. God gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
 believeth in him should not perish : and however salvation 
 is represented in the Scripture, 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 
 cannot nourish us unless it be eaten ; and it can only be 
 eaten by faith. The grand thing therefore is to believe the 
 record concerning him ; and to trust in his Name ; to rely
 
 MARCH 5. 191 
 
 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 insured to 
 believing. As without faith we cannot be saved, so with 
 it we cannot perish. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he 
 that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, 
 hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condem- 
 nation ; but is passed from death unto life." 
 
 If therefore you feel your need of salvation, repair to 
 him, and say, " Let this ruin be under 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 inclines 
 him to save. His soul is the dwelling-place of pity. His 
 heart is made of tenderness ; his bowels melt with love. 
 And while his goodness inclines him to save, his promise 
 binds 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 my unbelief." 
 
 MARCH 5. " And Ekron as a Jebusite." ZECH. ix. 7. 
 
 THE prophecy in which these words are found shews, 
 that God in judgment remembers mercy; and can punish 
 her enemies without injuring the Church ; and can even 
 increase her welfare by means of it. Desolations were 
 coining 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
 
 192 MARCH 5. 
 
 be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, 
 and Ekron as a Jebusite." The Philistines were the most 
 constant and implacable of all the adversaries of the Jews. 
 Ekron was one of their greatest capitals. 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 
 Jerusalem. 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 therefore is, that the inhabitant 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 happiness ? Their peace passeth all understanding 
 Their joy is unspeakable and full of glory " as well 
 the singers, as the players on instruments, shall be there : 
 all my springs are in thee." 
 
 Secondly, Jebusites may be derived from Ekronites. 
 Here we have the evidence of fact. The thing has been 
 done ; and the most unlikely characters have furnished 
 pious converts. 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. We could appeal 
 to the dying thief, blaspheming with his companion one
 
 MARCH 5. 193 
 
 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 injurious ; but I obtained mercy" and 
 " for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus 
 Christ should shew forth all longsuffering, 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 him- 
 self by his word. And who are the heirs of promise ? 
 From whence are they to be brought ; and from what 
 materials are the subjects of his grace to be formed ? 
 "Princes shall come out of Egypt." "Ethiopia 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 figura- 
 tive, 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 ; the originals are to be 
 found. We speak that we do know, and testify that we 
 have seen. We have seen the profligate becoming not 
 only moral but holy the proud clothed with humility 
 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 shew forth my 
 VOL. i. o
 
 194 MARCH 6. 
 
 praise 11 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 of our 
 fellow-creatures. We may be tempted to think some 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 ? 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 
 universality with regard to the two second. 
 
 There is the grave. Do not all go to this place ? 
 Yes. " All go to one place all are of the dust, and all 
 turn to dust again." No one denies this. Yet no one 
 seems to believe 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 living." 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 ? Yes : " We must all stand before the judgment- 
 seat of Christ." The high will not be excused ; the low 
 will not be overlooked. " 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 wfll separate
 
 MARCH 6. 195 
 
 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 punishment, 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, all 
 the wicked : " The wicked shall be turned into hell, with 
 all the nations that forget God." Their sin is very diver- 
 sified ; 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 
 going the downward road, and will meet in the same place 
 of torment. There is something inexpressibly dreadful in 
 the thought of mixing with such society. And when we 
 consider the number of the damned, their malignity, their 
 mutual accusations, their hatred of each other, their free- 
 dom from all the restraints 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 are 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 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." 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 differed in their outward condition, in their reli- 
 gious 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 
 
 o *
 
 196 MARCH 7. 
 
 heaveii an excellency ? 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 shew by our freedom from bigotry, that our prayer 
 is not hyprocrisy 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 differing brethren at 
 all other times. But the Master says, " Out of thine own 
 mouth will I condemn thee, thou wicked servant." 
 
 MARCH 7. " Ye are they which have continued with 
 me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a king- 
 dom, as my Father hath appointed unto me." 
 
 LUKE xxii. 28, 29. 
 
 THE dying Patriarch said of Reuben, " unstable as water, 
 thou shalt not excel." Stability is essential to excellency. 
 Without it no reputation can be acquired, no confidence 
 can be supported, no usefulness can be insured. Even 
 obstinacy, which is ignorant resolution, 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 impression like a wave of the sea 
 driven with the wind and tossed ; and is governed by 
 circumstances 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." 
 
 If the enemy ever left Christ, it was only for "a 
 season;" he soon returned again to the assault; and
 
 MARCH 7. 197 
 
 urged him even to infidelity, presumption, suicide, and 
 idolatry How well is it said 
 
 " He knows what sore temptations mean, 
 For he has felt 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 commonly signify 
 enticements to sin ; hut any events that morally try us in 
 the way of duty. In such trials his disciples continued 
 with him. They found him poor and despised ; hearing 
 the contradiction of siuners against himself ; slaudered ; 
 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 deemed 
 it enough for the servant to be as the master, 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 
 accompany his cause, and are endured for his sake. 
 They are not all of a painful nature, or consisting in 
 various degrees of persecution. His followers are often 
 tried in other ways. There are the dangers of prosperity 
 as well as of adversity. 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 com- 
 mandment delivered them, and will endeavour to draw 
 away others. Happy they, who while the Saviour says, 
 " Will ye also go away ?" can answer, " Lord, to whom 
 shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life." For, 
 " blessed is the man that endureth temptation : for when 
 he is tried, he shall receive a crown of life which the Lord 
 hath promised to them that love him." 
 
 Observe, O my soul, how he insures and amplifies the
 
 198 MARCH 7. 
 
 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 : " 1 appoint unto you a kingdom." 
 The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judg- 
 ment unto the Son : and he has given him power over all 
 flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as the 
 Father hath given him. The fulness from which he 
 should dispense to the myriads of the saved all the bless- 
 ings of grace and glory, was the joy set before him, for 
 which he endured the cross. It is the fruit of the travail of 
 his soul, and it satisfies him ; it yields infinite delight to his 
 benevolent 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 
 appointment 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 j and as certain in the accomplishment ; 
 and terminates in the same state : and as far as our nature 
 will allow, we shall partake of the same blessedness and 
 honour with himself, though conscious that we have not 
 reached the elevation in the same way. The Scripture can- 
 not be more decisive than it is " we are quickened together 
 with Christ, and 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
 
 MARCH 8. 199 
 
 will be enjoyed rvith him " Where I am, there shall also 
 my servants be" " We shall live together with him." 
 
 MARCH 8. " And when Rachael saw that she bare 
 Jacob no children, Rachael 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 polygamy. How 
 hard is it to maintain an equality of satisfaction where 
 there are different claimants feeling alike in their preten- 
 sions ! Yet if there be a partiality of regard, either real 
 or supposed, what can be expected but discord and wretch- 
 edness ? How much more agreeably did Isaac and Rebekah 
 live together, according 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 Rachael's ill-humour. Bodily charms with 
 the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit would be irre- 
 sistible ; but a pretty face and a gentle temper are seldom 
 found together. Rachael was beautiful ; but because she 
 bore Jacob no children, like her sister, " she envied her." 
 There is nothing against which we should more guard 
 ourselves than envy. It is a quality the most unlovely and 
 diabolical. Envy is grief, not at another's woe, but ano- 
 ther's welfare. It is the rottenness 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 privi- 
 lege of marriage. Many have supposed that the Jewish 
 wives wished so much to be mothers, as the promise of
 
 200 MARCH 8. 
 
 God entailed the richest blessings on the posterity of Abra- 
 ham, 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 qualities are suf- 
 ficient to obtain distinction ; but in the earlier and 
 ruder ages outward and corporeal 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 
 Hannah and Elisabeth, drew forth such joy and praise 
 But what could be so censurable as the inordinate lan- 
 guage of Rachael " 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 
 welfare, does she here|.betray ! " Who kiioweth what is 
 good for a man in this life, all the days of his vain life 
 which he spendeth as a shadow ?" How little was Lot 
 aware of the fearful consequences arising from the indul- 
 gence of his wish in the choice of the vale of Sodom well- 
 watered, and looking like the garden of the Lord ! The 
 Jews obtained quails in answer to their pettish request ; 
 but He gave them their hearts' 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 shewed 
 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; Rachael says, " Give me children, or 
 else I die" and she died not in the failure of her desire, 
 but in the accomplishment of it, falling a victim to her
 
 MARCH 9. 201 
 
 second pregnancy : " And they journeyed from Bethel ; 
 and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath : and 
 Rachael 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 
 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 Rachael died, and was buried 
 in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem. And Jacob 
 set a pillar upon her grave : that is the pillar of Rachael'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 cannot 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 determination of this to him that knoweth all 
 tilings. 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 their eyes." REV. xxi. 4. 
 
 UNLESS we know 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 posi- 
 tive. In our present state, our liveliest feeling of good is 
 the absence of evil ; and of pleasure is the cessation of 
 pain. And therefore, conformably to an experience well 
 understood by every child of Adam, the happiness of 
 heaven is held forth to our hopes as an exemption from
 
 202 MARCH 9. 
 
 every kind and degree of sorrow, and God shall wipe 
 away all tears from their eyes. 
 
 Tears and sorrows do not always go together. 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 anguish are commonly 
 beyond weeping. This is seen in criminals preceding 
 their execution. 
 
 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 sensibilities of our nature, but increases as 
 well as refines them. We read of " them that mourn in 
 Zion." And it is said, " they shall come with weeping." 
 Religion costs a Christian 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 privations in out- 
 ward circumstances. Those which arise from social trials 
 whether sympathy in sorrow, defections in friendship, or 
 relative bereavements. 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 cha- 
 racters. 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 ?" 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
 
 MARCH 9. 203 
 
 more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there 
 he 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-time, and they sow in tears ; but 
 they shall reap in joy. 
 
 Let us learn our obligation to the Redeemer of sinners. 
 Our tears would never have been wiped away, but a miser- 
 able life would have been followed by a more miserable 
 eternity, had not he interposed on our behalf, 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 prospect, and 
 when the blessedness is within our reach to sacrifice it for 
 a thing of nought ! Yet are we in the number of those 
 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 ever 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 hope, 
 
 You may his mercy know ; 
 Though his arm be lifted up, 
 He still forbears the blow"
 
 204 MARCH 10. 
 
 MARCH 10. " 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 j 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 religion by the frequent use 
 of public and instructive services and ceremonies ; to allow 
 them seasons of rest and pleasure ; to promote their 
 acquaintance with their brethren ; and to prefigure good 
 things to come under the dispensation of the Gospel ; God 
 appointed various " solemn feasts" among the Jews. 
 There were more especially three ; the feast of the Pass- 
 over or of unleavened bread, the feast of Pentecost or 
 of weeks, and the feast of Tabernacles. Each of these was 
 annual ; and all the males were required to attend upon 
 them in Jerusalem, where alone they could be celebrated. 
 
 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 mani- 
 festations 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 experience 
 of all his people. Hence they feel this to be the principal 
 attraction when they assemble 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
 
 MARCH 10. 205 
 
 shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came 
 in, but shall go forth over against it." 
 
 First, it was to prevent confusion, and to keep order in 
 their comings and goings. God is not the God of con- 
 fusion, but of peace. He has not deemed it beneath him 
 to enjoin, " Let every thing be done decently and in order." 
 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 sepulchre, 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 unlikely it was that the body could have 
 been stolen away in haste and fear, either by foes or friends ; 
 and shews the presence of mind and calmness with which 
 our Saviour left the tomb but does it not also shew that 
 he did nothing negligently and disorderly ? All greatness 
 in proportion to its degree, demands 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 persons 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 him- 
 self. 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 visible sign, shews 
 the inward and spiritual obeisance and homage his infinite 
 majesty demands and deserves. He complains of the want 
 of it : " They have turned unto me the back, and not 
 the face : though I taught them, rising up early and teach- 
 ing them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruc- 
 tion." Therefore, says he, to express their punishment 
 under the same image with their sin : " I will scatter them
 
 206 MARCH 11. 
 
 as with an east wind before the enemy ; I will shew 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 him." " 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, " For- 
 getting 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. Ministers 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 life unto life ; 
 but to the other they are the savour of death unto death. 
 
 Who believes this ? Who trembles at the thought ? 
 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," angels 
 and archangels. " There are also celestial bodies and 
 bodies terrestrial : but the glory of the celestial is one, and 
 the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory
 
 MARCH 11. 207 
 
 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, another 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 undis- 
 tinguishable by close and accurate comparison. 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 remarks 
 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 speci- 
 fically. He specifies these for two reasons. First, because 
 "the rich and the poor" are the most common and 
 general division of mankind. They are everywhere to 
 be found ; and comprehend many more than any other 
 discrimination. Secondly, because they are also the most 
 influential 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 handsomer, 
 and 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 ? and where ? we answer, 
 
 In their original. Hence Solomon adds, " the Lord is 
 the maker of them all." We are 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 ? and did not one 
 fashion us in the womb P" 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."
 
 208 MARCH 11. 
 
 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, uukindness. Wherever I 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." 
 
 In their fallen condition. They have turned every 
 one to his own way ; but all have gone astray. All have 
 sinned. There is none righteous, no not one. All there- 
 fore are guilty before God : all are unfit for his kingdom 
 without 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 
 surrounding the same table of the Lord, and partaking of 
 the same emblems of the body and blood of Christ. In 
 the holj communion, the rich receive no better bread and 
 wine than the poor; and as there is no preference in the 
 sign, so there is none in the thing signified " It is the 
 common salvation." 
 
 In liableness to the same calamities of life. Family 
 bereavements, bodily pains, eclipses of reason how nume- 
 rous the ills that flesh is heir to ! befal the high as well as
 
 MARCH 12. 209 
 
 the low. Yea, if there be any difference, there is, on the 
 side of the former, more exposure to assault, 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 appointed 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 
 
 MARCH 12. " The rich and poor meet together" 
 
 PROV. 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 condi- 
 tions are alike in themselves, or with regard to us. As if 
 a man was no more favoured 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 shews 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 exemptions and 
 VOL. i. p
 
 210 MARCH 12. . 
 
 indulgences by which we are distinguished ? On the 
 other hand, if we are deprived of certain outward comforts, 
 we are required 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 demands the sacri- 
 fice, but the sanctification of humanity and common sense. 
 
 But there is the inference of faction as well as of fana- 
 ticism " 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 the cottage have as full a 
 right to protection as the mansion ; and the peasant's cart 
 be as sacred as the nobleman's carriage. This is reason- 
 able 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 the 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 reasoned with : otherwise we might observe That 
 such an equality is impossible : if men were made equal 
 to-day, they would be unequal 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 circumstances should prevail: 
 hence in his word he has described the duties of superiors 
 and of inferiors ; and commanded us to render to all their 
 due And that it is better there should be such distinc- 
 tions, as they 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 consists much in the various 
 gradations between the very rich and the very poor. And
 
 MARCH 12. -211 
 
 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 entered, and till it be rectified there can be no solid 
 and lasting peace or safety. 
 
 The truth should always 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 independent of 
 circumstances. In our eyes let a vile person be con- 
 temned, 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 remember we are not over- 
 looked ; 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 can gain the unsearchable riches 
 of Christ. We can be greater conquerors than Alexander. 
 We can appear in a glory that will eclipse the splendour 
 of the universe. The poor have the Gospel preached unto 
 them. Let us not imagine we are every thing if we are 
 rich. There are many foolish 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 condition. Who made us to differ from others ? 
 He who can easily bring us down ; he who will soon call 
 us to give account of our stewardship. Shall we disdain 
 others. He that despiseth the poor reproacheth his 
 
 P
 
 212 MARCH 13. 
 
 Maker ; but lie 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. " / withheld thee from sinning against 
 me" GEN. 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 individual of the human race, though not 
 in the same circumstances. 
 
 All sin is against God There is a propensity 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 beings. These shew us 
 what our depraved nature is capable of, when placed in 
 conditions favourable to temptation, and affording both 
 opportunity and power. And yet even these have some 
 restraints. The worst characters 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 withholds us from 
 sin. He has numberless providential precautions. Sick- 
 ness has interrupted a course of iniquity which health 
 would have continued. Worldly losses have led to the 
 abandonment of schemes which vanity and pride had been
 
 MARCH 13. 213 
 
 devising. What Christian has not in some instances 
 gone astray ? and whose experience has not enabled him to 
 explain 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 return to my first husband ; for then 
 was it better with me than now ?" A thorn in the flesh, 
 the messenger of Satan to buflet 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 
 David 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 
 coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine 
 own hand." How much evil has often been prevented by 
 a wise and seasonable 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 impres- 
 sions of early sentiment, the influence of a father's example, 
 the recollection of a mother's tears, and the Scriptures 
 which had been lodged in the memory ! There are 
 restraints from domestic 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 morning and evening, act like others ? 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
 
 214 MARCH 13. 
 
 consistency that he must maintain ! Some persons are 
 averse to things which gender an increase of moral obliga- 
 tion ; but we ought to value a state or a station in propor- 
 tion 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 a 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 subdue or to silence is unspeakable. It 
 operates in a thousand instances where human legislation 
 has no effect. Tyrants who have found themselves above 
 law, and secret transgressors 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 thievish 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 is 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 ; nor can we know while 
 we are in this world. But we surely know enough for two 
 purposes : to make us candid, and to make us thankful. 
 Who can tell us how far we should have resembled those we 
 now condemn had we been placed in the same circum- 
 stances, and been exposed to the same excitements; or 
 had God left us to ourselves ? " There goes John Brad- 
 ford 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. 215 
 
 MARCH 14. " / am glad for your sakes that I 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 bis disciples, but that there is nothing he is so 
 much concerned to promote in them as their faith. Some 
 undervalue 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 estimation of it. He knows that it is the 
 source from which flow all the streams of consolation and 
 obedience ; the tree which bears all the fruits of righteous- 
 ness. 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 they have never yet seriously made 
 the trial. There is not a Christian upon earth, but in 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 unto 
 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 admits of degrees. Accordingly 
 we read of " little faith," and of " great faith ;" of those 
 that 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 sup- 
 posed 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
 
 216 MARCH 14. 
 
 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 ? If he comes not soon, it 
 will he 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 forbear 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. / know 
 it now; and you will 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 hea- 
 vens 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 calamity ? 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 fire 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 shaking him to pieces : but we have also seen the 
 end of the Lord, how that the Lord is very pitiful and full of 
 tender mercies. And with regard to ourselves Is it not 
 well for us that things were not always according to our 
 mind ? Has he not often advanced our welfare by events 
 which seemed perfectly adverse to it ? We were tempted 
 to charge him foolishly and unkindly ; yet after a while we 
 perceived how in the dispensation his wisdom and kindness
 
 MARCH 15. 217 
 
 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 ? 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 ? 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 himself 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. " / have set the Lord always before we." 
 
 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 actually think- 
 ing of him. This would have been impossible. Our 
 powers are limited. We have bodies, we have connections, 
 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 crucifix This is not to fight the good fight of 
 faith, but to flee from the field ; this is not serving our
 
 218 MARCH 15. 
 
 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 bring 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 pro- 
 duced, in which the spirit of devotion actuates us even in 
 the absence of its forms, and we habitually and easily recur 
 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 therefore 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, because it is necessary to it. You have no 
 hold of a man who is destitute of it, either in avoiding evil 
 or doing good. Buuyan therefore, with as much truth as 
 genius, places all his pilgrims for the shining city under 
 the conduct of Greatheart. Courage is not only neces- 
 sary 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 con- 
 stant warfare ; and when we think of our own 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 confidence to be 
 obtained ? Set the Lord, in his presence and perfections 
 and covenant- engagements, always before you ; and hear 
 him saying, Fear not, for I am with thee and out of 
 weakness you will be made strong and, like Moses, you 
 will endure as seeing Him who is invisible.
 
 MARCH 15. 219 
 
 Secondly, Set the Lord always before you as your 
 leader. Your way is not only dangerous, but perplexing : 
 and you are not only weak, but ignorant How much you 
 need a guide ! How earnestly did David pray for Divine 
 direction : " Lead me in thy truth, and guide me." 
 How did he rejoice in the prospect 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 
 us, but the written 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 perverseness 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 understand- 
 ing. 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 
 forgives ; 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 perfection of our nature ; and the perfection of our 
 nature consists in its resemblance to the Divine " There- 
 fore be ye followers of God as dear children." 
 
 Fourthly, Set the Lord always before you as your 
 observer. Nothing escapes his notice. All he sees he
 
 220 MARCH 16. 
 
 records ; and all he records he will bring into judgment. 
 Do we helieve this ? It is true, whether we own it or 
 deny it, that he is about our path and our bed, and under- 
 stands our thought afar off But do we believe it ? 
 Surely faith in such a truth must have some influence. 
 And how useful must that influence be ! A heathen 
 philosopher admonished his disciples to imagine that the 
 eye of some illustrious personage was always upon them. 
 What was the eye of Plato, or Cato, to the eye of God ? 
 If while you were careless in company some prominent 
 individual should enter, whose approbation it would be 
 important for you to acquire, how would his presence regu- 
 late 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 reproach ! what 
 a solace in affliction ! what a duty ! what a privilege 
 to realize Hagar's conviction, "Thou God seest me!" 
 
 MARCH 16. "Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner- 
 stone, elect, precious : and he that believeth on him shall 
 not be confounded" 1 PET. ii. 6. 
 
 " BEHOLD," is a note of attention and wonder. It shews 
 that the subject introduced is worthy of our regard. The 
 subject here is a representation of the importance of the 
 Saviour, 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 Testa- 
 ment, 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 
 accomplishes is transacted according to the determinate
 
 MARCH 16. 221 
 
 counsel and foreknowledge of God. God knew what the 
 immensity of the undertaking required, and found it only 
 in the Son of his love " All things are of God, who hath 
 reconciled us unto himself hy Jesus Christ" 
 
 " Precious" Deserving of the destination and the 
 honour. Here is the difference between him and us. He 
 chooses us, not because we are precious, but to make us 
 precious ; 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 appointment resulted from his fitness. 
 He entered heaven upon terms of merit, pure and abso- 
 lute merit : and therefore the angels proclaim 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 if the word "precious" is 
 significant of excellency, it also imports 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 believe he is precious." They have their 
 imperfections, and mourn over them. But if he asked 
 them individually, " Lovest thou me ?" 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. 
 
 " All my capacious powers can boast, 
 
 In thee most richly meet; 
 Nor to mine eyes is light so dear, 
 Or friendship half so sweet." 
 
 Such is the foundation. Observe the builder : " He 
 that believeth on him." We might have supposed that 
 the metaphor would have been continued, and that Peter 
 would have said, he that buildeth on him. But he coii- 
 veys the same meaning without the figure. For as 
 stones, as long as they continue in the quarry or remain 
 loose upon the ground, are not actually parts of the edifice,
 
 222 MARCH 16. 
 
 neither indeed 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 begotton SOD, that 
 whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life." 
 
 Observe the blessedness he claims : he that believeth 
 on him " shall not be confounded." He shall not be like 
 the foolish man, " who built 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 Antinomians : and an emblem of 
 those who rely upon their own worthiness and works ; that 
 is, of self-righteous Pharisees. How confounded 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 obtaining 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 per- 
 plexed and tormenting eagerness to escape. Thus it was 
 with the world of the ungodly at the Deluge. They 
 despised the warnings of 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 ! How climb the trees, and 
 cling to them in despair, till they could retain their
 
 MARCH 17. 223 
 
 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 faint 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 
 a messenger of death has laid hold upon them But 
 Simeon says, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart 
 in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." Into 
 what confusion 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 consequences of 
 their 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 Lord with an everlasting salvation ; 
 they shall not be ashamed or confounded world without 
 end." O visit me with this salvation ! 
 
 MARCH 17. " Enoch walked with God : and he was 
 not ; for God took him." GEN. 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 fulness of joy : took 
 him immediately 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 translation 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 twink-
 
 224 MARCH 17. 
 
 ling of an eye ? who, instead of being unclothed, was 
 clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of 
 life ? When an event so surprisingly and entirely singu- 
 lar 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 individual 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 voluminousness of 
 modern biography. Hence the wisdom of the sacred 
 writers in not dragging us after them through a thousand 
 minute and uninteresting occurrences, but fixing the mind 
 upon a few and important articles. The history of an 
 Alexander, a Caesar, 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 supremely attracts the Divine 
 approbation ? 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 estimation in 
 which God holds great talents and endowments may be 
 inferred from his imparting them so sparingly. Were 
 they so necessary as some imagine in the affairs of the 
 world and the Church, he could easily furnish 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
 
 MARCH 17. 225 
 
 pleasure in them though lie employs them. What was 
 Balaam with his sublime predictions ? or Judas with his 
 miracles and signs ? " Though," says Paul, " I speak 
 with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not 
 charity, I am become 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." Here we are always 
 erring. We covet earnestly those gifts which are confined 
 to a few, and are seldom sanctified to the possessor ; while 
 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 among 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 therefore of true 
 glory lies open to all ; to the servant 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 abstrac- 
 tion from society and business, or favoured that super- 
 stitious sanctity which refuses the allowed enjoyments 
 of nature and providence. A proper use of our creature 
 comforts is compatible, not only with the sincerest, but the 
 strictest godliness ; and falls in with the design of Him 
 who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Enoch, who 
 sustains 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 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 MARCH 17. 
 
 religion of the Bible that drives men into caves and dens 
 of the earth, or that teaches them to counteract the desti- 
 nations of Providence, or to oppose the nature that God 
 has given them It is the religion of anti-christ that 
 represents as impure what God has declared to be pure ; 
 it is a seducing spirit that decries what God not only per- 
 mits, but enjoins as honourable in all j it is a doctrine of 
 devils that forbids to marry, and commands to abstain 
 from meats which God hath created to be received with 
 thankfulness of them which believe and know the 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 confined to morality. Morality is not to 
 be undervalued. 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 rela- 
 tions connect us with another Being; with him we have prin- 
 cipally to do Godliness consists in our walking with God. 
 Some are not vicious ; but they never reverence the Sab- 
 bath, or engage in public or private devotion. They owe no 
 man any thing ; but they rob God. They are good neigh- 
 bours ; but God is not in all their thoughts. They have no 
 confidence in him, no communion with him. They are not 
 renewed after his image. They are not followers 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 as he was. Yet, as to its sting and 
 its curse, Jesus has abolished death. He tells his fol- 
 lowers, " If a man keep my sayings, he shall never 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
 
 MARCH 18. 227 
 
 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 miraculous 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. " Our soul rvaiteth for the Lord : he is 
 our help and our shield" PSALM xxxiii. 20. 
 
 THERE may be the form of godliness without the power. 
 But the religion of the Bible has to do with the " soul." 
 The true worshippers 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 encouraged, it 
 may be observed that it is said not our souls but " our 
 soul" as if they all had only one. Arid 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 beginning of the Gospel it was said ; " The 
 multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of 
 one soul." We have seen several drops of water on the 
 table, by being brought to touch, running into one. If 
 Christians 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 admonition " Endea- 
 
 Q a
 
 228 MARCH 18. 
 
 vouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are 
 called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, 
 one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, 
 and through all, and in you all." 
 
 But the exercise itself is " waiting for the Lord" an 
 exercise frequently mentioned in the Scriptures, and well 
 understood by all believers. Their character as the heirs of 
 promise, 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 exceed- 
 ing joy ; all in all. It includes desire it is expressed by 
 hungering and thirsting after righteousness, by panting after 
 God, by fainting for his salvation. It includes hope the 
 degrees of this may vary, but some measure of it is neces- 
 sary to the commencement and continuance of the exer- 
 cise ; and the exercise will be always influenced and 
 enlivened accordingly as our hope is possibility, or proba- 
 bility, 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 expectation, hours seem days, and days seem 
 weeks, especially if we are pressed with difficulties, 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 relief; and preserve 
 us from charging God foolishly, censoriously, or unfaith- 
 fully ; 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 their need ; 
 and they increasingly feel it as they advance in their 
 religious course. They do not complain of their duties, or
 
 MARCH 18. 229 
 
 murmur at their trials ; but, with the knowledge they have 
 of themselves, they often fear whether they shall ever 
 discharge 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 strength- 
 ening 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 adver- 
 sary, 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 pas- 
 sions, 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 ?" 
 Thus he is their benefactor as to good, and their preserver 
 as to evil. What can they want more ? 
 
 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 Lord : he is their help and 
 their shield."
 
 230 MARCH 19. 
 
 MARCH 19. " And he hath on his vesture and on 
 his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD 
 OF LORDS." REV. xix. 16. 
 
 THE name is expressive of dignity, greatness, and domi- 
 nion. 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 ignorance, pride, and impiety. To 
 Jesus it truly and perfectly belongs. It may be considered 
 two ways. First, as importing the extensiveness of his 
 empire. His kingdom ruleth over all. There are no 
 beings in the universe but are either his subjects or slaves. 
 Secondly, as referring to his connection with the perso- 
 nages here mentioned. He is " the King of kings, and the 
 Lord of lords." They are all amenable to his authority, 
 and will be judged at his bar. They are all raised up 
 by his power. They are controlled by his 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 reminds us that his kingdom is not of this world : then 
 would his servants fight : but now is his kingdom not from 
 thence. And 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 
 shewed not that he does not make war, but by what kind 
 of instrumentality his victories are to be achieved. He 
 meets with opposition both in gaining and in maintaining 
 his dominion ; and he rules in the midst of his enemies. 
 But how? By the rod of his strength the Gospel of 
 Christ, which is the power of God to salvation to every 
 one that believetli. " So shall my word be that goeth forth
 
 MARCH 19. 231 
 
 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 ? It was " written." As 
 the vesture seemed dipped in blood, and appeared as of a 
 deep crimson colour, the letters of the name, it is pro- 
 bable, were white and glistening. We know not in what 
 language the name was inscribed. It was legible to John. 
 Might it not be like his title on the cross, written in 
 Hebrew, Greek, and Latin ? 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 written 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 
 tilings 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 
 knowing him. Without knowing him, how can we love 
 him ? How can we put our trust in him ? How can 
 we repair to him for refuge or help ? Therefore says God, 
 " by his knowledge shall 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, " I 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 constantly cry, " Behold the Lamb of God." 
 Hence his people pray, " Send out thy light and thy 
 truth ;" " that thy way may be known on earth, thy saving 
 health among all nations." Hence parents are required 
 to teach him to their children ; and every partaker of
 
 232 MARCH 19. 
 
 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 vesture 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 ? " These shall 
 make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome 
 them, for he is King 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 persua'ded 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? 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 his 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 pros- 
 perously because of truth, and meekness, and righteous- 
 ness , and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things." 
 
 " 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 thy word."
 
 MARCH 20. 233 
 
 MARCH 20. "Gather yourselves together, and hear y 
 ye sons of Jacob ; and hearken unto Israel your father" 
 
 GEN. xlix. 2. 
 
 PRECIOUS in the sight of the Lord is the death of his 
 saints ; and the scene is peculiarly worthy of our contem- 
 plation. It shews us the power of divine grace, and the 
 value of the religion of Jesus in sustaining the possessor 
 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. 
 Therefore says David, " Mark the perfect man, and 
 hehold 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." 
 
 Jacoh is here dying. He feels perfectly composed 
 arid 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 com- 
 mon in the patriarchal age for men, when dying, to 
 pronounce a benediction 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 words of 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 signifies, 
 " 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 forfeited the prerogatives of birth ; and 
 Jacob mentions them only to degrade his son from them.
 
 234 MARCH 20. 
 
 He shall have the privilege of a son, but not the rights 
 of primogeniture " Reuben, thou art my first-born, my 
 might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency 
 of dignity, and the excellency of power : unstable as 
 water, thou shalt not excel ; because thou weutest 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. The sin had indeed |,been 
 committed more than forty years before ; but as nothing 
 is future, 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 established connections 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 
 character 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 was 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 secretly round to 
 it and found him not, " he rent his clothes ; and returned
 
 MARCH 21. 235 
 
 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 brother ;" Reuben 
 made this appeal : " Spake I not unto you, saying, Do 
 not sin against the child ; and ye would not hear ? there- 
 fore, behold 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. Without 
 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 high, and grow strong, and bring 
 forth much fruit. Even obstinacy is preferable to versa- 
 tility : the one may perchance be well guided, and then 
 it will firmly go on ; in the other, there is nothing to 
 guide. You may build upon a rock, but what can you 
 do with a mound of sand ? 
 
 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 ay water, thou shall not 
 excel" GEN. xlix. 4. 
 
 Wherein should ivc seek aftrr (,rcelk'ncc . ;>
 
 236 MARCH 21. 
 
 Let us seek to excel in knowledge. For the soul to be 
 without knowledge it is not good. It is like a vessel with- 
 out 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 Saviour 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 cunning 
 craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." It is 
 lamentable to think how little judgment many professors 
 of religion exercise, 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 leading 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 
 mysteries, and not bridle the tongue or govern the temper ? 
 To be orthodox, and not moral ? To be taught by the 
 Gospel every thing except 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, and 
 influences, is, to make us " partakers of his holiness." 
 
 Let us seek to excel in charity. " Covet earnestly the 
 best gifts," says the Apostle; "and yet I shew unto you 
 a more excellent way :" and this he immediately explains 
 to be our acquiring and exercising the best graces, and
 
 MARCH 21. 237 
 
 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 this all men 
 are to know that we are the disciples of Jesus ; and by 
 this we ourselves are to know that we have passed from 
 death imto life. This is that which the Aposlle 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 love one another. And indeed ye do it 
 toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia." 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 perfectuess." 
 
 Let us seek to excel in usefulness. If the unprofit- 
 able 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 execution witli 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 thankful- 
 ness 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 business, we are 
 the more bound to be useful, because 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 resemble him who went 
 about doing good ? Be teachers of babes in our Sunday 
 schools. Be eyes to the blind. Let the blessing of him
 
 238 MARCH 21. 
 
 that is ready to perish come upon you. Cause the widow's 
 heart to sing for joy. Serve your generation according 
 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 unconcerned 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 great riches. It is 
 valuable as an instrument of usefulness. It gains a man 
 esteem. It procures for him confidence. It gives force to 
 his advice, authority to his reproof, and influence 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 infirmities from which no one 
 professes to be free, or by misrepresenting their actions 
 or motives and against this it may be impossible to guard. 
 But commonly after a while a consistent Christian puts 
 to silence the ignorance 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 serveth Christ is accept- 
 able to God and approved of men. 
 
 Much has been said upon the subject of emulation ; 
 and it has been often disputed whether it should be encou- 
 raged 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, false- 
 hood, 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 ambitious 
 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
 
 MARCH 22. 230 
 
 with all the increase of God. Do not compare yourselves 
 with low models, but with the highest examples. 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 water, thou shalt not 
 excel." GEN. xlix. 4. 
 
 Wherein should me guard against instability P 
 
 We should guard against it in our governing aim. If 
 a vessel at sea is steering for no port, who is to determine 
 whether the direction of the wind be favourable or unfa- 
 vourable ? If we are travelling at random, we move, but 
 we do not journey : and it is a matter of indifference 
 whether we turn aside or draw back ; we make no pro- 
 gress 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 actions, and give every 
 thing a relation. Paul says, " 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 com- 
 bined 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." If here our 
 eye be single, our whole body will be full of light. But 
 if other aims also sway us, we shall be perplexed, dis- 
 tracted, 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. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." 
 
 Let us guard against instability in our views of divine 
 truth. Some have no fixed sentiments in religion ; they
 
 240 MARCH 22. 
 
 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 sup- 
 pose 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 difficult 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, that some are ever 
 learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the 
 truth. It is desirable and necessary 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 connection 
 with a loose creed ? We should distinguish between what 
 is circumstantial 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 congre- 
 gation 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 heaven ; 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 inconstant in their attendance on the means 
 of grace in the same sanctuary. We would not have the
 
 MARCH 22. -Ml 
 
 house of God turned into a prison, and have people fettered 
 to their own walls. Yet it is desirable, and for the pro- 
 motion of godliness, for persons to have a spiritual home 
 of their own. Some on the Sabbath-day morning 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 to themselves teachers, having 
 itching ears." Unstable as water, they never excel. 
 
 We should guard against instability even in our tem- 
 poral concerns. This is inferior in some respects to the 
 former articles, but it has a considerable degree of import- 
 ance. People 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 be versatile. 
 Yet in some what variableness is there ! What instability 
 with regard to friendship every month or year yields 
 a new favourite, at whose shrine some old connection 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 violations of engagement and punctuality what 
 confusion, what delays, what excuses nothing is done 
 decently and in order " Unstable 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, after that 
 ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, 
 strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion 
 for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 242 MARCH 23. 
 
 MARCH 23. " And the prince in the midst of them, 
 when they go in, shall go in -, and when they go forth, 
 shall go forth." EZEK. xlvi. 10. 
 
 THIS refers immediately to the temple worship. Read 
 the verse preceding : " When the people of the land shall 
 come hefore the Lord in the solemn feasts, he that enter- 
 eth 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." 
 This 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 pre- 
 rogatives, feel himself in sacred things on a level with his 
 people, observing the same ordinances, entering the sanc- 
 tuary 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 sovereigns 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 domestics, tenants, and poor 
 neighbours, about them. And superiors ought to be con- 
 stant and devout in their attendance on public worship : 
 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 
 indulged than others, they owe the more to their Benefac- 
 tor, and should be the more concerned to please and serve 
 him j and not resemble vapours exhaled from the earth that 
 only darken and hide the sun that raised them. They are
 
 MARCH 23. 243 
 
 under an obligation arising from influence. They are more 
 seen, observed, 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 encourage imitation. Morals as well as fashions 
 are sure to work downwards. They are under an obliga- 
 tion 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, encouragement, 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 destroys them. 
 They are in jeopardy from self-indulgence, and flattery, 
 and vanity, and pride, and forgetfuluess of God and eter- 
 nity : and here they would be admonished and armed ; 
 here they would be reminded amidst their temptations of 
 their original, their dependence, their mortality, their end, 
 and of the account 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 in him/* 
 But some suppose a reference here to another 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 lawful 
 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 j 
 for so must the assurance be felt, if significant of him. 
 And there is a conformity between him and his people ; 
 and in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his 
 brethren. Yet in all things too he has the preeminence : 
 and is anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. 
 He could say, In the midst of the Church will I sing 
 
 R 3
 
 244 MARCH 23. 
 
 praise unto thee : but he is more than their fellow- wor- 
 shipper, more than their companion, more than their 
 example, more than a man He is Lord of all. 
 
 Observe his title "The Prince." He is the only 
 King in Zion : but he is " Messiah the Prince ;" " the 
 Prince of peace 5" " 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 representations 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 con- 
 sumed. He was in the midst of the seven golden candle- 
 sticks. I will, says he of Zion, 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 is 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 himself unto them. And how 
 often can they 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!" 
 
 But they cannot be always in devotional engagements. 
 They have many other duties to discharge ; and must go
 
 MARCH 23. 245 
 
 forth to meet the claims of civil and relative life But 
 when they go forth he shall go forth ; and be with them 
 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 the morning go forth to their work and their labour ; 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 ; they acknow- 
 ledge him in all their ways ; they are safe, sanctified, and 
 happy. " The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil ; he 
 shall preserve thy soul." Blessed shalt thou be when 
 thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou 
 goest out." 
 
 It is also true with regard to their sufferings. 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 indispensable. 
 
 And is there before them the valley of the shadow 
 of death ? 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 Irnmauuers laud, the rest that remains 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. They shall be for ever with the Lord.
 
 246 MARCH 24. 
 
 MARCH 24. " But as for me, I will come into thy 
 house in the multitude of thy mercy : and in thy fear 
 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 understand 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 fellow-creatures to walk with me in the way 
 everlasting, 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 
 tilings ; 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 
 has 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 shews 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 regards the ser- 
 vice of God in 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 fond 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
 
 MARCH 24. 247 
 
 more bound to do it, from the eminence of his station, 
 and the influence of his example. Though a man full of 
 employment, who had to give audience to ambassadors, 
 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 had 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 ordi- 
 nances for our welfare : and though a painted man does 
 not want food, a living one cannot dispense with it. A 
 real Christian feels his necessities and deficiencies; and 
 knows by experience where his heart has been enlarged, 
 and his strength renewed. He has found God for a 
 refuge in his palaces. Strength and beauty are in the 
 sanctuary. 
 
 The manner in which he would accomplish the reso- 
 lution is worthy our notice. It includes two things. He 
 would do it impressed with a sense of the Divine goodness. 
 I will come into thine house in the multitude of thy mercy. 
 How can we reflect and not feel this ? The worship itself 
 is a privilege. It is a mercy that we have a sanctuary 
 It is a mercy that we have liberty to assemble 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 is 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
 
 218 MARCH 24. 
 
 and guilty as we are, every thing 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 ; personal and relative ; temporal and 
 spiritual : redeeming mercies, justifying mercies, renewing 
 mercies Let us dwell on the plenitude of his undeserved 
 favours, that we may not murmur at a few trials, but come 
 before his presence with singing and praise. 
 
 He would also do it filled with holy veneration. And 
 in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. This 
 fear is not dread, and therefore comports with the cheerful- 
 ness 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. Nothing more becomes the importance of the 
 work in which we are engaged ; and the consequences 
 depending. We sing, and pray, and hear, for eternity. 
 We are responsible 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 too ! 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 pre- 
 vails, 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 into vain and idle discourse. 
 Nor shall we ever come to it without reflection and prayer.
 
 MARCH 25. 249 
 
 MARCH 25. " / am in a strait betwixt two.''' 
 
 PHIL. i. 23. 
 
 NOTHING is more trying and distressing than a state of 
 uncertainty, indecision, and perplexity or being in a strait 
 between opposing claims, one of which only can be chosen. 
 What a strait was David in when he had to choose 
 between pestilence, and war, and famine ! And what a 
 strait was Jacob in between his wish for relief and the 
 fear of sending 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 far 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 far as possible, 
 soften it even in the representation. And the Scripture 
 does this. It tells us that if a man keep 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 tabernacle, 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 to a traveller departing from an inn to which he has 
 turned aside for a night to go on his way ? or to a prisoner 
 departing from his dungeon and chains to enjoy his free- 
 dom ? 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 complex nature of man ! 
 If nothing survived at death, death would he a cessation not
 
 250 MARCH 25. 
 
 a departure. We do not say, an animal departed this life. 
 If we buried a beast, we should not inscribe on a stone, 
 " Here lies his body" Here lies the whole of him. But 
 over the 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 returns to the dust whence 
 it came, the spirit returns to God who gave it." 
 
 The effect of this death is " to be with Christ." It is 
 obvious the Apostle supposed that a separate state imme- 
 diately followed the dissolution of the body, as he says in 
 another place expressly, " absent from the body, and pre- 
 sent with the Lord." Had he expected that he should 
 not be with Christ till the resurrection, his dying would 
 have been of no advantage to him. It might have freed 
 him indeed from his sufferings : but he is not speaking 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. 
 It 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 
 presence 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 blessedness, 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 
 disciples "That they may be with me where I am to 
 behold my glory." Is this our heaven ? Could such 
 happiness make us happy ? "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 Socrates could comfort 
 himself that he was going to Museus and other worthies 
 that had lived before him, what is the attraction of a 
 Christian, that he is going to join his own beloved con-
 
 MARCH 26. 251 
 
 nections, and the martyrs, and the apostles, and the pro- 
 phets, and the patriarchs, and the iuimmerahle company 
 of angels and, above all, " the Lord of all," the most 
 wonderful of all characters, the most endeared 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 blessedness to which it leads. 
 It is strongly expressed. 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 him- 
 self. 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 : as 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 Sabbaths, Lord, we love; 
 But there's a nobler rest above: 
 To that our labouring souls 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 
 Which warble from immortal tongues." 
 
 MARCH 26. " Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is 
 more needful for you. And having this confidence, I
 
 252 MARCH 26. 
 
 know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your 
 furtherance and joy of faith." PHIL. i. 24, 25. 
 
 VOLTAIRE, in his letters to one of his confidential 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 it 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 
 determine : but he was confident that he should not only 
 escape death, but be released 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 backward are some to make any sacri- 
 fice 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 Christianity requires ; 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 glorified 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 again and live in this vale of tears year after year, 
 to serve the cause of the Redeemer, and to promote the 
 salvation of mankind.
 
 MARCH 26. 253 
 
 We see also that Paul was conscious of his usefulness. 
 Ignorance is not necessary to humility ; much less affecta- 
 tion. A man need not deny his abilities, or acceptance, 
 or success ; 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 import- 
 ance 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 comparatively and relatively. Am 
 not I, says he, an Apostle ? " Have I not seen Christ ?" 
 " 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 Philip- 
 pians and others depended upon his abiding in the flesh. 
 
 But wherein did he reckon upon being serviceable ? 
 Not only in the conversion of sinners, but in helping 
 them much who had believed though grace " For your 
 furtherance and joy of faith." This is worthy of notice. 
 It shews 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 divine 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 appropriating in its confidence. He 
 also wished not only for their furtherance, but "joy of 
 faith." 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
 
 254 MARCH 27. 
 
 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 per- 
 secutor, 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 me to live is Christ, and 
 to die is gaiii" " 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?" 
 
 GEN. xxx. 2. 
 
 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 ?" 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, when deprived of all his substance and his rela- 
 tions, " encouraged 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."
 
 MARCH 27. 255 
 
 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 crea- 
 ture. 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 edu- 
 cate him, and place him abroad in life, and fully repair his 
 loss. A husband may seem inconsolable when deprived of 
 the desire 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 general and indiscriminate reflections. There 
 are mothers-in-law who are mothers in kindness ; and 
 step-mothers that is those who step into the place of 
 real mothers, who fulfil the duties of the office, and are 
 mothers indeed 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 substitute. The instrumentality that God 
 employs differs much from the instrumentality which men 
 employ. Men employ instruments from necessity, God 
 employs them from choice. Men employ them from weak- 
 ness, God employs 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 Apollos, 
 but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave 
 to every man ? I have planted, Apollos watered ; but 
 God gave the increase. So then neither is he that 
 planteth any thing, neither he that watereth ; but God 
 that giveth the increase." 
 
 The truth of this doctrine it would be easy to exem- 
 plify. Can any be in God's stead as a creator ? This is
 
 256 MARCH 27. 
 
 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 
 preserver ? 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 
 sacrifice, could provide the lamb for a burnt-offering. He 
 made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might 
 be made the righteousness 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 ? Who can be in his 
 stead as a sanctifier? Who but he can create in us a 
 clean heart, and renew a right spirit within us ? " This 
 people," says he, " have / formed for myself; they shall 
 shew 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 accessible ; 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 use- 
 ful j but let us never suppose that we must obtain them 
 in order to our happiness. One thing only is needful ;
 
 MARCH 28. -257 
 
 it is an interest ill 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 riot 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- 
 nection 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 ! The 
 meaning of many a murmur, and many a groan, is, I have 
 nothing but God himself left ! 
 
 Yet what did David 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 Spirit." James also considers it 
 as an attribute and character of inspired religion : " The 
 wisdom that is from above is gentle." This is surely 
 recommendation enough to induce us to make it the object 
 of devout attention. Gentleness is very distinguishable 
 from weakness of mind, and the fawning of flattery. It 
 requires us to give up no truth, to abandon no duty. 
 Principle and consistency are not only compatible with 
 it, but necessary to it. Lead is too soft as well as too 
 VOL. i. s
 
 258 MARCH 28. 
 
 worthless 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, 
 insolence, violence, harshness, rudeness, and every thing 
 offensive and painful that can be avoided with integrity 
 and rectitude. There is an artificial mildness, and a 
 studied softness of 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 dis- 
 position naturally to exemplify what others from education 
 or custom put on. And how lovely and engaging is that 
 unaffected civility, that courtesy, 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 approved of men. It 
 recommends his religion by adorning it, and gives him a 
 thousand beneficial influences in dealing with his fellow- 
 creatures. A man may wait even years before he has an 
 opportunity for acts of high beneficence and extensive 
 usefulness ; but he can exercise gentleness every day and 
 every hour, and thus contribute to the advantage and hap- 
 piness 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 actuate our temper, and regulate our speech. 
 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and auger, and clamour, and 
 evil speaking, be put away from us, with all malice : and 
 let us be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one 
 another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us. 
 Let us in all our religious concerns remember that the 
 wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. The 
 servant of the Lord must not strive, but be patient towards 
 all men j in meekness instructing those that oppose them-
 
 MARCH 28. 
 
 selves. The way to convince another is not to affront, and 
 insult, and provoke him, and drive him to resistance ; but 
 to shew him that you love him, and are only concerned 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 desti- 
 tution, which, according to them, is not his guilt, but his 
 misfortune ! Is a brother overtaken in a fault ? Let us 
 restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering 
 ourselves lest we also be tempted. Have we occasion to 
 reprove ? Let us remember what was said of Leigh ton 
 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'll strive to mend, 
 And endure what can't be mended." 
 
 And, 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 
 Master also is in heaven, and that there is not respect of 
 persons with him. Gentleness indeed 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 studying him, you would know a man 
 at once, observe how he acts and speaks towards his 
 inferiors." 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 gentleman ; every thing in the 
 Gospel says he is no Christian. 
 
 S 9
 
 260 MARCH 20. 
 
 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 escape from the vile rebellion 
 of Absalom. And it was well said. And it shews 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 addressed to Christ? He is their Lord 
 and King. They profess to be his servants. He has the 
 appointment of their work. And they should be ready to 
 do his will without partiality as well as without hypocrisy 
 - " Behold, 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 appoint every 
 thing pertaining to us. Not a right derived and limited 
 like that of a master or a father to dispose of his servant 
 or his child : but an original, inalienable right the right
 
 MARCH 29. 261 
 
 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 arbitrary. The reasons of them may be for a 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 ordains us, but our submission to it. We 
 are not answerable for our stations and offices ; but for 
 our 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 j 
 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 ?" 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
 
 2(52 MARCH 30. 
 
 day." And such is the readiness of angels 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, hut their 
 having an opportunity of shewing their regard to the 
 pleasure of the employer. May his will be done on earth 
 as it is done in heaven ! 
 
 MARCH 30. "Since rve heard of your faith in Christ 
 Jesus, and of the love which yc have to all the saints, 
 and of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven" 
 
 COL. i. 4, 5. 
 
 THESE were the grounds of Paul and Timothy's praise to 
 God on the behalf of the Colossians. And they are all 
 spiritual motives. Temporal blessings are not to be over- 
 looked But gratitude is to be wise, and to proportion its 
 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 ? 
 
 Much depends upon the nature of our gratitude. 
 There is no man who does not sometimes thank God. 
 But for what ? A safe voyage ; a good harvest ; a reco- 
 very from sickness. All that awakens his heart is confined 
 within the circle of time and sense. Christians are pecu- 
 liar in every thing ; and their gratitude shews that they 
 are heavenly-minded. They therefore thank God not so 
 much for the meat that perisheth, as for that meat which 
 endureth unto everlasting life ; not so much for civil 
 freedom, as for the glorious 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. P'aith regards all the 
 Scripture ; but this is the record, that God hath given us
 
 MARCH 30. 263 
 
 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 there- 
 fore we are represented as looking to him ; coming to 
 him ; building on him as our foundation ; entering him as 
 our refuge ; and glorying in him as the Lord our righte- 
 ousness and strength For the Scriptures always describe 
 rather than define faith ; and shew us what it is by what 
 it does, and what it does with regard to Christ. 
 
 Secondly, Their love to all the Saints. I need not 
 observe how often love is connected with faith : but the 
 same order is always maintained between them Faith 
 precedes 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 not real faith unless it be 
 operative. It works by love. Love to whom ? To "the 
 Saints" not exclusively, but peculiarly. The Thessalo- 
 nians 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" 
 regardless of outward distinctions, or the minor matters 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 follow the example of him who said, 
 " Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in hea- 
 ven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." 
 
 Thirdly, Their "hope." Hope is a grace, 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 shews that the object of hope is here intended ;
 
 264 MARCH 30. 
 
 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 admonition of the Saviour : " Lay 
 up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth 
 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 Chris- 
 tians 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 shews us 
 that it is principally future. At present they are not at 
 home, but strangers and pilgrims on earth. They have 
 remittances and supplies, 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 of 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 triunaph. 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 entered 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 expectation.
 
 MARCH 31. 265 
 
 MARCH 31. " The engrafted word." JAMES i. 21. 
 
 HISTORY is silent as to the time when grafting was first 
 introduced. But it has been long practised ; and the 
 process is now generally 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 thenceforward 
 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 
 immediately 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 ingrafting, so in conversion we remain physi- 
 cally the same as before ; retaining the same relations, 
 conditions, callings ; the same corporeal powers and men- 
 tal faculties only the efficiency of them is changed, 
 hallowed, and applied to other uses and purposes and 
 all through the medium of the word. 
 
 Grafting is one of the most pleasing exercises to those 
 who feel delight in horticulture : and how eagerly and 
 anxiously, after the operation 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 appearance 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 minister look after 
 the effect of his labour ; and the success of his preaching 
 is known and hailed in the same way ; only with higher 
 exultation and praise. Happy those servants of the Lord
 
 266 APRIL 1. 
 
 Jesus whose hearers have received " the grace of God in 
 truth ;" aud 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 character ; 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 believed ; but because it is credible ; and it is 
 made known for the obedience of faith ; aud 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 
 to the Jews, " has no place in you " Has it a place in 
 us ? And what place P In the head only ? or the heart ? 
 Is it in us a notion ? or a principle ? And does it work 
 effectually in us as it does in them that believe ? And 
 does it fill us with all the fruits of righteousness which are 
 by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God ? Such is 
 the promise : " I will put my Spirit within you, and cause 
 you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- 
 ments 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
 
 APRIL 1. 267 
 
 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 contemplating the welfare of his 
 people. Iii 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 tra- 
 vail of his soul, and is " satisfied." 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 
 Israel;" 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, to 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 ? And what can we desire more ? For 
 having fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set 
 before us, we are authorized to receive this strong conso- 
 lation, and claim an interest in this intercession, according
 
 268 APRIL 1. 
 
 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 person, 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 Jonathan 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 believed 
 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 themselves" They possessed it 
 already, but defectively. In conversion a good work is 
 begun ; but it is carried on until the day of Christ. The 
 rising sun, the growing corn, and every other image 
 employed in the Scriptures, import the imperfections and 
 progressions there are in the experience of Christians. 
 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 assurance 
 of hope. Some from various preventions 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 desirable. For 
 
 Observe, Lastly, the importance of this joy This
 
 APRIL 2. 269 
 
 undeniably results from the concern our Saviour here 
 expresses. Men often err ; and we cannot conclude that 
 a thing is eminently, 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 it 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 support in 
 trouble and our comfort in the valley of the shadow of 
 death. In all these the joy of our 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 Saviour's concern regulate the concern of 
 Christians. They should distrust themselves ; but they 
 should be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
 They should watch and be sober ; yet they should be 
 scripturally 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 ? 
 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. "Now 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.
 
 270 APRIL 2. 
 
 HERE we see the Saviour's anguish in realizing 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 suffering and death only ; it must have principally 
 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 igno- 
 minious 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 sufferings and death 
 were to redeem us from the curse of the law ; and there- 
 fore he was made a curse for us.- The Lord laid on him 
 the iniquity 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." Behold " his 
 sweat, as it were great drops of blood falling to the 
 ground." A Christian can never deem sin a trifle, or be 
 reconciled to it after he has seen the agonies of him who 
 was pierced by it And as the citizens of Rome, upon the 
 uncovering of the wounded and gory body of Caesar, 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 '11 proclaim eternal war 
 With every darling sin." 
 
 He here speaks as one in a strait ; as if struggling 
 between inclination and conviction, his feeling and his 
 work " And what shall I say? Father, save me from 
 this hour ? But for this cause came I unto this hour."
 
 APRIL 2. 271 
 
 There is no real difficulty here. He was human as well 
 as divine ; and the Godhead did not absorb the humanity, 
 or change it. -5 attributes. The Word was made flesh, and 
 had all the passions and infirmities of our nature, sin only 
 excepted. Cut 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 inclina- 
 tion 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 Patience 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 cause 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 hour." 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 irom 
 the beginning, 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 sufferings will be for thine 
 honour, let them fall upon me, regardless of my feelings." 
 Did he then question this ? By no means. His Ian-
 
 272 APRIL 2. 
 
 guage is rather the expression of confidence. " I know 
 that my death will infallibly and infinitely advance thy 
 praise ; and therefore I cheerfully bow to thy pleasure" 
 Just as he said, after 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 
 me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." 
 But what is it to glorify his Name ? Glory is the dis- 
 play 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 shews 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 magni- 
 fied, and his righteousness and truth confirmed ; and thus 
 he would have been glorified. And this glory of God is 
 secured here : but observe the additional advantage. Had 
 the wicked been punished, though his law would have 
 been magnified, and his truth and righteousness confirmed, 
 we could have seen nothing else nothing of his mercy 
 and love : but here mercy and truth meet together, righte- 
 ousness 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 indeed 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
 
 APRIL 3. 273 
 
 irradiations reserved for another life, which will draw forth 
 the wonder and praise of the heavenly world for ever 
 Angels desire to look into these things. 
 
 We love not to consider Christ only or chiefly as our 
 model. But after holding him forth in his higher charac- 
 ters 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 acceptable to Christians. 
 The love shed abroad in their hearts by his cross, will 
 make them long to resemble him, and pray that they 
 may he 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 example, 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 T will, but as thou wilt." Like him 
 also we must, as sufferers, regard the honour of God, and 
 be concerned that his Name may be glorified by our trials. 
 " Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires." You 
 cannot do this in the same way with him. His sufferings 
 were mediatorial, atoning, and meritorious. But yours 
 may be instructive, encouraging, and useful. They may 
 'recommend your religion, and prove that God never for- 
 sakes his people, but is with them in trouble, and comforts 
 them in all their tribulation, and 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. 30. 
 
 THIS is a circumstance not mentioned by the other 
 evangelists. But it is very instructive. 
 VOL. i. T
 
 274 APRIL 3. 
 
 We should like to have known the very hymn they 
 sung. The psalms the Jews used at the end of the pass- 
 over 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 emotions of his 
 countenance ! to have heard the strains of his voice ! But 
 the Scripture is not designed to indulge our curiosity. It 
 therefore 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 Apos- 
 tles ; 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, 
 " teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and 
 hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your 
 hearts to the Lord." And James enjoins those who are 
 merry to " sing psalms." 
 
 But observe by what this singing was immediately 
 preceded, and by what it was immediately followed. 
 
 It was immediately preceded by the administration of 
 his own supper. Hence we learn that singing should 
 accompany this sacred ordinance. " 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 indeed, and his blood driuk 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
 
 APRIL 3. 275 
 
 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 tahle, 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 immediately followed 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 singing 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 con- 
 tinually be in my mouth. I look for changing scenes and 
 trying dispensations ; but I shall always have to sing of 
 mercy as well as judgment and of mercy in judgment." 
 " Come," would Luther say to Melancthon, a wise man, 
 but more timorous than himself, when prospects looked 
 dark and distressing at the beginning 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 complainings, 
 we are often silent in his praise, as if we had nothing to 
 be grateful for, though encompassed with his goodness. 
 The impression of one trial will make us insensible to the 
 
 T fl
 
 276 APRIL 4. 
 
 claims of a thousand blessings. " But Christ might well 
 siug. He knew God would be with him in the trying 
 scene." And will he not be with you ? Has he not said, 
 " I will be with thee in trouble ?" "And he had a joy 
 set 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 
 remembrance ; that you can bring home to yourselves what 
 you have heard and seen ; that you can call your con- 
 sciences to an account ; that you can yield yourselves 
 afresh unto the Lord ; that you can implore that Divine 
 influence which alone giveth the increase. 
 
 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 witli 
 all wisdom." 
 
 APRIL 4. "And as they led him away, they laid 
 hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the 
 country, 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 Caiaphas to Herod
 
 APRIL 4. 277 
 
 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 frequently eveu 
 weeks elapse between the sentence of death and the 
 execution : and Tiberias 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 necessary for the public safety 
 and tranquillity that such malefactors should be immedi- 
 ately 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 to be crucified. But he was not taken by surprise. 
 He knew that his hour was come , and was read} to 
 welcome its approach. 
 
 He was not conveyed to the place of execution, but 
 walked. Nor was this all. Among the Romans the cri- 
 minal carried his cross. The design of 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 thyself?" 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 
 imposition 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 continuance 
 of the task, at least in the manner his executioners wished. 
 
 Hence the relief afforded him. This relief was not 
 from tenderness to him, but to hasten the execution. 
 They saw that he grew weak, and frequently paused ;
 
 278 APRIL 4. 
 
 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, and 
 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 Simon. Simon was of Cyrene, 
 a city of Lybia, 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 sin. 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. Simon was coming up from the country, 
 either to do business or to attend to the Passover. Nothing 
 therefore could be more accidental than this meeting. 
 
 But how much in his history depended upon it ! 
 We cannot help thinking he was a secret disciple of 
 Jesus ; and seeing him thus suffering, and ready to sink, 
 he betrayed his sympathy and regard by his looks and 
 words. This was enough for the soldiers and the 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 enforcement of the thing ; for 
 it is obvious he made no resistance. Had he been an 
 unrelenting Jew, an enemy to Jesus and his doctrine, he 
 would have railed and cursed ; and the Priests and Scribes 
 would have interposed for him, and desired the soldiers 
 not to make a laughing-stock of one of their fellow- 
 citizens. Or if for a moment he discovered a little reluc- 
 tance, he soon felt enough not only to make him willing 
 to yield, but to enable him to rejoice that he was counted 
 worthy to suffer shame for his Name. 
 
 And is not the same thing required of us ? Has not 
 Jesus said, "Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and corne
 
 APRIL 5. 279 
 
 after me, cannot be my disciple ?" We too at first may be 
 ready to shrink back j but further information and expe- 
 rience induce us cheerfully to deny ourselves, and to go 
 forth to him without the camp bearing his reproach. We 
 see him before 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 exceeding 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 com- 
 pany of people, 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 children. 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 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 multi- 
 tude spread their garments in the way, and cried, 
 Hosannah ! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord ! Many of the same people are now following him as 
 he goes to Calvary to be crucified. As it was now a fes- 
 tival, there was an immense concourse of people ; this would 
 readily increase the number of spectators. But a public
 
 280 APRIL 5. 
 
 execution always collects a crowd. There must be some- 
 thing exceedingly attractive and interesting in such a sight, 
 or so many would not repair to it ; for they go voluntarily ; 
 and there have heen instances in which a reprieve has 
 disappointed their expectation, and led them to murmur 
 that they had taken so much trouble in vain. Yet a pub- 
 lic 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 degradation 
 of our common nature. That criminal may be less guilty 
 than myself. He may have had few of ray advantages. 
 If left in the same circumstances he was, what might I 
 have been ? 
 
 Our regard for the sex makes us lament that so 
 many females always attend such scenes as these. They 
 have certainly more compassionateness than men ; but 
 they have also in their nature a principle of curiosity, and 
 a love of excitement, which sometimes 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 carrying their babes. But they did themselves 
 honour ; for while others insulted, they " lamented 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 opposite to them in this 
 piteous plight bleeding exhausted pausing and pant- 
 ing the executioners 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 as well as 
 tenderness. It shewed an interest in the supposed cul- 
 prit : it seemed a censure of his suffering as unjust and 
 cruel. And persons were severely forbidden to indulge in
 
 APRIL 5. 281 
 
 public condolence with offenders the Sanhedrim had con- 
 demned 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 absorb 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 sprang from ignorance of the cause and design of 
 his death. Others suppose 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 absurd. 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 coun- 
 try, 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 begin to say to 
 the mountains, Fall on us ; and to the hills, Cover us." 
 
 Of these judgments he intimates the cause, in a ques- 
 tion 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 inflammable than 
 wood withered and dead. If I suffer who am innocent 
 how will the guilty escape and who are adding my 
 death to all their other crimes ? It shews 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
 
 282 APRIL 6. 
 
 punishment. If the ignorant are destroyed for lack of 
 knowledge, what will become of those who possess and 
 abuse it ? If they escape 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 
 admonition 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 his friends, how will he treat enemies ? 
 " Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the 
 earth : much more the wicked and the sinner." " 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 evange- 
 lists. But John more than sufficiently attests it. The 
 fact is very striking and improvable ; and perhaps we are 
 not instructed 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 manner 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 side was opened, and from thence his 
 Church was taken, to whom he has espoused himself.
 
 APRIL 6. 283 
 
 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 represents 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 requests, and which shall 
 be thereby safely conveyed 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 impres- 
 sion made by such improprieties upon the minds of the 
 young, and the educated, 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 Sab- 
 bath 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 anxious about the external 
 and ceremonial parts of religion. Conscience as well as 
 decency requires something ; forms and rites are not 
 difficult, and they leave the state of the heart untouched. 
 What a mixture was here ! What superstition and wicked- 
 ness ! 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 despatch 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 remem- 
 bered 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
 
 284 APRIL 6. 
 
 this does not exempt him from the same usage endured 
 by his impenitent companion. All things come alike to 
 all. But though outwardly treated alike, what a difference 
 was there between them in their feelings and in their 
 end one passing from torture into torment the other 
 rejoicing that all his suffering was for ever ended, and he 
 should instantly 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 sacrifice 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 dead already, 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 
 account 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 
 submitted for my sake as a confirmation of the reality 
 and certainty of his death as a symbol 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.
 
 APRIL 7. 285 
 
 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 conditions. 
 Some are rich ; but he had not where to lay his head. 
 Some are admired and caressed ; he was despised and 
 rejected of men. Some are nobles and princes ; he made 
 himself 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 ignominious, he was 
 numbered with the transgressors, and crucified between 
 two thieves. He was also insulted when dying and man- 
 gled when dead. O my soul, was all this humiliation for 
 me ? And shall I 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 
 should I regard all this ! The wounds of a General who 
 bleeds in the defence of his country are deemed not dis- 
 graceful, but scars of honour ; and are viewed with emotions 
 of tenderness, admiration, and praise. Jesus displayed
 
 286 APRIL 7. 
 
 much more than such memorials. He retained them after 
 his resurrection. When he appeared to the Apostles, 
 " he shewed them his hands and his feet." Thomas was 
 not then present, and continued incredulous, notwithstand- 
 ing 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 he 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 excite the renewed praises of his people 
 
 Let us view it as a confirmation of the reality 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 j 
 and they fully ascertained it. The very act of wanton- 
 ness in the ruffian soldier demonstrated it. He could not 
 have survived the wound, had it been given him in perfect 
 health. It penetrated the pericardium, 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 j 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 legacies 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 important. If it be 
 false, I am left to all the effects 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 manner of our
 
 APRIL 7. 287 
 
 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 Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The 
 reference regards the 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 is to be found 
 unless in the cross. But they are both to be derived from 
 a dying Jesus : and therefore 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 iu our creed and our experience. 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 ; neither can 
 they be divided in their application. Happy they who 
 value both ; and can say, " In the Lord have I righte- 
 ousness and strength." 
 
 Lastly, we may view it as a display of Providence in 
 the fulfilment of the Scripture. Hence John imme- 
 diately 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 ? That Jesus was the 
 Messiah, by the correspondence between him and the pro- 
 phecies going before. Observe those he mentions : First, 
 says he, " For these things were done, that the Scripture 
 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 
 foretold 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. 
 
 o
 
 288 APRIL 8. 
 
 Nor would another have been accomplished had he not 
 pierced his side. "Again another Scripture saith, They 
 shall look on 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 hefore 
 the accomplishment, 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, 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 peni- 
 tent 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 cannot 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 brutality 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 becoming 
 in those who were chargeable with the deed, when they 
 reflected that they had crucified 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 bit- 
 terness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first- 
 born." But suppose we should have been consenting unto
 
 APRIL 8. 289 
 
 his death ? Suppose we should have been the cause of it ? 
 Suppose his persecutors and murderers were only the 
 instruments we employed? 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 realizes his own bloodguiltiness 
 in this awful scene ; 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 refuge will be found a refuge of lies ; 
 every other comforter a miserable comforter. But that 
 which satisfies the righteousness of God may well satisfy 
 the alarmed and afflicted conscience of the sinner. We 
 have redemption through his blood ; and this blood cleans- 
 eth us from all sin. We oppose to the number and 
 heinousness of our offences the infinite value of the 
 sacrifice. We are reconciled unto God by the death of 
 his Son. This death we plead, and are accepted in the 
 Beloved ; 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 submission from the 
 sight. The Apostle tells us to " consider him" as a suf- 
 ferer, lest we be " weary and faint in our minds." His 
 cross is the tree by which the bitter waters in the wilder- 
 ness are healed. His death has redeemed us from the 
 curse of the law ; and nothing penal is left in any of our 
 VOL. i. u
 
 290 APRIL 8. 
 
 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 complain at our afflictions ? What are our 
 endurings compared with his ? 
 
 We look on him also to excite and inflame our zeal. 
 Many motives to ohedience are mentioned in the Scrip- 
 ture, and therefore it cannot be improper to be 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, constraineth 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 con- 
 tributed, 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 gratitude for his unspeak- 
 able tender mercies to my soul. He has been pleased to 
 declare that he will look upon such a piece of kindness as 
 done to his own blessed self. This makes me, this makes 
 all believers glad to embrace every such occasion of shew- 
 ing our thankfulness to our infinitely condescending gra- 
 cious Lord. The action which Mrs. calls generous, 
 
 does not arise, as she expresses it, from any innate noble- 
 ness of mind. I remember 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 your friend to differ from 
 his natural self. If the flinty heart is melted into com- 
 passion, it is melted by a believing consideration of his
 
 APRIL 9. 291 
 
 most precious blood. If the avaricious hands are opened 
 and made ready to distribute, willing to communicate, they 
 are made so by the free grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Therefore not unto me, not unto me, but unto the great 
 and good Redeemer, are all the returns of gratitude due." 
 
 APRIL 9. "Joseph of Arimatfuea, (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 connection with pro- 
 phecy. 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 deemed an improvement " And his 
 grave was appointed with the wicked, but with the rich 
 man was his tomb." Here it is clearly intimated 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 Arimathsea, 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
 
 292 APRIL 9. 
 
 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 tried word. For near six 
 thousand years it has been continually put to the test \ 
 and it has always been found faithful " The Scripture 
 cannot be broken." 
 
 We may consider Joseph of Arimathaea 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 goodness or sense 
 confined to them ? The common people gave much better 
 proof even of their wisdom and taste than those who 
 despised them ; " the common people heard him gladly" 
 But we answer, yes ; some of the rulers have believed 
 on him : witness Joseph of Arimathaea ; 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 Caesar's household. We find Abra- 
 ham 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 arid twenty-seven provinces, to 
 retire three times a day for praise and prayer : and in all 
 ages there have been some instances of piety in the higher 
 walks of life. There have indeed been few enough to 
 shew that the cause of Christ has not depended on them, 
 while they have been numerous enough to confute the 
 prejudice that religion is only suited to the ignorant and 
 vulgar. 
 
 We may also view this man in connection 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,
 
 APRIL 9. 293 
 
 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 convictions, and acknowledging what they 
 know to be the truth. But we ought faithfully to adhere to 
 the dictates of conscience ; and not only be Christians, but 
 appear such, confessing 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 remember That some individuals, owing to their 
 stations and connections, 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 beginning and the pro- 
 gress of its work in the soul there may be as great a dif- 
 ference as between the mustard seed and the mustard tree 
 And that we may hope the Lord has more disciples than 
 we are aware of, only they are kept back from our obser- 
 vation by things blamable in themselves, yet compatible 
 with sincerity. Little did Elijah think, when he said, I 
 am left alone, that there were seven 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 
 disciple in Joseph of Arimathaea. 
 
 Therefore again observe this man in the increase and 
 development of his Christian principle. For he now shews 
 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 expense. 
 You will draw upon yourself suspicion. You will excite
 
 294 APRIL 9. 
 
 prejudice. You will injure your usefulness Besides, he is 
 now dead, and what good can you do his remains I' But 
 Joseph confers not with flesh and blood. It required no 
 little zeal and courage to own a regard for one that had 
 been judicially executed under the charge of blasphemy 
 and sedition to come forward and publicly ask for his 
 body to give it an honourable interment in his own 
 garden and his own tomb, which had never yet been used. 
 This was more than identifying himself with the male- 
 factor ; 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 pre- 
 sent 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 
 ill our views and feelings sometimes render us a wonder 
 to others, and perhaps also to ourselves ! 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 
 doctrine of transubstantiatiou that Moloch at whose shrine 
 so many victims have been immolated a poor man was 
 convicted and sentenced 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 
 supposing he wished to recant, immediately approached
 
 APRIL 10. 295 
 
 and addressed him. This however 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 himself, 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, ye shall live also." 
 
 JOHN xiv. 19. 
 
 WE are seldom sufficiently struck with individual import- 
 ance. We are all in a state of connection 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 sympathies and anxieties. Remove that 
 monarch, and the extensive empire founded by his valour 
 and skill is crushed at once, or crumbled by degrees to 
 nothing. Remove that minister, and the congregation he 
 has by his talents attracted and formed is divided, dimi- 
 nished, and dispersed. Remove the head of that family, 
 and two tender relations are immediately produced, the 
 widow and the fatherless, and both reduced to perplexity 
 and distress ; it may be, to want and oppression. Yet 
 in all these instances the dependence is not absolute, 
 and the consequences admit of much exception and limi- 
 tation. Empires have flourished when monarchs have 
 fallen. Congregations have continued when ministers 
 have finished their course. Families have been provided
 
 296 APRIL 10. 
 
 for when the husband and the father have heen taken 
 away But here is a Being upon whom hangs all the 
 glory of his Father's house. He is indispensably and infi- 
 nitely necessary to a multitude which no man can number. 
 Is he alive or dead ? If he he 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 ? 
 " Because I live, ye shall live also." 
 
 By his life, here, though spoken of as present, 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 his life." Of this life we think compa- 
 ratively too little, not considering that it was expedient 
 for us that he went away that he not only died for us, 
 but rose again that he is exalted to be a Prince and a 
 Saviour -that he is carrying on in heaven the same cause 
 that brought him down to earth. There will be indeed a 
 close to this at the end of the economy, 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 apply- 
 ing, 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 
 shew how the life of his people, in their justification, sanc- 
 tification, and glorification, depends on the living Saviour ; 
 but we see also that their life is insured and secured by 
 his " Because I live, ye shall live also." 
 
 The certainty of the result is founded in three princi- 
 ples. 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-suffi- 
 ciency he possesses to meet all their exigences. We 
 cannot infer the safety and welfare 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 Saviour is equal to his readi-
 
 APRIL 11. 297 
 
 ness to help us. His love passeth knowledge, and has the 
 command 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 because 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 fulness dwells ? 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. " God maketh my heart soft." 
 
 JOB xxiii. 16. 
 
 WE may consider God's softening the heart three ways. 
 There is a soft heart derived 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 providence. There is a soft heart 
 derived from renovation Thus he makes the heart soft, 
 as the God of grace. 
 
 Let us now attend to the first of these. We are fear- 
 fully 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
 
 298 APRIL 11. 
 
 inequality from the operation of causes subsequently to 
 birth. Events and circumstances have unquestionably a 
 mighty influence in forming the character; and in ele- 
 vating or depressing, in rousing or checking the powers of 
 the individual : but surely there is some difference previ- 
 ously to the existence or want of excitement and develop- 
 ment, We cannot suppose that any similar mode of 
 training would have made Johnson Shakespeare, or Shake- 
 speare 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 know- 
 ledge than we possess or can probably acquire. Neither 
 is it necessary to attempt absolutely to decide whether this 
 softness of heart be upon the whole desirable or advan- 
 tageous. 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 ? Nor should 
 we forget that religion adapts itself to every peculiarity of 
 natural formation and complexion. It has scenery for the 
 imaginative, secrets for the inquisitive, depths for the pro- 
 found, 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 ; levy-
 
 APRIL 11. 299 
 
 iug some tax upon what is admired and envied, and con- 
 necting some redeeming quality, or some power of com- 
 pensation, with every disadvantage. Certain states or 
 qualities therefore, abstractedly considered, cannot prove 
 how much the subjects of them actually suffer or enjoy. 
 
 The tenderness of which we are speaking certainly 
 gives a quickness to the sensations of the individual, so 
 that he admits more misery than another ; but he feels 
 also more happiness. 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 satisfaction and luxury are far 
 better than the stagnant pool, or the dull unvarying level, 
 of dulness and unfeeling sameness. I would rather be 
 a sensitive plant than a fungus. Who would, as a tra- 
 veller, 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? 
 
 All must allo\v that this sensibility renders the possessor 
 amiable. Men are commonly ashamed of being seen in 
 tears. But true greatness is always tender and sympa- 
 thetic. Homer, that just observer of nature, makes no 
 scruple to represent Ulysses his best of men, and Achil- 
 les his bravest of men, frequently weeping. Jonathan 
 and David were the most heroical young men of the age ; 
 yet they wept on each other's neck, till each exceeded. 
 Yea we read that the Lord of all wept at the grave of 
 Lazarus. What can equal beauty in tears ? The moment 
 a female appears devoid of tenderness, she wants an excel- 
 lence 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 sensibility pre- 
 pares persons for usefulness. In numberless cases where 
 the relief and comfort of our fellow-creatures are concerned
 
 300 APRIL 12. 
 
 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 affliction 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 troubleth me, because I 
 was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he 
 covered the darkness from my face." 
 
 Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. 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 under their trials, and 
 despise the chastening of the Lord. When God strikes 
 them, they strike again ; and repair in their calamity to 
 places of sin or dissipation, to drown all 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 refused to receive 
 correction : they have made their faces harder than a 
 rock ; they have refused to return." The judgments of 
 God which befal some men are like blows inflicted 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 re-builder 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
 
 APRIL 12. 301 
 
 Abiram his first-born, set up the gates thereof in his 
 youngest son Segub." Thus many, if not verbally, yet 
 practically express a determination to proceed in an evil 
 course, notwithstanding obvious and repeated discourage- 
 ments and checks thrown in their way. Ahab was reduced 
 very low, " yet in the time of his distress 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 Edomites, and the Phi- 
 listines, 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 ? Can nothing of this kind deservedly 
 stigmatize you ? " This is the man who when desolated 
 in his circumstances, bereaved of his connections, and 
 more than once the subject of disease, instead of humbling 
 himself under the mighty hand of God, waxed worse and 
 worse, and proceeded from evil to evil." 
 
 But in a general way, when people come into trouble, 
 they feel, feel seriously and softened. But what is the 
 result ? It is threefold. First It often wears off, and the 
 effect produced is like the morning cloud and early dew that 
 passeth away. O 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 was upon them." O " let 
 my soul live and it shall 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 with shame. Pharaoh 
 after every plague cried, I have sinned ; entreat the Lord 
 for me ; but when there was respite lie 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
 
 302 APRIL 12. 
 
 always driven by the heavy pressure of anguish to dis- 
 traction or despair. And so it is with not a few. They 
 droop and sink in the day of adversity ; and are swallowed 
 up of over much sorrow. They verify the words of the 
 Apostle ; " The sorrow of the world worketh death" 
 It deprives them of reputation, subjects them to contempt, 
 deprives them of support, preys upon their health, breaks 
 down their spirits : and the sufferer gradually drops into 
 the grave, or by self-destruction is hurried from the evils 
 of time into those of eternity 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 afflicted." As 
 therefore 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 purpose, 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 distress sought the God of his 
 father, and found him. 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 unkind- 
 nesses and treacheries that said, " Trust ye not in a friend, 
 put ye not confidence 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, my 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.
 
 APRIL 13. 303 
 
 " 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, to the shining realms above, 
 
 I stretch my hands, and glance mine eyes; 
 for 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 droten the sorrows of my soul." 
 
 APRIL 13. " God maketh my heart soft." 
 
 JOB xxiii. 16. 
 
 THERE is a soft heart derived from renovation. Thus he 
 makes the heart soft, as the God of grace. 
 
 Of this the Lord speaks in the new covenant " 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 feel- 
 ing 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 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost. But when grace makes 
 the heart soft, it will appear in the following 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 loss I have shed many 
 tears for my son, but many more for my sin." Thus
 
 304 APRIL 13. 
 
 Ephraim was heard bemoaning himself; and what was the 
 subject of his complaint? Not his suffering but his 
 incorrigibleness under it : " Thou hast chastised me, and 
 I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke I 
 was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear 
 the reproach of my youth Turn thou me and I shall be 
 turned, for thou art the Lord my God." And what is 
 the Divine promise ? "I will pour upon the house of 
 David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit 
 of grace and of supplications : and they shall look upon me 
 whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as 
 one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness 
 for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.'* 
 And repentance never flows so freely, and we never so 
 much sorrow after a godly sort, as when we are led to the 
 cross and view the Saviour dying not only by us but for us. 
 When the heart is made soft, it will be pliant to the 
 word of truth. An instance of 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 " trem- 
 ble at his word." The sinner sits before among the threat- 
 enings of God, as Solomon sat between his twelve lions 
 unal armed 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 Divine 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. He dares not question 
 its declarations. He yields himself to its authority without
 
 APRIL 13. 300 
 
 asking how can these things be ; and receives with meek- 
 ness the engrafted word which is able to save the soul. 
 
 If the heart be made soft, we shall be compassionate 
 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 instruct them. Have they fallen ? In meekness 
 we shall endeavour 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 good- 
 ness. The man, instead of complaining 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 P 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 his benefits. 
 
 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 daily 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 ? The very feeling shews 
 some sensibility. Who longs for a soft one ? Let him ask 
 VOL. i. x
 
 306 APRIL 14. 
 
 of God, who is more ready to hear than we are to pray, 
 and who " despiseth not the prayer of the destitute." 
 
 APRIL 14. " The God of all comfort." 
 
 2 COR. i. 3. 
 
 How much, botli as to duty and privilege, depends upon 
 the views we entertain of " him with whom we have to 
 do !" And while born to trouble as the sparks fly 
 upward, and passing 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 regard him as "THE GOD OF ALL 
 COMFORT ?" 
 
 And how well does he deserve this beneficent 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 morsels 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 joy- 
 ous, 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 reaper fills his hand, 
 and he that biudeth sheaves 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 sym-
 
 APRIL 14. 307 
 
 palhies, 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 heathen made idols of every thing that afforded 
 them relief and comfort ; and thus they loved and served 
 the creature more than the Creator. Let us not resemble 
 them; but remember that whatever may be *lhe medium 
 of our comfort, God is the only source of it. Thus the 
 instrument, instead of seducing us from God, will be a 
 conductor to him ; and the stream will lead us to " the 
 fountain of life." God 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 appli- 
 cation to say, " Am I in God's stead ? If the Lord help 
 thee not, whence should I help thee ?" If we will not 
 make him our trust, he will make that whereon we lean to 
 smite us. He can take comfort 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 comforters," 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 pros- 
 perity will destroy us : and at the end of our days the fool 
 
 x a
 
 308 APRIL 15. 
 
 and the wretch will acknowledge the truth of Jonah's 
 confession, " They that observe lying vanities forsake their 
 own mercies ; 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 j 
 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 prerogative and 
 delight to " comfort them that are cast down." Why 
 should you faint or despond ? Are the consolations of 
 God small with thee ? Does not He say, " /, even /, am 
 he that comforteth thee P" 
 
 Lord, I believe : help thou my unbelief. " Thou, 
 which hast shewed 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
 
 APRIL 15. 309 
 
 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 Holy Spirit 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 standard. " Evil men under- 
 stand not judgment : but they that seek the Lord under- 
 stand 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 those which regard 
 the welfare of the soul and eternity. 
 
 Aud their judgment is founded in truth. The most 
 awful evils are spiritual evils. And these are more pecu- 
 liar 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 recorded 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 con- 
 science ; to vile affections ; to strong delusion j to believe 
 a lie. The spirit of slumber falls upon them. The word 
 and ordinances of religion become barren 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 substance 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
 
 310 APRIL 15. 
 
 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 he your 
 most earnest prayer : " Cast me not away from thy pre- 
 sence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." 
 
 But was David in danger of this ? We do not like 
 to 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. God was provoked to leave Hezekiah in the 
 business of the ambassadors of Babylon, and it shewed 
 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 temp- 
 tation, a partaker of Divine grace may be reduced to such 
 a state of darkness, and horror, and anguish, as to appre- 
 hend God's entire abandonment of him for ever. 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 was cut off from before his eyes. 
 
 Such an evil and bitter thing is it to sin against God. 
 So surely will our hackslidings reprove us. If his children 
 walk not in my judgments, then will I visit their trans- 
 gression with the rod. Nevertheless ray lovingkindness 
 will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness 
 to fail. The way to walk comfortably is to walk con- 
 sistently. 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 
 people, surely he would shew that they are not walking 
 so as to please him. Them that honour me, I will honour. 
 Blessed is the man that feareth always.
 
 APRIL 10. 311 
 
 APRIL 16. " Ye were as sheep going astray." 
 
 1 PET. 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 every one to his own 
 way." If there be truth in this supposition, two things 
 are asserted by the prophet which are not repeated by the 
 Apostle. The one is, the universality of the charge All 
 we like sheep have gone astray. There is no difference 
 between Jew and Greek. The Scripture has proved all 
 under sin. The other is, the diversification of the depra- 
 vity We have turned every one to his own way. Though 
 all are guilty, each has some particular iniquity to which 
 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 
 satisfied because they are free from some crimes chargeable 
 upon others ; not considering that they also are wanderers, 
 only in another road. A straight line is always the same ; 
 but there 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 people 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 j the profligate and 
 the pharisaical ; the open offender and the close hypo- 
 crite ; the superstitious Papist and the formal Protestant, 
 are all in the same condition with regard to their safety. 
 Let us remember that the Scripture is our only rule of 
 judgment, and that it matters not what we think of our- 
 selves, 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 therefore just and pertinent. 
 Indeed nothing can be more significant of the danger and
 
 312 APRIL 16. 
 
 misery of a sinner than a strayed sheep. The welfare of 
 the sheep depends on the care of the shepherd. If they 
 wander heyond his protecting arm, they are liahle 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, or of themselves find their way 
 back. They are therefore lost unless sought after. The 
 metaphors of the Scripture, however, though strong in their 
 allusion, are 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 ; hut 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 wilfully incur every kind of peril and wretchedness. 
 And is not this the emblem of our conduct ? Did not 
 God make man upright ? Did not the inspiration of the 
 Almighty give him understanding ? Was he not placed 
 in a condition of safety, peace, and happiness ? Was he 
 not fenced in by Divine commands ? apprized of the con- 
 sequences of going astray ? and warned against them ? 
 Yet astray he 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 enjoy- 
 ments, they are bound to serve and obey him : but they 
 prefer their own will to his authority, and live in the 
 violation of his laws which are all holy, and just, and good. 
 They go astray from their happiness in God. Thus they 
 forsake him as their portion, following after rest and satis- 
 faction apart from the Supreme good. All wish for happi- 
 ness ; but where do they naturally seek it ? In the 
 pleasures of sin, in the dissipations of the world, in science,
 
 APRIL 17. 313 
 
 fame, riches, power, friendship. They do not seek it in 
 the favour, the image, the presence, the service of God. 
 They wish to be happy without God. They ask, "Who 
 will shew us any good ?" 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 ? Do they 
 always call upon God ? They go astray from their reco- 
 very by God. Thus they forsake him as their Saviour ; 
 who, instead of abandoning them when they departed from 
 him, remembered them in their low estate, and provided 
 means the most suitable and adequate for their restoration. 
 He spared not his own Sou, but gave him up as a propiti- 
 ation for their sins. He sends them the Gospel \ beseeches 
 them by his ministers ; and urges the message by a thou- 
 sand 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 righteousness 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 acknow- 
 ledge that ye yourselves also were once foolish and diso- 
 bedient. But after this the lovingkindness of God our 
 Saviour towards you appeared. If you are justified, 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 your souls ! 
 
 / APRIL 17. " He that sanctifieth and they who are 
 sanctified" HEB. ii. 11.
 
 314 APRIL 17. 
 
 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 ; or that he acts upon 
 them as a mechanic operates upon stone and wood, which 
 are insensible and unconscious of the process. He does 
 not sanctify them without their knowledge, and consent, 
 and choice, and exertion. According to his good plea- 
 sure 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 enjoined, as well as promised, and 
 we are called upon to cleanse ourselves from all filthi- 
 ness 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 exercise 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 sanctify, admits of two imports. The first is sepa- 
 ration or setting apart from common 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 consecration. 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 being 
 alone. This sense of sanctification indeed applies to the 
 people of God, but it involves another. " The Lord hath
 
 APRIL 17. 315 
 
 set apart him that is godly for himself." " God hath from 
 the beginning chosen them to salvation, through sanctifi- 
 cation of the Spirit, and belief of the truth." 
 
 The second meaning therefore is renovation Hence 
 we read of being renewed in the spirit of our minds ; of 
 being made partakers 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 and pursuit. 
 Paul therefore says, " Be ye transformed by the renewing 
 of the mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and 
 acceptable, and perfect will of God" The latter depends 
 upon the former. We cannot be consecrated 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, then 
 what God purposed is actually exemplified, and we dedi- 
 cate ourselves to him, considering ourselves as no longer 
 our own, and using all we are, and all we have, to his 
 service and in his praise. 
 
 Hence sanctification is more than natural amiableuess, 
 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 progress of the former is suc- 
 cessional, the latter simultaneous. The painter or the 
 sculptor while advancing one part of the picture or the 
 statue leaves for the 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 toge- 
 ther to manhood in due time So it is with the Christian. 
 
 How defective are they in their religious views and
 
 316 APRIL 18. 
 
 concerns who do not look to the Lord Jesus as the Sancti- 
 fier 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 PET. 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 commanded to " seek first," that is, before all other 
 things, " the kingdom of God and his righteousness." 
 And it is to enable us to pursue these objects in a manner 
 becoming their importance, that other cares are forbid- 
 den. Yet, 
 
 Secondly, the Apostle does not design, even in tem- 
 poral 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." " The prudent 
 man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself; but the simple 
 pass on and is punished." " Go to the ant, thou slug- 
 gard ; consider her ways, and be wise : which having no 
 guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the sum- 
 mer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." Hence also 
 the general caution : " Let thine eyes look right on, and 
 let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path 
 of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." If pro- 
 fessors of religion therefore, under a notion of casting all 
 their care upon the Lord, neglect exertion, refuse opportu- 
 nities of improving their condition, and in their expenses 
 exceed their income, they are tempting God but not trust-
 
 APRIL 18. 317 
 
 ing 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 ? 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 ? God could 
 have easily preserved him, and the deliverance would have 
 been the more remarkable. But as if every thing depended 
 upon their diligence and precaution, they hide him as long 
 as possible, and then build a little ark, and pitch it within 
 and without, 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 turned 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 super- 
 naturally transport it through the air, and lay it upon the 
 table ; but ordered Peter to go to the sea and cast in his 
 hook. And when the angel had done what was really out 
 of Peter's power, 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 ? 
 
 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 doubtful
 
 318 APRIL 19. 
 
 mind, or to yield to fretfulness and impatience ; but to 
 commit your way unto the Lord, and leave the concern 
 with him. If we go forward into the world of imagina- 
 tion, 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 sta- 
 ture ? But he can take away one. He can injure himself 
 though he cannot benefit. The sin brings its own punish- 
 ment 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 ! Well, what- 
 ever makes up the depression, " Cast thy burden 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 thanksgiving, 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 towards us are mercy and truth j an 
 assurance that all tilings work together for good to them 
 that love God. " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace 
 whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trustethin thee." 
 But who has faith enough for this ? Lord, I believe ; help 
 thou mine unbelief. 
 
 APRIL 19. " For he careth for you." 
 
 1 PET. v. 7. 
 
 WHATEVER the world may think, religion is wisdom; 
 and requires nothing of its followers but a " reasonable 
 service." The privileges 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
 
 APRIL 19. 319 
 
 justify his practice as well as his expectation. How sim- 
 ple and satisfactory 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 better is the one 
 than the other ! Our care is unavailing and unprofitable. 
 And how little can we add to it from any relative resource ! 
 A friend is indeed born for adversity ; and such a bene- 
 factor, by counseling 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 limited 
 as well as uncertain is human friendship ! All reliance on 
 creature help is leaning on a broken reed, or hewing out 
 broken cisterns that can hold no water. But " 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." Here is a Divine friend 
 and helper. He careth for us Here is the case of a 
 God engaged for us That is, of a Being possessed of 
 infinite perfections. Here is a care attended by unerring 
 knowledge ; by almighty power ; by a goodness, a kind- 
 ness, a tenderness, a patience, a fidelity, that knows no 
 bounds. Surely all these advantages combined 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 
 unworthiness, 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
 
 320 APRIL 19. 
 
 every morning, and try him every moment !" Yet nothing 
 is more true. It is involved in the first essential principle 
 of religion, 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 ; hut for what purpose, 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 
 design ? He also takes care for oxen. He giveth to the 
 beast his food, and to the youug ravens that cry. He 
 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 in 
 which he stands prove the same. If he professes 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, arid 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 thou walkest 
 through the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the 
 flame kindle upon thee." " 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 generations ?
 
 APRIL 10. 321 
 
 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 
 he saved was taken away ? And what says your own 
 experience ? Has lie not cared for you from the womb ? 
 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 afflicted ?" 
 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 Chris- 
 tians ! 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 differently 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 asylum where the 
 wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 322 APRIL 20. 
 
 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 heavenly Father 
 and Friend is more than willing to take upon himself, they 
 retain and even cherish to the spoiling of their comfort ; 
 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 relish 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 mecha- 
 nical beings who are only struck with what is factitious 
 and artificial. 
 
 Yet even here one thing more is desirable and neces- 
 sary. It is that while we are pleased we should be in- 
 structed ; 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 improve- 
 ment. And thus our Saviour addressed his hearers and
 
 APRIL 20. 323 
 
 said, " Consider the lilies." There were many other 
 flowers equally worthy of notice with the lilies : but he 
 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 fieW 
 
 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 exa- 
 mined 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 ; it shews ingenuity, and deceives the eye at a 
 distance. But bring it near ; observe it ; compare it and 
 where are the life, the growth, the opening bud and 
 blossom, the freshness, the colours, the fragrance of the 
 living one ? We sometimes admire articles of dress. The 
 rich man was clothed " in purple and fine linen." They 
 that are in king's houses " wear soft raiment." How 
 exquisitely wrought are some kinds of human manufac- 
 ture ; and yet when you survey them through the micros- 
 cope they appear in the rudeness and roughness of 
 sackcloth. But the green and the white of the lily 
 challenge 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 
 infinite, how much more must this be the case with every 
 reflecting mind at every step he takes among the wonders 
 of creation ! 
 
 Again. Consider the lilies as objects of his providen- 
 tial care. This was the peculiar aim of our Lord in the 
 admonition. He would free the minds of his disciples 
 from all undue solicitude respecting their temporal sub- 
 sistence. Therefore, says he, " Take no thought for your 
 life, what ye shall 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 ?" He then refers, in 
 
 Y *
 
 324 APRIL 20. 
 
 bis own inimitable way, to eacb of tbe necessaries of 
 life, food and clotbing " Bebold tbe fowls of tbe air : for 
 they sow not, neitber do they reap, nor gatber into barns j 
 yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much 
 better than tbey ? 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 tbe 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 overlook the infinitely greater ? 
 
 Consider also the lilies as emblems. First, as em- 
 blems 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 
 be, " I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." 
 Secondly, as emblems of Christians. In all things he 
 must have the pre-eminence; but his people are held forth 
 in the Scripture by the same resemblances : for there is 
 not only a union but a conformity between them. They 
 have the same mind which was in him. They have the 
 image 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 daughters." 
 
 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 connections. The 
 friend who was as my own soul, the child of my bosom,
 
 APRIL 21. 325 
 
 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 ? The whole garden is his ; and he lias 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 we might be fellow-helpers to the 
 truth" 3 JOHN i. 8. 
 
 CO-OPERATION supposes others engaged already 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 preachers, evan- 
 gelists, missionaries who travelled to spread the savour of 
 the Redeemer's knowledge in every place " Because for 
 his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the 
 Gentiles." The labourer is worthy of 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 indisposed to 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 importance 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 exclaim, Ah ! 
 ye dear babes, you little know the loss you have sustained, 
 but as you grow up you will learn it from experience.
 
 326 APRIL 21. 
 
 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 perishing 
 for lack of knowledge, but are unaffected with their condi- 
 tion : and it must he 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 will 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 expe- 
 rience 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 supply 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 attentions 
 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 them and are respon- 
 sible 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 
 do. 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 property 
 that it should be employed in the salvation of souls ! Who
 
 APRIL 22. 327 
 
 would waste any of his resources ? 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 exert herself for the deliver- 
 ance of her people, enlargement should come from another 
 quarter : but then she would lose the honour and blessed- 
 ness 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 
 usefulness. We hide our talent in the earth. Our indif- 
 ference 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 inhabi- 
 tants thereof, because they came not to the help of the 
 Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." 
 
 APRIL 22. "If God were your Father, ye would 
 love we." JOHN viii. 42. 
 
 SOME are so full of self-conceit and self-sufficiency, that 
 they seem to consider themselves the standard of all worth 
 and excellency ; and are disposed to judge of others prin- 
 cipally if not only, by their regard to them. If you 'dislike 
 them, you are worthless ; but just in proportion as you 
 esteem and admire them, you rise in value. And such is 
 the injustice of our fallen nature, that we are pleased with 
 commendations which we know we do not deserve ; and
 
 328 APRIL 22. 
 
 court praise for abilities and qualities which we are sure 
 we do not possess. 
 
 It was not so with Christ. He was ineek 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 were 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 supremely : and " this," says 
 he, " is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
 " Mine elect in whom my soul delighteth." " 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 regeneration. What an honour ! 
 What a blessedness ! 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 depend upon him for instruction, and 
 correction, and defence, and support ! To be heirs of 
 God, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, 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, influen- 
 tial principle ; and it is the mainspring of action in the 
 Christian life. There are two modes of determining our 
 love to him. The First is to consider him relatively, and 
 observe how we are affected towards those parts of him, so 
 to speak, with which we are constantly coining more imme-
 
 APRIL 22. 329 
 
 diately 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 ?" He has a house for 
 his name Can I say, " I have loved the habitation of thy 
 house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth ?" He 
 has a seed to serve him Do I pray, " Remember me 
 with the favour thou bearest unto thy people" ? They are 
 " the excellent of the earth" Is all my delight in them ? 
 If I love him, I shall love every thing that is his. 
 
 The Second is to consider how our attachment to any 
 other object affects us. If I love an object, I naturally, 
 unavoidably, frequently, 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 cannot help 
 referring to it, and recommending it : out of the abundance 
 of the heart the mouth speaketh. What reason have I to 
 conclude that I love Christ, unless he often enters 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 communion 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 ?" If I love a benefac- 
 tor, 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 disposition 
 towards Christ ? 
 
 This yields a dreadful reflection with regard 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."
 
 330 APRIL 23. 
 
 APRIL 23. " Howbeit for this cause I obtained 
 mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth 
 all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should 
 hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." 
 
 1 TIM. i. 16. 
 
 THE Lord Jesus never acts without design ; 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 salvation 
 of one soul is a work infinitely greater than the deliver- 
 ance 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 beneficence. 
 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 multiplied 
 importunity. He wishes his favours to be known, that 
 others may come and be relieved ; for he delighteth 
 in mercy. 
 
 How many principles are involved in the design here 
 expressed! The subjects of Divine 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 conso- 
 lation. 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 freeness and fulness of his grace. 
 Facts strike ; they furnish us with sensible evidence. A
 
 APRIL 23. 331 
 
 debtor frankly forgiven an immense sum when going to 
 prison, and having nothing to pay, shews forth most 
 impressively the clemency of the creditor. The goodness 
 of a prince appears in pardoning the greatest crimes 
 against him. This indeed is rarely done among men. 
 In all acts of grace some exceptions are made. The ring- 
 leaders 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 par- 
 doned laid hold of too for this purpose in the very act 
 of rebellion and treason and made a pattern of mercy, to 
 encourage others to trust in him. 
 
 We know what effect this kindness had upon himself. 
 It changed his mind. It melted his heart. It softened 
 the lion into a lamb. Behold, he prayeth prayeth to him 
 whom a moment before he had abhorred " Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do ? " And from that moment the 
 love of Christ constrained him to live to him that died for 
 him and rose again. 
 
 What effect has it upon us ? Do we continue in sin 
 that grace may abound P God forbid. " No man can 
 quicken his own 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 perhaps not by 
 the right passage. What a proof is it that we are not 
 really desirous of salvation ; else we should say, " I have 
 read Paul's case. It meets my condition. I am unwor-
 
 332 APRIL 24. 
 
 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 Tarsus. 
 
 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 longsuffering 
 towards us, and shall we bear with nothing in our brethren ? 
 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, between Beth-el and Hai ; unto 
 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 came he 
 there ? He was driven by famine. Skin for skin, yea 
 all that a man hath will he give for his life. Abram
 
 APRIL 24. 333 
 
 therefore was justified in going thither. We are not 
 to starve if we can obtain subsistence lawfully. We 
 tempt God if we do not avail ourselves of the means and 
 opportunities of relief and assistance which he affords us in 
 the course of his 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 call 
 of duty or necessity in which we are not to abide. Naomi 
 and the Shunamite who had fled 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 
 shewn him the land of promise. And what is this world 
 to us, if we are the children of Abram by faith, but a tem- 
 porary residence ? It is not our home : it is not our rest. 
 And we must arise and depart hence, in thought, affection, 
 and pursuit ; and by a readiness to leave it actually 
 whenever our change comes. If we are the heirs of 
 promise, Canaan will draw us out of Egypt. 
 
 " And he went on, even to Beth-el." There he had 
 dwelt before. It is affecting to return to a place where 
 we formerly resided. Who can help reflecting upon his 
 sins there? (for wherever we have lived we have proved 
 ourselves to be sinners,) and the blessings he enjoyed 
 there ; and his trials ; and the changes which have taken 
 place, and the progress 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 difference 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
 
 334 APRIL 25. 
 
 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 there Abram called on 
 the name of the Lord." Thus we see his devotion here 
 was not a novelty it had been a constant usage. As 
 soon as he pitched a tent for himself, he reared an altar 
 for God. Where he resided, he sacrificed and worshipped 
 with his household. And they who would be the chil- 
 dren of Abram must walk in his steps, and be concerned 
 to keep up the service of God with their families. Family- 
 worship is no recent thing. It is the good old way, in 
 which even the patriarchs walked. I pity as well as 
 condemn the man who has a " tent," but no " altar." 
 God threatens to pour out his fury upon the families 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 Canaauite 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 Abram was not ashamed 
 of his glory Yea, as he was the more bound, so he 
 was the more disposed 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 
 rvine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." 
 
 1 TIM. v. 23. 
 
 IT may at first seem strange that Paul should only have 
 recourse to ordinary means, such as any other person
 
 APRIL 25. 335 
 
 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 confined to particular moments and subjects. 
 Otherwise John, instead of wishing above all things that 
 his beloved Gams was in health, would have healed him : 
 and Paul would not have left his companion Trophimus 
 at Miletum 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 
 cripple at Lystra, what a source of honour and emolument 
 the ability would have become, had it been at the option of 
 the possessors. Even good men, being imperfect while here, 
 might have been tempted to pervert it, or have sometimes 
 used it with respect of persons, influenced 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, sympathise, 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 personal, and the most 
 prized. It is not so much an ingredient in human happi- 
 ness as the foundation of it. With the Grecians it was a 
 goddess. The Lycaouians worshipped the image of health, 
 and the women offered to it their hair, which is their glory 
 That is, they sacrificed ornament to health Some 
 females have sacrificed health to ornament. Have we 
 ever looked into the wards of a hospital or an infirmary.? 
 Have we ever visited the sick-chamber of a friend or 
 neighbour ? what confinement ! what restlessness ! what 
 disrelishes ! what loathings ! what days of languishing ! 
 what wearisome nights ! Health is never so valued as
 
 336 APRIL 25. 
 
 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 furnished room, the aspects of 
 the garden and field, the charms 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 sus- 
 pended 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 soul 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 call their temptations, and doubts, 
 and fears, are only physical effects. The frame is disor- 
 dered 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 remembrance of which draws 
 forth their tears ! 
 
 Here we see that very good men and very useful 
 men may be the subjects of bodily affliction. Timothy 
 had a weakly, sickly constitution, and Paul speaks of 
 his " frequent infirmities" or indispositions. Many other 
 excellent individuals mentioned in the Scripture 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 hundredth part of which would keep many 
 professors of religion from the sanctuary of God, by the 
 month or the year. But let not the weak and sickly 
 suppose that what has befallen them is not common to 
 men The same afflictions have happened to their brethren
 
 APRIL 25. 337 
 
 who were before them in the world. And if we knew all, 
 we should cease to wonder at such dispensations. The 
 Lord's love to his people is great, hut it is wise ; and he 
 regulates 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 tender mother overlooks none of her offspring : 
 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 ? " As one whom his mother com- 
 forteth, so will I comfort you." 
 
 We learn also that we may err on the side of excess as 
 well as deficiency. There are always two extremes : yet, 
 in going from the one, we rarely consider that we are in 
 any 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 side 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 com- 
 mendable, 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 danger of this. He had to this time used water only, 
 but he was following this abstemiousness too exclusively 
 and too long : his system now required something more 
 generous, and restorative, and strengthening : and there- 
 fore says 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 enthusiastical, or leading 
 him to the neglect of means and rational means, so there 
 
 'e* 
 VOL. I. Z
 
 338 APRIL 25. 
 
 was nothing in him favouring of superstition. He with- 
 holds a Christian from no creature-comfort. He knew of 
 none of those prohibitions, " Touch not, taste not, handle 
 not," which have produced such results in the church of 
 Rome, unless to foretell and condemn them : " in the latter 
 times some 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 thanksgiving 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 ohserves, that God bringelh 
 forth out of the earth " wine that maketh glad the heart 
 of man, and oil to make his face to shine," as well as 
 " bread that strengtheneth man's heart." And his son 
 made 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 down the rules we are to observe 
 in the use of natural refreshments. 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 degrees, and therefore insensibly. 
 Who ever became intemperate at once ? or without reso- 
 lutions to the contrary ? " Nature," says Hall, " is con- 
 tent 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 bounds, 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 dishonour, the 
 latter are the glory, of human kind. Even in common 
 things the partakers of Divine grace are a peculiar people 
 Their motive distinguishes them. This turns a natural
 
 APRIL 26. 339 
 
 action into a spiritual duty. This also enlarges the pro- 
 vince of their religion to the extent of all their concerns ; 
 keeps them waiting upon God all the day long; and 
 enables them, whether they eat, or drink, or whatever they 
 do, to do all to the glory of God. 
 
 APRIL 26. " 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 his companions believed three things That 
 they were complex 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. Hence we read of 
 looking for that blessed hope ; waiting for his Son from 
 heaven ; loving his appearing ; hasting 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 fami- 
 liar 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 saying. Even 
 
 z 2
 
 340 APRIL 26. 
 
 the subjects of redemption are said to be, through 
 fear of death, all their lifetime not actually in bondage, 
 but subject to it. The desire of death cannot be natural ; 
 nature must abhor its own dissolution. Yet what is impos- 
 sible to nature is possible to grace. We commonly find 
 more of this willingness 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 cor- 
 respond with their sufferings ; 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 
 even-tide 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 everlasting gain. They then exchange 
 faith for sight ; 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 parting 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 con- 
 sequences : 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 sick- 
 ness. 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
 
 APRIL 27. 341 
 
 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 your eyes shall see 
 the shining ones ready to receive you on shore. Your 
 passage will be safe and short ; and the issue an abundant 
 entrance into the joy of your 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 of 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 observa- 
 ble that he acknowledges the Lord to be his deliverer. 
 He delivered me ; he will deliver me. " Salvation belong- 
 eth 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 instrumentality implies and requires agency. 
 Adaptation is not efficiency. However suited 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 athe- 
 ists : whatever be their speculative belief, they are practically 
 without God in the world ; God is not in all their thoughts. 
 In conversion they are awakened from this dreadful insen- 
 sibility and indifference ; and are led to inquire after God : 
 and they not only seek him, but find him j and not only
 
 342 APRIL 27. 
 
 find him, but hold communion with him ; and hold com- 
 munion 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 importance. 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 % 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 happened 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 was actually upon him ! This 
 it will be allowed was a deliverance little less than mira- 
 culous. We have nothing perhaps so extraordinary to 
 review ; yet we have had our deliverances, and some of 
 them remarkable, at least to ourselves, if not to others. 
 We have had our bears and lions j 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 temporal 
 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 
 substance, 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 afflicted." 
 
 David hopes for his future agency " He will deliver 
 me from this Philistine." For after the beasts of prey, 
 here is another, and more formidable foe. We must 
 always rejoice with trembling; and never boast ourselves 
 of to-morrow, for we know not what a day may bring
 
 APRIL 28. 343 
 
 forth. Because some storms have expended themselves, 
 we must not reckon upon perpetual sunshine ; the clouds 
 return after the rain. When we have slain the lion and 
 the bear, we may be called to encounter 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 experi- 
 ence ; and because he has been our help, therefore under 
 the shadow of his wing should we rejoice. We cannot 
 certainly 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 unable, if their intentions are the same ; but 
 in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Neither 
 should a sense of our unworthiness weaken our expecta- 
 tion from him : we were unworthy 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 lovingkindnesses of the 
 Lord, and treasure them 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 Most High. 
 
 APRIL 28. " So that I miyht finish my course 
 with joy." ACTS xx. 24. 
 
 DOES this imply any apprehension as to the event? It is 
 no more than he 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
 
 344 APRIL 28. 
 
 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 connection 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, temptation, and sin ? and his entering into 
 the joy of his Lord ? If we loved him we should rejoice, 
 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 regards 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 depressed 
 with fears ; others have the full assurance of hope : they 
 are joyful in glory, and shout aloud upon their beds ; and 
 their dying chamber is none other than the house of God 
 and the gate of heaven. " With gladness and rejoicing 
 shall they be brought : they shall enter into the King's 
 palace." This joy does not depend upon outward things ; 
 for in common 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 lifetime 
 subject to bondage through fear of death, have been filled 
 at last with all joy and peace in believing. Now we lay
 
 APRIL 28. 345 
 
 110 stress upon the want of this dying confidence 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 get when heart and flesh fail us, and 
 friends can afford us no assistance, and the enemy of 
 souls may be peculiarly 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 shewing the power of 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 darkness 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 ; but many finished it with joy. How will you 
 finish yours ? The Lord has appointed us bounds which 
 we cannot pass. We have an allotted course of service 
 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 ? will you 
 be defeated or crowned ? 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.
 
 346 APRIL 29. 
 
 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 people 
 he had blessed and envied. Such a difference 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 unrenewed, you must finish 
 your course with grief Grief to others ; to ministers, to 
 Christians, to godly friends and relations. Grief to your- 
 selves. The sorrows of life may be diverted by company, 
 by amusements, by the hurry 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 
 door against every worldly diversion. You can no more 
 attend the playhouse and the race-ground. All that before 
 was vanity will now be vexation 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 ? But 
 should you have no time for reflection ; or be incapable of 
 exercising reason ; or conscience be uuawakened ; 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. " Who comforteth us in all our 
 tribulation." 2 COR. i. 4.
 
 APRIL 29. 347 
 
 THIS reminds us of the nature of the Christian life. It 
 is " neither clear nor dark." It partakes hoth of tribula- 
 tion and comfort. The tribulation endears the comfort ; 
 and the comfort relieves and gilds the tribulation. 
 
 Paul does not say He comforts us by keeping 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 tribulation 
 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 preferred 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 servants ; arid often constrained even 
 their enemies to acknowledge the finger of God. Observe 
 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 j all hearts are in his 
 hand ; all events are at his control ; and even now " he 
 turneth the shadow of death into the morning." tje does 
 not always deliver us according to our wishes and expec- 
 tation ; and hope deferred maketh the heart sick ; and the 
 eagerness and despondency of impatience may lead us to 
 complain, " O when wilt thou comfort me ?" But the 
 vision is only for an appointed time ; at the end it shall 
 speak ; neither will it tarry a moment beyond the season
 
 348 APRIL 29. 
 
 our welfare requires " For the Lord is a God of judg- 
 ment ; blessed are all they that wait for him." 
 
 Secondly, by compensation. Philosophers have re- 
 marked how all through the natural world there are indi- 
 cations of a system of counter-balancings -, 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 infant 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 com- 
 pelled 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 suffered 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 removal he had the 
 assurance of all-sufficient grace under it ; and he was more 
 than satisfied with the compensation yea, he gloried in 
 it ; and said, " When I am weak then am 1 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 before 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 endeavour to turn to account what it yields in a way
 
 APRIL 29. 349 
 
 of temptation. It is mentioned with wonder that in all 
 the evil that had come upon him, " Job sinned not, nor 
 charged God foolishly." A Christian is sometimes " afraid 
 of all his sorrows" afraid lest he should sink afraid lest 
 he should sin in the day of adversity afraid lest he should 
 not suffer well, and glorify 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 enables him to 
 bear the rod. Some in their distresses have cursed God 
 and died. Others have spoken unadvisedly with their 
 lips ; or they have been vengeful towards the instruments 
 of their sufferings, or they have employed unlawful means 
 to obtain relief, or they have attempted self-destruction. 
 Have you been preserved ? Has the furnace only severed 
 the dross from the gold ? Has the pruning-knife only 
 lopped off the suckers that robbed the vine ? 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 forgotten to be 
 gracious to you ? 
 
 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 shew thee great and mighty 
 things which thou knowest not." This is no more than 
 he does to other sufferers ; 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 "shews you his 
 covenant;" if he convinces you that none of your trials
 
 350 APRIL 30. 
 
 are casual or penal ; if he assures 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 tender 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 depres- 
 sion Then, though troubled on every side, you will not 
 be distressed Then, though sorrowful, you will be always 
 rejoicing And not only so, but you " will glory in tribu- 
 lation also." 
 
 APRIL 30. " The desire of all nations" 
 
 HAGGAI ii. 7. 
 
 THAT this refers to the Messiah is unquestionable. Yet 
 there seems some necessity for explaining the title as it 
 apparently disagrees with the language of other parts of 
 Scripture, and with fact. Is he not despised and rejected 
 of men ? 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 nations ? The character is 
 justified five ways. 
 
 First, by the general expectation that prevailed in the 
 world previously to his advent. It is well known that 
 there was such a looking out for some great deliverer and 
 benefactor 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 extraordinary person- 
 age would shortly come, and restore the peace and plenty 
 and blessings of the fancied golden reign. The sentiment 
 had been conveyed down by tradition, but it was originally
 
 APRIL 30. 351 
 
 derived from a Divine source, the early aud 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 supreme good. They found only vanity and vexa- 
 tion of spirit in their pursuits and attainments. They had 
 no support under the troubles 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 their 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 called 
 the desire of all nations, just as a physician, 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 excellency in his person, every perfection in his 
 character. There is nothing in creation that will afford 
 a proper image of his glory. All the loveliness 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 ? His riches are unsearch- 
 able. Do we admire friendship ? He is a friend that 
 sticketh closer than a brother. Do we applaud benevo- 
 lence? 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 smoking 
 flax will 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 coun- 
 try. Wherever believers have been found, they have
 
 352 MAY 1. 
 
 been all distinguished by the same convictions and disposi- 
 tions 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 under 
 heaven came to the temple at Jerusalem, and joined in 
 the ceremonies and sacrifices of which he was the sub- 
 stance 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 dying Patriarch, shall the gathering of the 
 people be. He is the salvation, says Simeon, prepared 
 before the face of all people ; a light to lighten the Gen- 
 tiles, and the glory of his people Israel. All kings shall 
 fall down before him : all nations shall serve him ; all 
 nations shall call him blessed. 
 
 But let me not lose myself in general reflections. 
 How does this desire of all nations appear to me ? Has 
 he been revealed in me the hope of glory ? Is he all my 
 salvation and all my desire ? Can I count all things but 
 loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus 
 my Lord ? Do I love the people who resemble him ? 
 Do I value the ordinances in which I can enjoy commu- 
 nion with him ? Will it complete my happiness to be 
 like him and see him as he is ? 
 
 MAY 1. "Judas saith unto him, (not Iscariot,) 
 Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, 
 and not unto the world /*" JOHN xiv. 22. 
 
 JUDAS ISCARIOT had already sold his Master, and was now 
 busy in betraying him into the hands of his enemies. We 
 are sometimes ready to wonder by what potency of diabo-
 
 MAY 1. 353 
 
 lical agency he could be carried to such a degree of wick- 
 edness. But when we are informed that he was covetous, 
 the mystery is explained. Then we have a cause fully 
 adequate 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 Testament ; and a faithful follower of 
 Jesus 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 excellent man to be called by the name of the infa- 
 mous wretch who had sold his Lord for thirty pieces of 
 silver. John therefore distinguishes him. We should 
 learn from his example to be careful, 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 principle of an 
 action. We commonly look for a single cause when per- 
 haps several excitements 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 ? " How is 
 it that we should be selected? and thus honoured and 
 indulged ?" This is the disposition of the subjects of 
 Divine grace. They do not think more highly of them- 
 selves, because they are made to differ from others. Not 
 unto us, O Lord ; not unto us. Who am I, O Lord God, 
 and what is my father's house ? 
 
 Or was it the language of doubt ? He seems to ques- 
 tion 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 foolish ; but he 
 spake in haste, and without reflection. He might easily 
 
 VOL. I. A A
 
 354 MAY 1. 
 
 have known the possibility, in a thousand cases, of com- 
 municating 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 marvellous 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 declarations, " 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 leave what is plain and useful, to pry into what is dark 
 and uprofitable ; 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 therefore would not gra- 
 tify 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 ? 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 considered the privilege as an inestimable favour : but 
 having little acquaintance with it, he wished to know more 
 of it, to regulate himself accordingly, so as not to lose, but 
 secure and improve the privilege. This is the more pro 
 bable, 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 learner. He did not answer Pilate ; nor indulge 
 Herod ; nor suffer those to remain in the room who laughed
 
 MAY 2. 355 
 
 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 ahode with him." 
 
 Hence, while we oppose a doubtful, curious, and spe- 
 culative turn of mind, we should not repulse humble and 
 useful inquiries. There are difficulties of an experimental 
 and a practical nature with regard to duties and privileges 
 which it is possible and desirable to remove. And there 
 is no one to whom we can carry them so proper as He to 
 whom this inquirer 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 dost thou against him ?" 
 he adds ; " Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou 
 art." The injury 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 cor- 
 rupters" They are concerned to bring others into the 
 same course and condition with themselves ; and as, owing 
 to the depravity of our nature, we are much more acces- 
 sible to evil than to good, they are rarely successless in 
 their endeavours. In addition to their invitations and 
 euticings, 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 
 sinner destroyeth much good." 
 
 It seems hard that the wife and 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 had any
 
 356 MAY 2. 
 
 feeling, to the man himself. And the Deist here rages 
 against the Bible. But the Bible only records the fact ; 
 and the Deist is perpetually meeting with similar things 
 in his own book of nature. He sees what his boasted 
 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, rela- 
 tive feeling. But what filial affection has that youth who 
 can break a mother's heart, and bring down the grey hairs 
 of a father with sorrow to the grave ? Whatever be his 
 politics, what real patriotism has he who endeavours to 
 arm Providence against his country, and promotes " that 
 sin which is a reproach to any people?" " I cannot 
 exercise a better charity towards others," says Adam of 
 Wintriugham, " than by avoiding all sin myself." 
 
 As the wicked are " a curse" by injuriousness, so they 
 are also by execration. How many suddenly curse their 
 habitation ! How are they cursed often by those who are 
 ruined by their pride, luxury, and speculations ! How 
 will children when they meet their ungodly parents rise up 
 against them in the judgment, and cause them to be put 
 to death ! How in the world of torment will the seduced 
 execrate the seducer ! the murdered the murderer ! 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, 
 exclaim, again and again, "O curse you, Voltaire!" 
 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 yourselves ? How humbling 
 is the review ! What godly sorrow does it call for ! It 
 seems enough to make you weep, if possible, tears of blood,
 
 MAY 3. 357 
 
 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 con- 
 cerned, as you have been a curse, to become 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 veri- 
 fies and explains the words of the prophet : " Instead of 
 the thorn, shall come up 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 personally, but 
 relatively. It begins with themselves, but it extends to 
 others ; and a zealous concern for the salvation of their 
 own souls is always accompanied with a benevolent anxiety 
 for the salvation of their fellow-creatures. Their exer- 
 tions for this purpose are indeed often ungratefully 
 received ; and they are reproachfully desired to keep their 
 religion to themselves. But this is enjoining upon them 
 an impossibility. They cannot but speak the tilings 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 manner, 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 transgressors thy 
 ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee." What
 
 358 MAY 3. 
 
 a blessing was Andrew 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 mediums 
 and the instruments. He could call fifty at once in a 
 village. But what is commonly the case ? One is called 
 first. He soon pities the condition of others ; and he goes 
 to the minister by whom he was awakened, arid 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 kingdoms 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 produced by their 
 prayers, example, and influence ? We are persuaded that 
 none of them are useless : and he who has been the means 
 of the salvation of one soul, has done more than the hero 
 who has delivered a whole empire from civil bondage 
 for " there is joy in the presence of the angels of God 
 over one sinner that repentetVT But what blessings have 
 some individuals proved ! Think of Howard in his jour- 
 neys 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 
 Whitfield in his preaching of a father and mother who 
 bring up a family of children in the fear of the Lord of 
 the two or three individuals that brought Christianity to 
 this favoured country of the few missionaries who landed 
 in the South-Sea Islands, and induced whole communi- 
 ties to turn from dumb idols to serve the true God, and to 
 wait for his Son from heaven ! !
 
 MAY 4. 359 
 
 But they are made a blessing not only as they bless 
 others, but as they are blessed by them. With regard to 
 Joseph's offspring, the dying patriarch " blessed them 
 that day, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as 
 Manasseh." 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 him, 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 inwardly 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, companions, and helpers. Minis- 
 ters 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.
 
 360 MAY 4. 
 
 THIS 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 traceless 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 
 being now absent, and whose senses therefore could not 
 advertize him of the homage : for they not only worship- 
 ped, 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 there- 
 fore addressed him ; conceding that to have addressed him 
 in this manner, had he been absent and invisible, would 
 have been no less than idolatry. Yet not to observe that 
 the petitions themselves were very strange ones, to offer 
 to a creature, even if present and in sight, we 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 Thessalo- 
 nians be 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, comfort 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
 
 MAY 4. 361 
 
 Jerusalem." AVe call this obedience, because he had 
 expressly enjoined it. " Tarry ye iu the city of Jerusa- 
 lem until ye be endued with power from on high." 
 " Being assembled together with them, he commanded 
 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 Apostles 
 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 Judsea was the centre of 
 the known world ; for America was not yet discovered, 
 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 immediately on the spot where the facts were 
 alleged to have occurred. And it would shew the com- 
 passionate disposition of the Founder, that he would have 
 repentance and remission of sin in his Name to be pub- 
 lished first at Jerusalem. Hence he required their return 
 thither. And they, instead of fleeing or concealing 
 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 conduct ; 
 and the path of duty is the patli of safety. Yea, we see, 
 Thirdly, their gladness ; for they not 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 insensibility. 
 What a loss then did the disciples sustain when deprived
 
 362 MAY 4. 
 
 of their Lord and Saviour who had always guided, pre- 
 served, 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 understandings, and explained to them the 
 Scriptures : and they now saw That though he was going 
 to leave them as to his bodily presence, he would be with 
 them spiritually That his departure would result in his 
 own exaltation and glory That it was also expedient for 
 themselves that he went away That he would appear in 
 the presence of God for them, and be their advocate with 
 the Father 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 rejoice ? 
 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 
 seasons 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, Bar- 
 tholomew, and Matthew, James the sou of Alpha3us, 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, and with 
 his brethren." But their private engagements did not 
 keep them from the public services of the sanctuary as 
 often as they returned. We are not to forsake the house 
 
 V 
 
 of our God : and we are to " enter his gates with thanks- 
 giving, 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 their mercies, 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
 
 MAY 5. 363 
 
 had taken possession of heaven on their behalf and that 
 in him they were blessed with all spiritual blessings in 
 heavenly places. Let us cherish the same disposition, and 
 follow their example. And let our gratitude be real and 
 practical. Let us shew forth his praise, not only with our 
 lips, but in our lives. " God is the Lord, which hath 
 shewed 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 ' I COR. xv. 32. 
 
 WHEN Isaiah had foretold the invasion of Judaea by the 
 Chaldeans ; " In that day did the Lord God of hosts 
 call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and 
 to girding 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 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 written : " For our time is a very shadow 
 that passeth away : and after our end, there is no return- 
 ing : 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 oint- 
 ments : 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 voluptuousness : 
 let us leave tokens of our joyfulness 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 devotion 
 for those worshippers whose god is their belly, who glory 
 in their shame, and mind earthly tilings. 
 
 It admits a fact too clear to be questioned. The living
 
 364 MAY 5. 
 
 know that they shall die. The very men before us confess 
 it ; yea, they acknowledge that the event is not only cer- 
 tain, but near " To-morrow we die." And this was true ; 
 for death is always near in possibility ; and is never far 
 off in reality. Yet, instead of saying, as we 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 ? 
 
 But is the reasoning or excitement such a monstrous 
 perversion of every thing right as it appears ? Let us 
 place it on two grounds. Are you believers in Revelation ? 
 Do you admit 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 con- 
 sistently 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,
 
 MAY 5. 365 
 
 perfectly sure, of your premises. But you cannot demon- 
 strate that there is uo 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 expec- 
 tation, we must be gainers upon the whole, and present 
 gainers ; but nothing less than absolute certainty can jus- 
 tify you. When Thistlewood the traitor was ascending the 
 drop, he said to his companions, referring to the doubtful- 
 ness 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 condemna- 
 tion 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 enjoyment 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 excluded a future state, and 
 contended that pleasure was the great end of life, yet 
 recommended the practice of universal virtue, and thought 
 the virtues were to bs 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 pleasantly who lived most tempe- 
 rately." We have better authority than this ; and we are 
 sure that good men have not only a thousand enjoyments 
 of a nature which others know nothing of; but as to those
 
 366 MAY 6. 
 
 kinds of pleasure which the men of the word value (unless 
 the pleasures of sin), the pleasures of time and sense, they 
 have by far the pre-eminence. 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 j 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 j 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 receiveth : 
 and he that seeketh Jindeth ; and to him that knocketh 
 it shall be opened." 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 nothing of official parade and unfeeling severity ; 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 abstract reasonings, no lengthened
 
 MAY 6. 367 
 
 argumentations, no abstruse allusions parading tbe erudition 
 of the speaker, but darkening counsel with words without 
 knowledge to the multitude In his ministry the poor had 
 the gospel preached unto them ; 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 appeals the most touching and tender, 
 and by images the most natural, conclusive, and interest- 
 ing. I have read treatises on repentance, 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 converted, 
 and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the 
 kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble 
 himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the 
 kingdom 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 complaining of the 
 application, may grant a request to importunity How 
 much more may we hope to succeed with God, whose 
 goodness like his power is infinite ! 
 
 But O the execution that is done in the filling 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 as 
 standing in such a relation to us, and to know that we 
 have not only a real but a perfect, 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 slumbers 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 I will rise and give thanks
 
 368 MAY 7. 
 
 unto thee, because of thy righteous judgments." Never 
 wait for a more convenient or favourable period go to 
 him immediately in the midnight gloom of thy experi- 
 ence or condition- 1 - He can turn the shadow of death into 
 the morning. 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 straitened condition " I have nothing to set 
 before him." Fifthly, that we must be earnest and 
 persevering in our addresses. " Asking," " seeking," 
 " knocking," are not a mere repetition, but an emphatical 
 gradation. Importunity 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 cannot deny himself. Let us there- 
 fore 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. " / am pacified toward thee." 
 
 EZEK. xvi. 63. 
 
 THERE can be no pacifying, without previous offence and 
 provocation. Sin rouses the displeasure of God. There- 
 for he says, " Oh 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
 
 MAY 7. 369 
 
 spoken of as a great disadvantage in contention, to be " as 
 one that strivetli with the priest:" and it is said, "the 
 wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion." 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 is 
 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 ? 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 righteously have destroyed 
 us, " and that without remedy." But he was not revenge- 
 ful or implacable. He was not only willing to be pacified ; 
 he 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 accomplished. Though God is good and merciful, 
 he must maintain the honour of his law, defend his truth, 
 and display the rectitude of his government. Hence he 
 set forth his Son, "to be a propitiation to declare his 
 righteousness that he might be just, and the jnstifier of 
 him which belie veth in Jesus." Hence also we are told 
 that Christ " made reconciliation for the sins of the people." 
 His death was infinitely valuable, not only from his iuuo- 
 cency, but his divinity ', and was " an offering and a 
 sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." Thus while 
 sin is condemned it is pardoned; and God is glorified 
 while we are redeemed. There is now no hinderance to a 
 sinner's return 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 ? If such peace can be made, it was made 
 by the blood of the cross. If our tears, and confessions, 
 and performances, could have accomplished the work, God 
 would surely have spared his own Son an immensity of 
 needless suffering. If without shedding of blood there 
 
 VOL. I. B B
 
 370 MAY 7. 
 
 is no remission, Christ has 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 prophets : and whatever 
 obscurity attaches to any other subject 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 
 ministry of reconciliation ; that is, that God was in Christ 
 reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their 
 trespasses unto them. Upon this 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 shew unto men this way of salvation ! What 
 a physician 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 rejected or disregarded. 
 It must be applied by faith. Then we receive the atone- 
 ment ; rely upon it ; plead it ; and have access to the 
 Father with confidence. 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 transgressions 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
 
 MAY 7. 371 
 
 wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou 
 corafortedst me." 
 
 Nor is this experience unfriendly to holiness, and 
 good works. Yea, it is necessary to them : and believers 
 are witnesses of these things. The world may think 
 that 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? 
 " 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 apprehension of wrath not only terrifies, 
 but repels. We hate those we 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 especially 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 sorrowed 
 after a godly sort. 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 
 return and say, " I have sinned against Heaven, and 
 before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son ; 
 
 B B a
 
 372 MAY 8. 
 
 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 condemn him- 
 self 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 "Yes, tears of joy !" Nay, 
 but tears of ingenuous 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 preceding tell us that he is " the 
 man whose name is the BRANCH," who should " grow up 
 out of his 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 Scrip- 
 ture often holds it forth under this image. The allusion 
 was peculiarly natural in a Jewish writer, considering the 
 importance attached to the house of God in Jerusalem. 
 The name is founded on three reasons. 
 
 First, consecration. A temple is a place appropriated 
 to sacred uses. 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 discovered 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
 
 MAY 8. 373 
 
 robbery but sacrilege. Let them think of this when they 
 would use their time, their substance, or any of their 
 talents, as their own, regardless of the will of God. Holi- 
 ness becomes 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 temple 
 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 take the image of Baal and place it in 
 the temple, opposite the mercy-seat, the very throne of 
 the God of Israel ! Beware of profane mixtures. " What 
 agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" Chris- 
 tians, maintain 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 : 
 therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, 
 which are God's." 
 
 Secondly, residence. A mansion is a dwelling 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 remember that God seeth us : but he is in his 
 Church by a special presence ; and in a way of grace, and 
 influence, and operation. This at once secures and digni- 
 fies it : "I will be a wall of fire round about her, and the 
 glory in the midst of her." " This," says he, " is my rest 
 for ever : here will I dwell ; for I have desired it." What 
 are numbers, or fine buildings, or imposing ceremonies, 
 to communion with the living God ? 
 
 Thirdly, devotion. He is served and worshipped 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
 
 374 MAY 9. 
 
 spirit and in truth." His worship therefore is a reasonable 
 service. The offerings presented to him are not gross, but 
 spiritual sacrifices. They are prayers, and praise, and 
 alms, and a broken heart, and a contrite spirit : and though 
 all these are imperfect and defiled, they result from prin- 
 ciple : 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 0. " Even HE SHALL BUILD the temple of the 
 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 ano- 
 ther view he is the foundation ; and the only foundation 
 laid in Zion. No image can do him justice. The sacred 
 writers therefore are reduced to three things They strip 
 images of all their imperfections, and apply them to him 
 in their complete state They ascribe to these images 
 properties which they do not naturally possess : 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 together : thus 
 he is not only the way, but the leader in it : not only the 
 physician, but the 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 ? He is the only one 
 " Neither is there salvation in any other." Yet are not 
 Christians required to build ? Does not Jude say, 
 " Building up yourselves in your most holy faith ?" But
 
 MAY; 9. 375 
 
 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 there- 
 fore it is called " the fruit of the Spirit." Are not Chris- 
 tians required to build up others ? 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-builder, I have laid the foundation, and another 
 buildeth thereon." But even ministers only build instru- 
 mentally. He employs them, and all their success is from 
 him. Paul and Apollos 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 materials for build- 
 ing 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 thy- 
 self 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 com- 
 manded to " look to the rock whence we were hewn, and 
 to the hole of the pit whence we were digged" that is, to 
 remember 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 shew forth his praise.
 
 376 MAY 10. 
 
 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 them The union is for ever And the Saviour 
 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 no need of thee. Some parts are 
 more near, and some more remote ; some more conspicu- 
 ous, and some more concealed : but they all subserve their 
 appointment ; they have all a relation 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 into an holy temple in the Lord." 
 
 Art thou found, O my soul, among those to whom the 
 application can be made " Tn whom ye are also 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 build- 
 ing ; 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 achievements ; some, 
 by voyages of discovery ; some, by scientific improvements ; 
 some, by the composition of a book ; and some, by the 
 structure of an edifice But what building ever redounded 
 so much to the glory of the builder as this temple of the 
 Lord ? 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 pur-
 
 MAY 10. 377 
 
 pose. But there never were such materials as this 
 builder had to work upon : so that it was necessary to 
 change, not their form only, hut their very nature ; and, 
 from earthly, sensual, and devilish, to make them heavenly 
 and divine. 
 
 Then see the excellency of the workmanship "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 superfluity 
 or deficiency ; some possibility of alteration 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 
 turn 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 indications of design ; we feel our- 
 selves always on the verge of the infinite ; we exclaim, 
 " This is the finger of God." So it is with all his works 
 He doth all things well : but he hath magnified his word 
 above all his Name ; and in the salvation of his people he 
 excelleth in glory. 
 
 Look at the magnitude of the work. A work is some- 
 times 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 far from 
 being accomplished yet. A work is estimated by the num- 
 ber of workmen engaged ; and the abundance of scaffold- 
 ing required. 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 laboured for this cause, without knowing it : 
 and the world ilself, 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. 
 Solomon's temple was burnt by the Chaldeans, and 
 Zerubbabel's temple by the Romans ; and not a fragment 
 remained a few ages only after 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 defec-
 
 378 MAY 10. 
 
 tions of heretics and the apostacies of professors do not 
 affect it : " the foundation of God standeth sure." The 
 most remarkahle structures for permanence are the pyra- 
 mids 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 excellency, the joy of many generations. 
 
 And how glorious to himself is the manner in which he 
 carries it forward to its completion ! Difficulties insupera- 
 ble 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 
 precisely according to the design, and to a moment 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 mountain ? before Zerubbabel thoti 
 shalt become a plain : and he shall bring forth the head 
 stone thereof with shouting Grace, grace unto it!" 
 
 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 sentiment ; 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 Throne ; and it will be their 
 business and their delight to exclaim, " To him that 
 loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
 
 MAY 11. 379 
 
 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. "7 have learned by experience." 
 
 GEN. xxx. 27. 
 
 THERE is no spiritual meaning in these words. They are 
 only the language of Laban acknowledging the benefit he 
 had derived under God for even he could talk piously 
 from his son-in-law Jacob ; " The Lord 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 affords 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 announced 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 
 willing to own their ignorance, and place themselves upon 
 a level with the vulgar, and so they conjectured and theo- 
 rized ; but their hypotheses 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 without trial. 
 
 Now this is what we wish with regard to the noblest 
 of all subjects. Why cannot religion be tried ? Why
 
 380 MAY 11. 
 
 cannot prophecy be compared with events ? Why can- 
 not miracles be examined by any given standard of 
 evidence ? 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 obser- 
 vation ? Yes, says the Christian, the wickedness and 
 deceitfulness of the heart is not a notion with me I 
 have learned it by experience in my uuthankfulness 
 under mercies, incorrigibleness under corrections, unpro- 
 fitableness under ordinances, and failures and treachery 
 under 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, suit- 
 ableness, and willingness to save in my own salvation 
 " He that believeth 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 attest the influence and usefulness of prayer It has 
 calmed my fears it has revived me in the midst of 
 trouble I have learned by experience 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 knowledge" 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.
 
 MAY 11. 381 
 
 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, teacheth 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 ; 
 because 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 experience. 
 It is one of their best books ; and as to some of them it 
 has become now no inconsiderable volume. They should 
 remember how differently things have frequently appeared 
 in prospect, and in review. They 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 communicate of 
 their experience. Out of the abundance of the heart the 
 mouth speaketh. Here indeed wisdom is profitable to 
 direct. We are not to give that which is holy to the 
 dogs ; neither should we cast our pearls before 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 
 distinction. We are not to bring forward the deep things
 
 382 MAY 12. 
 
 of God to those who cannot bear them no\v. Neither 
 should we dismay the timid and doubting, by displaying 
 before them our confidence and ecstasies. We may talk 
 with some of the eighth of the Romans, but with others 
 we must quote out of the seventh. It will often be better 
 to talk of divine things at large without referring to our 
 own experience. 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 confide in us. 
 
 MAY 12. "Hold up my goings in thy paths, that 
 my footsteps slip not" PSALM xvii. 5. 
 
 RELIGION is principally an intercourse maintained between 
 God and us. And in the thought of it there is some- 
 thing very wonderful and striking. When we consider 
 his greatness and glory, and our vanity and vileuess, 
 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 sanctification in prosperity. We cannot be 
 wise, or happy, or even safe, without it. Let me observe 
 David and learn to pray as he prayed, " Hold up my 
 goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." 
 
 First, See his COURSE. He speaks of his "goings." 
 Religion does not allow a man to sit still. 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
 
 MAY 12. 383 
 
 will walk in thy truth." To walk is to be active and 
 advancing. It stands for the whole of our conduct : and 
 upon this it is that the Scripture lays such stress, requiring 
 us as we have received Christ Jesus the Lord so to walk 
 in him ; and to walk worthy the vocation wherewith we 
 are called. 
 
 He speaks of his goings " in God's paths." These 
 are threefold. The path of his commands. " 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. 
 Faith in Christ is one of them, and necessary to our 
 obeying all the rest ; for " this is his commandment, that 
 we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ." The 
 path of his ordinances. Pious minds alive to the authority 
 of God who has appointed them, and believing the promise 
 that they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
 strength, and feeling their need of spiritual supplies and 
 succour, can never neglect the means of grace. They 
 will value retirement for reading the Scriptures, and medi- 
 tation, and prayer. They will love the conversation of the 
 godly. As they have opportunity, they will repair to the 
 sanctuary, and join in the solemn assemblies in public 
 devotion, and in hearing the word preached, and in sur- 
 rounding the table of the Lord. Others may indeed occa- 
 sionally or even frequently attend upon religious institu- 
 tions, 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 dispensations. 
 Nothing in our condition happens by chance. All events 
 are the movements of his providence : and where others 
 disregard them or view them only in connection with 
 creatures for God is not in all their thoughts believers 
 acknowledge him in their connections, their losses, their 
 gains, their comforts, and their trials. Thus Job said, 
 " The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed 
 be the name of the Lord." And David says, " I will sing 
 of mercy and of judgment ; unto thee, O Lord, will I 
 sing." Such was his course. Observe,
 
 384 MAY 12. 
 
 Secondly, his CONCERN respecting this course " Hold 
 up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." It 
 is the language of conviction. He knew the injury that 
 would result 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 his wickedness should 
 correct him, and his backslidings reprove him. It is the 
 language of apprehension. He knew his footsteps were 
 prone to slide. How can a man be ignorant of this who 
 reflects on the malice and power of his adversary the devil, 
 and the allurements 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 Chris- 
 tian 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 
 resolutions 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-dependence. The one is as necessary as the other. 
 And it is as well founded. Oh that we could keep them 
 equally balanced in the mind That while we avoid pre- 
 sumption, we may also avoid despondency That while 
 we are humble we may also be cheerful That while we 
 are cautious we may also be courageous ; knowing that 
 while we cannot stand of ourselves, he is able to keep us
 
 MAY 13. 385 
 
 from falling, and has said, I will never leave thee nor 
 forsake thee : so that we may boldly say, The Lord is 
 ray keeper, I will not fear Hold THOU me up, and I 
 
 SHALL BE SAFE. 
 
 MAY 13. " Behold my hands and my feet." 
 
 LUKE xxiv. 39. 
 
 His sufferings and death were not only wonderful, but 
 all-important : and " he shewed 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 itself: 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 
 cross. All the disciples now present saw them ; and 
 Thomas who was absent saw them a few days after, and 
 was no longer faithless, but believing. And these signs 
 of his passion our Lord retained, not only after his resur- 
 rection, but also after his ascension. John, in his visions, 
 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 presenting 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 righteousness' sake, and says, " Ask of me now, 
 and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, 
 VOL. i. c c
 
 386 MAY 13. 
 
 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 benevo- 
 lence leads 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." 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 hastening -, 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 render 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 shewed 
 himself at this moment, 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 mental sight, and took the impres- 
 sion 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, prophecies, history, doctrine. Secondly, in the 
 ministry 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 shews 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
 
 MAY 14. 387 
 
 emblems aud memorials the most simple and significant 
 before our eyes, Jesus Christ is evidently set forth cruci- 
 fied 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 suffering aud 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 kindness 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 shoved me four 
 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 productive. It is the same with the 
 Scripture. Many passages as they are now read seem 
 to have no meaning, aud 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 endeavours, and the good ground will 
 yield " some an hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty." 
 
 c c a
 
 388 MAY 15. 
 
 Zechariah had seen four horns, and had said to the 
 angel that talked with him, " What he these ?" And he 
 answered him ; " These are the horns which have scattered 
 Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." Then THE LORD SHEWED 
 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 Gentiles, 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 nations they were evidently hostile powers. 
 The same may be said of these " four carpenters." Some 
 have supposed they were Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and 
 Nehemiah, and Ezra. In each case, a definite number 
 seems to be used for an indefinite. 
 
 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 instruments 
 for their succour and deliverance. This is the doctrine of 
 the text. And the assurance 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 inclined to appear for them, as 
 they are infinitely dear to him. In the second we see 
 that he is able to do it. In the third, that he is engaged 
 to do it. In the fourth, that he always has done it ; Scrip- 
 ture, history, and experience, being witness 
 
 " Then let the world forbear their rage, 
 
 The Church renounce her fear; 
 Israel must lire through every age, 
 And be the Almighty's care." 
 
 MAY 15. "And she said, my lord, as thy soul 
 tiveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here,
 
 MAY 15. 389 
 
 praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the 
 Lord hath given me my petition 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 " Oh 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 retain 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 resemble the Father of mercies; who says, Their sins 
 and their iniquities will I remember no more. Good men 
 are not to be upbraided with their miscarriages and mis- 
 takes. 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 befel a pious woman. When Naomi returned 
 with her daughter-in-law Ruth from the country of Moab, 
 to which she had been driven by famine, and had reached 
 her native village, the people of Bethlehem came around 
 her, saying, " Is this Naomi ?" 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 ?" But what a difference is 
 there between Hannah's former and present circumstances 
 and experience ! Then she was a petitioner now she is
 
 390 MAY 15. 
 
 filled with thanksgiving, and has the garment of praise 
 for the spirit of heaviness. Then she presented herself 
 at the temple in the bitterness of her soul ; then she sowed 
 in tears now she reaps in joy ; then she went forth weep- 
 ing, hearing precious seed now she returns again with 
 rejoicing, bringing her sheaf with her. " Oh my lord, 
 you may have forgotten the case, but I 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 intercourse 
 with God we are impressed, and made to resemble him : 
 as the face of Moses shone when he came down from the 
 communion 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 foot- 
 stool of Divine grace ; and go away as Hannah did with 
 our countenance no more sad, and our heart feeling the 
 peace of God which passeth all understanding ! 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 use- 
 fulness of prayer arises wholly and merely from the influ- 
 ence of the performance. The labour of the husbandman 
 in the field is beneficial to him by the exercise, and con- 
 duces to health and strength : but he looks also for a crop ; 
 and goes forth and sees first the blade, then the ear, and
 
 MAY 15. 391 
 
 after that the full corn in the ear. So it is with us. The 
 very action of prayer benefits and improves us : hut if 
 there be any meaning in the Scripture, we may rely upon 
 answers of prayer. This woman obtained her request; 
 and the time would fail us to tell of all those recorded in 
 the word of God who could acknowledge that he had 
 given them the blessings which they asked of him. 
 
 Hannah observes the answer to her petition. Prayer 
 is sometimes answered immediately, and sometimes it is 
 delayed. It is sometimes answered in the very thing 
 desired, and sometimes in a way of exchange while some- 
 times by strange, and even terrible things in righteousness 
 the Lord answers his people. Wisdom therefore is here 
 necessary 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 is wise and will observe these things, even 
 he shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord. It is 
 more than trifling with the Supreme Being, it is even 
 insulting him, to awaken his 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 ? On the other hand, 
 how desirable is it to know that he has not forgotten to be 
 gracious, or turned away our prayer from him ! How con- 
 firming is it to our confidence to be able to say, with Moses, 
 " The Lord heard me at that time also." What excite- 
 ment to praise and prayer does David derive from the per- 
 suasion ; "1 love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice 
 and my supplications ; because he hath inclined his ear 
 unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live."
 
 392 MAY 16. 
 
 Hannah not only observes the regard of God to her 
 case, but acknowledges it. We should do the same. We 
 should riot hide his righteousness within our heart; but 
 declare his faithfulness and his salvation. Many stand in 
 need of encouragement, and under a sense of their unwor- 
 tbiness and guilt are ready to conclude that the Lord will 
 not hear them. Let us be his witnesses. Let us testify 
 to them from our own experience. I have tried the free- 
 ness and fulness of his grace. I never trusted in him and 
 was confounded, never sought him and was disappointed. 
 Let us tell it to his own people. It will not excite their 
 envy ; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. They 
 have prayed for us : let us call upon them to aid our 
 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 Hannah, let us tell it to Eli- 
 Ministers personally need such communications ; 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 we ascend to that 
 Shiloh ! What developments 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 ' 
 
 1 SAM. i. 28. 
 
 To resign so dear a child for ever, this must have been 
 an exercise of great self-denial in Hannah. But it was 
 only an act of fidelity to religious engagement : it was 
 the condition of her prayer : " She vowed a vow, and
 
 MAY 16. 393 
 
 said, O Lord of Hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the 
 affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not 
 forget thine handmaid, 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 aud resolu- 
 tions, because we then feel our weakness and dependence ; 
 but when the danger is removed, or the blessing obtained, 
 aud the hour of performance 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 renewed health, and their iniquities, like the wind, 
 have taken them away. Even Hezekiah, affected as he 
 was by the Divine goodness, 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 songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our 
 life in the house of the Lord :" yet after all this he ren- 
 dered not according to the benefit done him. So it was 
 with Jacob. When, going from home a forlorn youth, he 
 was indulged with the vision at Bethel, and alluding to the 
 Divine intimation so suited to his circumstances 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 I come again 
 to my father's house in peace ; then shall the Lord be my 
 God : and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall 
 be God's house : and of all that thou shalt give me I will 
 surely give the tenth unto thee." Yet when he returned, 
 multiplied and enriched, he passed year after year, com- 
 paratively iu the neighbourhood, forgetful of his engage- 
 ment, 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 thy brother." Then, and not till then, " Jacob
 
 394 MAY 16. 
 
 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 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." 
 
 We do not much recommend vowing ; we would rather 
 urge praying : but if vows are to be made, let 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? Did he 
 cease to be hers because he was the Lord's ? She would 
 feel a new and a peculiar interest in him, in consequence 
 of his relation 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 fingers 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 ? Immediately her 
 tongue was loosed, and became as the pen of a ready writer : 
 " My heart rejoiceth 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 meri- 
 torious in our performances ; but with such sacrifices God
 
 MAY 17. 395 
 
 is well pleased. Them that honour me, says God, I will 
 honour. When we follow our convictions, and shew 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 the Eunuch 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 because of some known duty neglected ? or some idol 
 adored ? Are the consolations of God small with thee ? 
 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 restored 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 conceived, 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? 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 present 
 time, and in the world to come life everlasting." 
 
 MAY 17. " The son of consolation." 
 
 ACTS iv. 36. 
 
 THIS is spoken of a man who was a Levite. His ances- 
 tors had retired from Judaea 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,
 
 396 MAY 17. 
 
 which is, being interpreted, the son of consolation. Two 
 reasons have been assigned for this denomination ; both 
 very consistent with each other ; and both very probable 
 in themselves. 
 
 First, because by his property for he had substance, 
 he succoured and solaced the poor and miserable. 
 
 Arid Secondly, because by his preaching he comforted 
 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 
 inflating one, and running down another, because of their 
 diversities. Let us view them all in their commission, and 
 their suitableness to their appointments. Their stations, 
 their 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 founda- 
 tion, and another build thereon ; let one be set for the 
 defence of the Gospel, and another abound in the applica- 
 tion of it : each is alike respectable ; and each shall receive 
 his own reward according 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 ? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but 
 ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to 
 every man ?" 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 a substitute in " God's 
 stead," we shall provoke the Most High to remove him, 
 or to withhold his blessing by him ; thereby to reprove 
 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
 
 MAY 18. 397 
 
 preaching, who are most imbued with the conviction ; 
 " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith 
 the Lord." 
 
 MAY 18. " Who of God is made unto us wisdom, 
 and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 
 
 1 COR. i. 30. 
 
 HERE are four articles. The first is wisdom He is made 
 of God unto us wisdom. He is the true excellency of the 
 understanding. 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 him." This righteous- 
 ness, derived entirely from himself, regardless of our wor- 
 thiness or works, is called the righteousness which is of 
 faith, because it is only apprehended, and made ours, and 
 pleaded, by faith. The third is 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 com- 
 munication. By the one he changes 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 blessings 
 are distinguishable, they are not separable. He came by
 
 398 MAY 18. 
 
 water, and by blood. Whom he justifies he renews. 
 And this sanctification is more than a reformation of man- 
 ners, 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 
 is made of God unto us redemption. To ascertain the 
 meaning of which, we must observe, that it is distin- 
 guished from the foregoing benefits. But if it were 
 taken for redemption from the curse of the Law, it would 
 coincide with his being our righteousness ; and if for 
 emancipation from the servitude of sin, it would be com- 
 prised in his being 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 ourselves, waiting for the 
 adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. Here 
 the import of the term must mean the resurrection to 
 eternal life. And there is a peculiar propriety in apply- 
 ing 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 effect of the 
 purchase of the Cross. Christ has ransomed the bodies as 
 well as the souls of his people, and therefore God's cove- 
 nant also is with their dust. Their bodies will not only 
 be raised, but infinitely improved, and will bear not the 
 image of the earthly but of the heavenly Adam. The 
 sacred writers therefore, 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 salvation will then, and not till 
 then, be perfectly achieved. This consummation is all
 
 MAY 19. 399 
 
 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 righte- 
 ousness, and sanctification, and redemption ? Then we 
 learn what is our condition by nature : we are destitute of 
 all these, and 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 \ve are blessed with all spiritual bless- 
 ings. Then we need not wonder that he is the substance 
 of revelation, and that the Scriptures everywhere should 
 testify of him. Then he should be the theme, the only 
 theme of preaching ; and every minister, faithful to his 
 commission 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 ? 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 
 gracious opportunity afforded me is short and uncertain, 
 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. 1 ' GEN. vi. 9. 
 THE same thing ia testified of Enoch ; and will be exem-
 
 400 MAY 19. 
 
 plified in every partaker of Divine grace. Two questions 
 may be asked concerning 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 Beloved. 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 ? This change is effected by the Holy 
 Spirit. The love of God is shed abroad in the heart, 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, becomes delightful. His 
 commands are not grievous ; his yoke is easy, and his ways 
 pleasantness and peace. It also implies nearness. If you 
 walk with any one, he must be witli 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 con- 
 tinually 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, however 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 stranger 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 fellowship
 
 MAY 19. 401 
 
 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 to 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 direction. When we walk with another, we 
 recede, 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 Christian has the 
 same bias and the same movement ; and whether he eats 
 or drinks, or whatever he does, he does all to the glory 
 of God. Hence one moral maxim serves as a short and 
 sufficient rule to govern his conduct He will follow 
 wherever the Lord goes, for he cannot lead him astray : 
 but be 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 excel- 
 lency 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 consequence of this, the righteous is more 
 excellent 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 poten- 
 tate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. 
 
 In walking with God there is safety. Woe 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, 
 
 VOL. I. D 1)
 
 402 MAY 19. 
 
 but with rne; 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 with 
 me. When I first fled to him breathless, from a thousand 
 dangers at my heels, he said 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 safeguard." 
 
 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 com- 
 fort. 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 salvation. 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 ?" The mind is powerfully affected 
 by the objects with which they are very familiar. He 
 who is much engaged in ignoble pursuits will soon be 
 debased : but we are elevated in the presence and con- 
 templation of greatness and sublimity. The things of 
 earth tend to sensualize us : but when we are with God, 
 the inroads of the world are checked ; we stand on holy 
 ground ; impure desires and vain thoughts fall off. Our 
 attention is fixed upon the perfections and blessedness of 
 Jehovah, and we admire, and adore, and love, and resem- 
 ble 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 know- 
 ledge 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
 
 MAY 20. 403 
 
 powerful the attraction ; so, the nearer we are to God the 
 more will all our religious principles be influenced, the 
 more we shall grow in grace, the more will our conversa- 
 tion be in heaven. 
 
 Let us not then sacrifice our highest welfare in 
 disregarding this attainment. The vessels of mercy are 
 afore prepared unto glory. We must be made meet for 
 the inheritance of the saints in light. What would many 
 find heaven, if they were admitted into it, but a melan- 
 choly and miserable state ? Could they enjoy the perpe- 
 tual presence of God who cannot endure even the occa- 
 sional thought of him ? How wise as well as merciful 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 him the suitableness and sufficiency for it. But God, 
 when he changes our condition, changes our nature too. 
 Before he brings us to heaven, 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, and in token of, and in prepa- 
 ration 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 standeth one among you, whom 
 ye know not." JOHN i. 26. 
 
 THIS was the language of John at Bethabara beyond 
 Jordan, where he was baptizing. It was addressed to 
 many of the Jews who were assembled before him, among 
 whom were Priests and Levites from Jerusalem, sent to 
 inquire who he was. After disclaiming that he was any 
 thing more than " the voice of one crying in the wilder- 
 ness," he intimates the arrival of a personage on the spot, 
 very superior to himself, and for whom he was unworthy 
 
 D D I
 
 404 MAY 20. 
 
 to perform an office the most menial " There standeth 
 one among you, whom ye know not." 
 
 It is needless to mention who this wonderful Being 
 was But we see that our Lord had nothing in his out- 
 ward appearance to distinguish 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 
 o\vn;" and " in all things" was " made like unto his breth- 
 ren." 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 particular garb. His coat was 
 indeed seamless, woven from the top throughout : but this 
 was no observable thing. Wisdom is an enemy to affec- 
 tation 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 many a rich vein of ore concealed 
 beneath a rude surface ; and many a flower that blooms 
 unseen in the woods, and sheds its fragrance " 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 surprised 
 as well as delighted in travelling to discover frequently 
 individuals walking in the truth in situations the most 
 unlikely and unpromising? Abraham said of Gerar, 
 " Surely 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 
 begotten me these ?" " These, where have they been ?" 
 
 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
 
 MAY 20. 405 
 
 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 depart. 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 knowledge ; 
 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 ignorant of many things, and yet be safe 
 and happy : but to be ignorant of Christ is as if the 
 pursued mauslayer 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 knowledge, " 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 knowledge therefore is attainable. Happy they 
 who possess it, and can say, " 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
 
 406 MAY 21. 
 
 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 upbraideth not ; and it 
 shall be given him." 
 
 MAY 21. " And from thence we came to Philippi." 
 
 ACTS xvi. 12. 
 
 " I say unto you, that there is joy in the presence of the 
 angels of God over one sinner that repentelh." Nothing 
 can more powerfully imply, or express the importance of 
 conversion, than this declaration of the Saviour, the 
 faithful and true witness. However lightly or contemptu- 
 ously conversion may be thought of among men, celestial 
 beings, proverbial for their wisdom, and incapable of mis- 
 take, always behold it with wonder and delight. With 
 them, the improvements of art, the discoveries of philo- 
 sophy, the exploits of heroes, the revolutions of empires, 
 are comparatively nothing to the salvation of a soul. In 
 their view, the release of Israel from the land of Egypt 
 and the house of bondage, 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 
 shouted for joy : but they sing a new song, and with pecu- 
 liar rapture, at the second, when old things pass away, and 
 all things become morally and spiritually new. 
 
 Luke the historian was like-minded. He here speaks 
 of his coming with Paul and Silas to Philippi. Philippi
 
 MAY 21. 407 
 
 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 exceedingly remark- 
 able, by the two great battles which the Romans fought 
 in its plain;?. In the one, Julius Caesar vanquished 
 Pompey. In the other, Octavius Augustus defeated 
 Brutus and Cassius. Though every battle of the war- 
 rior is with confused noise, and garments rolled 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 
 Waterloo has been able to forbear speaking of the sixteenth 
 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 jailor. Lydia was amiable 
 and moral ; a proselyte to the Jewish religion ; and a 
 worshipper of the true God. The jailor was a heathen ; 
 an idolater ; vicious in his disposition ; as rude and savage 
 in his soul as in his office. The conversion of the one was 
 in answer to prayer, gentle, gradual, imperceptible in the 
 progress, but obvious in its result. The conversion of the 
 other was sudden, extraordinary in the circumstances, and 
 accompanied with terror and anguish. She was overcome 
 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 sen- 
 tence of condemnation. Her heart the Lord opened, as 
 the sun opens a flower in spring. His heart was stormed 
 like a citadel, where the strong man armed kept his 
 palace and his goods in peace. 
 
 Hence we see by what various methods divine 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 ourselves, that we are strangers to
 
 408 MAY 22. 
 
 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 presence 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 Buiiyan. " There are differences of administra- 
 tion, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of ope- 
 rations : 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 accomplished, but by the 
 effects produced and remaining. And happy they who 
 are able, whatever that is curious or minute may perplex 
 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. 
 
 IF it be asked, of whom speaketh the prophet this? the 
 words immediately preceding will furnish an answer ; for 
 they announce the birth of our Saviour in Bethlehem, and 
 call him the ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been 
 from of old from everlasting. Micah refers to him under 
 the implied character of the Shepherd of his people, and 
 expresses 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 shepherds who lie down, 
 loving to slumber. And even the most dutiful and sedu-
 
 MAY 22. 409 
 
 lous shepherd sometimes unbends ; he must have his 
 moments 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 j 
 and to Matthew at the receipt of custom, follow me ; and 
 immediately they obeyed him. Has he less power now 
 he is in heaven ? 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 them 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 
 servant 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 him out of his 
 mouth : and when he rose against me, I caught him by 
 his beard, and smote him, and slew him." And what said 
 the Saviour? " 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 midst of danger, 
 and can say with Paul " I know whom I have believed,
 
 410 MAY 22. 
 
 and am persuaded 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 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-wit- 
 nesses of his majesty" He refers peculiarly to his trans- 
 figuration, 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 
 is 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 sublime, 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 
 accomplish his mighty works yet with what amazing 
 gentleness and tenderness too ! 
 
 Majesty is here connected with strength. Power is 
 not always dignified in the possession or the display. Some 
 conscious of their force are concerned for nothing else. 
 They only think of coercion : they delight to intimidate : 
 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 ? 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
 
 MAY 23. 411 
 
 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 forgiven 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 terrible 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 
 who shall stand when he appeareth ! He detected hypo- 
 crisy. He separated between the righteous and the 
 wicked. He denounced Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Caper- 
 naum, because they repented not. He doomed Jerusalem 
 to war and desolation, because she knew not the day of 
 her visitation. And never will he fail to shew 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 ?" 
 
 MAY 23. " Peace, peace to him that is far off, and 
 to him that is near." ISAIAH Ivii. 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 hap- 
 piness at large : but here it is to be taken in its most 
 appropriate signification, as holding forth the idea of 
 reconciliation. Reconciliation with whom ? With God, 
 through the mediation of him who loved us, and gave
 
 412 MAY 23. 
 
 himself for us " God was in Christ reconciling the world 
 unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." 
 We have offended and provoked him, and he could righte- 
 ously have destroyed us : we have no claims upon his 
 pity ; and had we heeu told that he was forming a pur- 
 pose concerning us, and was ahout to send a special 
 messenger, yea, even his own Son into the revolted 
 province, what would have been the forebodings of our 
 guilty consciences ! " But God sent not his own Son 
 into the world to condemn the world, but that the world 
 through him should be saved." And it is not the lan- 
 guage of vengeance we hear from his messengers, War, 
 war! but "Peace, peace!" He does not wait for our 
 repentance and submission, but of his own will he forms and 
 accomplishes the plan. There were difficulties in the way 
 of our restoration to his favour ; these he removes : a sacri- 
 fice 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 farther in ; but the small 
 still voice of pardon, assuring us that with the Lord there 
 is mercy, and with him plenteous redemption, draws us 
 forth to his feet, 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 dis- 
 cord ? Who has not tasted the bitterness of alienation ? 
 And who has not relished the luxury of restored senti- 
 ments of kindness, tenderness, and friendship ? Let him 
 judge of the joy and peace of believing ! Yet what is 
 peace with a brother, 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 understanding. It is angels' food 
 It is more. They never felt a certain fearful looking-
 
 MAY 23. 413 
 
 for of judgment, aiid fiery indignation. They never knew 
 a wounded spirit and the anguish of despair, upon which 
 descended, with healing 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 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the 
 atonement." " O Lord, I will praise thee : though thou 
 wast angry with me, thine auger is turned away, and 
 thou comfortedst me." 
 
 But to whom is it addressed ? " Peace, peace to him 
 that is far off, and to him that is near. 11 This immedi- 
 ately regards the Gentiles 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 servants. 
 The Gentiles were far off, because they were strangers to 
 all these privileges, and without God in the world. But 
 Christianity knows no outward distinctions ; it regards men 
 as creatures in the same fallen condition, and brings them 
 health and cure. " The Scripture saith, Whosoever 
 belie veth 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 
 born 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 one step before them in 
 the way everlasting. 
 
 Some are nigh They are moral in their lives, amiable
 
 414 MAY 23. 
 
 in their tempers, teachable in their disposition ; they seem 
 as free from prejudice as from vice, and only require infor- 
 mation and decision. Of such an one, our Saviour said, 
 " Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." Others 
 are far off 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 affections are tender and lively. 
 Others are far off They are the old, whose dispositions 
 are inveterate, whose vices are deeprooted, whose habits of 
 evil have become a second nature " Can the Ethiopian 
 change his skin, or the leopard his spots ?" " With man 
 it is impossible ; 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 divine 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 pro- 
 priety in this : for if its language was not universal j if 
 there were any exclusions or omissions, awakened souls, 
 sensible of their desert, would be sure to appropriate 
 them, and conclude that they had no part nor lot in the 
 matter. But they cannot question whether they are 
 sinners ; and Jesus Christ came into the world to save 
 sinners. 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
 
 MAY 24. 415 
 
 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 
 is liberty." 2 COR. iii. 1 7. 
 
 THIS is mentioned for two purposes. First, to charac- 
 terize the Gospel. It is therefore called in the preceding 
 verse " the ministration of the Spirit." Secondly, to 
 describe the Christian. Natural men have not the Spirit, 
 and if they make a profession of religion, it is only the 
 form of godliness without the power but Christians pos- 
 sess 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 ? Observe the reasoning of 
 David ; " That thy Name is near, thy wondrous works 
 declare." He proves the presence of God from the agency 
 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 blessed- 
 ness reserved for them in heaven called " the glorious 
 liberty of the sons of God." But this is future ; and the
 
 416 MAY 24. 
 
 Apostle says, where the Spirit of the Lord is not there 
 shall be but there is, liberty. What liberty ? 
 
 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 Jews answered, " We were never in bondage to any 
 man ; and how sayest thou then ye shall be made free ?" 
 Yet their whole history shewed that they had been in 
 vassalage to all the nearer, and to many of the remoter 
 powers ; and were even then a province of the Roman 
 empire, paying tribute unto Ca?sar. 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 asunder, and cast away their cords from 
 ws" " With our lips will we prevail, our tongues are our 
 own, who is Lord over us ?" But while they use great 
 swelling words of vanity, they themselves also are the 
 servants of corruption : for of whom a " man is over- 
 come, of the same is he 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 mad- 
 man, he dances and sings in his chains. But this is not 
 always the case. The hypocrite may boast of pleasure 
 which he never feels : but there is no peace unto the 
 wicked. Not only is the end of these things death, but 
 the way of transgressors is hard. Many effects, the natural 
 produce of his iniquity, often make him groan inwardly. 
 Stung with remorse and shame, he sometimes says, I will 
 be such a slave no more I will be free. And he resolves, 
 but it is in his own strength. He is therefore overcome, 
 and bound faster than before : and frequently the result of 
 these short-lived reformations, put off as long as possible, 
 resorted to with reluctance, and hated in the performance, 
 is, that the latter end is worse than the beginning. At best, 
 he only exchanges one sin for another ; and while he gives
 
 MAY 24. 417 
 
 up grosser 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 merry 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 deliver me from the body of this death ?" 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 return 
 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 incli- 
 nation urges, authority may restrain, or the fear of conse- 
 quences may deter. Many wish they could indulge them- 
 selves freely and safely in their criminal passions 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 mother could ever love the murderer 
 of her child ? But there is no love like that which the 
 saved sinner bears to the Saviour. Can I ever be recon- 
 ciled to that which made him bleed and die ? Can I ever 
 cherish that which grieves and dishonours him who loved 
 me and gave himself for me ? 
 
 " Furnish me, Lord, with heavenly arms. 
 
 From grace's magazine; 
 
 And I Ml proclaim eternal war 
 
 With every darling sin." 
 
 VOL. I. E E
 
 418 MAY 25. 
 
 MAY 25. " Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there 
 is liberty." 2 COR. iii. 17. 
 
 WHAT liberty? 
 
 A FREEDOM IN DUTY. There are some who dislike 
 the word duty, though it is a word by no means unevan- 
 gelical : for it entirely excludes the idea of merit ; as that 
 which is due cannot be meritorious. And are persons, in 
 proportion as they are favoured, without obligations ? Do 
 not benefits gender claims to service ? " 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 acknow- 
 ledges 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 spi- 
 ritual" 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 enlarged 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 
 reputation, or connections, 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 hypo- 
 crisy ? or enthusiasm ? whether they shall not provoke
 
 MAY 25. 419 
 
 an enemy ? or lose a friend ? or suffer in trade ? Thus 
 they are checked by the fear of man, which bringeth a 
 snare. What snare ? The danger of drawing back, or 
 turning aside, instead of going forward and abounding in 
 the work of the Lord ; the danger of concealing or deny- 
 ing their principles, and conforming to the place and com- 
 pany they are in, instead of confessing the Saviour before 
 men, and declaring themselves on the Lord's side. Now 
 the grace of God delivers us from these preventions : 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 blessed 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." Conviction is a 
 great source of courage, but affection 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 ? " We 
 cannot," said Peter 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 obedience by deli- 
 verance from formality. We may well talk of the dulness 
 and deadness of formality. The effect of it in duty is to 
 make our souls like Pharaoh'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 contracts 
 and obstructs like the want of spirituality in religion. 
 We sometimes complain of darkness ; and darkness con- 
 
 B K a
 
 420 MAY 25. 
 
 fines ; but the rising sim 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 principles of vegetation, and all is 
 life and fertility. Such a difference is there in our devo- 
 tional exercises, whether retired or public ; between our 
 frames, when we are left to ourselves, and when the 
 Spirit helps our infirmities : 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 sanctificatiou, 
 but to 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 atone- 
 ment. And this grace wherein we stand is not only the 
 most delightful privilege, but, according to the Apostle, it 
 is necessary to our serving 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 thinking of atoning for our lives, or 
 going about to establish our own righteousness ! Believers 
 have nothing to do here Their sins are expiated ; the 
 righteousness in which they appear before God is pro- 
 vided. They therefore cease from their legal and torment- 
 ing 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 Gospel of his Son 
 There is nothing 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
 
 MAY 26. 421 
 
 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 care- 
 less 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 confidence by 
 the faith of Jesus ; and can draw near in full assurance of 
 faith. They feel their unworthiuess, but they know they 
 are welcome welcome to approach his gates welcome to 
 enter his house welcome to sit down at his table wel- 
 come to hang upon his arm welcome to lean on his 
 bosom welcome at all times and in all circumstances to 
 spread 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 
 his Holy Spirit to them that ask him ; and that he giveth 
 more grace. Let us therefore be enlarged in our desires j 
 and not only have the Spirit, but be filled with the Spirit. 
 
 MAY 26. " Looking diligently lest any man fail 
 of the grace of God." HEB. xii. 15. 
 
 WE are here admonished not to " fail of the grace of 
 God." There is a difference between failing of 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 con- 
 sistency, make use of every warning and motive against 
 declension and apostacy, while yet we believe that the 
 righteous shall hold on his way, and are confident of this 
 very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in us
 
 422 MAY 26. 
 
 will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. When the 
 angel had announced the safety of all on hoard, and the 
 apostle believed God that it should he 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, no mean critic, contends that the 
 word here rendered to fail, signifies always to want, to 
 come short ; and never, to fall from actual possession. We 
 say, the trees this year will fail of a crop : we say to a 
 racer, see that you fail not of the prize ; and to a warrior, 
 see that you fail not of the victory : and in all these 
 instances we intend not the loss of a thing when obtained, 
 but the not obtaining it. The 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 you should seem to come short of it." 
 
 The caution implies 
 
 Importance. It is as much as to say, your supreme 
 concern should be to secure 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 ; and all his aims 
 and devices are to keep us from seeking after it. The 
 grace of God is The only source of relief under convic- 
 tion of sin The only principle of true obedience The 
 only safeguard of prosperity The only support uuder 
 trouble The only deliverance 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 inestimable blessing is not only revealed to our view, 
 but proposed to our hope, and pressed upon our accepta-
 
 MAY 26. 423 
 
 tion. 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 possibi- 
 lity of the thing. Grace is laid up in the Mediator for 
 this very purpose. It pleased the Father that in him should 
 all fulness 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 unto me, and 
 be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." We can appeal 
 to actual instances. How many in heaven, how many 
 also on earth, who by nature 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 
 plenteous in mercy unto all that call upon him. 
 
 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 ear- 
 nestness " Looking diligently ;" nor have extended 
 the caution to all, whatever advantages 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 religious parents, and had a 
 pious education Though you attend the means of grace, 
 and hear the truth as it is in Jesus Though you have 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 gifts, 
 and can talk well and pray wisely Though your passions 
 are sometimes pleasingly 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
 
 424 MAY 27. 
 
 you die, and the funeral sermon and the magazine ma) 7 
 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 confidence to the very door 
 of heaven, saying, " Lord, Lord, open unto us ; \ve 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. Yet they did all eat the same spiritual 
 meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink. 
 
 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, 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 in 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, except these 
 bonds" ACTS xxvi. 29. 
 
 " SUCH as I am.' 1 And wh^t was Paul ? He was an 
 Apostle. But he does not refer to this, or wish that his 
 audience, like himself, were called to an extraordinary mis- 
 sion, or could speak with new tongues, and discern spirits, 
 and heal diseases, and foretell things to come. He knew 
 official character 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 
 reply 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 thyself and this whole assembly " Would to God 
 that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day,
 
 MAY 27. 425 
 
 were uot only almost, but altogether such as I am, except 
 these bonds." 
 
 Thus therefore he not only shews a consciousness of 
 his Christianity, but the estimation 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 no 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 to others ; 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 wisdom. The 
 spirit that is in us lusteth to envy. We love things to be 
 exclusively our own. The child is pleased when no one 
 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 
 benevolence of his disposition in three things. First The 
 extent of his wish. It reaches to all. Yet some of his audi- 
 ence 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 Gospel, not far from the kingdom of 
 God. It is well to see them hearing the word, convinced, 
 reformed. But they may be hearers of the word and not 
 doers ; convinced and not converted : reformed and not 
 renewed. It is sad to go far, and come short at last. To
 
 426 MAY 27. 
 
 be almost justified is to be condemned ; almost saved is to 
 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 shewed Paul 
 to be a mat) of education and address. But it shews 
 something more than his eloquence. He would not wish 
 others to be tried, especially at first, as he was. 7 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 perse- 
 cutions. Surely 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 condition supe- 
 rior 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 shews 
 not only his benevolence in wishing their conversion, but 
 his belief and acknowledgment of Divine agency as neces- 
 sary to accomplish it. He owned this with regard to 
 himself. It pleased God to reveal 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.
 
 MAY 28. 427 
 
 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 ? If in 
 him we live, and move, and have our being naturally, has 
 the spiritual life, called the life of God, any thing less 
 than a Divine source for its origin and support ? 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 for others for our families, friends, 
 neighbours, all mankind. He is the God of all grace, 
 and he answers relative as well as personal prayer. But 
 let one thing be remembered : if our prayers are sincere, 
 it will appear in our exertions ; for God uses means, and 
 makes us the instruments of his agency. 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. 
 
 MAY 28. " / have sinned ; what shall I do unto 
 thee, O thou preserver of men ?" JOB vii. 20. 
 
 HERE is a confession, and an inquiry. 
 
 The confession seems to have nothing very discrimi- 
 nating 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 
 penitence the confession will always be strictly personal. 
 We may often hear the expression, " God knows we are 
 all sinners :" but them eaning of the exclaimers is, to bring 
 in others for a share, rather than to condemn themselves ; 
 and the universality of transgression is owned, to extenuate 
 the individuality. But, says the real penitent, " Behold, / 
 am vile, what shall / answer ?" " My sin is ever before 
 me." And he confesses not only the fact of his sin, but 
 the fault, the guilt, the desert " I am not worthy to be
 
 428 MAY 28. 
 
 called thy son." " Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, 
 and done this evil in thy sight : that thou mightest he jus- 
 tified when thou 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 aggra- 
 vations of his own iniquilies. And as sin is the transgres- 
 sion 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 omis- 
 sions 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 con- 
 fession is also always accompanied 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 publican smote upon his breast. 
 When Peter thought on his fall, he wept bitterly. Of 
 course there is also a disposition to sacrifice the evil 
 deplored. Pharaoh and Saul more than once said, " I have 
 sinned," yet went on still in their trespass. But he that 
 confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall find mercy. He 
 therefore will say, with Ephraim, " What have I any more 
 to do with idols ?" He will even 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 shewed 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 6fty 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 
 flames 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-
 
 MAY 28. 429 
 
 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 intelligible. It may be taken two 
 ways, requiring 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 conse- 
 quences of my guilt, and stop thy proceedings against 
 me ? This will be the immediate concern of the awak- 
 ened 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, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and 
 bow myself before the high God ? shall I come before him 
 with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old ? Will the 
 Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thou- 
 sands of rivers of oil ? shall I give my first-born 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 therefore can never be meritorious in expi- 
 ation of our offences : the payment of things present 
 will not wipe off the old score. To which also we may 
 add, that our obedience will be incomplete, and therefore, 
 instead of recompensing God any thing, will fall short of 
 his glory, and require pardon for its defects. The man
 
 430 MAY 28. 
 
 soon sees this, and feels that he can make no atonement 
 himself, and that the redemption of 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 for the 
 light of the Gospel, which breaks in and shews him what 
 in this case he can do. It is not to go about to establish 
 his own righteousness, but to submit himself to the righte- 
 ousness which is of God. It is not to toil, but believe 
 " To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that 
 justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righte- 
 ousness." 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 thy 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, plead- 
 ing 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 I do unto thee 
 in a way of duty and thankfulness ? 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 infi- 
 nitely indebted to his goodness. He cannot discharge his 
 obligations; 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 mercenary, but as 
 one who is blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly 
 places in Christ ? To him none of God's commandments 
 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
 
 MAY 20. 
 
 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 hath sent 
 forth the 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 bene- 
 volence vanishes from a comparison with the exceeding 
 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 conferred 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 pro- 
 cess of our recovery. The Christian alike values both : 
 and of both the Apostle here speaks : " When the fulness 
 of the time was come, God sent forth his Sou, 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 Sou into your hearts." Let us attend 
 to the latter of these. 
 
 Who are the recipients ? " Sons" a name often 
 given to the people of God in the Scriptures. 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 express the state of Christians.
 
 432 MAY 29. 
 
 Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed 
 upon 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, 
 hut the partakers 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, 
 hut 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 begotten of him. And 
 when he admits the offspring 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 
 requisitions in his own life : 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 j he 
 acts like himself " Behold, I create all things new." 
 
 What is the blessing ? " The Spirit of his Son. 1 ' 
 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 should follow" It 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 shew it unto you." He also personally 
 possessed this Spirit, and was always actuated by it. 
 " The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of 
 wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel 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 fulness 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 Comforter, that
 
 MAY 29. 433 
 
 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 
 received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he 
 hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." It is 
 therefore derived from him to us " We have an unction 
 from the 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 it. 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 obedience is not only rendered certain, but 
 natural and delightful. God of all grace ! fulfil thy cove- 
 nant engagement in my happy experience " 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 con- 
 formed 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 degree ; 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 condi- 
 tion as well as their present character. " When he who 
 is their life shall appear, they also shall appear with him 
 in glory." As they now " bear the image of the hea- 
 VOL. i. F F
 
 434 MAY 30. 
 
 venly," in having in them the mind that was in him, so 
 they will hereafter corporeally resemble him ; for " he 
 shall change their vile body, that it may he fashioned like 
 unto his own glorious body" "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." 
 
 MAY 30.-" Crying, Abba, Father" GAL. iv. 6. 
 
 SUCH is the effect of the Divine communication here 
 spoken of "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth 
 the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." 
 Every tiling 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 alo called " the earnest of our inheritance." 
 
 We should therefore be anxious to ascertain whether 
 we have received the all-important benefit. And it is 
 possible to determine this. For whenever the Spirit of 
 Christ takes possession of the heart, its residence 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 pretensions of a man there- 
 fore 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 represen- 
 tation is peculiar. It is not said what they will pray for ;
 
 MAY 30. 435 
 
 indeed it would be endless to specify their wants and 
 desires ; and " for all these things," says God, " will I he 
 inquired of by the 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 favourable 
 impressions ! " Heal my soul, for I have sinned against 
 thee." " Lord, save, I perish." " God be merciful to me 
 a sinner." " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" Such 
 is the language of feeling So it is when the heart speaks. 
 
 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 authorized 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, " because ye have known the 
 Father." Who is a child so likely to know as his father ? 
 What is the first name he utters 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 
 
 F F S
 
 436 MAY 30. 
 
 exemplify 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 " cry- 
 ing" would express this alone ; but here is added to it the 
 reduplication, "Father, Father!" This surely marks 
 eagerness and fervency. The importance of such impor- 
 tunity our Saviour illustrates in the manner of him who 
 spake as never man spake " 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 ? 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 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." 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 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 prevail among them, 
 the Lord gives them one heart 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 inhabitants of every coun- 
 try ; Jews and Gentiles would appropriate the same rela- 
 tion. " Is he the God of the Jews only ? is he not also 
 of the Gentiles ? Yes, of the Gentiles also." " For the 
 Scripture saith, Whosoever belie veth on him shall not be
 
 MAY 30. 437 
 
 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 Tar- 
 tary, or among the Esquimaux, we know not : hut 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 he king over all the earth : in that day shall there 
 he 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 " the Spirit of grace and of suppli- 
 cation." And we are said to " pray in the Holy Ghost." 
 It is he that shews us our state, and causes us to hunger 
 and thirst after righteousness. " Likewise the Spirit also 
 helpeth our infirmities : for we know not what we should 
 pray for as we ought : but the Spirit itself maketh inter- 
 cession for us with groanings which cannot 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 recommendation 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." Wherefore, first, 
 let us not grieve the Holy Spirit, and cause him to with- 
 draw or suspend his influences. 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 gifts 
 unto your children : how much more shall your heavenly 
 Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him !"
 
 438 MAY 31. 
 
 MAY 31. " That by two immutable things, in which 
 it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong 
 consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the 
 hope set before us" HEB. vi. 18. 
 
 ONE of these two things was his promise ; the other was 
 his oath. The Apostle acknowledges that both of them 
 were immutable. Why then was the latter added to the 
 former ? Not to constitute, hut to shew 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 
 verily men swear by the greater, and an oath for confir- 
 mation 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 consciousness of guilt makes us 
 timid and suspicious. Under a sense of our unworthiuess 
 the very greatness of the blessing will astonish 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 ourselves are weak and changeable ; and in 
 judging of him we insensibly transfer something of this to 
 God, if we do not think him altogether such an one as 
 ourselves. How natural 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
 
 MAY 31. 439 
 
 forgotten to be gracious. The blessing we so much desire 
 seems to recede as we advance after it ; and hope deferred 
 maketh the heart sick. We look at our work and our 
 danger; and yet feel more of our ignorance and weak- 
 ness. Experience can not only attest all this, but also 
 add much to the representation. But here is enough to 
 depress 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, hut to swear ; 
 " that by two immutable things" he might comfort and 
 establish our hearts. 
 
 We see, Secondly, How concerned he is for the conso- 
 lation 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 countenance, 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 
 people 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 emboldens 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 concerned 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 
 consolation." 
 
 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
 
 440 JUNE 1. 
 
 their infirmities, 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 ? 
 
 "Whence tben 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 vileness of 
 unbelief. There is nothing of which men are more tena- 
 cious than their reputation for truth. The least imputa- 
 tion thrown upon their veracity, rouses them to demand 
 satisfaction for the unpardonable offence though it has 
 only regarded their mere word, and not the added solem- 
 nity 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 upon thy oath than upon thy word" 
 And yet the thunder stays ! 
 
 What do we in our retirement ? To how little purpose 
 shall we humble ourselves, before God, unless we prin- 
 cipally 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, rvhereunto 
 J may continually resort" PSALM Ixxi. 3.
 
 JUNE 1. 441 
 
 ON what particular occasion this psalm was composed it 
 would not be easy to determine. Neither is it necessary j 
 or perhaps even desirable. 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 con- 
 tinually 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 rebellion 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 chilness of age ; his chief counsellor 
 betraying him ; the hearts of the people stolen from him ; 
 his army inadequate to his defence ; himself forced from 
 his palace ; fleeing 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 suitable, and satisfying, must it 
 have been to realize God as his hiding-place, resting-place, 
 dwelling-place the strength and the home of his heart ! 
 
 What so pitiable as a homeless wretch ? A Christian 
 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 different 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 enjoyment 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 taber- 
 nacle," and they are ready to cry, " O that I had wings 
 like a dove, for then would I flee away and be at rest." 
 But you need not flee from your condition ; rest may be 
 found in it in the bosom of your God and Saviour. And
 
 442 JUNE 1. 
 
 the less happiness you have in the creature, the more you 
 should repair to his all-sufficiency. Your distresses are 
 designed 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" habitation such an habi- 
 tation 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 danger, 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 cove- 
 nant 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 j and he is in quiet 
 from the fear of evil. 
 
 He would also make use of him under the character 
 of his strong habitation " Whereunto I may continually 
 resort." Would he then want to repair to him always ? 
 Our necessities, our work, our danger require it constantly. 
 We are commanded to pray without 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, inaccessible. 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 dwell- 
 ing is our own ; and who dares to forbid us all its accom- 
 modations and contents ? 
 
 Kings, however disposed, cannot be always approach- 
 able. Owing to the multitude of their claims, and the 
 limitation of their powers, and the importance of keeping 
 up a sense of their dignity, they are only accessible at
 
 JUNE 2. 443 
 
 certain times, and with stately formalities. But the King 
 of kings allows us to come boldly to the Throne of grace ; 
 and enjoins us in every thing, by prayer and supplication, 
 to make known our requests unto him. We cannot 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 privilege. Thou art the God of 
 my salvation j on thee do I wait all the day. 
 
 JUNE 2. " They went to Baal-peor, and separated 
 themselves unto that shame." HOSEA ix. 10. 
 
 THAT is, to that shameful idol. Many seem disposed to 
 consider idolatry rather as a foolish and harmless thing 
 than as a serious evil. But the Scriptures speak of 
 abominable idolatries, and always connect such worships 
 with the most infamous passions and vices. History attests 
 the same fact ; and the more fully and faithfully the sub- 
 ject 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, drunkenness, and sensuality acquire 
 when not only exempted from punishment, but turned into 
 acts of devotion, arid considered as services which would 
 render them acceptable to the divinity adored ! We can- 
 not enter into exemplifications It were a shame to speak 
 of those things which were done of them in secret. 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 
 shall remember, 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 scan-
 
 444 JUNE 2. 
 
 dalous business in the world, and sooner or later will cover 
 a man with ignominy. It degrades every thing pertain- 
 ing to him, and makes him viler than the earth. Indeed 
 nothing else is truly shameful. It is not shameful that 
 you are obliged to labour ; though it is shameful if you 
 do nothing, or have nothing to do I would rather, says 
 Seneca, be sick than idle. It is not shameful that you are 
 poor ; unless your indigence 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 ? To possess reason, and play 
 the part of an idiot P To be a coward, and flee when no 
 man pursueth ? To have liberty at command, and submit 
 to be a slave P 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 indulgence ; and 
 then endeavour 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 disgracefulness of the sinner's conduct. 
 
 We may consider the shamefulness of sin three ways. 
 First, as a penal effect This is principally future. Of 
 Israel we read, " They shall never be ashamed or con- 
 founded, 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 assured that they will " rise to ever- 
 lasting shame and contempt." And no wonder when 
 they find what they have sacrificed, and for what they have 
 parted with it ; when they find 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 cover them 
 from the scorn of the universe. But the penalty begins 
 here ; even here a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh
 
 JUNE 2. 445 
 
 to shame ; and, even when secured from legal inflictions, 
 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 slosely 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 har- 
 dening nature. We read of some who " hide not their 
 sin, as Sodom." Jeremiah says, " Were they ashamed 
 when they had committed abomination ? 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 perhaps possible to get rid of it 
 entirely. Before their fellow-creatures men may profess 
 what is very inconsistent with their convictions alone : they 
 may pretend to laugh, and to enjoy self-approbation, while 
 their understandings reproach them as much as their con- 
 sciences 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 regard 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, temptation ? 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 cannot bear to 
 reflect 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 punish- 
 ment as the pollution of sin ; not so much its consequences
 
 446 JUNE 3. 
 
 as its odiousness and desert. And this extends to every 
 thing sinful. For some sins are generally if not univer- 
 sally offensive ; but all sin is the abominahle thing which 
 the soul of a true penitent hates. When a man is enlight- 
 ened to see sin in the glass of the law, and in connection 
 with the glory and goodness of God, and in the cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, what self-condemnation and 
 reproach does he feel ! The publican " 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 increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up 
 unto the 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 heard Ephraim bemoaning him- 
 self 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 repented : and after that I was 
 instructed, I smote upon my thigh : I was ashamed, yea, 
 even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my 
 youth. 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." 
 
 JUNE 3. " Who, when he came, and had seen the 
 grace of God, was glad." ACTS xi. 23. 
 
 GRACE means Divine influence ; arid is so called because 
 it is derived from the free and undeserved communication
 
 JUNE 3. 447 
 
 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 blossoms, the fruit. " For a good 'tree 
 bringeth not forth corrupt fruit ; neither doth a corrupt 
 tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by 
 his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor 
 of a bramble bush gather they grapes." God says, " T 
 will put my Spirit within you" But how can this be 
 seen ? " And cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye 
 shall keep my judgments, and do them" This is discern- 
 ible enough. James says, " I will shew thee my faith 
 by my works;" that is, I will evince my creed in my 
 conduct, and my principles in my practice And this is 
 the most satisfactory mode of shewing 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 undervaluing expe- 
 rience ; there is no real religion without 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 but they can read your lives ; and therefore 
 in your lives your godliness must appear. Therefore it is 
 said, " to the prisoners, go forth ; to them that are in dark- 
 ness, shew 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 be discovered, by 
 the objects which awaken their attention and desires when
 
 448 JUNE 3. 
 
 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 libra- 
 ries. 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. 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 prospect. 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 tvorld 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 convert may say, with the Royal 
 Penitent, " They that fear thee will rejoice when they see 
 ine, because I have hoped in thy truth" 
 
 Love to God made Barnabas rejoice. What is every 
 sinner called by grace but an accession to his subjects ; 
 an enemy turned into a friend ; who shall shew forth his 
 praise by living to his glory, and by being a monument of 
 his mercy and power ? " 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." 
 
 Benevolence made him glad. And Barnabas 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 pro- 
 mise of the life that now is and of that which is to come ? 
 He prospers whose soul prospers and is in health. He is
 
 JUNE 3. 449 
 
 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 hlessed 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 great- 
 est 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 become ? That persecutor now 
 asking, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? 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 enter the 
 sacred calling, only looking after support, 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 suc- 
 cess in the conversion 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 j 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. 
 
 VOL. I. G G
 
 450 JUNE 4. 
 
 JUNE 4. " my God, my soul is cast down within 
 me : therefore will I remember thee" PSALM xlii. 6. 
 
 AFFLICTIONS are ofteu in the Scriptures called tempta- 
 tions and trials. The reason is, because 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 something that promises to afford 
 deliverance, or at least to temper the bitterness of sorrow. 
 And as every creature is insufficient to succour 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 shew 
 me any good ?" 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 connection, and, pouring out 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 therefore promised ; " I will bring the 
 third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver 
 is refined, and will try them as gold is tried : they shall 
 call on my name, and I will hear them : I will say, It is 
 my people : and they shall say, The Lord is my God." 
 
 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
 
 JUNE 4. 451 
 
 are his. They are pruned because they are vines ; they 
 are put into the furnace hecause they are gold ; they are 
 chastened because they are sons for what son is he whom 
 the father chasteneth not ? They think their depressions 
 are peculiar But David was a man after God's own 
 heart, and had more experimental religion than any indi- 
 vidual before the coming of Christ ; yet he was not only 
 afflicted, but his distress broke through to his mind, and 
 pressed him down to the ground " My soul is cast down 
 within me." While all is calm and vigour within, the 
 pressure of outward calamity is easily borne. The spirit 
 of a man may sustain his infirmity ; but a wounded spirit 
 who can bear ? and who can cure ? Only the God of 
 all grace, and the God of all comfort. Let us therefore 
 go to him. He alone can alter the state and frame of our 
 minds who has access to them, and dominion over them. 
 When a watch is disordered, 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 perpetually demanding it. 
 He addresses us by his word ; he speaks to us by con- 
 science 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 
 expediency " 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 
 Manasseh to pray to the God of his father. The famine 
 made the prodigal think of his father's house. W 7 hat 
 brought so many to our Saviour in the days of his flesh 
 but personal and relative trouble ? It is the same now. 
 He breaks up our earthly schemes, and then presents a 
 better country to our pursuit. He removes the human 
 
 O G fl
 
 452 JUNE 4. 
 
 arm on which we leaned, and then offering his own, 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 passage open and this is to go hack 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, " Return, ye backsliding children, and 
 I will heal your backslidings." 
 
 And thus the same method which brings God to our 
 remembrance at first is useful after in the whole of our 
 religious life, for the same purpose. For we are not 
 already perfect. Our affections are sometimes chilled, and 
 our minds are often turned away from our portion by other 
 things. And there is peculiar danger of this evil 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." 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 shew us the weakness and wretched- 
 ness 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 distress ? When therefore 
 our souls are cast down within us, let us remember him. 
 Let us remember his power. Is any thing too hard for 
 the Lord ? Let us remember his wisdom. He knows 
 how to afflict ; and he knows how to deliver. Let us 
 remember his goodness. Our welfare is his aim in every 
 dispensation, however trying. He spared not his own Son. 
 Let us remember his providence. He is always near us. 
 He numbers the hairs of our head. Let us remember his 
 holy covenant. What promises does it contain ! It 
 insures every thing we need. This was all David's sal- 
 vation, and all his desire This is my comfort in my
 
 JUNE 5. 453 
 
 afflicton ; 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 testify 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 ordinances and moral injunctions which he had 
 again laid before them. Now if Moses enjoined the Jews 
 to attend cordially to a portion of Revelation compara- 
 tively 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. 
 He is now saying, " Set your hearts unto all the words 
 which I testify among you this day." 
 
 Set your hears 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 itself 
 is enjoined in the very regulation of the mode. Hearing 
 is not only a duty, but a privilege. And when we con- 
 sider not only the adaptation there is in preaching to pro- 
 duce the effect, but the blessing of God that attends his 
 own institution, we need not w.onder 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
 
 454 JUNE 5. 
 
 follow hearing. We cannot dispense with it at the family 
 altar, or in our private retirement, without injury and sin. 
 Hale could say, in one of his letters 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 exer- 
 cise. We should endeavour to obtain clear and consistent 
 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 guides 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 affect us morally when it is out 
 of the mind. Some, to excuse their recollecting so little 
 of what they read, and hear, complain of their memory. 
 Yet they recollect other things without number This 
 shews the natural 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? and which are most suitable 
 to your taste ? And should not this 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 con- 
 versation and controversy What are its warnings unless 
 we are cautioned by them ? or its promises unless we 
 embrace them ? In vain it shews unto us the way of sal-
 
 JUNE 5. 455 
 
 vation, unless we walk iu 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." " Blessed 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 between 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 anxiety that 
 every human being may have a Bible. For this purpose 
 encourage and aid that glorious 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 testimony. 
 
 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 enforce 
 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 
 needful for you, and only demands what is a reasonable 
 service. 
 
 All these words too are Divine All Scripture is 
 given by inspiration of God. The very name of some 
 authors would be enough to induce you to purchase and 
 devour a publication. On the back of my Bible is 
 inscribed, THE WORKS OF GOD. 
 
 They are also all-important. They are not a vaiii 
 thing, but bur life. They are our standard. Our rule. 
 Our medicine. Our shield. Our sword. Our bread. Our 
 water. Our sun. The charter of our everlasting privi-
 
 456 JUNE 6. 
 
 lege Who can tell what it has done for numberless 
 individuals ? For communities ? For nations ? Who 
 can tell what it will do in the ages to come ? 
 
 JUNE 6. " And Jacob was left alone ; and there 
 wrestled a man mith 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 
 resentment 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 
 embarrassment ! 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 Lord 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 in order to secure success, 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 privilege. How 
 pitiable are those in trouble who cannot say, from expe- 
 rience, "It is good for me to draw near to God." In the 
 perplexities, dangers, distresses of life ; in the loss of 
 relations, the failure of friends, the insufficiency of crea- 
 ture-helpers ; how relieving to the burdened spirit is it to 
 say, " Therefore will I look unto the Lord ; I will wait for 
 the God of my salvation, my God will hear me." 
 
 Imagine Jacob's situation. He was left alone. 
 His family had been sent forward. It was now past
 
 JUNE 6. 457 
 
 midnight. No iioise 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 endea- 
 voured 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 personally, hand to hand ; it allows not of 
 seconds 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 always brings him, the 
 Lord's coming to his people is often alarming in appear- 
 ance 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 iu whatever 
 manner he may appear. Job could say, " He hath takeu 
 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 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 witli 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 iu the
 
 458 JUNE 6. 
 
 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 fulness of time. Secondly ; what was the nature of 
 this wrestling ? It was partly corporeal, 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 internal 
 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 prayer has been 
 so frequently called wrestling 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 unworthiness 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 contest 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 suspension, they sometimes are ready to say, 
 Why should I wait for him any longer ? Hope deferred 
 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 applies to 
 any particular dispensation will apply 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. 459 
 
 JUNE 7. " And when he saw that he prevailed not 
 against him, he touched the hollorv of his thigh ; and the 
 hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled 
 with 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 things had 
 taken their natural course but Jacob's overthrow P 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 sustained him in the encounter. 
 
 Yet the Lord would remind him of his weakness. He 
 therefore touched and disjointed 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 attainments and suc- 
 cesses are in danger of self-elation. 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 there- 
 fore obliged to grasp the closer and firmer to keep him 
 from falling. So we are to cleave to the Lord with pur- 
 pose of heart, and to pray and not faint. Whatever 
 discouragement we meet with, we are not in our wrestling 
 to give up j 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 could not he, who 
 by a touch only had disjointed Jacob's thigh, have easily 
 disengaged himself from his hold ? And does he ask
 
 460 JUNE 7. 
 
 for permission to withdraw ? He gives intimation of his 
 departure, to excite the more earnest supplication for his 
 continuance. When he was with the two disciples at 
 Emmaus he made as though he would have gone further : 
 he designed to enter with them hut 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 his 
 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 shew 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 cannot restrain God, but prayer can. Two 
 blind men, begging by the way-side, hearing that he was 
 passing by, cried, " Jesus, thou Sou of David, have mercy 
 on us." The multitude deemed them offensive interrupters, 
 and ordered 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 vic- 
 tory : 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 inter- 
 posed, 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 prayer ! What an efficiency does it exert ! 
 With God all things are possible and prayer has power 
 with God ! 
 
 But the reason seems as strange as the request Let 
 me go, " for the day breaketh." What are the distinc- 
 tions of time to him ? Is it not the same to the Lord 
 whether he is with his people by night or by day ? 
 " Darkness and light are both alike to him." First, the 
 reason may respect the angel's unwillingness that any 
 should be spectators of the scene. And so it tells us to
 
 JUNE 8. 461 
 
 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 shut to the door. But, secondly, 
 the reason rather refers to Jacob and his circumstances 
 " 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 beautiful in its season. 
 We must sometimes exercise even spiritual self-denial. 
 The privileges of the Sabbath must give place to the trials 
 of the week. It would be more pleasing 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 antago- 
 nist was. He is therefore unwilling 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 smiteth" 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. Crea- 
 tures can only wish us a blessing, but he commands and 
 imparts it : and when he blesses none can reverse it. 
 
 Jacob uses no ceremony, but, in reply to the demand,
 
 462 JUNE 8. 
 
 " 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 ? When we have a promise which gives 
 us a hold of him, we are to put him in remembrance, to 
 plead with him, and to refuse to take any denial. There 
 is nothing more pleasing to him than this holy violence : 
 he loves to see us, while trusting in his faithful word, dis- 
 regarding the discouragements of his providence. The 
 woman of Canaan was sorely tried, first by his silence, 
 then by his seeming exclusion, and then by his seeming 
 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 supplications with which 
 we are unaffected ourselves ? " If," says Bishop Hopkins, 
 " the arrow 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 
 ine, 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 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
 
 JUNE 8. 463 
 
 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 regarded 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 himself, 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 condition however would 
 serve to explain his immediate wish. And, therefore, with 
 a view to this, the Lord said unto him, " What is thy 
 name ?" He could not ask to gain information ; but upon 
 the same principle that we are required to confess our 
 sins, and to spread our 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 condition, and be pre- 
 pared 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 contact 
 is the same. The Lord well knew Jacob's name, but he 
 would know it from himself; 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 lie 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. 1 am that back- 
 slider thy mercy reclaimed. I am that sufferer who called 
 upon thee in the day of trouble, and was delivered I have
 
 464 JUNE 9. 
 
 tried thee too much ; thou hast befriended me too often, 
 not to be acquainted with me" 
 
 " Dost thou ask me who I am ? 
 Ah, my Lord, thou know'st my name! 
 Yet the question gives a plea, 
 And supports iuy 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, 
 Yet 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 
 rvith God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob 
 asked him, and said, Tell me, T pray thee, thy name. 
 And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after 
 my name P And he blessed him there." 
 
 GEN. xxxii. 28, 29. 
 
 THUS he was knighted on the field. He had two names ; 
 and both of them were gained by wrestling : the one, by 
 wrestling with his brother in the womb ; the other, by 
 wrestling with the angel at Peuiel. Jacob signifies 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
 
 JUNE 9. 465 
 
 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 interest to secure his favour 
 who has all events at his disposal, and every heart under 
 his control ! Yet some, to engage the friendship of 
 mortals, will offend and provoke him who can turn the 
 wisdom of the wisest into foolishness, 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 appeal's 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 discovered, 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 indulges a vain 
 curiosity that would draw us off from the one thing need- 
 ful. Instead of gratifying Peter when he inquired after 
 the destiny of John, our Saviour rebuked him : " What is 
 that to thee ? follow thou me." And when the Apostles 
 would become students 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 second, 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 
 VOL. i. H H
 
 466 JUNE 10. 
 
 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 inheritance 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 infirmity, 
 that the power of Christ may rest upon me." He with- 
 holds abundance, but he teaches and enables us to be 
 content with such 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 Penuel 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 consequences of 
 this singular event. It is obvious that Jacob apprehended 
 the personage to be Divine. Hence he wonders at his 
 preservation. 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 human 
 form which he had assumed. Thus in the Gospel God is 
 manifest in the flesh. And thus through the veil, that is
 
 JUNE 10. 467 
 
 to say his flesh, \ve are not only saved, but shall have 
 communion with him for ever. Jacob's humility also filled 
 him with surprise, that he should have been not only so 
 supported, but so signalized and dignified above all 
 mankind. When we are in a proper frame of mind, 
 divine 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 there- 
 fore be careful that we forget not all his benefits. Our 
 gratitude and our confidence depend on remembrance. 
 
 Jacob knew that the best way to glorify God is to 
 serve him in the condition and circumstances wherein he 
 has placed us. He therefore is not idle ; but as soon as 
 the Divine visitant had left him, he went forward, hastening 
 to join his household, and to perform the duties of the 
 husband, the father, the master, and to prepare for the 
 expected interview. But as he passed over Peuuel the 
 sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. He 
 could not have travelled at all unless he who had lamed 
 him had re-jointed him. Yet, if not some pain, some 
 weakness was left ; and he limped for life. There was 
 doubtless a contraction of the muscle or tendon, for it is 
 said, " therefore the chil(Jren 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 Jacob's thigh 
 in the sinew that shrank." Was this refusal founded in 
 a superstitious conceit P It was rather the consequence of 
 a divine appointment, analogous to a ceremonial and sen- 
 sible dispensation of religion ; or the disuse resulted from 
 the veneration his posterity entertained for the patriarch, 
 and their concern to memorialize this astonishing occur- 
 rence. 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. 
 
 H H 3
 
 468 JUNE 11. 
 
 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 brother, and that goodness and mercy would follow 
 him all the days of his life ! And oh ! what a relation 
 would he have to communicate to his company as soon as 
 he had overtaken 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 wrestling ! and of his success ! 
 
 And how much shall we have to announce to our com- 
 pany who have crossed the river before us, and are waiting 
 to receive us into everlasting habitations, when we have 
 reached 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 speakest 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 gives rise to 
 the counterfeit, so m 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 manners of God's own ser- 
 vants ; pretending to communications which they had 
 never received ; exercising and encouraging idolatry ; and 
 crying, Peace, peace, when there was no peace. 
 
 When therefore God intended mercy to the country, he
 
 JUNE 11. 469 
 
 engages to sweep away from the earth these emissaries of 
 the devil ; these plagues and curses of the human race. "In 
 that day, saith the Lord of hosts, I 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 affected 
 would the people be, and even their relations and their 
 nearest kindred, that rising above the fe'eliugs 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 hegat 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 
 hegat 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 subordi- 
 nation 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 shalt 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 ; neither 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 then a gentle rebuke. And what can we think of 
 those parents who connive at the delinquencies of their 
 children ; and, instead of opposing them with the authority 
 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 preceding and
 
 470 JUNE 11. 
 
 following context are allowed to refer to the evangelical 
 dispensation, some have derived an argument from them 
 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 exclusively to the con- 
 version of the Jews ; supposing that when they become 
 Christians 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 
 people is groundless. 
 
 The meaning is that effects are here put for princi- 
 ples Christians should not indeed act in the same man- 
 ner, but have the same zeal the pious Jews had when of 
 old they shewed themselves on the Lord's side, and obeyed 
 his commands, however expensive or painful the service 
 they should display the most determined firmness and 
 fidelity in opposing error, and in spreading divine truth 
 holding nothing dear but the glory of God their Saviour 
 and forsaking all they have to be his disciples. It is 
 therefore another of the many instances in the Old Testa- 
 ment, in which things Christian are expressed by Jewish 
 allusions. The Prophets could only use their own lan- 
 guage, and employ 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 prophecy or promise be 
 allowed to refer to Christian times, influences, and blessings, 
 the phraseologies in which it is announced should be taken, 
 not in a Jewish, but in a Christian interpretation. Admit
 
 JUNE 12. 471 
 
 the reverse, and we should kill people, and think we did 
 God service from the words hefore 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 tribu- 
 lation. 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 in a vale which flow on and turn 
 mill after mill, and refresh and fertilize meadow after mea- 
 dow. We are not the proprietors, but only the stewards of 
 the manifold grace of God : and we are to consider our- 
 selves debtors, not only to him, but to our fellow-creatures. 
 If we are rich in this world's good, we are to be ready 
 to distribute. 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 instrumen- 
 tality. He is the God M of all comfort ; but though he is 
 the source, we are the mediums. He could dispense with 
 our services, but he wisely employs them : as he thereby 
 secures our own improvement ; promotes brotherly love ; 
 unites the giver to the receiver by pity, and the receiver 
 to the giver by gratitude ; shews us that there is a con- 
 nection between all ranks and degrees in society ; that 
 there is no such thing as independence ; that every man 
 has something to receive 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 ? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not
 
 472 JUNE 12. 
 
 the eye, I am not of the body ; is it therefore not of the 
 body ? 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 enjoyment. " Look not," says the Apostle, 
 " every man on 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 
 himself. He wishes that all his hearers had all his 
 blessedness without his bonds. And we here see how he 
 prized the consolations he had enjoyed, not because he 
 had been comforted by them in his sufferings, but because 
 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 ourselves have been comforted of God," three 
 ways. First, by excitement They dispose and stir us up 
 to exertion and communication. Fear unnerves : despond- 
 ence makes us sluggish : and the mourner sitteth alone 
 and keeps silence, like the stricken deer that leaves the 
 herd. But Divine consolation enlivens, actuates, 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 we have seen and heard." Secondly, 
 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. Having found relief themselves, 
 they can lead others to the same place of succour.
 
 JUNE 13. 473 
 
 Thirdly, by example. If nothing were said in words, the 
 fact itself would address others ; and evince what can be 
 done, in shewing what has been done. Here is actual 
 experience. Here are proofs that the Lord does not leave 
 his people comfortless ; that he is a very present help in 
 trouble ; that his grace is equally free and powerful, that 
 none who seek it shall be disappointed, and none con- 
 founded that 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 afflic- 
 tion, with joy of the Holy Ghost : when, though walking 
 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 courage ! 
 
 JUNE 13. " Do not my words do good to him that 
 n-alketh uprightly . p " MICAH ii. 7. 
 
 THEY do evil and injury to many. Thousands will curse 
 for ever the hour they became acquainted with the Scrip- 
 tures : 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 adapted to do us good only; but is the accidental 
 result of depravity ; and therefore it is confined to those 
 \vlio pervert it, abuse it, 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 bring- 
 ing us into a religious state, but of the benefit they render 
 us when we are in it. Our Saviour, iu 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 a hundred fold,
 
 474 JUNE 13. 
 
 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 disposi- 
 tions 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 
 men. If it be a rule, the benefit is only to them that walk 
 by it. And we are never in so suitable a state to be 
 benefited by it as when conscience is awake, and we are 
 sincerely desirous of knowing the will of God, and are 
 resolved to follow it, whatever difficulties may lie in the 
 way. Hence says James, " Wherefore lay apart all fil- 
 thiness 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 hypocrisies, 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 supersede 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
 
 JUNE 13. 475 
 
 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 he 
 endless to describe it. They are profitable unto all things. 
 They will do us good in a way of information. 
 For the soul to be without knowledge it is not good. 
 But there is no knowledge like that which is derived 
 from the Scriptures. It is so clear, so full, so important, 
 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 say concerning us ; and to hear a voice 
 saying, This is the way, walk ye in it. 
 
 They will do us good in a way of excitement. 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 
 forget thy precepts ; 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 frequently reprove us. And if we are con- 
 cerned for 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
 
 476 JUNE 14. 
 
 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 cross, " 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 therefore 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 the 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 desolate, 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 for his unspeak- 
 able gift ; and let the whole earth 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 j for who can hide 
 himself from the view of Omniscience ? But it implies 
 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 ?
 
 JUNE 14. 477 
 
 What have I done to cause this alienation and flight from 
 me ?" If this seems an unbecoming representation of 
 God, let it he remembered that he has himself furnished 
 it " Be astonished, ye heavens, at this." " What could 
 have been done more to my vineyard that I have not 
 done in it ? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring 
 forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ?" 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 ? Is this thy kindness to thy friend ? Is this acting 
 the part of a faithful steward towards his proprietor ? of a 
 dutiful child towards a good father ? of an obedient ser- 
 vant towards the best of masters ? Did I envy thy wel- 
 fare, or wish to abridge thy happiness ? 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 about upon his audience " with anger, 
 being grieved for the hardness of their hearts ;" and as, 
 when he looked upon the backsliding Peter, and dissolved 
 him into godly sorrow, there was not only surprise and 
 upbraiding in the glance, but mercy and readiness to for- 
 give : so here, in the voice that addressed Adam, there was 
 not only alarm, but tenderness ; not only abhorrence of the 
 crime, but pity for the criminal " Poor Adam, what hast 
 thou done ? What misery hast thou brought upon thy- 
 self ? 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 application ; and 
 we should bring it home to ourselves j and for three rea-
 
 478 JUNE 14. 
 
 sons. First, because of the relation there is between Adam 
 and ourselves. There is no other creature with whom we 
 are so intimately and influeutially 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 ourselves, instead of 
 repairing to his feet, and imploring 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 on 
 still in our trespasses ; often daringly enter his presence 
 and stand before him in his worship ; and seem to defy 
 rather than endeavour 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 blessing is it to be apprized of 
 our danger while it is in our power to escape ! Would 
 not a man 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 nor 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 Gos- 
 pel but our ignorant pride in refusing 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. 479 
 
 JUNE 15. " Ye are now returned unto the Shepherd 
 and Bishop of your souls." \ PET. 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 observed 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 subjects of a change 
 not a change from one class of opinions to another, or from 
 one denomination to another not a change from mere 
 gross vices to moral duties ; but a change of mind, of 
 heart, and of life ; and which embodies the various repre- 
 sentations given of it in the Scriptures. It is a turning 
 from darkness 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 preaching of the word ; 
 but sometimes it is effected by reading the Scriptures, by 
 a good book, by pious conversation, by affliction " 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." 
 
 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 return. We would 
 not, however, found a doctrine of such importance on a 
 mere grammaticism. The truth is expressly asserted. 
 " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but 
 according to his mercy he saved us." " 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
 
 480 JUNE 15. 
 
 returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of jour souls.' 1 He 
 is the personage spoken of ; and how well does he deserve 
 the titles But observe, the grand thing in religion is our 
 heiug brought to C/trist. Therefore he himself said, 
 " Come unto me :" " Every man therefore that hath heard 
 and learned of the Father cometh unto we." As it 
 pleased the Father that in him should all fulness 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 strength." 
 
 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 glorious 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 becomes you ! 
 All hail, ye highly favoured of the Lord " Ye were as 
 sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the Shep- 
 herd and Bishop of souls" You are returned unto One 
 who loved you from eternity, and always bore you 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 tender- 
 ness, 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 carry 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
 
 JUNE 16. 481 
 
 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. And not only so, 
 but he will bring you into Iinmauuei'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. " / was wounded in the house of my 
 friends." ZECH. xiii. 6. 
 
 THIS seems literally the complaint of a false prophet, who 
 had been punished and removed from his office. We 
 cannot easily perceive the relation between the treatment 
 of such a man and the suffering of the Saviour. And yet 
 the words both immediately preceding and following can 
 scarcely leave a doubt of a reference to him. 
 
 m 
 
 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 received him 
 not : but vilified and scourged him ; crowned him with 
 thorns ; and nailed him to the tree. True with regard to 
 his treatment from his own Apostles. One of them 
 betrayed him with a kiss ; another denied him with oaths 
 and cursing ; and all forsook him and fled He looked for 
 some to take pity and there was none, and for comforter 
 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 transgressed, 
 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 
 
 VOL. I. II
 
 482 JUNE 16. 
 
 here, where he only reckons upon behaviour becoming the 
 relation, he is often dishonoured and injured "This is a 
 a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation." 
 
 But what is the conduct by which he is aggrieved ? 
 It is negligent conduct when they disregard the means 
 of grace and the institutions of religion. These he has 
 established. He has commanded us not to forsake the 
 assembling of ourselves together. He has promised to 
 come unto us and bless us in all places where his Name is 
 recorded. In what then can we try him more than by 
 shewing how little we regard his authority, or value his 
 presence ? and by suffering 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 j though we are often praying that his 
 kingdom may come, and that his word may have free 
 course and be glorified. It is distrustful conduct. 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 distance 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 embarrassments, 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 danger. 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
 
 JUNE 16. 483 
 
 course of cheerlessness and melancholy. Whereas, by 
 learning in whatsoever state we are therewith to he con- 
 tent ; 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 
 unholy 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 foreknew, 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 forsake my law, and walk not 
 in my judgments ; if they break my statutes, and keep 
 not my commandments ; then will I visit their transgres- 
 sion with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Never- 
 theless ray lovingkindness 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 riot sanctify 
 him at the rock, he would not suffer them to go over 
 Jordan. And though he put away David's sin in the 
 guilt of it, yet the effects of it attended him through life. 
 And if we turn from his history to his experience, in the 
 fifty-first Psalm, we shall see, that, in addition to distress- 
 ing 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 bewail the ingratitude and 
 vileness of our conduct 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 
 
 1 1 i
 
 484 JUNE 17. 
 
 open shame among others ; but be wounded in the house 
 of my friends ? 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 i* And what have I 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 myself, that where I am thou 
 mayest be also? "Is THIS THY KINDNESS TO THY 
 FRIEND ?" 
 
 " 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 toward 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 and prayer, " Jacob 
 went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran." 
 Though the simplicity and manners of the age rendered 
 travelling less formidable than it appears to persons unac- 
 customed 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
 
 JUNE 17. 485 
 
 brought up, having been the favourite of Rebekali lie had 
 no beast to carry him he had no servant to attend him 
 no guide to direct him no guard to protect him no 
 companion to cheer him by communion. Thus he goes 
 forward solitary and pensive, ruminating upon his sad 
 condition, and conflicting with those apprehensions which 
 always attend untried and uncertain events. 
 
 And " he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried 
 there all night, because the sun was set." The road he 
 travelled, if it might be called a road, was in many places 
 savage and dreary ; uninhabited of men, and infested 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 themselves together, and lay them 
 down in their dens." Jacob's safety therefore prevents 
 his going onward till the morning. Here therefore 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 therefere obliged to expose his 
 body to the moist air of the night : the sky is his tester ; 
 the darkness, his curtains ; 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 deli- 
 cate accommodations. But this was not all. He hereby 
 shewed 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 raakest me dwell 
 in safety." And Peter, the night before his intended exe- 
 cution, 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
 
 486 JUNE 17. 
 
 who have aii all-sufficient 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 ourselves to him in a way 
 of providence. " How may 1 know I do so ?" We answer, 
 by acquiescing in his dispensations, and accommodatiug 
 yourselves to events. We find no murmuring in Jacob, 
 notwithstanding the trying circumstances he 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 neces- 
 sary for our journey, and a welcome 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 inter- 
 course with God during his journey. We have every rea- 
 son to suppose that what he had been reflecting upon 
 during the day continued to occupy and impress his 
 thoughts at night ; and therefore that God took advantage 
 of it in dealing with him. And though there was some- 
 thing extraordinary in the affair before us, yet we are 
 persuaded 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 frivo- 
 lous 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 atten- 
 tion ; 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 inti- 
 mate the providence of God as observing all things, and 
 keeping up a perpetual correspondence between heaven 
 and earth ? Rather read the language of our Saviour to
 
 JUNE 17. 487 
 
 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 communi- 
 cations between the upper and the lower world. He is 
 the mediator 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 salvatiou." 
 They rejoice when they are converted ; they encamp round 
 about them in their dangers, and deliver them ; they 
 attend their worshipping assemblies ; and at last convey 
 their departing spirits into Abraham's bosom. These 
 angels did not go up and down the ladder after the man- 
 ner of persons amusing themselves : they ascended to 
 receive their orders, and descended to execute them. 
 Though they excel in strength, they do his command- 
 ments, 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 sum- 
 moned into his presence, and ordered, the one to govern 
 an empire, and the other to shew some Hagar a well, they 
 would repair to their posts with equal readiness and delight 
 -May his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven ! 
 What do we read further ? " And, behold, the Lord 
 stood above it." 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, assuring him that the 
 country in which he was now reposing should be given to
 
 488 JUNE 17. 
 
 him and his posterity for a possession ; that his offspring 
 should be numerous and illustrious ; and that one of his 
 descendants should prove a benefactor to all mankind : 
 " I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God 
 of Isaac : the laud 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 shall 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 promise 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 exposed, 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 continuance of heaven and 
 earth ! What could Jacob desire more ? 
 
 And what was the impression the whole made upon 
 him ? " 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 
 ignorance of mankind in general ! God is everywhere. 
 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 peo- 
 ple of God themselves. How prone are they to forget 
 their privileges and principles ; and to imagine they are 
 left of God in particular situations and difficulties. But 
 they cannot 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
 
 JUNE 18. 489 
 
 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 shall not be burned ; 
 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Yet, after all 
 this, divine manifestations often surprise us ; and we 
 wonder, where we should only praise. 
 
 JUNE 18. " And he mis afraid, and said, How 
 dreadful is this place ! this is nont 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 shews us that intercourse with God, instead of 
 favouring levity of mind, produces the most serious impres- 
 sions. 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 ? The thought of a present Deity. This was not 
 indeed a slavish terrifying 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. It 
 was such as Peter and Isaiah and Job felt, at the manifes- 
 tations 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
 
 490 JUNE 18. 
 
 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 conform- 
 able 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 that 
 trembleth at my word." Observe also our Saviour's con- 
 versation with the woman of Samaria. Her countrymen 
 supposed that God must be preferably, if not exclusively 
 worshipped on Gerizim ; while the Jews thought the same 
 of Jerusalem : but he reminded 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 mountain, 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 formality from 
 those worshippers whose bigoted attachment to any parti- 
 cular mode or building leads them to say, " The temple 
 of the Lord, the 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 Divine 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 mountain ; by the way side ; 
 and from a fishing-boat, as well as in the synagogue and 
 temple. So did his Apostles. It was not till the end of 
 the third century 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
 
 JUNE 18. 491 
 
 detained from the courts of the Lord. If the heart 
 be there, aud 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 Provi- 
 dence should fix our station where we have little or no 
 advantage 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 appendages of the Sabbath. " I will be," says 
 God, " 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 
 preacher ; 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 yate 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 ascending 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 acquaintance with it 
 and participations of it convince him that heaven is a 
 state rather than a place He has 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 tribulation 
 we have seen him " joyful in glory ;" and have heard 
 him " shout aloud upon his bed" of painful sickness, aud 
 dying anguish. 
 
 Finally, the house of God aud the gate of heaven are 
 related to each other ; and therefore they are well men- 
 tioned together. Not that the connection between them
 
 492 JUNE 10. 
 
 is inseparable ; or that all those who attend the one will 
 enter the other Far from it. To some the house of God 
 will be the gate of hell, and 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 adapted to awaken and secure our 
 attention to the things which belong to our peace. In the 
 house of God many of his people are converted ; and all 
 are comforted, improved, and established. 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 wav to it." 
 
 JUNE 19. " / am Alpha and Omega." REV. i. 8. 
 
 ALPHA and Omega are the first and last letters in the 
 Greek alphabet; and therefore stand for the commence- 
 ment and termination of any concern in question There- 
 fore it is here added, by way of explanation, " The begin- 
 ning and the ending." 
 
 It is proper to observe that this is the way in which 
 God characterizes himself: " Thus saith the Lord the 
 King of Israel, and his redeemer 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 tins 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 sup-
 
 JUNE 19. 493 
 
 ports it ; while the attempt itself betrays a concession that 
 if the words were the words of our Saviour, his divinity 
 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 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 according 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 appropriation of the title shews 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 shews 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 ; but thou remainest ; 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
 
 494 JUNE 19. 
 
 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 glorified bodies, will he 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 being for ever. If he should suspend his 
 influence for a moment, they would return to their original 
 nothingness " He only," therefore, " hath immortality." 
 
 It also regards his agency The continuance and 
 exclusiveness of it That he is the commencer and com- 
 pleter That he is all in all In what ? 
 
 Let us look at creation. Modern science has surpris- 
 ingly 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 invi- 
 sible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principa- 
 lities, 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 influence " And 
 he is before all things, and by him all things consist." 
 " He upholdeth all things by the word of his power." 
 How many creatures are there visible, and what myriads 
 of myriads more, that are invisible, in the air, the water, 
 and the earth ! And the eyes of all wait upon him. He 
 openeth 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 be judged 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 fulness 
 of him that filleth all in all.
 
 JUNE 20. 495 
 
 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 lie 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 ? Whose 
 righteousness but his can we mention in our approach to 
 God? In whom alone are we free from all condemna- 
 tion ? He only lives to make intercession for us. He 
 only is our advocate with the Father. In him all fulness 
 dwells. Neither is there salvation in any other ; for 
 there is no other Name given under heaven among men 
 whereby we must be saved. He produces 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 
 finisher of our patience; the author and finisher of our 
 humility, our peace, our joy. Therefore on him all 
 believers alone depend, and to him alone they ascribe the 
 praise and glory of all they possess. " Of his fulness have 
 all we received, and grace for grace." 
 
 JUNE 20. " And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on 
 before 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
 
 496 JUNE 20. 
 
 thee there upon the rock in Horeb ; and thou shall smite 
 the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the 
 people may drink." EXOD. xvii. 5, 6. 
 
 WE should learn two things from this interposition. 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 Rephidhn, and the people had no water to 
 drink. Consider 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 
 sensible 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 questioned whether he could 
 deliver or relieve them : " yet they spake against God ; 
 they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness ? 
 Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, 
 and the streams overflowed ; can he give bread also ? 
 can he provide flesh 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 hun- 
 dred 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 ? or 
 shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, 
 to suffice them ? And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the
 
 JUNE 20. 497 
 
 Lord's hand waxed short ? thou shalt sec now whether 
 my word shall come to pass unto thee or not." How was 
 it with our Lord's own disciples ? 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 limiting the Holy One of 
 Israel, and ready to say, " There is no hope," especially 
 when the usual expedients fail us ? But we should 
 remember that nothing is too hard for the Lord ; and that 
 if he does not find a way for our release or relief, he can 
 furnish one. Our extremity is his opportunity. He does 
 not prevent darkness ; but to the upright there ariseth 
 light in the darkness : and it is often darkest before break 
 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 multi- 
 plied 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 Scrip- 
 ture 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 judgment. W r e 
 do many things to accomplish one purpose ; he accom- 
 plishes 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 difficulties and exi- 
 gences ; but it also furnishes an emblem of the Saviour's 
 
 VOL. I. K K
 
 498 JUNE 21. 
 
 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 soberminded people are tempted to think that 
 it has no certain and fixed sense in it at all. But here we 
 follow an inspired guide " And did all drink the same 
 spiritual drink : for they drank of that spiritual 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. The Rock was smitten 
 by Moses : and the Law, of which he is the representative, 
 inflicted the death of Christ: he redeemed us from the 
 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 is marvellous in our eyes. And Christ
 
 JUNE 21. 499 
 
 crucified 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 
 
 Witli regard to the streams. What did these serve 
 to express ? The blood of Jesus ; which " is drink indeed" 
 The doctrines of the Gospel ; whose tidings to the dis- 
 tressed conscience are like cold water to a thirsty soul, 
 and afford a refreshment and satisfaction which no philo- 
 sophy can furnish The influences 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 my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine 
 offspring :" and the invitation, " Tf any man thirst, let him 
 come unto me, and drink This spake he of the Spirit, 
 which they that believe on him should receive." 
 
 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 (he 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 unconsciously : but Jesus was exceeding sor- 
 rowful even unto death : and he knew the expensiveness 
 
 K K 2
 
 500 JUNE 21. 
 
 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 rne 
 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 he 
 was too generous to drink what had endangered life in the 
 procuring. Behold how they loved him. But what was 
 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 fulness dwell. 
 
 As all were welcome to drink of the abundance, 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 hastening to bear relief to the lame, the sick, the 
 dying It is this eagerness for relief and gratification 
 which explains the allusion of Moses: "He made him 
 ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the 
 increase of the fields ; and lie 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
 
 JUNE 22. 501 
 
 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 supplies 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 Assyria 
 came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and 
 took them. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh 
 from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a 
 great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper 
 pool in the highway of the fuller s field." 
 
 ISAIAH xxxvi. 1, 2. 
 
 HERE was a great danger. The enemy was powerful. 
 He had subdued many other countries. He was now 
 invading Judah ; and carrying every thing before him. 
 He had already taken every stronghold in his way, and 
 was come to the very gate of Jerusalem. 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 oppor- 
 tunity " In the mount it shall be seen." 
 
 He does not hinder our sun from going down ; but he 
 prevents the darkness we foreboded, 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 example of patience, when he had heard the 
 successive messengers of woe, " arose, and rent his man-
 
 502 JUNE 22. 
 
 tie, and shaved bis head, and fell down upon the ground, 
 and worshipped." A natural hardihood, a stoical insensi- 
 bility, 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 
 fainting when we are rebuked of him ; and afflictions only 
 yield profit to them that are exercised thereby. 
 
 Observe also what he did. He betook himself to 
 prayer. It was his duty, it was his privilege. It distin- 
 guished 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 Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of 
 rebuke, 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 reproach 
 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 shews the sense he had of his 
 own imperfections, and his confidence that the fervent 
 prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Nor was he 
 disappointed. 
 
 Observe what he gained a complete deliverance. 
 Who ever sought the Lord in vain ? How readily does 
 he answer the cries of his people ! What wonders has 
 prayer achieved ! Prayer is our best weapon Hezekiah 
 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 master, Thus saith the Lord, 
 Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith
 
 JUNE 22. 503 
 
 the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 
 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear 
 a rumour, and return to his own land ; arid I will cause 
 him to fall by the sword in his own land. Therefore thus 
 saith the Lord 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 announcing a thing so improbable, the Lord not only 
 shewed 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 remarkable 
 reason. The reason is twofold. First, says he, "I 
 will defend this city for mine own sake." The foe has 
 been blaspheming me, as if I were one of the gods of the 
 heathen, whose worshippers he has conquered, 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 bad 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 honour- 
 able 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 shew God's 
 regard to righteousness ; to enforce religion from its rela- 
 tive influence and advantages ; and to prepare for a belief
 
 504 JUNE 23. 
 
 in the mediation of the Messiah, for whose obedience unto 
 death all the families of the earth are blessed. The deli- 
 verance also was supernaturally accomplished : " Then 
 the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp 
 of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thou- 
 sand : 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 ! How 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 vengeance 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 believe !" 
 
 JUNE 23. " Where two or three are gathered 
 together' MATT, xviii. 20. 
 
 THERE are circumstances which are not essential to the 
 nature, acceptance, and usefulness of divine worship. Two 
 of these our Saviour here mentions. 
 
 The first regards place " Where" let it be where 
 it will in the sanctuary, or in the private dwelling, or in 
 the barn, or in the field " W/iere two or three are gathered 
 together 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
 
 JUNE 23. 505 
 
 of him. As to external sanctity, all places are alike to 
 him. It is his presence that confers sacredness and dig- 
 nity. And where 1ms this not 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 than 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;" he graci- 
 ously says, " In all places where I record my Name, I will 
 come unto thee, and I will bless thee." 
 
 The second regards number " W T here 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 ten persons 
 present at least to give efficacy to social prayer. It would 
 encourage his followers both in cases of choice and neces- 
 sity. Some few may be disposed to meet together for 
 prayer, reading the Scripture, pious conversation, or to 
 arrange or execute plans of usefulness ; and why may 
 they not expect that he will meet with them ? Did not he 
 join the two disciples going to Emtnaus, and made their 
 hearts burn within them P Let us make him our subject, 
 and he will become our companion. When 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 concerning the difference 
 between their present residence 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 oftener " meet and min-
 
 506 JUNE 24. 
 
 gle ?" 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 prevented or dispersed 
 the worshippers ; and only small parties, in places of con- 
 cealment, and in the night, could assemble Yet these 
 were distinguished seasons and services. When the Gos- 
 pel now first enters a town or village, it frequently meets 
 with opposition ; and fear and shame restrain many from 
 attending. Yet let not the day of small things be des- 
 pised. 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 apart- 
 ment, 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 honour ; and they 
 that despise him will be lightly esteemed. 
 
 This also teaches ministers. Popular excitement is 
 pleasing. But multitude is not essential to usefulness. A 
 sportsman has fired into a flight of birds and not killed 
 one ; 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 rustics, 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. " In my Name" MATT, xviii. 20.
 
 JUNE 24. 507 
 
 WE have seen that no stress is to be laid on the circum- 
 stances 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 exemplification. 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 spiritual 
 concerns ; it is the only rule by which we are to walk. 
 It matters not who enjoins if he forbids, or who forbids if 
 he enjoins To the law and to the testimony. Nothing is 
 binding on the conscience without his sanction : but his 
 followers must say, " All the Lord commandeth us we will 
 do" And because 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 sup- 
 posed 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 understood 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 reluctance 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
 
 508 JUNE 21. 
 
 salvation ; 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 require 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 shall 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 there 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 thing but a suitable- 
 ness 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 sacri- 
 fices. If we are accepted, it must be in the Beloved, not 
 only as to our persons, but services. A Christian feels this. 
 His imperfections are his afflictions ; and he is conscious 
 of so many deficiencies, that he would have no delight or 
 confidence in drawing near to God without this hope. If, 
 when he examines himself, and the sins of his holy things 
 appear, he feels relief, it is by looking unto Jesus. But 
 when he views the inBuite value of his sacrifice, the per- 
 fection of his obedience, the prevalency of his intercession 
 and advocacy ; he has humble 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 his righteousness only. 
 
 What a difference is there between the language of the
 
 JUNE 25. 509 
 
 Scripture concertriug Christ, and the sentiments entertained 
 of him by some who yet consider themselves to be Chris- 
 tians ! 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 com- 
 plete in him" That he " is all and in all" That " what- 
 soever 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 promissory ; and the 
 promises it contains are exceeding great and precious. 
 Some of these, as we should 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 I record my Name, I will come unto thee, 
 and I will bless thee." And if such was his language to 
 Jewish worshippers, what says he to Christian assemblies? 
 " Where two or three are gathered together in my Name, 
 
 THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM." 
 
 This 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 shall appear the second time without sin unto sal- 
 vation." 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 any 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
 
 510 JUNE 25. 
 
 in the family But " the Lord loveth the gates of Zion 
 better than all the dwellings of Jacob" 
 
 " His mercy visits ev'ry house 
 
 That pay their night and morning vows; 
 But mates 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 
 desired 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 ? 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 mem- 
 ber, 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 assurance 
 you have often tried ; and it has now become a matter of 
 history and experience. There he gave you these eyes to 
 see, and hears to hear, and hearts to feel. You know the 
 preacher could not have made you "a new creature" 
 "the excellency of the power was of God" " God was 
 in the midst of them of 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 manifes-
 
 JUNE 26. 511 
 
 tations of bis love ; and have been convinced tbat they 
 were not tbe delusions of fancy, or tbe ferments of animal 
 nature, by tbeir humbling, 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 weary souls : so that you can now say, 
 
 " In every new distress, 
 
 We'll to his house repair; 
 We'll think upon his wondrous grace, 
 And seek deliverance there." 
 
 And go always pleading this promise, and saying, " Do 
 as thoti 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 also by his truth. 
 You could not have bound him, but he has bound himself. 
 He cannot be absent from your assembly if you meet in 
 his 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 I in the midst of them." 
 
 MATT, xviii. 20. 
 
 LET me take this blessed assurance, and consider it 
 
 As a demonstration of my Saviour's divinity. Who 
 less than God could have given such a promise ? He 
 does not say, there shall nay blessing be, but myself: 
 there will I be, but there I am. This necessarily sup- 
 poses omnipresence. How else could he be in so many 
 companies and places at once ? How many assemblies are 
 there on the Sabbath 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 all the peculiarities
 
 512 JUNE 26. 
 
 of individual condition, and affording the most suitable 
 relief. Could an angel do this ? But 
 
 Let me consider it as 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 fingers, 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 ?" So felt 
 also his son Solomon at the dedication of the temple. It 
 was a glorious scene ; and a common mind would have 
 been struck with the splendour of the building, the large- 
 ness 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 heavens cannot contain thee : how 
 much less this house which I have built !" 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 continue to 
 do it to the end of time ! " Who is a God like unto thee ?" 
 
 Let it serve to bind me to a proper demeanour in his 
 house. There is always something impressive in a com- 
 pany 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 ; drow- 
 siness ; hypocrisy ; formality. When I enter the sanc- 
 tuary, 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 ? And will not this equally answer 
 the purpose with our joining in the service of the sane-
 
 JUNE 26. 513 
 
 tuary ?" But the Judge of all has decided this, uot only 
 by his command that we forsake not the assembling of 
 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 nourished there. It is thus excitement 
 and allurement are provided, to draw the ignorant and the 
 careless together. Nothing tends so much to civilize and 
 harmonize men as their frequently uniting in such exer- 
 cises ; and nothing tends so 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, because the minister can tell them no more than 
 they know already. This is very questionable. But allow- 
 ing 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 
 gracious, and exalted to have mercy -, and I have full and 
 easy access to him. Let me then suffer nothing to keep 
 me from the assembly of his saints. Let not the creature 
 prevent my serving and enjoying God. If 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 promise on earth, what 
 right have I to expect his glorious presence in heaven ? 
 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 
 VOL. i. L L
 
 514 JUNE 27. 
 
 between, and the return of worldly care and vexations, 
 but to be still praising him 
 
 JUNE 27. " Singing." EPHES. v. 19. 
 
 ALL believe that hearing is a duty, and that prayer is a 
 duty. But some question 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 plea- 
 sure and advantage can be derived and communicated. 
 We are fearfully and wonderfully made ; and this power of 
 vocal music far surpasses all mechanical performance. No 
 instrument, however 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 perverted, or degraded to evil pur- 
 poses ! 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 cere- 
 monial law ; and when our Saviour had abolished the 
 passover, and his own supper had succeeded to it " after 
 supper he sang a hymn." He thereby shewed 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 authority 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 spi-
 
 JUNE 27. 515 
 
 ritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to 
 the Lord." And James adds, " Is any merry ? let him 
 sing psalms." 
 
 How should singing be performed ? Sometimes when 
 we are alone. David had 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. 
 
 It should prevail where it can be established 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 fore- 
 fathers has been for a long time on the decline. The 
 observance of it would tend much to exclude dulness 
 and formality ; and be far more interesting to servants 
 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 number- 
 less 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 Sabbath 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 shew forth thy loving- 
 kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every 
 night ;" he here means, peculiarly every Sabbath-day 
 morning and 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 gladness; and come before his presence with 
 singing." Here the singing should be congregational. 
 For this purpose few things should be introduced which the 
 people cannot soon join in. Hence also persons should 
 learn to sing, at least decently, that when they join they 
 may aid and not injure The singing in family-worship 
 would be a preparative for public devotion. What can be 
 said for those who are well able to help, and yet seldom or
 
 516 JUNE 27. 
 
 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 essen- 
 tial to the spirituality of our worship, we should be 
 governed, even in the outward acts, by what is most prefer- 
 able, 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 ordinance. How many 
 important truths are we mutually informed or reminded 
 of by it, and which are also rendered peculiarly impressive, 
 by the pleasing manner in which they are again and agaiii 
 repeated Hence, says the Apostle, " Let the word of 
 Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom ; teaching and 
 admonishing 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. Nothing 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 ? Nothing tends so much to animate to courage 
 and confidence ; and therefore 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 neighbour- 
 hood, 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 preaching and 
 prayer, one leads, and the rest silently join ; but here all 
 concur, and stimulate each other. 
 
 To which we may add, it is the most permanent of
 
 JUNE 28. 517 
 
 our religious engagements. Our other sacred employ- 
 ments 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 Moses 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 was 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 Immauuel'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 employs them will be accomplished. 
 And with what bodies shall we come ? Bodies no longer 
 requiring the insensibilites of sleep ; no longer feeling the 
 cravings of animal appetite ; no longer exposed to acci- 
 dents ; no longer susceptible 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 suspend its operations and 
 enjoyments in obedience to a writhing foot, or an aching 
 tooth ; to view every thing through a dull and distracting 
 medium, and approach God himself through the wretched 
 medium of shattered nerves ! Oh what will it be to have 
 a body 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 of the soul not a disgrace 
 to the soul, but its ornament not an incumbrance 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 !
 
 518 JUNE 28. 
 
 Some have had little sickness. These should admire 
 and bless the care that has secured to them so long the 
 possession and indulgence of health. Yet let them remem- 
 ber 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 appointed unto them ; others are chas- 
 tened 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 connection 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. 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. But are they not partakers of the same flesh 
 and blood ? subject to the same infirmities ? inheritors 
 of the same mortality ? Are not they also hastening 
 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 afflu- 
 ent. 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 there- 
 fore the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom 
 thou lovest is sick. And his love is almighty. Why then
 
 JUNE 28. 519 
 
 does he not exempt the objects of it from every thing 
 disagreeable and distressing ? Surely, if by a mere 
 volition we could ease the complaints of a beloved con- 
 nection, 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 
 we thus afflicted ? The correction results from the rela- 
 tion : what son is he whom the father chasteneth not ? 
 You are pruned because you are vines. .You are put into 
 the furnace because you are gold. He has designs to 
 answer by such dispensations which will more than justify 
 them. He intends to wean you from the world ; to make 
 you witnesses for himself; to display in you the truth 
 of his word, the power of his grace, the tenderness of 
 his care. As one whom his mother comforteth, so, says 
 he, will I comfort you. The mother disregards none of 
 her offspring ; but she arranges things with a peculiar view 
 to 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 
 testified in all ages, with Christians: as their sufferings 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 lest 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 encou- 
 rage others ; while their own praise, wonder, and confi- 
 dence, are excited ; and they can sing, 
 
 " Bastards may escape the rod, 
 
 Simk in earthly vain delight; 
 Hut a true-horn child of God 
 Must not would not if he might."
 
 520 JUNE 29. 
 
 JUNE 29. " Thou rvilt recover we." 
 
 ISAIAH xxxviii. 16. 
 
 AND he did so. This is not always the case. Sickness 
 to some, yea to many, is the messenger, the forerun- 
 ner, 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 inter- 
 position he " was sick nigh unto death ;" and the Lord 
 said unto him, " Set thine house in order, for thoti shalt 
 die and not live." But he was the subject of recovering 
 mercy. Five things are recorded in connection with the 
 event. 
 
 It was in answer to prayer. " Then Hezekiah 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 perfect 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 under it, and 
 sanctification by it, and deliverance from it " Call upon 
 me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee." And 
 did any ever seek him in vain ? Did Hezekiah ? So far 
 from it, and to shew 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, saying, 
 " Go and say to Hezekiah ; I have heard thy prayer, I 
 have seen thy tears." 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 considerable reprieve. Yet it was 
 nothing more. For so long a time he was raised up ; but 
 he was left mortal. The sentence, " Dust tliou art, and 
 unto dust shalt thou return," was only suspended. Have 
 any of you been recovered from the bed of sickness ? 
 Remember, 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
 
 JUNE 29. 521 
 
 not make Hezekiah an old man ; and they would soon 
 pass away like a dream. He is the only person who was 
 previously informed how long he had to live. Douhtless 
 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 going So teach me to 
 numher 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 ignorant; 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 
 country, taking all the strongholds in the way, and was now 
 besieging Jerusalem W'hat would fifteen years have been 
 had he passed them in personal captivity, or in a subdued 
 and degraded empire, or in a state of constant alarm or 
 suspicion ? But God perfects the mercy : " And I will 
 deliver thee, and this city, out of the hand of the kiug of 
 Assyria : and I will defend this city." What would it be 
 to lengthen 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 supernatural con- 
 firmation 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, which is gone down in the sun-dial 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 sufficient? 
 The Lord does nothing in vain. He saw the state of 
 Hezekiah's mind : he knew that there was something ready 
 to faint in his faith and hope : and therefore he passes by 
 the infirmity, and indulges his wishes for he had said,
 
 522 JUNE 29. 
 
 " What is the sign that I 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 plaister 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 pre valency of the disease, no 
 means would have availed 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 miraculous ness 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 need- 
 lessly multiplied : and even when they have been performed 
 there was nothing in the degree of them that was unne- 
 cessary or superfluous. The manna descended 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 ; for 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 the paths of judgment."
 
 JUNE 30. 523 
 
 JUNE 30. " The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, 
 when he had been sick, and was recovered of his 
 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 from their enemies j 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. Coustantine the Great said, " I 
 marvel that many of my subjects, since they became 
 Christians, are worse than they were when they were 
 Pagans." Young speaks of some as " worse for mend- 
 ing," and " washed to fouler stains." And it is lament- 
 able, 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 relieved and released them, they 
 turned again to folly. Many think we are severe in our 
 reflections on death-bed changes ; and wonder 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 reco- 
 vered, living according to their promises ; yet had they 
 died, they would have entertained a firm hope concerning 
 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,
 
 524 JUNE 30. 
 
 and dwell there : arid make there an altar unto God, that 
 appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of 
 Esau thy brother." Then, and not before, did the back- 
 slider 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 appointed persons to 
 sing the songs of his illustrious 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 shew the importance of the blessing he had 
 experienced. Read his language, and you will find how 
 much he valued life. This to some may seem strange. 
 To a good man, is it not gain to die ? 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 relative considerations. This was the case 
 with Hezekiah. He might have feared for the succes- 
 sion ; for he had no offspring at this time : Mauasseh was 
 only twelve years old at his death, and therefore could not 
 have been born till three years after his father's recovery. 
 The enemy was also at the gates of the capital. He had 
 also begun a glorious reformation, 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 advantage 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 good-
 
 JUNE 30. 525 
 
 ness 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 impression 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 attendants are paid for their trouble ; 
 friends are thanked for their obliging inquiries only one 
 Being is overlooked He who gave the physician 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 which he had shewn them. 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 assistance that can enable us to 
 recover and preserve 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 
 compose this writing, that he might compare himself with 
 its sentiments, months and years 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 ? Can I proceed ? So 
 far all is well. He is wise, humble, grateful, resolved. 
 But, alas ! how shall we say 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 ? On what can we
 
 526 JUNE 30. 
 
 safely rely ? 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 practice ; but tremble for ourselves, 
 and pray, Lord, hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. 
 Blessed is the man that feareth always. 
 
 END OF VOL. i. 
 
 PRINTED BY GEORGE WOOD, PARSONAGE LANE, BATH.
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
 Elegantly printed, in 2 Vols. Demy 8uo., *%ls. Boards, 
 
 SERMONS. 
 
 FIFTH EDITION. 
 
 jjif The present Edition has had the advantage of the Author's 
 revision and emendations : and it contains Two Sermons in addition to those 
 which appear in the former editions: the one, entitled " The Saviour 
 honoured in his People," preached at St. Ives, in October 1812, before the 
 Bedford Union ; the other, " On the Value of Life," delivered, in May 1803, 
 before the Corresponding Board in London of the Society in Scotland 
 (incorporated by Royal Charter) for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge 
 in the Highlands and Islands. In addition to this accession to the contents 
 of the original Work, the Publisher feels a confidence that, as an elegant 
 Library book, the present edition will afford much satisfaction to the admirers 
 of fine printing, the type having been cast expressly for the Work, and 
 with an especial eye to the largeness and beauty of its character. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 SERMON I. Mistakes concerning the Number of the Righteous. Rom. xi. 2 4. 
 
 SERMON II. The Triumphs of Patience. Rev. xiv. 12. 
 
 SERMON III. Vows called to Remembrance. Gen. xxxv. 1 3. 
 
 SERMON IV. The Nature of genuine Religion. Ezek. xi. J9 23. 
 
 SERMON V. The Young Admonished. 1 Kings xvii. 12. 
 
 SERMON VI. The Gospel demands and deserves Attention. Mark iv. 23. 
 
 SERMON VII. The Sufferings of our Saviour necessary. Heb. ii. 10. 
 
 SERMON VIII The Condemnation of Self- Will. Job xxxiv. S3. 
 
 SERMON IX. The Secure Alarmed. Amos vi. 1. 
 
 SERMON X. On Progress in Religion. Joshua xiii. 1. 
 
 SERMON XI. The Privileges of the Righteous Psalm Ixxxiv. 11. 
 
 SERMON XII. The Condition of Christian* in the World. John xvii. 15. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 SERMON I. Concupiscence punished. Numb. xi. 31 34. 
 
 SERMON II. Hope. Rom. v. 5. 
 SERMON III. The Parableof the Two Son*. Malt, xxi.28 3). 
 
 SERMON IV. Christian Diligence. 2 Peter i. 5 7. 
 SERMON V. The Abuse of Divine Forbearance. Eccles. viii. 11. 
 
 SERMON VI. Assurance. 1 John iii. 10. 
 
 SERMON VII. Domestic Happiness. Psalm cxviii. 15. 
 
 SERMON VIII. Happiness inDeath. 2 Peter i. 11. 
 
 SERMON IX. Service done for God rewarded. Ezek. xxix. 17 20. 
 
 SERMON X. The Disappointments of Life. Job xxix. 18. 
 
 SERMON XI. Neutrality in Religion exposed. Matt. vi. 24. 
 
 SERMON XII. The Family of our Lord. Matt. xii. 49, 50. 
 
 SERMON XIII. The Saviour honoured in his People. John xvii. 10. 
 
 SERMON XIV. The Value of Life. Job ii. 4.
 
 ALSO, BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
 
 In 3 Vols., Demy 8vo., 25s. Boards, 
 
 SHORT DISCOURSES, 
 
 TO BE READ IN FAMILIES. 
 
 FIFTH EDITION. 
 
 tmg* The above Work, in every previous Edition of it, extended to four 
 Volumes : it has now been compressed into THREE, and the price proportion- 
 ally reduced. The present Edition has also been revised by the Author. 
 
 C ONTE NTS. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Address to Masters of Families. 
 
 DISCOURSE I. Returning from a Journey. Job v. 24. 
 DISCOURSE II. Godthebestof Fathers. Matthew vii. 11. 
 
 DISCOURSE III. Saturday Eoening. Exod. xvi. 23. 
 DISCOURSE IV. The Eye of God always upon us. Gen. xvi. 13. 
 
 DISCOURSE V. The Death of Jesus. John xii. 24. 
 DISCOURSE VI. Confidence in God composing the Mind. Isaiah xxvi. 3. 
 
 DISCOURSE VII. Spring. Psalm civ. 30. 
 
 DISCOURSE VIII. The Happy Family. John xi. 5. 
 
 DISCOURSE IX. The Sight of Christian Friends enlivening. Actsxxviii. 15. 
 
 DISCOURSE X. The Christian indeed ! Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 DISCOURSE XI. The Final Change. 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52. 
 
 DISCOURSE XII. Religious Things, Pleasant Things. Isaiahlxiv.il. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIII. Nearness to the Cross. John xix. 25 27. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIV. The Throne of Grace. Heb. iv. 16. 
 
 DISCOURSE XV. Summer and Harvest. Prov. x. 5. 
 DISCOURSE XVI. The Funeral of a Youth. Luke vii. 1215. 
 
 DISCOURSE XVII. Fears Removed. Judges xiii. 22, 23. 
 DISCOURSE XVIII. The Profane Exchange. Heb. xii. 16, 17. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIX. Nathanael. John i. 46 50. 
 
 DISCOURSE XX. The Characters of Sin. Romans vi. 21. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXI. Acquiescence in the Will of God. 2 Sam. xv. 25, 26. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXII. The child Jesus. Isaiah ix. 6. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXIII. The Design of our Saviour's Coming. Matt. i. 21. 
 DISCOURSE XXIV. The Union of Prayer and Watchfulness. Nehemiah iv. 9. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXV. The Tree of Life. Rev. xxii. 2. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVI. Backsliding Reproved. Jeremiah ii. 2. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVII. The misery of contending with God. Isaiah xlv. 9. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVIII. Communion with the Saviour inseparable from 
 
 Holiness. John xiii. 8. 
 DISCOURSE XXIX. A Check to Presumption. Heb. iv. 1. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXX. Review of Life. Eccles. iii. 15. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXXI. Our Ignorance of Futurity. Phil. ii. 23. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXXII. Religion more than Formality. 2 Tim. iii. 5. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXXIII. Autumn. Isaiah Ixiv. 6. 
 DISCOURSE XXXIV. The Design of Affliction. Hcsea ii. 6, 7. 
 DISCOURSE XXXV. The End of the Saviour's Exaltation. Acts v. 31.
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 DISCOURSE I. Religion makes us profitable. Philemon 10, ]]. 
 DISCOURSE II. The Cure of blind Sartimeus.-L.uke xviii. S3 43. 
 
 DISCOURSE III. Winter. Psalm Ixxiv. 17. 
 DISCOURSE IV. Christians not of the World. John xvii. 14. 
 
 DISCOURSE V. Weak grace encouraged. Zech. iv. 10. 
 
 DISCOURSE VI. Martha and Mary. Luke x. 38 42. 
 
 DISCOURSE VII. God abandons the Incorrigible. Ho sea iv. 17. 
 
 DISCOURSE VIII. The Ascension of our Saviour. John xx. 17. 
 
 DISCOURSE IX. The Prayer of Nehemiah. Nehemiah i. 11. 
 
 DISCOURSE X. An Address to Youth. Jer. iii. 4. 
 DISCOURSE XL The Unbelief of Thomas John xx. 24 28. 
 
 DISCOURSE XII. Contentment with little. 1 Tim. vi. 8. 
 DISCOURSE XIII Our duty in relation to the Spirit. 1 Thess. v. 19. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIV. Thi Ascension of Elijah. 2 Kings ii. 11. 
 DISCOURSE XV. The Punish>nent of Adoni-bezek improved. Judges i. 6, 7. 
 
 DISCOURSE XVI. The cheerful Pilgrim Psalm cxix. 54. 
 
 DISCOURSE XVII. Sin ruins a Kingdom. 1 Sam. xii. 24,25. 
 
 DISCOURSE XVIII The Saviour comforting his Disciples. John xiv. 2, 3. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIX. The Disciples in a Storm. Matt. viii. 2327. 
 
 DISCOURSE XX. Famine. Amos viii. 11. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXI. Conversion. Matt, xviii. 3. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXIL The Loss of Children 2 Sam. xii. 22, 23. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXIII. The Bread of Life.Joha vi. 35. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXIV. The Scripture despised. Hosea viii. 12. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXV. The Advantage of having Godly Parents. Prov. xiii. 22. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVI. Divine Knowledge. 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVII. The barren Fig TVee. Luke xiii. 8. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVIII Saul of Tarsus Praying. Acts ix. 10, 11. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXIX. The Paralytic ; or, Sickness improved. Matt. ix. 1 7. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXX. The Work OF the day done IN the day. Ezra iii. 4. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXXI. The Martyrdom of Stephen. Acts vii. 59, 60. 
 DISCOURSE XXXII. A Christian is not a favourite with the World. 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 12. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXXIII. How we are to honour God in trouble. Isaiah xxiv. 15. 
 DISCOURSE XXXI V. The connection between Christians and Angels.- 
 
 Heb. xii. 22. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXXV. The aged Saint comforted. Isaiah xlvi. 4. 
 DISCOURSE XXXVI. Gehazi. 2 Kings v. 2027. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 DISCOURSE I. Dying Regrets. Prov. v. 11, 12. 
 
 DISCOURSE II. Death conquered. Phil. iii. 20. 21. 
 
 DISCOURSE III. Daniel ; or, Constancy in Religion. Dan. vi. 10. 
 
 DISCOURSE IV. The Unspeakable Gift. Rom. viii, 32. 
 
 DISCOURSE V. Divine Correction Heb. xii. 9, 10. 
 DISCOURSE VI. The Ruler's Daughter raised to Life. Luke viii. 54,55. 
 
 DISCOURSE VII The Profitable Pursuit. Matt. vi. 33. 
 
 DISCOURSK VIII. God the Sanctuary of the Afflicted. Ezek. xi. 16. 
 
 DISCOURSE IX. Obedience the Fruit of Redemption. 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. 
 
 DISCOURSE X. Life Enjoyed and Improved. Eccles. iii. 12. 
 
 DISCOURSE XI. The New Creature. Gal. vi. 15. 
 
 DISCOURSE XII. The Happy Parent. Prov. xxiii. 15. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIII. The Love of Christ. Ephes. iii. 19. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIV. Bleuings unimproved resumed by their Owner. Hosea ii. 8, 9. 
 
 DISCOURSE XV. Divine Forgiveness. Neh. ix. 17.
 
 DISCOURSE XVI. The Lord the unerring Conductor of his People. Psalm cvii. 7. 
 DISCOURSE XVII. Fellowship with the Righteous. Psalm cxix. 132. 
 
 DISCOURSE XVIII. The Water of Life. John iv. 14. 
 DISCOURSE XIX. Peter's Curiosity and Presumption. John xiii. 36 38. 
 
 DISCOURSE XX. The Thorn in the Flesh. 2 Cor. xii. 79. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXI. The Regulation of the Tongue. Psalm cxli. 3. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXII. Spiritual Succour derived from Appointed Means. 
 
 Acts xviii. 27. 
 DISCOURSE XXIII. The Star Guiding theWise Men to the Sale 
 
 in Bethlehem. Matt. ii. 1, 2. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXIV. God thinks upon his People. Psalm xl. 17. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXV. The Fountain of Life. Zech. xiii. 1. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVI. Religious Indecision. Hosea vii. 8. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVII. Retirement. Ezek. iii. 22. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXVIII. David's Fear and Folly . 1 Sam. xxvii. 1. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXIX. The Saviour's Grace in its Freeness and Effects. 
 
 1 Tim. i. 14. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXX. The Death of Death. 2 Tim. i. 10. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXXI. The Two Intercessors. Heb. vii. 25; Rom. viii. 27. 
 
 DISCOURSE XXXII. The Grand Inquiry. John xxi. 17. 
 
 LIKEWISE, BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
 
 MORNING EXERCISES for the CLOSET, for Every Day in 
 the Year. Tenth Edition. 2 Vols. 21s. 
 
 The CHRISTIAN CONTEMPLATED, in a Course of Lectures. 
 Sixth Edition. I2s. 
 
 The DOMESTIC MINISTER'S ASSISTANT; or, PRAYERS for 
 the Use of Families. Fifteenth Edition. 9s. 
 
 A SERMON on the DUTIES of HUSBANDS and WIVES. 
 
 Seventh Edition. Is. 6d. 
 
 A CHARGE to the WIFE of a MINISTER; and, The WIFE'S 
 ADVOCATE. 3s. 
 
 MEMOIRS, SINGLE SERMONS, and ESSAYS.
 
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